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Justice www.thejustice.org
The Independent Student Newspaper Volume LXXI, Number 22
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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, April 2, 2019
RELAY FOR LIFE
Waltham, Mass.
STUDENT UNION
Senate passes club consultant proposal ■ The Senate added a new
article to the bylaws requiring clubs to have a faculty or staff consultant. By ELIANA PADWA AND CHAIEL SCHAFFEL JUSTICE EDITOR AND JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
THU LE/the Justice
The Brandeis community gathered in Gosman Sports and Convocation Center on Saturday for Brandeis' Relay for Life, part of the American Cancer Society's largest fundraising and awareness-raising event.
STUDENT LIFE
Union to launch student life website in fall 2019 ■ Presence is a website that
will consolidate information about campus life for students. By ECE ESIKARA JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
Presence, an online platform that consolidates information about student life, activities and communications, will be launched by the Student Union and the Department of Student Activities in fall 2019. Presence will involve aspects of student and campus life — other than academics — including campus clubs, the Student Union, Conference and Event Services, the Department of Community Service and the Department of Student Activities. It will facilitate communication between the students and staff. Hannah Brown ’19, the Student Union president, said in an interview with the Justice that with Presence, clubs will no longer need listservs. “Clubs will be able to have their own portals for communication, for organizing,” she explained. “It also means that everything would be streamlined, like hosting events, renting spaces, forms and all of that.” Brown explained that when students involved in a club request funding for an event that club will host, the departments the funding is being requested from will be notified through Presence, and the system will move the students through the process step by step. Aaron Finkel ’19, the Union vice president, explained in the same joint interview, “What Presence is in my
view is a system where it provides a personalized student life experience.” He explained that every student will get a Presence student portal and that every club will have a page. “You can subscribe to the clubs that you're a part of and it will appear on … your wall on Presence, and you'll get all the updates from those clubs,” he explained. Brown went on to explain that with Presence, students will be able to add club or University events that they are interested in attending on their Google calendar. She also added there is a chance that students will be able to add community service hours through Presence rather than logging them in the Sage. Brown also said that applications for recognition of clubs and hosting campus events will be on the Presence website. Through this, she added, the Student Union will be better connected with the clubs. “Right now, all of these resources are all over the place,” Brown said. “If you want to reserve a room, you have to Google it to figure out which one you want to do and you have to email someone.” Finkel added, “The Student Union will primarily use Presence as a way of communicating with the student body. It allows us to do the elections, announcements and everything through that. And gone are the pesky email lists that everybody hates … so it'll just become a normal part of student life just as big as LATTE.” Brown explained that students will be able to have an official Brandeis document that has their extracurricular experience on it, like an extracurricular resume, because everything will be recorded on Presence. “You
could even write different events and skills and put those on your resume,” Brown said. “So for example, you've been [to] bystander training, [if] you've had CPR training, you have a document that certifies that you did do it.” Finkel added, “It's like an automatic co-curricular transcript in a way.” They also highlighted that it would be different from listservs because only active members will receive notifications. Brown and Finkel said Presence is an outside company that is used by many institutions, both public and private. After Brandeis pays for the one-time investment fee, the company will take care of the maintenance of the website, Brown said. Finkel added, “Because it's such a new program, we'll have a lot of input in … how it evolves and how it's developed. Just alone in our video conference that we had, we just came up with a bunch of ideas for them and they were like, ‘Oh, let me write this down and we'll work on this.’” They further explained that the University will incorporate Presence over the summer and it will be available starting in the fall to students. Although it will not be working at its full operational capacity right away, it will be developed over time. The one-time investment fee of $17,000 will be split between the Union and the Department of Student Activities, the latter of which will also take on the yearly maintenance fee of $12,000. They also said students’ data will be secured in Presence because it will be connected through the Office of University Registrar. No one will be able to access student data other than the Registrar.
The Union Senate voted unanimously on Sunday to pass a bylaw requiring each secured club to have a “club consultant”: a University faculty or staff member in an advisory role. The bylaw was formally presented by Senator-At-Large Noah Nguyen ’21 and Vice President Aaron Finkel ’19 at the March 24 Senate meeting. Before then, the amendment had been met with opposition from several clubs and had gone through multiple revisions in response to those concerns. After being passed, the bylaw became section 13 of article VIII of the Union Bylaws.
Section 13
The bylaw begins by justifying the need for clubs to have faculty advisors. In a series of “whereas” clauses, it states that most peer universities employ a similar system, and claims that club leaders have “suffered from
a lack of institutional knowledge and more guided experience” and that the Brandeis community “reports a lack of connection” between students and faculty. Per section 13, many members of the Brandeis community, including club leaders, have requested a faculty club advising system. The bylaw justifies its focus on secured clubs — clubs with benchmark funding written into the Union Constitution — by asserting that these clubs occupy the most physical space or receive the most Union funding of any student clubs, have the largest membership and enter into more contracts than other clubs. Section 13 requires all secured clubs to “register a club consultant” with the Department of Student Activities and the Club Support Committee. The bylaw states that all club leaders will stipulate the roles and responsibilities of their advisor in a formal contract, though it does not lay out the process for creating that contract. In these contracts, club leaders can lay out responsibilities for their advisors. The bylaw suggests a few: advising clubs on intragroup or intergroup conflicts, helping clubs self-advocate to the administration, providing third-party feedback on club events and operations and net-
See CLUB ADVISORS, 6 ☛
TECHNOLOGY
Students develop realtime translation app ■ Students made it to the final
round of the Hult Prize Boston Regional competition with their app, 'Talk.' By JOCELYN GOULD JUSTICE EDITOR
Drawing on skills fostered through a range of Brandeis coursework and life experience, a team of four Brandeis students made it to the final round of the Hult Prize Boston Regional competition on March 15-16. Graduate students Max Brodsky (Heller), Abigail Montine (Heller), Liza Korotkova (IBS) and R Matthews ’19 pitched their project, Talk, an app that would connect interpreters with people who need interpretation services in real time through a video call. “Talk is a platform that employs multilingual young adults to serve as interpreters using a video-remote interpreting service for businesses, nonprofits, governments and emergency services,” Brodsky said in an interview with the Justice that included Montine and Korotkova. Brodsky developed the
idea for the project with Montine to address the theme of this year’s Hult competition: youth unemployment. The Hult Prize Foundation is “the world’s biggest engine for the launch of for-good, for-profit startups emerging from [universities],” according to their website. Universities can hold initial Hult Prize On Campus competitions, whose winners then join other teams at over 25 Hult Prize Regional Summits. The regional winners travel to the Hult Castle in the United Kingdom to participate in the Hult Prize Accelerator Program, and the top six teams pitch their ideas in front of the United Nations, competing for $1 million of startup funding, per the Boston competition’s Welcome Guide. Brodsky previously worked as a director of a small nonprofit in Waltham, an experience which showed him the importance of interpreters. He said he “really struggled to meet the needs of the families” due to language barriers. More recently, Brodsky has connected with Kaytie Dowcett ’99, Heller ’15, executive director of the Waltham Partnership for Youth,
See TALK, 6 ☛
Ballin' in Levin
Mamma Mia!
Discussing racial justice bystander interventions
The Campus Activities Board’s second annual formal draws a crowd.
The UTC presents a popular jukebox musical.
By NANCY ZHAI
By KENT DINLENC
AIPAC is a noble organization By TREVOR FILSETH
By SAMMY PARK
NEWS 3 FORUM 11
Track and Field starts its outdoor season ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice
FEATURES 8-9 For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org
NOAH ZEITLIN/the Justice
Make your voice heard! Submit letters to the editor to letters@thejustice.org
ARTS 19
By ELLIE WHISENANT
COPYRIGHT 2019 FREE AT BRANDEIS.
SPORTS 16
2
TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2019
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NEWS
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THE JUSTICE
NEWS ‘RACE, SCIENCE AND JUSTICE’
POLICE LOG MEDICAL EMERGENCY March 26—BEMCo staff responded to a party with a sore ankle in Village B. University Police transported the party to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. March 26—BEMCo staff responded to a party with flu-like symptoms in Renfield Hall. They treated the party, who then signed a refusal of further care. March 28—BEMCo staff responded to a party feeling ill in Ridgewood A. They treated the party, who then signed a refusal of further care. March 29—BEMCo staff responded to a male party with a laceration on his head in Shapiro Residence Hall. University Police transported the party to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. March 29—BEMCo staff responded to a party feeling ill in Village C. University police transported the party to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. March 30—BEMCo staff responded to a male party feeling ill with the chills in Usen Hall. Cataldo Ambulance transported the party to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. The Area Coordinator on call was notified. LARCENY March 25—A report was composed on an attempted fraud at 60 Turner Street, reported by a staff member. An investigation will follow. DISTURBANCE March 28—University Police responded to a call from a Villa Street resident reporting several parties in the woods near his home causing a disturbance. The police found the area quiet and were unable to locate any of the parties. March 30—University Police responded to a party who reported a loud party on the third floor of Ridgewood C. Upon arrival of University Police, the Area Coordinator on call and Community Advisor had already rectified the situation. HARASSMENT March 28—University Police compiled a report on a staff member at the Shapiro Admissions Center who received harassment over email. An investigation will follow. MISCELLANEOUS March 28—A gray Lexus on Loop Road was left with the passenger door open. University Police noted that there were miscellaneous items in the car, but there was nothing out of place, and they secured the door. —Compiled by Jen Geller
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@theJustice CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS n A News article inaccurately stated that Warner Brothers expected Bill Imada’s marketing firm to influence a turnout of 19 million people on the “Crazy Rich Asians” opening weekend. It was corrected to reflect the IW Group’s desire to achieve that number of views. In addition, two identifying details were removed to protect certain individuals. (March 26, Page 3). n An Arts article incorrectly stated the Shades of Blackness event was held in the “International Cultural Center.” It was held in the Intercultural Center. (March 26, Page 18). The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. Send an email to editor@thejustice.org.
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SARAH KATZ/the Justice
The African and African American Studies Department and The HistoryMakers cohosted a talk with University of Pennsylvania Prof. Dorothy Roberts on Thursday. Roberts discussed how racial biases in the origins of science affect health care, especially for women of color.
WALTHAM BRIEF Charles River Museum to host upcoming poetry event Brandeis Dean of Students Jamele Adams and Protestant Chaplain Matthew Carriker will be performing at the Get Your Poetry ON! event at the Charles River Museum on Friday. According to the Charles River Museum’s website, Get Your Poetry ON! is “a three part poetry oration event.” Adams, also known by his stage name Harlym 1two5, and Carriker will each be presenting three works. The first will be a previously finished work of their choosing, the second will be on the subject of Waltham or the Francis Cabot Lowell Mill where the museum is housed and the third will be written at the event about a subject of the audience’s choosing. According to the Charles River Museum’s website, Adams “was a frequent and highly regarded figure in competitions in New York and beyond. [He] has become a part of the Boston area poetry scene and joined a team of poets who have won numerous competitions regionally and nationally.” Carriker is an ordained Christian minister and pastor at the Agape Church. According to Agape Waltham’s website, he is working on an upcoming book entitled, “Giving Christianity back to Agape Love.” Also performing at the event is Enzo Silon Surin, an award-winning Haitian-born poet who has released two chapbooks: “A Letter of Resignation: An American Libretto” and “Higher Ground.” According to the Charles River Museum’s website, Surim “holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University and is an Associate Professor of English at Bunker Hill Community College.” Get Your Poetry ON! was co-created by the Charles River Museum and the Waltham Public Library, who will also be moderating the event. The event will begin at 7:30 p.m. and end at 9:30 p.m., with doors opening at 7 p.m. Tickets to the event are free and the link can be found online at charlesrivermuseum.org. —Jason Frank
SENATE LOG JFAB established, executive session results in club consultant bylaw Representatives from secured clubs on campus attended Sunday’s Senate meeting to protest the language of a proposed amendment that would require them to appoint a club consultant. The Senate began its meeting by establishing the Jewish Feminist Association of Brandeis as a chartered club in a vote of acclamation. The body also approved a change to the Brandeis Sustainability Fund’s constitution, submitted by Senate Sustainability Committee Chair Kent Dinlenc ’19. The change was designed to “clarify some of the language regarding the process of approving BSF proposals, how they can be submitted and who may sit on the committee board to make those decisions.”
COMMITTEE CHAIR REPORTS
Senate committee chairs once again had little news to report. Campus Operations Committee Chair Taylor Fu ’21 announced that she is meeting with members of the Department of Community Living to discuss the beautification of East Quad and to discuss the possibility of putting printers in residence halls. The Senate Social Justice and Diversity
Committee did not meet last week.
CLUB CONSULTANT AMENDMENTS
Senators discussed the “Amendment to Require Club Consultants for All Secured Clubs,” an initiative first spearheaded by Tal Richtman ’20 three years ago. Representatives of the Brandeis Media Coalition — the Justice, the Hoot, WBRS and BTV — spoke to the Senate about their objections to the language of the proposed amendment. Isaac Zukin ’19, the general manager of WBRS, speaking on behalf of the BMC, expressed concern that campus publications would face additional pressure from outside forces if the Senate voted to keep the term “club consultant.” He proposed changing the language to “financial consultant” to remove any association with club activities besides financial oversight. Natalia Wiater ’20, the Justice’s managing editor, said that the Justice had previously been approached by an entity wanting an article rescinded, and added that they specifically asked to speak to the Justice’s club advisor.
Class of 2020 Senator Thomas Alger said that the coalition’s qualms were a “doomsday” scenario and said that the concerns were ultimately extremely rare. Other senators also expressed skepticism at the proposed language change.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
The Senate called an executive session to discuss revisions to the Club Consultant amendment. Non-senators were removed from the meeting room during the deliberations, which lasted approximately 35 minutes. Following the executive session, the Senate announced that an additional clause had been added to the Club Consultant amendment that would allow secured club leaders to define the language and terms of their club consultant’s responsibilities. The Senate voted on the proposal by roll call, with all 16 senators voting in favor of the amendment and therefore ratifying it.
OLD BUSINESS
Following its executive session, the Senate passed three amendments by acclamation: “Amendment Repealing Article XI of the Bylaws,” “Amend-
ment Repealing Executive Override Power” and “Amendment Formalizing Committee Service Requirement.”
NEW BUSINESS
With little time left in the session, the Senate sped through the new business and agreed to discuss three new amendments at the next Senate meeting. These included a revised version of Class of 2022 Senator Nancy Zhai’s earlier “Amendment Regarding Union Senate Committee Outreach,” an “Amendment Specifying [Vice Presidential] Powers” and an “Amendment Clarifying Appointment of Committee Chairs.” Senate meetings are held Sundays at 7 p.m. in the Shapiro Campus Center, room 313. They are open to the public. —Sam Stockbridge —Editor’s Note: Nancy Zhai is a News writer for the Justice. —Editor’s Note: Jocelyn Gould, Jen Geller and Natalia Wiater spoke at the Senate meeting on behalf of the Justice. They were not involved in the editing of this article.
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ur out o k c e Ch
THE JUSTICE
BYSTANDER INTERVENTIONS
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By ELLA RUSSELL
NATALIA WIATER/the Justice
RACIAL JUSTICE: Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Education Training and Development Allyson Livingstone helped attendees address their implicit biases and understand institutional racism at the Racial Justice Bystander Interventions.
