The Justice, May 2, 2017

ARTS Page 19

SPORTS Baseball team pulls off victory 16

SPRINGFEST

FORUM Acknowledge US relations with North Korea 11 The Independent Student Newspaper

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Justice

Volume LXIX, Number 25

www.thejustice.org

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

ICC 25th ANNIVERSARY

ADMINISTRATION

Liebowitz announces raise in tuition rates ■ President Liebowitz

responded to questions regarding the raise in tuition and charges.

By ABBY PATKIN and lIAT SHAPIRO JUSTICE EDITOR AND sTAFF WRITER

There will be a 3.75 percent increase in undergraduate comprehensive charges for the 2017 to 2018 academic year, University President Ronald Liebowitz announced in an email to students on Friday.

In his email, Liebowitz wrote that the Board of Trustees approved the increase during their meeting last week.

“The university’s trustees and I appreciate the significant investment you and your family are

making in your future. While an increase is never welcome, it helps us maintain our standing as a toptier university with global reach, attracting outstanding students such as you, and recruiting and retaining faculty who pursue learning and scholarship at the highest levels,” he wrote.

In an email to the Justice, Liebowitz wrote that the increased revenue will be directed at “institutional priorities,” including support for faculty, financial assistance for students in need and campus maintenance. “The university's budget must cover these activities, which are further impacted by compliance and regulatory costs on top of the typical inflationary factors,” he wrote.

According to the Brandeis web-

See TUITION, 7 ☛

LABOR COALITION

Campus police call for contract negotiations ■ University Police spread

publicity about their union negotiation standstill with the administration.

By AMBER MILES JUSTICE EDITOR

The Brandeis University Police Association will soon go into mediation with the University over the terms of its new contract, said two union representatives who have both worked for Brandeis for more than 12 years. The Justice granted these two representatives anonymity due to their fear of retaliation.

The union’s previous contract ended in July 2016, and the Office of Human Resources contacted the officers on Aug. 3, 2016 to schedule negotiation meetings, according to emails received by the union. Contract negotiations did not begin until the end of September, and after eight such meetings, proceedings

will now move to mediation, union representatives told the Justice in an interview.

Fliers from the Brandeis University Police Association began to appear around campus last week, alleging that “Brandeis University refuses to bargain in good faith” and listing criticisms of the University’s conduct, including tardiness to meetings, unpreparedness and disregard for officers’ concerns. The Association is also known as ACOPS Local 20, which is a chapter of the American Coalition of Public Safety. ACOPS Local 20 has 15 full-time officers, the representatives said.

The University “want[s] a police force, but they don’t want to give the police force what it needs to serve the public,” one of the union representatives told the Justice.

Of these needs, the primary goals of ACOPS Local 20 involve the scheduling of shifts and the training of officers.

See POLICE, 7 ☛

TALYA GUENZBURGER/the Justice

KEYNOTE: Dr. Janice Johnson Dias ’94 returned to speak about her Brandeisian and career experiences with activism.

Intercultural Center celebrates anniversary ■ Keynote speaker Dr. Janice

Johnson Dias ’94 spoke about the ICC's role in both community and activism.

By MAURICE WINDLEY JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

On the second day of the Intercultural Center’s 25th anniversary celebration, returning guest speaker and University alumni Dr. Janice Johnson Dias ’94 delivered a “semi-autobiographical” keynote address and discussion shedding light on how college communities can better bridge the gap between “students, activism and the community.”

An associate professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at John Jay College and co-founder of the Grassroots Community Foundation, Johnson Dias uses both “qualitative and quantitative methodologies” in her studies to evaluate the living experiences of mothers and children in impoverished communities. Johnson Dias’s work

specializes in “building collaborations dedicated to sustainable social change” in order to “instigate conversations on productive activism and positive community change,” she said in her remarks.

Johnson Dias’s keynote, titled “Structuring Resistance: from Student Activism to Community Changemaker,” sought to explore how the Brandeis community can “not create a divide between students’ ability to create change and the community [itself],” Johnson Dias said.

The University could transition to becoming a community that promotes activism, said Johnson Dias, as she recounted her earlier Brandeisian experience and explained that Brandeis was once “centered around non-sectarianism and intended to be an open space.”

Drawing parallels to 2015’s Ford Hall protest, Johnson Dias explained that, in the fall of 1990, students protested the University’s fifth president, Evelyn Handler, and Brandeis’s involvement in South Africa during the studentand faculty-led South African Di-

vestment Fast Movement.

The students began an anti-apartheid protest that used fasting as a way to respond to and atone for the the University’s investments in South Africa, in order to prevent the University from “benefiting off [African-Americans’] legacy of oppression.” Although at the time Brandeis only invested in South African companies that complied with the Sullivan Principles — financial codes of conduct created in 1971 by Leon Sullivan to promote corporate social responsibility — this protest was a way for student activists to achieve tangible change in African communities by using the money saved from the fasts to aid African famine relief during apartheid.

Johnson Dias explained that, with this in mind, the University must dispel the notion of “liberator and oppressor as dichotomous,” and transition to understanding them as “a part of what comes together.” She explained to the students that “Brandeis seems to restrict and restrain you, yet they’re

See ICC, 7 ☛

Woven Wonder

Softball Success

Union Rights

 Amanda Zehner M.A. ’11, founded a company which connects artisans to Western markets.

 The softball team came out on top in both games of a doubleheader against Colby College.

 Graduate students will conduct a vote to determine their unionization rights.

FEATURES 9

For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org

Waltham, Mass.

Let your voice be heard!

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

INDEX

SPORTS 16 ARTS SPORTS

17 13

EDITORIAL FEATURES

10 OPINION 8 POLICE LOG

10 2

News 3 COPYRIGHT 2017 FREE AT BRANDEIS.

2

TUESDAY, May 2, 2017

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NEWS SENATE LOG Senate convenes for last meeting of the academic semester The Senate convened on Saturday for its last meeting of the academic year. The meeting was moved from Sunday due to Springfest.

Executive Senator Hannah Brown ’19 reminded the Senate about the upcoming State of the Union on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Brown mentioned appointing committee chairs for next year, but Class of 2020 Senator Tal Richtman suggested that the Senate appoint chairs in the fall to give people a chance to join the Union and run for these positions.

Richtman also suggested that there be a resolution acknowledging the work of the Allocations Board and other branches of the Union. The Senate agreed and decided that this resolution will be done at a later date.

Brown then brought up the upcoming Union and Club Awards. The categories will be new club of the year; club with outstanding dedication to community service, (one for a regular club and one for the Waltham Group); senator who has demonstrated outstanding service to the Brandeis community; senator of the year; friend of the senate (non-Senate); and innovator of the year (non-Senate).

President-Elect Jacob Edelman ’18 asked the members of the Union for their thoughts and reflections on the Student Union’s performance this year and for ways in which it could improve.

Richtman said that one of the biggest problems is communication. One way to solve this, he says, is to make a communication committee and split the Services and Outreach Committee into two separate committees: services and social. Richtman also felt that there was a decrease in Union productivity in the second semester, including lackluster Senator attendance and less devotion to roles.

Midyear Senator Dana Brown ’20 said that it is hard for first-years and midyears to jump into the Senate because they do not know what they are doing right away and are still trying to get used to Brandeis. She said a training session for newcomers to understand the intricacies of the Union would be helpful.

Edelman suggested that there could be a mentoring program where an older member of the Union is matched with a newcomer to train them. He also mentioned that the Student Union should undergo mental health training to recognize signs of mental distress in fellow students.

Senator-at-Large Matt Smetana ’17 suggested that members of outside clubs should be able to apply to join Union committees. This change would reduce the work of Union members on committees and allow many different perspectives to be lent to the committees, he said.

Union Vice President Paul Sindberg ’18 said that 85 percent of clubs have undergone bystander training.

Class of 2019 Senator Kate Kesselman stated the accomplishments of the Dining Committee, which include the introduction of a panini press in Sherman Dining Hall, the relocation of Dunkin Donuts and weekly meetings with Sodexo to improve food quality.

Smetana reported that the DeisBikes Initiative was completed. He and many others rode to the different fix stations and around campus to promote awareness of biking Brandeis.

Richtman reported that the Club Support Committee checked in with many different clubs. The committee met some resistance from club leaders about club reports and wants to find another way to connect with club leaders, he said. Richtman also stated that there are some inefficiencies in the number of clubs in terms of inactivity and duplicates.

Outgoing Union President David Herbstritt ’17 ended with remarks about his time serving the Union, explaining that being in the Student Union has been one of the best experiences of his life, and that he is very grateful for his time served.

—Emily Blumenthal

The Justice will not print on May 9 or May 16 due to final exams.

A commencement issue will be published on May 23.

POLICE LOG Medical Emergency April 25—A party in Renfield Hall reported that they were having an asthma attack.

University Police and BEMCo responded, and the party was treated with a signed refusal for further care.

April 25—University Police received report of a party having a panic attack in the Bernstein-Marcus Administration Center. The party was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care, with a request put in to the Brandeis Counseling Center.

April 26—University Police received report of a party with an elevated heart rate in Usdan Student Center. The party was treated by BEMCo staff and was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospitalfor further care.

April 27—A party in the Shapiro Campus Center reported that they were feeling lightheaded and nauseous. The party was treated by BEMCo staff with a signed refusal for further care.

April 28—A party in the Charles River Apartments reported that they were not feeling well. The party was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care.

April 29—University Police received report of an intoxicated party in a bathroom in Shapiro Hall. The party was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care, and the area coordinator on call was notified.

April 29—A party in Village Quad reported that they were experiencing abdominal pain and uncontrollable shaking.

University Police and BEMCo responded, and the party was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care.

April 29—A party in East Quad reported that they were feeling ill. BEMCo staff treated the party, who was then transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care.

Larcency

April 29—A party in Village Quad reported that their clothes went missing from the laundry room while left unattended. University Police compiled a report on the incident.

Disturbance April 29—University Police received a noise complaint for a party in the Foster Mods.

University Police dispersed

FOOD TRUCK FESTIVAL

the party without incident.

Harassment

April 27—University Police received multiple reports of an unidentified party pulling up to people on Charles River Road and attempting to engage in conversation. University Police searched the area for a vehicle matching the description given, but the vehicle could not be located.

April 30—A party reported that there were approximately 15 males possibly fighting at a BranVan stop in Grad. The group dispersed upon arrival, with two parties later located.

The parties claimed that they were playing a game, not fighting, and University Police took no further action.

—Compiled by Abby Patkin

BRIEF City council declares Waltham a “Welcoming City” to immigrants

ADAM PANN/the Justice

Crowds enjoyed tasting treats and shopping from truck vendors at Brandeis Student Event’s first Deis Food Fest on Thursday evening.

Waltham’s city council approved a resolution declaring Waltham a “Welcoming City” to immigrants on April 10, according to an April 13 report by the Waltham Patch.

As a resolution, the declaration serves as the city council’s official stance and does not amend any laws or require any funding. “It’s a resolution — it’s not changing any laws. It’s not trying to do anything except for sending a message ... to those people in our community who feel fear,” said Ward 9 Councilor Robert Logan at the April 10 city council meeting, which was recorded by Waltham Newswatch.

At the meeting, councilors discussed the potential consequences of the federal government confusing the term with the more politically weighted “sanctuary” status.

In response, Councilor-at-Large Carlos Vidal, who sponsored the Waltham resolution, said, “I don’t believe the term ‘welcoming city’ and ‘sanctuary city’ are the same. Based on what I’ve seen around the country, ... it is a symbolic gesture on a resolution format to make sure that Waltham is a welcoming city to everyone, including immigrants,” according to the Waltham Newswatch recording.

Other Boston area cities, including Newton, Brookline, Arlington and Acton, have pushed agendas to become sanctuary communities since the Trump administration issued federal travel bans in January, according to the Boston Globe.

Logan added to Vidal’s statement, “Personally, I don’t view this as just immigration; I really don’t. It’s for all people — gays, straights, immigrants, foreign people, handicapped, those with disabilities — all folks are welcomed here.”

Of the city’s 15 councilors, 14 voted affirmatively to pass the resolution, reported Waltham Newswatch.

—Michelle Dang

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS

Justice

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www.thejustice.org

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

Editor News Forum Features Sports Arts Ads Photos Managing Copy Layout

editor@thejustice.org news@thejustice.org forum@thejustice.org features@thejustice.org sports@thejustice.org arts@thejustice.org ads@thejustice.org photos@thejustice.org managing@thejustice.org copy@thejustice.org layout@thejustice.org

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

n A news article in the April 25 issue featuring the opening of the WBRS studio contained multiple factual inaccuracies.

Additionally, the Justice reporter did not adhere to the Justice’s standards for ethical and accurate reporting, including standard practices for interviewing subjects, such as identifying oneself as a journalist.

Specifically, all quotes that appeared in the original version were not accurate, direct quotations. Rather, the reporter attributed paraphrases — some containing false statements — to the WBRS staff members that he spoke with in the studio.

To amend these errors, the original News brief has been rewritten, the quotes

have been removed and this list of corrections is additionally posted online.

The Justice remains dedicated to ethical and accurate reporting, and we will review newspaper policies and reporting practices with our staff accordingly.

A previous version of the article falsely stated that the WBRS recording studio was part of the WBRS station; they are separate entities.

The article also falsely stated that the WBRS station was down during construction of the new studio.

This previous version stated that the project was a renovation of an existing entity; however, the recording studio is a new addition to WBRS.

The article stated that Ryan Gebhardt ’17 is a sophomore and that he was playing bass guitar. He is actually a senior, and he was not playing bass guitar.

The article mistakenly referred to the studio equipment as “appliances,” and also misquoted Isaac Zukin ’19 as speaking about expanding the WBRS station. Zukin was actually speaking about opening the studio as a paid professional studio for artists outside the Brandeis community.

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

THE JUSTICE

Graduate students to conduct a vote for unionization

By ABBY PATKIN JUSTICE EDITOR

Graduate students who provide instructional services at the University will vote today to decide whether they want to be exclusively represented by Service Employees International Union Local 509.

In the weeks leading up to the vote, University President Ronald Liebowitz issued a statement to graduate students and faculty, offering his perspective on why unionization would not be a prudent move for the graduate students.

The National Labor Relations Board ruled in August 2016 that graduate students who teach at private universities are legally able to choose to be represented by a union for the purposes of collective bargaining.

In his April 21 statement, Liebowitz wrote that he opposes graduate student unionization based on “fundamental concerns” that unionization will “inhibit individualized graduate student academic programs,” “create a formal employer/employee relationship between faculty and students” and “compromise the university’s ability to work collaboratively with graduate students in a shared governance model.”

Unionization would take away flexibility in student-University negotiations, Liebowitz argued in the statement, adding that he believes that “graduate students and their faculty committee and mentors are best able to make critical decisions regarding the components of each student’s graduate program without potential constraints imposed by collective bargaining agreements.”

Though he encouraged those graduate student workers eligible to vote to do so and emphasized that “Brandeis supports the rights of workers to vote to organize,” Liebowitz wrote that he does not believe that unionization will “enhance the graduate student experience.”

But several graduate students do not share Liebowitz’s views: “There is no merit to President Liebowitz’s claims,” Diana Filar, a Ph.D. student, wrote in an email to the Justice. “Other schools ... offer proof and testimony against the false claim that somehow unionizing would change the individualized programs or collaboration. In fact, unionizing is based on collaboration and the joining together of voices from across department[s] — something that hasn’t happened very much until some of these unionizing conversations began to happen.”

