the
Justice www.thejustice.org
The Independent Student Newspaper Volume LXXI, Number 12
B r a n d e is U n i v e r sit y S i n c e 1 9 4 9
of
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
‘BABY STEPS’ TOWARD DIVESTMENT
Trustees make long-awaited divestment choice ■ The University will change its investment strategies to decrease future investment in fossil fuel businesses. By JEN GELLER JUSTICE EDITOR
After months of deliberation, the Board of Trustees adopted a set of policies regarding fossil fuel investments at their November meeting, updating the 1973 guidelines that previously informed their investment decisions. Brandeis students have been pressing the administration to divest from fossil fuels for several years and have continued to do so in response to the recent policy announcement. In a Nov. 28 email to the Brandeis community, University President Ron Liebowitz outlined the new policies that will guide future investment. From now on, the University’s endowment funds will not be invested directly in “public or private companies or partnerships whose
principal business is the mining of coal for use in energy generation.” Investments that presently exist in “fossil fuel private limited partnerships (i.e., private limited partnership funds that make investments, the focus of which is deriving profit from the exploration and production of fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas) … will run off in accordance with the funds’ typical life cycles,” Chief Investment Officer Nicholas Warren wrote in an email to the Justice. These funds have an average life cycle of 10 years. “The overall portfolio is mature, with many funds reaching the later stages of their life cycle. Therefore we expect it to slowly wind down over the next 5-7 years,” Warren wrote. This is specific to private limited partnership funds that invest with a focus on gaining profit from exploiting and producing oil, natural gas and other fossil fuel. As of Oct. 30, 2018, “fossil fuel private limited partnerships[’] [market value] [was] $63.3 million,
See DIVESTMENT, 7 ☛
STUDENT UNION
Special election called to fill open positions ■ The Union's vice president
and treasurer will step down and be replaced at the end of this semester. By CHAIEL SCHAFFEL JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
The Student Union announced that Vice President Benedikt Reynolds ’19 and Treasurer Jerry Miller ’18 will resign at the end of the semester. Their seats will be filled in a special election to be held on Dec. 10.
Vice President Benedikt Reynolds ’19
Reynolds announced his intent to resign during the Nov. 20 Union Senate meeting. He said in a Dec. 3 interview with the Justice that his personal heath was the reason for his resignation. An incident in November in which two senators publicly criticized Reynolds for his involvement in a resolution that would have purchased pianos for the first-year residence quads affected his decision to step down but was not the driving factor, Reynolds said in the interview. Reynolds accepted the apologies of Class of 2022 Senator Alex Chang and International Student Senator Linfei Yang ’20 and said he was “thankful” that they apologized. “They have been open to communication with me as well as with the president and
chief of staff,” he said, adding, “I don’t bear any ill will toward them. They’re both very passionate and very smart. … I’m really excited to see where things go.” “I understand [Chang] has been given a painted target on his back, and I don’t think any student should feel that way, especially as a freshman,” he said. Reynolds said he would help his successor develop contacts with the administration, as well as catch them up on projects relevant to the vice presidency. He will also show his successor how to help student groups. Looking back on his time in the Union, Reynolds said he thought his work with environmental groups at the University stood out the most. He also expressed concern about how the Senate weighs its constituents’ opinions. “Senators, and any elected positions, are expected to be liaisons and communicators for the student body,” he said. “Right now, it seems as if we’re decision makers for the student body. These [campus] newspapers probably talk to our constituencies [more] than we do.” Reynolds stressed that being a member of the Union is a strenuous undertaking for full-time students and suggested that the Union should
See UNION, 6 ☛
Waltham, Mass.
ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice
The Brandeis Mountain Club hung a banner in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium on Monday to protest the Board of Trustees’ decision on fossil fuel divestment.
ADMINISTRATION
Report details campus shortcomings on diversity
■ The report presented a comprehensive picture of how community members view the University's diversity, reporting policies. By NATALIA WIATER JUSTICE EDITOR
University President Ron Liebowitz released the Campus Climate Report last Thursday, which detailed the “exceedingly high standards” and broader shortcomings of the University, as well as the steps the administration is taking to address them. This second and final report, authored by independent investigators the University hired last spring, follows up on the initial findings regarding the complaints lodged against former men’s basketball coach Brian Meehan. For the second half of the investigation, the Board of Trustees tasked the investigators — Walter Prince, Malcolm Graham and Daniel Tarlow — with examining the systems, climate and culture of University’s procedure for handling complaints related to bias or discrimination and to recommend corrective action accordingly. Throughout the report, the investigators stressed their role as “lawyers and investigators,” not experts in the educational field, writing, “We will not substitute our judgement for [the administration’s].” They pointed to the steps the administration is already taking, and declined to give their own specific recommendations, saying that doing so would be “presumptuous.” To understand the campus climate, investigators interviewed a number of faculty, staff, administrators, students and alumni to examine concerns about the way the University handles complaints. They then placed their findings in a larger context of how the Brandeis culture has contributed to
problems such as Meehan’s behavior, and what steps are being taken to prevent such problems from arising in the future.
Brandeis’ climate and culture
The University was founded on principles of “anti-discrimination, inclusiveness, academic freedom, independence, and the highest standards of academic quality” in an era of segregation, discrimination and quotas, the investigators wrote. However, some community members brought up controversies surrounding the University’s Jewish identity, which many agreed is important to Brandeis. One faculty member explained that identity-based schools face additional pressure to maintain their reputations, which discourages individuals from raising issues with the institution. Others mentioned confusion about whether or not Brandeis markets itself as a Jewish institution, and noted that conversations about Israel have become “charged,” which in turn put “fundraisers on the defensive with Jewish donors,” according to the report. Many students spoke well of the University’s academic rigor and relationships they formed with faculty, and faculty praised the “niceness culture” that exists within the school. Others raised concerns about faculty members’ cultural sensitivity. One Diversity, Equity and Inclusion expert said professors and staff are “illequipped to respect cultural differences,” according to the report. This issue of culturally insensitive “bullying” was prominent in Meehan’s behavior toward his players. The investigators also described “widespread anxiety about lodging complaints” among the Brandeis community due to concerns about retaliation, confusion surrounding procedures and a lack of belief that things will change. For example, student
athletes may fear being forced off the team or not being allowed to play, according to Liebowitz. However, over the course of their interviews, the investigators found no evidence of retaliation and determined there was simply a perception that it was occurring. To combat this perception, Liebowitz explained in an interview with the Justice and The Brandeis Hoot on Monday that the administration needs to build the community’s trust in the system, which will take time. Previous policies were unclear, he said, and made it difficult to report issues. Liebowitz said he believes the University must ensure that the community is aware of resources that are available to them — such as the Reporting at Brandeis web page — and create alternate channels for reporting, along with educating them on why reporting is important. In addition, investigators learned that instead of reporting issues, many in the Brandeis community choose to speak about them among themselves — an example of what they call a “small town mentality.” Administrators admitted to investigators that they are “too quiet” about their progress in improving the campus culture, which further adds to the climate of poor communication.
Diversity, equity and inclusion
Brandeis has historically faced issues of race and segregation, the investigators noted, citing both the original 1969 Ford Hall protest, its 2015 counterpart and Meehan’s firing. From their interviews with the community, the investigators found that while there was “deep and wide acceptance of the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion” among students, administrators and deans, there was “notably less consensus” among the faculty. Administrators tended to focus on the “business case” for increasing di-
See CLIMATE, 7 ☛
Student Fashion
MELA
Scholar reflects on U.S. curation of Chinese art
A Brandeis student transforms his love of fashion into a business.
The South Asian Students Association celebrates “Our Shared Connection.”
By GILDA GEIST
By SAMMY PARK
By ELLA RUSSELL
NEWS 5
School starting times make no sense By VIOLET FEARON
FORUM 11
Women’s basketball plays hard Photo Courtesy of IRA BORNSTEIN
FEATURES 8 For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org
YVETTE SEI/the Justice
Make your voice heard! Submit letters to the editor to letters@thejustice.org
ARTS 19
By JEN GELLER
COPYRIGHT 2018 FREE AT BRANDEIS.
SPORTS 16
2
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2018
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NEWS
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THE JUSTICE
NEWS FAMILY DINNER NIGHT
SENATE LOG Members return to club discussions, normal business as piano initiative encounters unexpected delay After weeks of debate, frustration and disagreement, Sunday’s Senate meeting was comparatively mild. Committee chairs had little to report to the Senate. Senate Sustainability Committee Chair Kent Dinlenc ’19 informed senators that he had sent his carbon tax endorsement petition to University President Ron Liebowitz, but had not received a response. Senate Health and Safety Committee Chair Joshua Hoffman ’21 said the condoms for his committee’s condom distribution initiative will be distributed by the end of the spring 2019 semester, and that the condoms will only be distributed to the Foster Mods and to East Quad. Hoffman’s initiative was originally planned to distribute condoms to the residence halls in North Quad, Massell Quad and East Quad, but was modified to provide additional condoms for residents of the Mods. This change was made due to complications with the Union purchasing resources from a Student Union-funded club, the Student Sexuality Information Service. Hoffman also brought up the problem that Skyline Residence Hall residents frequently encounter dead birds around the hall that flew into the building’s glass. Massell Quad Senator Kendal Chapman ’22 recommended purchasing decals or stickers for the windows designed to help birds recognize the windows. Senators were also unsure if the problem fell under their or the Department of Community Living’s purview. All senators agreed, though, that it is important for Skyline to be more bird-friendly. Senate Services and Outreach Committee Chair Aaron Finkel ’20 announced that the Student Union will be providing free shuttles back to campus from Logan International Airport for students returning from winter break. The shuttles will pick up students “every hour or so” from the airport and will cost about $1,200 for the single day of operation. Class of 2022 Senator Chang said that he spoke with Assistant Dean of Student Affairs Tim Touchette, because the pianos were not installed as originally planned last Thursday. The carpenters responsible for the installation “never showed up,” Chang said. International Student Senator Linfei Yang ’20 spoke next about the impact of his actions in the Senate. “I would just like to offer Benedikt an apology,” Yang said. “I know that he has been particularly impacted by recent events.” He continued that “fortunately,” the Senate received a reward of $60 from the instrument store Musician’s Friend after purchasing the two pianos from them. He said he wanted Union Vice President Benedikt Reynolds ’19 to decide how to allocate the money as a reconciliatory gesture for Yang’s behavior earlier in the semester. Four weeks ago Yang sent a series of inflammatory emails to the Class of 2022 accusing the Executive Board of hostility. Yang also apologized to Chang, saying about him, “I have witnessed unprecedented levels of vitriolic hatred ever directed toward a freshman.” Yang concluded, “It’s time to move on.” Reynolds said he was interested in providing more support for members of the Brandeis Emergency Medical Corps, after a meeting with University Provost Lisa Lynch in which she expressed concern for the amount of time BEMCo volunteers spend on call. Reynolds expressed interest in University-backed financial support for BEMCo volunteers. “Perhaps [BEMCo] shouldn’t be a club at all. Perhaps they should be a University service.” He added that members of BEMCo provide a great service to the Brandeis community for free, and that the University should recognize the value they add to Brandeis. Other senators indicated their support for Reynolds’ idea. —Sam Stockbridge
CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS n A photograph in News was mistakenly credited to Andrew Baxter. It was corrected to Thu Le. (November 20, Page 7) n A photograph in Sports was mistakenly credited to Yvette Sei. It was corrected to Yuran Shi. (November 20, Page 15) n Two photographs in Sports were not credited. It has been corrected to attribute them to Creative Commons. (November 20, Page 20) The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. Send an email to editor@thejustice.org.
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BRIEF Luxury Boston hotel donates $10 million to support local communities, nonprofits
YVETTE SEI/the Justice
On Giving Tuesday, Encore Boston Harbor, a $2.6 billion waterfront casino and luxury hotel located near Logan International Airport, announced that it will commit $10 million over the next four years to support civic institutions and nonprofit organizations, according to a Nov. 27 press release on the company’s website. The press release explained that Encore Boston Harbor has a history of philanthropy in the Boston area. Previously, the company has donated to the Boston Pops, Wang Theatre, Disabled American Veterans and The Greater Lawrence Disaster Relief Fund. Matt Maddox, the chief executive officer of Wynn Resorts, the company that owns Encore Boston Harbor, said in the same press release, “It’s not in our corporate DNA to just write a check for a donation or buy a table at a charity event.” He explained that his company wants to “make an impactful difference in the lives of people and effect real and positive changes in our community.” Encore Boston Harbor will be partnering with the Connors Family Office, led by Boston philanthropist Jack Connors, for this initiative. A Nov. 29 Chelsea Record article quoted Connors as saying of Encore Boston Harbor, “It is impressive to see a new business make such a concerted effort to positively impact the surrounding community.” The Connors Family Office and Encore Boston Harbor will work together to create an Advisory Committee that will aid in the disbursement of Encore Boston Harbor funds. In particular, the funds will go toward organizations that support at-risk-youth education, cultural enrichment programs and various local communities, according to the Chelsea Record.
The Vietnamese Student Association hosted its Family Dinner Night, which invited students to experience and learn about Vietnamese food and eating etiquette on Wednesday night in Skyline Commons.