Students and faculty discuss privilege, campus race relations PARC and ODEI. The leader of the training addressed privilege, oppression and more. By NANCY ZHAI JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
Students convened in the SCC Multipurpose Room on March 27 for the semesterly Racial Justice Bystander Interventions, co-sponsored by the Prevention Advocacy and Resource Center and the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Dr. Allyson Livingstone, the director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Education Training and Development, led the training. Livingstone started the presentation by sharing how she has been “support[ing] conceptual knowledge specifically [centered] around intersectional racial justice,” referencing her extensive experience in social justice education training. Individuals’ identities are integral to shaping “the way we experience race and racism,” Livingstone said. She centered the discussion around the effects of racism on one’s understanding of privilege and oppression, which is expressed “internally, interpersonally, institutionally and instructionally” based on individuals’ social identity groups, according to Livingstone. Born and raised in Brookline, Massachusetts, a predominantly white community, Livingstone found it challenging to understand her identity as a Black woman without much relevant conversation about race occurring in her community. She emphasized that her perspective is “rooted” in her “personhood” and may “not resonate with” those from different backgrounds. However, she encouraged students to engage in conversations with “empathy,” to reflect on their own beliefs about racism and to listen to others’ perspectives, even without necessarily agreeing with them. Stressing the importance of
justBRIEFS
New VP of Campus Operations
Richard Reynolds will be the interim vice president of campus operations, the Office for Finance and Administration announced in a March 28 InBrief email sent to the Brandeis community. Reynolds, who will start in his new role on April 10, is set to replace Jim Gray, who will leave the University on April 19 for Smith College. Previously the vice president of operations at Tufts University, Reynolds oversaw a staff of 350 people with a budget of $100 million. During his time at Tufts, he was responsible for “facilities management, construction, dining services, public and environmental health and safety, planning, and ancillary real estate,” per the same
mutual understanding, she clarified the difference between “sympathy and empathy.” While both seek understanding of others’ emotions and beliefs, empathy means to express willingness to consider others’ perspectives from “a position of curiosity” and to comprehend these perspectives “without assuming you ever fully understand,” Livingstone explained. Reaching a mutual understanding requires more than transcending interpersonal differences to consider outside viewpoints, Livingstone said. She explained that mutual understanding also involves being informed about the “process by which [individuals] become accustomed to societal norms.” Explaining the practice of socialization, Livingstone discussed how the way individuals view themselves in the world may have some messages that implicitly “reveal privilege and oppression” and solidify the internalization of implicit bias. In particular, Livingstone pointed out that racism and capitalism work “hand in hand” and are connected not only to wealth acquisition, but also to the history that contributes to the emergence of racism. Since individuals have been categorized by racial identities throughout history, privilege makes some people feel “entitled without thinking of what others may be experiencing,” Livingstone explained. Continuing her discussion of implicit biases in privilege and oppression, Livingstone described how many factors created the current institutional culture. As privilege and oppression are internalized in individuals, they will be reflected in interpersonal relationships that make people believe one person is superior to another. Thus, this false sense of superiority impacts the way that institutions structure their policies and practices. Livingstone said that this ongoing cycle is illustrated in the faculty search committee in the Dean of Students Office, for which
email. Reynolds will provide leadership to the University during the search period for a permanent replacement, according to the same email. As interim vice president of campus operations, Reynolds will be tasked with “maintaining a safe, comfortable and attractive campus environment that supports excellence in teaching, learning and research,” according to the campus operations website.
Phi Beta Kappa
89 new members of the Brandeis chapter of Phi Beta Kappa will be inducted in a ceremony during Commencement weekend, per a March 27 BrandeisNOW article. Of the inductees, eight come from the Class
TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2019
3
Scholar speaks about Russian rock music, politics JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
■ This event was co-hosted by
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LECTURE
■ A prominent Russian music critic and journalist discussed the culture and censorship of Russian rock.
NEWS
she has been working to provide educational and training strategies. Among full-time professors, only one percent identify as Black or African-American compared to five percent of professors nationwide, a trend that has persisted for many years. Thus, Livingstone highlighted the importance of accounting for the effect of implicit biases in every step of the process, offering insights on her future work. Regarding the continuation of the impact of privilege and oppression, Livingstone stressed the importance of students becoming “prosocial bystander[s]” in negative situations and mitigating the conflict in a manner that “ensure[s] the safety of all [individuals] involved.” She also emphasized that such individuals value “accountability and prioritize long-term support and safety” by acting rationally in accordance with the environment. Additionally, Livingstone addressed ongoing institutional endeavors to counter the implications of privilege and racism. She has been collaborating with Sarah Berg, the director of PARC, to coordinate prosocial bystander trainings in order to equip students with effective intervention techniques. Under the current structure of socialization, individuals suffer from “lack of exposure to multiple identities,” Livingstone said. Thus, she urged students to be courageous and to bring forth discussions even when the truth “hurts.” In response to misunderstandings about racial justice, Livingstone said, upfront communication will not deteriorate relationships, but will strengthen them as individuals “create spaces” to open up to one another. In closing, Livingstone provided resources for students to address the issues of racial and gender discrimination. In the meantime, she demonstrated her willingness to engage in further conversations with interested students and serve as a resource for subjects pertinent to diversity and inclusion.
of 2020, while the rest are from the Class of 2019. These inductees represent “remarkable achievement inside and outside the classroom,” according to Prof. Alice Kelikian (HIST), the president of the University’s Phi Beta Kappa chapter. The honor society was founded in 1776 by five students at the College of William & Mary and is based upon the values of “personal freedom, scientific inquiry, liberty of conscience, and creative endeavor,” according to the Phi Beta Kappa website. Today, only 10 percent of universities — 286 — in the United States have Phi Beta Kappa chapters, and those universities select only 10 percent of their graduating students to join the honor society.
The Center for German and European Studies and the Russian Studies department invited prominent Russian journalist and music critic Artemy Troitsky to give a talk last Thursday. He gave an overview of influential Russian musicians from the twentieth century to the present, focusing particularly on musicians who have used songs as vehicles for political protest. Troitsky explained that Russian rock music differs from American rock, saying, “There is a little sex, not much, but lots of literature.” According to Troitsky, instead of the trademark American catchphrase for the wild lifestyles of rock stars, “sex, drugs and rock’n roll,” for Russian rock stars, it was “sex, drugs and Dostoevsky.” Russian rock stars “made the Russian public think,” Troitsky explained. He began the talk by listing of the most prominent musicians who protested the actions of the Soviet Union. One of them was Alexander Vertinsky, a leader of a Russian arts revival in the beginning of the twentieth century. According to Troitsky, Vertinsky wrote a song called “I Don’t Know Why They Have Done It” criticizing the senseless slaughter of the 1918 October Revolution. With the exception of this song, however, Vertinsky composed relatively apolitical songs, allowing him to have a successful, decades-long career in Russia and throughout the world. Next, Troitsky talked about Alexander Galich, a Soviet dissident during the early years of the Soviet Union. Galich was a folk singer and playwright who became increasingly critical of the USSR as his career progressed, leading to his exile and eventual death under mysterious circumstances. The last few major musicians of the Soviet era were less political. Vladimir Vysotsky was a singer, poet and actor. Vysotsky sang in a distinct guttural style about the plight of ordinary people, evading the worst of political censorship through clever wordplay. According to Troitsky, Vysotsky achieved a level of popularity in the former Soviet Union almost at the level of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space. Finally, Alexander Bashlachev was a singer and poet who lived during the final years of the Soviet Union. Troitsky said that Bashlachev might have been a “slightly lesser-known Russian rocker, but in my humble opinion by far the deepest, most talented and most interesting of them all.” He explained that Bashlachev’s strength lied in his beautiful poetry. Unfortunately, Bashlachev suffered from depression and eventually committed suicide in 1988. Troitsky said that the fall of the Soviet Union led to an identity crisis within the music scene. He explained
A student may receive an invitation to the Phi Beta Kappa society based on a number of factors, per their membership requirements. This includes a well-rounded education in both the liberal arts and sciences, good moral character, and knowledge of a second or nonnative language, as well as coursework in mathematics, logic or statistics.
Hiatt Career Center
The National Career Association recognized Hiatt Career Center with the 2019 Service to International Students award, per a March 28 BrandeisNOW article. The award is given to a university career center “that has made an active commitment to partnering with and supporting the
that “Russia became a country of unlimited possibilities,” and that as a result, Russian music, once serious and passionate, became trendy in an effort to appeal to the outside world. In addition, oil prices rose in the early 2000s, helping the Russian economy recover from its post-Cold War downturn. Alongside these improvements was an increase in “prospects for healthy careers … the main agenda for Russian teenagers,” Troitsky said. A new wave of protests began in 2010 after a controversial accident in Gagarin Square, Moscow. Anatoly Barkov, vice president of prominent Russian oil company LUKoil, collided his heavily armored limousine with a small French car, immediately killing the two women inside. The police immediately blamed the accident on the two women and were reluctant to investigate further. Troitsky said that protests continued in 2011 when President Dmitry Medvedev announced he was handing the presidency back to Putin. While Medvedev was regarded as a puppet for Putin, “he wasn’t as disgusting as Putin,” Troitsky said. The band Pussy Riot developed out of this protest, releasing subversive music in unusual locations such as in the Cathedral of Jesus Christ the Savior. According to Troitsky, while popular western musicians support Pussy Riot, the Russian music community has mixed reactions, mainly because of Pussy Riot’s irreverence in setting their music video in a cathedral. Despite significant protest, Putin was re-elected, leading to a widespread feeling of pessimism, Troitsky said. He argued that Russia experienced a similar level of political polarization to the United States, except that instead of a two-sided split between “Trump lovers” and “Trump haters,” 10 to 15 percent of Russians are strongly against Putin, 10 to 15 percent are in support of Putin and a majority “don’t really care,” Troitsky explained. “They are unhappy with the country but they don’t have the guts to do anything about it.” Troitsky said that the music community has been harshly censored since the 2010s, leading to a long stretch of silence on political matters. The last segment of Troitsky’s talk was about the recent revival of political protest. He explained that recent political rallies have revealed a surge in political activity from young Russians not seen since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Although the Russian government has attempted to crack down on these protesters, Troitsky said that their job has become harder because of the increasing ease of communication over the internet. Recently, the band IC3peak released a song called “Death No More,” comparing the Putin regime to a swamp. According to Troitsky, the government may have retaliated by preventing the band from performing on tour, but they could not prevent millions of people from watching the music video. He concluded his lecture by saying, “I’m sure that this generation … will not choose to survive in the swamp, [that] they will finally make a radical move for Russia to become a democratic country.”
career development of international students.” Hiatt won the award for its efforts to develop institutional support for international students, as well as “delivering data-driven and evidence-based best practices,” per the same article. Over the past few years, Hiatt has created a full-time staff position to provide support for international students, connected with international partners for networking events, created a WeChat account — a Chinese messaging system — that has engaged over 350 individuals since the fall of 2017 and has provided workshops tailored to the needs of international students.
—Natalia Wiater
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THE JUSTICE
‘ISRAEL AT THE POLLS, AGAIN: WHY?’
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By SAM STOCKBRIDGE JUSTICE EDITOR
NATALIA WIATER/the Justice
Profs. Eva Bellin (POL) and Yehudah Mirsky (NEJS) discussed Israeli electoral politics at a Wednesday panel moderated by Associate Director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies Shayna Weiss.
CAMPUS EVENT
Panelist talks about food waste, food insecurity rescue organization Lovin’ Spoonfuls discussed the need to change attitudes about food waste and food insecurity. By EMILY BLUMENTHAL JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
The journey of the package of strawberries was long, making its way from a field to the grocery store to the wastebasket, where it was ultimately left uneaten and wasted by the consumer. The video that chronicled this passage, “The Extraordinary Life and Times of Strawberry,” showed a familiar pattern in consumer culture — the tendency to waste vast amounts of food. According to Deb Hicks, a food rescue coordinator at the food rescue organization Lovin’ Spoonfuls, 40 percent of all food produced in the United States is wasted, an amount that could fill the Rose Bowl Stadium each year. Hicks discussed the importance of food rescue and how the country can change its culture to reduce food waste in a talk on March 26, which was sponsored by the Food Recovery Network Club. Hicks explained that the term “food rescue” refers to the process of recovering food that would ordinarily go to waste and “mak[ing] sure it gets in the mouths of hungry people.” Lovin’ Spoonfuls picks up donations each day from grocery stores, farms and produce wholesalers. Then, food rescue coordinators like Hicks bring the donations to partner organizations like the Boys and Girls Club and food pantries. Since its founding in 2010, Lovin’ Spoonfuls has rescued more than 12 million pounds of food, per its website. Food waste contributes enormously to climate change, Hicks said. 25 percent of the potable water used in the United States each year goes to food production that leads to waste. Additionally, food waste emits vast amounts of methane when it reaches landfills — 16 percent of methane is emitted from organic waste. If food waste were a country, Hicks said, it would be the third-greatest emitter
of greenhouse gases globally, behind China and the United States. While Massachusetts banned commercial food waste in 2014, the regulations are “just a slap on the wrist” and are not heavily enforced, she noted. Turning to the audience, Hicks asked for suggestions on how people can reduce food waste. She agreed that the most effective method of curtailing food waste, suggested by Madeline Hayman ’20, is to produce less food. In an interview with the Justice, Hicks discussed why simply producing less is difficult. “There’s just this sense of abundance that we have that … lots of other places don’t have,” she said. “America has always been … a place where your dreams come true,” she added, emphasizing that the culture of seeking the American Dream has impacted our personal expectations of abundance. Furthermore, America views hunger as a failure to produce enough food, and people are always looking for better farming techniques to produce a larger amount of food in a more efficient way, she said. This expectation regarding high consumption brings to light the problem of food insecurity. In the interview, Hicks cited trickle-down economic policy as the reason the United States does not have the social infrastructure possessed by other countries to alleviate food insecurity. Attendee Mariam Mahmoud MBA ’20, who is not from the United States, described her shock upon arriving in the country at the portion sizes she saw at restaurants. “People here are just used to consuming a lot of food without thinking about it,” she said. “Education around food waste definitely goes a long way,” Hicks replied that “people don’t realize that their friends and their neighbors and their relatives are food insecure.” According to Hicks, 600,000 people in Massachusetts are food insecure, along with 42 million overall in the United States. On average, “for each person, 20 pounds of food is wasted” each month, she added. The effects of food insecurity on a person’s life are impactful and longterm, Hicks said in the interview. She said that children are “developing so
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quickly, and if they’re not getting the nutrition … they could be a burden on society for the rest of their lives, and that’s a huge public health issue,” she stressed. Hicks then suggested some things people can do individually to reduce food waste. 40 percent of food waste comes from people’s homes, she said, emphasizing that people buy much more food than they need. Jordan Brill-Cass ’21 countered that many pre-packaged food items are familysized, and that it is difficult to avoid waste with such large portions in the first place. Hicks suggested that to avoid this problem, people could buy individual items or find ways to store food to make it last longer. They could also base recipes off ingredients they already have or that are on the verge of going bad and use those to prepare meals. Lovin’ Spoonfuls runs a “Plenty” program, which teaches people how to make recipes with various foods they may know nothing about, and employs celebrity chefs for workshops. She mentioned the popular show “Queer Eye,” which has a segment where one of the “Fab Five,” Antoni Porowski, teaches the contestant how to cook basic meals. This part of the show is extremely important for getting people interested in cooking, especially for those who did not grow up in an environment where their parents cooked, she said. In her interview with the Justice, Hicks spoke about the politics surrounding food insecurity, saying that she does not understand why politicians want to cut initiatives such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, but is hopeful that the politics of food insecurity is moving in a positive direction. “I think that a lot of politicians are also understanding the importance of these programs,” she said, giving the example of the National School Lunch Program as a success story. She concluded, “If you look at the history of mankind, things have improved … with some bumps in the road, but I think people are becoming more aware and acting upon it.”
