The Justice, November 8, 2016

ARTS Page 19

FORUM Respect Sioux land 11

MONSTERS

SPORTS Swim teams make huge splash 16 The Independent Student Newspaper

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Justice

Volume LXIX, Number 10

www.thejustice.org

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Administration

INAUGURATED

Brimhall-Vargas named first Brandeis CDO ■ The former Chief Diversity

Officer for Tufts University will join the Brandeis community on Jan. 11.

By RACHEL SHARER JUSTICE editor

The University has hired Mark Brimhall-Vargas as the first chief diversity officer and vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion, University President Ronald Liebowitz wrote in an email to students, faculty and staff on Wednesday.

Brimhall-Vargas, who previously served as CDO and associate provost at Tufts University, will begin the new position at the start of next semester on Jan. 11, 2017.

As the University’s first CDO, he will work closely with all members

of the community, including students, administrators, faculty and trustees and will report directly to Liebowitz, according to the email.

In this position, he will help to “coordinate and advise on activities in departments and academic programs throughout the University to develop, integrate and articulate Brandeis’ commitments to a more diverse and inclusive community,” the email explained.

In an email to the Justice, Brimhall-Vargas noted that he is excited to join the Brandeis community because during his visit he “saw a significant amount of authentic commitment to making Brandeis an example of what an equitable and accessible campus really looks like.”

“That inspires me,” he added.

One of the first things BrimhallVargas said he hopes to accom-

See CDO, 7 ☛

administration

Sustainability efforts show moderate success ■ The University has reduced

its carbon footprint for the first time since 2007, an email to students announced last week.

By Carmi Rothberg JUSTICE Editor

The University reduced its carbon footprint by approximately 8 percent from last year and used 10 percent less energy overall than fiscal year 2015, University President Ronald Liebowitz wrote in a Nov. 1 email to the campus community.

This is the first time the University has reduced its carbon footprint since it signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment — an effort

aimed at neutralizing greenhouse gas emissions and accelerating climate research at higher education institutions — in 2007. Though Liebowitz noted that these new figures have not yet been fully confirmed — and will likely not be fully confirmed for over a year — he wrote that he is “confident we have taken an important first step.”

“This is a meaningful milestone,” Liebowitz wrote. “We have begun to respond to the urgent call of climate change, facing our responsibility to the global community to reduce our emissions and joining the leaders of the world who are acting on the Paris Agreement.”

Brandeis has achieved its reductions in large part through the implementation of the practices

See GREEN, 7 ☛

MORGAN BRILL/the Justice

University President Ron Liebowitz looks out at the audience during his inauguration as the University’s ninth president. For more coverage on the Inauguration, see the special insert.

STUDENT ACTIVISM

Letter pushes for new AAPI Studies Department

■ A Brandeis Asian American

Task Force letter renews the group's call for an Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies department.

By Audrey Fein JUSTICE editorial Assistant

The Brandeis Asian American Task Force delivered an open letter to University President Ronald D. Liebowitz to spur the creation of a department of Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies. They delivered the letter at the luncheon to celebrate his inauguration as the University’s ninth president on Nov. 3.

The letter, which originated on BAATF’s Facebook page, began circulation via Facebook at approximately 1 p.m. on Nov. 1, in the form of a Google doc that users could edit or add to. At 11 a.m. on Nov. 3, the letter was closed for editing and printed in anticipation of the inauguration ceremony.

Anyone sympathetic to the cause was invited to contribute a letter themselves or to add to what was already written. “We need your voice.

Your letter can be as long as one sentence to multiple pages. Your voice is yours,” BAATF’s initial Facebook post urged. Within three days of the letter’s announcement on Facebook, it garnered 35 shares and 16 likes.

BAATF’s original intent was to to deliver the open letter and signatures at the inauguration ceremony, but the group instead delivered the letter at 12:30 p.m. at the Inaugural Luncheon, according to their Facebook page.

The Facebook page also stated that the members of the organization “greatly look forward to our meeting between [President Liebowitz] and the Student-Faculty Working Committee on Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies at Brandeis. We also look forward to meeting the Board of Trustees here at Brandeis University.”

The letter began with a statement from BAATF leader Hin Hon (Jamie) Wong ’17 and included 19 other

letters from Brandeis students and alumni, 154 signatures from the Brandeis community and 39 signatures from students at other colleges and universities nationwide.

Wong’s opening statement both welcomed President Leibowitz and stated BAATF’s purpose: “to communicate the urgent need for AAPI Studies and the importance of accelerating the process of establishing an institutional home for AAPI Studies.” Many of the letters from students were personal, illustrating the individual impact the creation of an AAPI department would have on students.

One letter, written by Cecile Afable ’16, described what impact an AAPI department could have on students. “There is a large population of Asian and AAPI students on campus who could benefit enormously from such coursework; being able to finally feel as though one is seen and heard and matters within an academic context generates a powerful feeling of catharsis after a lifetime of dismissal, stereotyping and

See BAATF, 7 ☛

“Black Is Week”

Going the Distance

Rwandan Genocide

 Brandeis celebrated the Black community in a series of events this week.

 The women's soccer team qualified for a playoff berth as their regular season closed against NYU.

A Brandeis alumna reflected on the Rwandan genocide and discussed the state of healing in the country 22 years later.

FEATURES 9 For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org

Waltham, Mass.

Let your voice be heard!

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

INDEX

SPORTS 16

ARTS SPORTS

17 13

EDITORIAL FEATURES

10 OPINION 8 POLICE LOG

10 2

News 5

COPYRIGHT 2016 FREE AT BRANDEIS.

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2016

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the justice

NEWS SENATE LOG

POLICE LOG

Senators discuss upcoming and ongoing on-campus initiatives The Senate convened on Sunday to hear petitions from several clubs and to discuss initiatives to bolster school spirit.

The Brandeis Baha’i Club seeks to provide accurate information on the Baha’i Faith — an international religion founded on ideals of peace and cooperation — and give Baha’i students on campus a space of their own, in cooperation with other faith groups on campus. The club was recognized by unanimous vote. Next was Young Americans for Liberty, a club founded in Libertarianism but with the goal to facilitate discussion among all political groups and educate the public about Libertarian ideals. The club was recognized unanimously, with many senators citing the need for free speech on campus.

Next came a chartering petition from One Brandeis, which focuses on international health and the prevention of extreme poverty. After a presentation on the actions that the club had taken since being recognized, the Senate voted unanimously to charter the group.

The senators then voted to de-charter and de-recognize Brandeis Private Equity and Venture Capital Club due to lack of activity. After a discussion of some specifics about the rules regarding inactive clubs, the motion passed.

In executive officer reports, Executive Senator Hannah Brown ’19 reported that the E-Board has been working on initiatives to increase school spirit and expand campus-wide recognition of Kindness Day. In Committee Chair Reports, the Dining Committee chair, Class of 2019 Senator Kate Kesselman, reported that a recent meeting with Sodexo focused on greater student involvement in dining services.

The Health and Safety Committee chair, Foster Mods Senator Ari Matz ’17, discussed upcoming student outreach efforts with the Department of Community Living. East Quad Senator Elijah Sinclair ’19, chairman of the Sustainability Committee, discussed upcoming initiatives that included extending recycling in Usen Castle and meeting with various campus officers to encourage sustainability.

The Senate also reviewed a Senate Money Request passed last year regarding the use of club resources in the Romper Room, which allowed club leaders to check out resources like tables and cooking supplies for events such as bake sales. One senator proposed a new idea to expand the program to include a schedule of rentals so that clubs could know when a given resource will be available. The Senate postponed the vote on renewing or altering the policy for a later date.

In individual senator reports, the senators discussed issues raised by students, including concerns about library hours, accessibility of various residence hall resources — such as communal vacuums and printers — reports of spoiled fruit in the Hoot Market, issues of hot water in the Mods and dissatisfaction with BranVan hours and locations.

In open forum, the senators briefly discussed the University’s communication through emails and other forms of media, specifically the overwhelming nature of large blocks of emailed text. Many senators expressed concerns over whether the student body regularly reads mass emails from the University.

This transitioned into another discussed about using various apps, such as the existing Brandeis app and Sodexo’s “Bite” app to better reach out to the student body.

Medical Emergency

Nov. 1—University Police received a report of an ill student in East Quad. University Police and BEMCo responded, and the party was treated by BEMCo staff with a signed refusal for further care.

Nov. 1—A party on Loop Road reported that they were having an asthma attack. BEMCo staff treated the party, who was then transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Nov. 1—A party in Ziv Quad reported that they were suffering from a severe sore throat. BEMCo staff treated the party, who was then transported to NewtonWellesley Hospital.

Nov. 3—University Police received a report of a party in Sherman Dining Hall who had fallen and was vomiting and feeling faint. BEMCo staff treated the party, who was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care via University Police cruiser. The area coordinator on call was notified.

Nov. 3—A party in Rosenthal Quad reported that they were not

feeling well and that their heart rate was high. BEMCo staff treated the party, who was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care via University Police cruiser. The area coordinator on call was notified.

Nov. 5—A party in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center reported that they had suffered from an ankle injury. BEMCo staff treated the party, who was then transported to NewtonWellesley Hospital via University Police cruiser.

residents who had been locked out and did not have a phone to call Public Safety to be let back in. University Police let the parties back into the building.

Harassment

Oct. 31—University Police received a report that a suspicious black Honda Fit appeared to follow a community member through the University Office Park area. Waltham Police were advised on the incident.

Other

Disturbance

Nov. 6—University Police received a report of loud talking near the Charles River Apartments. University Police asked some residents to quiet down, and they complied without incident.

Nov. 6— University Police received a noise complaint of two parties who were loudly walking around the Charles River Apartments, banging on the door to building 113. University Police discovered that the parties were

Oct. 31—A party in the KosowWolfson-Rosensweig Building reported that an unknown party had left a disturbing note in a pile of fax cover sheets. The pile was left in an area that is open and accessible for all parties that have access to the building.

Nov. 1—University Police compiled a report on a piece of mail with political views received at the Brown Social Science Center.

The sender is unknown.

Nov. 3—A staff member in Goldfarb Library reported that

— Compiled by Abby Patkin.

BRIEF

SEACING DESSERT

University Police look into library vandalism and spate of off-campus incidents

—Spencer Taft

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS n A News article misspelled Mareshia Donald’s name and implied that she is the manager for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Education and Diversity Program. She is actually the manager of the Education and Diversity Program of the Center for Emergent Behaviors of Integrated Cellular Systems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (Nov. 1, pg. 3). n The Brandeis TALKS column misspelled Kyra Shreeve’s ’18 name. (Nov. 1, pg. 20).

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

Justice

the

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

there was graffiti in one of the men’s restrooms. The area was cleaned and University Police reported no damage to University property. University Police compiled a report on the incident.

Nov. 4—A party in Shapiro Residence Hall reported that they believed an unknown party or parties had entered their room and turned over their chair. University Police compiled a report, noting that there was no damage and no crime committed. University Police turned the matter over to the Department of Community Living.

Nov. 4—University Police received a report that there was a piece of paper with some letters written in Wite-Out correction fluid left near a public printing area in the Kosow-WolfsonRosensweig Building.

Nov. 6—University Police discovered the smell of burning wood outside Sachar International Center and checked the area on foot. University Police could not find the source of the odor.