—Liat Shapiro
POLICE LOG MEDICAL EMERGENCY Nov. 26—University Police responded to a party at Shapiro Hall after a party reported that their friend was having a bad reaction to marijuana the party had smoked. BEMCo responded to the scene and requested Cataldo Ambulance Ser. Cataldo and Waltham Fire Department staff responded, and the ill party was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further treatment. The Area Coordinator on call was notified. Nov. 26—A concerned parent called to report that their child was having a possible seizure in Cable Hall. On arrival, BEMCo requested Cataldo Ambulance assistance. The party was transported to NewtonWellesley Hospital for further care. The Area Coordinator on call was notified. Nov. 27—A party in Pearlman Hall fell down a stairway but was conscious and alert. The party refused medical aid and was given a ride to the International Business School. Nov. 27—University Police received a report of a party in Shapiro Hall who was suffering from a nosebleed and feeling faint. Cataldo Ambulance staff responded, and the party refused medical treatment. Nov. 28—University Police received a request to transport a party from Scheffres Hall to Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Cataldo Ambulance staff was notified. Nov. 28—Brandeis Counseling Center staff requested a Cataldo Ambulance for an ill party. The area coordinator on call was informed. Nov. 29—University Police responded to a party with a sprained ankle at the Charles River Road bus stop. BEMCo evaluated the party, who de-
clined to go to the hospital, instead opting to be transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital Urgent Care for further treatment. Dec. 1—A caller reported an injured party in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center with a possible dislocated shoulder. BEMCo staff requested an ambulance for transport, and Cataldo Ambulance staff transported the party to Newton-Wellesley Hospital. The area coordinator on call was notified. Dec. 1—While at the scene of the previous injury at the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center, University Police received a report of a second injured party, a non-Brandeis student who had suffered what appeared to be a neck injury. Cataldo Ambulance staff transported the party to NewtonWellesley Hospital. Dec. 1—University Police received a report of a non-student minor who was suffering from dehydration in the Olin-Sang American Civilization Center. University Police transported the party to Newton-Wellesley Hospital, where the party would meet with their parents. Dec. 2—University Police received a call for a party who was unwell and vomiting in Massell Quad. Cataldo Ambulance staff transported the party to Newton-Wellesley Hospital. The Area Coordinator on call was notified. Dec. 2—A caller reported that a party in their Ziv Quad room was crying and needed help. A University Police officer stated that the party was intoxicated and unconscious. Cataldo Ambulance staff transported the party to Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Dec. 2—University Police responded to a party with a pos-
sible leg injury in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center. The Weston Fire Department transported the party to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. LARCENY Nov. 21—A party in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center reported that their North Face jacket was taken from an unsecured locker in the men’s locker room. University Police compiled a report on the incident. Dec. 3—A party in the Sachar International Center reported that their wallet had been stolen from their jacket. DISTURBANCE Nov. 21—University Police received a complaint of people being loud on a loading dock near East Quad. University Police checked the area and found it clear upon arrival. Dec. 1—University Police received a report of an argument or possible fight outside the Shapiro Admissions Center. Upon arrival, University Police observed a group of people running near the Carl J. and Ruth Shapiro Campus Center. Units searched the area but were unable to locate the parties. Dec. 1—A party reported that there was a loud group of people outside the Charles River Apartments. Dec. 1—The Stein manager reported that two employees were creating a disturbance. The two employees left after University Police showed up and asked them to leave. HARASSMENT Nov. 30—Mailroom staff reported a suspicious package with hazmat markings. University Police confiscated the
packaged and investigated the student to whom it was sent. Dec. 2—A party in Ridgewood Quad reported receiving multiple calls from a man who stated that he was on campus looking for the reporting party. University Police issued a report to be on the lookout for the man. Officers checked around campus and could not locate him. He was driving a beige sedan, according to the police, and was described as a male with a heavyset build, approximately 25 years old. The reporting party, who said they had some prior dealings with the man, reported that his first name was Joshua. VANDALISM Dec. 3—On Nov. 1, University Police received a report of a swastika applied to a staffer’s car with a magic marker. After an investigation, University Police was unable to determine where the incident occurred. OTHER Nov. 27—A Facilities employee driving a University vehicle backed into a parked car in the Bernstein-Marcus Lot. Nov. 27—Waltham Police requested assistance in looking for a missing six year old. University Police units responded to the area of South Street and Charles River Road to assist. Waltham Police later called back and stated that the child had been located. Dec. 3—University Police received a report of an off-campus accident between a car and a motorcycle. The Waltham Police and Fire Departments reported to the scene of the accident, and University Police cleared the scene. —Compiled by Kirby Kochanowski
THE JUSTICE
University begins using ‘recycled content’ paper paper supplier, now delivers 30 percent recycled content paper for use in Ricoh printers. By JOCELYN GOULD JUSTICE EDITOR
As of two weeks ago, the University is using recycled content paper in Ricoh multi-function printers, according to Sustainability Programs Manager Mary Fischer. This change is the result of the collective efforts of Sustainable Brandeis, Procurement and Business Services, the Staff Action Team on Climate Change, and Ricoh, per the Nov. 15 InBrief email from the Office of Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration. W.B. Mason now delivers 30 percent recycled content paper instead of entirely non-recycled content paper, according to the same InBrief email. By using this paper on campus, the University will “reduce paper-related carbon emissions by approximately 28,000 pounds per year, in addition to saving about 5,000 gallons of water and 11 tons of wood (over one acre of trees) per year,” the email explained. In an email to the Justice, Fischer elaborated on the environmental benefits of recycled paper, comparing the processes of producing paper from trees and from paper that has been recycled. The second process is “generally … cleaner and more efficient,” she wrote, because the fibers have already been extracted and bleached. This helps to reduce the amount of energy, water and chemicals that are used in the paper-making process, as well as to decrease the amount of greenhouse gases and pollutants released. The use of recycled paper also reduces the number of trees logged for paper production, which “leaves more trees standing” to absorb carbon dioxide, she explained. Esther Brandon, the digital literacy specialist at the Brandeis Library, is a co-captain of the Staff Action Team on Climate Change, “a volunteer group of staff from across the Brandeis Community who come together to share ideas and resources to combat climate change” and one of the groups involved in this initiative, she explained in an email to the Justice. The SATCC includes a paper action team, founded in January 2017 and made up of members from the Office of Human Resources, the Brandeis Library, Information and Technology Services, Sustainable Brandeis and several academic administrators, ac-
cording to Brandon. Both Fischer and the SATCC have been interested in using recycled paper on campus for a while, but the initiative gained traction when the University installed new multi-function Ricoh printers across campus in September 2017. Fischer, who is also a member of SATCC, obtained reams of recycled paper, which SATCC members tested in the new Ricoh printers, per Brandon’s email. “SATCC has always wanted to tackle paper use on campus, so when the opportunity arose to help test recycled content paper in printers, we enthusiastically jumped into the initiative,” Brandon wrote. This initial testing, led by the paper action team, produced a “detailed quality assessment,” she explained, and the process of lobbying for the switch continued. This October, cases of recycled paper were delivered to SATCC members’ offices to test the performance of larger amounts of the product, Brandon explained. Using the new Ricoh printers, “the recycled content paper had little to no difference in the printing quality than with regular paper,” she wrote. This round of testing found that the new Ricoh printers solved printing quality issues that had been observed in earlier rounds of testing, such as inconsistent printing results and printer jams. Fischer also worked with Procurement and Business Services and with Ricoh to implement the initiative. According to Fisher, Procurement managed the process of purchasing the paper, working with W.B. Mason “to ensure the price was on par with other universities in the area.” Now, 30 percent recycled content paper is the University’s default for W.B. Mason deliveries, according to Brandon. Fischer clarified that “the higher the recycled content, the lower quality the paper, which increases possibilities of jamming in printers,” which is why the University decided on 30 percent recycled content paper for the campus-wide roll out. However, she added that the University “may be able to switch to [a] higher percentage in the future.” Brandon highlighted the importance of not growing complacent in countering climate change. Climate change “has dire consequences for humans and wildlife, and it is already disproportionately affecting the poorest countries in the Global South,” she wrote, adding that “being able to ignore [climate change] is an example of privilege.”
WATER TANK LEAKS
SAM STOCKBRIDGE/the Justice
On Thursday night, the water tower behind Mandel Humanities Quad and Tower Lot began leaking. The tower, owned by the City of Waltham, leaked for a few hours, according to Vice President for Campus Operations Jim Gray in an email to the Justice. Water entered Golding Judaica Center’s basement, but “there was no real damage and we were able to get it cleaned up quickly,” Gray wrote.
NEWS
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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2018
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‘TALKING BLACK IN AMERICA’
SUSTAINABILITY
■ W.B. Mason, the campus
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YVETTE SEI/the Justice
As part of their film series, the Department of African and Afro-American Studies screened “Talking Black in America,” which “chronicles the incredible impact of African American English on American language and culture,” per the Facebook event.
CAMPUS SPEAKER
Scholar examines legacy of University’s first female biology professor ■ Pnina Abir-Am shared stories and lessons from archiving Prof. Carolyn Cohen’s (BIOL) life. By JEN GELLER JUSTICE EDITOR
Speaking to the Brandeis community at the Women’s Studies Research Center, scholar Pnina AbirAm described the legacy of former Prof. Carolyn Cohen (BIOL). AbirAm is widely published on the history of women and gender in science, the history of molecular biology and the history of public memory, according to the Brandeis Women’s Studies Research Center website. Cohen was the University’s first female biology professor and served as a spokeswoman and mentor for women in science. Cohen’s published works were sorted by Brandeis Archivist Margaret McNeal, and they remain in Brandeis Special Collections. AbirAm herself played a role in the Archives’ decisions. Cohen joined the Brandeis faculty in 1972 after graduating with her undergraduate degree from Bryn Mawr College in 1950 and completing her doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1954. She came to Brandeis as part of a collaborative team of scientists including former Prof. Don Casper (PHYS) and Prof. Susan Lowey (BCHM). Abir-Am highlighted the obstacles that Cohen overcame before she began teaching at Brandeis. For example, Cohen faced anti-Semitism growing up. However, she refused to change her last name, although other members of her family did. Abir-Am quoted Cohen’s statement in 2011 that, by moving from 92nd Street to 110th and Broadway, “I was relieved that I could now avoid the occasional packs of young bullies who would swoop down on my friends and me from Amsterdam Avenue to harass [me] with antiSemitic epithets.” A more positive force in Cohen’s life was that she was, as Abir-Am put it, of “same-sex orientation.” AbirAm described how being “SSO” was a positive force for women in science in the 1950s through the 1970s. At the time, she said, women would be seen as a sexual target for men in
science. By being SSO, Cohen was able to be seen and treated as a colleague to the male scientists. In addition, she saw herself as a scientist who would not let her career be negatively affected by the constraints often imposed by marriage, such as “limited geographical mobility or prioritizing child rearing,” per Abir-Am’s powerpoint. Abir-Am also discussed the struggles that Cohen faced at MIT. In 1957, after she received her doctorate and became a research assistant at MIT, Cohen was stuck at a “plateau” with the other women staff that she could not ascend beyond, according to Abir-Am. The lecturer highlighted one of Cohen’s quotes: “I wanted to find a place where I would be free to carry out research and where no one would tell me what to do.” After leaving MIT, Cohen spent 13 years at the Jimmy Fund Lab at Harvard Medical School, and it was this position that led to her being hired at Brandeis, according to Abir-Am. As a part of the Jimmy Fund, she persuaded physicist Don Casper to leave Yale University and collaborate with her and biochemist Susan Lowey, also of Yale. Cohen, Casper and Lowey, as well as other visiting scientists, established a reputation for themselves as a “synergetic” team. Although the “commune” of Cohen, Casper and Lowey had letters of recommendation from all over the world and from Nobel laureates, they had a hard time being hired as a group, Abir-Am said. Harvard was reluctant to hire a commune with the two women and was only willing to hire Casper, the team’s male member. However, the three wanted to stay together. Eventually Brandeis Trustee Dr. Sidney Farber recognized the trio as an opportunity for the University. In 1972, the Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center’s new director, Harlyn Halvorson, approved hiring the commune as a unit to do research in three different departments: Cohen in Biology, Lowy in Biochemistry and Casper in Physics. According to a Science at Brandeis article, Cohen’s scientific work contributed to the understanding of the structure, assembly and dynamics of muscle proteins. Through her career, Cohen interacted with many notable scientists in molecular biology, Abir-Am said. Cohen
exposed a mistake in the work of Nobel laureate in Chemistry Linus Pauling — “great men sometimes make great mistakes,” Cohen said of the discovery. She also stood up to Francis Crick, who bullied Cohen on the subject of fibrous proteins, according to Abir-Am. Cohen argued that there are three levels of organization of fibrous proteins: the monomer, the aggregate and the covalently cross-linked polymer. In asserting this, she stood up to Crick, one of the field’s top theoreticians, Abir-Am continued. Abir-Am shared a quote from Cohen regarding the conflict: “I can certainly attest to how vigorously he tried to bully me in my presentation about fibrous proteins, but I held my own, and managed, I believe, to teach him something.” Abir-Am classified Cohen’s interaction with scientist Rosalind Franklin as a missed opportunity, as the first time Cohen and Franklin were together was at a lunch with Franklin and her colleagues at Birkbeck/University CollegeLondon. Cohen only asked about trivial life events, rather than her scientific work. The second event that Abir-Am classified as a missed opportunity was when Andrew St. Gyorgyl, Cohen’s collaborator, showed Franklin Cohen’s X-ray photos. Franklin liked them and invited Cohen to discuss them with her, but Cohen turned the invitation down because she resented having been denied access to Franklin’s camera after the Birkbeck lunch. Franklin passed away shortly after from cancer, and according to Abir-Am, Cohen regretted not meeting with Franklin for the rest of her life. Cohen was also a spokeswoman for women in science, organizing a Symposium on Women in Science at the University in 1985 and 1986. She also served as a mentor to those outside the scientific community. Abir-Am gave the example of Cohen supporting Peter Vibert’s choice to turn away from a career in science to become a minister. According to the same Science at Brandeis article, Vibert joined Cohen’s “muscle structure group” at the Jimmy Fund in 1973, and moved with the group to their new Structural Biology Laboratory in the Rosenstiel Center later that year. On top of her great scientific achievements, she leaves mentorship as part of her legacy, AbirAm said.
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THE JUSTICE
STUDY BREAK
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NEWS
By GILDA GEIST JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
ANDREW BAXTER/the Justice
Students unwound at the Rose Art Museum after hours with friends, board games and meditation. Those who wanted to get work done brought laptops and books for studying.
COMMUNITY
Students unite to raise money on Giving Tuesday
raised more than $400,000 for Giving Tuesday, a day for philanthropy and charity. By LIAT SHAPIRO JUSTICE EDITOR
Celebrated as the international day of philanthropy, this year’s Giving Tuesday challenged members of the Brandeis Community to be #OneForBrandeis. Within 24 hours, 1,597 individuals raised $438,850 for the University. According to Brandeis’ Giving Tuesday website, the Brandeis community had faced three Giving Tuesday challenges. The Be One for Brandeis challenge aimed to secure 1,250 gifts from the community. Second, the Student Challenge Gift strove to get 100 gifts from members of the University’s student body. Finally, the Heller School Dollar Challenge endeavored to raise $1,000 for the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. The Brandeis community met and exceeded all three challenges. The One For Brandeis Challenge required a total of 1,250 individual gifts to be given. Once that was accomplished, Madalyn Friedberg, the president of the Brandeis National Committee (BNC) and a friend of the University, gave an additional $100,000 gift to support student scholarships. Reaching 100 gifts from the Brandeis student body unlocked a $10,000 gift from alumnus Stephen Rabinowitz ’83. According to the Student Body Giving Tuesday website page, Rabinowitz explained that “my commitment to and consistent support of Brandeis scholarships is how I honor the alums who contributed to
5
Cleveland museum curator leaves legacy of Chinese exhibits
discussed Sherman E. Lee’s pioneering curation of Asian art after World War II.
my education.” When the Heller School reached 100 donors on Giving Tuesday, it unlocked a $2,000 challenge gift. According to the Giving Tuesday website page on the Heller School’s initiative, the Heller alumni group gave an additional $2,000 to the newly created Brandeis Food Pantry. The website explained that “the demand for food resources is growing, and we can help make sure that our Heller students have ‘food for thought’ by donating to the Brandeis Food Pantry. Let’s be #OneForBrandeis.” An interactive graphic of the United States on the University’s Giving Tuesday website showed that the most donors came from Massachusetts, with 447 individuals donating. New York came second with 224 donors, followed by California with 131 donors, and New Jersey with 91. In an email to the Justice on behalf of the Brandeis Institutional Advancement Division, Aaron Louison ’11, the director of annual giving, wrote that the University began planning the 2018 Giving Tuesday initiative in August 2018, when a small staff group from the Office of Annual Giving met for a brainstorm session. According to that email, the group drew inspiration from University President Ron Liebowitz’s concept that Brandeis has many parts, but is still united. This led to the creation of the #OneForBrandeis campaign. Louison explained that, following this theme, they had “‘one’ challenge gift for ‘one’ hundred thousand dollars and each donor only needed to make ‘one’ gift to count toward ‘one’ goal of 1,250 donors.” The team collaborated with staff from across the University and worked to engage alumni, faculty, parents, staff and friends of the University. According to Louison, the hope was that “various pockets of the com-
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2018
CAMPUS SPEAKER
■ Noelle Giuffrida
■ Nearly 1,600 students
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munity would connect with each other about supporting Brandeis.” In his view, “that is what happened.” Alumni and students took to social media, using a toolkit of information and photos. Alumnus Martin Lieberman ’96 posted on Twitter that he contributed to the #OneForBrandeis campaign “to say thank you for the four great years I had writing and editing and managing a team for [the Justice] and the foundation that work laid for my current career.” The University’s official Instagram account posted a picture of Eric Moyal ’17 MA’18, who worked on the Giving Tuesday team, holding a sign reading #OneForBrandeis that the Brandeis MakerLab created. The University also posted videos on their official social media pages and the Giving Tuesday website, with messages from Brandeis students, faculty, staff and student organizations, such as the a capella group Voices of Soul, asking the Brandeis community to #BeOneForBrandeis. After the goal was reached, the University shared posts thanking the community for being one for Brandeis. During the day, students could grab donuts before climbing up Rabb steps, limited edition shirts and other free Brandeis swag at the Shapiro Campus Center as well as free food at the Stein. The Brandeis Beacons, Campus Activities Board and the Student Union co-sponsored a cash bar. Last year’s Giving Tuesday donor goal was 1,000 to secure the challenge gifts. This year, the team raised the goal by 25 percent, to 1,250 donations. Louison added that “the idea of supporting others is baked into the DNA of each member of the Brandeis community, so it should be no surprise that we were able to surpass this goal.”