Filar, who wrote that she is part of the organizing committee for the graduate student unionization movement, added that she specifically takes issue with the claim that unionization would promote a formal relationship between faculty and students.

“In treating the university as a business, [the] administration and presidents [sic] are the ones treating our faculty, advisors, and department heads like ‘managers,’” she wrote.

Benjamin Kreider, a Ph.D. candidate at the Heller School of Social Policy and Management, added in an email to the Justice that “President Leibowitz’s [sic] email to graduate students was exceptionally disappointing. It’s not at all unusual for university administrations to try and deter their faculty or graduate student-workers from unionizing, but we expected better from the administration at Brandeis. … They always bring up

the same scare tactics to try and convince graduate student-workers to vote against their own best interests.”

He added that many of Liebowitz’s core claims have been refuted in a Cornell University study examining the effects of graduate student-worker unions. According to the study’s findings, “unionization does not have the presumed negative effect on student outcomes, and in some cases has a positive effect.”

Unionization could also have a positive effect on faculty members, Filar wrote. The “formalization of the role of our faculty isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” she said, adding, “They shouldn’t have to advise us on issues of insurance, salary, and other day to day empl[o]yee tasks that something like an HR department would handle otherwise. We want our professors to do what they do best and we want to be recognized by the administration as the workers that they effectually employ to teach many of its courses.”

Kreider added that most graduate students “would like to have more input into policies that affect the many hours we spend doing the labor that makes the university run; most also agree that they would like their work to be valued.”

“A union would give me a voice — a seat at the table,” wrote Kreider, who said that he began meeting with fellow graduate students shortly after the NLRB decision.

“Currently, graduate students have virtually no voice on this campus. Although we have a Graduate Student Association — and I applaud the work they do — graduate students do not have any formal power. Many decisions are made regarding pay, benefits, transparency, career development, and other issues, almost unilaterally.”

These decisions are often made by administrators alone, Kreider wrote, citing a lack of transparency. Moreover, “There is little logic to why some teaching assistant jobs pay much more than others. I have seen jobs where the TA does little work, but is paid relatively well, and jobs where, conversely, the TA does all of the grading and works constantly, yet is paid less.

That is not fair, and graduate students deserve to have a voice in decisions that affect both their lives, and the lives of their students.”

Kreider also expressed frustration with the University’s lack of formal training for graduate students who teach. According to Kreider, graduate student workers only receive Title IX training, which he believes is a “disservice” to students. “I work very hard to serve my students, and so do the other grad students I know, but we are given no formal training on pedagogy, handling sensitive issues, etc.,” he wrote.

Similarly, Filar wrote that the University could make “a few relatively minor adjustments” that could improve graduate student workers’ lives and working conditions. These adjustments might include subsidized commuting costs, dental and vision insurance coverage and better spousal and partner insurance support, summer funding and material responses to the rising cost of living, she added.

Ultimately, though, a union would lend weight to graduate students’ voices, Kreider wrote. “Currently, we can complain, or take part in committees, but our voices do not have to be taken seriously.

The terms of our employment can be changed at any time, with virtually no recourse,” he said. “A union contract would give us a democratic voice. Once we win our union, the contract will be legally enforceable, so our concerns will have to be taken seriously.”

News

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TUESDAY, MAY 2, 2017

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DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES

LABOR COALITION

■ Graduate students for labor unionization respond to Liebowitz’s statement discouraging a union.

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NATALIA WIATER/the Justice

SPEAKER: Dinesh D’Souza gave his lecture on liberal perspectives to community members at Schwartz Hall last Tuesday evening.

Conservative scholar discusses the left and liberal perspectives ■ Hosted by the Brandeis

Conservatives, Dinesh D’Souza gave a lecture on competing political ideologies.

By Michelle DANg JUSTICE EDITOR

Conservative author, filmmaker and political commentator Dinesh D’Souza delivered a lecture on liberal ideology last Tuesday evening to an audience packed in Schwartz Hall.

Highlighting the lack of conservative voices across college campuses, D’Souza’s talk sought to evaluate the suppression of conservative voices by what he deems a misconception of conservative ideology by liberals and progressives.

“The remarkable thing today is that when you go to a college campus, you find it’s not that students reject conservatism — they don’t know what it is,” he said.

If you ask the average young person what modern conservatives are trying to conserve, D’Souza said, “you generally get a blank stare or someone who’ll say ... they’re trying to conserve religion or racism.”

Thus, D’Souza delivered a stream of historical examples that demonstrated discrepancies between the ideologies of past and present Republican and Democratic parties.

Race is one of the most distorted issues in American politics, began D’Souza.

“When we take an honest glance of history, we discover immediately that all the racism that is being invoked ... comes almost exclusively and entirely from the Democratic left itself,” he said.

In the year 1860, D’Souza said that Republicans ran on an antislavery platform and pro-slavery individuals were primarily in the Democratic Party.

“But after the Civil War, when a defense of slavery became, let’s just call it, embarrassing — the progressives altered the historical narrative to stick the blame on the South,” he said.

D’Souza said this confused progressive blame further stems from the “postbellum crimes of the Democratic Party,” seen primarily in the form of white supremacy. Members of the Democratic Party were

the individuals that came up with the institution of segregation, the Ku Klux Klan, racial terrorism and lynching, said D’Souza.

This is the beginning of a pattern, D’Souza continued. “Every segregation law in the South, without exception, was passed by a Democratic legislature, signed by a Democratic governor and implemented

by Democratic officials — there is no exception to that rule,” said D’Souza.

D’Souza said that the irony is that Democrats choose to ignore the responsibility their party had in the same bigotry modern Democrats accuse Republicans of today.

“This is all of kind of a preview.

Ultimately these arguments are arguments of credibility. What the left is basically saying is that we, the very people who did all this bad stuff, are now somehow the saviors of civil rights — we represent civil rights — we should be trusted with advancing the cause of minorities.

Nothing could be actually further from the truth,” said D’Souza.

According to D’Souza, the left is at fault for creating a “wholesale lie” or “meta lie” that puts a lens in front of the camera of young liberals.

The “meta” story right now, in the age of President Donald Trump, is that the Republicans are fascists, said D’Souza.

“Now this is a switch away from the race card, it’s a new card — the fascist card. … The idea now is that the way to understand Trump is to see Trump and the Republicans as incipient or actual fascists.”

Yet liberals are the ones embodying the characteristics of fascists, D’Souza said, adding that liberals brought violence to disrupt Trump rallies, a violence, he said, that was rarely seen at Hillary Clinton rallies.

Progressives are seen enacting “street violence, where you basically block your opponents [and] you prevent them from speaking,” he said.

Fascism is far from conservative when considering the actual foundational ideas of the right, said D’Souza, who then posed the question: Where did the “fascist” accusation stem from in the first place?

According to D’Souza, conservatives’ principles are simple — to conserve the tenets of the American Revolution: economic free-

dom, political freedom, freedom of speech and religion.

“This interlocking trio of freedoms is what those of us on the right are fighting for … far from being the prelude of fascism, this is actually the very antithesis of fascism,” D’Souza said.

“Fascism is the ideology of the all-powerful state,” according to D’Souza. “Nothing could be more distant or remote from American conservatism — Trump doesn’t want to make the state stronger, he wants to make the state weaker. … he wants to emphasize the individual,” D’Souza said.

D’Souza said that historically, American politics has been a gentleman’s fight; however, today it is increasingly difficult for both sides to engage in civil discussion.

“On the campus particularly, I want to initially address the issue of free speech on the outset, because the issue of free speech has nothing to do with hate speech. None of the speakers who are coming to campus — and this is obviously true of me — are here to engage in racial epithets or in any way violate the normal civility of the campus,” D’Souza said.

For liberals, the threatening part of conservative speakers on liberal campuses is not hate speech, but rather the ideas liberals who protest them believe they represent, according to D’Souza.

“I love this kind of setting, it’s informal, it’s intellectual, it’s open,” D’Souza said, adding that speaker events on college campuses have become increasingly contentious.

“I’m trying to get you to become a soldier for a broader understanding of America and American politics, so that the kind of facts that militate against the left are not excluded from the campus — that they have a chance to compete in the free exchange of ideas.”

“My case today is an argument about the left. It’s an argument about racism, about fascism, but also an argument about the liberation of the American mind,” concluded D’Souza.

D’Souza has been touring and delivering his lecture, “Have Liberals Turned Their Back on Liberal Values?” across college campuses.

Student-run organization Brandeis Conservatives collaborated with the Young America’s Foundation to bring D’Souza to the University.

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TUESDAY, May 2, 2017

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TOURING TRUCKS

BRIEF

The Justice elects Abby Patkin ’18 as new editor in chief The Justice staff and editors elected Abby Patkin ’18 as the next editor in chief for the 2017 to 2018 academic year in a unanimous vote on Thursday evening.

An aspiring journalist, Patkin began news writing as a sophomore in high school and started writing for the Justice when she arrived as a first-year.

Patkin made her way to co-News editor by her second semester and served four semesters as News editor of the Justice, three of which she led the section on her own. Since March, Patkin has served as deputy editor under then-Editor in Chief Carmi Rothberg ’18.

In her electorate speech to the Justice staff, Patkin said that she will spend her time as editor in chief focusing on upholding journalistic standards and furthering recruitment and retention efforts.

“I want to focus on recruitment and retention, because the more people we get in, the more diversity of opinions and diversity of viewpoints and writing styles we get, which will really make sure that we’re having engaging and fruitful discussions,” said Patkin in an interview with the Justice.

In addition to potentially expanding the scope of the paper’s

arts and science coverage, Patkin is interested in challenging the staff to pursue deeper and more engaged reporting, stating that she would like to make sure that “when people pick up the Justice, they know that they’re getting a quality piece.”

“The Justice office has become like a second home to me, and it’s gotten to the point where when we have Monday nights off, it feels weird to not be here,” Patkin said. Of her staff and fellow editors, she added, “They’re some of my closest friends on campus, and I think that makes for a really awesome newspaper.”

Amber Miles ’19 was voted up as managing editor, the newspaper’s second-in-command, on April 23. In an interview with the Justice, Miles said her goals for the upcoming year involve “staff retention and [keeping] morale high among our editors, as well as helping to make sure that we’re producing the best paper possible and serving the community as much as we can.”

In her future work with Patkin, Miles said, “I think we make a great team, and we complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses pretty well.”

—Michelle Dang ADAM PANN/the Justice

Students enjoyed nice weather as they shopped around Brandeis Student Events’ first Deis Food Festival at the Fellows Garden on Thursday evening.

COMMENCEMENT

Professor points out concerns in next year’s commencement dates ■ Earlier commencement 2018 dates created new concerns in academic scheduling.

By ABBY PATKIN JUSTICE EDITOR

With the 2018 University commencement exercises scheduled a week earlier than usual, there could be major implications for departments and programs, according to Prof. Ellen Wright (PSYC).

Due to a conflict with Shavuot, a Jewish holiday, the University has decided to hold the 2018 commencement on May 13, according to an email to the Justice from Interim Senior Vice President for Communications Judy Glasser. Commencement is typically held the Sunday before Memorial Day every year.

“The choice was to have commencement either on Mother’s Day or Memorial Day weekend, both of which would have had an impact on students, faculty and staff,” Glasser wrote. “Moving the date for Commencement to May 13, 2018 was considered the best option.” She added that the University will revert to its typical scheduling for 2019.

Glasser also noted that the academic calendar is developed by the University registrar, which must ensure that the University meets the requirements established by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, the University’s accreditation body. This applies to the number of days of instruction, taking into account holidays and breaks, Glasser wrote.

In order to accommodate the earlier commencement date, the University will be starting the spring 2018 semester a week earlier, on Jan. 10, and will end the final exam period on May 8.

However, this condensed schedule could pose some problems for faculty members, according to Wright. “One of the things I find really inexplicable is that there are exams on May 8, but we are also required to have our department degree meetings on May 8,”

Wright said in an interview with the Justice.

She explained that during these meetings, departments decide which students qualify for a degree and which students will be getting departmental honors. “We can’t do that without knowing what grades they got, and if they’re still taking exams, there’s no way to know about that,” she said, later adding, “It will, in some ways, potentially dismantle the procedures that we use in our department for next year.”

She added that the earlier end date could also give faculty members incentive to not give final exams in an effort to get students’ grades calculated on time. “It’s been framed to the faculty as a ‘difficult’ situation that’s going to make spring hard, but it doesn’t seem even feasible. … It interferes with the pedagogy,” she said.

Wright also noted the impact that the earlier commencement date could have on rising seniors. “There’s the separate issue of the students themselves not getting to have senior week. I mean, in essence, senior week is not going to start until [that] Wednesday,” she said. “I know from being here ... that students really look forward to senior week. … The opportunity for that connection is really important.”

She also emphasized the importance of student voices in this discussion, urging rising seniors to reach out to the administration.

Glasser wrote in her email to the Justice that the University has received “a few” complaints about the change, but she said that the sentiment has not been widespread.

“Had we scheduled graduation for Memorial Day weekend, we believe that this would be even more disruptive to families and impacted scheduling of summer school,” she added.

Wright suggested a weekday commencement as one potential solution to the conflict. “I understand the issue, and it’s not that I don’t feel sympathy,” she said. “I just think that there has to be some way of managing this so that some of the major issues can be dealt with. … I think that there are other workarounds than making the spring semester difficult.”

PANEL

Panelists provide insight into the future of healthcare ■ Students organized a

three panel conference series featuring healthcare professionals and trainees.

By LIAT SHAPIRO JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Students and panelists from the University and beyond gathered for one of Brandeis’ first student-led healthcare conferences on Friday afternoon.

The lectures were split into three sessions, each one focused on the three aspects of Health: Science, Society and Policy.

Dr. Ken Kaitin from Tufts University School of Medicine provided perspective on evolving innovation in the pharmaceutical industry.

Josie Elias ’02, the program manager for digital health innovation at Brigham and Women’s Healthcare, discussed the importance of recognizing the intersection of health and technology.

After the first two speakers ad-

dressed the audience, The Justice interviewed audience member Jared Martin ’19 who said, “I felt like the information was very holistic to the field in general. … Coming here today made me very aware of different perspectives of medicine I didn’t even think possible.”

The following sessions featured a member of the Massachusetts Public Health Association, a former member of the United Nations Children’s Fund and current president of a nutrition company, and an associate director of policy and government relations at Health Care For All. In addition, a senior fellow and senior scientists from Brandeis’ own Heller School of Social Policy and Management addressed the audience.

Shikha Chandarana ’17 and Sara Kramer ’17 conceived the idea for a healthcare conference at the University in the summer of 2016 and began planning the event in February 2017. Kramer explained in an interview with the Justice, “We always attended these healthcare conferences at other schools, but we realized that Brandeis has nev-

er really done anything like that, and the two of us decided, ‘Let’s give it a shot!’”

Chandarana declared that the “lines and lines” of students waiting for food during the lunch break demonstrated the value of the conference.

Kramer agreed, saying, “We’ve talked about our vision for it, and of course you can plan and plan, but it’s really rewarding to see this take shape.”