CANDICE JIANG/the Justice

Students handed out cultural desserts on Thursday in the Intercultural Center as part of South East Asia Club Month. The event, “SEAC Dessert Night,” celebrated Southeast Asian cuisine.

University Police informed students of several unrelated incidents they are investigating off-campus in a string of emails this week.

On Nov. 1, Director of Public Safety Edward Callahan wrote to the student body about a case of breaking and entry into a student’s Highland Street apartment.

According to Callahan, the incident took place on Oct. 31, and “personal items were moved and stolen.”

In the same email, Callahan wrote that another student was followed home by a black Honda Fit vehicle on Oct. 30. Police are investigating the office park and garage area, where the incident took place.

On Nov. 4, Callahan wrote that a student on Dartmouth Street was awoken the previous night by a window screen moving up and down. The student did not see anyone, nor did University Police find anything when they investigated.

Campus police are also looking into a “quarter-sized marking described as a swastika” that was found on a door in the men’s bathroom on Nov. 3, according to an email to the campus from Interim University Librarian Matthew Sheehy.

Maintenance staff removed the marking, and University Police spoke to a few students in the area, none of whom could identify the person who drew the figure.

Sheehy wrote that “while there may be multiple interpretations of the symbol in question — some have suggested it was not a swastika, but another kind of symbol — the use of a swastika as a symbol of hate is unacceptable and runs directly counter to our shared community values.”

University Police could not be reached for comment by press time.

—Max Moran

ANNOUNCEMENTS The Dialogues: Wage Negotiation

Jewish Education @ Brandeis

Kindness Day

Approximately 60 percent of millennial women are not negotiating their salaries; don’t be one of them.

Over the term of her life, a woman will earn $1 million less than a man simply because she is a woman.

This session is open to any students who will be negotiating their job salaries and are interested in earning their true potential as these early decisions will have lifelong consequences.

Today from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in the Kutz Hall first floor conference room.

This event will feature conversation about the study of Jewish education at Brandeis, presented by Profs. Sharon Feiman-Nemser (NEJS), Jonathan B. Krasner (NEJS), Jon A. Levisohn (NEJS) and Joe Reimer (HRNS).

The evening will be an opportunity for faculty and students to engage in discussion about what studying Jewish education at Brandeis looks like, what it means and what it aspires to do.

Tomorrow from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Mandel Forum.

Brandeis University will host its seventh annual Kindness Day on Thursday, Nov. 10. The Kindness Day initiative was started by a faculty member with a vision to further connect Brandeis by promoting morale, building community and encouraging more small acts of thanks and kindness on campus. Join the community as they spread kindness across campus. Fill out a postcard to send to a friend, help out with a service project and more.

Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in various locations around campus.

Pumpkin Spiced Coffee and Donuts

TSA Dumpling Night

Escape the Room

Join Student Events staff as they celebrate the start of Fallen For Louis Weekend with some free pumpkin spiced coffee and apple cider donuts. All students are welcome to join.

Tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium.

Do you have a craving for Asian food?

Join the Taiwanese Students Association for Dumpling Night to try some traditional Taiwanese dumplings, as well as TSA’s special and mysterious dumplings.

Tomorrow from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Intercultural Center Swig Lounge.

Halloween might be over, but that doesn’t mean zombies aren’t still fun. Are you ready to master the Escape the Room at Brandeis? This is your chance to escape a Zombie Apocalypse with friends.

Friday from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium.

the justice

ADMINISTRATION

an upgrade recently with the addition of a room to aid new mothers.

By MIHIR KHANNA JUSTICE Editor

The University’s fourth lactation room opened on the second floor of the Goldfarb Library this month after a push from library staff members, according to Ann Kardos, the metadata and resource sharing coordinator for Library and Technology Services.

The lactation room, located at Goldfarb 69-41A, was conceptualized this past May in response to the growing need for a private space for mothers to breastfeed, Kardos wrote in an email to the Justice.

“The project started when the union representatives for the library staff (we are SEIU Local 888) realized that we’d had 5 new parents in about 2 years,” Kardos wrote. Her team consisted of the other union members — Judaica Librarian Jim Rosenbloom, Acquisitions Administrator Alexis Scanzani, Academic Outreach Librarian for Government Information and the Social Sciences Aimee Slater and Public Services Coordinator Thom Valicent.

The group “had a lot of support from the Interim University Librarian, Matthew Sheehy, and also the other Associate University Librarians, Pat Flanagan and Sarah Shoemaker,” she added. Martha Barry, the library’s senior facilities coordinator, took point on completing this endeavor, working with facilities personnel “to put

some great finishing touches on the room to really personalize the space,” according to Kardos.

The lactation room is kept locked at all times and is accessible by a key that may be checked out from the Information and Borrowing desk with a Brandeis ID, Kardos wrote. The room is designed to accommodate two users at a time, and time slots may be booked on a provided “Library Lactation Room Google Calendar.” In terms of infrastructure, the library lactation room is equipped with a refrigerator for storage, a microwave for sterilization, two chairs, a small table and electrical outlets.

The library does not provide breast pumps and expects users to bring their own. There are also two sinks provided for users in the adjoining restroom.

In addition to providing for the new parents on the library staff, Kardos hopes that the lactation room will prove useful to all new parents on campus, given the library’s central location. Kardos went on to write that she and her team consider the library “one of the ‘hearts’ of the community.”

In addition to being well situated, the library is open much later than most of the other buildings on campus that house the other three lactation rooms. The three other lactation rooms on campus are in the lobby of the Gryzmish building, Gerstenzang 134 and room 118 in the Rabb Graduate Center.

Kardos has already noted positive feedback from patrons who no longer have to abandon their research in the library in quest of a comfortable and secure lactation space.

—Abby Patkin contributed reporting.

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2016

NATALIA WIATER/the Justice

Pottery Club looks for new studio as Castle crumbles ■ The Pottery Club is looking

for a new studio space as the University prepares to demolish the Castle.

By ABby patkin

With the majority of Usen Castle set to be torn down starting next semester, the Pottery Club has been searching for a new home — so far to no avail, club leaders say. To raise awareness of their plight, the club staged mock studio hours outside the Shapiro Campus Center on Thursday.

“To me, the Pottery Club is something I’m proud of that I helped create, a place with good people where I’ve felt at home, and an opportunity for those who do not have the time to take an art class because of their courseload,” Club president Marisa Rubel ’17 wrote in an email to the Justice.

When Rubel and a group of friends decided to revive the club two years ago, they invested a good deal of their own time and money in cleaning out the Schwartz Hall studio and starting the club from scratch, she wrote. Funding for clay came from the Student Union Allo-

cations Board.“It was the first time since I had been at Brandeis that I felt like I was doing something worthwhile and that I actually cared about,” she explained. “The studio itself was a place I spent a lot of time and became a second home of sorts.”

With last year’s announcement that the Castle’s C, D and E towers and Schwartz Hall would be torn down in 2017, the club was left searching for a new home. Rubel emailed Dean of Students Jamele Adams over the summer to set up an appointment to talk about the space allocation, and the club was given a temporary studio in the Goldman-Schwartz Art Studios.

However, this space will only be available to them for the 2016 to 2017 academic year.

According to Rubel, Adams told her a month ago that he would look for a new space for the club on campus, but she said she has not heard from him since. “I do not really know who actually has the power to relocate us or find us a new space or if that is even happening to be honest. I do not know who makes those decisions. I have interpreted the silence to mean people higher up the totem pole are unaware of the situation or do not care.”

Thursday’s mock studio hours invited students to reflect on what

the Pottery Club means to them and to use clay to craft. “Basically since the administration has not given us our own space, the idea was that we were using their space to conduct our club. We were hoping to get the attention of the administration by holding the mock hours to show how many students support us and thus encourage them to find us a new space,” Rubel wrote, though she noted the hours were poorly attended.

While Rubel and many of her fellow club members will be graduating come May, she explained that she is hopeful that the club will be able to find a permanent space before then.

Still, she expressed frustration with the lagging response. “I honestly do not know what else there is that I can do at this point,” she wrote. “I think it has not seemed to those who attend studio hours that anything has been happening, but in reality myself and several members of the e-board have been working tirelessly to get things going.”

“Hopefully the underclassmen will carry on the fight until we have our studio back the way it was — our own place with just our stuff that we do not have to share,” she added.

Adams could not be reached for comment by press time.

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DAISY CHEN/the Justice

The Israel Defense Force’s Colonel Bentzi Gruber, the Vice Commander of Division 252, spoke on campus on Thursday to discuss ethics in the field of battle.

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CRAFTING: Koa Lopez ’17 uses the pottery wheel during the mock studio hours outside the Shapiro Campus Center on Thursday.

JUSTICE editor

WAR ETHICS

news

SHAPING SPACES

Univ. installs lactation room in Goldfarb ■ The Goldfarb Library got

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Contact Abby Patkin at news@thejustice.org for more information

MUSIC

Global Music Industry Panel

Brandeis alums who are leaders in the Global Music Industry discuss gender/race, music economy, digitization, piracy, marketing and careers

NOVEMBER 10, 2016 12 - 1:30 PM SLOSBERG RECITAL HALL Refreshments will be served

Moderator: Yu-Hui Chang, Ph.D. ‘01

Chair, Brandeis Music Department

For more information, please contact Barbara Cassidy 781-736-8351

S E U G O L A I D #T H E B R A N D E I S

U N I V E R S I T Y brandeisdialogues.wordpress.com

Susan Dodes ’83, P’19

Mark Eisenberg ‘85

Susan Dodes is a Professor of Music Industry studies, The University of New Haven; owner of SuLeDo Music, a music consulting firm.

Mark Eisenberg is the Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives at SoundExchange, the recording industry collective distributing more than $800 million in digital licensing royalties to record labels and performers in 2015.

Jeff Jones P’19

Jerry Blair ‘83

Jeff Jones has led The Beatles’ Apple Corps Ltd. as the company’s Chief Executive Officer since 2007. Jones brings his inspiring dedication and expertise to manage the art and commerce of one of the world’s most important music companies.

Jerry Blair has been a record executive who has been involved with a number of top artists and labels for over two decades.

Donald Friedman ‘74 Donald Friedman is a partner at Grubman Shire & Meiselas, P.C., an entertainment and media specialty law firm. Don’s practice is focused primarily on the music business and on trademark and brand licensing.

Sponsors The Hiatt Career Center, The Perlmutter Institute of Global Business Leadership, Music Department, Institutional Advancement, the Heller School and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2016

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CAMPUS SPEAKER

Scholar reflects on Rwandan genocide, more than 22 years down the line ■ Samantha Lakin ’08

described her four years of fieldwork in Rwanda during her lecture yesterday.

By AGAPE NIYOBUHUNGIRO JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Although it has been more than 22 years since the 100-day Rwandan genocide, the wounds incurred in the conflict could still take more than one generation to heal, a scholar asserted in a discussion yesterday evening.

The scholar, Samantha Lakin ’08, delivered the talk on her findings from four years of research in Rwanda, a country that, despite its recovery from devastation, is still dealing with the legacy of its tragic past.

During her lecture, the Ph.D. candidate in Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark University summarized the main events that marked the genocide.