Ten students attended an open forum discussion on financial aid last Wednesday to discuss the annual tuition increase, fundraising methods and why the school is so expensive. The event, part of the Campus Conversations initiative, was held in the Shapiro Campus Center’s Multi-Purpose Room. Student Union President Hannah Brown ’19 introduced the event, which she said was “meant to be a productive conversation for everyone here.” Answering questions on behalf of the University were Assistant Vice President of Student Financial Services Sherry Avery, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Sam Solomon and Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Stewart Uretsky. Dean of Students Jamele Adams mediated the discussion and read viewer-submitted questions from his phone. Regarding merit-based scholarships for current Brandeis students, Avery said that although the administration has sent several emails advertising the Giumette Academic Award, a merit-based scholarship for college sophomores, fewer students apply for it than actually qualify for its 3.7 grade point average requirement. “I’m always surprised that more students don’t apply,” Avery said. Brown suggested that since most students get a lot of emails, it’s easy for one email to get lost in their inboxes. She recommended using more physical advertising like posters to attract attention. Attendee Emily McGovern ’21 added that word of mouth can be an effective way to get students informed. McGovern asked about how financial independence is accounted for in the cost of college, noting that her teammate on the swim team is part of a family that could afford to pay for her education, but instead her parents decided not to, forcing her to find other ways to pay for college. McGovern asked if the University is making sure to “take into account” students who might not be relying on their parents to pay for college. Avery responded that “being independent is kind of a tricky thing,” complicated by factors such as age and the student’s tax dependency status. To be considered financially independent when applying for federal student loans, students under the age of 25 must either be married, a veteran or an active duty member of the U.S. armed forces, be an orphan or have dependents other than a spouse, according to an article on the Federal Student Aid website. Avery clarified that Brandeis’ financial support works by evaluating the family’s “ability to pay, not willingness to pay.” She added that if willingness to pay was considered for all students, “We would probably cover the full cost [of a lot of students’ educations].” Dean Adams, reading from his phone, asked the group to explain
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the actual reason behind the annual tuition increases via a question submitted online. Solomon responded that about 60 percent of the increase goes to salaries and benefits for the faculty and staff. “We feel… that it’s important to give raises to the staff every year because they’re working hard, and because… the cost of living goes up,” he said. Other contributing factors include the increasing cost of library acquisitions, he explained, along with inflation and utilities. Brown asked why Brandeis is so expensive compared to other elite schools.The current total cost of tuition and fees is $56,970 for the upcoming academic year, compared to $55,040 for the 2018–2019 academic year, per the University’s respective tuition websites. Solomon said a number of factors contribute, including economies of scale, the University’s large research budget and the cost of PhD programs. Economies of scale refers to the reduction in costs to produce goods as the amount of goods produced increases. For example, if a truck uses a liter of gas to transport a gallon of milk from the dairy farm to the supermarket, that same truck would use less fuel per gallon of milk if it were transporting 100 gallons. Likewise, because Brandeis has a smaller student body than many other research universities, the cost of attendance per student is higher than at other institutions. Solomon also noted that scientific research is comparatively more expensive than liberal arts research due to the expensive lab equipment and materials needed. He further noted that PhD programs cost the University a lot of money, but that they enable the University to cultivate its academic reputation. He noted that there are a few ways to make Brandeis less expensive: to increase the size of the student body, which the administration believes would go against the ideals of the school; to cut the number and scope of programs, which the administration also does not believe would be productive; or to increase the amount of money the University raises. Solomon explained that when University President Ron Liebowitz came to Brandeis, he found that Institutional Advancement — the administrative branch in charge of raising money from alumni and donors — was in a state of “atrophy.” His administration has since been working on enhancing “front-line” fundraising, or more direct requests for money from current and past students. Near the end of the conversation, three students, Chari Calloway ’21, Janikah Brice ’20 and Zoë Fort ’21, joined the discussion to ask about how the University pursues funding for students of color and the possibility of recognizing Greek organizations that could support students of color financially and socially. Solomon responded that the University is pursuing fundraising from donors that allow the University to be as flexible as possible how it chooses to allocate the donations, and said that neither he nor the other members of the administration at the forum were the best people to ask about Greek organizations.
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CONTINUED FROM 1 Inc., whose Language Access for Civic Engagement program includes a youth interpreter program, per its website. “Looking at what Waltham Partnership is doing … in a very on-theground way in Waltham — [we’re] thinking through, ‘How could we expand this idea of using youth as interpreters in a way that’s replicable and scalable?’” Montine said. “The best way to really do that is an app.” Montine recently spent two years teaching English in Ecuador and has worked with nonprofits as well, experiences which also taught her the importance of interpretation services. Montine and Brodsky are both in the Heller School for Social Policy and Management’s Master of Business Administration program, with a concentration in Children, Youth and Families. They found out about this year’s Hult Prize competition in class and began brainstorming the Talk project together. They posted a description of the project on a spreadsheet, which was created by the Brandeis Hult competition organizers and later shared with Brandeis International Business School students in an attempt to foster connections across the graduate schools. This worked for the Talk team because Korotkova, a grad student at IBS who has worked as a Russian interpreter, reached out to join their team. Korotkova is pursuing a Masters in International Economics and Finance. “When you’re bilingual, and you can use that skill, and then also get paid for it, it’s a great opportunity,” Korotkova said, describing what drew her to the Talk project. She developed the business plan and financials for the project, drawing on her IBS coursework. Their team first pitched Talk at the Brandeis University 2019 Hult Challenge, which they won. They then participated in the Brandeis SPARKTank competition, winning a grant to develop their project. With the SPARKTank money, they were able to partner with a curriculum group, Cross Cultural Communication Systems, Inc., to help develop their interpretation training and to test the project with Waltham-area youth interpreters. These first competitions helped the team grow as a cohesive unit and to develop a “clearer and clearer” pitch going into the Boston Hult competition, Montine explained. They learned what questions to expect; a frequent issue was needing to explain the difference between Talk, which provides real-time spoken interpretation services, and Google Translate, which provides written translations. The group was also often asked what the need for the product was and who would use the service. Montine explained that she and Brodsky learned from their work in nonprofits and education that the need for interpreters “almost doesn’t need to be stated,” but they realized that if the competitions’ judges “hadn’t worked in that space, the need wasn’t as clear.” The team intends for Talk to be used in situations where interpreters are often needed, such as to communicate with nonprofits’ clients and emergency responders, and in educational or legal settings — although it could also benefit casual travelers. Drawing on her own work with a nonprofit that served homeless people in New York, Montine explained, “Smaller nonprofits … might have staff who speak
Spanish, but beyond that, you can’t afford to have a staff that speaks every language that your client pool might.” Talk helps address this issue by providing translators ondemand. A week before the team competed at the Hult regionals, Matthews, a double major in African and African American Studies and Computer Science, joined the team, per an email from Matthews to the Justice. Matthews explained that he agreed to join because he has friends who do interpretation work for free. Using an online program called Figma, Matthews created digital mockups, or wire frames, of what the Talk app would look like. In the same email, he explained that he created a home screen, a dashboard and a video call screen for Talk, drawing on the design of apps like Uber and FaceTime as well as things he has learned in the Brandeis class Human-Computer Interaction. At the Boston competition, the Talk team competed against teams from all over the world, per their website. “There were some brilliant people and teams in that space and as cliché as it sounds, I just know there are some people who are going to make a real difference in the world,” Matthews wrote. After every team pitched their ideas, everyone involved in the competition gathered in an auditorium to find out who had placed in the top six, advancing to the final round. As the judges announced each team, the team had to go up and immediately give their pitch to the crowd, Brodsky explained. Their team was in the top six. “It’s the biggest presentation I’ve probably ever done,” Montine said. Although they were nervous, Korotkova said that they “didn’t miss a beat” during their pitch. “We really had our pitch down,” Montine agreed. “When it’s that automatic — that’s the point you need to be at when you’re called in front of 200 people to pitch.” Although the team did not win regionals and advance to the next stage of the Hult Prize, their reflections on the experience were positive. “It wasn’t discouraging to not win,” Korotkova said, explaining that they still have a lot of opportunities in the Boston area to pitch their idea and get funding. During the interview, all three of them emphasized how validating it was to hear positive feedback from Hult judges and competitors, as well as from the mentors who have supported them throughout their journey. The team expressed how helpful Dowcett has been in helping them develop their idea. Additionally, Peter Kant ’94 and Leo Guyshan ’10 have mentored the team since the SPARKTank competition, providing invaluable information and support. Bozhanka Vitanova MA ’16, Brandeis’ National Science Foundation I-Corps instructor, and Rebecca Menapace, the associate provost for innovation, have also supported the project. Looking to the future of Talk, Brodsky said they are going to “take a second and breathe” and to “refocus on academics.” Montine explained that they have already done “a lot of the legwork,” including developing the business plan and the financials and getting a curriculum partner. The next step, Korotkova said, would be to pitch it to other organizations and get funding to actually create the project. “We have this thing ready to go, if and when we want to continue with it,” Montine said.
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working with other organizations. In addition to optional advisory functions, section 13 lays out specific duties of the advisor, explicitly bans them from voting, and establishes that other roles are at the club’s discretion. Students still “hold final authority on all club decisions,” and advisors lack “official authority or influence” over the club’s operations, published content or financial decisions. However, the bylaw contains a caveat: The advisor can gain that “authority or influence” if “deemed necessary by the organization.” Club treasurers and advisors must meet at least twice a semester to ensure the club is acting consistently with “financial policies,” per section 13. The section does not specify whether this refers to University policies or Union policies, nor does it lay out a process for training advisors in the aforementioned policies. Section 13 also does not specify the mechanism for choosing an advisor or any process by which that advisor could be approved or removed. It also does not specify a training process for advisors, nor describe support they might receive.
The Senate votes
Section 13 was brought to a vote in Sunday’s Senate meeting. Representatives from the Brandeis Media Coalition, including WBRS 100.1 FM and Justice club leaders, were in attendance. Isaac Zukin ’19, one of the general managers of WBRS, was the first to speak. He voiced his opposition to the proposed bylaw. “The requirement to have a club consultant for independent media organizations is a problem,” he said. He called the bylaw an “existential threat to our organizations.” Zukin said the coalition was concerned with the image that having a staff or faculty advisor would convey to the public. He said that access to sources would be harder if the public knew the club had a direct connection to the University. He suggested that the Senate add a “Financial Consultant” position as a substitute for campus media organizations. The “Financial Consultant” would specifically only have a role as a financial guide, unless the media organizations chose otherwise. Former Senator Tal Richtman ’19 commented that the Club Support Committee had been working on the amendment — the new bylaw — for almost three years. He and Executive Senator Kent Dinlenc ’19 questioned why the Brandeis Media Coalition was raising concerns about the bylaw now, given that the bylaw had been publicly discussed for at least a year. Richtman was on the Club Support Committee when the proposal for Club Advisors surfaced last year. At the same meeting, Natalia Wiater ’20, managing editor of the Justice, highlighted concerns that the public could try to influence the newspaper’s news coverage through their club advisor. Off-Campus Senator Jacob Diaz ’20 said that until the bylaw was tested, the specific concern could not be taken into account. “Currently this is just a concern; until it happens, you can’t realistically say this is a pressing issue,” Diaz said. Wiater replied that the issue had already come up: “Four weeks ago we received an email asking us to take an article down, and they specifically asked for a club advisor [to talk to],” she said. The Senate unanimously called for an executive session, which expelled all non-Senate personnel from the room and lasted around 35 minutes. After the session, the Senate showed the assembled crowd the newly-added clause "(e),” which established that leaders would specify their advisors’ roles in a contract. It remains unclear what the Senate intended by the final clause of the bylaw proposed during the meeting. Responding to a question by Wiater about advisor titles, Finkel said he “personally [doesn’t] care” what the organizations call the position in their contracts with their advisor. Just before a motion to vote, Zukin cut in, saying, “Would calling [the position] a “financial consultant” fall within the constraints of this bylaw? Can I get a yes or no? Can I officially call this, for my club, a “financial consultant” in my contract and it will
be reflected officially as a financial consultant?” He received a chorus of “no”s to that question from senators.
A living document
Section 13 has been shaped and edited over the past month. On March 7, the Justice received a copy of a proposed amendment to the bylaws entitled “Club Advisor Project.” The document detailed the roles and responsibilities of a club advisor under the proposed system. These included working as a liaison between the club and the University, helping the club solve group conflicts and helping with club finances. The March 7 draft also required club leadership to meet with their advisor once a month. Part of the club advisor’s job would be to tell club leaders whether or not the club’s events and goals were “in alignment” with University policy. The club advisor would also “facilitate transitions in leadership to help the sustainability of the club,” according to the March 7 document. The document asserted that club advisors should not be voting members of the club, and that club leaders would hold final say on all club matters. The footer of the document directed questions or concerns to the Department of Student Activities. On March 16, the Justice received a new draft of the proposal, entitled “Club Advisor Project - Draft,” which deleted much of the language in the first proposal. The requirement to meet with an advisor once a month was replaced by a “recommendation” to meet with the club advisor once a semester. The frequency of the meetings would now be up to the club. Club treasurers, however, would now be required to meet with the advisor twice a semester to “ensure consistency with treasury policies,” according to the March 16 document. The document added a formal set of best practices for the advisor, which included respecting the “autonomy of club leaders in decision making,” and “student space.” That clause also allowed for clubs to request that the Union remove and replace their advisor. On March 24, the club advisor project was presented to the Senate as a formal bylaw, entitled “Amendment to Require Club Consultants for All Secured Clubs.” At this point, the language in the documents began referring to the advisors as “consultants.” This March 24 bylaw, crucially, only applied to secured clubs — a significant break from previous drafts, which referred to all clubs. The vast majority of the language in the previous proposals was deleted from the bylaw; early versions had discussed advisors’ roles and responsibilities at much greater length and with a wider scope. The March 24 draft also began referring to the proposal as “section 13,” making it a proposed bylaw rather than a project. The document contained the “whereas” justifications detailed above. It did not contain any language on advisor removal or best practices, or the expectation for club leadership to meet with the advisor once a semester. The March 24 document did not alter the March 16 document’s requirement that club treasurers meet with their advisor twice per semester, and kept the allowance for additional meeting at the club’s discretion. At the Senate meeting on March 31, Finkel and Nguyen formally submitted the final draft of the bylaw. The only change to the document since March 24 was the addition of one sentence: “Club Consultants shall not hold or wield official authority or influence over club operations, content published by media organizations, nor club financial decisions, unless deemed necessary by the organization.” One final clause, “(e),” was added to the document during an executive session of the Senate, which lasted around 35 minutes: “Club leaders shall specify the roles and responsibilities of their respective consultants in their formal contract. These roles and responsibilities shall fall within the constraints of parts (a) through (d).”
What’s missing?
In a series of interviews with the Justice, Finkel discussed ideas that did not make it into section 13 and explained ways they may be implemented in the future. Many of these ideas were in the
proposals received by the Justice on March 7 and March 16. Both proposals laid out advisors’ responsibilities extensively and mentioned programming for advisors to “improve their responsibility of possessing institutional knowledge,” per the March 7 proposal. Additionally, both discussed advisor training sessions which would be run by the Department of Student Activities, Treasury training sessions to be run by the Union and “optional Committee brown-bag lunches” to discuss practices with fellow advisors. The March 16 version also added formal “best practices” for club advisors. The March 16 proposal stipulated that if those practices are not followed, “the club bring a request to the Student Union for Advisor removal and replacement.” The March 16 proposal is the only one that mentioned advisor removal, and was the last version to mandate advisors for all clubs, rather than just secured ones. Section 13 only applies to secured clubs, and there is no process for nonsecured clubs to gain advisors in the near future. In a March 25 email to the Justice, however, Finkel said that the Union hopes to expand it to chartered clubs “in the distant future.” Section 13 has no language about advisor removal or best practices. Instead, some advice on “how to not overstep boundaries as an advisor” will be included in a guide the Club Support Committee is writing for faculty advisors, per a Justice interview with Finkel yesterday. Finkel added that clubs and their advisors will enter into contracts that clearly spell out expectations for the advisor. “Club leaders will be able to dictate … what they want their advisor to do and not to do. … It is up to clubs to decide whether their advisor is meeting their needs,” he said. The removal process is equally open-ended, and as of press time has not been made official. In yesterday’s interview, Finkel told the Justice that club leaders can simply inform their advisor that they are looking for someone new to end the relationship with their advisor. Finkel expressed that the Union’s main concern is that clubs have someone registered as an advisor; they are not concerned about the specifics, such as who that advisor is or the details of their contract with the club. In the interview, the Justice asked if a student suddenly terminating their club’s contract with an advisor might harm their student-advisor relationship in other arenas. Finkel responded that students should “use good judgment and not be rude” during the conversation. In response to concern that faculty might treat former advisees poorly in classes after being sacked, Finkel said students should “exercise ... common sense about who [they] relate to.” He also suggested that concerned students could remove their advisors discreetly, asking Club Support to email the advisor on behalf of the club, and said that one should “avoid overthinking this.” Until the March 24 document, the proposals referred questions to the Department of Student Activities. Asked in yesterday's interview how Student Activities had been involved and why they were referenced, Finkel told the Justice, “All of this language came from us. They were not involved in writing this, but we have worked with them a lot.” Upon further questioning about what “this language” and “involved in writing” meant, Finkel admitted that Student Activities had been consulted about “how to best do it,” but asserted again that the idea for club advisors was proposed by students. Student Activities spoke with Finkel’s team about how other schools’ club advising systems work, serving as “kind of [their] advisor.” Finkel thinks Student Activities was “pretty excited” about the proposal, but clarified that the Justice should “ask them.” The Justice asked Finkel how the bylaw would build community between faculty and staff, a goal stressed in the March 24 and 31 drafts, while only requiring twice-semesterly meetings between club advisors and treasurers. Finkel clarified that while only treasurers are required to meet with advisors, “that is not the intent of the program to begin with.” He added, “that is the only thing that’s required.” Finkel said he hopes that club/advisor
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CLUB ADVISORS: Union passes bylaw unanimously CONTINUED FROM 6 relationships will develop beyond financial consulting, he said. Section 13 states that club advisors shall “ensure consistency with financial policies.” When asked on April 1 which financial policies the language refers to — the Union’s or the University’s — Finkel told the Justice that both are included in the advisor’s scope. Consultants will inform students about new University rules, but will also receive training on Allocations Board and Union funding policies. Finkel said that faculty advisors will be “required … to attend Treasury trainings, … and will have an advisor orientation at the beginning of next year.” Despite saying these trainings would be “required,” Finkel acknowledged that faculty “are busy,” saying advisors would merely be “encouraged” to attend these sessions. The Club Support Committee’s guide for club advisors — a work in progress as of yesterday’s interview — will also provide insight. When asked if graduate students who teach undergraduate classes could serve as advisors, Finkel was unsure. He said that they “would like” ad-
visors to work full-time, but acknowledged that section 13 does not require this. Asked if undergraduate student teaching assistants could serve as advisors, Finkel said the Union had not intended for students to be advisors, but acknowledged that the bylaw “does not specify that.” As section 13 is currently phrased, any University staff, including student employees, can serve as advisors. Discussing confidentiality between clubs and their advisors in yesterday’s interview, Finkel said he “would not expect a conversation with an advisor to be confidential in all manners,” but that contracts could specify this on a club-by-club basis. Secured clubs that do not attain or maintain a faculty advisor will be at risk of losing club funding or being disbanded. Though not mentioned in section 13, this is standard procedure for a secured club in violation of the Union Bylaws.