Noelle Giuffrida, a research associate and an affiliate faculty member at the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Kansas, gave a lecture on Tuesday about the curation and study of Chinese art. Giuffrida’s talk, “Episodes in the History of Studying and Exhibiting Chinese Art in Postwar America,” focused on American museum director and curator Sherman E. Lee and how his work contributed to the integration of Chinese art into the American art scene. The event was sponsored by the University’s Fine Arts Department. According to Giuffrida, after World War II, Chinese art became more prominent in American galleries, in part because British, French and German museums and collectors did not have much money after the war to buy it. Lee was largely responsible for bringing Chinese art to American audiences during this time. “Through his collecting, exhibitions [and] writings, Lee achieved legendary stature in the field of Asian art during the second half of the 20th century,” Giuffrida said. Lee became a curator at the Cleveland Museum of Art in 1952, according to Giuffrida. In 1954, Lee installed a Chinese landscape painting exhibit at the Cleveland Museum of Art in an effort to make Chinese art more prominent in American museums. “He intended for this exhibition to raise the profile of Chinese paintings and earn them greater acceptance among American audiences,” Giuffrida said. The exhibit’s focus on landscapes was significant, too, Giuffrida explained. “Rather than showcasing a combination of media from China across millennia, … this show signaled that Chinese landscape painting was, in and of itself, an important style worthy of a dedicated exhibition,” she said. Lee’s insight wasn’t just limited to his curatorship, Giuffrida explained. Other high-profile art curators and collectors of the time, including John Pope and Osvald Sirén, approached connoisseurship with sinology, the study of Chinese customs, politics, history and language. In contrast, Lee emphasized a hands-on study of Chinese art and used a visuals-oriented, hands-on approach to connoisseurship. This required the curator to spend a lot of time with the art before making calls about its dating and artist. Lee believed his contemporaries’ approach focused too much on text and not enough on the art itself.
Giuffrida shared an anecdote about how Lee was able to discern a copy of a Chinese scroll painting from the original. She first showed a photo of the copy, “Buddhist Temples Amid Autumn Mountains,” followed by the original, “Streams and Mountains Without End.” The copy, created by an unknown artist, was done in either the Yuan or Ming Dynasties (1272-1644), according to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s website. According to the Cleveland Museum of Art’s website, the original was done in the late Northern Song or Jin Dynasties (960-1234) by Zhao Zuo. While these two paintings are far from identical, an expert eye was necessary to deem which came first. Giuffrida said that despite the extensive text, dating and other information found in the “Buddhist Temples Amid Autumn Mountains” scroll, Lee realized it was a copy by looking at the visuals rather than the documentation found on the scroll. Giuffrida explained that, as Lee saw it, with an original landscape, you should be able to “travel through the painting with your eyes.” He could tell from spending time with the paintings that “Buddhist Temples Amid Autumn Mountains” was done later than “Streams and Mountains Without End,” she said. Giuffrida used these two paintings as an example of Lee’s belief that pictorial connoisseurship is more useful than textual sinology for identifying original Chinese paintings. “For him, external evidence supplied negative information,” she said. According to Giuffrida, “Lee characterized internal evidence as more positive and subject to interpretation, based on knowledge of style.” His view of external evidence, however, was that it required more technical skills, such as knowledge of the Chinese language or use of a microscope. According to Giuffrida, Lee sought to “de-exoticize” and instead “embrace” Chinese art. One way that Lee attempted to do this was by juxtaposing pieces from China with American pieces that had similar shapes and colors. Giuffrida explained that while this method of displaying art is slightly more common now than at the time, Lee’s particular approach is still considered unique. Lee became director of the Cleveland Museum of Art in 1958, where he remained until his retirement in 1983. His collection and curation of Chinese art ultimately advanced and expanded the field of Chinese art history in America, Giuffrida said. She shared a quote from Lee: “We are not Chinese, nor ever can be, but we can discipline ourselves to understand something of the country’s approach to her own painting.”
COMMUNITY
Chabad and Hillel convene for shared dinner at ‘Shabbat United’ ■ The two Jewish groups
celebrated the start of Shabbat together on Friday evening. By NAKUL SRINIVAS JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
On Friday evening, Chabad at Brandeis and Hillel at Brandeis — two Jewish organizations on campus that usually conduct separate Shabbat dinners — held a joint Shabbat dinner. The combined Shabbat dinner had over 400 guests, according to Hillel Social Justice and Community Service Coordinator Cynthia Crispino ’21. Shabbat, the seventh day of the Jewish week, begins at sundown on Friday and ends at nightfall on Saturday. It commemorates the seventh day of creation, on which God rested. Members of the Brandeis Jew-
ish community gather every week to dine together and recite prayers. In an interview with the Justice, Ilana Bauman ’19, the president of Hillel at Brandeis, told the Justice that Chabad is a “broader organization” than Hillel. Hillel is specifically “geared toward college campuses,” Chabad at Brandeis President Maya Pretsfelder ’19 said in the same interview. Hillel Shabbat dinners take place in the Sherman Function Hall and are “programmed events that bring the community together,” Bauman said, while Chabad dinners, which take place in the Chabad House on Turner Street where Rabbi Peretz and Chanie Chein live, give students a more “homey” feel. In an interview with the Justice, Jillian Fisch ’21, a board member of Chabad, said the two groups “essentially serve the same purpose,” which is to
host Jewish cultural activities open to the Brandeis community. Fisch said that Chabad reached out to Hillel to put on a Shabbat event that would “bring the entire community together.” Chabad and Hillel created a planning committee of 7 to 8 students drawn from each group’s board. The main topic of discussion was determining the “target audience,” Pretsfelder said. They decided they wanted students who regularly attend the organizations’ weekly dinners, as well as students who have “never really experience[d] Shabbat,” to come to their united event, Bauman said. She explained that she feels this goal was met because both “old and new faces” were at Friday’s event. At the beginning of the event, Assistant Director of Hillel Stephanie Sanger-Miller gave a short speech
about the biblical story of Judah, one of Jacob’s sons, and Tamar, his daughter-in-law. In the story, Judah sleeps with Tamar but doesn’t recognize her because she is wearing a veil, and only later finds out she is the mother of his child. This story teaches us that we don’t always “recognize each other for who we are,” SangerMiller explained. After her speech, students rose to recite the Kiddush over cups of grape juice, washed their hands, and then sat back down to eat Challah bread. Then, Rabbi Chein, co-founder of the Chabad House at Brandeis, spoke. He discussed the story of Joseph and his brothers. Joseph had told his brothers about two dreams in which he had symbolically come to rule over them. Joseph’s brothers assumed that he wanted to be king, which made them jealous of him.
Chein explained, “Jealousy is one of the most severe sins,” because it stems from false assumptions. The message that Chein drew upon at this event is that we make assumptions when we are “in a state of darkness.” For him, “the solution lies in Hanukkah” because the holiday celebrates light. Both Hanukkah and Shabbat are celebrated by lighting candles. By dispelling darkness and “bringing clarity,” the lit candles of Hanukkah and Shabbat prevent us from making false assumptions and dangerous conclusions, he explained. “United on this Shabbat suggests that other Shabbats are divided,” said Chein. But Chein added that “we can be united every week. Even when we’re sitting in two different rooms.” —Editor’s note: Avraham Penso ’20 is a member of the Chabad Club.
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UNION: VP, Treasurer explain departures
DARK UNIVERSE SEMINAR
of our ability to communicate and I personally feel that we have come out stronger as a result,” he said. When he won the election for Treasurer last spring, Miller notified then-Union President Jacob Edelman ’18 that he might be graduating early. He also notified the Executive Board. Miller noted that the challenges for his successor will be steep next semester, as three deputy treasurers and two assistant treasurers are leaving. His successor will have to “work diligently with the incoming deputies and assistants to train them and help get them up to speed as soon as possible,” he explained. He also said that the University is switching the payment software that the clubs use, making it impossible for clubs to pay individual students, which has already been an issue and could be a concern next semester as well. In terms of his legacy, Miller said he has contributed to training club leaders to use the Student Union Management System.
CONTINUED FROM 1 take on a faculty advisor to help with the workload. When asked what his title would be when working on projects in the future, Reynolds said he would not have a title. “I guess a constituent … with experience,” he said with a chuckle.
Treasurer Jerry Miller ’18
ZACH KATZ/the Justice
Scott Hertel, a physicist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst spoke to members of the Brandeis community about new methods for detecting dark matter at the Physics Department’s Thursday’s seminar.
Miller is resigning his post after one semester as he is graduating early and will not be able to fill out his term, he told the Justice in a Nov. 28 email. He clarified that the piano debate and the ensuing public spat has nothing to do with his decision to leave his post. Miller said that communication needs to improve between the branches of student government, but that this semester, the Union has “settled most of the problems between branches and have set ourselves up for a smooth spring semester.” “I think this semester has been a good test
SPECIAL ELECTION CANDIDATES IN THEIR OWN WORDS Vice Presidential Candidates Ysabel Munoz ’21 Munoz is running for vice president to promote environmental action causes and greater student representation in the Student Union and University administration. “You’re not listened to unless you do something drastic,” she said. Munoz would push for simple changes like adding recycling bins to bathrooms and other related environmental causes. Linfei Yang ’20 Currently the International Student Senator, Linfei Yang ’20 said the vice presidency “seemed like the next logical step.” Yang wants to “bring Brandeis back to the values it was founded on.” Alex Chang ’22 Class of 2022 Senator Alex Chang feels that student voices are not being heard and that transparency within the Union needs to be in-
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creased. Chang also wants to improve student life by subsidizing printing and laundry costs. Nakul Srinivas ’21 Nakul Srinivas, a member of the Senate Social Justice and Diversity Committee, wants to foster better communication between the larger and smaller groups of the Senate. He also would “love” the opportunity to run Senate meetings. Aaron Finkel ’20 Aaron Finkel is running on his experience. He is currently the executive senator and has been the Massell Quad senator and a Senatorat-Large. “I probably know more about the Senate than anyone should ever have to. I have by far, out of everybody running, the most experience and the right mindset to be able to do this,” he said, adding, “I think we’ve had some bumps in the road, poor communication and lack of experience.”
FORUM
that reflects [sic.] the interests of our student body,” according to his Facebook page. Kisack previously served as Village and 567 Quads Senator and is currently a Union Senator-at-Large. Treasurer Candidate Adrian Ashley ’20 Ashley has been an assistant treasurer for a semester and has worked closely with the current outgoing treasurer, Jerry Miller ’18. Ashley thinks that the Treasury branch is critical to how clubs function on this campus. “It’s pretty amazing the work that they do and how much effort and time they put into it,” he said. Ashley wants to make the Treasury more accessible to the student body.
F E AT U R E S
LAYOUT ARTS
He argued that he is the “right person to turn that around, and make it possibly the most successful Senate in the history of the school.” Vidit Dhawan ’19 Class of 2019 Senator and Representative to Allocations Board Vidit Dhawan wants to consolidate and balance the concerns of the various branches of the Union. He argues that his one and a half years of service on the Senate and ABoard will help him address these concerns. Guillermo Caballero ’20 Guillermo Caballero wants to become “a representative of a new perspective in the Union.” As a minority student, he feels that the Union needs more minority students to be in positions of power on the Union. Richard Kisack Jr. ’19 Kisack is running on the platform of respect and advocacy by “working with administrative offices and different branches of the student union to create positive and tangible changes
Are you our missing piece?
—Chaiel Schaffel —Editor’s Note: Nakul Srinivas is a News staff writer.
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DIVESTMENT: Univ. community reacts to divestment decision CONTINUED FROM 1 which is 6.2 percent of the University’s just-over $1 billion endowment,” according to Warren’s email. The Board’s Investment Committee and the University’s Office of Investment Management will “focus on finding investments ... in renewable energy sources and technologies focused on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and other causes of climate change” in the future. The OIM will notify all current and future investment managers about new investment strategies and climate change policy. The University will not, however, divest from “commingled funds that contain fossil fuel investments.” In a Monday interview with the Justice and The Brandeis Hoot, Liebowitz explained that fund managers are hired to manage the University’s endowment and invest in groups of funds and stocks. According to Warren, 2.6 percent of fossil fuel holdings are in commingled funds. These will not be divested from because the Board feels that “to do so would be imprudent and place the financial well-being of our endowment in jeopardy,” according to Liebowitz’s email. In an earlier Oct. 28 joint interview with the Justice and The Hoot, Liebowitz said that divesting from these commingled funds would lower the quality of education and limit access for students of different socioeconomic statuses. The University put forth the Brandeis University Climate Action Plan in 2016, which outlined a set of goals for the University’s emissions of fossils fuels in the coming years. In his email, Liebowitz highlighted that the Board continues to support the 2016 goal to reduce the carbon emissions from fossil fuels by 15 percent by 2020. Since 2015, Brandeis has reduced emissions by 12.6 percent. This exceeds the University’s goal for 2018, which was to have reduced emissions by 10 percent, according to the Brandeis website. The 2016 task force established two main course goals related to reducing carbon emissions, according to an Oct. 17 BrandeisNOW article. The first phase was the reduction of emissions by 10 percent by 2018, and the University will pursue the second phase of its goal — “a 15 percent reduction of 2015 carbon emission levels by fiscal year 2020.” The University will continue to invest in energy efficient and sustainable measures. The OIM is in the process of hiring a Climate Change Investment intern. According to the job posting Warren provided to the Justice, the intern will “work with the entire team across a broad array of re-
search areas to assist in helping the office implement its climate change investment strategy.” This strategy seeks investments that will help transition from fossil fuels to more renewable energy sources, which includes technologies that focus on reducing greenhouse gas emission and renewable energy infrastructure. Liebowitz’s email announced that a task force during the 2019–20 academic year will set further goals for reducing emissions beyond 2020. The task force will also discuss methods of reducing its carbon footprint, including changing the Brandeis community’s behavior and improving existing infrastructure for energy efficiency and conservation. Additionally, the Office of the Provost will emphasize giving research funds to faculty and researchers who work on issues related to climate change, per the same email. Liebowitz emphasized the complexity of this issue and said that in completing policy changes related to divestment, the Trustees had to weigh the legitimate climate change concerns with the health of the University’s endowment. He thanked the students, faculty and staff who contributed to these discussions. In three years, the Board will review these policies to see how effective they have been and to decide how to proceed in the future. According to Liebowitz’s email, the Board “is committed to reviewing and updating the University’s 1973 Statement on Socially Responsible Investing to reflect best practices.” The student-led group Brandeis Climate Justice analyzed each of the the points in Liebowitz’s email in a document posted on their Facebook page. They criticized the University for waiting, saying the “climate crisis is too urgent to wait three years” and that “more action is needed.” In a statement provided to the Justice, Prof. Sabine von Mering (GER) called the decision “a first step in the right direction” but admitted she “cannot help but also be disappointed.” “Bold leadership is so urgently needed, given how time-sensitive this is, and how much the whole world is still headed in the wrong direction. As trustees of an elite university committed to social justice and scientific inquiry they missed a huge opportunity to take bold action and assume a true leadership position,” she wrote. Von Mering added that none of the new policies would have come to fruition if not for Brandeis Climate Justice’s work over the past five years. —Andrew Baxter contributed reporting.
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CHANUKAH EXTRAVAGANZA
SAM STOCKBRIDGE/the Justice
Members of the Brandeis community gathered in the Shapiro Campus Center for Chabad at Brandeis’ Chanukah Extravaganza on Sunday night. Their Modern Maccabi lit the community menorah, and there were free latkes, jelly donuts, gelt and hot chocolate.