One million Tutsi and moderate Hutu were massacred in the small East African nation in the months from April to July 1994. It is estimated that 300,000 people survived the genocide, according to the Huffington Post. Lakin rejected the portrayal of the genocide as simply ethnic bloodletting, insisting, “It’s a very myopic and primitive way of viewing conflict in Africa.”

In the unique case of Rwanda, where survivors and perpetrators now live side-by-side, Lakin focuses her research on forms of justice that go beyond the traditional punishment of perpetrators. She explained that she interviews a wide range of individuals such as survivors, perpetrators and ordinary citizens in order to understand the impact of memory initiatives — which promote information and accountability — on justice. “When I’m inter-

viewing people,” Lakin elaborated, “I’m asking about their relationship to other forms of justice that go beyond punishing perpetrators.”

With this in mind, the presentation shifted to mapping reconciliation efforts in memory, justice, youth and education, and psychological health and trauma. Lakin presented these four categories with particular attention to the stakeholders involved, the successes achieved so far and the considerable challenges that remain. With her research heavily grounded in field experience, the stories she told were drawn from both research and anecdotal evidence from her time living in Rwanda.

In the case of a genocide with such far-reaching effects, Lakin stressed the importance of sharing the memory of those individuals — such as elderly or sick survivors — who might be overlooked and have less of a chance of being heard. She shared the story of Omar, a child who, at age ten, survived by hiding underneath corpses after a mass killing in a church where he had sought shelter. Struggling to tell his story after the genocide, and finding many unreceptive to his account, Omar requested that Lakin interview him at the site of the massacre to underscore the emotional trauma he endured.

Lakin emphasized the key role that youths such as Omar can play in post-conflict Rwanda. “Sixty percent of Rwandans today are under the age of twenty-five, which means we have an incredible amount of young Rwandans doing incredibly important and incredibly difficult things,” she stated. In this context, the Rwandan government has made the education of the youth a priority. In the context of the genocide, the powerful potential of youths is especially significant in Rwanda, where

TALYA GUENZBURGER/the Justice

HEALING WOUNDS: Samantha Lakin ’08 argued that reconciliation post-genocide could take more than one generation. the Interahamwe death squads were largely made up of young men.

Lakin concluded her presentation by opening up her talk to discussion with the audience. During this segment, she shared her views on the possibility of full reconciliation in Rwanda: “The truth of the matter is oftentimes, it takes more than one

generation for real healing or any kind of reconciliation to happen,” she said.

Additionally, she explained that she attempts to give back to the community in a variety of ways, including by educating Rwandans on other genocides, most notably the Holocaust. She explained that this

relationship allows her research to be conducted in an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect.

“I think that people see me [as] legitimate within the community — thankfully — because of the work that I put in to develop the community. Every researcher gets a reputation,” she said.

SACRED PLACES

Do you have a nose for news?

Contact Abby Patkin at news@thejustice.org

AARON BIRNBAUM/the Justice

Rosalyn LaPier, an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Nation and Red River Métis, spoke on Wednesday about what it means for indigenous people to have sacred lands.

THE JUSTICE

CDO: Quest for new CDO ends after lengthy search process CONTINUED FROM 1 plish is understanding the needs of the community through meetings with faculty, staff and students.

“It’s important that I come in with a ‘listen and learn’ approach because each university is unique,” Brimhall-Vargas wrote. “Brandeis strikes me as particularly unique in its work and concern for issues of social justice.”

“In essence, I see myself in partnership with the entire Brandeis community as we create something new,” Brimhall-Vargas added.

Brimhall-Vargas noted that at Tufts, he focused mostly on “transparency of decision-making and data, creating university-wide search and selection policies for faculty searches, and implementing changes to the university that were brought about through discourse and engagement,” all of which he hopes he can bring to Brandeis.

Prior to his work at Tufts, Brimhall-Vargas worked for 17 years in various positions related to diversity and inclusion, including in the position of deputy CDO at the University of Maryland, College Park.

The email also notes that he holds a doctoral degree in social foundations of education from the University of Maryland, College Park, a masters in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy

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TUESDAY, November 8, 2016

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DEMOCRACY IN CRISIS?

School of Government and a bachelor’s degree from Pomona College.

His selection is a culmination of the University’s search to hire a diversity officer on campus as promised after the Ford Hall 2015 movement last year. Last spring, the University began its search process by creating a search committee to lead the process. This fall, the committee selected four finalists, and each candidate spent time on campus this semester to hold open forums and meet with students.

The search committee knew that Brimhall-Vargas has “the experience, intellectual heft and people skills needed to move us forward,” said CDO search committee leader Prof. Irv Epstein (CHEM), as quoted in Liebowitz’s email.

In a statement emailed to the Justice, Liebowitz noted that he is excited for Brimhall-Vargas to join the University community.

“He has the experience, enthusiasm and dedication to advance our commitment to make our campus more diverse and inclusive,” Liebowitz wrote. “Throughout the interviews many noted that he listened and engaged well and did not shy away from the challenging aspects of this new position at Brandeis. He has a proven record of understanding how to effectively implement change in an academic setting.”

NATALIA WIATER/the Justice

In a lecture, Dr. Wolfgang Merkel considered whether Western democracy is in a crisis.

BAATF: Liebowitz gets letter at Inauguration luncheon CONTINUED FROM 1 discrimination,” she wrote.

According to the University’s website, 13.1 percent of the undergraduate population, and 4.8 percent of the graduate population, selfidentifies as Asian-American or Pacific Islander. But according to the open letters to President Leibowitz, the creation of an AAPI department could benefit every student on campus, not only those who identify as Asian- American or Pacific Islander.

As a letter written by Lillian Wang ’18 states, an AAPI department “would allow for all students

to have an opportunity to learn more about how the AAPI community has always been a large part of American history,” in addition to “countering ignorant assumptions and stereotypes about AAPIs that are rampant across American society.”

Brandeis already has departments for other racial and ethnic groups, such as the Hispanic Studies department and the department of African and Afro-American Studies.

This is not BAATF’s first effort to create AAPI courses here at Brandeis. On Dec. 2, 2015, the group published a separate letter encouraging the University to take steps

toward an AAPI department. On Dec. 8, 2015, a group of students led

by Wong and BAATF rallied outside of the Bernstein-Marcus Administration Center in support of the creation of an Asian American Studies program. This semester, BAATF had a hand in the creation of the course “The Asian American Experience,” offered through the American Studies Department. The course, which has 19 students enrolled, is taught

by Prof. Patrick Chung (AMST).

BAATF’s open letter can be found on their Facebook page. Wong and BAATF declined to comment for this article.

GREEN: Advanced age of buildings slows energy conservation CONTINUED FROM 1 outlined in the University’s new Energy Conservation and Management Policy, Liebowitz wrote.

The policy was developed by the 2015 to 2016 President’s Task Force on Campus Sustainability, formed in Oct. 2015 when the University received news that its carbon footprint had increased rather than decreased since it issued its first Climate Action Plan in 2009.

According to the new CAP, the University’s short-term goals include reducing emissions by 10 percent by fiscal year 2018 and by 15 percent by fiscal year 2020.

The University now uses 25 to 30 percent more energy per square foot than comparable campuses in its

climate zone, according to Sustainable Brandeis, the University’s online database on its sustainability efforts and progress. “These facts, combined with the inextricable link between climate change and social justice, amount to a call to action for our community to greatly improve our approach to energy management,” the website says.

“Reducing electricity use during peak times results in environmental gains as well as financial savings,” it continues. “In New England, electricity demand during very hot days necessitates the operation of older, oil- and coal-fired power plants, leading to an increase in air pollution and some of the most carbonintense days ​​ for the electric grid.”

Brandeis’ buildings use more en-

ergy than peer universities largely because of their advanced age. According to the CAP, over 60 percent of campus buildings were constructed between 1951 and 1975 — “before energy efficiency was an important consideration in building design.” Since facilities maintenance budgets are at approximately one fourth of the 30 to 40 million dollars per year that would be required to maintain building envelopes and mechanical systems and catch up on deferred maintenance, energy efficiency in buildings is severely low.

Due to the heavy impact of peak electricity use on campus sustainability — approximately 87 percent of Brandeis’s total emissions are due to building energy usage,

according to the CAP — student efforts are crucial in keeping University progress going, as much of the conservation happens in dorms and classrooms on an honor systembasis.

“I know we can count on you to remain a critical part of our efforts,” Liebowitz wrote in his email, citing the success of the University’s “Turn It Off” days. “Turn It Off” is a program that asks students to turn off unnecessary lights and computers and tolerate higher temperatures across the campus during peak electric demand days.

According to Sustainable Brandeis, “the collective effort of our Turn It Off campaign resulted in a 20 percent decrease in our peak electric demand over 2014 for the

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second year in a row.”

“The Turn It Off campaign demonstrates that individual conservation actions do add up to meaningful results,” the website reads.

“Since the university’s year-round electricity rates are partially based on our demand during summer’s hottest days, the success of our campaigns will result in significant savings in our electric bill in [fiscal year 2017] and beyond.”

The University’s progress in sustainability is nothing new for Liebowitz: during his presidency at Middlebury College, he oversaw a 50 percent reduction in Middlebury’s carbon footprint. “I hope this first step forward at Brandeis will ultimately lead us to equally impressive results,” he wrote.

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features

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2016 ● Features ● The Justice

just

VERBATIM | JOHN F. KENNEDY Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.

ON THIS DAY…

FUN FACT

In 1889, Montana was admitted as the 41st state.

There are over 2000 different species of cactus.

MORGAN BRILL/the Justice

SCHOOL SPIRIT: Vince Lauffer ’19 founded the Brandeis Superfan Club.

Brandeis’ Biggest Fan Vince Lauffer ’19 is hoping to fill the bleachers

By Kirby Kochanowski JUSTICE EDITOR

It’s a sight all too common at Brandeis sporting events: empty bleachers on the Brandeis side while the opposing team’s fans are often out in full support. It could be disheartening, but Vince Lauffer ’19 hopes to change that.

It all started when he worked as the team manager for Men’s Basketball during his mid year semester. Lauffer was at a home game against a team from the University of Rochester when he noticed this phenomenon.

“There were more people in the crowd from Rochester than Brandeis. And they were cheering louder than the few people from Brandeis. And it was at that moment that that I realized something needed to be changed.”

With the help of a few friends, Lauffer created the Brandeis Superfan Club. The club hopes to organize groups of students to attend sporting events. Lauffer explained that he wants “to make the student athlete body feel supported, more so than they have in the past.”

To achieve this goal, Lauffer has had to think outside of the box when it comes to his club. Besides the usual club positions — President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary — Lauffer has created a new position: Club Merger Chair. Filled by Cristian Ordoñez ’19, the position is meant to encourage collaboration with other clubs on campus. “The idea is if we

bring together clubs of different ideas and cultures, we can take those people who don’t usually go to games and bring them there, while providing an event they would usually attend,” Lauffer said. This could take the form of international cuisine tailgates or a round robin style video game tournament during halftime.

The end result would hopefully be a large and passionate crowd.

But there are still some obstacles that are preventing this from becoming a reality. Most of the athletic events occur during the day, when many students are attending classes or otherwise busy. “It has a lot to do with timing … It’s not ideal for creating a crowd,” Lauffer said.

Lauffer is also critical of the listserv system employed by many clubs and worries that most emails get lost in the sheer volume of most student’s inboxes.