Faculty respond
The Justice reached out to a few University faculty members on March 26 to gauge their sentiments regarding the proposed bylaw, sending them the then-current March 24 version of
the proposal. Reactions were mixed; a few professors responded that the policy felt too unclear to comment on. Prof. Jonathan Sarna (NEJS) noted in a March 26 email to the Justice that he felt “surprised” the proposal had “not yet been discussed with faculty.” He added that Brandeis faculty already have quite a few responsibilities, and mused, “I wonder how many faculty will be willing to take on these additional commitments?” Prof. Daniel Breen (LGLS) would “welcome the chance” to take on that commitment. In a March 26 email to the Justice, Breen said he is excited at the prospect of “acting as a resource” for student organizations and serving as an advisor. Per Breen’s email, “a lot of people” are interested in integrating faculty into student life, especially if they could advise clubs related to their area of interest. Prof. Maura Farrelly (AMST) took a very different approach, questioning many tenets of the March 24 proposal. In an interview with the Justice, she burst out laughing upon reading that the club consultant would be expected to meet with clubs twice per semester: “Who y’all gonna get to do this? That’s my question — cause I’m not doin’
it!” Farrelly said she “thinks the vast majority [of professors] will not be willing to do it,” and that those who do volunteer will ultimately “start saying no” as they encounter too large a workload. She asked if there would be any compensation for advisors — per a March 26 Justice interview with Finkel, “no one is getting paid for this.” In the interview, Farrelly pointed out that despite advisors lacking formal authority, “there may be a tendency among some … [students] to defer to whatever an advisor says … because of a perception that with title comes wisdom.” Farrelly said she doubts that all advisors will be able to protect students from signing confusing contracts, saying it is “assuming a degree of competency” on part of the faculty, who may not understand the language either. She suggested that an arrangement be made between clubs and authorities well-versed in contract law — not with just any faculty member. Farrelly stressed that she both does not feel competent to serve as an advisor given her lack of legal expertise, and would be unwilling to even if she were capable. The bylaw “did not convince [her] that it is necessary,” she said. Looking at the community-building
—Compiled by Chaiel Schaffel Design: Natalia Wiater
justifications for the bylaw, Farrelly asked, “Is this supposed to make me see you as human beings, and you see me as a human being?”
Mixed feelings
The Justice reached out to seven of the ten secured clubs on campus which would be affected by the bylaw. Some expressed support for the general idea of club advisors. Waltham Group President Matthew Nadler ’20 said in a March 19 email to the Justice, “The staff’s support and guidance are essential to our success as an organization and towards us accomplishing our mission.” Nadler said Waltham Group already has a full-time staff advisor. Additionally, he said the club has a team of other supporting staff members, and a partnership with the Department of Community Service. As such, Nadler said he does not expect the passage of the bylaw to have an effect on the club’s operation. Director of Brandeis University Medical Corps Benjamin Merker ’19 expressed similar sentiments, writing in a March 18 email to the Justice that the club has three staff advisors. Other clubs disagreed strongly. At the Senate meeting, Zukin represented the Brandeis Media Coalition — a group formed in response to the Union’s proposal consisting of the Justice, WBRS, The Brandeis Hoot and Brandeis Television — in expressing concerns over the various iterations of the proposal and bylaw. Zukin and Schecter further criticized the proposal on behalf of WBRS in a March 19 interview with the Justice. They said that having an advisor would impinge on the independence of campus media organizations by altering their editorial judgement, regardless of whether the advisor were a voting member of the club or not. Zukin and Schecter also emphasized that the optics of having a club advisor connected to the University could harm the reputation of their club. They added that having a University staff or faculty member as an advisor could undermine future content by scaring away potential WBRS interviewees and sources. A major concern for the Coalition was the name of the position; they argued that calling the advisor an “advisor” or “club consultant” could send the wrong message about the editorial independence of the club. On multiple occasions, the WBRS general managers expressed that they felt their concerns about what to name the advisors were being brushed off. In an interview on March 29, Schecter got straight to the point about the struggle over what to call the new position: “They [the Union] see our issue as a semantic issue; … the Brandeis Media Coalition sees it as an issue of cognitive liberty,” he said. By March 29, WBRS had proposed another solution to the Union: creating a position titled “financial consultant,” whose only official purpose would be to advise the club on financial matters. Even this was not ideal, they said. “Let me be clear, this is a compromise. … It is a far, far, far better solution than a club advisor,” Zukin said. Their proposed language was not included in the final March 31 bylaw. No version of the bylaw contained language allowing a club to opt out of the advisor requirement, but the WBRS managers said that including such a clause would make all the difference: “If there was an opt-out clause, we would be fine with it,” said Zukin. Both Zukin and Schecter also expressed frustration at their treatment by the Union during the lawmaking process. Zukin said the WBRS executive board tried to speak with individual senators about their concerns with the bylaw. The senators were not at their scheduled office hours “75 percent” of the times their executive board tried to drop in, according to Zukin. “I’m not happy about the way the process was run. It’s just such a shame that this decision was come to without allowing us to sit down with every one of them,” Zukin said. Zukin said that WBRS did not want to fight with the Union, but felt that it needed to put up a struggle for the sake of the station. “We respect them, many of them are our friends. This isn’t fun for us. We just need to do what’s right for our club,” he said. —Editor’s Note: Jocelyn Gould, Jen Geller and Natalia Wiater spoke at the Senate meeting on behalf of the Justice. They were not involved in the editing of this article.
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TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2019 | THE JUSTICE
just
features By SAMMY PARK JUSTICE EDITOR
From the “Cupid Shuffle” to “God’s Plan,” Levin Ballroom was filled with laughter, music and chatter on Saturday night. Attendees spent the night flitting between the dance floor, photo booth and chocolate fountains during the Eclipse Ball, the annual formal event organized by the Campus Activities Board. Jada George ’20, the major events chair for CAB, started the planning process for the ball back in December 2018. “I knew that I wanted a theme, and after go[ing] through some ideas, I really like[d] the idea of a Black and White Ball and the name ‘Eclipse’ felt like a fun play on that theme,” she told the Justice. Last year’s formal was held in Sherman Function Hall and lacked a theme. “[Last year’s planning committee] had a photo booth that did black-and-white photos and I thought that it would be a good, on-theme activity to bring back. Everything else came from me and my committee members, Rayelle Gardner and Aicha Tavares, brainstorming elements that we would want to see at an event like this,” George said. From the moment of entry, attendees stepped on an actual red carpet, surrounded by twinkling fairy lights. The formal was a chance for many to get Instagram-worthy pictures: at the end of the night, the photo booth had taken over 400 pictures of dozens of groups. “The photo booth was awesome! The snacks and the chocolate fountain were also top-notch,” Sesily Beridze ’22 said. Continuing, she joked that the music was so good that “the speaker was on fire.” Furthering the black-and-white theme were the milk chocolate and white chocolate fountains that, for many, served as
The Campus Activities Board’s sec
a relaxing reprieve from picture-taking. Most groups swung between the photo booth and food table, with some breaking off onto the dance floor. On the dance floor, black-and-white balloons decorated the perimeter, while blue light filtered throughout Levin Ballroom. “The months leading up to the Ball were spent contacting vendors, deciding on catering and shopping for decorations with my committee and Robin Donohoe, who is the vice president of CAB,” George said. College students love free food and don’t have many opportunities to dress formally, so for many, including Topaz Fragoso ’22, their “favorite part was taking all the pictures and covering the marshmallows with white and dark chocolate.” Fragoso also made sure that her outfit followed the theme, wearing a white and black dress with black heels. She said that she chose her ensemble because it made her think of an eclipse and fit the black-and-white theme. “As far as my makeup goes, I just did bold eyeliner and everything else was just my normal makeup routine,” she said. This year’s formal was specifically organized to “accommodate any student that wanted to attend,” George said. By changing the event’s location from Sherman Function Hall to Levin Ballroom, CAB purposely increased the event’s maximum occupancy. The Eclipse Ball marks the continuing organizational effort to improve and strengthen Brandeis’ campus culture.
DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY: Attendees spent the night flitting between the dance floor, photo booth and chocolate fountains during the Eclipse Ball.
Design: Sammy Park/the Justice; Illustration Courtesy of Creative Commons
Photos by ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice
DRESSED UP: Many students enjoyed the rare opportunity to wear formal clothing on campus.
WHITE AND BLACK: The white and milk chocolate fountains exemplified the evening’s theme.
THE JUSTICE | TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2019
Photos Courtesy of JADA GEORGE
cond annual formal draws a crowd.
Photos Court
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10 TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 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, Jocelyn Gould, Deputy Editors Nia Lyn, Eliana Padwa, Associate Editors Sam Stockbridge, News Editor Sammy Park, Features Editor Gabriel Frank, Forum Editor, Megan Geller, Sports Editor Maya Zanger-Nadis, Arts Editor Andrew Baxter, Photography Editor Morgan Mayback, Interim Layout Editor Liat Fischer and Devo Meyers, Ads Editors River Hayes, Copy Editor, Mia Rubinstein, Acting Copy Editor
EDITORIALS
Housing system faces technical problems Another year, another month of students complaining about the University’s housing lottery. The limited amount of housing creates a situation by which many students are left without housing, and there will always be dissatisfaction until more housing is built — a priority this board urges the University to act on. Until then, we have to work within the system that currently exists. The Department of Community Living has made some improvements in the past few years, but there is still more that can be made. The new live availability website is a commendable step in increasing transparency for students during the housing selection process. It allows students to track the exact number of beds left — not the number of suites, triples or doubles remaining — and it refreshes every half hour. This alleviates the stress students feel when they don’t yet have access to housing availability, as they can plan accordingly. However, there is no easy link to this page. It requires a Google search or access through DCL’s social media pages, which makes it difficult to find. There is also no index page for this portion of the website, which makes it easier to lose track of one’s place. In addition, it would still be helpful if DCL went back to publishing the last number chosen in previous years. Although we understand that housing selection is determined more directly by selection time than number, historical numbers provide a gauge of where one’s number falls in the lottery process. As long as it is clear that a students’ number by no means indicates present housing availability, it would be a useful tool for students to plan their housing groups. This board also takes issue with some of DCL’s housing decisions in the past year, namely their decision to open Skyline up to upperclassmen. While Skyline is a good residential location for those with disabilities, DCL’s decision also opens up more spaces in the Charles River Apartments for sophomores. Sophomores are not allowed to keep cars on campus, so they are forced to rely on the BranVan, which makes the distance that comes with living in those apartments difficult. The number of students and rooms available per residential hall do not align perfectly, but there is no reason to have 70 spots open for upperclassmen in Skyline, further breaking apart class years. For example, the 58 spots in Village A could be opened up to upperclassmen housing, which would keep that community together, since the rest of Village is reserved for study abroad housing mostly taken up by juniors and seniors. The remaining 12 spots could come in the form of opening up more Charles River Apartments to upperclassmen. Part of University President Ron Liebowitz’s “Framework” is to build class year communities, but that cannot happen if those communities are being broken apart in the current housing process.
No consideration for students’ individual needs The reason housing is so difficult is that the quality of residential halls on campus does not meet students’ desires — why live in the Charles River Apartments or East Quad when the Ridgewood and Ziv Quads have air conditioning and elevators? Why are the on-campus options for upperclassmen so limited, delegating most of those class years to the Charles River Apartments? The number of people per room also varies, which makes it difficult for people to form housing groups. If a group thought they had a number that would get them a Ridgewood suite, they would create a four-person housing group on MyHousing. However, if by the time their lottery time comes, all the fourperson living areas have been taken, that group now has to scramble to find a fifth or sixth person for a Grad or Ziv, respectively. This places an undue burden on students that could be remedied with a system similar to the one Muhlenberg College uses — the largest suites are chosen first, allowing groups to break into smaller groups if they do not get their first choice. However, the biggest problem with the housing lottery is the fact that it does not address students’ financial needs. Many low-income students receive a large financial aid package that increases proportionally depending on their tuition and room-and-board costs. That means much of the latter can be covered — depending on students’ financial needs — which would allow that student to stay at the University without accruing debt from housing costs. But when a student does not have a sufficient number, or cannot find a group to be pulled into, they are forced into off-campus housing. In a system that is seemingly fair to all, the students with financial need are actually hurt the most. This board acknowledges there is no easy fix to this problem, but we do recommend a possible solution: a petition system for students to be placed in the lower third of the lottery system. Students in this financial aid situation whose lottery numbers place them at risk of not being able to get housing on campus do not have to be treated the same way as those who need health accommodations, but they still need assurance of oncampus housing. A joint committee, made up of both financial aid and community living staff, would assess the financial need of a student as well as the possible increase in cost of a student going off-campus. If a student submits a request for review and provides a case for a substantial financial burden, then they would be placed in the lower third of the lottery, guaranteeing some form of housing on campus and a reasonable cost of getting a higher education without living at home.
MARA KHAYTER/the Justice
Views the News on
On Sunday, Robert Mueller, the Special Counsel of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections, released his final report stating that no collusion between President Trump’s campaign and the Russian government had occurred, but did not reach a conclusion on the issue of obstruction of justice, instead allowing Attorney General William Barr to do so. Barr concluded that the President did not obstruct justice, and Democrats are calling for Mueller’s full report to be released to the public. What do you think this means for the country, and how should the Democrats handle this situation?
Isaac Graber ’19 I believe Democrats are justified in their request to see the Mueller report immediately. According to Congressman Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, reports from all similar investigations in the past have been released to the House Judiciary Committee, and this one should be released as well. Democrats and Republicans alike have the right to view this document and express their sentiments. However, I believe it is important throughout this process for members from the House and Senate to continue to focus on important policies affecting Americans’ day-to-day life. Even if it was decided that President Trump was behind an obstruction of justice, it would take a significant amount of time to reach that decision, and it is crucial that other issues receive the attention they deserve in the meantime. Isaac Graber is a business major and the president of the Brandeis Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Prof. David Sherman (ENG) Everybody, regardless of party, should demand the release of the full report. And in fact it may be released soon. Nevertheless, I predict the political dispute over its contents will be feverishly partisan, derail all policy work and governance at the federal level, indicate pervasive corruption among government officials, demonstrate President Trump’s vindictive contempt for juridical processes, embolden Democrats with the audacity to call for more secure elections and confirm for Republicans that the only significant legal question at hand is about Hillary Clinton’s deleted emails. In these effects, the conflict over Mueller’s report will be completely unremarkable. David Sherman is an associate professor of English specializing in Modernism, narrative theory and continental philosophy.
Prof. Gary Samore (POL) The Mueller Report effectively ends Democrats’ hopes to remove President Trump from office through impeachment. Despite their peculiar behavior, Trump and his campaign team did not help Russia to interfere in the 2016 elections in Trump’s favor. The obstruction-of-justice charge is too obscure and muddled to stick. What should the Democrats do now? Drop the dream of impeachment. Don’t re-litigate every detail of the Mueller Report once it is released. Focus instead on developing intelligent and realistic policies on the economy, health care, climate change and foreign policy. Most important, nominate a strong candidate to defeat Trump in 2020. Gary Samore is a professor of the Practice of Politics and senior executive director of the Crown Center for Middle East Studies, and he served as President Obama’s White House coordinator for Arms Control and Weapons of Mass Destruction.