Both seniors hope their event will encourage students across disciplines to take initiative to work on ideas they have for campus events. Both also hope that their event gave extra resources to students interested in healthcare.

Kramer declared, “When you find an area within HSSP that you love, take the time to develop up and get real world experience in the field to see if it’s what you’d like to do in the long term.

Chandarana added, “This is my way of saying to other HSSP students that this field has so many passions. As a senior leaving, I wanted this to be my magnum opus.”

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giving you the tools everyday … to become more critical of the community.”

Because of this, she argued that “Brandeis must be ready to deal with the reality that it is an institution primed for treating resistance as normative.”

She added that it is imperative for the University to “institutionalize and structure resistance,” and that only by embracing it can Brandeis “move from where it is now, to where it can be.”

She argued that one way to do this is by making student activism a crucial part of the academic scholarship offered at the University. Johnson Dias also referenced

site, a student who lives on campus can expect an estimated $67,925 in tuition and fees, with tuition alone making up $51,460 of that total.

This estimate is based off of a basic double room and 12-meal plan.

The total cost of tuition and fees for the 2016 to 2017 academic year was $65,469 under the same assumptions.

“While the tuition increase is larger than any of us would like, a review of other universities in the Boston area and peer institutions in other areas of the country shows us that tuition increases for 201718 are ranging from 3.3 percent to 4.5 percent, putting Brandeis in the lower-middle of that range,” Liebowitz wrote in his email to the Justice.

At a September 2016 presentation on the University’s finances, Liebowitz announced that the University’s current financial state is unsustainable, noting, “the status quo cannot persist,” according to a Sept. 27, 2016 Justice article.

The presentation — led by Kermit Daniel, an economist and consultant for the firm Incandescent — explained that the University has had to draw a larger-than-average amount from its endowment annually to cover the costs associated with maintaining campus infrastructure and programs, according to the article.

At the time, Liebowitz also suggested that the University would not rely on tuition increases to cover this deficit, writing in a statement provided to the Justice that there is “little more we could do to generate more revenue from tuition. Our annual increases need to be reduced over time, lest we price out too many excellent students from applying to Brandeis. Ideally, we need to reduce our dependency on tuition and reduce annual increases. That's a goal,” according to the article.

“I stand by my previous observation that our annual increases need to be reduced over time, and

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TUESDAY, May 2, 2017

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the University’s Motto, “Truth even unto its innermost parts,” and explained that the University must promote discussions among both students and faculty members, so as to solidify a structure of foundational resistance and to promote a tangible change on campus and off.

Johnson Dias concluded that, in order to promote the transition of student activists to tangible changemakers, the University must “structure resources” to enable optimism and activism.

She urged that the University must also “provide more equity in our students of color and be more intentional in how we allocate resources for incoming students."

TUITION: Raise lies in “lowermiddle” range CONTINUED FROM 1

NEWS

ICC 25th ANNIVERSARY

ICC: Speaker talks equity and change through resistance CONTINUED FROM 1

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we must keep that goal in sight,” Liebowitz wrote in his email to the Justice. “I have also reported to the community over the past year the historical and ongoing challenges an institution of our size faces as both a top-rated research university and exceptional, relatively small liberal arts college.”

However, efforts to increase the University’s endowment and reduce its costs will be a multi-year effort, Liebowitz acknowledged.

“We have taken a deep dive into the financial health and structure of the university and have begun a process for addressing, over time, the financial stresses we have faced to ensure the long-term health of the institution,” he wrote.

Liebowitz added that this process will require continual and increased “philanthropy and alumni engagement,” which are “fundamental to reducing our dependency on tuition and annual increases.”

The Board of Trustees previously authorized a 3.9 percent increase in comprehensive charges for the 2016 to 2017 academic year.

At the time, then-Interim University President Lisa Lynch wrote in an email to students that the increased funds would go to four “essential initiatives” in order to ensure that students “have access to enriching college experiences,” according to an April 5, 2016 Justice article.

Lynch wrote that the revenue went toward hiring more faculty, infrastructure work around campus, the hiring of a chief diversity officer and “sexual assault awareness, prevention and support services,” according to the Justice article.

Liebowitz concluded his email to the student body by noting that he is “more and more impressed and inspired by Brandeis students” each day since taking office on July 1, 2016. “I am reminded that it is your intellect, passion, energy, and caring for one another and the world that fuels our dedication to strengthening the quality of your education,” he wrote.

HEATHER SCHILLER/the Justice

Students helped celebrate the Intercultural Center's 25th anniversary in a banquet on Friday.

POLICE: University officers ask for support in their union efforts CONTINUED FROM 1 In negotiations with the University, ACOPS Local 20 proposed moving shifts up an hour; for example, instead of an 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. shift, officers requested a 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift in order to avoid heavy traffic during the commute, the representatives said. Last summer, the union circulated a petition for this change that all 15 members signed, but the University delayed discussion until contract negotiations, the ACOPS Local 20 representatives said.

The union also proposed switching to a rotating schedule of four days on duty followed by two days off duty, which is a standard schedule for police departments, the representatives said. This would result in more days off — 17, by ACOPS Local 20’s estimates — but the union offered to help offset this by beginning their shifts 15 minutes earlier and ending their shifts 15 minutes later.

ACOPS Local 20 requests this change in order to allow officers to receive the occasional weekend day off. “I lost my family life,” one of the representatives said, emphasizing the toll of never having a week-

end day off.

Officer training is another concern of the union. Brandeis police officers have not received training for mass casualty incidents, and they have not undergone active shooter training since the San Bernardino shooting in 2015, the representatives said.

ACOPS Local 20 also proposed that the University fund training to enable officers to administer Narcan, a nasal spray used to treat heroin overdoses.

Two sergeants have training and access to Narcan, but they do not go to medical calls, union representatives said.

Certain members of the Brandeis Emergency Medical Corps also have training and access to Narcan, but officers need to be able to administer the medication as well, especially during school breaks when BEMCo is not operating at full force, according to ACOPS Local 20.

Brandeis has had at least two heroin overdoses within the past year, the union representatives said.

At the eighth negotiation meeting, the University did not respond to ACOPS Local 20’s proposals and instead offered five additional dollars per year for officers’ boot allowance, as well as an additional

five cents for the shift differential, the union representatives claimed.

“We want to be able to provide the better services to you guys, but realistically, without the training, we can’t provide the better services to you,” one of the representatives said.

“We help you, will you help us?” the flier reads. According to union representatives, ACOPS Local 20 published the fliers in order to raise awareness among the University community. “You're our voice,” one of the representatives explained.

On Monday, Nicole Famiglietti ’18 stood at the bottom of Rabb steps with a stack of ACOPS Local 20 fliers and offered them to students as they passed. “I believe [the officers] have specific trainings that they want, and I think that they should have access to those trainings,” she said in an interview with the Justice.

Campus Operations, the Department of Public Safety, the Office of Human Resources and the Office of Communications declined to comment due to University policy regarding ongoing contract negotiations, according to a May 1 email to the Justice from Director of Media Relations Julie Jette.

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features

TUESDAY, May 2, 2017 ● Features ● The Justice

just

VERBATIM | DAVID ZAYAS People are complicated. People have secrets. It doesn’t make them good people or bad people.

ON THIS DAY…

FUN FACT

In 1946, the Alcatraz prisoners revolted.

Norway has a minimum security island-prison where inmates are almost free to do as they wish.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GUY RAZ

Finding his voice Guy Raz ’96 went from Brandeis to NPR

By christine kim JUSTICE STAFF writer

In the midst of incoming freshman, Guy Raz ’96 took his first step onto the Brandeis campus. But instead of locating his dorm, Raz headed straight to the Usdan student center, into a grungy, subterranean office where he began his undergraduate journalism career by writing an op-ed column for the Justice.

Since graduating from Brandeis, Raz, has worked as a host for NPR’s “All Things Considered,” as a CNN foreign correspondent and as a professor of journalism. Currently, Raz is working as the host, co-creator and editorial director of NPR’s “TED Radio Hour” and “How I Built This.”

According to NPR’s website, both shows have over 14 million monthly listeners. Raz has conducted over 7,000 interviews over the course his career ,including highly notable public figures such as Carol Burnett and Taylor Swift.

In an interview with the Justice, Raz shared some memories and advice from his career in journalism. Raz described the hardest interviews as ones with “people who are not accountable for their actions.”

Though simple advice, Raz asserted that the best thing a journalist can do to ensure a successful interview was to “listen.”

Raz explained that his best discussions have occurred when the interviewer was “willing to have their mind open.”

For those aiming for a future career in journalism, Raz offered this advice: “The most important thing that a journalist, or really, [someone] just going out in the world, should try to do is to be curious and follow your curiosity because that leads to discovery. Not everyone is passionate, but almost everybody is curious and curiosity is very important and a key element of being a journalist,” Raz said.

In Raz’s podcast “How I Built This,” he shares the “stories of founders and

people who started things from scratch.”

Not only can these tales inspire likeminded listeners who have unique ideas of their own, but they also let audiences see the inner workings of these revolutionary people. This program has allowed him to interview a wide range of people. Raz shared that the common characteristic he has seen among all successful people is optimism.

And after his long career in news, Raz shared how he came to launch the “TED Radio Hour.”

Raz said, “I was very interested in telling stories about humans and not about news. I did a lot of news reporting.

I was a foreign correspondent, I covered wars, I covered conflict and, about 5 years ago, I decided I wanted to tell stories not about wars or conflicts, but about humans, about our human species, and that is really the beginning of the Ted Radio Hour.”

He described the program as a show not about people of a certain race, gender or age, but rather about what it means to be human.

“It’s about the species we call homo sapiens, common things that we experience: love, grief, the possibility to imagine the future, the ability to collaborate and empathize, these are traits that we alone have and that was what I wanted to do with the TED Radio hour,” Raz said.

The show is a collaboration between NPR and TED, the media organization that has capitalized on the age of social media and viral videos.

“TED Radio Hour” launches longer conversation stemming from TED talks from all types of people and subjects.

For Brandeis students about to step out into the world, Raz shared one last piece of advice: “My best advice would be to make an impact in the world, a simple thing you can do right now that costs nothing that can change somebody’s day or week or even life is to be kind because kindness in an unkind world is a form of resistance.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF GUY RAZ

BELOW THE STACKS: Guy Raz honed his craft at Brandeis on his way to becoming a premier radio host.

the justice ● Features ● TUESDAY, May 2 , 2017

Weaving together Amanda Zehner M.A. ’11 founded Living Threads Co.

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF AMANDA ZEHNER

WIDE SMILES: Amanda Zehner M.A. ’11 (second from left) stands with some of the artisans she works with.

By Kirby Kochanowski JUSTICE Editor

Fast fashion is a phenomenon that has recently gained a great deal of media coverage for its negative effects, but for Amanda Zehner M.A.’11, it’s something she’s been aware of for much longer. For those who aren’t familiar with the term, fast fashion refers to the mass production of cheap clothing that reflects the trends of the time. The clothing isn’t meant to last long (just like the trends) and is priced such that the average consumer can purchase new items each season. Yet there are costs to this practice, both human and environmental. Workers are often exploited so the items can be priced competitively, and both the production of goods and mass disposal of these clothes once they go out of style impacts the environment negatively.

“I think that in this global economy that has really been focusing on getting cheaper and cheaper goods that it’s important to really edu-

cate people on why it’s important to spend more on something that’s going to last longer,” Zehner said in an interview with the Justice.

“What are the positive impacts when you do do that and what are the negative impacts when you are buying a $4 t-shirt? What are you supporting when you do that?”

In 2014, Zehner founded Living Threads Company, an organization actively trying to counter the effects of fast fashion. Zehner works with artisans located in South America and Asia and helps connect them to western markets.

As a graduate student at the Heller School, Zehner spent one year studying on campus at Brandeis and another doing fieldwork in Honduras. Of her Brandeis experience Zehner said, “It was a wonderful personal experience.

[The diversity of the student body] also really added to what I took away from the program … because everyone comes from a different perspective of how to address challenges and what differ-

TRADITIONAL WITH A TWIST: Zehner and her team work with the artisans to make their traditional weaves more marketable.

ent development challenges are.”

After graduation Zehner worked for a nonprofit in Central America.

This, coupled with her experience in Honduras, exposed her to the struggles of the primarily female artisan community in South and Central America. “I was living down there, so I was able to get to know the cooperatives and these women really well, so firsthand I got to see what the barriers were to them progressing,” Zehner said. The primary issue she was able to identify was a lack of market access. As someone also aware of the environmental effects of fast fashion, she saw the potential for a business solution.

Living Threads Co. sells a variety of woven goods on its website. All are created by artisan weavers. The goods are all made using traditional weaving techniques, though Zehner and her team “might change the design a little bit or the colors, and make the products more marketable for our market here in the U.S.” If helping save the environment, supporting artisans and maintaining centuries old weaving techniques wasn’t enough incentive for the philanthropic consumer, Zehner’s company also donates 10 percent of their profits to investment in microcredit and training programs. This can help front overhead costs for artisans looking to expand or simply train artisans in business strategies to expand their market potential.

For someone like Zehner with minimal business experience, she is able to recognize the importance of building a network.

Of starting her own business Zeher explained, “It was really important to try and reach out to people who are different from myself … people who have different perspectives, different experiences [and] different expertise.”

To those Brandeis students who may have entrepreneurial aspirations, Zehner said the most important step is to find something you’re passionate about and then to “pour yourself into it.”

THREADING A FUTURE: Zehner works to provide opportunities for growth by reinvesting 10 percent of her profits into the weavers.

LEADING LADY: Zehner has little experience in for-profit business, but she’s used her Brandeis connections to her advantage.

9

10 TUESDAY, May 2, 2017 ● forum ● THE JUSTICE

the

Justice Established 1949

Brandeis University

Abby Patkin, Editor in Chief Amber Miles, Managing Editor Carmi Rothberg, Senior Editor Morgan Brill, Deputy Editor Michelle Banayan, Jessica Goldstein, Noah Hessdorf, Mihir Khanna, Jerry Miller and Sabrina Sung, Associate Editors Michelle Dang, Acting News Editor, Kirby Kochanowski, Features Editor Nia Lyn, Acting Forum Editor, Ben Katcher, Acting Sports Editor Hannah Kressel, Arts Editor Natalia Wiater, Photography Editor Mira Mellman, Layout Editor, Pamela Klahr and Robbie Lurie, Ads Editors Rachel Sharer, Online Editor, Jen Geller and Avraham Penso, Copy Editors JULIANNA SCIONTI/the Justice

EDITORIALS

Recognize graduate students’ desire to unionize Since the National Labor Relations Board ruled on Aug. 23, 2016 that graduate employees at private universities had the right to unionize, graduate students at several universities have endeavored to establish unions at their respective schools. Brandeis is included in this number. Today, graduate students who provide instructional services will vote to determine whether to be exclusively represented by the Services Employees International Union Local 509.

This board recognizes that there are legitimate concerns for eligible graduate employees that a union may be able to address. However, this board also has its misgivings toward unionization under the existing terms, as the resultant union will be binding, standardizing and apply to all eligible graduate student workers, regardless of individual circumstances and opinions.

On April 21, University President Ronald Liebowitz sent a letter to eligible individuals expressing that he did not believe unionization to be in students’ best interests. He believes that unionization will result in an employer-employee relationship between students and faculty, remove inventiveness and flexibility from individual areas of study and negatively impact a conducive learning environment.