The best way to get involved with Brandeis Superfan Club, according to Lauffer, is to check their Facebook page or reach out to him directly.

Yet despite these challenges, the group was able to go to a Men’s Soccer game this semester. “We went to a soccer game, and that was pretty good.

We won. So the Brandeis Superfan Club’s record with the Men’s Soccer is 1-0. 100% of the time they win,” Lauffer laughed. He hopes the club will be able to go to more games next semester.

For most of the leaders and members of Brandeis Superfan Club, Lauffer explained that their high school sports culture was much different. “They all say the same thing. Just bleachers

filled up with kids, not only because they lived around there, but because it was important. I guess when you’re in a smaller school, you want to go there and support people. But when you come here, it’s negligible. And that makes me upset, because my high school did have better sports culture,” he said.

In high school, Lauffer participated in cross country, track, basketball and swimming. Yet a series of injuries has lead him to focus on playing sports in noncompetitive contexts only. “I love sports and I like playing them too, but my body doesn’t like me to play sports,” Lauffer laughed.

On campus, Lauffer is involved with Student Events and his fraternity Sigma Alpha Mu. He’s double majoring in Business and Computer Science and hopes one day to start his own business. He’s currently involved in the Spark and LeanLauchpad Programs on campus which are sponsored by the Hasenfeld Family Innovation Center. Both are helping him make his entrepreneurial goals a reality. Lauffer has been happy with his Brandeis experience so far. “It’s a really nice sense of community.

As much as Brandeis is divided, I have found a place that works.

Don’t mess with success,” he said.

Looking to the future, Lauffer’s main goal is to make sure the Brandeis Superfan Club will continue on even after he graduates. He explained, “I want to fill up those bleachers every game.To keep [the club] going and just keep trying, because the [sports] culture has to change. Bottom line.”

the justice ● Features ● TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8 , 2016

MIHIR KHANNA/the Justice

COMMUNITY GATHERING: Students collected in Ridgewood Commons to attend the “Black is Delicious” event.

‘Black Is Week’

This week a series of events celebrated the Black community

By ALISSA FAGIN AND KIRBY KOCHANOWSKI JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER and EDITOR

On Sunday night, Nov. 6, Brandeis students gathered to eat delicious comfort food and mingle with old and new friends. The event was advertised as “Black Is Delicious” and was what many consider to be the highlight of “Black Is Week,” a week’s worth of fun and inspired events run by the Brandeis Black Student Organization (BBSO). The annual event consists of “Black Is Power,” a discussion on the role of being Black in America; “Black Ain’t New,” a fun dance party at Chums; “Black Is Delicious,” a communal meal with traditional comfort foods and “Black Is Self-Love,” which is a relaxing study break to hang out with friends. The culmination of these events is “Election Day,” where BBSO invites all students to watch history unfold with the comfort of a nacho bar.

“Black Is Week” is meant to be a time for all Brandeis students to have fun, learn new things and celebrate Blackness in all of its rich diversity. In an interview with the Justice, co-president of BBSO Danielle Gaskin ’18 explained that “Blackness is not a monolith … it is a diverse spectrum of experiences, narratives and cultures, which I think is what makes ‘Black Is Week’ so rich, so fun and so inviting for students on campus.”

This idea is perfectly represented in “Black Is Delicious,” because it featured diverse cuisines from multiple cultural and national backgrounds. The other co-president of BBSO, Daria Fogan ’17, expressed that during the “Black is Delicious” event, BBSO “wants to make sure everyone feels comfortable and that if they are missing something from home, we can give this to them.” Gaskin added to this and mentioned that for many Black students, no matter what their

MIHIR KHANNA/the Justice

CULTURAL FEAST: The “Black is Delicious” event hosted by the Brandeis Black Student Organization offered many dishes.

background, the food at Brandeis is “probably the biggest culture shock.” The food at Brandeis, she explained, is very different from what many Black students eat at home. “Black Is Delicious” is meant to bring students food with familiar smells and flavors, in order to bring the comfort of home to Brandeis University.

Though BBSO is meant to act as a support system and community for all students who identify as Black, all students are encouraged to attend “Black Is Week” and other BBSO events. Fogan emphasized that “people assume that just because it says ‘Black’, it seems like a culture club that people aren’t welcome, but they are … so we really try to keep hold to that status.” The events themselves were light, fun and interesting, making them a perfect platform for intercultural discussions.

BBSO was founded as Brandeis’ first intercultural group on campus. It acts as a haven for many students and helps create a community of support in the Black community on campus. Gaskin explained, “I think if you talk to international students, some of them would say, ‘I never thought of myself as Black until I stepped foot in the United States, and this title was placed on me. And then I had to figure out how I could meld both my international identity along with this new identity.’”

According to Fogan, there are many different types of Black, especially in America. Some students may identify as Caribbean, while others are from different African countries and others identify as African-American.

“This is a time where we wanted to just celebrate our different cultures, our differences. To discuss our different cultures and differences, too,” Fogan explained. She continued, “I hope [people] just learn that Black is just so much, it’s so rich, there’s such a deep history and culture. And you just learn that no matter what people’s skin color is, we’re all human, and you can always come bond over different conversations.”

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10 TUESDAY, November 8, 2016 ● forum ● THE JUSTICE

the

Justice Established 1949

Brandeis University

Carmi Rothberg, Editor in Chief Mihir Khanna, Managing Editor Max Moran, Senior Editor Morgan Brill, Deputy Editor Jessica Goldstein and Noah Hessdorf, Associate Editors Abby Patkin, News Editor, Kirby Kochanowski, Features Editor Amber Miles, Forum Editor, Jerry Miller, Sports Editor Lizzie Grossman, Arts Editor Morgan Brill, Acting Photography Editor Mira Mellman, Layout Editor Pamela Klahr and Robbie Lurie, Ads Editors Rachel Sharer, Online Editor, Sabrina Sung, Copy Editor

EDITORIALS Respect the right to protest at campus events At Brandeis, protest plays a vital role in securing opportunities for many students. As a result, this board is concerned by the University’s recent lack of respect for this right. During President Ronald Liebowitz’s inauguration on Thursday, the University prohibited signs and banners from the event before any student body had even expressed interest in protesting. This rule eliminates a fundamental right from members of the University community — the right to protest peacefully.

This board recognizes that protest should never be the first step toward any political cause, but the University should not limit the rights of students on campus to protest because protesting students usually have already approached the administration through more formal channels with little to no results.

For example, on Dec. 1, 2015, BAATF sent a letter to administrators with the hope of establishing an Asian American studies program by this semester. Seven days later, BAATF student activists protested when the University showed no indication of action.

In the past, the University has shown willingness to work with student groups through petition — as was the case with the ConflictFree Campus Initiative in May

Encourage open dialogue 2015 — but in order to maximize students’ ability to achieve change, the right to protest must also be at their disposal.

Liebowitz argued in his inaugural address that “Brandeis is a richer and more effective educational environment for students when it includes, and successfully brings together in discussion, debate and learning — students, with different life experiences, perspectives and world views.”

Eliminating the opportunity for members of the community to actively engage in dialogue through a peaceful form of protest contradicts this. This board urges the University to follow through with Liebowitz’s commendable statement.

In an Oct. 31 interview with the Justice, Liebowitz said that he would be holding regular hours in the President’s office so students could speak with him. Although this effort to engage with the community is laudable, office hours must not be the only way students can communicate with their president.

Political protest is ingrained within the University’s history, and it is essential that our University does not shy away from the values that created it.

Commend University’s sustainability successes The University used 10 percent less energy this fiscal year and reduced its carbon footprint by about eight percent from last year, according to new University data released in a Nov. 1 email from President Ronald Liebowitz.

While these statistics represent a praiseworthy first step, the reduction by 10 percent is just a projection at the moment. Further, a pending emissions report could find different results, and the University will not know if this data indicates a reliable trend toward sustainability until future years with future data points.

That said, this board finds these sustainability developments encouraging. In addition to being ethical and political imperatives, preserving the environment requires energy independence, which is proven to save money.

As Liebowitz noted, the new Climate Action Plan on campus “also translates into significant financial savings.” For a university in dire financial straits, energy independence represents a smart economic investment, as well.

The aforementioned task force that Liebowitz credits for our projected environmental friendliness was only established last year and

Urge further improvement represents a coalition of students, faculty and administrators aligned toward a common goal. Measurable positive effects from just one year’s worth of work serves as a positive testament to the University’s ability to improve itself when all of its constituents work together and share information openly. Liebowitz stressed the importance of this in his inaugural address on Thursday, and this news only confirms that assertion.

Liebowitz famously slashed Middlebury College’s carbon footprint in half as its president, so one can reasonably assume that this will remain a key issue throughout his presidency. And conflicts are imminent — Liebowitz has yet to announce a formal position on fossil fuel divestment, though he refused to divest Middlebury’s endowment during his tenure there. Despite this, the University should not allow spats over specifics and administrative power grabs to interfere with crucial environmental protection.

We urge the University to continue developing and refining policies on this key issue, for the sake of ethics, economics, politics and campus unity.

JULIANNA SCIONTI/the Justice

Views the News on

On Thursday, the University inaugurated its next president when Ronald Liebowitz took office. In light of a new administration, the Brandeis community can reflect on past leadership and consider future goals. In your opinion, what have been the strengths and shortcomings of past presidents, and what should Liebowitz prioritize during his term?

Tony Tran ’17 I have high hopes for great years to come and for many critical changes to be implemented under his presidency. As a senior at Brandeis, I am deeply grateful for the educational opportunities Brandeis has given me. However, this experience has not come with struggles and issues which have directly affected me and hundreds of other students of color here. Issues that past presidents have pushed under a rug and shrugged off. For the past presidents, they have not done enough to create a deep sense of inclusion and community at Brandeis, especially for students of color here.

They’ve left institutional structures and systems to allow for a sense of disconnectedness and exclusion to grow over the years which resulted into the protests we’ve recently seen on campus. In light of this, I implore President Liebowitz to learn from the shortcomings of the past presidents and to seriously prioritize issues of diversity, inclusion AND retention on this campus. A more understanding and socially just future cannot happen without understanding the invisible, forgotten and often untold histories of people of color in this country.

Tony Tran ’17 is the president of the Brandeis Vietnamese Student Association. He is also on the Brandeis Intercultural Center Programming Board.

Vineet Vishwanath ’18 A president at Brandeis University must play in a novel playing field, one that is created along the game. A new president to Brandeis must be able to be sympathetic and empathetic to all sorts of issues and ideas even if those ideas go against his beliefs. A president to the University must be skilled in diplomacy and reaching a compromise while acting as not only a leader but as a mediator. Furthermore, for a special campus such as Brandeis, the president must be able to recognize that his role in the University is one of always providing the community perspective. This perspective must be that of the bigger picture of any institutional policy and, ultimately, a perspective that takes into account the thousands of students who have traveled from near and far to obtain a world-class and citizen-minded education in whatever field they connect with. I am confident that Ronald Liebowitz will serve really well, taking into account his own values, as well as those of others, in order to continue to heighten Brandeis’ reputation to the rest of the world.

Vineet Vishwanath ’18 is the events coordinator for the South Asian Students’ Association.