Nia Lyn ’19
The refusal to release the full report is indicative of the presence of incriminating information about the presidential election. Democrats are right in demands because a president who is guilty of obstruction of justice is unfit to run a nation or make important decisions discerning right from wrong. Even if it was determined that President Trump had no Russian interference in the election, there are other possibly incriminating details that individuals should have the option to read and formulate their own, educated ideas on. Additionally, several of Trump’s actions — like pressuring former FBI director James Comey to end an investigation, then firing Comey, or even attempting to fire Robert Mueller — can be considered an obstruction of justice and information on these crimes should be released. Even if Trump won’t be impeached, enough condemning information might confirm his inadequacy for a second presidential term. Nia Lyn is an associate editor of the Justice. Photos: Gary Samore; Brandeis University; ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice
THE JUSTICE ● FORUM ● TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2019
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Despite its shortcomings, AIPAC is part of a noble cause Trevor FILSETH
SANITY
This past week, I took a break from my schoolwork to attend the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in Washington, DC. For those of you who know me, my attending their conference may seem strange. I’m neither Jewish nor Christian. I have absolutely no connection to Israel in any sense; I have no family there, and the number of people I know in Israel can be counted on one finger. I’m not a member of Brandeis Hillel, BIPAC or J Street. So why did I miss two days of classes to attend? For one thing, I have a keen interest in the Middle East. I like democracy and human rights. Israel has both, in a region sorely lacking in them. For another, it seems unfair to me that no other country in the region has its right to exist questioned at such a basic level. At AIPAC, a lot of time went to discussing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, often shortened to BDS. BDS suggests that its adherents boycott Israeli goods, divest from Israeli companies and urge their governments to sanction the Jewish state. It insists that its aim is simply to change the Israeli government’s policies, but its leaders have privately acknowledged their intention to destroy the state itself. That’s objectively wrong. No one would question Peru’s right to exist, say that the Turks are “not a people” as BDS founder Omar Barghouti said of the Jews, or suggest pushing Vietnam into the South China Sea. Yet somehow these are acceptable, or at least widespread, proposals for how to deal with Israel. At Brandeis, we’re somewhat insulated from this — I hope none of us would even consider supporting such a movement
— but its presence elsewhere is undeniable. Finally, I went to AIPAC in search of a bipartisan consensus on something. It’s saddening to see how far apart the two parties have drifted in the past few years, and it was extremely comforting to be in a place where they could find common ground. The founders of AIPAC pragmatically realized that neither party could stay in power forever, and aligning the then-fragile State of Israel with one faction would be disastrous when the other gained power. Because of this, unlike other Jewish advocacy groups, AIPAC has always scrupulously avoided partisan politics. It is one of the last truly bipartisan places in Washington, and while I was there, the usual animosity between Democrats and Republicans seemed to dissipate in the face of a common mission. Progressives on either side of me gave Nikki Haley a standing ovation when she concluded her speech. Chuck Schumer drew laughs from the left and the right when he joked about the three sentences that could summarize nearly every Jewish holiday: “They tried to kill us. We survived. Let’s eat.” Everywhere I went, leftists and right-wingers socialized, debated policy issues and learned more about each other. There were still barbs, of course. Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi’s speeches both had jabs about Trump’s infamous “very fine people” moment in 2017, while a major theme on the right was Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and her “all about the Benjamins” tweet. But these were the exceptions rather than the rule. I watched Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), a progressive Democrat, and Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), chairman of the far-right Freedom Caucus, as they shared a stage and discussed the need to keep political differences separate from personal ones. Congresswomen Kay Granger (R-Texas) and Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), polar opposites in policy, agreed on the importance of increasing female representation in Congress. A West Virginia Republican representative and a progressive
STATE OF THE STUDENT UNION By BRANDON STANAWAY SPECIAL TO THE JUSTICE
Since January, the Student Union has pursued countless new campuswide initiatives and has committed itself to reforming its internal policies to streamline governance and improve accountability procedures. The Union is poised to continue this semester’s success into the 2019-2020 academic year. The Undergraduate Curriculum Committee has been involved with a significant amount of work that directly impacts the student academic experience. Two notable projects that have passed through the UCC and are now in the hands of the faculty to vote on are extending the pass/fail declaration deadline and refining repeated course grading policies. Previously, the pass/fail decision deadline was situated during the second week of the academic year. Under the new policy, the pass/fail decision deadline will be coupled with the drop deadline, in the sixth and seventh weeks of the academic year. Extending the deadline allows students who are interested in engrossing themselves in advanced coursework in their field or exploring courses outside of their wheelhouse to do so and get adequate graded feedback before determining if they need to expend one of their four pass/fail options on the course. Furthermore, repeated course grading policy, has been revised to ensure the policy is consistent with repeated course policies at other institutions of higher education and to make the policy more favorable to students. Under the previous policy, a repeated course will appear on a student’s transcript, but the grade of the repeated course would not count towards their GPA; only the grade received from the first iteration of the course would be calculated. The new policy rectifies this grossly unfair practice. Only the superior of the two grades will be factored into a student’s final GPA. Other notable policies considered by the UCC include creating a COSI 10a course for students with no background in computer science and eliminating COSI 11a, approving several new study abroad programs and reviewing Independent Interdisciplinary Major faculty support guidelines. Students have a strong voice in the decisions of the UCC on behalf of their elected representatives. We will continue to propose academic policies intended to benefit the student body. Academic affairs in general will be in good hands under the newly elected Union executive board.
NIA LYN/the Justice
lesbian activist talked to college delegates about staying politically involved in the future. The conference was not without its shortcomings. The whole point of AIPAC is that everyone agrees on the need to support Israel — so what is there really to talk about? Though couched in slightly different terms, the message between all the speakers was the same collection of ideas, and what was inspiring on Saturday night was a bit stale by Tuesday morning. The delegates were also unanimous in condemning the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal and praising Trump’s return to sanctions. Many of the speakers, notably Ambassadors David Friedman and Ron Dermer, provided a barrage of insightful and accurate criticism of its flaws. However, discussion of a better plan, besides crossing fingers and hoping for the Iranian regime to collapse before it obtained a nuclear weapon, was conspicuously absent. Finally, I was a little disappointed to see
the labyrinthine Palestinian problem, a conflict in which some policies of the Israeli government play a role, simplified to the evil represented by Hamas. Ultimately, though, the conference was about America’s relationship with Israel, not Palestine or Iran. The need to continue to protect the Jewish state has been dramatically underscored by the recent rocket attacks from Gaza. While the Iron Dome is extremely effective, the events of last Monday show that it is not infallible, and our continued military and political support for Israel is essential. That support makes a real difference; if America stands firmly behind Israel, it sends a strong message that trying to violently destroy the Jewish state is futile. If hostile actors in the Middle East understood that, a lasting peace agreement would be much easier to achieve. In AIPAC’s mission to preserve that support, I’m proud to have been a part, however small.
Video chats keep long-distance bonds By JULIANNA SCIONTI JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
My eleven-year-old brother, Sebastian, wakes up as soon as the sun’s light turns the sky pastel. When he bounces his way to the kitchen table, there is already a bowl of yogurt and a plate of freshly cut fruit arranged in a smiley face, mirroring his own energetic grin. The books that he had inevitably strewn around the house the night before have “magically” relocated to his backpack along with his lunch. Of course, it wasn’t magic. It was our mother. She wakes up long before anyone else in the house to make his mornings effortless. Most days, Sebby and I sit down to breakfast together. Sometimes we sit in silence, the soft crunching reminding us of each other’s presence. Sebby will inevitably shatter this silence with whatever urgent information pushes itself from his brain straight out his lips. “Julianna, I took out my tooth,” he blurts out. Half asleep and mesmerized by the cinnamon dregs floating in my cereal bowl, I mutter, “Yeah.” His giggle snaps me out of my daze, “Wait. Do you mean you lost a tooth?” I ask. He nods his head, grinning at me and holding out the tooth with pride between his fingers — his smile speckled with kiwi seeds from his breakfast. Sebastian lives in California and I live in Massachusetts, 3,116 miles apart. Of course I miss him, but thanks to video chatting I am not missing time with him. Technology is what enables me to be so involved in his life. I spend many hours a day in front of a screen, but my brother is on the other side. Skype, Whatsapp, phone calls and text messages ensure that I’m there for the milestone of losing a tooth. They also guarantee that I’m there for the battles about doing his homework and cutting his hair. So much for the allegedly dehumanizing influence of technology. I even get to witness the mad dash to get out the door before the late bell rings. “Have you seen Sebby’s sneakers?” my mom hollers from another room. “They’re in the
bathroom!” I yell back. He took them off when he was brushing his teeth. Even though my mom and brother have woken up early, they just barely make it out the door. Sebastian narrates the ride to school like he is leading a tour bus through New York City. On your right, you see the woman walking her dog. This intersection features a boy riding his bike. If you look closely, here you will see a man sweeping the walkway in front of his house … and so on, until we reach the school. I wish him a good day and he informs me that my bob haircut makes me look like a mushroom. “Don’t worry,” he tells me, “some people like mushrooms.” The day before he told me my lipstick made me look like a vampire. I can’t imagine starting my day without these words of affirmation. Luckily, I don’t have to. It is 8:15 a.m. in Palo Alto, California and 11:15 a.m. in Waltham, Massachusetts when Sebby and I go our separate ways. We will see each other after school. I am struck by Sebastian’s energy. At the end of his day he hops back into the car with the same enthusiasm with which he had hopped out six hours earlier. By 8:00 p.m. her time, my mother’s smile is strained. Her eyes are tired. I step in to put Sebby to bed. He runs from the bathroom and catapults himself into the bed. His buzz cut glistens from his fresh shower like grass wet with morning dew. I pull a book off my bookshelf and settle into my chair. He spins around in the bed, tangling the blankets around his body. As I read, he continues to wring out what is left of his energy. As he grows increasingly still, I pause in the hope that he has fallen asleep, only for him to sit bolt upright and ask me what is going to happen next to Harry, Ron and Hermione. I read until my voice becomes the comforting hum that lulls him to sleep. I wish I could give him a gentle kiss goodnight and straighten the messy covers, but instead I whisper goodnight and press the end call button on Skype. I crawl into my own bed and straighten my own covers.
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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Sports: Albert Gutierrez, Brian Inker, Zach Kaufman*, Ellie
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TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2019● FORUM ● THE JUSTICE
FORUM
Defunding Special Olympics takes away opportunities By RENEE NAKKAB JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
“We are not doing our children any favors when we borrow from their future in order to invest in systems and policies that are not yielding better results.” Now, your first thought upon reading this quote may be that someone is stealing candy from our children’s hands to develop a machine to bring dinosaurs back from the dead, find the last number of pi or discover the Fountain of Youth. I wish that this was actually the case. Instead, this was said by Betsy DeVos, the head of the United States Department of Education, in a prepared testimony before a House subcommittee considering the Department of Education’s budget request for the next fiscal year in regards to the usefulness of special-needs programs. Her new plan entails creating a tax cut for individuals and companies to encourage them to donate to private school scholarships and adding an additional $60 million to charter school funding. Aside from the obscene elitism behind this addition, the real disgust is that she is eliminating $18 million of funding from the Special Olympics. Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports organization for children and adults with physical and intellectual disabilities. It was established in 1946 under the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation. Its primary purpose was to help redefine how society cares for people with intellectual disabilities and disseminate methods of intellectual disability prevention through research. This was the first foundation to focus directly on disabled people, a neglected group within society. In 1947, Eunice Kennedy Shriver was awarded as a trustee of the JPK Jr. Foundation. In June 1962, she opened a summer camp for young people with intellectual disabilities at her home in suburban Washington, D.C. What was then known as “Shriver Camp” welcomed dozens of young people from local institutions and agencies; campers ranged in age from about six to sixteen. In July 1962, a second day camp for children with intellectual disabilities opened in Washington, D.C. In November 1966, Eunice Kennedy Shriver proposed “nationwide sports contests” between teams of young people with intellectual disabilities. On July 20, 1928 the first International Special Olympics Summer Games was held at Soldier Field in Chicago. At its start, the Special Olympics only offered three official sports: swimming, track and field and floor hockey. Currently, it has more than 30 individual and team official sports ranging from equestrian and cricket to powerlifting and judo. When Shriver was first proposing this seemingly radical athletic event, she was told that she was highly ambitious and expecting too much of disabled people. Most did not think they were capable of such extreme exercise, creating a list of possible injuries and accidents. Yet once these athletes began to compete, their success proved all the naysayers wrong. The ability to compete has given disabled individuals an opportunity to be a different member in our society, essentially allowing them to be seen as nothing more than
Photos courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS; Photo Illustration by GABRIEL FRANK
athletes wanting to pursue their passion. Kiera Byland is a 20-year-old Englishwoman who always had a passion for cycling. Growing up, it was hard for her to ride a bike because her brain processes information at a slower rate than average. Yet she loved it too much to quit, and so she trained for years for the ability to compete. In the 2019 Abu Dhabi Games, Byland won the gold for England in her opening race. The Special Olympics gave Byland, and so many others similar and different to her, a platform to let them experience their passions. This is an equalizing domain made to make no athlete feel different from any others, disabled or not. These games do not just inspire disabled athletes, but most who know about them. I am inspired to see people who have societal stigma, physical and mental disabilities working against them train, practice and diet so furiously. Their hunger to succeed and do what they love makes me want to do the same. In 2015, Ben Heitmeyer was the first athlete with Down syndrome to compete in the first triathlon in Special Olympics World Games history. Lisa Rumer, a triathlon coach ,recalls Heitmeyer’s race, “Anyone that was there race day took home a memory of determination, inclusion and support. It was the most exciting inspiring event I have ever witnessed and been a part of. Ben was an inspiration. He knew his coaches and family were counting on him. He gave all of us a sense of we can do it because we have each other.” Heitmeyer completed 12 miles
on bike, 750m in the water and 3.1 miles running. “You just have to smile with so much joy when you see him do that,” said Rumer. “Before he even gets to that corner, when you hear he’s a half-mile out, you get so excited because you know he’s going to live the dream of being proud of himself — and everyone responding to that.” The Special Olympics is a positive, internationally unifying event. It brings people together, with 172 countries participating, under the common belief that there are no limits on what anyone can do. No matter who you are, you should be given the opportunity to carry out your passion to the fullest extent, and the Special Olympics is the epitome of this right. Beyond mere athletics, businesses and individuals continuously support the cause. John’s Crazy Socks donates five percent of their profits to the Special Olympics. John has Down syndrome, so finding a job after he graduated high school in 2016 was going to be tough, until he and his dad went into the sock industry together. They spend their days making fun, creative socks and have even created “awareness” versions such as Autism-themed and Down syndrome-themed socks. John is a key example of what the Special Olympics symbolizes beyond athletics. He is an individual who had a dream and instead of sitting idle, leaped at the opportunity to succeed through hard work. Despite all this, DeVos is going to crush people like Byland, Heitmeyer and John with her budget.
Aside from significantly cutting the Special Olympics, DeVos is cutting special education grants that go to states from $3 million to $2.2 million, which is a 26 percent cut. She is cutting $7.5 million from the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, $13 million from Gallaudet University, a charter school for the deaf, and $5 million from a federal program for print books for blind students. She is specifically targeting disabled students who need the money, resources and support the most. These programs do nothing but inspire these children and the general public to strive for the gold and never give up their passions. Although they do not want to give up their passion, DeVos is depriving them of the fiscal means, forcing them to do so. Special Olympics released a response which said, “We ask federal, state and local governments to join Special Olympics in remaining vigilant against any erosion of provisions that have made a substantial difference in the lives of people with Intellectual Disabilities. U.S. Government funding for our education programming is critical to protecting and increasing access to services for people with intellectual disabilities.” This wholesome organisation wants to give disabled individuals a chance to live their dreams, it is not harming anyone or causing problems. In all actuality, Special Olympics has to be their voice because they cannot speak for fear that they will not be heard. Enough is enough, DeVos; pick on someone your own size.