These statements, though plausible, are merely speculation. However, this board finds one statement of fact particularly troubling: “Whether you vote and regardless of how you vote, you will be bound by the outcome of the election.”

According to a March 24 Brandeis Hoot article, the organizing committee had collected union authorization cards from nearly 30 percent of eligible graduate student workers at the time. However,

Improve working conditions these cards only indicated support for the formation of a union and werenot representative of an individual’s intent to join the union. This implies that these authorization cards were collected under the assumption that an individual would be able to opt out of the graduate worker union should one be established. It is now clear that this is not the case.

The FAQ attached to Liebowitz’s letter makes clear that, should a union be formed, all students within the bargaining unit — graduate students who provide instructional services — would be bound under the terms of the resultant union.

These eligible students include instructors, teaching assistants, teaching fellows and course assistants. Each title comes with separate responsibilities, workload and pay; yet as of present day, there has been insufficient information as to how the union would address the different issues these distinct categories bring to the table.

Further, there is existing pay difference from employee to employee even within these categories. There is yet insufficient information as to how unionization would go about standardizing these salaries, and so, several students may find their salary to be negatively impacted. In addition, all students — regardless of whether they chose to be in the union or not — would be expected to pay union dues. According to the FAQ, the SEIU charges approximately 1.5 percent of an employee’s total compensation annually.

Regardless, the election is today. Eligible graduate employees must vote with what information is available, as this election’s result will affect years of instructional graduate student workers to come.

Acknowledge implications of the tuition hike for students This past Friday, University President Ronald Liebowitz announced a 3.75 percent increase in comprehensive undergraduate charges. This follows a similar tuition hike of 3.9 percent last year and a 3.7 percent increase the previous year. This board understands the necessity of such hikes to the University’s various educational and extracurricular initiatives. However, this board urges the University to continue its transparency with regard to the allocation of tuition funds and to work toward a stable, non-increasing tuition structure.

Unlike the University’s April 1, 2016 email, which outlined the reasons for and impacts of the increase, Liebowitz’s April 28, 2017 email failed to explain the reasoning for the hike or mention any plan for the new funds. In September of 2016, Liebowitz clearly stated his desire for transparency among those outside of the University faculty, something which is lacking in this recent announcement. Without such transparency, the University will continue to aggravate students who see tuition hikes as unnecessary and unsustainable.

In a Monday email to the Justice, Liebowitz explained that revenue from tuition increases will be put toward “institutional priorities: supporting our exceptional faculty, providing financial assistance for outstanding students who otherwise couldn’t attend our university, and maintaining the campus.”

Though this board acknowledges the necessity of such tuition hikes and the standardization of the process across American campuses, President Liebowitz

Discuss financial need explicitly stated his concern with ongoing tuition hikes and their unsustainability.

In a September 2016 email to the Justice, Liebowitz explained, “Ideally, we need to reduce our dependency on tuition and reduce annual increases. That’s a goal.” However, such a goal does not seem to have been met, as tuition hikes continue. In Monday’s email to the Justice, Liebowitz wrote, “I stand by my previous observation that our annual increases need to be reduced over time, and we must keep that goal in sight.” He stressed that reducing tuition hikes can only be achieved through “multi-year efforts” such as “increased levels of philanthropy and alumni engagement.”

Considering the University’s precarious financial state, it is crucial that the University continues to push for these large-scale alternative sources of revenue.

According to a September 2016 presentation from economist and consultant Kermit Daniel, Brandeis draws about 44 percent of its annual budget from tuition — an unsustainable practice. In announcing Liebowitz’s appointment as president, Board of Trustees members praised his ability to fundraise; however, his efforts have not yet proven sufficient.

As such, this board urges the University to update the student body on its financial stability and clearly outline where tuition increases will be directed. This will both soothe students and create accountability on the University’s part.

Views the News on

On April 25, President Trump’s proposal to reduce funding to sanctuary cities was denied by a judge in San Francisco on the basis of it being unconstitutional, according to an April 25, New York times article. If enacted, the order would force the city to comply with federal immigration laws at the risk of losing over $1 billion in funding.

As a result, San Francisco, among other cities, has sued Trump’s administration.

What do you think of the proposal and the ability to regulate immigration policy in a sanctuary city?

Mark Brimhall-Vargas I think that sanctuary cities are emerging, because many have a sense that people without documentation are being unfairly vilified. The popular narrative is that immigrants are dangerous or take U.S. jobs.

Yet evidence suggests that undocumented immigrants are far less likely than U.S. citizens to be engaged in criminal behavior, and that they often do jobs U.S. citizens are unwilling to do. Why don’t these facts matter? Why are so many afraid of our undocumented neighbors, the vast majority of whom work, pay taxes and peacefully live in our communities? I think the root is a fear of the Other that, in turn, feeds an already existing empathy gap among a large number of our population.

The sanctuary city movement is trying to fill this gap. It pricks our collective conscience to remember that ICE raids affect real people, split up real families and terrorize real communities.

Mark Brimhall-Vargas is the Chief Diversity Officer of Brandeis.

Brian Fried (POL) Immigration law is the purview of the federal government. However, our government has long had a policy of de jure prohibition of undocumented immigrants and de facto acceptance. Such individuals regularly work long hours in arduous jobs, and employers and consumers have long reaped the benefit of their labor. Their children often are U.S. citizens with little knowledge of their parent’s country of origin. One could debate local governments’ responsibility to undocumented residents, but it is hard to imagine how these governments could serve their children without providing an environment where their parents can lead productive lives and be active in the community. While immigrants may harm the economic opportunities of some members our society, addressing the needs of such individuals seems like a more rational response to this harm. Similarly, it seems reasonable that any decisions on deportation should consider the human cost to all of those affected, included immigrants’ children and the communities in which they often are well-established.

Prof. Brian Fried (POL) is a Florence Levy Kay Fellow in Comparative Politics of the Developing World. He also teaches in Latin American and Latino Studies.

Noah Seligman ’18 Much of the money that many of these “sanctuary cities” receive is certainly contingent on some demands from the federal government, such as the promise to improve infrastructure with the funds, or allocate it for other public works. Trump’s demands, if you look at them from a contractual perspective, don’t make sense. It would be like me saying, “I will sign this contract that says I will give you X dollars a year if you do Y,” one year and then next year saying, “For you to continue getting X dollars you must also do Z in addition to Y.” This would not be defensible in court simply because Y was not included in the original contract that was signed initially. The landmark Supreme Court case South Dakota v. Dole concluded that “federal conditions have to be reasonable and related to the programs they are attached to.” Perhaps Trump can defund certain chunks of the money being given, but it seems unlikely that he will be able to defund “sanctuary cities” across the board.

Noah Seligman ’18 is president of the Brandeis Pre-Law Society.

Alex Friedman ’19 The federal government has a long history of using federal funds as a carrot-stick method of getting local authorities to comply with its agenda when it hasn’t a legal leg to stand on. The method by which the Trump administration tried to bend local authorities to its will was unconstitutional because, according to Judge Orrick, it proposed to change formulas lawfully set by Congress. Hypocritically, in his attempt to force states to comply with the law on the books, Trump tried to change a different law on the books. Slightly less importantly, he is also trampling on the usual Republican mantra of federalism and state’s rights, yet I hear no unhappy sounds from our right-wing party. Perhaps it is because this time the executive authority is being used to put people in jail rather than give poor people healthcare. I’m not a legal scholar, but I’m pretty sure that our federalist constitution only requires that local law authorities enforce the law that is within their jurisdiction, with some exceptions. Regardless, turning local law enforcement agents into immigration officers directs resources away from local crime fighting and toward holding suspected illegal immigrants, which makes communities less safe.

Alex Friedman ’19 is a double major in Politics and Business.

THE JUSTICE ● fORUM ● TUESDAY, MAY 2, 2017

11

Condemn the poor planning of some recent music festivals By maddox kay JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Imagine spending several thousand dollars to attend a music festival in the Bahamas, only to be greeted upon arrival by disaster relief tents, cold sandwiches and no music.

While there are easier things to imagine than having that kind of discretionary income, that is exactly what happened to many music fans — primarily millennials — who shelled out up to $12,780 for tickets and lodging at Fyre Fest, a luxury music weekend on an island previously owned by Pablo Escobar, according to an April 28 CNN article. Dreamt up by early-2000s rapper Ja Rule and social entrepreneur Billy McFarland, Fyre Fest was marketed exclusively on social media and promoted by the likes of Instagram icons such as Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid and Emily Ratajkowski, according to an April 28 New York Times article. On Thursday, April 28, the commercialization of music festival culture and the exponential rise of social media’s influence collided in the Exumas, and there was not an Instagram filter that could make it look good.

In 1999, the inaugural Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival set the standard for the modern music festival as we know it.

With a consistent location, multiple stages and an immersive weekend-long experience, Coachella acquired a sizzling reputation in the Los Angeles area within a couple years, recounts a April 27, 2006 Los Angeles Times article.

Word spread, and in 2002, The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival began as a yearly event in Manchester, Tennessee, according to the ticket website AXS. Three years later, AXS wrote, Lollapalooza, which had previously been a touring show, settled down and became an annual staple of the Chicago music scene, since expanding into five other countries, proclaims the Lollapalooza website. Since then, the number of annual festivals has ballooned, Coachella has expanded from one weekend to two and music festival attendance has become a social must for many high school and college students.

According to an April 14, 2015 Nielsen report, 32 million people in the United States go to at least one music festival per year.

According to an April 22, 2015 Billboard article, 14.7 million of those people are millenials. Those numbers are likely higher now, and with a 2017 Coachella ticket ranging from $400 to $900 — according to a April 6

BEN JARRETT/the Justice

Time Money article — it is no surprise that entrepreneurs like Billy McFarland are eager to get in on the action. Newer festivals trying to break into an established market rely on big-name headliners, exciting venues and social media campaigns to generate interest.

With performances by Blink-182, Migos and Major Lazer scheduled and an island to work with, Fyre Fest made its marketing push on social media. An April 28 New Yorker article described the campaign as “a series of swimsuit shots” featuring Kendall Jenner, among other Instagram celebrities.

As the most prominent celebrity featured, Jenner has nearly 80 million followers on Instagram, many of whom are young and likely to be interested in a music festival.

McFarland used her status to tap into a market of young upper-middle-class and upper-class young people without an obvious advertising effort.

Music festivals live and die on Instagram and Snapchat, because these platforms make them destinations not just to see but to be seen. The bragging rights of attending a festival are now defined by photo opportunities and quantified by Instagram likes. As festival-goers will tell you, there are often more video-recording phones in the air

these days than naked hands in the crowds swarming the stage. Farther back, you will find groups posing for pictures by palm trees or art installations. In the words of many, “If you didn’t Instagram at [insert music festival,] were you really there?” Photo and video-sharing app Instagram was released to the public in 2010, and as of April 26 it had 700 million unique users according to an article in Business Insider from the same day. This means that Instagram’s user base has doubled in the past two years. During the same time period as Instagram’s stratospheric rise, LA-based promoting company Goldenvoice doubled the price of 3-day Coachella passes, eliminated affordable single-day passes, according to a Jan. 27, 2010 LA Times Blog piece, and created a second festival weekend, yet tickets sold out nearly instantly in 2017, according to a Jan. 4 piece in LA Weekly. The festival’s Instagram account has 1.2 million followers.

For those who knew where to look, clues that Fyre Fest was half-baked were there from the beginning. Organizer and backer Billy McFarland’s primary business venture, Magnises, touts itself as a social group for “elite” young professionals, but as of January, members had demanded refunds,

claiming little return on their $250 annual investment, according to a Jan. 24 Business Insider article. In addition, details on Fyre Fest were dodgy even as partiers boarded planes in Miami. Maude Etkin, a 23-yearold interior designer from Manhattan, told the New Yorker in an April 28 article that “leading up to the event, [Fyre Festival] had stopped answering e-mails” and “wouldn’t provide pictures” of luxury accommodations.

Headlining alternative band Blink-182 even backed out of the festival ahead of time, citing poor concert conditions, according to an April 27 article from Billboard.

Despite dodgy details, people booked tickets and boarded flights to the Bahamas for a festival primarily marketed on Instagram.

This shows businesses around the world both the reach of social media as well as a darker side of our susceptibility to advertising when we are not aware we are being sold. As festival season hits its stride, Fyre Fest is a sobering reminder to research not only who is performing but also who is backstage, pushing the buttons that make a music festival run smoothly.

We must also learn to be skeptical of social media. As with most things in life, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Acknowledge growing troublesome US relations with North Korea By elias rosenfeld JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Throughout these last few weeks, tensions between North Korea and the United States have reached a new high, bringing out fear and proliferating anxiety among individuals across the globe. While the U.S. and North Korea have had a strained relationship since the Korean War, the different presidential administrations have created a historical timeline with a wide array of stances regarding international relations.

The Bush administration labeled North Korea as part of the “axis of evil” in 2002, according to a Dec. 19, 2011 article by ABC news. Since then the U.S. has chosen a policy of strategic patience, where the U.S. administration attempts to diplomatically end North Korea’s nuclear program, as it poses significant threats to the U.S. mainland, but also because this conflict has the ability to endanger crucial allies in South Korea and Japan where thousands of U.S. troops are stationed.

Seeing the historical trends in the relationship between the U.S. and Iran in regards to nuclear power, the regime of Kim Jong-un is attempting to prevent history from repeating itself by advancing the nuclear weapons program, because it understands once these weapons are developed they will gain a hegemony in a region that is critical to U.S interests. Thus, while the U.S. could strategically target the regime of Kim Jongun, the repercussions of such a strike are what makes this foreign policy dilemma extremely complex.

On Jan. 2, upon news that North Korea was aiming to test another series of intercontinental missiles, President Donald Trump issued a response on Twitter in which he both attacked China for their lack of intervention and claimed that North Korea’s development of a nuclear missile with the ability to hit U.S. mainland “won’t happen,” according to a Jan. 3 CNN article.

The North Korean regime is heavily abusing the transition of power in the U.S., as well as South Korean instability as a result of the impeachment of South Korea’s president.

“

The danger of North Korea is imminent ... the president’s publicity stunts are simply not going to solve the issue.

From February to April, North Korean military officials conducted a series of tests, the fourth of which was conducted on April 5 on the North Korean East Coast while President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping were meeting for a summit, according to an April 28 ABC News article.

Though symbolic, the act was unimpressive with the missile flying only 60 miles before falling into the ocean, according to an April 5

BBC article. The day after, much of the media covered President Trump’s strike on Syria as a result of a chemical attack by the Syrian regime. This served not only as a message to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad but also to North Korea. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sent a direct message to North Korea on their nuclear weapons program in stating that the U.S will not tolerate any nations not following international law.

On April 12, tensions escalated heavily when the president stated in an interview that he was sending an “armada of” Navy ships to the Korean Peninsula, forming speculation that this administration will use military action on North Korea, according to the same ABC News article.

However, two days later these tensions decreased, with the administration stating they were pursuing a status-quo policy of “maximum pressure and engagement;” however, they also noted that all options remained on the table.

This statement did little to deter the regime in North Korea, evident in the military parade in honor of Kim Jong-un’s birthday, where a new KN-17 missile was displayed. According to a March 27 article in ABC News, North Korea will become the most pressing and complex foreign policy dilemma of Trump’s administration, according to the prediction of many foreign policy analysts. His black-andwhite approach to such a multi-faceted issue is dangerous and ineffective.