Emilia Ravn-Boess ’18 During his presidency at Brandeis University, I believe that President Liebowitz should prioritize increasing our campus sustainability, whether it be through reducing energy consumption or simply encouraging the sustainability conversation. This university has both the room for sustainable development and the knowledge of the tools needed for this improvement, but it lacks the initiative to make this the priority. With several environmentally focused student groups on campus and with the dedicated Environmental Studies department among additional faculty, there is undoubtedly campus-wide student and faculty support for implementing sustainable practices. We have now been presented the perfect opportunity to give precedence on an administrative level. I believe that the initial step is to change the student culture and make environmental choices part of the University dialogue. If making the environmental choice becomes the default, sustainability will follow, but it requires both student and administrative collaboration.

Emilia Ravn-Boess ’18 is the president of Students for Environmental Action.

Ricky Miller ’17 As Hillel president, I am elated to welcome President Liebowitz to the Brandeis family. Past presidents of Brandeis University have consistently demonstrated tremendous support for Hillel. We anticipate that President Liebowitz’s inauguration will revitalize this bond and strengthen the University’s nonsectarian and Jewish identities. In the coming years, we hope to grow Jewish life at Brandeis into an even more robust and accessible campus organization. Unity across Brandeis’ many communities is key to the University’s success in the future. Brandeis’ commitment to social justice, excellent academics and outstanding Jewish life have always been interrelated, and Hillel is excited for the direction in which President Liebowitz will lead Brandeis University.

Ricky Miller ’17 is the president of Hillel at Brandeis.

THE JUSTICE ● fORUM ● TUESDAY, november 8, 2016

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Resist Dakota Access Pipeline’s disregard for Sioux sovereignty By maddox Kay JUSTICE staff WRITER

A section of the Dakota Access Pipeline sits above ground in North Dakota, crossing the Missouri River at the northern border of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. As the Army Corps of Engineers prepares to lower the pipeline into the Earth, it faces fierce opposition from protesters who fear water contamination and also want the historically sacred space to be respected, according to a Nov. 1 New York Times article. The protests at Standing Rock are unique in receiving national attention because of their scale, but they are emblematic of larger issues with the way the national government views Native Americans and the reservation system as resources we need not invest in yet can put to our use when it is opportune to do so. The Army Corps of Engineers must heed suggestions to move the Dakota Access Pipeline not only to maintain clean water and preserve sacred Sioux land but also to send a message — that in 2016 we are finally done taking from those who were here before us.

Native reservation lands in the Dakotas have a history of American exploitation. The present-day Standing Rock Sioux Reservation was originally a part of the Greater Sioux reservation, per the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868. The Greater Sioux Reservation included the Sacred Black Hills, and the treaty stipulated that in order for any land in the reservation to be ceded, the United States had to obtain the consent of three-fourths of the men living on the reservation. However, in 1877, the Sacred Black Hills were removed from the reservation by Congress without consent, and in 1889, the Dawes Act allowed the government to sell reservation land to white settlers. This act allowed the president to divide Native American land into small parcels and give those parcels to individual natives. Those who accepted the deal were granted citizenship. However, the Dawes Act also granted the government the authority to classify Native American land remaining after the allotments as “excess” lands and sell them privately. Within nine years, the promise of the Treaty of Fort Laramie was broken, and in just over 21 years, the government was parceling out the reservation.

The Dawes Act is what allows pipeline company Energy Transfer Partners to own the land where the Dakota Access pipeline is to be placed. Within that land lie burial grounds and the Sacred Stone camp — an important site for Sioux people. In a Nov. 1 CNN article, a 68-year-

MARA KHAYTER/the Justice

old Sioux woman named Faith Spotted Eagle compared the proposed desecration of the area to a hypothetical situation in which the Great Sioux Nation decided on a construction project in Arlington National Cemetery.

It is unfair that sanctified land can be purchased and developed by non-native people when, for natives, purchasing such land as personal property would amount to sacrilege.

However, according to Rosalyn LaPier, a member of the Blackfeet and Metis tribes and a visiting professor at the Harvard Divinity School who spoke at Brandeis on Nov. 4, it is common. According to LaPier, there are many types of sacred spaces, and most are not protected according to Native traditions. She gave the example of Chief Mountain in Glacier National Park, as native peoples believed climbing it was wrong, and today, as part of a national park, anyone can climb it.

There is a big difference between allowing protected access to a sacred site and granting

permission to desecrate it. The Dawes Act indiscriminately allows for the second to take place.

A solution is within reach. In a Nov. 1 interview, President Obama announced that the Army Corps of Engineers was exploring alternative routes that avoided the Sioux reservation. “I think as a general rule, my view is that there is a way for us to accommodate sacred lands of Native Americans,” said Obama, according to a Nov. 3 New York Times editorial. The president’s support of a plan that accommodates the wishes of all is a breath of fresh air, but it will take more than one man to change the course of this story. The Army Corps of Engineers must refuse Energy Transfer Partners building permits and find a feasible alternative route for the pipeline, which, according to the same Nov. 3 New York Times editorial, is slated to cost $3.7 billion and cover 1,170 miles.

As late fall brings cold to North Dakota, thousands still protest. Many are there because

they fear water pollution as the pipeline burrows beneath the Missouri river. “Don’t you drink water, too?” protester Mekasi Horinek asked police officers at the scene, according to the same Nov. 1 New York Times article. Others are there to protect land that has been sacred Sioux grounds for centuries. “One hundred years from now, somebody’s going to go down along the Cannonball River and they’re going to hear those stories,” Faith Spotted Eagle said to CNN. “They’re going to hear those songs. They’re going to hear that memory of what happened here at this camp.”

We cannot have it both ways. We pushed Native Americans to the edges of society, yet we seek out the use of their lands when it suits us.

By withholding building permits and denying Energy Transfer Partners use of the area containing Sacred Stone camp lands unfairly seized from the Sioux natives, the Army Corps of Engineers can begin a new American tradition of treating native peoples with dignity.

Criticize Southern Poverty Law Center’s list of ‘Anti-Muslim Extremists’ Andrew

jacobson reality check

On Oct. 25, the Southern Poverty Law Center published a “Field Guide to Anti-Muslim Extremists,” a manual that, antithetical to its aim, distorts, rather than illuminates, reality.

The SPLC of Alabama is a nonprofit legal advocacy organization that was founded in 1971 to fight for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged peoples in American society. The group became well known in the 1980s and 1990s with its many successes in civil rights cases against white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan.

Recently, with the apparent decline of these sorts of hate groups, the Center has expanded its focus to other progressive issues. Among them are LGBT rights, immigration and, now, antiIslamic extremism. But surprisingly, the Center has chosen to approach Islamic extremism backwards, in both method and substance.

Instead of drawing attention to Islamic extremists themselves, the SPLC has published a list of 15 of what they dub “anti-Muslim extremists.” That is, the group has condemned 15 people who have, with their pen and notably not their sword, allegedly criticized Islam to such an extreme as to stimulate hate crimes on the Muslim community in America.

But why are certain groups in the habit of publishing McCarthy-style blacklists? What purpose does such a list serve? The group suggests an answer: “Our hope is that journalists and others will use [this guide] to effectively counter these extremists and their damaging misinformation.” I’d be curious to know what the Center’s criteria is for “extremist.” They must set

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a low bar; head-chopping, marathon-finish-linebombing and night-club-murdering clearly do not make the list.

But a prominent British-Pakistani and Muslim reformist and author does. As a former political prisoner in Egypt, Maajid Nawaz has experienced the brand of Quran-inspired terror that the academics of the SPLC seem unable to understand.

In 2008, he founded Quilliam, a London-based think tank that counters extremism through written works and public advocacy. Nawaz denounced the list’s misjudgment of him in an Oct. 29 Daily Beast article: “In a monumental failure of comprehension, the SPLC have conflated my challenge to Islamist theocracy among my fellow Muslims with somehow being ‘anti-Muslim.’” What Nawaz implied was that he challenges Islam from within; despite his critique of the religion, he retains his Muslim identity. In other words, Nawaz has the best interest of his faith at heart. How shameful it is, then, for an American non-Muslim group to lambaste a practicing Muslim for some healthy introspection and refinement.

The Field Guide’s attack of Nawaz is disgraceful. Raising doubt not only on the truthfulness of his narrative but also on his integrity, the document claims that, in fact, “Nawaz is far more interested in self-promotion and money than in any particular ideological dispute.” Quite the contrary― — as an author, radio host and politician, Nawaz has dedicated his life to championing freedom of expression and empowering Muslims in their community.

He is an activist in the truest sense of the term and continues to face ample hostility in his effort to reform Islam.

On Oct. 29, the Atlantic underscored just why Nawaz’s presence on the list is so strange: “He and SPLC share the goal of fighting back against unfair targeting of Muslims.” That’s right; both are working tirelessly to stamp out Islamophobia.

Nawaz’s dubious listing raises the question whether the “Field Guide” does indeed reveal some of the SPLC’s murky underlying intentions.

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The Wall Street Journal thinks so. On Oct. 30, their editorial board wrote: “The unstated premise of the report is that criticizing Islamist movements, ideologies and regimes, and Islam itself, is the same as hating Muslims.”

The falsity of that presumption goes without saying. Criticism, at least in the United States and especially when warranted, is legitimate, as long as it does not cross certain red lines. The SPLC’s blacklist is so dangerous because it threatens to pull back those lines of free expression. In other words, by stigmatizing the condemnation of fanatic applications of Islam, the Center’s “Field Guide” imperils the free speech the West desperately requires to eradicate the grave threat.

To be able to speak openly and honestly is an essential part of addressing any issue. Without sincere conversations about the threat radical Islam poses, eliminating it will be unachievable.

The SPLC is not alone. The left at large is also making it more difficult for reformers of Islam to do their critical job. Typically, groups with shared principles have similar goals. Would one not then assume that progressives support liberal activists, like Nawaz, who endeavor to modernize Islam to the Western values of liberty and multiculturalism?

That would make sense. But it’s the opposite; as Nawaz wrote in an Oct. 29 piece for the Daily Beast, “too many on the left not only abandoned us, but took to openly attacking us for advocating these very same progressive values among our own — extremely socially conservative — communities.” Thus we are presented with an odd phenomenon: When the reform is within Islam, the left seems to suddenly turn conservative.

This curious discovery also sheds some light on another marvel: the left’s largely indifferent stance toward the systemic human-rights abuses perpetrated by the Muslim-majority nations of the Middle East and Africa. For example, homosexuality can be punishable by death in the United Arab Emirates, Sudan and Iran, according to a June 16 Washington Post article, but reporting on these human rights abuses is far

The Staff

For information on joining the Justice, write to editor@ thejustice.org.

too infrequent in the mainstream media.

Beyond the mainstream media, Amnesty International is also part of the problem.

According to an April 23 report by the Gatestone Institute, the left-leaning human rights NGO consistently places “pro-Muslim politics above women’s rights.”

The neglect of these cases evinces the lamentable reality that, in the Muslim world, the left is not the torchbearer of human rights that we want and expect them to be. On the contrary, it seems that the left opposes the reform of Islam, even as the number of lives lost to radical Islamic terrorism only increases. We see this reflected in both the micro and macro levels: with the SPLC’s attack of Nawaz, as well as the left’s growing hindering of criticism of parts of Islam.