CLIMATE: Report details campus successes, failures CONTINUED FROM 1 versity, but also pointed out that the University’s “lean budget” prevents easy fixes such as additional financial aid and enhanced outreach efforts. They also acknowledged students’ concerns that administrators were ignoring the issue, as well as the University’s lack of diversity in top leadership. A diversity-focused search process starts with “desire and convictions,” Liebowitz said. He aims to address the lack of diversity among the President’s Management Council by expanding the pool of diverse candidates and ensuring candidate search firms understand the University’s priorities. He also draws inspiration from the Rooney Rule, which requires National Football League teams to interview minority candidates for leadership positions, he said. While students generally believe racial diversity at Brandeis is on par with other institutions and that there is significant amount of socioeconomic diversity, they are aware that there is still a lack of diversity among faculty members, particularly in the science, technology, engineering and math fields. Students feel isolated, and as though they don’t belong at the institution, according to the investigators. They want campus diversity to increase quickly, the investigators found. The investigators speculated that students’ impatience may be influenced by their relatively short time at Brandeis, which makes them uninterested in slower, process-oriented approaches. Students of color, particularly those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, reported feeling that the community was unwelcoming and did not respect their worth. In addition, many Black students said they experience microaggressions and feel singled out in classrooms. A substantial majority of Black students said they are subject to direct or indirect discrimination. The investigators found high levels of cynicism among minority students, some of whom expect Brandeis to be “better” than comparable institutions. However, the investigators labeled these expectations as “unrealistic,” and pointed out that students overwhelmingly responded “yes” when asked if they would attend Brandeis again. Speaking to faculty members about diversity, investigators found reports of increased tension, with some saying they felt “used,” and others comparing diversity goals to quotas. Some faculty members said an increased minority presence could “water down” the University’s “‘Jewish character’ and even its academic excellence.” Liebowitz disagreed with this, saying that diversity does not lead to a decrease in quality. “A student body that is diverse, that is an environment with different cultures, life experiences and world views, provides a better quality of education than a homogeneous environment,” he said in Monday’s interview. Looking specifically at the University’s Board of Trustees, the investigators found that diversity is not a pressing concern for the Trustees and that
the Board itself lacks diversity. There is no member tasked with “DEI as an area of focus,” and there is no direct relationship between the Board and Chief Diversity Officer Mark Brimhall-Vargas. There are efforts underway to diversify the Board, however, as it looks to expand the number of diverse candidates in the future, according to Liebowitz. The Trustees have created a special subcommittee under the Nominating and Governance committee to address this issue. In the report, investigators highlighted the fact that diversity, equity and inclusion are complex issues that are not unique to Brandeis. Concerns about the University’s management of such issues were also often offset by positive attitudes toward Liebowitz’s administration. The report indicated that the new administration itself is a “breath of fresh air” and a good starting point for addressing these concerns. Liebowitz said he was “not surprised” by the report’s findings, and agreed that the issue is common among other institutions, but feels that the University is still different. “We’re Brandeis,” he emphasized. “We aspire to be something different because of how we were founded and what we stand for.”
Policies, procedures and systems for handling concerns
Investigators found a number of potential causes of management problems when dealing with complaints. Community members often have good intentions and ideas, but there is no follow through on the administration’s part, they found. The complicated allocation of administrative responsibilities results in people “not knowing where to go.” Due to the poor distribution of roles and responsibilities, administrators often focus on putting out the “biggest fires,” while smaller problems “fall through the cracks.” Some interviewees expressed frustration with a perceived “inverted pyramid” of power, with faculty at the top and the president at the bottom. The investigators noted a lack of good information and tracking systems for complaints, which puts added pressure on administrators and increases their workload. Management problems are also created by a lack of training, poor communication, personal relationships that undercut chains of command and the perception that friendships between administrators sometimes get in the way of reporting issues, the report found.
Recommendations
The Brandeis Equity System/Structure Proposal, which was announced in October 2017 and restructures many reporting policies and procedures, was applauded by the investigators. They also suggested that some responsibilities for anti-discrimination/ harassment policies and procedures be moved from Human Resources to the newly formed Office of Equal Opportunity. Better tracking systems should be put in place for discrimination and harassment complaint resolution processes and reporting, the report concluded. The investigators also endorsed a number of initiatives already put in
place by the administrators, such as the implementation of Workday, a cloud-based financial management and human capital software platform. This will modernize the Office of Human Resources, which has had a “history of management turbulence, resource deficits, and antiquated information technology,” per the report. The Brandeis University Staff Committee, launched earlier this year, brings administrators together and improves their work environment through “policy improvement, professional development, training, recognition and wellness,” according to the report. The investigators praised how the committee gives its members a “voice.” The University has been quietly building up infrastructure to enhance opportunities for marginalized communities, the investigators found. This includes creating the positions of the assistant dean of Student Life for the Support of Diversity position in 2005, currently held by Jamele Adams, and the senior vice president for diversity/chief diversity officer position in 2016, held by Brimhall-Vargas. More diverse faculty and administrators are also being hired, according to the report: since 2015, the number of Black faculty members has increased from 14 to 21; in the same span, Latinx faculty members rose from 15 to 17 and Asian-American faculty members rose from 31 to 37. The administration has also conducted a concerted effort to continue working with the Posse Foundation, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Fellowship and Myra Kraft Transitional Year Program, which provide disadvantaged minority students with academic and financial opportunities. Initiatives such as the new General Curriculum, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the Office of Equal Opportunity, the Student Union Diversity Officer position, the Ombuds Office and the “Support at Brandeis” and “Reporting at Brandeis” websites are all important strides the University is taking to enhance complaint reporting as well as diversity, equity and inclusion, the investigators wrote. Investigators commended the University for creating the December 2015 Draft Implementation Plan for Diversity and Inclusion at Brandeis, which has set dates and goals. The Draft DEI plan outlines the goal of increasing applications from minority students by 5 to 10 percent annually starting in fall 2017. It also increases outreach to these communities in the form of an increased admissions staff and funding for campus organizations. While the University is doing what it can at the moment by re-appropriating funds on the margins of its budget, the only way to fix the chronic underfunding issue is to simply raise more funds, Liebowitz said in his interview. For example, the recent $50 million donation to the University’s financial aid program has also eliminated the “gap” between a student’s proposed financial package and cost of attendance, per the report. Top administrators have also undergone 18 hours of intensive training in diversity, equity and inclusion, and will soon determine how this training will roll out to other administrators and staff, according to Liebowitz.
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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2018 ● FEATURES ● THE JUSTICE
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VERBATIM | OSCAR DE LA RENTA Fashion is about dressing according to what’s fashionable. Style is more about being yourself.
ON THIS DAY…
FUN FACT
In 1881, the Los Angeles Times published its first issue.
Mark Twain, the famous American writer, invented the modern bra clasp.
Model Student Ira Bornstein ’22 combines business with fashion By SAMMY PARK JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Ira Bornstein ’22 doesn’t have a clear memory of when his passion for fashion started. But his love for clothing has earned him— @yvngiraa — nearly 2,500 Instagram followers. At Brandeis, Bornstein is interested in studying business with an emphasis on fashion. His love of fashion and interest in business is exemplified by his hobby of reselling clothes. Soon after gaining his following on social media, Bornstein started his small business. While some fashion influencers have turned to reselling clothes for profit, Bornstein said he just needed to get rid of clothes he did not want. However, he said that “I started taking reselling seriously when I found out that you could make a lot of money by selling hyped brands. And in the last year, I started branching out more and started selling designer brands. It is a really good way to generate money.” In addition to reselling clothes, Bornstein is also in the early stages of creating his own clothing brand called iN/ Öutdated. “There isn’t much to speak on it right now, but it is very different than what most have seen before. It is a mix of streetwear and other styles,”
he said. Among Bornstein’s most memorable fashion items is a shirt that he has never owned, or even seen in-person. While on Instagram two years ago, Bornstein saw a polo shirt featured in the rapper KYLE’s story. And despite searching for the JW Anderson — a British brand — shirt, he couldn’t find it for a reasonable price. “I have been listening to KYLE since 2014 and he has been a huge inspiration to me. “Smyle” was his second album and it really boosted my confidence. My favorite line is “Ain’t no elevator to success I had to take the stairs.” I took the verse into everyday life because when I would use the metro, I would always take the stairs instead of the escalator because it was more convenient and most people take the escalator,” Bornstein said. “I love his sense of style and I have been inspired by his outfits. He is different from most artists. You won’t find another one like him.” The love that Bornstein has for fashion also extends to modeling. Describing it as “another way of selfexpression,” he is constantly displaying his outfits for his followers. “I mainly did this as just a way to show people my outfits, but also to inspire others,” he said. One of the reasons Bornstein has been able to grow his
platform is because of the modeling that he did in 2016 for clothing brands based in his home of Washington D.C. Even though his Instagram profile is listed as a “Fashion Model,” he is quick to say that he doesn’t consider himself a model. “It is just an occupation, and it is something I do, but I don’t give myself the title ‘model’,” he said. “And the goal is to influence people, so the closest thing that I could do to describe myself as is an ‘influencer.’ But that’s too mainstream. I’m just someone who loves fashion.” Bornstein he says he started taking Instagram more seriously when he was 16. Washington, D.C. and his friends originally had “the greatest impact” on his fashion, but he soon realized that he had to find his own style, saying, “It was me who had to look for my own style and way of selfexpression.” Also taking inspiration from streetwear, some of Bornstein’s favorite brands are Acne Studios, Raf Simons and Eqouta. And despite Supreme’s obvious presence in the streetwear community, Bornstein said, “I never really wore Supreme, I always thought it was kind of overrated.” Unabashed to subvert current trends, Bornstein often combines mainstream brands like Nike with thrifted vintage T-shirts. Since photography is such a large part of fashion, Bornstein
AN EYE FOR PHOTOGRAPHY: Bornstein ’22 is always on the lookout for interesting backgrounds. is always on the lookout for the next background. “I just have an eye for locations to shoot my outfits. Whenever I go somewhere or walk past a place I keep it in the back of my mind for when I need to shoot an outfit,” he said. His posts, which can garner more than 1,000 likes, are often taken by friends or family. Bornstein has even started featuring spots on the Brandeis
campus in some of his most recent posts, like the laundry room in Shapiro Hall and a hill in Massell Quad. When scouting locations to shoot, he says he is drawn to “anything minimal or abstract.” “My style is always changing, so nothing is constant. If my following is willing to come on my journey with me then we will grow together. It is a marathon, not a sprint.”
Photos Courtesy of IRA BORNSTEIN
MIXING STYLES: The Washington D.C. native combines currently trendy clothing with the vintage.
STUDIO MODEL: Tentatively selfdescribing as an “influencer,” Bornstein aspires to inspire his followers.
THE JUSTICE ● FEATURES ● TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2018
Violence in Syria Two panelists discussed the role of visual media in the Syrian conflict. Images Courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS
By LEIGH SALOMON JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
The Syrian Civil War began on March 15, 2011, when government security forces clashed with protesters demanding democratic reforms, such as the release of political prisoners, increased freedoms and an end to corruption. An armed insurgency opposing the state security and calling for the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad grew from the protests. The violence ultimately turned millions of Syrians into refugees fleeing political violence. As Dr. Nader Habibi noted last Thursday in a joint presentation called “The Visual Construction of Power in Syria” (sponsored by the Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Program), the war “unfortunately is still underway.” Habibi, who is the Chair of IMES, opened the joint presentation by introducing the two speakers and summarizing their work. He added that audience members would have a chance to converse with the speakers in a Q&A session after their presentations. Dr. Hassan Almohammed, the Madeleine Haas Russel visiting Professor of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at Brandeis and a visiting Research Scholar at the Crown Center, spoke first. Previously conscripted into military service after war broke out in Syria, but later defecting in 2012 to become a French instructor, journalist and translator, he discussed how Syria’s infamous president, Bashar alAssad, rose to power, and how visual media affected people’s perception of him. Assad was elected in an uncontested election in 2000 following the death of his father and former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad. He entered office promising many of the reforms offered by other emerging leaders of the time. But while he claimed to crack down on corruption, modernize Syria’s infrastructure and make the country more democratic, his reaction to the wave of antigovernment protests in 2011 permanently shaped his reputation on the world stage. Assad took a hard-line approach toward the demonstrators, instructing law enforcement to arrest political dissidents, fire live ammunition into the crowds and label some of the protesters as “terrorists.” The result of the conflict was a civil war that displaced 5 million Syrians and led to one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history. Almohammed noted that in a different world, Assad may have even offered conces-
sions for fear of looking bad in the press. He noted how, in the years leading up to the conflict, Assad created a media environment that, in a nation he strove to make more secular, “had made him a bit of a God.” Almohammed sees the influx of Western reporters as a counterbalance to the propaganda that local news outlets were delivering, but he said, “We didn’t see what was happening soon enough.” Holding up a newspaper, Almohammed said that protests toppling a gold statue of Assad’s father by protesters in Raqqa was a big turning point in how the press covered the conflict. “Visual images like this one made it hard for Assad to achieve his objective and clean up all the images of the war to make it seem like the conflict was not as bad as it was.” Ultimately, Almohammed believes the “cult” surrounding Assad in the Syrian press has been reluctant to change its tune on the leader despite Assad’s declining popularity worldwide. Abeer Pamuk, a communications specialist from Syria who
er and grandparents. But beyond these stories, war seemed distant and theoretical — not part of her personal reality. When an extremist group took residence behind her house and began raping girls, her mother told her to pack everything and go live with her aunt in Lebanon until the violence ended. Pamuk explained that the whole country entered into a phase of denial. They thought, “This is not happening. Syria’s not actually going to have war.” Pamuk only expected to stay with her aunt for three months. She was still living with her aunt six months later when she received a phone call telling her that two missiles had struck the University of Aleppo on Jan 15, 2013, the first day of midterms for students. “[A]s the person was talking to me, all I could hear is, ‘Everyone you know is dead. Everyone you know is absolutely dead,’” she recounted. “Desperate to do something for Syria as a young person” and understanding the nature of the conflict, Pamuk decided to return to her country. “I still
why people treat others differently, she found work with the SOS Children’s Villages. She initially claimed she was 23, doubting anyone would hire a 19-year-old, but the organization kept her after discovering the ruse because she “was doing the work.” Most of her organization’s work has focused on children, with an emphasis on those who
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[A]s the person was talking to me, all I could hear is, ‘Everyone you know is dead. Everyone you know is absolutely dead.’ are orphaned or abandoned. Pamuk would talk to these children to learn about their lives and how the war has affected them, often traumatically.
THU LE/ the Justice
MEDIA MATTERS: Dr. Hassan Almohammed talked about the role of the Syrian press in facilitating the rise of Bashar al-Assad.
is now a Conflict Resolution and Coexistence student at Brandeis, spoke next, painting a picture of her life when the war began and how it inspired her work as a humanitarian. Pamuk grew up in Aleppo, Syria, eventually pursuing her dream to attend the University of Aleppo to study English Literature. Until her sophomore year of college, war was only a story she heard from her moth-
remember looking at the road from two sniper bullet holes in the windows of the bus,” she recalled from the dangerous trip back, explaining how everyone –– including the driver –– must close the curtains and crouch when driving through certain areas to avoid gunfire. Looking for volunteer positions that would give her the opportunity to talk with different people and insight into
Pamuk met a 9-year-old girl in Aleppo University Hospital who was injured the night before the Islamic festival of Eid. The girl was crying that day because her father had been kidnapped for the past six months, and she wanted accessories and a dress to celebrate Eid, so her mother took her out shopping. That’s when the rockets started falling. “Her mom was a thousand pieces in
one second,” said Pamuk, explaining how the girl ended up in the hospital with major injuries to her liver and one of her lungs. “So, I was talking to her, and I helped her wash her face, and I said, ‘What do you want?’ I was like, ‘What would a child who’s put through this want in life?’ And she really, like, very innocently, said, ‘I want my father. I want my mother. And I want my Eid dress.’” Pamuk lost touch with the girl for a while but tracked her down a year later to her “displacement home” and got permission from her uncle to do a photo shoot of her, which required a photographer, a hairdresser, a green space at the church in front of Pamuk’s house and flower crowns that her mother taught her how to make. She “wanted to test the ability of the Syrian community, if they come from different backgrounds, to come together for one thing,” to give the Syrian community an opportunity to present an image of a happy girl in a dress rather than a traumatized girl in a hospital. It was also an opportunity to give the girl a different “documentation of who she is. … She will never forget that she lost her mom on that day. But she also will remember the day I created.” Pamuk said that a lot of people ask her what the difference is between the Syrian Civil War and other wars –– what makes it so horrible. “It’s because it happened in the digital age, and we have produced all this content about it,” she answered, going on to depict some of the most notable photos of children traumatized as a result of the war. Recognizing that children eventually grow up, she asked in reference to one iconic photo of a boy bloodied and covered in dust, “Is anybody making sure that this child has the support system to enable him to not get stuck in this moment?” One silver lining Pamuk noted from such traumatizing images is how they can spur fundraising efforts and activism, but she qualified their impact, saying, “You have a donor fatigue after these photos have kept rolling on screens.” Ultimately, she expressed hope that victims could learn, as she has, to use education and activism to channel their traumatic memories in a positive way –– to give themselves something worth living for. She finished her talk with a photo of two boys walking together in a “very, very dangerous area in Damascus” surrounded by rubble, reflecting, “When we don’t have the buildings, we have the people, and I think this is where our work should be.”