The danger of North Korea is imminent and direct, but the president’s publicity stunts are simply not going to solve this issue. Trump’s false remarks on the “armada” of ships

heading toward North Korea were dangerous, as it enabled and strengthened our nation’s enemy when it was revealed these navy vessels were not heading in the direction of North Korea as the administration implied, as reported by NPR on April 18. These rash actions may give voters the false illusion of progress, but the direct consequences of not-strategically solving this issue will be disastrous.

The administration fails to acknowledge the threat of the thousands of conventional missiles located on the border of North Korea, which can easily be launched to attack the capital of South Korea and destroy the U.S. military bases located close to the border.

If the administration wishes to be successful, it must engage in stronger diplomatic talks with China, North Korea’s most crucial ally.

These two nations must reach an accord regarding the nuclear weapons program that will enable China to pressure the regime of North Korea to cease the weapons program with a threat of economic backlash.

The issue of North Korea has been present for nearly seven decades; all past administrations have refused to preemptively strike North Korea in fear of the harm and impending destruction of both South Korea and Japan.

We must demand that this administration create a more complex and strategic plan regarding this foreign policy query; not merely because it is a difficult situation to solve, but also because it is a decision which will directly impact the lives of thousands of constituents within the nation and millions of individuals in allied nations across the globe.

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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12

TUESDAY, MAY 2, 2017 ● forum ● THE JUSTICE

FORUM

Improve care for students suffering from mental illness CHAIEL SCHAFFEL justice Contributing writer

Tomorrow, on your walk to class, look around you. Blooms break from the earth in a brilliant display of color as the end of the semester draws into our collective consciousness. It should be a happy time.

People certainly will seem happy, laughing and enjoying the new spring warmth, waiting for summer to whisk them away. But joyful as the scene is, a tough truth hides in the people you see. Behind one out of every five of those sun-stained faces, perhaps laughing along with the others, is a young adult struggling with a diagnosable mental illness. This statistic is supplied by the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Some estimates suggest that the ratio is even higher, at nearly one in four, according to the World Health Organization.

Though attitudes on mental health are softening in the United States, there still exists a stigma against seeking the proper help. This rings somewhat true even among Brandeis’ forward-thinking student body.

It would be prudent to make accessing the mental health assistance required by the student body as painless as possible. Yet this is not the case; the current structures in place to treat and prevent mental illness often fall short of the needs of Brandeis students.

The Brandeis Counseling Center, the hub of professional mental help on campus, is seen by many of the students that I interviewed as an overworked, understaffed machine incapable of fully dispensing the necessary care to the requisite amount of students who need it.

The mental health of our students should be as important as their physical health, and it is not being treated as such. This is not to disparage the good of the BCC, as their work is always professional and typically excellent.

We simply need more of it.

Foremost is the problem of the gap in processing time between a student’s initial contact with the BCC and their first counseling session. The availability of the medical professionals at the BCC is also a problem, according to my own preliminary interviews.

One such story was particularly egregious.

“I went into the BCC and had to wait two weeks for a consultation. Then, another month for a therapist, who did not have the resources to meet my needs and referred me elsewhere,” commented a student who wished to remain anonymous. The student reported that they were suffering from frequent, debilitating panic attacks. They were told that they needed therapy every week, a frequency that the BCC could not provide.

This theme of understaffing and limited time is constant across most, if not all interviewees.

“Their therapists are really wonderful … I know that they are understaffed and they are working to accommodate students to the best of their ability … but I wish I could have a weekly meeting rather than every other week,” said Gabi Benisti ’20, the only person

ROMAN LOPER/the Justice

out of five interviewees who agreed to have her name published.

Another student who visited the center was approved for individual therapy quickly but cited difficulties finding time in the therapist’s schedule to have sessions. Keeping with the theme, a third said, “I think that the BCC has a lot of good resources and every report I’ve heard of people who have experienced counseling has been positive … but the process students need to go through to get that help is so convoluted and difficult, especially students that need help, it might as well not be offered.”

Interviews with older students suggest that there seems to have been an increase in student traffic to the BCC in the past year.

At press time, the BCC had not responded to requests for comment, so a statistical analysis of student traffic to the BCC is not yet possible.

One student recounted how they have been pushed out of weekly therapy. “I was able to meet with [the therapist] every week in the spring of 2016. She told me I couldn’t do that in the fall and that we’d have to meet every other week,” they said. “They don’t have enough staff members,” the student continued. They later went on to explain that even if a student needing therapy wanted to meet with a BCC therapist outside of her Brandeis hours in her private practice, this was not allowed due to conflict of interest rules.

Why are these problems occurring? One of the key issues with the BCC’s current operation is simply the number of medical professionals on staff. Currently, there are a total of 18 licensed Ph.D and Psy.D/M.D holding professionals in the BCC, along with

several LICSW-holding social workers and a handful of Masters student interns. The total count for BCC staff is 30, per the BCC website.

These numbers are far better than the national mean for similarly sized universities, according to the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors 2015 survey. In 2015, the total student enrollment at Brandeis was 5,657. If we hold University enrollment relatively constant and take into account new hiring at the BCC before the Fall 2016 semester — when five new clinicians were hired, according to an Oct. 10, 2016 article in the Brandeis Hoot — the ratio of mental health professionals to students at Brandeis is about 1 to 188. If we control for non-practicing administrators at the BCC, the number rises to 1 to 195.

Although these numbers are much better than the national mean ratio for small, private universities — which is 1 to 1,999 according to the AUCCCD — a particularity of Brandeis itself makes this relatively high ratio of mental health professionals to students less effective.

According to an Oct. 14, 2013 independent administrative review of the BCC and the Health Center published by the University, the Brandeis students utilized the BCC at an average rate of 9.1 sessions per student.

This figure was 82 percent higher than the 5.0 sessions an average student attended at similarly-sized universities in the United States. If we take into account the relative difficulty students are having obtaining individual therapy as of late, it would appear that the 82 percent figure has either jumped due to an increased number of visits per student, or that more students are using the

BCC in general. Additionally, the report deemed the wait for intake appointments “a serious concern” and called the BCC’s claim that 80 percent of students requesting intake appointments receive them within a week “not credible.”

Finally, in the minds of many students, the relatively high use of the BCC creates a kind of mental illness “triage” effect; they feel that the most extreme cases are highlighted for individual therapy, and all the others are pushed to join therapy groups that are hosted by the BCC. The result is a middle group of students with mental illnesses that do not feel adequately treated. “Often students will be directed to group therapy based on the seriousness of their issue, but in reality, it’s more a question of what type of help you need,” said one student.

Extensive group therapy at Brandeis seems to be a bad idea, given that the entire undergraduate population of the school is only around 3,700. Discomfort at the idea of joining a therapy group which would likely be made up of a slew of acquaintances is understandable. The seeming push toward group therapy alienated at least one of my interviewees from going to the BCC at all.

Brandeis cares about its students. From the professors to the administrators to the BCC itself, there exists no doubt in my mind about that. For that reason, the apparent failure of the BCC to fully accommodate the demand for its services is disappointing. However, I do have faith that these issues in mental health treatment at Brandeis are the temporary missteps of a typically graceful and highly effective organization.

Urge University to take advantage of the rise in Contemporary art By shubhan nagendra JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Contemporary art is on the rise, and with the attention toward the form growing, United States museums are seeing more and more visitors.

According to a March 30 article published by the Art Newspaper, an annual survey of 29 museums was conducted between the years of 2007 to 2015. After examining 2,360 exhibitions from the 29 museums, the team of analysts found that both museums’ and visitors’ attention toward Contemporary art has gradually increased.

This shift is a significant change from the 1990s when Contemporary art remained relatively unseen by museum visitors due to the popularity of Impressionism — a nineteenth century art movement — according to the Art Newspaper. Due to this increase in popularity, several questions are then raised: What is the cause of such a shift, and what does this imply about the fate of museums and other art forms?

Locally, we can seize the opportunity to benefit from the increasing popularity of Contemporary art here at the Rose Art Museum.

Contemporary art is art of today. However, the movement can be traced to the 1970s with influences from Expressionism, Surrealism and abstract Expressionism. Contemporary art incorporates a range of media, from painting to sculpting to technology, and is often depicted in ways that are highly unusual in comparison to the older forms, such as Minimalism or Pop Art.

Research has shown that museums attract more people when there are Contemporary art exhibitions, according to the same March 30 Art Newspaper article. Clearly, people find connections to make with Contemporary art, prompting their museum visits. The works of the Contemporary artist Walid Raad, for instance, connect photography, video and sculpture to the memories and narratives of the Arab World’s conflicts.

“

In a world that is moving toward Contemporary art, museums are capitalizing on this popularity.

Contemporary art is another form of dialogue within society and, with an increasing number of issues the world grapples with everyday, there is little wonder that there is a creative element within art that artists use to try to depict or explain the problems. Mohamad Hafez, for instance, is a Syrian-born artist and architect that depicts the ruins of Damascus, Syria with dangling wires, crumbling concrete and broken metal in miniature sculptures to represent a harrowing reality of the Syrian Civil War.

The works of Contemporary greats like Mark Bradford, Andy Warhol and Willem de Kooning are part of the Rose’s collection and offer yet another interpretation of an increasingly complicated world. When they depict social problems, they show the issues visually through a Contemporary perspective. For instance, Bradford drew inspiration from the Bible and created his ark in commemoration of the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster, as published by the LA Times on Sept. 24, 2008.

Since there has been a shift to viewing Contemporary art more than the older forms of art — like Impressionism — there is a point to clarify: older forms of art are not inferior in their messages. In fact, the older forms have not only been an inspiration to the contemporary — see, for instance, Kehinde Wiley’s “Napoleon Leading an Army over the Alps” versus Jacques-Louis David’s “Napoleon Crossing the Alps” — but also depicted social issues. For instance, the Spanish painter, Francisco Goya depicts the execution of Spanish soldiers by the Napoleon Bonaparte’s French army in The Third of May 1808.

Though meaningful, art can just be enjoyed simply for its aesthetics as well. Older forms of art, in comparison to Contemporary art, particularly emphasize this through their use of color, style or realism that the aesthetics can be portrayed.

Clearly, people enjoy art for all reasons, which is why museums exhibit it in different styles. Among the 29 museums surveyed, more than 1000 exhibitions of 2360 were dedicated to Contemporary artists.

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

In 1997, only 20 percent of the exhibitions in U.S. museums were devoted to Contemporary art; today, the percent is 44. Recently, people have started engaging more with Contemporary art. Why might this be the case?

Increased media attention on Contemporary artists coupled with an increase in the demand for female artists and a greater academic study of today’s art have all contributed to this cultural shift, according to the Art Newspaper’s survey.

Is there, then, something that Brandeis’ Rose Art Museum might be able to do amid the increasing excitement over Contemporary art? As the Rose has one of the largest collections of Contemporary art in New England, the opportunity to attract more visitors would be advantageous. Not only would it increase revenue but also it would allow the wider world to engage with the fine arts.

The Rose, then, should make every effort to attract and increase its number of visitors. In recent years, financial burden on Brandeis have made the Rose’s collection a target for funding cuts. In order to prevent the auctioning of art as attempted in 2009, according to a Feb. 1, 2009 New York TImes article, one possible solution, is to gear the museum’s exhibits toward current artistic trends.

In a world that is moving toward Contemporary art, museums are capitalizing on this popularity. The Rose would be wise to move in that direction as well if they wish to maintain their collection and continue to provide cultural stimulation for the masses.

2017

10 THE JUSTICE ● Sports ● Tuesday, MAY 2, 2017

SOFTBALL: Team looks to keep up streak back at home CONTINUED FROM 16 bottom of the fifth, striking out Colby left fielder Carly Swartz, a freshman, and letting up only one single in the penultimate inning.

The Judges showed strong performances at the plate in the sixth, kicking it off with a single from Hunter, who then advanced to second as third baseman PJ Ross ’20 reached first on an error.

Hunter and Ross scored runs with a double from Hecht, who advanced to third on a single from Shore.

Urena singled and advanced to second base on an error, bringing home Shore and Hecht for two

13

FANNING BATTERS

more runs. Urena herself snagged a run with singles from Todd and Lehtonen as the Mules swapped their struggling freshman pitcher Lucie Cunningham for sophomore Holly Lallis.

Cunningham let up another three runs, with Todd, DeLaurentis and Hunter all crossing home plate.

With three runners left on base, the squad proceeded to the bottom of the sixth, letting up zero runs or hits for a strong finish to the game.

With these two wins in the books, the Judges will look to keep the streak going today with a doubleheader at home against Worcester State University.

PRO SPORTS: Fans eager to see if BASEBALL: Players aim Thames can keep to earn win over Amherst up production

MICHELLE BANAYAN/Justice File Photo

THROWING GAS: Pitcher Anthony Nomakeo ’17 drives toward the plate against Rhode Island College on March 31, 2016.

CONTINUED FROM 16

CONTINUED FROM 16 Rather than pure force being the difference between his past failures and current success, its possible that it is instead due in part to strategic changes in his approach at the plate. In addition to structural changes to his swing, Thames has significantly reduced the percentage of pitches he swings at (38.0 percent this year, 49.3 percent in 2012 and 50.6 percent in 2011), and in particular the percentage of first pitches that he

swings at (16.2 percent in 2017, 30.2 percent in 2012 and 30.4 percent in 2011), per Baseball Reference.

Additionally, he has greatly reduced the percentage of pitches outside the zone that he swings at (19.1 percent in 2017, 35.6 percent in 2012 and 36.8 percent in 2011).

Baseball is more fun with guys and stories like Thames. Hopefully our collective cynicism about steroid use won’t completely decimate our ability as fans to enjoy what has been a truly special start to the season.

9-0. Although Trinity won the game, Brandeis made some good plays as Tettemer and right fielder Anthony Nomakeo ’17 combined for two hits and designated hitter Kyle Lussier ’19 had three hits throughout the game.

With 10 total hits, they had only one less than Trinity, who had a total of eleven hits. Unfortunately, although Brandeis made some great plays, they were unable to score.

Judges 4, Western New England 1 On Thursday, Brandeis and Western New England started off slow, scoring no runs for the first few

innings. By the bottom of the fourth, Western New England had picked up the pace and scored once, bringing the lead to 1-0. However, rookie pitchers Albert Gutierrez ’20 and Greg Tobin ’20 held off the Western New England batters, only allowing one run and four hits total throughout the game.

The Brandeis fielding allowed the squad to come back in the last two innings of the game.

From there, Brandeis was still down by one in the top of the eighth, but that did not affect their focus. In the top of the eighth, rookie second baseman Tim Lopez ’20 had a nice hit that got him on base. He then scored on a throwing error, tying the game

1-1. By the top of the ninth with the game still tied, the Judges did not hold back. Shortstop Jay Schaff ’17, Tettemer and rookie first baseman Joshua Rakowsky ’20 all scored, leading to a total of three runs in the ninth and giving Brandeis a 4-1 lead.

Although Western New England started out with the lead, they fell short to the unstoppable power that Brandeis had and did not have enough in them to ultimately pull ahead. The team will look to pick up its sixth win of the season at home against Amherst College today. The final game of the season is scheduled for Wednesday at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth.