To be sure, some of those featured on the SPLC’s “Field Guide” do perhaps warrant such distinction. Pamela Geller, for example, has made comments that could be construed as antiIslam. But the majority of those on the list simply hold right-wing opinions that the SPLC finds troubling.

Ultimately the fight against radical Islam need not be a partisan issue. Preserving human life is a basic moral necessity, one around which we should all be able to coalesce. The left must maintain consistency in its progressive values both beyond and within the Muslim community.

The so-called “religion of peace” inspires too many deadly attacks worldwide to be ignored.

Like Nawaz, the West must work to end this current misapplication of Islam by so many.

Freedom of expression is crucial in this endeavor; we cannot allow the SPLC’s blacklist to threaten our ability to have an honest conversation about radical Islam.

A quote from Ayaan Hirsi Ali seems particularly relevant: “tolerance of intolerance is cowardice.” Next time, instead of wasting their breath criticizing activists with whom they disagree politically, the SPLC would be much better off denouncing those killing people in the name of Allah.

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TUESDAY, november 8, 2016 ● forum ● THE JUSTICE

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Re-evaluate crediting of science labs at the University By lev brown JUSTICE contributing WRITER

Students entering Brandeis with plans to major in a life science or embark on the prehealth track tend to have a specific plan for their first semester of study. Advisers often recommend that these students begin taking introductory classes for their prospective major — usually core biology courses or General Chemistry I with lab. Sometimes, students looking to get ahead decide to take all three at once, thinking that they are taking on the work of only two and a half classes.

However, adding a lab to one’s course load is actually the equivalent of adding a full-credit science course.

Despite its two-credit value, a lab course actually requires the time commitment of an average full-credit course. This causes students to underestimate the difficulty of their schedules for freshman year and, in turn, feel overstressed.

Unfortunately, when students are overwhelmed and unable to perform as well as they had hoped, some may become discouraged from pursuing a major in the sciences. Something as small as a single lab course should not dictate an entire change in the path of one’s education. When a course students are struggling through is only considered half the commitment of a “regular” four-credit course, an entire degree or even career in the field can seem daunting.

For that reason, the lab courses at Brandeis should either contain a workload that more accurately reflects the two credits it awards, or it should recognize the course as a full four-credit class.

At Brandeis, students seem to work for as much time on their lab courses each week as students in typical lecture courses do. For example, each week, the General Chemistry I lecture course has three one-hour-long lectures, one chapter of reading and a weekly quiz on the material. In comparison, the General Chemistry I lab requires seven graded assignments related to the weekly lab project, the attendance of a weekly 1.5-hour lecture and the performance of a weekly fourhour lab. To most, lab simply does not seem like much less of a time commitment than the lecture course.

In a poll administered to students of General Chemistry Lab (18a), the Justice asked participants to share their expectations of time commitment for the lab, as well as their actual time spent each week. Out of 64 total respondents, 84.375 percent said that the actual time commitment of 18a was more than

they expected before beginning the course.

Further, 43.75 percent of students reported spending more than twice the time they expected to spend. On average, respondents reported that they spent 3.6 hours more on the lab than they expected. Only two individuals expected to spend more time in lab than they do currently, and seven respondents expected the same workload that they are required to put in now. One respondent reported no expectations for the time commitment of General Chemistry lab.

By comparison, responses to the expectations and actual time commitment of the General Chemistry lecture were more balanced: Of the same pool of respondents, 29.6875 percent expected to spend less time on the lecture, 29.6875 percent expected to spend more and 40.625 percent reported that their expectations matched their actual time commitment. This shows that respondents did not have unrealistic expectations for the General Chemistry program as a whole; rather, only the lab component had an actual time commitment that exceeded the expectations for a majority of students.

This poll reveals a problem with the credit assignment of General Chemistry lab in that it simply misleads students.

Considering this lab only half of a class may have its justifications, but it also comes with considerable unfairness as it seems to mislead so many individuals who think their schedules will be more manageable than they actually are.

This can be detrimental to those who have developed a serious interest in the sciences.

If the semester is partially completed and a student has a relatively bad grade due to their overwhelming course load, that student should not simply forget their years of dreaming of becoming a doctor or pursuing research just because chemistry lab is simply too much of a time commitment.

A single course should not be something that prevents students from pursuing their interests, particularly if the difficult course that the student is taking is not even what they had planned on pursuing — for example, a biology major getting discouraged by chemistry.

Some might call the two introductory chemistry courses at Brandeis a set of “weed-out” courses, which aim to instill fear in students about the sciences — often the premedical track, specifically — so that only the most dedicated pursue these fields.

Although medical schools and medical employers simply do not have enough room for every student who enters Brandeis on the

JULIANNA SCIONTI/the Justice

pre-medical track, this concept is problematic for many reasons. Many students with excellent potential — who may just need a semester to adjust to the strain of college courses — end up changing majors, often due to the pressures of needing high marks for medical school, graduate school or one’s career.

With all of that said, there is still a fair argument for continuing to count the chemistry lab as two credits instead of four.

In an interview with the Justice, Prof. Milos Dolnik, who teaches General Chemistry lab, explained that the lab course ends a month earlier than most four-credit courses.

Thus, the lab would only fill two-thirds of a student’s semester. Further, Dolnik pointed out that there are only two midterms in the class, as opposed to the standard four. For these reasons, Brandeis considers the lab only a partial-credit course.

While such reasoning is understandable, there are serious flaws to it. Because the first two months of students’ college semester are crucial to their success, the intense amount of work for chemistry lab is still a surprisingly heavy burden for many students — many of whom are first-years and may need time to adjust to the demands of college. Additionally, obtaining only half credit for a class that lasts

for two-thirds of the semester makes little sense.

There is an immense amount of academic strain in those first two months of each semester as the lab students are given work from their regular courses, as well as an entire course. Even Prof. Dolnik agreed that, for the first two months of General Chemistry lab, the workload of the course was the same as a four-credit class. This seriously impedes students’ potential for success in both that course and other courses, as it is often very challenging to maintain success when taking a workload equivalent to five classes or more.

This holds true even if it is for only the first two-thirds of the semester.

Brandeis could choose from at least three alternatives to effectively solve this problem.

Academic advising services could do more to ensure that students have a full understanding of labs’ demands, the Chemistry department could make the course less time consuming or the University could change the course value from two credits to four.

Of course, the actual implementation of one of these alterations to the Brandeis curriculum would need to be an extensive, carefully considered process, but eventually, students hoping to major in science would benefit significantly from a new approach.

Condemn harmful partisanship in United States Congress By elias rosenfeld JUSTICE contributing WRITER

Election day is here, and if there is one fact that remains unchanged, it is that this election will be close in both popular and electoral votes. However, even though the nation does not yet know the outcome of this election, top Grand Old Party members in both the House and Senate have already begun plotting war against Hillary Clinton if she is elected the 45th president of the United States.

Since February, the Supreme Court has had an even number vacancy with the seat of former Justice, Antonin Scalia. For months, Republicans in the Senate have said they will not vote to confirm, or even meet, Obama’s candidate, Judge Merrick Garland, because it is unfair to vote for a candidate nominated during what Republicans incorrectly perceive as a “lame duck” presidency. In this, the GOP destroyed years of precedence where Senators have always at least voted on a Supreme Court nomination. This break from precedent, unfortunately, does not end here.

On Oct. 27, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), raised the idea of an indefinite Supreme Court Republican blockade upon the Senate. When asked about the Supreme Court vacancy, Cruz stated, “There will be plenty of time for debate on that issue; there is long historical precedent for a Supreme Court with fewer justices; just recently Justice [Stephen] Breyer observed that the vacancy is not impacting the ability of the court to do its job. That’s a debate that we are going to have.” Yet Cruz is wrong in stating that this vacancy follows precedent.

While we have had fewer Justices in the court in the past, their vacancies have never been formed by refusing to even consider a president’s nominee. The most recent president to fill a Supreme Court vacancy during an election year was Ronald Reagan.

In 1988, the Democratically controlled Senate unanimously confirmed Reagan’s nominee to the Court, Justice Anthony Kennedy. Even as Democrats controlled the Senate, they followed the guidelines of the Constitution, not partisanship, and allowed for a vote on

a Republican president’s Supreme Court nomination.

Cruz seems to suggest he is willfully encouraging constitutional dysfunction into the new presidency and Congress. Cruz is not merely suggesting he will oppose a nominee submitted by Clinton, but he is stating that if there is a Democratic president, he believes the Senate should just not act. This is an obvious response from a senator who was the chief architect of the 2013 government shutdown.

Yet, this takes a step further as this is a clear violation of the oath he took as senator when first in office, in which he pledged to “well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office.”

“

Regardless of who wins on Tuesday, all members of Congress must be willing to form compromise ...

While Ted Cruz may represent an extreme part of the GOP, his obstructionism to a possible Democratic presidency is not an anomaly. 2008 GOP presidential candidate John McCain has stated multiple times that he will not confirm a nominee by Clinton. “I promise you that we will be united against any Supreme Court nominee that Hillary Clinton, if she were president, would put up,” McCain said during a radio interview with 1210 WPHT Philadelphia. We must not allow this partisan obstructionism. The election of our president, regardless of who wins, represents the voice and direction of this nation. That voice should not be disregarded; rather, it should be embraced by those who supposedly represent us.

This form of obstructionism is recurring for the GOP, specifically under an Obama presidency. For instance, it has been a national

tradition for the president to send his budget to Congress, and lawmakers on the Hill hold committee hearings on this budget — except for this year. The chairmen of the House and Senate budget committees announced on March 11, for the first time since the creation of the panels more than 40 years ago, that they would not have hearings on the president’s budget or allow administration officials to testify. They decided this before President Obama released his budget, refusing to pass anything from a Democratic president. This is one of many recent tactics by GOP members to obstruct progress through partisanship by refusing to pass any legislation.

However, this obstructionist strategy is apparent on a wide array of issues. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) claimed a Clinton presidency is a “target rich environment.” In an Oct. 26 interview with the Washington Post, the GOP member said, “Even before we get to Day One, we’ve got two years’ worth of material already lined up. She has four years of history at the State Department, and it ain’t good.” His attitude towards Clinton appears more like a partisan witch hunt rather than a respectful intent to investigate the highest regarded office in the world. This further shows the abuse of power that many GOP members have relied on — refusing to work with others and compromise on legislation. Instead, legislation is immediately killed before compromise can even be engaged.

This would be unfair to Clinton if she became president because she would try to enact change but get turned down, not because she lacks vision or policies but rather because Republicans refuse to work with anyone under the mere title of Democrat.

Regardless of who wins on Tuesday, all members of Congress must be willing to form change, at least in areas where compromise can occur, such as social security, transportation and campaign finance reform. These are public issues that affect millions of people and have achievable compromise across party lines.

Most legislators believe the U.S. infrastructure is horrific, yet legislation is often not passed because we refuse to work together on common

goals. Ohio governor John Kasich, for example, was heavily critiqued by his party when he announced his support for President Obama’s Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement. He supported the trade policy because he believed it helped the constituents of Ohio, but his GOP peers could not see this. All they saw was a Democrat working with a Republican, and in their partisan eyes, that is betrayal. We could solve many of our issues, but partisanship has often blinded politicians and impeded their ability to make progress. It is okay for an individual to oppose the TPP for ideological reasons, but it is not okay for an individual to reject an idea merely because it was proposed by a member of the opposing party.