Collaboration is the key to defeating anti-Semitism on both sides By LEON KRAIEM JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
I spent last weekend in Washington, D.C. at the much-maligned and mostly-misunderstood American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy conference, an annual convention in which legions of citizen lobbyists descend on the nation’s capital to hear from policy makers, discuss developments in Middle Eastern politics and meet with representatives to make the case for “pro-Israel” legislation. It was my first time at the policy conference — I was raised in a theoretically, but not aggressively, Zionist home, and the year I spent in Israel before transferring to Brandeis from my small liberal arts college in Minnesota involved more protesting of the current Israeli government than lobbying in support of its American policy agenda. But then, controversy ensued when my old object of admiration in Minnesota, nowCongresswoman Ilhan Omar, called out AIPAC by name as buying American politicians. This triggered a collective heart attack in the Jewish community, as well as a spate of purportedly philo-semitic Islamophobia from Omar’s political opponents, and then a problematic conflation of that bile with the good-faith criticism that preceded it. Obsessed with this story to the point of being unable to talk about much else, I felt compelled this year to see for myself what this “Israel lobby” thing was all about. The first thing I saw when I came in were the protestors, Jews and non-Jews alike. On one side stood the Westboro Baptist Church, there to protest the “God-hating milieu that is Judaism.” Across from them, the antiZionist sect of Ultra-Orthodox Jews known as “Neturei Karta,” known, among other things,
for attending a Holocaust denial conference in Iran. Earlier that weekend, the Jewish activist collective IfNotNow, which has as its goal “to end our [Jewish] community’s support for the occupation,” had been protesting, and a few days later, when I left the convention center to get lunch, a woman turned a placard in my direction demanding “AIPAC: register as a foreign agent!”
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Instead of condemning big institutions, delegates networked with those in charge of them. Inside the convention center the picture was, at least superficially, quite different: rather than t-shirts and poster-boards, attendees wore suits and carried government IDs. Instead of condemning big institutions, delegates networked with those in charge of them. And rather than shouting at people in power; delegates applauded them and lined up to ask them pre-written questions, mostly amounting to “Will you support such-andsuch a bill to protect Israelis in such-and-such a way?” In other words, instead of confrontation, the theme at AIPAC is cooperation — or, as a skeptic might say, collaboration. AIPAC is aggressively bipartisan; the Democratic congressional leaders all spoke, but so did the vice president. For an anti-Semite, this confirms the suspicion that some wealthy,
vaguely alien Jewish lobby controls American politics, convening once a year so that American leaders can come kiss its ring. The implicit condemnation throughout the conference of Ilhan Omar’s suggestion that AIPAC wants her to “pledge allegiance to a foreign country” suggests that you can never criticize this influence without some censorial force coming down on you. But for those who attend the conference, those unseemly alliances and over-the-top assertions of patriotism are not the product of power, but rather a communal response to what would otherwise be a condition of powerlessness: Jews must, the logic goes, be friends with both parties, because we can’t afford to make any enemies. We must be skeptical of progressive criticism, because it was not just the czars, but our angry and downtrodden neighbors who made us scapegoats for their problems and attacked us in pogroms. And, most sensitively, we can’t ever stand for a suggestion of disloyalty, because we’ve finally found a country that treats us as equal citizens, and we can’t afford to lose that status once we’ve got it. This is the nerve Ilhan touched: the lingering insecurity of American Jews that maybe we really don’t belong here after all; maybe when they talked about “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances,” that “people” never included us, at least not as long as we advocate for our relatives in the Middle East. This is the tragic irony of AIPAC: the act of lobbying is now, to so many, our sign of non-Americanness we thought was as American as apple pie. Hence the highly applauded line from Chuck Schumer in his address to the conference on Monday: “You can be a Jew and lobby for Israel, and it
The opinions expressed on this page are those of each article’s respective author and do not reflect the viewpoint of the Justice.
doesn’t make you any less of an American, it makes you a better American.” Schumer’s entire speech was full of Yiddishisms, Holocaust stories and the accented Hebrew of an American Jew who grew up with two feet in this country but a radio tuned to news of the Jewish State. It affirmed American Jewry’s Americanness, but also its Jewishness — a distinct identity that is proud, but also awkward, and intergenerationally traumatized. When Schumer took aim at Ilhan’s comments, I clapped. When he took aim at the Republicans’ hypocrisy in condemning her, I literally cried with catharsis. A week later, I attended a retreat in New York for non-Orthodox Jewish communities on campus. We heard from a rabbi slash human rights activist, and from a Jewish intellectual about peoplehood and social justice. The audience at the retreat was young and left-wing; I had seen at least one of them at an activist conference earlier this year with decidedly anti-Zionist politics. But I felt the same anxiety in New York that I did in D.C.: identity politics are hard to square with an ongoing identity crisis, and no one explained to us in Hebrew School, as the Obama years introduced us to American elections, that our progressive coalition would be besieged with, of all things, the Jewish Question. For a generation raised on talk of privilege and structural oppression, we’re disarmingly unprepared to explain who we are and where we fit in. But in the scope of Jewish history, I suppose that’s at least one tradition of our parents and grandparents to which we still hold fast, and one which I have little doubt we will soon pass on to our children.
THE JUSTICE ● SPORTS ● TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2019
TRACK: Judges sprint into the outdoor season CONTINUED FROM 16 or 144.10 feet. In the hammer throw, Grote later claimed sixth place with a distance of 42.99 meters (141 feet) on his first attempt. Regan Chari ’19 came in fourth with a time of 11.16 seconds in the 100-meter dash finals, taking off 0.08 seconds from his preliminary run. Juniors Daniel Curley and Aaron Corin also helped the Judges take seventh in the Snowflake Classic. Curley ran 15:49.49 in the 5000-meter, earning sixth place. In the pole vault, Corin claimed third place with a height of 4.10 meters, or 13.5 feet. Though the upperclassmen lead
ANTICIPATION
the men’s team, Aaron Baublis '21 and rookies Breylen Ammen and Aaron Portman held their own. Baublis ran 16.67 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles, taking him into sixth place. Ammen, on his first attempt, earned eighth place in the javelin throw at 49.31 meters (161.09 feet). Portman, with a time of 1:58.46 seconds, barely scraped into seventh place in the 800-meter, beating out eighth place by only 0.01 seconds. The Tufts University Snowflake Classic proved to be a strong start for both the women and men’s Track and Field teams. Next week, the Judges will continue their season in the Amherst Invitational.
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SWING: Brandeis' Keri Lehtonen '19 is up at bat and ready to swing in a game against Suffolk College on March 14, 2018.
SOFTBALL: Judges remain undefeated after double header CONTINUED FROM 16 scoring deluge of the night cap was again a team effort. Three hits were contributed by Fujita, two from Lehtonen, two from Cifuni and two from Felder. Ross, Marysa Massoia ’19, and Alyssa Renskers ’22 each contributed one hit. Fujita led the way in runs batted in with four, including a home run. Other Judges contributing multiple runs batted in were Lehtonen, Cifuni, Felder, Marissa and DeLaurentis, all with two. Ross and Caroline Seppin '20 also drove in one run each. The Judges showed no mercy for Rams pitchers. The Judges “threw the book” at starting pitcher Hannah DelCuervo, whom they
shellacked for nine earned runs in 2.2 innings and whose pitching record is now one win and two losses. Reliever Kennedy Reyes fared no better, as the Judges drubbed her for five earned runs in two thirds inning. Finally, Constance Phelan mopped up the final two thirds inning for the Rams. Hitting leaders for the Rams were Grace Boehler and Jaclyn Flint, who both had two hits in two at bats and two runs batted in; Ashley Zulla, who had two hits for three times at bat, two runs batted in and one home run and McKenzie McGrath, who had one hit in two times at bat. The victorious Judges accomplished a satisfying double victory, one in which everyone played a role and contributed to
the team effort. This momentum will be useful as the Judges begin to face conference rivals in the University Athletic Association. In an interview with the Justice, Lehton explained, "We just focus on the job at hand and get things done. We take it one at bat at a time and play for each other. Everyone contributes, that is how our team has been able to be so successful." Lehton elaborated, "After now, 10 wins, we are feeling good, but we don't really focus on the record, we just take it one game at a time." The team hopes to compete against UAA teams this season and are "excited to show everyone the results of how hard we have been working all winter. We also have a lot of young talent that I'm excited for people to see," she said.
BASEBALL: Following defeat, Judges crush Amherst with historic win on Tuesday CONTINUED FROM 16
moths came out of the gate strong against Christian Petrisko ’22 and Rik Jhamb ’22, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first and third innings. Amherst starter Wilson Taylor began the game even stronger, throwing a perfect game through five innings, stifling Brandeis’s strong lineup in the process. Dan O’Leary ’20 got the Judges’ bats going, leading off the top of the sixth with a double to center field, ending Taylor’s perfect game and no-hit bid. The Judges continued to chip away at the impressive righty, moving the chain
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and eventually loading the bases. They scored three runs in the inning on a passed ball by the Amherst catcher, a groundout and a single by Mike Khoury ’21. After the third inning, shutdown pitching out of the Brandeis bullpen from Tim Lopez ’20, Kyle Shedden ’20, Daniel Schupper ’19, Gavin Dauer ’22 (W 1-1), and Marc Maestri ’22 (SV - 1) combined to shut out the Mammoths. The Judges scored twice to take the lead in the top of the eighth after Luke Hall ’21 double scored classmate Isaac Fossas ’21. The Judges tacked on an insurance run in the top of the ninth inning, and Dauer and Maestri struck out the Mammoths’ final six batters
to secure emphatically Brandeis’s first win over Amherst since 2009, pushing the team to a 9-5 record for the season. Lopez, who played a large role in the game, sees the win as a springboard for the team going forward, saying, “It was a huge team win. The best win I’ve ever been a part of here at Brandeis. When you have a staff day and it’s just a great game like that, you really feel like your team is going in the right direction.” Judges 1, Eagles 11; Judges 8, Eagles 13; Judges 6, Eagles 16; Judges 7, Eagles 17 After entering the University Ath-
letic Association schedule in good spirits after a gigantic comeback win against Amherst College on Tuesday, the Judges were not able to maintain their comeback this weekend in Atlanta, getting swept in a four-game series against the Emory Eagles. The Judges lost 11–1 in the first game of the series on Friday. Victor Oppenheimer ’20 had the only RBI for Brandeis, plating Weiss III with a single in the seventh. On Saturday, the Judges’ offense caught fire, scoring 14 runs between the two games. The bats were led by Mike Khoury ’21, who reached base in seven out of his ten plate appearances with a double, two RBIs and three runs scored.
Strong hitting wasn’t enough in the end, however; the Judges lost both games of the double header, 13–8 and 16–6, respectively. In the final game of the four-game series on Sunday, the Judges’ pitching continued to falter against what proved to be a devastating Emory lineup. Third baseman Isaac Fossas ’21 went deep for the second time in the series and drove in three runs for the Judges, and Khoury contributed with two RBIs, but in keeping with the pattern throughout the rest of the series, the Judges’ pitching couldn’t contain the Eagle’s batters, an imbalance that manifested itself in a 17–7 loss explained by Brandeis Athletics.
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THE JUSTICE
JUDGES BY THE NUMBERS
● SPORTS ●
TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2019
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TENNIS
BASEBALL TEAM STATS
UAA STANDINGS
Runs Batted In
UAA Conference Emory WashU NYU Case JUDGES
W 4 2 0 0 0
L 0 0 0 2 4
Overall W L Pct. 11 10 .524 15 3 .816 13 3 .813 12 8 .600 9 9 .500
UPCOMING GAMES: April 5 vs. Washington University St. Louis April 6 vs. Washington University St. Louis April 7 vs. Washington University St. Louis
Dan Frey ’21 leads the team with 21 runs batted in. Player RBI Dan Frey 21 Mike Khoury 21 Isaac Fossas 18 Luke Hall 18
Innings Pitched Greg Tobin ’21 leads all pitchers with 7.0 innings pitched. Player IP Greg Tobin 24.2 Mason Newman 23.1 Cam Roberts 16.1 Albert Gutierrez 16.0
SOFTBALL UAA STANDINGS
TEAM STATS Runs Batted In
UAA Conference W L W Emory 4 0 18 NYU 1 1 11 Case 1 1 12 JUDGES 0 0 10 WashU 0 0 8 Carnegie 0 4 5
Overall L Pct. 4 .818 5 .688 6 .667 0 1.000 7 .533 11 .313
UPCOMING GAMES: March 26 vs. Suffolk University March 29 at Washington University
Scottie Todd ’20 has a teamhigh with 5 runs batted in. Player RBI Marley Felder 12 Scottie Todd 12 Jolie Fujita 11 Keri Lehtonen 11
Innings Pitched Sydney Goldman ’22 has a team-high with 9 innings pitched. Player Ks Sydney Goldman 27.0 Scottie Todd 27.0 Amidori Anderson 10.0
TRACK AND FIELD Results from the UAA championships on March 30.
TOP FINISHERS (Men’s) 100-meter dash
RUNNER Regan Charie Jacob Ward Michael Leung
TOP FINISHERS (Women’s) TIME 11.24 11.90 12.14
200-meter dash
RUNNER TIME Emma Buckley 26.97 Anna Touitou 27.85 Kanya Brown 28.16
ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice
SWINGING INTO ACTION: Brandeis player prepares to hit the ball in an intense match against Babson College on Wednesday.
Tennis teams continue solid winning streaks ■ The men and women continue their five- and three-game winning streaks, respectively. By JEN GELLER JUSTICE EDITOR
UPCOMING MEETS:
The men’s and women’s tennis teams continue their 2018–2019 season with 5-match and 3-match winning streaks, respectively. Here is how the past few matches break down.
April 6 at Amherst Invitational April 12 at Silfin Invitational
TENNIS Results from the meet on March 23.
TOP PERFORMERS (Men’s) MEN’S SINGLES David Aizenberg
RECORD 6–1, 6–2
MEN’S DOUBLES Cheng/Tzeng
RECORD 8–3
UPCOMING MEETS:
TOP PERFORMERS (Women’s) WOMEN’S SINGLES RECORD Ana Hatfield 6–2, 6–2 WOMEN’S DOUBLES RECORD Leavitt/Bertsch 8–0
Men: Saturday at Bowdoin College Women: Friday vs Wellesley College
Men’s Tennis On Wednesday, the Judges took on Babson College and won with an impressive 8–1 victory. In terms of doubles, David Aizenberg ’20 and Anupreeth Coramutla ’21 beat Babson’s Brandon Rosenbluth and Alberto De Mendiola, 8–2. Even more impressive was the 8–0 lead that Jeff Chen ’22 and Adam Tzeng ’22 had over Babson’s Chris Kolesnik and Andre Libnic. The one loss for the men of the day was Tyler Ng ’19 and Colt Tegtmeier ’22, with a score of 6–8. In singles, Aizenberg beat De Mendiola 2–6, 2–6, Coramulta beat Rosenbluth 6–1, 6–2,
Tzeng beat Kolesnik 6–2, 6–0, Nikhil Das ’21 beat Babson’s Ron Brody 6–3, 6–1, Rajan Vohra ’21 beat Zhang 7–5, 2–0 and Ng beat Babson’s Rafael Premisleaner 6–0, 6–0, according the Brandeis Athletic site. The men also demolished Wheaton College of Massachusetts with a sweeping 9–0 victory, winning all of their singles and doubles matchups, with Nico Ramirez ’22 conquering Wheaton’s Jeremiah Ryser 6–0, 6–1 in the highlight of the tournament. Most recently, the Judges were undefeated against Endicott College 6–0, the most impressive match being Ben Maffa ’21 who beat Endicott’s Cooper Walters 6–0, 6–0. The Judges are now 12–2 overall and have played no matches in the University Athletic Association. Women’s Tennis The women have most recently won their past two matches against Wheaton College and Babson College undefeated by scores of 9–0 and 6–0, respectively. The women are now 6–4 and have not played any matches in the UAA. In doubles play against Wheaton, the women dominated the court. Particularly spectacular was an 8–0 victory by Olivia Leavitt ’19 and Lauren Bertsch ’21. They
demolished Wheaton’s Ines de Bracamonte and Miriam Galindo Cerrada. That was the most notable victory of the day for the women. In their sweep against Babson College, the most impressive matchup was in singles when Leavitt crushed Nastasia Tamarkin of Babson 6–0, 6–0. Both team’s are led by head coach Ben Lamanna and assistant coach Christo Schultz. Lamada is a graduate of Bates college in 2002 and enters his 14th season as a coach of Brandeis. Two of Lamanas assistant coaches at Brandeis University have been named ITA National Assistant Coaches of the Year, indluding Payum Payman in the year 2011 and Pauri Pandian in the year 2015. In 2018, assistant coach Michael Kopelman was awarded men’s regional assistant coach of the year. Christo Schltz is in his first season with the Judges after graduating from Harvard University in 2015. Both tennis teams are having pretty successful seasons and have won more games than they have lost. Looking ahead, the Judges will face Wellesley College on Friday and New York University on Saturday. The men will face Bowdoin College on Saturday and NYU on Sunday.