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EDITORIALS
Fossil fuel decision is practical and forward-thinking On Wednesday, University President Ron Liebowitz shared an update from the Board of Trustees on the University’s policies and actions regarding fossil fuel divestment. This board commends the Trustees and President Liebowitz for this positive, prudent and practical approach to address the concerns of community members. Of the University’s approximately $1 billion endowment, 5 percent is set aside for investment by the Office of Investment Management in private limited partnerships, which have a set partnership time frame. The rest is entrusted to a network of approximately 40 independent fund managers who invest in commingled funds, over which the OIM, administration and Board of Trustees have no direct control. Some of these managers may have small investments in the energy sector, including fossil fuels. Per a Dec. 3 email from Chief Investment Officer Nicholas Warren, roughly 6.2 percent of the University’s total endowment is invested in fossil fuels as of Oct. 30, 2018. Brandeis has committed not to invest endowment funds directly in “public or private companies or partnerships whose principal business is the mining of coal for use in energy generation.” This important step aligns with the policies of other larger schools. The University will also not make any new investments in fossil fuel partnerships for three years, at which time they will re-evaluate its portfolio. While this may not be the immediate action that some students and faculty had hoped for, it is a realistic and productive compromise. Leaving limited partnerships is not simple, as it comes
Commingled funds necessary with many fees and penalties. As Warren’s email notes, Brandeis would incur a loss of about $12.7 million by doing so. The last piece of the divestment puzzle is the commingled funds, 2.6 percent of which are comprised of holdings in fossil fuels. Liebowitz wrote that the Board decided not to divest these funds, as that would be “imprudent and place the financial well-being of our endowment in jeopardy.” The University relies on an excess return on investments to ensure growth of spending power and the endowment each year. Pulling out of every fossil fuel investment — every limited partnership, direct investment and commingled fund — would greatly jeopardize the stability and growth of the University’s endowment, threatening professorships and financial aid. According to Warren, divesting would cost the University $130 million to $280 million in endowment value 10 years into the future. We believe that Liebowitz and the Trustees have adopted realistic and practical policies with a framework in place to re-evaluate their investments in three years. Outside of divesting, the University has made great strides to reduce its carbon footprint. Liebowitz mentioned that the University has reduced its carbon emissions by 12.6 percent since 2015 and is working toward a 15 percent decrease by 2020. This board commends Liebowitz and the Brandeis community for their ongoing commitment and action to make the University more environmentally friendly while balancing student needs and financial stability.
Campus climate report reveals serious fault lines
The second portion of the independent investigators’ report, commissioned after Brian Meehan’s dismissal last spring, was released on Thursday. While the first half of the report, issued in September, focused on the specifics of the Meehan case, this half focused on the state of Brandeis’ campus culture. After reading the report, this board concludes that despite the University’s claims to being a school centered around social justice, Brandeis’ student body cares far more about diversity as an educational value than its faculty and trustees do. Until this discrepancy is addressed, Brandeis’ campus will continue to be a less-thanideal environment for students of color. Since Ford Hall 2015, tensions have grown between a student body that sees diversity as a strength and a virtue, and many faculty and the Board of Trustees. who seem apathetic or outright hostile toward these efforts. Administration and faculty interviewed in the report “agree that diversity, equity, and inclusion do not appear to be particularly pressing issues for Brandeis’s Board of Trustees unless there is an episodic crisis or it drives curricular change.” In the Meehan case, it took national negative attention from a story published in Deadspin before the administration was willing to act. Furthermore, there appears to be a segment of the faculty that opposes the greater inclusion and prominence of non-white students and faculty at the University. One particularly disturbing portion of the report describes faculty
Faculty at odds with students members who believe that “diversity is a ‘zero sum’ situation because an increased minority presence could ‘water down’ the University’s ‘Jewish character’ and even its ‘academic excellence.’” This board condemns this racist trope, and urges all in the University to reject it. The notion that minority students would dilute the school’s academic reputation or go against its stated Jewish values of critical thinking and inclusivity is absurd. Unfortunately, the report also shows the struggles that administrators face in trying to work against anti-diversity efforts. While administrators often have students’ interests at heart, they are often hamstrung by a lack of resources and an operational structure that is unfavorable to them. Per the report, “One administrator described the Brandeis management structure as an ‘inverted pyramid’ with faculty at the top and the administration – most notably the President – at the bottom.” While this board is disappointed to find few original solutions to the campus climate in the report, the report does highlight stark divides that remain unaddressed. This board hopes that these concerns are taken into account and used to further any efforts to create a welcoming environment for students of all backgrounds on campus. If Brandeis truly wants to realize its stated values of social justice, it would be unwise to address issues of diversity and race only in the instance of a crisis.
Images Courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS; Photo Illustration by JUDAH WEINERMAN/the Justice
Views the News on
Over the past week, the Trump administration has made good on its promise to deter and punish anyone who attempts to cross the southern border illegally. Images of migrant families attempting to cross from Tijuana, Mexico into California facing hostile military personnel and tear gas have surfaced. The President defends these actions by saying that the migrants are trying to enter the country illegally, and that many of them are criminals and pose a danger to the American people. Do these statements justify this use of force? Are there any alternatives to dealing with this number of migrants?
Prof. Fernando Rosenberg (ROM)
First, I find it necessary to explain again and again that people fleeing poverty and violence are escaping conditions that are in part a consequence of the United States influence: the legacy of military control of social life that was instituted through U.S. interventions, the gang wars fueled by drugs consumed in the U.S. and its failed ‘war on drugs’ policy, the traffic of weapons that benefit U.S. manufacturers, the impoverishment of countryside as people are pushed away from the land by corporate agribusiness, mining, and energy projects fueling the ‘global economy.’ Second, I urge everyone to pay attention to a display of violence that goes beyond the logic of ‘law enforcement,’ beyond the rationale of ‘defending our borders.’ That is, the violence inflicted (now by militarized force, now by abandonment and neglect) upon people who are trying not to cross illegally but instead to apply, at an official point of entry, for asylum. This violence — the gassing of a defenseless population--deploys a theater of cruelty to be circulated through mediaimages in the U.S. It is directed to other migrants around the world, but also perhaps a warning to any other grass-root movement that might claim the streets in this country. Prof. Fernando Rosenberg is the chair of the Romance Studies Department.
Ravi Simon ’19
Quality of life around the world is dominated by the injustice of the lottery of birth. Undocumented immigrants leave their families and homes to travel hundreds or thousands of miles in search of decent work and safety. They are hardly different from the Irish, Italian, or Jewish immigrants which flooded the United States through Ellis Island in the early 20th century. One difference, however, is that they are fleeing conditions which have been exacerbated by American influence. Illconceived interventions, American support for illiberal regimes, and a history of economic exploitation have created deplorable conditions in parts of Central America. The United States owes a debt to these migrants. Regardless, implementing policies aimed at slowing the processing of asylum applications, separating families, and firing tear gas at children is simply cruel. In a nation of immigrants, these policies reflect the sort of xenophobia that has become commonplace under the Trump administration.
Ravi Simon ‘19 is the President of Brandeis Academic Debate and Speech Society and a staff writer for the Justice.
Rachel Lederer ’19
The president’s rhetoric concerning members of the migrant caravan is deeply offensive and dehumanizing. Those in the caravan are fleeing violence and poverty and seeking a more stable living situation for themselves and their families. They have travelled extreme lengths to arrive at the border, are incredibly resilient, and have gone through hardship that most of those painting them with broad strokes as “criminals” cannot even begin to comprehend. They have the right to enter the United States and go through the asylum application process, and there should be legal assistance offered to them to help them do so. It is disgusting that the U.S. would tear gas those at the border and expend so many resources on keeping people out when our country has the capacity to take them in and would be strengthened by their presence. Rachel Lederer ‘19 is co-president of Brandeis STAND.
Nia Lyn ’19 Over the past week, social media has been flooded with the heartbreaking image of Honduran migrant Maria Lila Meza Castro and her children being assaulted with tear gas at the United States border. President Trump’s claim that all of those seeking entrance to the United States are criminals is solely based on racism and xenophobia. On March 30, The New York Times revealed that since 1980 the immigrant population has increased 130 percent while the crime rate has seen a 36 percent decrease — busting the myth of the criminal immigrant. Similarly, the use of unnecessary force does nothing to combat the amount of “illegal” immigration into the U.S.; it only pleases the ego of the rightwing racists that blame immigrants for their own shortcomings. The only way to deal with the number of individuals seeking entry to the U.S. would be to make the immigration process more accessible; as it stands, it takes months and even years to become a legal U.S. citizen. This can deter individuals from applying to the process entirely, thus leading to the influx of individuals seeking to enter the country without proper documentation. Nia Lyn ‘19 is an Associate Editor for the Justice. Photos: Fernando Rosenberg; Rachel Lederer; the Justice
THE JUSTICE ● FORUM ● TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4 , 2018
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Early school start times may be leaving students behind By VIOLET FEARON JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
College has a funny way of making you forget about high school. Case in point: Recently, while looking at our spring semester schedules, a friend of mine complained about the prospect of waking up for a morning class at 9 a.m.. What followed was a few of us from various states and school districts remembering how excruciatingly early we had to drag ourselves out of bed in high school. To be fair, in my case, it wasn’t too excruciating. My high school had a rather reasonable start time of 8:10; moreover, since I lived close to my school, I could usually get away with waking up after 7:00 a.m. Others I spoke to were not so fortunate; the combination of pre-8 a.m. start times, combined with long bus rides, required them to wake up well before 6 a.m. Looking at the data, this isn’t all that unusual. 40 percent of public schools start before 8 a.m., according to an article in Scientific American. Factor in long bus rides and it becomes clear why 75 percent of teenagers get fewer than 8 hours of sleep on school nights, per a 2015 survey from the Center for Disease Control. But it’s not as though the working world starts any later. One in five working adults wakes up before 5:30 a.m., and more than half are awake by 6:30 a.m., according to a nationally-conducted survey by Edison Research. But physiological differences in the brains of teenagers make waking up early harder than for adults. Adolescents’ circadian rhythms tend toward increased energy late at night and grogginess in the morning, according to the CDC. In fact, during adolescence, there is a biological shift in sleep schedules to a full 2 hours later, described by the Nationwide Children’s Hospital. According to the study, “A teenager who used to fall asleep at 9:00 p.m. will now not be able to fall asleep until 11:00 p.m.” The combination of early school hours and an adolescent sleep schedule makes for an unsurprising result: Most teenagers aren’t getting enough sleep. In 2018, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommended all middle and high schools start after 8:30 a.m.; this is a goal that currently only 17 percent of public schools achieve, according to the CDC. While experts recommend teens get 8-10 hours a night, only 15 percent of teenagers slept at least 8.5f hours on school nights, reports the National Sleep Foundation. Now, this might all seem a little obvious — “teenagers don’t like waking up early”
is hardly breaking news. But even more interesting are the repeated studies displaying the many areas where students benefit when they wake up later, per the Washington Post. Some you’d expect: attention span increases and tardiness decreases. But there are other benefits, too — marked improvements in academic performance, mental and physical health, a reduction in teen vehicle accidents, behavioral issues and sleep disorders. What’s more, students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds experienced the biggest drawbacks from early start times. The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institute found that “early school start times reduce performance among disadvantaged students by an amount equivalent to having a highly ineffective teacher” in a 2011 paper. The science clearly supports one side of this debate, and it’s not the side that wants 16-year-olds to wake up at 5:30 a.m.
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Physiological differences in the brains of teenagers make waking up early harder than for adults. So — if all these findings are out there, why do high schools still start so early? The reasons are unclear. Two common arguments rest on having adequate time for after-school sports practice and the financial cost of shifting bus schedules. But, per the Washington Post, many districts have overcome the athletics issue “with flexibility on the part of the staff and coaches,” and while changing bus schedules can sometimes be costly, “this isn’t a certainty” — schools often overestimate the financial burden of these changes. Another argument is that working parents’ schedules may not align with a later start time. But the current system is already inconvenient for them, as traditional school days “usually end a good two hours before the typical American workday does,” per a 2018 Atlantic article. And given that high schoolers are both far more autonomous than elementary schoolers, and would benefit more from later start times, shifting the schedules
HARRISON PAEK/the Justice
for older students more than for younger ones would minimize disruption to parents’ lives. A more general reason: School systems are vast, complex entities that are slow to implement change. After all, as the Atlantic reports, many of our traditional school vacations originate in agricultural family’s need to have their children home to help out during harvest time. School schedules are rooted in past traditions, and large-scale changes can be daunting, especially when making a mistake has the potential to affect so many people. I believe there’s also a lack of action on this issue because of the attitude society has toward adolescents in general, and specifically beliefs surrounding teenage laziness and the character-building experience of rolling out
of bed semi-conscious. As a society, we should try to base our policy-making on logic, rather than vague notions of the “benefits” of early rising. On this front, there’s some good news — in recent years, some schools have decided to act. “Hundreds of schools in 44 states have jumped on the late-start bandwagon” in response to advocacy groups, per a 2017 Business Insider article. In fact, my district was one of them. My older sister remembers classes starting at 7:40, before start times were pushed back that precious half hour. Hopefully, this growing body of research will be enough to convince administrators to give the issue a closer look. Until then, one thing is clear: we should all be thankful for our 9 a.m. classes.
Giving Tuesday should be a part of everyone’s holiday season By RENEE NAKKAB JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Now that you have stuffed the last piece of turkey into your mouth, experienced the agony of waiting in endless lines for limited sales at odd hours of the morning and worn through your laptop’s trackpad searching for the hottest cyber deals, it’s time to relinquish the satisfying feeling of limitless indulgence. Whether it be food or materialistic gain, Thanksgiving weekend is centered around a shameless greed that stems from the historic origins of this holiday. Settlers took advantage of the indigenous American peoples’ food and land, eventually driving them out of their homes. Although there is an inherent problem with the institutional beginnings of Thanksgiving, one of this holiday’s redeeming qualities is Giving Tuesday. Giving Tuesday “is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration,” according to its founders, the 92nd Street Y and the Belfer Center for Innovation and Social Impact, who wanted to use social media as a stepping stone for collaborating with millions of people to support greater causes. Giving Tuesday’s date is not random; it was designed to be a predecessor to the giving holiday season. Since the month of December tends to be one of the most philanthropic times of year, it is fashioned in a way such that one can have a consistent couple days of indulgence, then start the holiday season off with some giving. Many A-list celebrities such as Tyra Banks, Debra Messing and Gordon Ramsay
donate to various causes on Giving Tuesday. Some of the most popular organizations that are contributed to include GiveDirectly, Habitat for Humanity and the Make a Wish Foundation. The beauty behind this day is that you can choose the cause and how much you would like to devote to it. Furthermore, multiple large corporations and individuals agreed to match certain donation amounts. Notably, Facebook and PayPal partnered and agreed to match donations up to $7 million in the United States. The impacts of this holiday clearly have the potential to revitalize local and national community service efforts, aiding many more people. Giving Tuesday is a vital addition to the year, and without this new holiday we would be missing an opportunity to rally the U.S. around a common cause, in addition to reminding people about their responsibility to give back to society. With busy schedules, work, school or life in general, we forget about the importance of giving back. Giving Tuesday becomes a part of people’s schedules and reminds them of their responsibility to give back, no matter how busy they are. People should be donating and contributing to society all year round; however, that is not always feasible. Giving Tuesday acts as a reminder for people to do their part and allows contributors to feel as though they are part of a larger movement. By aligning under a common good, people tend to feel more inclined to contribute their time and efforts to something noble. People also donate more because of Giving
Tuesday’s overwhelming media presence. Through vast advertising and marketing on social media and more traditional methods such as billboards, flyers and word of mouth, Giving Tuesday has developed an international presence. On social media, numerous organizations posted pictures, created events and shared videos to enlist people’s support in preparation for this new celebration of generosity. As early as a month before, I have seen organizations’ social media presences advocating for the public to help them reach their monetary goal for Giving Tuesday.