Considering that the GOP has emphasized this strategy, it is not too hard to see the rise of Donald Trump as the Republican presidential nominee for 2016. He, being the gold standard for his party, has embraced an unprecedented stance of believing, without evidence, that if he loses the election it is not because the American electorate rejected his campaign’s message and tone but rather because it was “rigged.” A form of rhetoric that will instill illegitimacy at a time when the relationship between government and constituency is already so fragile should not be tolerated.

How can we expect a Clinton presidency to properly function when almost the entire GOP has already terminated any conversation on a wide array of issues? While not all members have publicly stated such direct obstructionism, barely any GOP members have called out their peers for their most recent troubling comments. Instead of looking at areas of common interest, Republican members block any form of conversation before the candidate even mentions a word. If we are going to hold the next president accountable, we must also ensure the legislative wing of congress is performing within their constitutional duties, not their partisan ones.

—Editor’s Note: Elias Rosenfeld ’20 is a fellow for the Hillary Clinton campaign in Massachusetts and for the New Hampshire Coordinated Campaign.

THE JUSTICE

WSOCCER: Team looks to extend season in playoffs CONTINUED FROM 16 68 saves.

Overall, the season has been a success, with a nearly identical record to their 2015 campaign.

The team posted a .763 win percentage, compared to a stellar .773 percentage last year.

The team also improved its home record, losing one less game than it did during the 2015 to 2016 season.

The team's conference play took a slight hit this season, failing to post a winning record and falling in three games. Surprisingly, the team went 3-2-2 in their stellar 2015 season and notched a 2-3-2 record this season.

The team's goals-per-game greatly improved this season, thanks to a few high-scoring games in the beginning of the season. The squad earned 2.11 goals-per-game versus just 1.50 a season ago. The team scored an incredible 40 goals

in a mere 19 games. Last season, the Judges managed only 33 goals in 22 matches. The Judges seemed to get more quality shots, as indicated by their low total of 16.1 shots-pergame. This is much lower than the 20.4 shots-per-game that the team posted during last year.

With a bevy of first-years and sophomores, the Judges will be set with a full roster of talented players going forward.

Last season, the Judges fell in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament in an overtime heartbreaker.

In the 2014 campaign, the team was bounced in the second round. The Judges will look to improve upon these last two results and advance to the coveted Final Four.

The Judges look to continue their incredible season against Virginia Wesleyan University on Nov. 2 on the road in their firstround playoff matchup. The team will match up in the C pool.

●

Sports ● November 8, 2016

13

HEAD-BUTT

NATALIA WIATER/Justice File Photo

FROZEN IN TIME: Forward Zach Vieira ’17 knocks the ball with his noggin in a win against the University of Rochester on Oct. 30.

MSOCCER: Club surprises

FENCING: Squads with national playoff berth seek gold medals in upcoming matches CONTINUED FROM 16

CONTINUED FROM 16 13 fencers, a big drop off from the 19 they had in their 2015 campaign.

The Judges lost an enormous total of nine seniors to graduation last year and have been unable to effectively recruit much-needed fencing talent.

Both teams will continue their season at the Northeast Fencing Conference meet at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Nov. 19. The men are looking to repeat their five-win performance from last year, and the women are aiming to surpass their incredible six-win slashing from their 2015 to 2016 campaign.

With the regular season in the books, it is time to look at the team’s 2016 season statistics. In 18 games, the team mustered 27 goals (1.5 goals-per game), an accurate reflection of their overall offensive struggles. Those 27 goals are even more underwhelming considering the team averaged 14.1 shots per game for the season. Star midfielder Josh Ocel ’17 finished the season leading the team in both goals and assists, wrapping up the year with five and 11, respectively. Forward Andrew Allen ’19 finished the season

with four goals, tied for second with midfielder Patrick Flahive ’18 and forward Evan Jastremski ’17.

Woodhouse finished the season with an impressive stat line, totaling an incredible 65 saves and seven beautiful shutouts for the year. In a season of bitter ups and downs, Woodhouse was one of the lone models of consistency for the Judges.

All things considered, the Judges had a successful season, further strengthening an already strong program. The team earned eight fewer victories than in their 2015 campaign but lost only two more games. Their conference record took a tough hit, falling from a near

perfect 6-1 record to 3-2-2 this year.

Their win percentage also dropped markedly from .841 to .639. The squad still performed well in front of the home crowd, winning a respectable five of eight and tying in only one of those matches.

The men took the league by surprise with a selection in the national playoff bracket. The team will face off in the C pool against Western New England University on Nov. 12 as they contend for the ultimate title.

The team deserves high praise for their grit, their resilience and the commendable manner in which they represent the Brandeis name.

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jUDGES BY THE NUMBERS

● Sports ●

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

15

VOLLEYBALL

Men’s Soccer TEAM STATS

UAA STANDINGS

Chicago Carnegie JUDGES Emory NYU WashU Rochester Case

Goals

UAA Conf. Overall W L D W L D 5 0 2 16 0 2 3 2 2 12 3 2 3 2 2 10 5 3 3 3 1 10 5 1 3 4 0 9 7 2 2 3 2 10 4 2 2 3 2 9 4 3 0 4 3 5 9 4

Josh Ocel ’17 led the team with five goals.

Pct. Player Goals 1.000 Josh Ocel 5 .800 Patrick Flahive 4 .667 Andrew Allen 4 .667 Evan Jastremski 4 .563 .714 Assists .692 Josh Ocel ’17 led the team with .357 11 assists.

Player Assists Josh Ocel 11 Zach Vieira 5 Andrew Allen 3 Dylan Hennessey 1

EDITOR’S NOTE: The men concluded their regular season in a 1-0 loss against New York University.

WOMen’s Soccer UAA STANDINGS

TEAM STATS Goals

WashU Carnegie Chicago Emory JUDGES Rochester NYU Case

Overall W L D 14 2 2 11 5 1 15 3 0 9 5 3 13 3 3 5 7 6 10 3 5 6 8 4

UAA Conf.

W L D 5 1 1 5 2 0 4 3 0 2 2 3 2 3 2 2 3 2 1 2 4 0 5 2

Pct. .875 .688 .833 .643 .813 .417 .769 .429

EDITOR’S NOTE: The women concluded their regular season in a 1-1 tie against New York University.

Lea McDaniel ’17 led the team with 11 goals.

Player Goals Lea McDaniel 11 Cidney Moscovitch 7 Samantha Schwartz 7 Haliana Burhans 3

Assists Haliana Burhans ’18 led the team with five assists.

Player Assists Haliana Burhans 5 Sam Volpe 5 Cidney Moscovitch 4

VOLLEYBALL UAA STANDINGS

TEAM STATS Kills

UAA Conf.

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

Overall W L 18 11 30 5 22 10 25 7 24 11 21 10 16 16 7 21

Pct. .621 .857 .688 .781 .686 .677 .500 .250

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Judges concluded their season with a loss against New York University on Saturday.

Shea Decker-Jacoby ’19 led the team with 207 kills.

Player Kills Shea Decker-Jacoby 207 Emma Bartlett 196 Jessie Moore 130 Grace Krumpack 118

Digs Yvette Cho ’19 led the team with 445 digs.

Player Digs Yvette Cho 445 Grace Krumpack 247 Marlee Nork 160 Shea Decker-Jacoby 129

cross cOuntry Results from the UAA Cross Country Championship hosted by Emory University.

TOP FINISHERS (Men’s)

TOP FINISHERS (Women’s)

8-Kilometer Run

6-Kilometer Run

RUNNER TIME Ryan Stender 24:46.58 Mitchell Hutton 24:54.34 Quinton Hoey 25:24.70

RUNNER TIME Emily Bryson 21:55.81 Maddie Dolins 22:22.42 Kate Farrell 22:35.33

EDITOR’S NOTE: Nov. 12 NCAA New England Regionals at Westfield State Nov. 19 NCAA Division III Championships at Louisville

SWISH AND FLICK

NATALIA WIATER/Justice File Photo

STONE-COLD KILLER: Outside hitter Jessie Moore ’18 goes up for the kill against Roger Williams University on Oct. 29.

Women finish overall season with tough loss ■ Middle hitter Emma Bartlett ’20 notched 17 kills in a competitive match against NYU.

By Ben Katcher Justice sTAFF WRITER

The women’s volleyball team struggled at the University Athletic Association Championship in St. Louis this past weekend, losing all three matches to end its season.

The No. 8-seeded Judges were shut out 3-0 in their quarterfinal match against the top-seeded University of Chicago to open the tournament.

They were then shut out once again in the consolation semifinal match 3-0 against the University of Rochester. In their final match of the season, the Judges lost 3-2 against New York University.

Judges 2, NYU 3 Brandeis played their hearts out against NYU in their final match of the season but came up just short 3-2 by scores of 23-25, 27-25, 13-25, 25-20 and 10-15. While this loss ended the Judges’ season, the squad played incredibly well. They showed noticeable improvements over last season by finishing with a 7-21 record; they picked up two more

Judges 0, Chicago 3 Earlier that day, Brandeis opened the tournament with a 3-0 shutout loss to Chicago by scores of 14-25, 14-25 and 16-25. Chicago held the top seed in the tournament, and the Judges were simply overpowered by the dominant squad.

Decker-Jacoby was once again a leader for the Judges with nine kills, nine digs and two service aces.

Cho led the team defensively with 13 digs, while Platt and Frauens each registered two block assists.

Nork and Pearlman combined for 22 assists for the match.

It was not an easy season for the Judges, who ended the year on a 12game losing streak and finished in eighth place in the conference, but there is a lot to be excited about.

This squad has a lot of young talent that has now gotten its feet wet in college-level play and has a lot to look forward to in the years to come. Fans can look for the Judges to bounce back with a vengeance next regular season as the team hopes to rise up to its immense potential.

Judges come out with multiple wins in tourney ■ Tamir Zitelny ’20

snagged an impressive gold medal in the 100-yard backstroke event.

JUSTICE EDITOR

HIT AND PARRY: Epeeist Liz Feller ’18 goes for the decisive attack against her opponent in a heated match on Jan. 30.

Judges 0, Rochester 3 The day before, Brandeis kept every set close against a Rochester team that had 22 wins on the season coming into the match but were ultimately shut out 3-0 by scores of 23-25, 21-25 and 19-25.

Decker-Jacoby led the way on offense for the Judges with eight

kills, while Cho led the team with 13 digs and two service aces. Despite the tough loss, the Judges played an extremely competitive game against a very tough team and put their moxie on display.

Swimming

By JERRY MILLER

HEATHER SCHILLER/Justice File Photo

wins in four fewer games played than last year. Middle hitter Emma Bartlett ’20 led the way offensively for the Judges, as she has all season, with 17 kills. This match brought her season total up to 196, as the firstyear standout finished second on the team in kills. Outside hitter Shea Decker-Jacoby ’19, the season leader in kills for the Judges with 207, had an extremely impressive doubledouble with 11 kills, 14 digs and an outstanding five service aces. Right side hitter Zara Platt ’19 also added 11 kills for the match, and Platt, middle hitter Kirsten Frauens ’19 and middle hitter Jessica Kaufman ’17 combined for eight block assists. Back in the lineup after being sidelined with injury, setter Leah Pearlman ’19 made her presence known with 20 assists, and fellow setter Marlee Nork ’19 registered 21 assists of her own and a service ace. Defensively, libero Yvette Cho ’19 led the match with 24 digs.