BASEBALL SOFTBALL TRACK TENNIS

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Tuesday, MAY 2, 2017

15

TRACK & FIELD

jUDGES BY THE NUMBERS BASEBALL TEAM STATS

UAA STANDINGS

Runs Batted In

UAA Conference

W L WashU 8 2 Case 11 5 Emory 9 7 NYU 4 8 JUDGES 2 12 Chicago 0 4

W 20 22 27 17 5 17

Overall L Pct. 8 .714 15 .595 12 .692 12 .586 20 .200 11 .607

UPCOMING GAMES: Tuesday vs. Amherst College Wednesday at UMass-Dartmouth

Ryan Tettemer ’17 leads the team with 13 runs batted in.

Player RBI Ryan Tettemer 13 Dan O’Leary 9 Victor Oppenheimer 6 Kyle Lussier 5

Strikeouts Sean O’Neill ’18 leads all pitchers with 47 strikeouts.

Player Ks Sean O’Neill 47 Greg Tobin 20 Liam Coughlin 14 Tim Lopez 12

SOFTBALL UAA STANDINGS

TEAM STATS Runs Batted In

UAA Conference

W L W Chicago 7 1 22 WashU 11 5 26 Emory

8 6 25 Case 7 6 20 NYU 5 9 18 JUDGES 4 9 13

Overall L Pct. 11 .667 12 .684 13 .658 17 .541 18 .500 16 .448

UPCOMING GAMES: Tuesday vs. Worcester St. double-header

Amanda Shore ’18 has a teamhigh 17 runs batted in.

Player RBI Amanda Shore 17 Marissa DeLaurentis 14 Madison Hunter 14 Keri Lehtonen 14

Strikeouts Scottie Todd ’20 has a teamhigh 46 strikeouts on the hill.

Player Ks Scottie Todd 46 Callie MacDonald 23 Sadie-Rose Apfel 6 Melissa Soleimani 1

TRACK AND FIELD Results from the Brown Springtime Invitational on Sunday.

TOP FINISHERS (Men’s)

TOP FINISHERS (Women’s)

100-meter dash

RUNNER Irie Gourde Churchill Perry Lorenzo Maddox

TIME 11.02 11.15 11.32

200-meter dash

RUNNER TIME Kayla Kurland-Davis 27.22 Courtney Page 27.26 Arial Nieberding 30.07

NATALIA WIATER/Justice File Photo

DISTANCE FOR DEIS: Distance runner Doyin Ogundiran ’19 (left) runs her race at the Reggie Poyau Invitational on Jan. 14.

Judges rebound with top finishes at Brown ■ Irie Gourde ’17 crushed the 100-meter dash on Sunday, coming in third place with a time of 11.02.

By JERRY MILLER JUSTICE EDITOR

UPCOMING MEETS: Thursday at Division III New England Championship at Williams Friday at Division III New England Championship at Williams Saturday at Division III New England Championship at Williams

TENNIS Updated season results.

TOP PERFORMERS (Men’s)

TOP PERFORMERS (Women’s)

MEN’S SINGLES Michael Arguello

RECORD 19-11

WOMEN’S SINGLES RECORD Sabrina Neergaard 18-9

MEN’S DOUBLES Aizenberg/Ng

RECORD 16-12

WOMEN’S DOUBLES RECORD Leavitt/Neergaard 15-12

UPCOMING MEETS:

The men’s and women’s tennis teams have concluded their seasons

The Brandeis track and field teams completed their final regular season meet at the Brown Springtime Invitational hosted by Brown University this past weekend.

The women’s squad was nursing a tough seventh-place finish in the University Athletic Association Outdoor Championships last weekend. Despite the outcome, the women came out with a solid showing this weekend, posting a smattering of top-10 finishes on the day. Starting the day was Kayla Kurland-Davis ’20 in the 200-meter race, crossing the line in 10th place with a time of 27.22.

Emily Bryson ’19 powered the team in the 800-meter run, blowing past the competition for a silver medal and a time of 2:14.70. Kyra Shreeve ’18 was narrowly bumped out of the top ten, finishing the day in 11th.

First-year Lydia Harris ’20 performed well in the 400-meter hurdles event but was unable to break the plane in time, finishing

in fifth with a time of 1:09.53. Brown took the crown in the race, with three runners competing in the event and snagging the gold and bronze medals.

Jessie Moore ’18 competed in the women’s high jump, elevating 1.42 meters to land in ninth place for the day. First-year Willa Moen ’20 was edged out into 11th place, but made up for it in the pole vault competition.

Moen vaulted herself over 3.1 meters, good for a seventh-place roundup.

Jordin Carter ’18 took the lead for the Judges squad in the shot put event, hurling the ball a hefty 10.6 meters and taking sixth place in the process. Carter also entered the hammer event, blasting the tool 40.3 meters for seventh place.

The men were also coming off a rough seventh-place overall finish in the UAA Outdoor Championships, though they fared slightly better, posting solid results in their final regular season meet. Irie Gourde ’17 continued his impressive season with a third-place time of 11.02 in the 100-meter dash. Churchill Perry ’20 followed suit, picking up eighth place with a time of 11.15.

Lorenzo Maddox ’20 trailed behind, edging out senior Peter Archetto of Rhode Island College for 10th place. Michael Kroker ’19 and Adam Beckwith ’18 narrowly escaped last place with finishes in 15th and 16th,

respectively. Kroker managed to finish a smidge under 12 seconds with a time of 11.99.

First-year Jacob Judd ’20 held his own in the 800-meter race, coming in at seventh place with a time of 2:01.06. Dillon Garvey ’20 and Roger LaCroix ’18 took sixth and seventh, respectively, in the men’s mile run.

Brian Sheppard ’18 cracked the top ten with a spectacular finish in the 3000-meter race. Dan Curley ’20 followed behind for an 11thplace finish. Henry McDonald ’19 took third in the 400-meter hurdles, flashing a 59.12 finish time.

Scott Grote ’19 flung the disc 44.09 to land himself in third place for the discus event. Aaron Corin ’20 catapulted himself into fifth place in the pole vault competition, solidifying his place with a respectable 4.2 meter vault.

The Judges will move on to the Division III New England Championship hosted by Williams College beginning this coming Thursday and then to the New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association Championships the following week. The women had a tough outing last year at the meet, finishing in 17th and 28th, respectively, while the men fared no better, posting a 21st-place finish and a 31st-place finish, respectively.

PRO SPORTS BRIEF NBA playoffs continue to be exciting for fans as most elite teams prepare to face one another The opening round of the National Basketball Association playoffs consisted of many exciting matchups that nearly became upsets at times, but ultimately finished with top teams as victors. Most dominant were the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors, who were able to sweep the first four games versus the Indiana Pacers and Portland Trailblazers, respectively.

Additionally, the Houston Rockets coasted to a five-game series win versus the Oklahoma City Thunder, knocking out MVP candidate Russell Westbrook. However, other top teams struggled at times in games, like the San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics, who all won the round 4-2.

The Warriors, who swept the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round, are set to play the Utah Jazz.

However, against a Jazz team that will struggle to match the offense of Golden State, the Warriors should have no trouble demolishing their opponent in a seven-game series.

The other three matchups will be the most interesting series to watch, as they all seem to feature relatively even matchups.

First, one exciting series to watch will be Cleveland versus Toronto.

The last time these two groups met in the playoffs was in the 2016 Eastern Conference Finals, in which Cleveland took the series in six games. In that series, forward LeBron James and point guard Kyrie Irving dominated offensively, but now, with Raptors’ newly

acquired top defender Serge Ibaka, the team may perform slightly better defensively against “The King.” Additionally, after last year, Raptors’ guard DeMar DeRozan has improved significantly, with the new ability to consistently control games in ways he has never been able to before throughout his solid career.

Other than these factors, though, the series looks similar to that of last season, with a talented Toronto backcourt that does not create the same playoff presence as Cleveland’s veteran group.

Cleveland will likely have the edge in the round.

After a unique first round for Boston, the Celtics now look to take on point guard John Wall and the Wizards in what should also

be a great battle. The first-seeded Celtics started their last round down two games to nothing at home, but managed to come back in style, winning four straight games and closing off the series in six. With high morale, they could pose a threat to the Wizards. Aside from their mindset, they may not be talented enough to oppose an emerging Washington team, though. Wall and shooting guard Bradley Beal make up a dangerous backcourt against any team, but Boston will have particular trouble on defense, as point guard Isaiah Thomas will be unable to guard either Beal or Wall effectively.

Additionally, Boston struggles with both rebounding and size, making the Wizards a potential nightmare for the Celtics. Though

several aspects of this matchup favor Washington to win the series, a top seed like Boston can never be counted out entirely.

Lastly, the Spurs look to take on Houston in what should be a ferocious, competitive series. The Spurs have depth, star talent and one of the league’s best coaches, but Houston has the second-best scorer of the 2016 to 2017 season in point guard James Harden, and little can be done to stop him. Luckily, with one of the league’s top defenders in forward Kawhi Leonard, who will guard Harden, the Spurs seem to have an advantage. However, the Rockets’ three-point shooting can stun teams and may help them keep the highly-anticipated series close.

—Lev Brown

just

Sports

Page 16

SWEEPING IN STYLE The Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors swept their opponents to advance in the NBA playoffs, p. 15.

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

BASEBALL

COVERING GAPS

Squad picks up fifth win of year ■ The baseball team found

its groove with an impressive upset victory over Western New England University.

By SAMANTHA PROCTOR JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Over the past week, the Brandeis baseball team started out strong with a win away against Western New England University. Then, playing on the road against Trinity College and Rhode Island College this past weekend, they failed to come out on top, losing both games.

Judges 1, Rhode Island 2 On Sunday, Brandeis fell just short to Rhode Island College in Providence, Rhode Island. Brandeis started out strong in the top of the first inning with center fielder Ryan Tettemer ’17 hitting a double. He then stole third and was able to score, giving Brandeis the 1-0 lead. The rest of the game continued slowly as senior pitcher Liam Coughlin ’17 held off Rhode Island throughout most of the game. However, by the bottom of the eighth inning, Rhode Island pushed back by scoring two

Waltham, Mass.

runs. With just one inning left, Brandeis was not able to come back in the top of the ninth, leaving the victory to Rhode Island by one.

Judges 0, Trinity 9 The first few innings against Trinity started off slow with neither team scoring. By the bottom of the third, Trinity began to pick up the pace with a run. With Trinity only leading by one in the top of the fourth, Brandeis still had time to catch up.

Junior pitcher Sean O’Neil ’18 was in to do his best against the Trinity batters. Unfortunately, by the end of the bottom of the fourth, he had given up four runs, leaving Brandeis with a five run deficit. Again, in the top of the fifth, Brandeis continued to struggle at the plate, which allowed Trinity to pull even more ahead in the bottom of the fifth with another three runs, making the score 8-0.

Throughout the next two innings, the Brandeis defense was able to hold off Trinity for a bit as neither team scored in those innings. By the bottom of the eighth, Trinity was able to sneak in one more run, and with no more runs by either team in the ninth, the final score was

See BASEBALL, 13 ☛

PRO SPORTS COLUMN

Eric Thames has not slowed down in MLB ■ Milwaukee Brewers first

baseman Eric Thames has been unstoppable at the plate to open the 2017 season.

By EVAN ROBINS JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Eric Thames knows how to hit a baseball. This fact is arguably the biggest revelation of the young 2017 MLB season. After departing from the majors in 2012 following two largely unsuccessful seasons in the big leagues, Thames headed to Korea. Back in the majors for the first time in five years, the Milwaukee Brewers first baseman has had an incredible first month of the season offensively, ranking among the league leaders across nearly all statistical measures.

Thames is tied for the leaguelead in home runs with 11, 10th in batting average at a strong .345 mark and tied for 17th with 19 runs batted in. He also owns baseball’s third-best on-base percentage and second-best slugging percentage, indicating that not only is he hitting for power at an elite level, but he’s also getting on base at a superstar level. This tracks with advanced metrics, as Thames ranks second in both wOBA (weighted on base average), which adjusts on-base percentage for the value of getting on base in each specific way, and wRC+ (weighted runs created plus), which shows that he has been worth the second most runs in the league, per Fangraphs.

Unfortunately, as a baseball fan, it is now impossible to see a seemingly out-of-nowhere power surge and not have the word ‘steroids’ flash in all caps in your mind. Both Major League Baseball and Eric Thames are acutely aware of this. As reported on April 29 by Milwaukee Brewers beat writer

Tom Haudricourt, Thames has been drug tested by the MLB three times in what was then the last ten days. This is not normal, and certainly not random. Thames has offered to keep testing as much as the league wants, saying to the press recently after a game that, “If people keep thinking I’m on stuff, I’ll be here every day.” Given his unbelievable story and the complete inability of baseball fans to trust anyone anymore, people are going to doubt him no matter what he or the tests say. However, the nature of Thames’ success suggests that the underlying reasons for his great month might have to do more with smart hitting than a physical power surge.

Thames’ newfound success is not the case of a man who is fundamentally the same hitter as when he washed out, only now the ball flies farther and is hit harder when he makes contact.

In the 2009 Baseball Research Journal, University of Illinois Physics Professor Alan Nathan supported the argument made by fellow physicist Roger Tobin that steroid use would increase muscle mass which, in turn, would result in higher bat speed and a correspondingly higher ball exit velocity from the bat.

This would suggest that powerhitters using steroids would have high average exit velocities on batted balls. Thames, however, has a remarkably low average exit velocity on batted balls this season, per Statcast. His 89.79 mph average exit velocity is only slightly above the league average rate of 87.69 mph, and well below Minnesota Twins third baseman Miguel Sano’s league-leading 100.6 mph. While this is not a way to be sure, it certainly does not point toward steroids.

See PRO SPORTS, 13 ☛

MORGAN BRILL/Justice File Photo

MAKING PLAYS: Shortstop Madison Hunter ’17 prepares to hurl the ball across the infield against New York University on April 15.

Club flashes signs of dominance on road ■ The softball team crushed

Colby College by scores of 11-0 and 5-2 in a doubleheader this past weekend.

By ABBY PATKIN JUSTICE EDITOR

The softball team had a successful showing on the road this weekend, coming out on top in both doubleheader games at Colby College.

The wins mark an upswing for the squad, which dropped four games against Washington University in St. Louis the week before.

Judges 5, Colby 2 The squad had a relatively slow start to the second game of the double-header, with two quick outs being recorded at the start of the first inning. Doubles from left fielder Marissa DeLaurentis ’19 and shortstop Madison Hunter ’17 got the game moving, with DeLaurentis crossing home plate for the first run of the game.

Pitcher Callie MacDonald ’20 came out of the gate strong in the bottom of the first, allowing only

one hit.

First baseman Allison Hecht ’17 singled in the top of the second, scoring a run off a double from third baseman Brianna Urena ’20.

The latter, in turn, scored a run with a hit from right fielder Keri Lehtonen ’19.

A quick succession of outs closed out the second inning for Colby and the top of the third for the Judges, with neither team managing any runs. MacDonald let up two hits in the bottom of the third, with Colby first baseman Vanessa Warshaw, a junior, crossing home off a double.

Brandeis pushed back in the next inning, with two Colby errors and a single from Lehtonen pushing catcher Caroline Sippin ’20 across home plate for another run. This strong performance continued on to the fifth inning after an uneventful bottom of the fourth, with doubles from Hunter and Hecht resulting in a scored run from the former.