PRO SPORTS BRIEF
NBA playoffs quickly approach as conferences remain a tight race for the first time in a while It’s that time of year again! The most exciting time in sports! The NBA playoffs are coming. The playoff race is tight as ever in both conferences for the first time in a long time: the East, where one game separates the sixth and ninth spots, and the West, where there is a four and a half game difference between the third seed and the eighth seed. After last night’s blowout victory, the Los Angeles Lakers crushed the Charlotte Hornets’ hope of making the playoffs this season, barring a catastrophic implosion by any of the four teams ahead of them. The East is probably having their most exciting playoff race in a long time, with the Detroit Pistons, Brooklyn Nets, Orlando Magic and Miami Heat all fighting to finish with the
sixth seed and avoid being swept by the Milwaukee Bucks or Toronto Raptors. The West’s playoff race is already locked in with the Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets, Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Clippers, San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder all having clinched their breaths in the postseason. The closeness of the playoff race in the East is absolutely ridiculous. There is still the possibility of a fourway tie for sixth place with one team losing their spot in the playoffs due to not having won their division. If you didn’t know the NBA had divisions then you are part of the vast majority that have completely forgotten divisions exist. However,
divisions still play a small part in the NBA today. If a team wins their division, they automatically win any tiebreaker for seeding. If the Pistons, Nets and Heat all finish the season tied, the Heat will be the sixth seed just by virtue of having won their division, which I will add can very realistically contain zero teams above .500 on the season. The rest of the seeding in the East is pretty settled. The top three realistically won’t change, and the fourth and fifth seed — Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics — will play each other no matter which one winds up fourth and fifth. All the seeds in the West are still up for grabs. The first seeded Golden State Warriors can still fall to the sixth seed and the eighth seeded
Oklahoma City Thunder can still rise to the third seed. With only three games separating the three and six seed in the west, and another game and a half separating the six and the eight seeds, any Western conference team can be any seed if they go on a small winning or losing streak right now. Case in point, a little over a week ago the Oklahoma City Thunders were the three seed and looked like dark horses to make the NBA finals; since then, they have imploded and fallen all the way to the eighth seed. Led by Paul George’s 40 percent shooting from the field since the all-star break, the once highly thought of Thunders look incredibly beatable, losing to teams such as the Tanking Memphis Grizzlies, the Victor Oladipo-less
Pacers and the Minnesota “what’s a winning season” TimberWolves — all in the month of march. The Thunders would be in danger of missing the playoffs if not for the shortcomings of playoff challengers Sacramento Kings. The Sacramento Kings’ almost miraculous season recently came to a close due to the loss of their young star Marvin Bagley for long stretches of time, and the King’s other players seem unable to fill the large hole he left. Though they aren’t in the mix this year, the Kings have shown they have a bright future with their plethora of great role players and the breakouts of De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield and young stud Marvin Bagley. —Jonathan Sochaczevski
just Sports Page 16
NBA PLAYOFFS APPROACH As the NBA playoffs approach, both conferences look as tight as ever, p. 15. Waltham, Mass.
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
SOFTBALL
UP AT BAT
Judges sweep Suffolk University in a twin bill ■ The Judges crushed
Suffolk University in Tuesday's double header. By MEGAN GELLER JUSTICE EDITOR
The undefeated Judges softball team crushed the Suffolk University Rams as they swept a double header on Tuesday, with scores of 13–1 in the opener and 15–6 in the night cap, as reported in Brandeis Athletics. The Judges are now 10–0 overall. A pair of doubleheaders on the road against the UAA rival Washington University Bears on March 30–31 were cancelled, and the Judges will resume their schedule with a double header at Wellesley College Wednesday, followed by a pair of twin bills in the Big Apple against New York University Friday and Saturday. The current winning streak ties the team's second best in team history. In the first game, a 4-inning game that was a complete rout by the Judges, Scotti Todd '20 hurled the entire game for the Judges, allowing one earned
run, striking out six batters and improving her undefeated record to 5–0. The Rams’ starting pitcher, Constance Phelan (2–2 for the year), was stung for 10 runs (seven earned) in two innings. Her replacement, Alexis Bonilla, fared somewhat better, allowing four earned runs in the final two innings. Offensively, it was a complete team effort, with Kerri Lehtonen ’19, Bridget Cifuni ’21, Jolie Fujita ’21, Todd, Amidori Anderson ’22 and Brittany Dean ’22 each collecting two hits, while Marley Felder 22' and, PJ Ross ’20 each contributed one hit apiece. Runs batted in were generated by Cifuni with three, Brittany Dean with three and one each by Todd, Felder, Ross and Brianna Urena ’20. A home run was contributed by Cifuni. In the second game of the evening, Anderson earned her first collegiate win and now has a record of one win and zero losses, going three innings and allowing two earned runs. Sydney Goldman '22 pitched the final two innings, allowing one earned run to complete the victory. The
See SOFTBALL, 13
☛
TRACK AND FIELD
The 2019 outdoor season kicks off ■ The 2019 indoor season
ends successfully as the outdoor season starts up. By ELLIE WHISENANT JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
This week saw not only the kickoff of the Judges’ 2019 outdoor Track and Field season, but also the wrapup of the 2019 indoor season. There is no better way to end and start a season than having senior Emily Bryson become the indoor National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Champion in the mile run. Emily Bryson finished with a winning time of 4:45:80, making her run the fifth fastest time in any Division III meet, according to the Brandeis Athletics official website. This is her third career NCAA National Championship title and her second win in this year’s meet. Bryson scored 20 points, helping the women’s team to claim seventh place overall. She continued her success in the Raleigh Relays with twin sister Julia Bryson ’19. Both sisters competed in the 1500-meter run in North Carolina. Julia ran a time of 4:45:49, making it the 35th fastest time in Division III, while Emily ran in the latter heats. Emily finished with a time and personal record of 4:28.65. Back in Massachusetts, their fellow teammates were busy competing in the Tufts University Snowflake
YURAN SHI/Justice File Photo
LUNGES: Brandeis' Victor Oppenheimer '20 swings the bat and prepares to run in a game against Suffolk College on March 21.
Classic. The women’s Track and Field team placed 13th out 20 schools with a score of 25 points. Senior Doyin Ogundiran went home with first place in the 800-meter dash, running a time of 2:15.94. This was the Judges’ only first place win this weekend. Her time is also the 11th fastest this season in Division III women’s Track and Field, as the Brandeis Athletics website states. Lisbeth Valdez ’21 followed behind Ogundiran and took ninth place with a run of 2:21.64, only 0.12 seconds away from the top eight. Fellow sophomore Niamh Kenney later ran 18:21.24 in the 5000-meter, bringing her into fifth place. Andrea Bolduc '21, took over for the Bryson sisters in the 1500-meter run. She placed seventh with a time of 4:56.52. Anna Touitou '21 started the Judges off on a good note by taking fifth place in 100-meter dash finals with a time of 13.27 seconds. Devin Hiltunen ’21 then ran a 26.97 second 200-meter dash, beating out sixth place by only 0.07 seconds. She later went on to place 10th in the 400-meter dash with a run of 1:01:06, also only 0.07 seconds faster than the next spot. On the men’s team, the Judges tied with Babson for seventh place with a score of 30.5. Seasoned members from both the senior and junior class were among the top performers. Scott Grote '19 continued his successful Brandeis career with a second place win in the discus throw. He threw a distance of 44.14 meters,
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Judges win one and lose five matches, four of them against Emory University ■ The baseball team loses
to Emory University in four matches this weekend. By NOAH GANS JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Judges baseball team split its two contests this past week. On Monday, the team lost a tight game at Springfield College, but on Tuesday they made up for it with a historic win against usual foe, Amherst College. They couldn’t take that momentum into their series with Emory, losing all four games. Here is the breakdown for the week. Judges 0, Pride 1 Despite a gem on the mound from pitcher Mason Newman ’21 the Judges dropped a tight pitching duel with a score of 1–0 to Springfield
College on Monday. On the heels of splitting a double header with Salem State, the Judges came into the contest with The Pride sitting at a respectable 8–4 on the young season. If you like a good pitching matchup, this would have been the game for you. Newman, in his third start of the season, hurled a complete game three hitter, giving up one unearned run, striking out four and walking just one batter. On most days, that would have been a performance strong enough to earn the win, but unfortunately for the Judges, they contended with an even better outing from Springfield’s starter Dakota Aldrich. Aldrich threw eight one-hit innings, striking out eight Brandeis batters and walking four. Springfield’s single run came with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Pride’s second baseman, Mark Joao, reached on
an error by Brandeis third baseman Isaac Fossas ’21 before scoring on an RBI double by designated hitter, Jake Gleason. The Judges’ lone hit came from the bat of outfielder Donnie Weiss III ’20 in the third inning, because they couldn’t get a rally going against Springfield’s stellar pitching and were eventually shutout in a tight duel by a score of 1–0. Judges 6, Mammoths 4 After a frustrating loss on Monday in Springfield, the Judges earned a monumental result at Amherst College on Tuesday. Taking a page out of the Tampa Bay Rays’ playbook, Brandeis elected to have a “staff day” in which numerous members of the pitching staff toe the rubber for an inning or two, instead of a starter expected to pitch deeper into the game. The Mam-
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Vol. LXIX #22
April 2, 2019
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>>pg. 19
Images: Noah Zeitlin/the Justice, Creative Commons. Design: Noah Zeitlin/the Justice.
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TUESDAY, THE JUSTICE APRIL 2,| ARTS 2019 |ITUESDAY, ARTS I THE JANUARY JUSTICE31, 2017
CULTURE
Travel around the world with AYALA By KELLY ZHANG
JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Upon walking into to Levin Ballroom, a poster depicting a brightly colored sunset hanging over the ocean with glittering letters spelling out “MATAHARI” caught my eye. As AYALA coordinator Kate Nguyen ’21 explained to me, “Matahari means the sun … [It] implies that we want to look towards a brighter tomorrow.” Each coordinator had their own idea for AYALA this year, but they managed to connect Matahari, the ocean and family under one distinction: connections. By making connections with others, we can build a brighter future for ourselves, but our very first connections begin with those we consider family. The ocean symbolizes the connection between all 11 Southeast Asian countries. Even the audience members were incorporated into the whole design! We were people from various backgrounds, ethnicities and cultures gathering around, connected by the ocean and the sun. The theme I noticed the most throughout the night was family — possibly because I’m homesick and I miss mine! Sitting at the table, I was greeted with adorable place cards labeled with family members (I was the uncle). Already Southeast Asia Club’s attention to detail was apparent; the place cards included tiny drawings of each family member and a short but effective conversation starter, such as “Brother or sister?” or “Who hogs the bathroom?” If these conversation starters weren’t enough, they also had a game for each table at the start of the show. Much like the game “hot potato,” you passed around an origami animal (we had Pikachu!) to the tune of “Baby Shark,” sung by the SEAC executive board. The one who ended up with the animal by the end of the song was the winner. Their prize? A family-sized bag of popcorn, perfect for sharing around the table and snacking on during the show. If you didn’t know those sitting at your table before, you certainly would have after the interactive games and snacks, not to mention the dinner that was also served in the style of a traditional Asian family dinner, where everyone gathered around a table with dishes laid out to share. The journey began in Singapore with the eboard video, “Crazy Rich SEAC,” a humorous and fitting parody of “Crazy Rich Asians,” which was set in Singapore. It featured Nguyen as the “outsider girlfriend” being introduced to the exclusive and crazy family of SEAC. The audience was then graced with two song performances. The first was a simple and sweet cover of “Lost” by Gentle Bones, sung
by Ashley Kamal ’22 and Michael Cheng ’21. The second song was a passionate serenade between Myles Gui ’21 and Chloe Yu ’22, with dancers floating around them. In Vietnam, N’SEAC performed a dance to the V-Pop song “Đoá Hoa Hồng (Queen)” by Chi Pu. The soft lighting changed color as the beat of the dance varied until the dance concluded with each dancer holding a rose and swaying gently like the petals of the flower. After the show, dancer Nancy Tran ’20 shared her thoughts as a performer. “I don’t have that much contact with Vietnamese pop even though I’m Vietnamese,” she said, adding, “you get to learn so much [culture] from being a part of it.” N’SEAC’s well choreographed dance transitioned into a popular Vietnamese game show, “Người Ấy Là Ai,” that originated in Thailand. Four bachelors were presented and each table voted on who they thought was single or taken. Just like regular family, my table found common ground on discussing other people’s love lives. Some Thai tea was spilled, it was great. The start of the next performance had was noticeably hampered due to technical difficulties. I’ll agree that delayed flights are the worst, but a dance performance by Kaos Kids that took us around the world made all the waiting worth it. Choreographed by different members of the dance crew, this performance incorporated various styles of song and dance from Asia, Southeast Asia, Mumbai, India and France. Audience member Elli Xiao ’22 said, “My favorite performance was Kaos Kids — they were super cool and fun, and I thought their airline theme was really inventive and a nice way of piecing [sic] the individual songs/ cultures together.” Well said, Elli. This dance truly had me shook. Our around-the-world trip next took us to six regions of Indonesia, where Jennifer Tau-
fan ’20 choreographed an authentic traditional dance known as “Lagu Daerah,” in which pairs of dancers from each region displayed the wonderful variety of Indonesian culture. Flashback Filipino (Chris Calimlim ’19, Mari Guzman ’19, and Maia Reyes ’19) brought us to the Philippines with a “Heartbreak Medley” of original Pilipino music. The special guest of the night, D-Trix, a Filipino-American most prominently known from YouTube as a comedian and dancer, displayed his talents of singing and improvising on the keyboard while cracking jokes here and there, all in spite of being sick. During the Q&A, he offered some very good life advice about making decisions based on love instead of fear before leaving us with free merch. Our final stop: Thailand! Lead by Nguyen, the SEAC e-board presented an energetic and fast-paced dance to “Theme Song” by BNK48. A high-energy finale to a high-energy night. In an interview after the show with the Justice, SEAC President Alice Gong ’20, explained
her hopes for AYALA, “We really want to give it our all and showcase the beautiful cultures that Southeast Asia has … regardless of if you’re Southeast Asian, you can come and enjoy all the cultures at one time.” However, AYALA isn’t just another culture show. Gong emphasized that the “main purpose is [for] charity.” This year, SEAC sold raffle tickets for a chance to pie an e-board member in the face to support the Burma Task Force, a coalition of 19 US and Canadian Muslim Organizations. Their purpose is to advocate for the rights of Rohingya refugees encountering religious persecution, genocide, and other injustices within Burma. Overall, I had a fun time experiencing various Southeast Asian cultures. My highlight of the night? The show’s hosts. Despite sound system issues, Elizabeth Gentile ’20 and Jason Kwan ’20 smoothly played along with their charismatic and humorous exchanges. So in a fitting echo of Kwan’s words, I really did take home lots of Thai tea and a great performance.
FEELS LIKE HOME: The Southeast Asia Club prepared games and food to bring together the audiances.
Photos by NOAH ZEITLIN/the Justice
TALENT FROM THE STUDENTS: Brandeis performers graced the audiance with pop songs from Southeast Asia.
DANCE AROUND THE W0RLD: A variety forms of dances were performed at AYALA, from traditional music to V-pop.
MUSIC
MAD Band rocks the Castle By KENT DINLENC JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
Loud. That is how I would describe my Friday night at Chum’s. This, however, is not a negative attribute. Loud is usually exciting, invigorating, awakening. The concert that I attended was all of these. The MAD Band hosted a jam session with the Bentley Pep Band, and to say the café roared would be an understatement. It’s a good thing the Castle doesn’t have residents anymore, because students were blasting music through their speakers, valves, drums and bells. Bentley had the honor of starting the show. They had an explosive opening with Chicago’s song “25 by 6 to 4.” Then they jumped into some
Design: Shinji Rho/the Justice
classic pep band favorites like “Hips Don’t Lie,” “Tequila,” the Pokemon theme song and the Kirby theme song. Without a doubt, I can honestly say that the Bentley group had the greatest tambourine player of all time. His stage presence alone was a gift. The way he moved his body, the love of the rhythm. The way he attacked the cowbell during “Seven Nation Army” was a clear homage to Blue Oyster Cult’s “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper.” He was a percussion machine — apart from Brandeis’ David Adams ’22, who did double duty and was nice enough to lend his drumming skills to the group. As great as the tambourine man was, Brandeis blew Bentley out of the water. To be fair, their repertoire was not what you would usually find in a pep band player’s music
folder. They played full versions of Lucky Chopssongs, Michael Jackson’s “I Want You Back” and “Stand By Me.” Brandeis’ pep band was twice the size of Bentley’s band. There were sections for impressive solos by alto saxophonist Aaron Finkel ’19, trombonist Evan Sayer ’20, and tenor saxophonist Matthew Kowalyk ’18. Bentley’s best were their baritone saxophonist, flutist and trombonist — who doubled as a conductor. Everyone on the MAD Band was feeling the music. MAD Band read the room and knew what needed to be done: a saxophone solo battle. Never did I think I’d see Student Union Vice President Finkel seductively lean on a couch and play an impressive solo. Kowalyk’s was blunter, but nonetheless reciprocative, in this bombastic and audacious back-and-forth.