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The beauty behind this day is that you can choose the cause and how much you would like to devote to it. One of the first posts I saw was Brandeis’ The Right to Immigration Institute club’s Facebook event asking people to commit to charitable action on Giving Tuesday. One among many groups on campus who asked for donations on Giving Tuesday, TRII successfully raised even more than their $5,000 goal.
In preparation for Giving Tuesday, Brandeis displayed a giant banner outside the front of the SCC and had multiple different groups tabling in Upper Usdan. On the actual day, the University, the Student Union and Campus Activities Board gave out free apple cider donuts to encourage the spread of kindness. Within the SCC, they sponsored a photo shoot and gave those who donated to the University in person a shirt and more donuts! As widely publicized as this event was, there were some students who thought that this was just an event to raise more money for the school. It is one of the sole days that the school and the clubs within it can encourage people to donate money they normally would not if the day did not exist. I donated to Brandeis in the spirit of Giving Tuesday. If a table were set up in the SCC on a random Tuesday, I do not think I would have been likely to donate. Giving Tuesday is a positive development that reminds people to give back to society. After a couple of days of pure indulgence, it is refreshing to emphasize a day of pure goodness. By rallying people around the central idea of giving and kindness, it distracts people from their own lives and reminds them to think of others. Whether or not you contributed in some way this Giving Tuesday, do not hesitate to be a part in the coming years. No matter the shape or form it takes, your contribution could be the reason an organization makes their funding goal. By giving to those who truly need it, you may very well bring about the change you wish to see in the world.
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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Stan Lee’s long legacy extends even to the economic world By JESSE YANG SPECIAL TO THE JUSTICE
On Nov. 12, 2018, the world mourned the loss of Stan Lee, a beloved comic book writer and one of Marvel Comics’ foremost creative leaders. In time, we may better understand the effect of his legacy as a pioneer of superhero comics and his personal journey from a poor immigrant household in New York to the figurehead of a massive multimedia corporation which dominates the comics industry. However, I suggest leaving that task to the biographers and historians of tomorrow and instead analyzing some of the economic impact Stan Lee has had on the world today. To preface this analysis, in the name of fun I will be making some broad assumptions and comparisons. All values stated are accurate and sourced accordingly, even though their interpretation will be relatively tongue-incheek. To start, we shall look at the billions of dollars in box office revenue across the globe as an estimated reflection of the dollar value of the characters written and co-written by Stan Lee since Marvels Comics’ inception. Without Lee, these characters, and thus their box office numbers, would have not come into fruition in the form we know and love today, regardless of whether he was the central creator or cocreator. From Box Office Mojo we can see that without adjusting for inflation, the gross worldwide box office revenue of movies based on characters created and co-created by Lee amounts roughly to a whopping $22 billion. The Avengers, Spider-Man and X-Men franchises contribute to over half that amount, with the Avengers at $4.97 billion, Spider-Man at $4.84 billion and X-Men at $3.18 billion. Evidently, even if we credit Lee with just 10 percent of the value of these box office numbers alone, his legacy in the movie business exceeds a billion U.S. dollars. Now, let’s draw some comparisons to the 2017 Gross Domestic Product of countries around the world, the total value of goods and services produced in a given country in the year 2017. The countries with a GDP closest to $22 billion are smaller countries like Iceland, Honduras and Cambodia: They have $23.9 billion, $22.9 billion and $22.1 billion respectively, according to the World Bank. In other words, the total value of the goods and services produced in Cambodia in 2017 nearly matches the estimated economic impact of Stan Lee in box offices worldwide. How about individual film franchises? The Avengers franchise alone is equivalent to that of the island of Fiji, at $5 billion, or of Barbados at $4.8 billion. Daredevil, a lesser known character with only one feature film to his name, is worth approximately $179 million in revenue according to Box Office Mojo, roughly equivalent to the 2017 GDP of the island country Kiribati, home to just over
JULIANNA SCIONTI /the Justice
110,000 residents. In addition to looking at the movie numbers, why not take a look at the company numbers? Following his retirement in the ‘90s, Stan Lee served as a public figurehead and executive for Marvel, but only after working many decades within the company.
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The Avengers franchise alone is equivalent in value to that of the island of Fiji, at $5 billion. Let’s use Marvel’s acquisition by the Walt Disney Company for $4.2 billion in 2009, as
detailed in a Sept. 2009 Wall Street Journal article. Again, If we attribute 10% of its total corporate value to Stan Lee’s influence and creations, Marvel’s value as his idea would amount to approximately $420 million – certainly a large sum, but one that certainly pales in comparison to the numbers that Marvel brings in today at the box office. Perhaps another fun exercise could be to look at some of Stan Lee’s more direct contributions in his earlier days as a writer and storyboarder. A famous example is the comic “Amazing Fantasy #15” written by Lee in 1962, which featured Spider-Man for the first time. A vintage copy of the issue sold for over $1 million in 2011, according to a March 2011 article in the NY Daily News. Many of these classic comic books from decades ago are appreciating in value at a greater rate than the Standard & Poor’s stock exchange, with some reaching over 1000 percent appreciation, according to a 2016 Forbes article. One can only wonder how much
these direct contributions from Stan Lee, who created characters like the Incredible Hulk and the Black Panther back in the ‘60s, will be worth far into the future. All this is, of course, in addition to huge sales in merchandise such as toys, figurines, video and tabletop games and. of course, comic books.At the end of the day, it is likely that Stan Lee will be remembered best for his impact on a generation of comic book readers and moviegoers, rather than his economic impact on the world. However, I believe that this impact should not be ignored. In today’s era of billion and now trillion-dollar companies and the nearrockstar status of tech founders, it is easy to forget the monetary impact of the many artistic and cultural icons that all contribute to the world’s economy. Especially in a time of extraordinary economic growth, that one should remember that just as invention and technological innovation drive economic growth, so too does creativity.
The Student Union piano funding debacle was entirely avoidable By TREVOR FILSETH JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
It’s easy to miss the local news these days. With so much going on in the world and with finals rapidly approaching, students understandably have other things on their minds. Small wonder, then, that it was news to many of the first-years I spoke to last week that electric pianos were coming soon to a lounge near them. Just in time for Hanukkah, Class of 2022 Senator Alex Chang has miraculously squeezed $800 out of $80. That money, much of which was previously designated for next semester’s Midnight Buffet, has gone instead toward two new electric pianos. The Polaris and Shapiro Lounges will be receiving one piano each, along with the necessary accessories — stands, covers, how-to-play books, speakers, headphones, anti-theft systems and so on. Even more astonishingly, Chang somehow managed to do this despite having close to zero support from the student body at large. Let’s back up a bit. How did we get here? This whole mess started several months ago, after Chang, who ran on the optimistic if clichéd slogan “Chang for Change,” was elected to the Student Union. Since Chang was for change, he naturally had to change something once in office. Unfortunately, the proposals he ran on — air conditioning for the first-year dorms, for instance — were beyond his ability to follow through with. Seeking to win a small success and build from there, Chang requested pianos in the first-year lounges, thinking that no one could be opposed to such a simple idea. As Chang quickly learned, nothing in life is free. A potential piano donor was found, but had to be turned down because Brandeis
was unwilling to pay transportation and maintenance costs. To avoid these, Chang changed his tactics, suggesting instead to buy electric keyboards which would be easier to transport and would not need to be tuned on an ongoing basis. The only problem was that there was no donor to be found; therefore, the pianos needed to be bought. With this in mind, Chang and International Student Senator Linfei Yang approached Student Union Vice President Benedikt Reynolds, requesting $800 for the keyboards and related accessories. This is where things went off the rails. Reynolds informed the two of them that all but $80 of the Senate’s $20,000 discretionary budget had already been allocated, mostly to the Midnight Buffet and holiday Turkey Shuttles. Chang and Yang allege that Reynolds instructed them not to tell the student body about the budget allocations, which they then proceeded to do anyway in two mass emails. Whether or not the emails were fair or unfair to Reynolds, they succeeded in drawing attention to the piano issue, kicking off a firestorm of critical comments on Brandeis Confessions. These comments notwithstanding, on Nov. 11, Chang’s funding proposal was heard in the Student Union and approved by a single vote. The pianos, or more accurately keyboards, have been bought and will likely be installed in the lounges by the end of the semester. I have to say that, from the time I heard about it, I’ve been opposed to the piano proposal simply because I didn’t think it would do most of us any good. I neither play the piano nor frequent either first-year lounge, so I would rather the $800 have been spent on something I would benefit from — Midnight Buffet, for instance. For better or for worse, I
was not consulted. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem as if the lounge’s residents were consulted, either. From its inception to its approval, this entire process has been problematic at best and farcical at worst. There is little evidence that the first-years, let alone the rest of the student body, are in favor of the proposal. If they exist, the backers, besides the Piano Man himself, have kept themselves remarkably well-hidden.
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There is little evidence that the first-years, let alone the rest of the student body, are in favor of the proposal. When I sat down and spoke with him last week, Chang assured me with Trump-esque confidence that many people supported him. As evidence, he cited a petition he had circulated several weeks prior, which he claimed 38 people had signed. It’s important to note that this petition was deleted, and even though I’m sure he was telling the truth, 38 freshmen out of 900 do not a quorum make. In preparation for writing this, I spent last week in Shapiro Lounge talking to some of these first-years, asking them what they thought of Chang and his proposal. None of the ones I spoke with were supportive. When prompted, they put out several other requests
The opinions expressed on this page are those of each article’s respective author and do not reflect the viewpoint of the Justice.
— new furniture, a pool table, a functional TV and bathroom refurbishments, to list a few — that they thought should have taken priority over pianos. New couches, they argued, benefit everyone equally, while pianos only benefit those who can play them, and have the potential to irritate everyone else. After all, the first-year lounges are close to where a lot of people are sleeping, and electric pianos are both loud and easily accessible to inebriated students late at night. To prevent night music, Chang told me, headphones have been provided, with the instructions that they must be used during quiet hours. Yeah, right. Finally, I don’t want to put down pianos or pianists, but it seems to me that there are already a handful of others scattered across campus. Clearly, piano accessibility isn’t a crucial issue. Alas, such discussions should have taken place weeks ago; the money has already been spent. Now that the pianos have been bought, I’m sort of curious as to what they’ll look and sound like. Besides, as much as I hate to admit it, Chang has a point. If we’d spent 800 more dollars on food at the Midnight Buffet, there would be no lasting change to Brandeis. Campus life wouldn’t improve much over a few extra plates of non-Sodexo food. Then again, unlike pianos and/or its dining-hall cousin, non-Sodexo food generally doesn’t unpleasantly wake students up at 2 a.m. At the end of the day, for good or bad, the pianos are likely to be around for a while. I expect no less from Chang himself, and I have the oddest feeling that I’ll be writing about him again soon. Hopefully, his next big project will have a little more thought put into it, and will be something I can get behind.
THE JUSTICE ● SPORTS ● TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2018
FENCING: Brandeis Invitational leaves the women at 6–6 and men at 7–3 CONTINUED FROM 16 In March, the team will participate in the NCAA regionals march, then select fencers will compete in the NCAA national tournament against fencers from all collegiate levels. In an interview with captain Quin, he explained, "Our top goals are to win conference for a third year in a row and to qualify some individuals for the NCAA Championship in March. Beyond simply succeeding against
13
JUMP AROUND
opponents, we’ll continue to improve our game and push past our limits to compete on the highest levels collegiate Fencing has to offer." Quin also told the Justice that, "Fencing isn’t like other sports, it’s simply you against your opponent and no one else. But this just means you have to rely upon your teammates even more. They’re the ones in practice helping you get better and pushing you to excel. Without them, I wouldn’t have the mental or physical support I would need to compete at the level I do."
WBBALL: After seven games, Judges look to fight back MBBALL: Team looks to
ANDREW BAXTER/Justice File Photo
TAKE IT TO THE HOOP: Brandeis Eric D'Aguanno '20 takes the bvall to the hoop in the game against UMass Dartmouth on Nov. 10.
CONTINUED FROM 16
one being a layup and the other a jump shot. Murphy also made a jump shot, and although this narrowed the score, the Wildcats still barely dented the Judges’ lead. A jump shot from Riccio with an assist from Casanueva put the Judges ahead 38–52.Stevenson made another threepoint shot with 3:44 to go in the third quarter. Just over a minute later, Casanueva made a layup that also resulted in a foul by Hands, allowing Casanueva to pick up a third point from a free throw. With a score of 41– 55, no points were scored until there was 0:41 left in the quarter, when a foul by Puda led to two free throws. Cheyenne Lee of the Wildcats fouled Jaromin, and Jaromin made two free throws that closed out the quarter with a score of 43–57. In the final quarter, the Judges finalized their victory over the Wildcats. No points were scored until there was 8:34 left in the
quarter, but Riccio began the action with a layup that brought the score to 43–59. Just over a minute later, she scored the next points of the quarter with another layup. After a full time-out called by the Wildcats, Stevenson made a three-point shot with 7:05 to go in the game. With 6:13 left, Murphy committed fouls that resulted in two free throws made by Riccio, but Murphy followed up with a successful layup. After Graves made a layup with 4:49 left, the Judges called a full timeout with the score at 48–65. Both teams continued to score after the time-out, but the Judges maintained their lead. Kimberlyn Ligon ’22 entered the game with only 1:27 to go, but she left her mark on the court by scoring the final shot of the game — a layup that left the Judges victorious with a score of 60–77. This game displayed impressive talent on both teams. The Judges’ game on Monday against Babson College will be reported in the next issue.
stay strong this season CONTINUED FROM 16 every Salem State threat from that point forward. Corey Sherman led the team with 24 points in an impressive shooting performance. He hit eight out of his 11 shots from the field, including one of three from beyond the arc. He was also seven for eight from the line. Colin Sawyer ’20 added 18 of his own, including 16 in the second half. He was instrumental in some of the Judges important runs. Rounding out the double-digit scorers were D’Aguanno and Chandler Jones ’21. Babson 49, Judges 74 In the championship game of the
New England Big Four Challenge, the Judges took on host-school Babson College. In a dominating performance, the Judges quickly dispensed with the Bears to capture their fourth tournament crown since 2012. The Judges set the tone for the game early with an 11–2 run to start the game. The Bears put together back-to-back threes to get them back in the game, but a 16–3 run by the Judges quelled that hope pretty quickly. With 6:58 left in the first half, the Judges held a 27–11 advantage. The Bears would cut down the lead at times but were unable to piece proper runs together and make a legitimate
play at the game. The Judges were in total control from the beginning to the end. Sherman had a gamehigh of 25 points, elevating him to be elected as the tournament’s most outstanding player. So far this season, the Judges have a three point percentage of 34.4 percent, and an average of 69.2 points per game. In addition, the team has an average of 35.3 rebounds per game and 15.3 assists per game. The team’s total points this season is 415. The Judges have had an average of 6.0 steals per game, and 14.7 turnovers per game. After loosing to Suffolk College, the Judges have bounced back.
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THE JUSTICE
JUDGES BY THE NUMBERS
● SPORTS ●
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2018
15
SWIM AND DIVE
MEN’S BASKETBALL UAA STANDINGS
TEAM STATS
Points Per Game
Corey Sherman ’19 leads the team with 15.4 points per game. Player PPG Corey Sherman 15.4 Eric D’Aguanno 12.6 Chandler Jones 12.0 Collin Sawyer 11.4
Overall W L D Pct. 6 0 0 1.000 4 1 0 .800 5 2 0 .714 5 2 0 .714 4 2 0 .667 4 2 0 .667 Rebounds Per Game Latye Workman ’18 leads the team 3 4 0 .429 with 7.7 rebounds per game. 2 5 0 .286 Player REB/G EDITOR’S NOTE: Chandler Jones 7.8 Latye Workman 7.6 Dec. 6 at Decker College. Corey Sherman 4.6 Dec. 8 vs. Wesleyan Connecticut Eric D’Aguanno 3.0 University.