Both squads failed to score any runs in the sixth inning. Sophomore Colby pitcher Wiley Holton walked Lehtonen and second baseman Marysa Massoia ’19 managed the only hit of the inning with a single, advancing Lehtonen to second.

The top of the seventh came to a quick close as the Judges recorded three successive outs. The squad showed slight fatigue in the outfield at the bottom of the inning, giving up a run with an error to close out the game.

Judges 11, Colby 0 The Judges started strong against the Mules, scoring the first two runs of the day in the top of the first. Hecht smacked a single that brought in rookie pitcher Scottie Todd ’20 and DeLaurentis to score.

Todd took the mound in the bottom of the first, walking Colby shortstop Katie McLaughlin, a senior, and giving up one base hit, but came out of the inning unscathed. The squad managed to hold off Colby for the next three innings, giving up only two singles in the bottom of the third.

Things started to heat up again in the top of the fifth, with singles from Massoia, Urena and Lehtonen. Center fielder Amanda Shore ’18 reached on a fielder’s choice, ultimately scoring a run off Lehtonen’s hit.

Todd kept up the pace in the

See SOFTBALL, 13 ☛

Vol. LXIX #25

May 2, 2017

SPRINGFEST VS. THE WORLD Lil Uzi Vert

> > pg. 19

just

ARTS

Waltham, Mass.

Images: Heather Schiller/the Justice; Design: Natalia Wiater/the Justice.

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THE JUSTICE TUESDAY,| May Arts2,| TUESDAY, 2017 | Arts January i THE JUSTICE 31, 2017

A Cappella review

VoiceMale celebrates end of semester

ROCK AND ROLL: VoiceMale exhibits camaraderie and friendship as they perform, raising the crowd’s energy.

MORGAN BRILL/the Justice

By ELeanor Kelman

VoiceMale started the show by performing some songs they’ve done in the past, showcasing the vast range of their members’ voices. They opened with a Green Day medley arranged by Abram Foster ’19 and soloed by five of the other men. This was followed up by a few more songs, each giving the lovely voices of VoiceMale the opportunity to shine.

Then, right before the intermission, VoiceMale performed a skit about the seniors in which they joked around about how the seniors were “gone” from the team. The audience was roaring with laughter at this unexpected but completely welcome act. I know I couldn’t help but laugh as the men ran

justice Contributing writer

In a heartfelt and touching performance, Brandeis’ all-male a cappella group VoiceMale sang in the Shapiro Campus Center theater last Saturday.

It was the final time the four graduating seniors in the group would perform on the stage, and the group wished them farewell with an amazing show that both celebrated their contributions to the team and crafted a fun and engaging performance. Dressed to impress in black suits, VoiceMale captivated and charmed their audience and sent off their seniors with the melodious style they’ve become known for.

around the stage relishing each other’s company, truly embracing the seniors as lifelong members of the group instead of temporary additions who were departing. The friendship of the group was palpable and encapsulated how close all the members of VoiceMale are.

After the intermission began the send-off for the seniors.

Before each of the four talented men who would be graduating performed a solo to end the night, an underclassman read a story about him. The stories ranged from hilarious anecdotes about some weird thing that one of the seniors had done during his time performing with VoiceMale to bittersweet sentiments about

how much that person’s talent would be missed, but the love among the members proved that the bond between them would last much longer than simply four years at Brandeis.

Each senior had a solo part in a multitude of different songs, and each senior gave the performance of a lifetime, nailing the song and leaving me breathless. They stretched the limits of the human voice in songs that expressed their incredible talents perfectly.

The final song of the show was one heard very often during VoiceMale shows, Rockapella’s “Falling Over You,” which culminated in a standing ovation from the entire audience. The entire performance was worthy

of such boisterous applause, and as the men bowed on stage, they looked triumphant as they smiled back at the audience, who reveled in the power of song. VoiceMale hugged and congratulated each other for a job very well done before members of the audience came up to do the same to them.

I joined some of my fellow listeners in doing so, unable to contain the energy that had been building up during the show. Next year will bring new fresh faces to the VoiceMale team, but from the camaraderie I felt during this concert I know that the seniors will not be forgotten; they will remain valuable friends with their fellow members, just like the members before them and after them as well.

culture REview

CultureX shows the variety of Brandeis

By Emily Blumenthal justice Staff writer

Before the establishment of the Intercultural Center in 1992, Brandeis did not have a place to celebrate cultural diversity on campus. In a magnificent celebration on Saturday, the ICC held its annual CultureX event to celebrate the University’s multitude of cultures. Themed “25k Magic: Cultural Fusion,” the event feted the 25th anniversary of the ICC. One standout act was Joanna Martin, a second-year M.A. student. She told her story through a powerful dance routine.

Dancing evocatively to “Rise Up” by Andra Day, Martin portrayed violence, silence, pain and beauty through a beautiful

YVETTE SEI/the Justice

LA GOZADERA: Latin Xtreme, Brandeis’ AfroLatinx dance troupe, performs a variety of dances inspired by Afro-culture in Latin America.

mixture of different styles of dance.

Another act at CultureX was the new slam poetry group Poetic Justice, comprised of Olivia Nichols ’20, Victoria Richardson ’20, Nia Duncan ’20, Jack Rubinstein ’20 and Olivia Perozo ’20. The performers discussed assimilation, not understanding their religions, expectations of Blackness and whiteness in society and feelings of appropriating their own cultures. The performance was extremely moving and enlightening to the struggles that many different cultures face.

As the lights dimmed, the members of dance group Black is a Super Power walked to the front of Levin Ballroom holding signs saying “resist” and “Ford Hall 2015.” In a surprise appearance, Brandeis alumnus and former Student

Union President Nyah Macklin ’16 sang a song as the other students stood with their fists raised as a symbol of power. Macklin’s strong voice and the group’s display of solidarity with one another made for a powerful statement.

Next, the Platinum Step Team dance group took the stage and initiated their “pledges.” In a militaristic performance, head team members ordered the “pledges” to name various rules of the team’s rulebook. The third element of the rulebook is precision, and the team succeeded in that aspect during its performance. The routine was extremely well-choreographed and coordinated, and the group never missed a beat.

My favorite act of the night was the Indian folk/hip-hop group Bhangra.

According to the group, Bhangra is “a

folk dance that originated in the northern Indian state of Punjab.” The dancers combined dhol and hip-hop in a beautiful mixture that was the perfect example of the show’s theme, cultural fusion.

The other acts at CultureX were Dean of Students and slam poet Jamele Adams, dance groups La Gozadera, Adagio, Stop Motion, Rebelle, Kaos Kids, Chak De, Sankofa, Seh-gae and Toxic, a cappella groups Voices of Soul and Manginah and musical acts Michael Harlow ’19, Marcelo Brociner ’18, Priya DeBerry ’17 and Bethlehem the Producer ’20. Most of the acts were exciting and left the audience feeling amazed by the ICC’s role in spreading cultural diversity around campus. Here’s to many more years and celebrations of the ICC and all Brandeisians.

YVETTE SEI/the Justice

REBELLE: Rebelle performs a dance using a mixture of styles from countries that all are deeply rooted in African culture.

19

THEJUSTICE JUSTICEi iarts artsi iTUESDAY, TUESDAY,May January 31, 2017 THE 2, 2017

SPRINGFEST review

Springfest keeps up with expectations

HEATHER SCHILLER/the Justice

JUMPING AND JAMMING: Opening artist, Raleigh Ritchie, gets the crowd hyped with his exciting dance moves and sound.

By Anna Stern justice Staff writer

HEATHER SCHILLER/the Justice

ALTERNATIVE OPENING: The first opening act, Tipling Rock, performs alternative music, a different style than headlining artist Lil Uzi Vert.

On an average day, Chapel’s Field looks bare.

On a sunny day it’s filled with people tanning and throwing frisbees. On Sunday, April 30, Chapel’s Field had taco and hot dog trucks, a beer garden, free pizza, and multiple BEMCo tents ready to help if anyone was hurt, not to mention a gigantic stage.

This was Springfest filled with both Brandeisians and Waltham locals alike who, despite the cloudy rainy weather, enjoyed the music and collegiate atmosphere. The performers this year were not as well known as past Springfest artists such as Jessie J and T-Pain. However, the crowd screamed and shouted the rap lyrics at the top of their lungs. Opening Springfest was Raleigh Ritchie, a British rapper who is also known for his role as Grey Worm in the hit television show “Game of Thrones.” His set was the only one that was accompanied by a live band. Raleigh Ritchie had an amazing stage presence and drew enthusiasm out of the crowd. His dynamic energy and catchy songs made me want to check out his music further!

As the crowd began to grow, Hippie Sabotage took the stage. Hippie Sabotage consists of two brothers who specialize in electronic dance music.

One of the brothers was behind a turntable and played the music onstage. The other brother rapped in the microphone and made his way through the crowd, lighting joints and passing them around to the people in the front of the crowd.

The one mainstream song that Hippie Sabotage played was their remix of “Habits” by Tove Lo. The crowd emphatically sang that song so that it could be heard all over campus. The final performance of the day was the headliner Lil Uzi Vert.

Judging from previous Springfests, the headliner typically takes the stage at 5 p.m. with the show ending at 6, just in time for Brandesians to eat dinner, attempt to start homework and be asleep by 9:30.

However, it wasn’t Lil Uzi who took the stage at 5 p.m., it was his DJ and hype man who played music and got the crowd dancing and pumped for Lil Uzi to get on the stage. The problem was, after over 50 minutes of waiting and a restless crowd, Lil Uzi didn’t come on the stage until 5:45 where he then performed a 45-minute set.

Lil Uzi is known for his featured verse on the song “Bad and Boujee” by Migos.

Though he didn’t perform that song until halfway through his set, Lil Uzi captured the crowd with his awesome charisma and vivid stage presence.

He was not the only person on stage though.

Lil Uzi’s entourage was onstage the whole time and stood in the background. As the show progressed, the amount of people in his entourage kept multiplying until by the end of the show there were a handful of people on the stage.

Overall, this year’s Springfest was memorable.

However, it was not as well attended as in years past because of the lack of variety of artists drawing in a smaller crowd.

In the future, Student Events should pick their lineup based on all genres of music: a DJ, an Indie band, and a headliner that does not have many Brandeisans questioning the artist’s identity.

However, for the Brandeisians and Waltham locals, and the surprising amount of middle schoolers who showed up — fans of Lil Uzi Vert and the other acts — Springfest was a wonderful day to not think about the stresses of finals and to celebrate the end of the year.

ART REVIEW

Book art exhibit showcases student craft

By Emily SEE justice Staff writer

The Juried Brandeis Library Artists’ Book Award exhibit was displayed in the Goldfarb Library from Thursday until Sunday between the information desks and the computers. In the displays you could see many beautiful displays of all different media and intentions.

One piece titled “2017: An Exploration of Internet Popularity,” focused on tweets that had gotten positive feedback from one specific person. It tried to connect with what people were more focused on in the real world today.

The piece found right below it in the display was titled “Garden in My Hand,” a piece made by Junru Xu ’20. A plate she received in her book-making class inspired it. The book was made to be in the shape of a mirror and remind her of her grandfather’s garden.

This piece was intended to represent happiness, according to Xu. This art exhibit was displayed with a glass casing.

However, it prevents people from experiencing the pieces as Xu pointed out to me when we talked about her piece. Because of this, we can only ever observe the creation; we will never get the same effect that Xu receives as she used this piece to preserve an important memory.

A particularly intriguing piece was “Moods” by Brenda Gonzales ’17. With the colors

and forms of her book, Gonzales said she wished to “relate to the idea of childhood while simultaneously exploring the new feelings of excitement and anxiety that inevitably came with early adulthood.” This piece does create an intriguing “mood” (as the title mentions) due to the shapes and the thought process your brain endures looking at it.

The winner of the Artists’ Book Award, voted on by three jurors after competition entries, was Nicholas Costantino ’17, who highlighted three different types of book binding techniques in his piece. Having coptic stitching, the Japanese-stab-binding and the accordion bound endless knot all in use, the art piece appeared both “cool to look at and engage with,” according to Costantino.

The next piece in the display was “The Ends” by Rita Scheer ’20. It was created using Intaglio prints on plexiglass full of vibrant colors. The purpose of the piece was to express the words of Samuel Beckett’s short story “The End.” The next two pieces were unique in the sense that they took parts of books to create something new, whereas the other artists had all created a book with something they wished to express themselves.

“Inside My Mind” by Ceara Genovesi ’18 taps into the curiosity surrounding the human mind. Genovesi enjoyed taking on the challenge of our own thought processes in her art.

The wires in the sculpture

“represent the chaos that is often the thoughts” racing in her mind.

After reading her description, it all starts to make sense.

Everyone’s mind goes all over the place, but as Genovesi points out, brains can be a little messy even though they have something to say. This is seen in the wires, which can represent both concrete and abstract thoughts.

The second piece made from books was “Book Worm” by Hatice Guc ’17. This is exactly what you would think, an apple and a worm. However, it is also so much more. This piece is an apple with a library inside for said worm. The apple is then also placed on another book.

Guc’s description included “an adventure into an apple of books.” This is essentially trying to remind everyone that books are knowledge, and knowledge is everywhere, you just need to know where to look and how to approach it.

Some other outstanding pieces were “Tall Child” by Margot Field ’17, “Surreal Night” by Samantha Jean ’19, and “I’m Not Surprised” (by anonymous). The artists in this display all showed amazing talent and also care for one another. There have been shout-outs to professors and also to the other artists in the displays.

There is a helpful community in the arts that is here to help students express what they wish in the best way they see fit.

This display was a fantastic opportunity to see that connection and to see the Brandeis visual

AARON BIRNBAUM/the Justice

ARTISTS IN CONVERSATION: Students and adults alike discuss the handiwork involved in book art.

AARON BIRNBAUM/the Justice

FLORAL FEATURES: Students’ books exhibited artistic finesse and creative decisions not typically associated with book art.

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TUESDAY, May 2, 2017 | Arts | THE JUSTIce

Brandeis TALKS

INTERVIEW

wf

Springfest: “How are you doing?”

Dylan Hoffman ’18 NATALIA WIATER/the Justice

Mark Kohen ’20

This week, justArts spoke with Dylan Anthony Hoffman ’18 who directed the performance of “hamletmachine.”

“I just woke up. *laughs* I’m good how are you?”

justArts: Why did you choose to direct “hamletmachine” for the Festival of the Arts?

Roman Loper/the Justice

Max Hoffman ’19 “Fine.”

Samantha Barrett ’20 “I’m okay, I’m trying to keep it all together. *nervous laughter*”

Rachel Marcus ’19 “I’m too sober for this.”

Compiled and photographed by Yvette Sei/the Justice.

STAFF’S Top Ten

Top 10 NPR Tiny Desk Performances

By Morgan Mayback

justice EDITORial Assistant

There’s nothing better than listening to live music. But you don’t always get the chance to see your favorite artists perform. That’s where NPR Tiny Desk comes in! I’ve been finding all of my new music from their channel for the past few years. Here are some of my favorite performances: 1. T-Pain 2. Anaïs Mitchell 3. Nickel Creek 4. St. Paul and the Broken Bones 5. Avett Brothers 6. Leon Bridges 7. La Santa Cecilia 8. Phox 9. Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile, and Stuart Duncan 10. Making Movies

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 A little time, informally 4 Norms (abbr.)