I’d say the only loose cannon in the MAD Band was the trumpet section. Yet weak feels like the wrong word, because I could hardly feel my eardrum after the quartet ended songs with long high notes. Not to say they played poorly, but they wouldn’t know what mezzo forte was if it was blasted in their ears. I can’t end this article without mentioning my denunciation of their performance of “We Are Number One.” Meme status aside, I just simply wasn’t expecting it. The song was played well, but did I need to hear it on full blast in a small room at 9 p.m. on a Friday night as I was entering a state of norovirus? Perhaps not. But did Steven Tarr ’19 direct the MAD Band to successful evening full of good times and good music? Yes.
THE JUSTICE I ARTS I TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2019
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THEATER REVIEW
Fun at Mamma Mia! Photos by NOAH ZEITLIN/the Justice
PASSIONATE CAST: In an open cast production, anyone who is interested in performing on stage.
By KENT DINLENC JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
In the past four years, no show has ever sold out all five of its showings. Producer Gabriel Walker ’19 should pat himself on the back for amassing the largest possible turnout for the Undergraduate Theater Collective’s “Mamma Mia!” Hell, I even saw my econometrics professor in the audience watching Director Leah Sherin’s ’19 latest project. For those who haven’t been exposed to “Mamma Mia!” in film or Broadway musical form, the plot revolves around a 20-year-old Sophie getting married on a Greek island. She doesn’t know who her real father is, but discovers her mother was involved with three different men around the time she was conceived. She invites all three in the hopes that she can identify her real father in time to give her away to her fiancé.
IT’S THE 70S!: The production restored the vibe of the decade it is set in, including the iconic fashion style.
The jukebox musical is pumped with memorable ABBA songs that everyone can enjoy and get excited about. Sherin managed to maintain this joy with a pretty fun production. In collaboration with costume designer Sam Schulman ’21, Sherin brought the 70s to life with iconic bell-bottoms and clothing so shiny and glossy it dazzled the audience. The atmosphere of the musical was well-realized, in that it served as a great backdrop. Master carpenter Remmi Kagan-Garcia’s 20 sturdy veranda and the blue and white furniture rounded out this lovely rustic island aesthetic. But now let’s talk about the people occupying the space. This production of the famed musical consisted of an open cast, in that people of all levels of experience were allowed to audition and be in the show. Honestly, it wasn’t much of an obstacle. The musical opens with Sophia Seufert ’22 as Sophie, who sang beautifully throughout. Solo, duet or ensemble, she performed every song with everything she had, and it showed. However, if I had to say, I didn’t find her engaging as an actress. Her chemistry with any of the male leads was lacking. However, that may be because I found them without much on-stage charisma. Any time one of the three fathers or Sky (JAMR Marceaux ‘21), Sophie’s fiancé, entered on-stage, my enthusiasm for the next scene dwindled. Alex Ross’s ’22 best moments as Bill were simply by osmosis originally emanating from Talia Jacobson’s ‘22 bombastic and hilarious go-around as Rosie. A scene stealer, Jacobson left no stone unturned and chewed up the scenery whenever she could. Sean Riordan’s ’22 portrayal of Harry was fine (though his fake guitar-playing needs some
work). Also, if the UTC is using an open cast, it is an acceptable creative choice to get rid of Harry’s British accent completely rather than have your actor stumble through one on-stage. Harry’s Britishness is not the center of his identity, and if it’s somehow a way to convey his posh and cushy lifestyle, you can do away with that outdated trope and solely rely on Riordan’s fantastic and flashy three-piece suit. Bryan McNamara ’19 did the best of the three as Sam. He had more duets and lines, so he had more of a presence quantitatively. Despite good performances individually, the charisma just didn’t match the rest of the cast. Marceaux is the exception, in that his stage presence didn’t entice me at all. Expecting an iconic duet for “Lay All Your Love On Me,” I was underwhelmed and disappointed that Seufert’s musical enthusiasm was not reciprocated. But now let’s discuss the main lead. Amber Crossman ’21, who plays the titular Mamma, stole the show. There was not a single false note, musically or otherwise. She truly was the Meryl Streep of the cast. Her solos in “Slipping Through My Fingers” and “The Winner Takes It All” won me over and convinced me that she was the best singer and actress in the whole show. The real dancing queens were local ensemble members Emil Koenig ’18 and Myles McDevitt ’18. Say what you want about the rest of the cast, but these two were having the most fun on stage. Koenig with facial expressions one could never forget and McDevitt with a passionate song in his heart, the two had a fantastic debut this weekend. Any scene — scratch that — any musical would be elevated by the entrance of these two. The choreography was simple and
STAR OF THE NIGHT: Among the performances, Amber Crossman ’21 stole the show with her singing.
repetitive, but unlike the rest of the cast, these two made it their own. But that’s what “Mamma Mia!” is all about: singing without a care in the world and dancing like nobody’s watching. Sure, some set pieces were a lot better than others, but other minor players got a big kick out of just being on stage, like Max LeBlanc ’22 as hotel bartender Pepper and Hannah Novack ’22 as Sophie’s friend Lisa. They looked like they were having a blast. And I’d have to say that I’m glad this was the UTC production to end on before I graduate. I’m familiar with the material, the production was great and the energy from the record-shattering attendance made me tap my foot to the beat. A lot of people will be glad I’m finally signing off, and that’s understandable given my reputation, but my intentions were to always be fair. Most will say good riddance, but much like “Mamma Mia,” I’d like to end by saying “Thank You For The Music.”
DRAG SHOW
Drag Show celebrates pride and talent By VICENTE CAYUELA JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
“Drag queens are people, too!” said Plane Jane, an established performer from the Boston area. She opened this year’s Triskelion’s Annual Drag Show with what seemed to be a wink to those old Rocky Horror Picture Show midnight screenings. Next to her, co-host and drag king Jayden Jamison welcomed the eager audience to an intergalactic room that looked nothing like Sherman Function Hall. Following this year’s theme, “Gays in Space,” the room was decorated earlier that evening by members of Triskelion, the LGBTQIA+ club, who made sure that this Saturday’s event took place in an incredibly well-utilized venue. Shimmery stars, glittery curtains and colorful galaxy lights made us believe, at least momentarily, that we were not at Brandeis anymore. Instead, we were enjoying the excitement and pride of any local drag club of the area. Despite the absence of one of the
quirky musicalized ode to the universe was a confusing, yet interesting debut reminiscent of Tammy Brown with bigger hair and looser dance movements. Lip syncs by drag kings Ziggy and Tso Mann Lee followed. Other performances by Brandeis students included a livesinging presentation by “Jamie” who might or might have not forgotten their lyrics, but who was nevertheless reaffirmed by the audience members with the steady clapping of their hands throughout the rest of the song. Drag is all about support, and our Brandeis community delivered that and much more. Intercultural Center Program Administrator Tara Whitehurst has been attending the annual event for the last three years. This time, she celebrated the participation from both the established queens and students that have just gotten a start in drag. “It’s the best one so far,” she told the Justice in a March 30 interview. The inclusive atmosphere created by the performers made it easy for the audience to stay engaged and in a collaborative mindset all night, reminding us that in the end, drag is a close interaction between artist and audience. On multiple occasions, some of CLARA ALEXANDER/the Justice the attendees directGALAXY AND SPACE: A lot of effort was ly participated with put into set production to create the the drag queens cosmic vibe for the show. on stage, tipping
advertised queens — eccentric Goo Goo Gaga did not make it to the show — Saturday was a massive success thanks to the artists that we got to see on stage. This year’s edition brought a powerful and diverse line-up to an incredibly receptive and supportive audience. Experienced Boston-based performers, such as Atlas Queen and the theatrical Shayna Punum, mingled with an energetic group of Brandeis queens and kings. For some, this was their first time performing in drag at a live venue. From Aurora Whorealis’s untamed and invigorating rendition of Lady Gaga’s “Venus” to Boston performer California Queen’s ethereal lip sync of Florence + the Machine’s “Cosmic Love,” the performances were as varied as the types of drag presented during the evening. From hyper-feminine to hyper-masculine performers, from comedians to beauty queens, Triskelion managed to portray the ever-evolving and expanding drag scene. Later into the show, Futasmas’s
Photos by CLARA ALEXANDER/the Justice
GUEST STARS: The drag show not only feature Brandeis students, but also performers from the Boston area. them (as is expected in a drag show) and dancing and sashaying their way through the aisles of the function hall during a thrilling competition. Saturday’s show was a demonstration of everything that drag is supposed to be about: supporting your community while going beyond the limits of traditional gender norms. We are not in the ’70s anymore, and despite this year’s theme and what Dr. Frank-n-Furter makes us believe, drag queens are not aliens from outer space. If there is one thing that they sure
know how to do, it is to take us to another dimension through their art and performance. To close out the evening, Jeremy Surla Vargas, the new program administrator of the Gender and Sexuality Center, congratulated the performers and the students from Triskelion with a bouquet of pink and red roses. After the show, as the students mingled with the drag queens, he confirmed what many of us wanted to hear: drag is not going anywhere and next year’s version will only be bigger and better.
Design: Leah Samantha Chanen/the Justice
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TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2019 | ARTS | THE JUSTICE
INTERVIEW
JUSTARTS SPOTLIGHT ON THE ROSE
By ELLIE WHISENANT JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
Howardena Pindell’s “‘Till Brinam Wood Removes to Dunsinane’ (Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 3)” (1991) effectively draws the audience’s attention, first focusing their eyes on the yellow center where the large text “Have A Nice Day” starkly contrasts with the smaller words “propaganda,” “death” and “double standards” surrounding it. Throughout the work, Pindell uses the same technique of eyecatching contrasts. In the black background, bright, blood-red handprints break up the blackness and draw the public’s eye to certain words neighboring them. Phrases like “Full Air Explosives,” painted in red, appear next to words like “Silence,” written completely in white. Here, a word with loud and destructive connotations appears next to “Silence,” the result of destruction, implying a lack of life. Pindell layers the contrast not only in her choice of colors but also in their specific placement. Though the words and phrases are individual, they each relate to ones close by. There are no full sentences, but the manner in which she formats her art causes the viewer to read the words consecutively so that, in a way, a narrative forms. As your eyes follow the circular outline away from “Silence” and “Explosive,” you see “Mass Murder” and “Media Spectacle” but then you are immediately drawn to “orphans” next to a read handprint and the white stripes behind “patriarchal genocide.” Each word is specifically chosen for its potential shock value and ability to create powerful images in your mind. Her expert use of contrasts holds your attention as even more words appear out of the blackness to catch your eye. Since no one shares the same image and word association, the experience is very individual as we connect the words and phrases into our own story. This is why “‘Till Brinam Wood Removes to Dunsinane’ (Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 3)” is so fantastic; Pindell knows how to target each person’s sensibilities.
STAFF’S Top Ten
Justice File Photo
Top 10 Happy Fits Songs By Jen Geller JUSTICE EDITOR
A relatively new band, The Happy Fits have been my go-to choice for the past several months no matter what mood I am in. Here is my top 10 list of my favorite songs of theirs, and if you have never listened to them, I HIGHLY recommend:
1. Dirty Imbecile 2. Too Late 3. Reason for Dreaming 4. While You Fade Away 5. Achey Bones 6. So Alright, Cool, Whatever 7. Best Tears 8. Right Through 9. Grow Back 10. Relimerence
Leah Sherin ’19 NOAH ZEITLIN/the Justice
This week, justArts spoke with Leah Sherin ’19, who directed Mamam Mia! JustArts: Tell me a bit about yourself and your experience with theater. ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice
Leah Sherin: I’ve been doing theater all throughout Brandeis ... I was in [the] open cast musical my freshman year. And have directed another play before and directed 24 hour, so I was really excited to direct open-cast my last semester. JA: What inspired you to pick up this project? LS: So the musical was chosen by the whole UTC. Anybody can submit a show and then the proposal board and UTC together eventually make a decision on the show. I was really excited about Mamma Mia! because everybody knows it. Everybody knows the music. And the show is so light hearted and fun and lends itself really well to an open cast, large cast environment. A lot of dancing and singing, it’s a blast. JA: Mamma Mia! is very well-known, both the play and the theater. When directing this play, what did you do make this production unique from the others?
LUKE LIU/the Justice
CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 _____ sci 5 Err 10 Tush 14 “Can you give me an example?” 15 How some stocks are sold 16 German river 17 “Why act so crazy?” 19 Often-vengeful goddess 20 Unreliable _______ 21 Ear part 22 _____ pro nobis 23 “I’m not angry at all” 26 Type of drive 29 Sessions, etc. 31 USO audience 32 Put on the payroll 34 Something checked with a penny 40 Places to find old Souls? 43 Unreliable 44 Aware of the schemes of 45 Alley-___ 46 Data storage device 49 Start to start? 50 Reason to end a relationship, perhaps 55 Carrere of “Wayne’s World” 57 Like good chocolate cake 58 See 10-Down 63 Part of 65-Down 64 Roosevelt policy ... or something that can be found 4 times in this puzzle? 66 “...____ time!” 67 Take effect, as cabin fever 68 Units of cookies, at grandma’s house 69 Makes in total 70 Veritable utopias 71 “Three Sisters” sister DOWN 1 Sell, as a wedding ring 2 Workplace protection org. 3 One serving whoppers? 4 Many a course taken freshman year 5 Corporation acquired by Whirlpool in 2006 6 Langston Hughes poem 7 Turn down 8 Nabokov novel 9 Trial 10 Program to prevent 58-Acrosses 11 1985 John Malkovich film 12 “What _____!” 13 Genuine, with “the” 18 Actress Gilbert 21 Throws out, as a line 24 Fiona in “Shrek”, for one 25 Stadium seating designation 26 Emphatic no 27 Emphatic yes 28 Wrestler Hart or author Harte 30 One of thirteen 33 Japanese era
LS: So it’s definitely a challenge to direct a show that’s so well-known like this, and everybody has an image of what the characters look like. Everybody has their version that they pictured, from the movie and everything like that. So I definitely didn’t want to stray too far from what we think of and love as Mama Mia!. But at the same time getting creative with the design and how we blocked it and choreograph it in a way that works well with the stage, and will work well for the actors that we have. So one of the things I did to structure it that will maybe feel a little bit different from that movie is that we split the ensemble into 3 groups. One is the locals, people who live on island, one is the guests who are at the wedding, one is this kind of dream ensembles. It’s a little more abstract. JA: What it’s like to direct an open cast, where everyone came in with different experience level with theater?
Crossword Courtesy of EVAN MAHNKEN
35 Moral convictions 36 17th Greek letter 37 “_____ Kleine Nachtmusik” 38 Certain pads, for short 39 U.K. mil. honors 41 Zagreb native 42 Bad way to run 47 Ship parts 48 Looking grim, as a situation 50 Request at a casino 51 Carried 52 Yukking it up, formally 53 These, in Tijuana 54 ______ 66 56 Augment 59 Like the subject of a Carly Simon song 60 Trompe l’_____ 61 Gave away information, to a mobster 62 Character who sings “Let It Go” 64 Dallas-to-Houston dir. 65 See 63-Across
LS: That’s a big part of what drew me to want to do this is that I knew there will be actors from all different kinds of backgrounds, and it was for me all about creating an experience. As much as we want the show to turn out really fun for the audiences, we wanted the experience for everyone involved to be great and rewarding. And I thought a lot about how to structure the show, in a way that would be inclusive and make it work for those who are new to theater, make it comfortable for them and make it exciting for those that have done a lot of theater production before, so it’s about a balance there. I did to try to make it very inclusive is people who [were] really, really experienced dancers, we set up as dance captains for the show, to give them some leadership and to also help out the actors that were less experienced dancers, so they will always have somebody to go to ask questions and kind of things like that to make it more just kind of work for everyone.
Solution Courtesy of EVAN MAHNKEN
—Luke Liu