Rochester JUDGES Chicago Emory Case WashU NYU Carnegie
UAA Conf. W L D 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL UAA STANDINGS UAA Conf. W L D Chicago 0 0 0 Carnegie 0 0 0 Case 0 0 0 Emory 0 0 0 NYU 0 0 0 WashU 0 0 0 JUDGES 0 0 0 Rochester 0 0 0
TEAM STATS
Points Per Game
Overall W L D Pct. 6 0 0 1.000 6 1 0 .857 4 1 0 .800 5 2 0 .714 3 2 0 .600 3 2 0 .600 3 3 1 .500 1 4 0 .200
EDITOR’S NOTE: Dec. 8 at Gordon College. Dec. 11 vs. Roger Williams University.
Camila Casaneuva ’21 leads the team with 17.2 points per game. Player Camila Casaneuva Sarah Jaromin Jillian Petrie Shannon Smally
PPG 17.2 15.3 9.0 8.8
Rebounds Per Game Sarah Jaromin ’19 leads the team with 7.7 rebounds per game. Player REB/G Sarah Jaromin 7.7 Camila Casaneuva 7.0 Amber Graves 6.2 Jillian Petrie 5.4
YURAN SHI/Justice File Photo
SINK OR SWIM: Surging swimmers dive into the rest of their season in their meet against Bentley University on Nov. 16.
SWIMMING AND DIVING Results from WPI Gompei Invitational on Sunday.
TOP FINISHERS (Men’s) 200-yard Freestyle
SWIMMER TIME Daniel Wohl 1:41.98 Marcelo Ohno-Machado 1:47.82 Matthew Acremont 1:48.68
TOP FINISHERS (Women’s) 200-yard Freestyle
SWIMMER TIME Kylie Herman 1:59.40 Gazelle Umbay 2:05.16 Abbie Etzweiler 2:05.35
EDITOR’S NOTE: Dec. 8 at Colby College Jan. 13 vs. Marine Maritime Jan. 19 vs. Keene State College
Judges make a splash during this week’s meet
■ The Judges continue their strong season at the Gompei Invitational. By MEGAN GELLER JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
TRACK AND FIELD Results from the UMass Boston Invitiational on Saturday.
TOP FINISHERS (Men’s)
TOP FINISHERS (Women’s)
60 Meter Dash
60 Meter Dash
RUNNER TIME Reagan Charlie 7.18 Jacob Ward 7.33 Lorenzo Maddox 7.38
RUNNER TIME Kanya Brown 8.30 Kayla Kurkland-Davis 8.46 Anna Touitou 8.58
EDITOR’S NOTE: Jan. 12 at Reggie Poyau Invitational Jan. 18 at Wheaton Invitational
The Brandeis swimming and diving team participated in the Gompei Invitational at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, beginning Friday, Nov. 30. Olivia Stebbins ’22 reached the A Final with a 10th place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke finals, with a time of 2:32.69 according to the Brandeis Athletics Website. In addition, Emily McGovern ’21 placed 20th in the 200-yard breaststroke finals, with a time of 2:33.69. Claire Xu ’22 turned in a time of 2:12.07, good for an 11th place finish in the 200-yard individual medley. Xu’s time was the third fastest in school history. Natalya Wozab ’20 competed in the B finals and swam the 200-yard individual medley in 2:19.81. In the 50-yard freestyle, Lauren Howard ’22 placed 19th with a time of 25 minutes,
13 seconds, good for third on the alltime top ten school times. Audrey Kim ’21 placed 18th in the fly at 1:00.29. Abbie Etzweiler ’22 completed the 1,650-yard free in 18:49.33, placing her at 19th. In the 200-yard medley relay, Xu, Stebbins, Gazelle Umbay and Howard placed 11th in 1:50.79. This meet resulted in Brandeis placing 8th overall. For the men, Richard Selznick ’21 won the 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 16:21.74, besting the closest competitor by six seconds. Tamir Zitelny ’20 completed the 100 butterfly in 50.25, good for a 4th-place finish. Brendon Lu ’22 placed sixth in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:09.97, good for fourth on the all-time Brandeis top 10. Alex Wang ’22 placed 16th in the 200 breaststroke in 2:13.65, 8th on the Brandeis top 10 list and 24th in the 200 individual medley, in 2:03.01. In the 800 free relay, Wohl, Lu, Chase Chen ’21 and Zeitelny placed 5th in 7:06.40. Howard, Uajda Musaku ’21, sophomore Annie Huang and Kylie Herman ’19 completed the 200-yard freestyle relay in 1:39.98, a school record and good for a 9th place finish.
Another school record was broken as the team of Xu, Stebbins, Kim and Kylie Herman ’19 completed the 400yard medley relay in 4:02.06, besting the old record, dating to 2009 by 0.19 seconds and earning a 9th-place finish. Xu broke two Brandeis school records: in the 100-yard backstroke, she placed 7th in 58 minutes 35 seconds, breaking the 2008 school mark by 1.35 seconds. In the 50-yard backstroke she placed 3rd in 27.18, breaking last year’s mark by 0.58 seconds. In the men’s 200-yard freestyle relay, Wohl, Chen, Marcello OhnoMachado and Zitelny completed the race in 1:25.10, earning 6th place and breaking the school record, set in 2005. Wohl won the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:42.43 in the finals. In the 400-yard individual medley, Selznick (4:09.66) and Lu (4:12.95), placed 2nd and third, respectively. In the 50 back, Benton Ferebee ’21 (25.19) and Sean Riordan ’22 (25.22), placed 7th and 8th, respectively. Riordan (54.38) and Benjamin Francis ’21 (54.69) placed 17th and 19th, respectively in the 100yard back.
PRO SPORTS BRIEF National Football League continues to rage on for the seven teams playing in the next four weeks We are approaching the home stretch of the National Football League season, and the final four weeks of the season will have four must-see games. These games include teams like the Los Angeles Rams, the Chicago Bears, the New England Patriots, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Los Angeles Chargers, Seattle Seahawks and the Minnesota Vikings. Los Angeles Rams vs. Chicago Bears In the 14th week of the season, on Dec. 9, the Los Angeles Rams are scheduled to play the Chicago Bears. The Rams have a powerful offense led by two young superstars: quarterback Jared Goff and powerhouse running back Todd Gurley. The Rams have battered their
opponents to a 10–1 record so far this season and are dangerous on the ground and in the air, making them hard to defend against. Wide receiver Brandin Cooks is having a stellar season, with nearly 1000 receiving yards thus far. The Rams’ opponent, “Da Bears,” are endowed with a scary defense, as befits their other traditional classic nickname, “Monsters of the Midway.” In what some believe is the worst trade in the history of the NFL, the Oakland Raiders sent Khalil Mack to the Bears. The Bears only allow an average of 80 yards rushing per game. New England Patriots vs. Pittsburgh Steelers This is a classic rivalry of two of the best teams in the NFL over a period of many seasons. This is a
matchup of Brady versus Roethlisberger. With a three-game lead in the American Football Conference East, it is almost certain that the New England Patriots will win the division again, reaching a record 21 times. However, the Patriots have shown themselves to be mere mortals, having been thrashed by the Tennessee Titans two weeks ago. The Pittsburgh Steelers have been a consistently outstanding team with a great history of success for decades. The two teams have played many meaningful games over the years. With very similar records, the game will likely be significant for the playoff seeding, affecting home field advantages. Los Angeles Chargers vs. Seattle Seahawks
The Kansas City Chiefs are another team with a devastating offense, led by the young phenom, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and wide receiver Tyreek Hill, the fastest player in the NFL. The Chiefs, with a 9–2 record, will certainly make the playoffs (at least as a wild card), but with the LA Chargers just a game behind in the standings, the Chiefs cannot afford to lose any games if they are to win the division. The Seattle Seahawks — after losing their first two games — have turned around their season and are in a position to make the playoffs as a wild card team. Dynamic veteran quarterback Russell Wilson, although not having a statistically superior season, is a proven winner and has a superbly played game in a Superbowl win over the Broncos
to his credit. Both teams will have a lot at stake in this game. Chicago Bears vs. Minnesota Vikings This is a classic matchup of two longtime rivals from the famous “Black and Blue Division.” If both teams continue their winning ways, the division title will likely be at stake. The Minnesota Vikings are another team with a strong offense, and wide receiver Adam Thielen is having a great season. Thielen’s story is inspirational. He was not drafted into the NFL and came from Minnesota State University, a Division II school for football. He has risen to become one of the best receivers in the NFL. – Megan Geller
just Sports Page 16
NFL SEASON CONTINUES ON Four must-see National Football League games to come in the next four weeks, p. 15. Waltham, Mass.
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
MEN’S BASKETBALL
WE WANT A BASKET
Team’s winning streak continues ■ Judges streak remains
after defeating Lasell College, Salem State University and Babson College. By ZACH KAUFMAN JUSTICE EDITOR
The men’s basketball team has had a red-hot start to their season so far. They are currently 5–1 and have been riding a fourgame winning streak — including three wins in a row — since the last issue. Here is how those three games went for the team. Lasell 65, Judges 78 In the first half, Lasell had a strong command over the tempo of the game and jumped out to an early 8–2 lead. The Judges would fight back, tying the game at 11 but quickly falling behind again 18–11. With 7:13 left in the half, the Judges trailed 25–21, but then exploded on a 17–7 run to close out the half, giving them a 38–32 lead going into halftime. Lasell responded early in the second half, eventually tying the game at 41 points apiece. After a few more back-and-forth scoring possessions, the Judges scored 15 unanswered points to put the game
away for good. Corey Sherman ’19 and Eric D’Aguanno ’20 had a combined 48 points and nine threepointers in the game to lead the charge for the Judges but, overall, it was a team game, with the ball shared pretty evenly around. Many players padded their stat sheets in all areas, but especially on rebounds and assists. Salem State 69, Judges 77 The Judges traveled to nearby Babson College to participate in the New England Big Four Challenge. The first game occurred on Saturday when the team took on Salem State University. The first half was a back and forth game. Each team had their own hot and cold streaks and went on subsequent runs, resulting in seven ties and six lead changes. The Judges went into the second half down three points, 32–29, but would not go down quietly. They scored the first eight points of the second half and maintained the lead for the rest of the game. The closest Salem State ever came to taking control was when they tied the game at 41 with 12:29 to go, but another 8–0 Judges run put that to bed. They were able to answer
See MBBALL, 13
☛
FENCING
Fencing team wins two of ten matches
■ Team loses all but two
matches in the Brandeis Invitational, resulting in a drop in the team’s record. By ZACH KAUFMAN JUSTICE EDITOR
The Brandeis men’s and women’s fencing teams hosted the annual meet on campus at the Brandeis Invitational. They picked up a combined two wins in ten matches among the stiff competition. Both victories belonged to the men’s team. They were victorious 17–10 in their match against Cornell and 16– 11 in their game against Incarnate Word. The team lost to St John’s University 19–8. The team was also defeated by Yale 4–3. North Carolina ousted them 15–12. The men’s team finished 2–3 that day to bring their record to 7–3 overall on the season. The women’s team lost all five bouts to post a 0–5 record on the day. They lost to St. Johns by a score of 20–7, Cornell by a score of 18–9, Yale by a score of 18-9, Incarnate Word by a score of 16-11 and North Carolina by a score of 23– 4. This dropped their overall record to 6–6 on the season. Although their overall record may not have reflected it, individual fencers and weapons still performed well. Men’s Foil The men’s foil was the best weapon of the day for either team. Led by captain Ian Quin ’20, the squad won four out of their five matches. They defeated UNC and UIW 7–2, were victorious over Cornell 6–3 and were 5–4 winners against St. Johns. Men’s Saber Men’s saber won three of their five matches, including two dominating 8–1 wins over Cornell
and Incarnate Word. Women’s Saber For the women’s team, the saber squad picked up a couple of wins over Yale and UIW, 6–3 each. Men’s Individual On an individual level, the team had some standout players in the tournament. Quin went 9-3 in his four matches. He was a perfect 3–0 against fencers from St. Johns, Incarnate Word, and Cornell, and dropped all three bouts versus Yale. For the men’s saber, Lucas Lin ’22 was the team’s top performer with a 5–2 record. He was 3–0 versus Cornell and 2–1 versus UNC. Men’s epee had six wins and Chris Armstrong ’20 was the top performer, being responsible for four of them. Women’s Individual On the women’s team, Joanne Carminucci ‘19 finished with a record over .500 in women’s foil. Her 8–7 record topped the women’s team for victories and was second on the team only to Quin. Women’s saber was paced by Jada Harrison ’22 who won five bouts. For women’s epee, Madeline Vibert had four wins to lead the weapon. In terms of meets, the Judges are off for the remainder of the semester. Next January the team will have a busy month, as they are traveling to the Colorado Springs to participate in the Western Invitational hosted by the US Airforce Academy. Following that, they will visit Brown University to take part in the Northeast Conference Meet 2. In February, the team will fence in the Eric Sollee Invitational on the 3rd. Following that, on the 13th, the team will face local rivals MIT, BC, and Harvard in the Beanpot tournament.
See FENCING 13 ☛
YURAN SHI/The Justice
MOVE THAT BALL: Brandeis Camila Casanueva ’21 prepares to pass the ball in the game against Johnson & Wales on Saturday.
Judges continue their season with a 3–3 record ■ The team pushes on and
looks forward to the rest of strong season after a rocky start. By JEN GELLER JUSTICE EDITOR
The Judges are pressing forward this season and have played against some very talented competition. Saturday, the Judges’ record improved to 3–3 after a very impressive game where they conquered the Johnson & Wales University Wildcats. Although the Judges have played several games since the last issue of the Justice, this article will focus on this game because of all of the action that took place.The final score was a notable 77–60 victory for Brandeis. The game began with a missed three-point shot from the Wildcat’s Tiondra Hands, and soon after Kat Puda ’21 did the same. However, a foul by Tara Murphy of the Wildcats’ allowed Camilla Casanueva ’21 to score the first points of the game through a series of foul shots with 9:10 to go in the first quarter. However,
Hands quickly followed with a layup at 8:48 that tied the score. Sarah Jaromin ’19 seized an opportunity to make a three-point shot that made the score 2–5, but once again the Wildcats responded with a three-pointer by their own Dede Stevenson to tie the score. This happened one more time as a layup by Samira Abdelrehim ’21 was followed by a jump shot by Murphy, tying the score at 7-7. It was then that the Judges pulled ahead in a lead that they would maintain for the rest of the game, beginning with a three-point shot by Jaromin. The quarter concluded after a layup from Abdelrehim that lifted the Judges to a score of 17–29. The second quarter helped the Judges maintain their lead over the Wildcats. Although Stevenson scored the first points of the quarter with a three-point shot with 9:17 left, within a minute, Casanueva made two free throws enabled by Kayla Walsh of the Wildcats at 8:21. No one scored again until 6:41 was left in the second quarter, at which point Casanueva came out with a three-point jump shot that made the score 20–34. Although Hands made a three-point shot soon after, Casanueva would make two more free throws that resulted from
fouls perpetrated by Hands. The score would remain 23–26 from 5:27 left in the quarter all the way until 3:47 was left in the quarter, when Jaromin made a three-point shot that advanced the score to 23–39. However, 15 seconds later, Hands also scored a three-point shot. There was another minute of missed shots and changes in possession until Amber Graves ’20 made a layup that brought the score to 26–41. Jaromin followed not long after with her own layup to solidify the lead of the Judges at 26–43 at the half. In the second half, the Judges continued to maintain a strong lead over their opponent. Jaromin scored the first points in the second half with a three-point shot, which was followed within 30 seconds by a successful three-point shot from Stevenson. Just under a minute later, Ellery Riccio ’19 made a layup resulting in a score of 29–48. Stevenson followed with a jump shot, but a foul committed by Stevenson led to two successful freethrows scored by Jaromin. Walsh would make a free throw with 6:42 left in the quarter, advances the score to 32–50. The next two shots scored were both made by Stevenson, with
See WBBALL, 13
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Vol. LXXI #12
December 4, 2018
MELA
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Arts
Waltham, Mass.