8 Makes a loud noise 14 String of 3 letters found in “Obamacare,” fittingly 15 Word after family or money 16 Eye part 17 Dolphin relative 19 “______ a Feeling” (Beatles song) 20 *Like foggy conditions 22 Island souvenir 23 Part of A.A.R.P. 24 “_____ Rosenkavalier” (Strauss opera) 25 See 36-Across 28 Popular dance move 30 ____ pro nobis 31 Satellite that can be seen by the naked eye 32 Like Chinatown 34 Skinny 36 25-Across filetype 38 With 67-Down, certain serial killer 40 Aid during wartime, say 41 Coastal sort, to some politicos 44 Lux. neighbor 45 Receive, as a reward 47 Father of Goneril 48 _____ Friday’s 50 “Tell someone who gives a 27 *Inflammation hoot!” in text that can be caused by 52 Japanese mask smoking 54 58-Down, e.g.

29 Woodland critter 55 Record producer Gotti 33 Pseudonym for McCorvey 56 “Despicable Me” villain 35 Exist 57 Leader of Cosa Nostra 37 Ailing 59 *What one may have after 39 Nearly give a heart attack, so knocking back a few to speak 64 Journalism is the fourth one 42 Mai ____ 65 Schoolyard taunt ... or 43 Make a mistake phoenetically, a hint to each of the 46 Speakers’ platforms starred clues 48 Deafness 68 They’re less than soliloquies 49 “_____ Pointe Blank” (1997 Dan 69 Wife of Anthony (aka Carlos) Aykroyd movie) 70 Eddie the Eagle org.

51 Least fun 71 Hold a grudge against 53 “Whoopee!”

72 Arts and crafts site 58 SSW opposite 73 Mitchell’s husband on “Modern 60 Frag or flashbang in Call of Family” Duty, slangily 61 “_____ hollers, let him go” DOWN 62 Praise highly 1 Con man’s target 63 Harmony 2 Prefix with terrorism 66 The Mesozoic, e.g.

3 Astronomer Sagan 67 See 38-Across 4 Used an overhead bin 5 Fatuous 6 Lydic of “The Daily Show” 7 Goes steady with 8 One greasing palms 9 Float 10 Med. prefix 11 *Got harder 12 Cousins of IMs 13 Half-goats of myth 18 _____ Pot 21 Stark hero?

25 Means of access

Dylan Hoffman: “hamletmachine” is, in a certain sense, about the world after the destruction of World War II. The play is laced with distrust of revolutionary forces and extremist governments, and with the recent rise of far-right nativist populism (Brexit, Trump, Marine Le Pen), it seemed hyper-relevant in 2017.

JA: What was it like directing such a surrealist, almost nonlinear, play?

DH: Exciting and terrifying. I wanted a challenge, I thrive on challenge, and I have pushed myself as a director before. But never like this.

JA: What themes were you trying to convey?

DH: A lot. For one, I wanted people to draw connections between the geopolitical environment we find ourselves in now with the environment that directly preceded World War II. Additionally, I wanted this to be about our collective lack of action in the face of accelerating climate change and environmental destruction.

JA: What was the most difficult part of directing hamletmachine?

CROSSWORD COURTESY OF EVAN MAHNKEN

DH: Finding the door to the text.

When directing, I usually find that the hardest part of working on a new work is the initial push, because once you have one idea or image things tend to grow naturally out of that.

JA: What was the most rewarding part of directing?

DH: It’s always exciting to see your vision realized on stage.

JA: As the original writing of “hamletmachine” is extremely dense, how did you interpret and organize the script into your vision?

SOLUTION COURTESY OF EVAN MAHNKEN

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

Solution to last issue’s sudoku

Puzzle courtesy of www.sudokuoftheday.com

DH: First was the intellectual reaction — I knew pretty early on I wanted to make this play about extremism and the environment.

After that, it became a question of how do I represent these things metaphorically on stage. I started putting pieces together and, at a certain point, the piece had enough weight that it started to pull new ideas into its orbit without too much work from myself.

JA: How did this production of hamletmachine differ from other productions?

DH: Dramatically. For one thing, I added three or four movement sequences that weren’t scripted.

We didn’t get to the actual play until 8 minutes into the production: the opening was a choreographed sequence – we see a coffin in the middle of the floor, Ophelia/ Gertrude (played by the same actress) in mourning, a funeral procession. Horatio blinds himself.

The coffin becomes a womb, which births the young Hamlet, he is swaddled in a blanket that doubles as his kingly mantel and delivered to his waiting lover/mother. All of this doesn’t exist in the text, so it set the tone for the production to be much different than other productions.

—Hannah Kressel

Vol. LXIX #25

May 2, 2017

Leonard Bernstein

Festival of the Creative A

R

T

S just Waltham, Mass.

ARTS

Image: Creative Commons; Design: Natalia Wiater/the Justice.

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TUESDAY, May 2, 2017 | Arts | THE JUSTIce

‘hamletmachine’ shocks and excites MIHIR KHANNA/the Justice

HORATIO, HEAVING: Horatio (Dan Souza ’19) is one of the most observant characters in the play, despite being blind.

By emily blumenthal justice Staff writer

Just as Horatio’s (Dan Souza ’19) blindness makes him unable to see, the audience is also blind to any one interpretation or explanation for the events portrayed in Heiner Muller’s play “hamletmachine.”

The production, directed by Dylan Hoffman ’18 and featuring a score

by Abram Foster ’19, was a strange and confusing mashup of Shakespeare and revolutionary ideals.

The play had no cohesive plot but was rather a number of monologues which were loosely connected by their themes of revolution and rebirth.

In one scene, Ophelia (Becca Myers ‘18) appears to have been raped and begins her monologue by saying that she never again wants to be touched by another man. She is tormented by the horror of being violated and wants to take back the world she gave birth to.

Ophelia could be representing Mother Nature, as she wants

to give birth to a new world that is not violated by the industry and climate change which is destroying her.

In another monologue, we see Hamlet (Raphael Stigliano ’18) moving around the stage menacingly with the ensemble (Emma Cyr ’19 and Sophia Massidda ’20) following his every move.

Though the ensemble copies Hamlet, they move around the stage in a crouched position, as if they are animals.

Though this sequence could have many interpretations, one is that the ensemble symbolizes the masses following a Communist dictator unquestioningly, like animals.

Throughout the show, Horatio bears witness to all of the events occurring, first completely blind, and later with the new eyes that he eventually receives.

Initially, he is focused only on his own torment, but he then becomes an outside witness to the pain of others, which only hurts him further.

He repeatedly cries out in pain, because, even when he can see, he cannot stop the horrors of the world.

MIHIR KHANNA/the Justice

HAMLET AND OPHELIA: Hamlet (Raphael Stigliano ’18) and Ophelia (Rebecca Myers ’18) share an intimate moment.

Leonard Bernstein Festi Jammin’ out at SCRAM Jam By izzy lockesmith justice CONTRIBUTING writer

At 8 p.m., Brandeis students began to gather on and around the Light of Reason for a night of music, performance and, of course, delicious food. Hosted by the Student Committee for the Rose Art Museum, SCRAM Jam is an annual event in the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts. In line with the event’s theme of sustainability, SCRAM members stood around ready to provide information about environmentally focused artists. Three food trucks parked on the sidelines, serving those in attendance as the performers prepped for a great show. People sat comfortably under rows of lights eating cupcakes, dumplings and scrumptious fried Lebanese goodies while the band Atlas Lab played fun, but relaxed, music. The

main singer’s hauntingly beautiful voice rang out into the night, accompanied by her bandmates’ sweet guitar and piano. People couldn’t help but dance as Atlas Lab finished their set with a bang. The Boston Hoop Troop followed with a magical show as talented hula hoopers lined up under the lights in sequins and mesh, spinning their colorfully lit hoops until the colors blurred.

Loud electro swing music set the pace as the performers threw their hoops skillfully under the night sky.

Yet again, people couldn’t help but join in and dance. The night finished quietly as people finished their food, caught up with friends, conversed with the performers and got one last beer from the garden.

—Editor’s Note: The editor of the Arts section, Hannah Kressel ’20, is a member of SCRAM.

ADAM PANN/the Justice

SWEET SWINGING: Two students swing dance during SCRAM jam as hula hoopers perform behind them.

ADAM PANN/the Justice

DANCING QUEEN: Two students dance as Boston-based band, Atlas Lab, played.

By NATALIA WIATER and Hannah Kressel JUSTICE EDITORs

The annual Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts, held from April 27 to 30, was home to exhibits and performances from more than 300 Brandeis students and alumni, and was free and open to the public. This year’s theme was sustainability, and with the help of the Brandeis Sustainability Fund, the Festival made use of solar power and post-consumer waste paper and provided a vegetarian food truck during Super Sunday, as eating meat increases

THE JUSTICE i arts i TUESDAY, May 2, 2017 JOYCE YU/the Justice

LULLING LADIES: The three actors walked with mesmerizing coordination, adding to the lulling qualities of their voices.

JOYCE YU/the Justice

SILENT SISTERS: In this rendition of “Macbeth” the only characters are three women, who walk barefoot.

The three ‘Wayward’ sisters

By EMILY SEE justice Staff writer

Wayward took part in the Festival of the Arts this weekend as a fantastic performance.

Performed in Merrick Theater in Spingold on both Friday and Sunday at 7 p.m., Wayward was directed by Madi Samus ’17 and made possible due to a grant from the Office of the Arts. Having a unique take on the story of “Macbeth” and the three wayward sisters, Wayward was written over span of three years by Ayelet Schrek ’17.

The performance consisted of three amazing performers who walked barefoot throughout the duration of the night, creating complete silence so voices could be heard to the full extent.

The performance started with Yiqian (Alex) Wu ’19, Roopa Boodhun ’18 and Joanna Murphy ’17 walking out on stage and moving around in a way that flowed together. It could be a little confusing to follow if you did not pay close attention at first

due to the old English; however, if you looked into any of the performers’ eyes, you could see how intune they were with their characters. Every part of the performance added to the understanding of the story. For example, when the lights went dark, you could still see a pattern of shadows created from the webs of lighting structures above. This created an intense feeling of suspense and curiosity as the audience tried to discover what would happen next. In the second half of the performance, there was a brief mention on how “language has power” and that “we are creatures of association.” This touched on the use of “black” in the play and tried to express the power of language.

It was then followed with the three performers writing #BLM all over their cauldron. These types of incorporations into the performance made it unique to the story’s approach. Overall, the performance was very strong in delivery, and you could tell there was a lot of work that went into it. The hard work definitely paid off.

ival of the Creative Arts greenhouse gas emissions. The Festival showcased a variety of music, dance, film and artwork throughout the weekend, all by artists who “engage with ideas that contribute to a sustainable world, or use sustainable methods or materials,” as per the Festival’s website. Works varied from theater productions reimagining traditional plays to sculptures made out of found objects. Whether sustainable material was used in the creative of the art or sustainability was the main theme of the work, this year’s Festival of the Arts was a bright way to enjoy the spring while staying environmentally conscious.

Grafitti cube highlights untraditional art

NATALIA WIATER/the Justice

By michelle banayan justice EDITOR

The graffiti box, perched inconspicuously in Fellows Garden, has garnered attention as an interactive installation during the annual Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts. Initially introduced in April 2016 as part of Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS) Graffiti/Youth Culture Week, the graffiti box has come back for a second year to communicate the versatility of graffiti as an artistic form. Though paint will only be supplied for a few sessions, students are free to express themselves on the walls of the graffiti box for all of campus to see.

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TUESDAY, May 2, 2017 | Arts | THE JUSTIce AARON BIRNBAUM/the Justice

JUSTCEPTION: Actor Sarah Sharpe ’20 plays in a skit during Boris’ Kitchen semester show.

Cooking up comedy in Boris’ Kitchen

By KENT DINLENC justice Staff writer

It’s the end of the semester, and all of us are cramming for finals and slowly depleting our seemingly endless workloads. Our finals days are approaching, and we’re all saying goodbye for a few months. But Boris’ Kitchen raised the spirits of lucky audiences on the nights of April 27 and 28 with sketch comedy that ranged from political satire to some welcomed jabs at on-campus facilities to sparse, but reliable, slapstick.

Their show “Wholesome Comedy” was a hilarious escape from work

AARON BIRNBAUM/the Justice

KUNG FU FIGHTING: The actors perform a skit during their semester show that drew laughs.

that gives us one of very few reasons to smile at the end of the semester.

As soon as you sat down in the Shapiro Camous Center theater you heard mashups between popular songs and Smashmouth’s “All Star.” The audience knew exactly what they were getting into. One might think it was just funny ambience before the show, but it set the tone. It warned the audience that the comedians were not afraid to still make you laugh with tortured references and connections between pop songs and sketches during transitional breaks (though I do not appreciate getting the Kars

4 Kids theme stuck in my head for the past 5 days). The sketches themselves were both witty and ridiculous, embracing word play and situational absurdity. The comedians seemed comfortable during their performance and confidently entertained.

The actors and writers really succeeded in keeping us laughing.

The writers sitting with us in the audience, too numerous to list in one paragraph, deserve praise for penning entertaining scripts that served as the platform for the cast’s physical humor and charisma. The production quality was surprisingly good as

well. The dramatic lighting and the musical cues were amusing additions to the show. The props, though made from some cardboard boxes and a few pieces of furniture, added to the show’s more absurd and exaggerated moments. The production staff should be commended for their hard work keeping the tone positive, energetic and upbeat.

The run through of the sketches felt natural and smooth, keeping the audience entertained and level.

As for the comedy itself, I can say that it mostly landed, forcing audiences to keep their sides together and making sure not a

single joke was wasted. Sketches ran anywhere between 30 seconds to 7 minutes. But due to some misfires, I can’t say for sure since some jokes had overstayed their welcome, seeming like they went on forever. Not to say those longer sketches were boring, just that they needed some trimming. Some of my favorite sketches were long, such as a hilarious exaggeration of our campus mailroom service and a police station that couldn’t stop calling a certain charity hotline (once again thank you for that).

Amongst the shorter sketches, I really enjoyed the quick “Ballad of Sweet Kevin” and a skit involving two parents who leave their son’s marathon when they’re sick of waiting for him.

There was one hiccup during the show, and it turned out to be my biggest problem with it. The group decided to project two recorded sketches on-screen rather than let the audience unwind and discuss the show for 5 minutes amongst themselves. It seemed as though they were trying to replicate the success of Saturday Night Live’s “Digital Short” routine.

It was overall appreciated, but most of the jokes did not land with me (keeping in mind comedy is subjective). And what was worse was the technical difficulties with lagging sound and poor video production. I feel the sketches, while losing some of their punchlines, would have been better live on-stage than on-screen. The point of the show is to entertain in the theater – I can watch funny videos any time online.

Overall, “Wholesome Comedy” was a resounding success in my eyes and the audience’s from what I could tell from postshow recollections of favorite moments and “congratulations” with the BK staff.

The sketches hit all the corners of the comedy spectrum with a distinctive style accredited to its directors Sarah Duffett ’17 and Zephry Wright ’17.

If I could only make one recommendation to the entertaining BK crew it would be to stick to on-stage hilarity