THE JUSTICE
FRAMEWORK: Plan proposes move toward residential college model in dorms CONTINUED FROM 1 the creation of smaller communities within the residence halls through the addition of new social spaces and the greater integration of graduate students and faculty into residential life. Aspects of the residential college model that Liebowitz mentioned include “affiliate programs” that would see graduate students, postdoctoral students and faculty affiliated with these residential communities serving as mentors and engaging with undergraduates and a decentralization of the deans’ offices. This concept of decentralization would also potentially apply to student support services such as the Brandeis Counseling Center and career services. The University is exploring the possibility of having outposts in residence halls for support services rather than centralized offices. Each service will be evaluated individually to determine the best method for reaching students, whether it be through one central office or in individual residence halls. During the creation of the Framework, Liebowitz explained during the interview, community members criticized the residence halls as “just
a place where students went to sleep, that it wasn’t a place where they built community, where they didn’t really hang out or socialize as much as you might think.” To further address those concerns, the University will begin a residential project to renovate residence hallsdorms and other buildings, starting with Kutz Hall. Kutz, which currently houses the Office of the University Registrar, Campus Card Office and Kutz Bakery among others, will serve as an “anchor building” that will allow the University to renovate other halls and spaces. It will be converted into a new residence hall with 170 beds and a dining hall. The addition of that space would lead to the next phase of the project, the renovation of North Quad. The buildings in North Quad will be linked to create more social and study spaces and to improve accessibility, an issue that has sparked considerable discussion on campus in recent months. A number of the University’s buildings were built long before the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and their aging skeletons have made upgrades to modernize them a difficult task.
An inventory of the 102 buildings at the University, considering building condition and cost of renovation, showed that North Quad was the first priority. Buildings with “easier solutions” for modernization such as those in North Quad will be renovated first, while those that would involve more complicated construction would be longer-term projects. “We developed a plan of knocking off as much as we can, choosing the buildings that we can actually modernize to sort of make accessible, and we’ve done a nice job. We’re nowhere near what we need to do, and so that’s part of our physical facilities planning. The new buildings of course will all be ADA-accessible, the question is [in] which of the old ones can we do it, and how quickly,” Liebowitz said. In another move to help marginalized students, the University will be reexamining how it assesses financial aid, Liebowitz wrote in an email to the Justice on Monday. When assessing need, the University would include travel costs, internships and research opportunities and the transferability of financial aid for study abroad programs.
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FORUM: Attendees suggest ways to take action on climate change CONTINUED FROM 1 we still don’t have a required entry level climate course is something I can’t figure out by myself,” she said. Some of the other suggestions included transitioning to self-operated dining, avoiding consumption of non-sustainable resources such as meat, investing in renewable energy sources and committing to going carbon neutral, if not carbon negative. “There is a sense that we kind of know what needs to be done, but it isn’t yet being done,” von Mering said. “The question is, what does it require for Brandeis to actually do what must be done?” Many answers from the audience focused on different ways to raise awareness and take action, such as dedicating specific time to campus involvement in climate change as other colleges, such as Smith College and Oberlin College, have done in the past. Furthermore, von Mer-
ing noted that it can be challenging to pass climate legislation because of the power dynamic of the sources of influence on Congress. She explained that having a political system reliant on the fossil fuel industry means the fuel companies have more influence than the students. “We need to divest in order to shift the focus,” she said, adding that she believes Brandeis “has a megaphone” in this area. Ji later said that, in order to combat the climate crisis in general, we need cultural shifts and more awareness as well as financial incentives to help change behavior. Gomes-Casseres also said that the University needs to take responsibility. “There’s a notion, I feel, that we sometimes have is ‘let students do this,’ ‘let clubs do this,’” he said, “and I don’t think we should let the University off the hook.”
Everyone has a story. Help us find it. SIPCHIP: Future funding of the Join initiative is to Features! be determined CONTINUED FROM 1
Contact Sofia Gonzalez at features@thejustice.org
Next year’s funding will depend on how many SipChips are used. Berg, Levitus and Tatuskar plan to monitor the amount of SipChips used during the March 4–11 pilot release, observing which locations use the most SipChips and the total amount used. They will not monitor who takes a SipChip; all students will have anonymity. “We want to see how many chips we might need,” Berg said. “Once we know how many chips our community needs, when these ones run out, then we’ll look into how much funding we’re going to need.” Berg, Levitus and Tatuskar have also discussed the possibility of student organizations fundraising to buy SipChips for their events, as well as having administrative and financial support from the Union. “The goal of bringing this product to campus isn’t that we think that we should have to have a fix like this product,” Levitus said. “It’s the idea that we want to use this to raise awareness of the issue, call attention to it, provide something that can be an important safety tool to students and create an environment where drugfaciliatated sexual assault won’t be tolerated anymore.” Since 7.6% of college students have been drugged — according to Undercover Color’s website — “this is something that is relevant to all cam-
puses,” Levitus said. However, this statistic only accounts for reported and verified drugging, so this number could be higher. “This is happening at Brandeis,” Berg said. “That is a fact.” Berg said that as a confidential resource, she could not disclose specific stories or statistics within PARC’s jurisdiction but that this issue “came up multiple times” in the Campus Climate Survey. “I believe in empowering people with any possible tool they choose to use. In some ways, it’s less about the actual testing of the drink and it’s more about being in a community where everyone knows that this is widely available. … In a way, that does a lot of work to challenge the people who think they could do this in the first place,” Berg said. “They’re no longer in a community where they can get away with it.” “I feel better just knowing I have this on my keychain,” Levitus said. SipChips will be available at the PARC office, Student Union office, Student Sexuality Information Service office, Health Center, the Stein, Hoot Market, Gender and Sexuality Center, Intercultural Center, Gosman Sports and Convocation Center, all Department of Community Living Quad Offices and at Greek Awareness Club events.