Artwork: Prika Koundinya. Images: Yvette Sei/the Justice. Design: Andrew Baxter/the Justice.
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TUESDAY, THE JUSTICE DECEMBER | ARTS 4, 2018 | TUESDAY, I ARTSJANUARY I THE JUSTICE 31, 2017
DANCE REVIEW
Take a chance on Adagio
By BRIANNA CUMMINGS JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
Thursday, Nov. 15 was notable for being the first snowfall of the school year as well as the semester’s first show by Adagio, Brandeis’ premier dance company. The casino-themed show, “Take a Chance on Dance,” had a full house. Parents and fellow students came into the Levin Ballroom, anticipating what was in store. When the lights went off, people thought it was a technical error, but they soon realized it was part of the show and grew even more excited. Soon, the hosts of the evening went onstage and introduced themselves. Throughout the evening, they appeared before every dance to make Seinfeld-esque jokes and also introduced the following act. While the performances were all unique, some elements were constants in every performance, including colorful lights in the background that changed to reflect the mood of the music. The most memorable and effective use of this element was during the act “From the Ashes,” during which the song “Phoenix” by Fall Out Boy was accompanied by a fire-engine-red background. Each ensemble had coordinated outfits; at times, it felt like Adagio was a wellchoreographed fashion show. The most stunning outfits belonged to the dancers in “Red Rover,” who all wore red dresses with matching red lipstick. As they moved to “Red Rover” by Paper Airplanes, their red dresses twirled, adding more beauty to the performance. Another group with snazzy outfits performed “Upside Down,” in which the dancers wore all black with gold bow ties as they snapped their fingers and grooved to the jazz-themed song. Groups other than those in Adagio also performed. Before the intermission, Hooked
on Tap took to the stage and tapped to “Ease on Down the Road” from the musical “The Wiz,” and the Brandeis Ballet Club performed “Waltz of the Flowers” from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker.” The ProtoHype Dance Crew from the University of Massachusetts Lowell electrified the stage with a set titled “A Trip to Venus.” They danced to an array of outer space-themed songs, such as “E.T.” by Katy Perry and Kanye West. While most of Adagio’s groups were predominantly female, ProtoHype had a decent number of male dancers. The dancers had a lot of chemistry and the routine involved an ample amount of acrobatics. The whole audience exploded in cheers — they were definitely the highlight of the evening. The last performance of the night was “Bring on the Men.” A tribute to classic jazz culture, this performance was Burlesque-themed, and the dancers wore black leotards with fishnet stockings. While most performances were free of props, this performance incorporated a chair, which the dancers sat in and twirled around. The audience enjoyed the routine, applauding thunderously at the end. “Take a Chance on Dance” delighted everyone in the audience. The show owes its success not only to the amazing dancers, but to the enthusiastic audience, whom the show enchanted. Spectators cheered for friends, whistled and laughed at the hosts’ jokes, and even booed at jokes they didn’t find funny. This event goes to show that an audience is just as important in setting the ambience as the performance itself. People left the ballroom to trek through the snowy night, glad they took a chance on dance.
Photos by NATALIA WIATER/the Justice
BLOSSOMING BALLERINA: Dancer Hannah Borgida ’21 flashes a smile to the audience.
—Editor’s note: Yvette Sei ’20, is a Photography editor of the Justice, and was a choreographer and performer in Adagio.
can be seen TIP TOE: Dancer Melanie Rush ’20 piece choern mod a ility,” “Liab of part as here ’20. o Molh reographed by Liv
RED ROVER: Three dancers hang in the air with impressive form during the “Red Rover” piece.
FILM REVIEW
Documentary sings to your soul By KENT DINLENC JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
Earlier this month, the Introduction to Creativity, the Arts, and Social Transformation class hosted a screening at the Wasserman Cinematheque in place of a lecture. The Nov. 6 class screened “Because of the War,” a documentary about four female singers who immigrated to the United States to escape the civil war occuring in their homeland, Liberia. The war caused a mass migration of refugees toward the neighboring countries of Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone. The four women, Tokay, Zaye, Marie and Fatu, all found themselves in Pittsburgh’s Liberian commu-
nity. Anthropologist Toni ShapiroPhim, who attended the screening, documented their individual stories as director of the feature. We begin with Tokay. As a creative and musical child, she was selected to join Liberia’s famous performing arts program, The Liberian National Cultural Troupe, and she grew up at the troupe’s camp with other talented children like herself. When the war broke out, she composed a song preaching love, which quickly transformed into a nationally recognized song calling for peace in Liberia. Her booming voice and poignant songwriting resonated with the victims of the arduous, bloody conflict. The film then moves on to Zaye, an-
other talented singer who struggled through the war in refugee camps. Her journey involved protecting and guiding her country’s young people as well as her own children. She taught them to maintain their dignity by embracing their culture in the form of song and dance. She left a mark on the youth, sparking hope for a better tomorrow. Marie’s story is one of forgiveness between both sides of the civil war. In that time of chaos, she turned to music to appease both sides with love and kindness. “Because of the War” showed clips of the music videos she participated in that supported her wish for peace and love across Liberia. Her message preached the harmony yet
to come, rather than dwelling on the despair of the past and present. Finally, we come to Fatu Gayflor, the most famous of the bunch. After fleeing to neighboring Ivory Coast and signing a record deal, she was referred to by West Africans as the “Golden Voice of Liberia” and released her namesake album as well as “Awoya.” Unfortunately, during her escape from the civil war, she was separated from her child in the chaos. Her music became a voice for those grieving for loved ones. She became an inspiration to Liberian women, using her art to ease the pain of loss. Fatu believed that her grief “didn’t go away, but it was okay for us to get up in the morning.” According to her, one
shouldn’t be afraid to embrace loss. “Because of the War” is an insight into the lives of people that we, as Americans, aren’t accustomed to seeing. These four fascinating women, now a quartet of singers in the Pittsburgh area, live their lives entertaining the Liberian community. They’ve released albums and continue to perform today. In terms of the feature film itself, it was quite entertaining and informative. However, it would have been better if the documentary had left more of their American lives out. It is necessary to reflect on their lives after the war and how they have acclimated to American society, but their experiences in Liberia were far more interesting — and important.
THE JUSTICE I ARTS I TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2018
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CULTURE
POETIC JUSTICE: Dean of Students Jamele Adams and Brandeis alumnus Usman Hameedi kicked off the show with slam poetry.
SASA’S GOT TALENT: Anisha Purohit ’21 sang a clever combination of Bollywood and pop music.
Photos by YVETTE SEI/the Justice
CELEBRATION: Students had a blast performing in their class dances throughout the show.
Shared connection By ELLA RUSSELL JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
CULTURE COMBO: MELA featured a wide variety of performance styles from all around South Asia.
GREAT MOVES: Students frequently performed in more than one dance number, showing off their skills to MELA’s audience.
The South Asian Student Association welcomed the month of December with their annual event, MELA. The event, whose name is a Hindi word for “religious festival” but was used in this case to simply mean “gathering,” advertised itself on Facebook as the “biggest student-run show on campus,” and it didn’t disappoint. Hundreds of students took a break from stressing about finals to pack the Levin Ballroom in Usdan Student Center. This year’s theme was “Raabta: Our Shared Connection,” with the goal being “to highlight the nuances and beauty that reside within South Asia and demonstrate that while we are not all the same, we are all connected.” In the show’s backdrop, three figures stood on different points of a mountain range to represent “the literal and figurative distance” that separates us, and they held glittering balls of light that shined on the other figures through outstretched silvery lines to show how we are all connected. Raabta began by showing a video trailer which had been posted online a few days before to promote the show. In it, Khushee Nanavati ’19 and Mahima Devanahalli ’21 find a glowing box containing flags from eight South Asian countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. After this, members of the SASA executive board came onstage and did a short dance to usher in the show. The first act was packed with a diverse array of events. Dean of Students Jamele Adams and Brandeis alumnus Usman Hameedi ’12 kicked off the show with slam poetry relating the struggles of Malcolm X, a civil rights era activist assassinated in 1965, and Shahid Azmi, an Indian lawyer known for defending impoverished Muslims, who was assassinated in 2010. Next was the Classical Indian Ensemble, which used the medium of dance to tell the story of the Hindu deity Ganesha winning a race against his brother Kartikeya. His parents, Mahadeva and Parvati, instructed them to race around the world, and his brother immediately set off on a peacock, his vehicle of choice. Ganesha knew he could not beat his brother, as his vehicle of choice was a mouse. Instead, not-
ing that his parents were his whole world, he simply walked around them and won. The first act also had the first-year and sophomore class dances, as well as a performance from Anisha Purohit ’21, who sang a beautiful combination of Bollywood songs and Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You.” Finally, there was a performance from Chak De, who pretended that they were on a road trip from Las Vegas to the Levin Ballroom. Every year, MELA promotes a charity, and this year they chose the Citizens Foundation, which provides education to children in the slums of Pakistan. Abdullah Jafari, a member of the Board of Directors of the Citizens Foundation, came onstage at the beginning of MELA’s second act to explain more about this charity and showcase the numerous rewards it has received. This foundation has made a special commitment to feminism, employing only female teachers and maintaining a balanced gender ratio among students. In addition to Jafari’s presentation, the second act also had the junior class dance; Northeastern University’s Nakhraas, who performed Garba Raas dancing; a fashion show showcasing different South Asian styles; announcement of the raffle winners; touching tributes to the e-board seniors from other members of the e-board; and Brandeis Bhangra, which combined hip hop and eastern dhol rhythms. The seniors had the honor of ending the show. Despite a slow start, emcees Supriya Jain ’22, Nanavati and Pranav Varansi ’21 were hilarious. Varansi and Jain started the show, but after a while Nanavati burst onto the stage and proceeded to teach them how to ‘properly’ emcee a show. This theme continued throughout, with Nanavati ‘talking trash’ about Varansi and Jain backstage with the microphone conveniently left on. In the end of the show, they finally stood up for themselves and kicked Nanavati out for good. “Raabta: Our Shared Connection” was utterly spectacular, with stunning artistry, beautiful set and costumes, funny emcees and the promotion of a great cause. After the show, the audience was invited to Upper Usdan for free Indian food from Dosa Temple, and the night was rounded off with an afterparty back in the Levin Ballroom. All in all, this event was a great way to destress and have some fun.
SENIOR SOLO: SASA’s seniors were given the honor of performing the final dance of the show, and did not disappoint in their finale.
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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2018 | ARTS | THE JUSTICE
INTERVIEW
Brandeis TALKS
What’s the most expensive thing you’ve ever broken?
Claudia Davis ’19 and Perry Letourneau ’20 YVETTE SEI/the Justice
Francis Hwang MA ’20
This week, justArts spoke with Claudia Davis ’19 and Perry Letourneau ’20, co-Presidents of sketch
“The most expensive thing I’ve ever broken is my car cause I was in a car crash.”
comedy troupe, Boris’ Kitchen.
JustArts: How is the writing process for a comedy sketch different than writing a scene in a play?
MARA KHAYTER/the Justice
Abdul Rehman ’19 “I broke my new car. I put in the wrong oil... it messed up the entire engine.”
Can Kazan ’22 “I lost a phone in a cab. I left there and couldn’t find it. I called it but the guy didn’t open.”
Vy Tran ’21 “I’ve broken my motorcycle. I drove to school and I had a crash.” —Compiled and photographed by Thu Le/the Justice.
STAFF’S Top Ten
THU LE/ the Justice
Top 10 Internet Personality Quizzes By River Hayes
JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSITANT
There’s no better way to procrastinate! 1. What’s my Patronus? (official Pottermore version)
CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Quarterback Newton 4 State neighboring Tenn. 8 Working time 13 Cut of meat 15 “Night” author Wiesel 16 Eyelashes 17 _____ Duncan, education secretary under Obama 18 Film about someone who shouts courageously? 20 Newspaper editor’s word 21 First rule of improv, it’s said 22 Volkswagen model 25 Way of conducting oneself 29 Give a darn? 30 ____ Wood Jr., Daily Show correspondent 32 Jerk 33 Not be in the black 34 “The Real Slim Shady” rapper 37 Feds 38 Film about a virtual-reality bakery? 43 Clue weapon 44 Try to cool off, in a way 45 Corrida cheer 46 Sunscreen letters 49 “Mr. Blue Sky” group 50 Recede 53 Jacob, in “Twilight” 56 “No problem here!” 58 Make potable, as water 60 Hubbubs 61 Film that documents a single boxing match? 65 Wander aimlessly 66 Hackneyed 67 Sounds when out in the cold 68 Idiot 69 Swear words 70 Tug 71 Classic game console DOWN 1 Holds tightly 2 Blood lines 3 Classic desktop game 4 State neighboring Kan. 5 Sicken with sweetness 6 Was bedridden 7 It had a part in the Bible? 8 Play parts 9 Broom _____ (comics witch) 10 Bedridden 11 “For shame!” 12 Cigarette ingredient 14 In early basketball, they were peach baskets 19 Thanksgiving sides 23 Dry 24 Part of EGOT 26 Good offer from a car dealer 27 Wilson known for saying “wow” 28 Russo of “The Thomas Crowne Affair” 31 “Uh-huh!” 35 West of Hollywood
PL: Writing meetings are so important for comedy. I think for drama you can kind of do a little more on your own and have it be more personal and emotional. For comedy, I think … the community aspect of just laughing with people— I think that atmosphere of sitting around a table with people and doing readings and pitching ideas, that’s the best way. That’s probably the main difference. That’s really the key to the good stuff coming out. CD: I would say it’s really different from writing a scene in a play because … it has to exist in a vacuum. Usually the writing process starts with … an idea that you think is funny, or a relationship that you think is funny. … And sometimes you have an idea and … [it] might be better as a one-liner or a stand-up set. And then sometimes you think, “That lends itself to sketch,” but then you have to [consider]: how far can you take this idea? If it’s rich and it has a lot of things you can pull out for wordplay or characters, then maybe it’s a long sketch with a lot of people … But you have to really be attentive to the lifespan of a joke, and think, “How long can someone stand to laugh at this?”
Crossword Courtesy of EVAN MAHNKEN
37 Miracle-_____ 38 Forehead 39 Part 40 Brown drink 41 Slangy “Carpe Diem” 42 “Star Wars” creature 46 Three of ABBA’s members, by birth 47 Prepare to be painted 48 Hardly in shape 51 Descriptor for the 3 films in this puzzle 52 Attacks from all sides 54 Singer Piaf 55 Plant life 57 Spiky-haired hellraiser 59 GPS instruction 61 OJ Simpson trial judge 62 Org. known for firing employees? 63 Command to Fido 64 Syllable of disapproval
JA: Tell me about the most rewarding and most difficult aspects of the sketch writing process. PL: Sometimes, especially if a new writer comes in, and they have something off the bat and you’re like, “Ooh, this is something special.” And there’s a new person now who’s going to be part of the team. That’s really exciting. I love when that happens. Or if something really unexpected emerges out of it. We had one of our writers do a cameo in this show. And it just emerged out of— in a writers meeting he read for this one role and we [decided that] no one else can play that role. We usually don’t have cameos. … It’s so nice to get these weird unexpected moments.
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.
2. What kitchen utensil am I? 3. What type of cheese am I?
CD: It’s hard when you’re trying to critique a sketch and there’s not anything to say. I always feel really conflicted about that because it’s [not that] I have nothing to say because I love this and it’s perfect, but it’s also not trash. It’s in this liminal space of “fine.” … Sometimes people make a really airtight sketch that is textbook...good. But it needs to be elevated in some way, and we’re just 20-year-olds f*cking around. I don’t have any formal training in comedy writing. … That gets hard. JA: What message would you give to someone who is considering joining Boris’ Kitchen? PL: Try stuff! ... It’s college, you know? If you think it would be fun, just give it a shot! CD: Also I think it’s fair to say that everyone who is involved with BK … started in a place of a lot of nerves.
4. What Star Wars character am I? 5. What Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor am I?
6. What minor Disney character am I? 7. What insect am I? 8. What breakfast food am I? 9. What type of tree am I? 10. What article of clothing am I?
Solution to last issue’s sudoku
Puzzle courtesy of www.sudokuoftheday.com
—Maya Zanger-Nadis