The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams performed at their peak during the competitive Worcester Polytechnic Institute meet this past weekend.

The men fell to host WPI 190-108 but were able to overcome Babson College in a 150-134 win.

The Judges A team fell to fourth place in the 200-yard medley relay, losing to all three WPI teams and the Babson A team. Yet the Judges were undeterred, coming back incredibly strong in the following events of the day.

Zach Diamond ’18 swam to a bronze medal in the 1000-yard freestyle event.

In the 100-yard backstroke, the

Judges struck again, taking home the gold medal. Tamir Zitelny ’20 continued his impressive inaugural season with a winning time of 54.82 in the event. Zitelny took home more gold hardware in the 100-yard butterfly event and the 200-yard individual medley.

Another first-year, Noah Ayers ’20, cruised to a silver medal in the 500-yard with a time of 5:01.71.

Zitelny’s older brother, Edan Zitelny ’17, was not to be outdone, snagging a gold medal in the 200yard butterfly event. Edan Zitelny crossed the finish line at 2:03.00 to give the Judges their second gold of the day, with Eb Weber ’17 following in fourth. In the 200-yard individual medley, he fell to his younger brother but was still able to secure a respectable bronze medal.

Despite the split, the Judges took home a solid basket of medals against tough competition.

On the women’s side, the Judges were able to rack up multiple topthree finishes. The women lost to

WPI but came up with wins against Babson and Smith College.

The women started off the day well, with the A squad squeezing into second place in the 200-yard medley relay.

In the 1000-yard freestyle, Kylie Herman ’19 swam to a fantastic gold medal. Herman was the only Brandeisian to swim in the long event, finishing with a time of 11:01.48. Herman kept adding to her repertoire, winning a silver medal in the 200-yard butterfly and tacking on another silver medal in the 100-yard freestyle.

Phillipa Zeku ’20 splashed into another gold for the Judges with a cool time of 1:03.10 in the 100-yard backstroke. Zeku notched another two medals on the day, an incredible feat for a first-year.

The women finished with an Ateam gold in the 200-yard freestyle relay to cap a stellar day at the pool.

The Judges will continue against Bentley University on Nov. 18 and will look to wreak havoc in the pool.

just

Sports

Page 16

CLOSING CURTAIN The volleyball team ended its brutal season in a tight loss to NYU on Saturday, p. 15.

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Men’S SOCCER

SPEED BOOST

Men’s loss snaps long win streak ■ Goalie Ben Woodhouse ’18 allowed the lone goal in the Judges’ final game of the regular season.

By GABRIEL GOLDSTEIN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

The men’s soccer team wrapped up their up-and-down season on Saturday with another scoreless loss, this one coming against New York University. The loss snaps the Judges’ incredible five-game winning streak, yet the team was able to secure a national playoff berth all the same. The Judges were on the fence going into the month, but with their sudden offensive reversal, the team has managed to slide into the National Collegiate Athletic Assocation playoff bracket.

With a five game win streak in the bitter cold, the team was able to secure a resounding winning record for the reuglar season.

NYU 1, Judges 0 In a game of little action, the only excitement came in the 24th minute, when NYU senior forward Tristan Medios-Simon blasted a free kick

Waltham, Mass.

over the head of Judges goalie Ben Woodhouse ’18. The Judges could never get into a rhythm on offense, despite holding a 7-1 shots advantage, after Medios-Simon’s goal.

The Judges edged NYU in shotson-goal 11-6 and corner kicks 6-3 but failed to turn any of those opportunities into goals. It seems fitting that the Judges ended their season in a low-scoring affair, as their stifling defense has never been enough to compensate for their ineffective offense. The shutout is the Judges’ sixth of the season.

The loss drops the Judges to 10-5-3 on the season, including 3-2-2 in UAA play. The win brings NYU to 9-7-2 on the year, including 3-4-0 in UAA play.

Looking ahead, the Judges secured a first-round National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Tournament game. The selection show revealed that the team will be making a fifth-straight tournament appearance. At season’s end, the Judges were ranked fourth in New England in recent polls. Never before had the Judges’ fate been so up in the air, but players and fans alike are now hoping for more chances to see the squad lace up and hit the turf.

See MSOCCER, 13 ☛

Fencing

Fencing team shows off skills at tourney ■ Foilist Len Grazian ’17 tied for a bronze medallion in the foil event at the New England Collegiate Championship tournament.

By JERRY MILLER JUSTICE EDITOR

The Brandeis fencing team began its season this past weekend at the New England Fall Collegiate Championship event. The men and women fared well against some of the conference’s best competitors and were able to rack up multiple top-five medals on the day.

The men’s epee squad was outmatched in its event, gaining only one top-10 spot on the podium.

The honor went to epeeist Nick Clancey ’20 who finished in eighth in his collegiate fencing debut. The next Brandeisians to finish were epeeists Hunter Sustnick ’18 and Max Meier ’20, who finished in 16th and 18th, respectively.

Next in line was the foil squad, which owned the competition and took home four top-10 medals.

Foilist Len Grazian ’17 tied for third place with foilist Ian Quin ’20, trailing him in sixth. Grazian also tied in his ranking for No. 2 seed in the second round of the event with Quin following in sixth. Foilists Elishua Little ’18 and Guillermo Narvaez ’18 cracked the top-10 and added to the Brandeis hardware with finishes in seventh and eighth place, respectively. Little fell from his second-place finish a year ago in the same event.

The Judges did not fare well in the men’s saber event, garnering only one top-10 finish. Saberist Leon Rotenstein ’20 managed to slide into 10th place after being ranked as high as the No. 7 seed in the tournament’s event. Saberist Kyle Berney ’18 was ranked as the

No. 2 seed in the first round but fell to 12th in the second bracket.

Berney won a silver medal in the event last year, but he was unable to repeat his near-perfect performance.

The first-years were able to show their muscle in the contest and helped solidify the Judges among the tough competition.

The women’s squad earned multiple top-10 finishes as well.

Starting with the foil squad, the Judges were able to win two top10 medals. Foilist Jessica Gets ’20 was narrowly outdone by the third-place finalist and relegated to a commendable fifth-place finish. Foilist Joanne Carminucci ’19 eased into eighth to give the Judges a respectable standing in the foil event. The two clawed their way into their ranks, as Gets was seeded No. 10 to begin, while Carminucci was pegged as the No. 13 for the second round.

The Judges struggled in the epee event, managing only one top-10 spot. Epeeist Liz Feller ’18 placed in seventh, while epeeist Dakota Levy ’20 fought her way into the 16th spot. The Judges were poorly seeded, with Feller as the No. 5 seed and Levy as the No. 21 seed to begin the tournament. Feller inched up to No. 4 for the second round, but Levy was reduced to No. 42 seed.

Saberist Nina Sayles ’17 showed her stripes in the saber event, boasting a shiny silver for the day. Sayles’ finish was fitting for her No. 2 seed throughout the tournament. Sayles battled her way into second after a thirdplace finish for the first round, solidifying a second-place victory in the second bracket.

The women were able to show their talent despite a short roster for the season. The women rely on

See FENCING, 13 ☛

NATALIA WIATER/Justice File Photo

AVOIDING THE CRASH: Midfielder Sasha Sunday ’19 races down the field against Case Western Reserve Universtiy on Oct. 8.

Squad ties in final regular season match ■ Forward Cidney

Moscovitch ’17 scored her final regular season collegiate goal in a tie against NYU.

By NOAH HESSDORF JUSTICE EDITOR

The women’s soccer team completed its regular season on Saturday with a 1-1 draw on the road at New York University. The Judges end their regular season with a conference record of 2-3-2 and an overall record of 13-3-3, with a post-season matchup still to come.

Judges 1, NYU 1 NYU controlled the game for most of the first half. The Violets got on the board first, when in the 19th minute senior midfielder Lexi Clarke connected on a far post score in front of the 18-yard line. NYU was unable to convert on any more opportunities during the contest and struggled to even record shot attempts, only forcing goalkeeper Alexis Grossman ’17 to make two saves.

The squad had plenty of chances

to tie it up in the second half. They had 14 total shots in the second half, compared to the Violets’ lone attempt. The Judges also had an impressive 13 corner kicks after halftime. As the game ticked away and a defeat for the team seemed more likely, the Judges were finally able to tie up the score.

With midfielder Sam Volpe ’19 in control of the ball, forward Cidney Moscovitch ’17 sprinted to the net. Volpe found the senior, who converted the pass for her seventh goal of the 2016 campaign. The assist tied Volpe for the team lead, with a total of five.

Neither squad was able to get another goal during the overtime period. NYU was able to get off four shot attempts, while Brandeis had a total of three. The Judges kept the Violets on their toes throughout the game, forcing senior goalkeeper Cassie Steinberg to record 12 saves on the day.

The season on the whole has been a resounding success for the squad.

The nonconference portion of the schedule featured one of the most dominating teams in the women’s program history. The Judges started off the season with a victory

over the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and then proceeded to roll off eight consecutive wins.

An undefeated run against 12 nonconference opponents was spoiled only by a draw against regional rival Tufts University.

Offensively, the Judges put up a huge number of goals against out-of-conference opponents. The biggest victory came against Regis College, when they defeated Regis on the road by a huge margin of 9-0. They would also defeat Eastern Connecticut State University 5-0 two games later.

The seniors were the focal part of the roster throughout the year.

Forward Lea McDaniel ’17 led the offense with a total of 11 goals on the season. Moscovitch was next on the list with seven goals, tied with forward Samantha Schwartz ’18. The third key senior on the squad was Grossman, who kept the Judges in games week in and week out. Grossman shut out the opposition eight times during the campaign, double the amount she recorded a season ago. She also posted a save percentage of .872 while accumulating a grand total of

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Vol. LXIX #10

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Images: Natalia Wiater. Design: Morgan Brill/the Justice.

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THE JUSTICE | Arts i TUESDAY, november 8, 2016

Political Discussion

Panelists discuss themes of ‘Martyr’

By Hannah Kressel justice Editorial Assistant

Marius von Mayenburg’s play “Martyr” unearths troubling ideas regarding religious extremism and its roots through the story of one young German teen’s enchantment with religious fundamentalism in relation to the mundane teenage experience. Mayenburg, one of Germany’s forefront playwrights, uses his character, Benjamin, to discuss religious extremism and its roots, a study of religion extremely relevant in contemporary society. This past Thursday, Brandeis University’s Center for German and European Studies brought together several scholars to discuss the play’s sensitive themes in relation to the current world, priming the Brandeis community for the show’s production next weekend.

Rather than evaluating “Martyr” itself, the panel focused on the political aspects of today’s society that frame the play. Much of the talk focused on current religious extremism in the Middle East and how the American media distorts and frames religion.

While this did not serve to analyze the play directly, it helped draw out the real focus of “Martyr.” This focus is political in nature.

The essence of the panel highlighted the fact that there is no specific “type” of person who becomes a religious extremist. The panel brought out the fact that — as much as we wish this were not the case — religious extremism can take root in any person in any number of situations.

Mayenburg highlights this truth in his character; Benjamin. Benjamin seems like a normal teenage boy; however, even he becomes enthralled in the world of religious fundamentalism, much to his own mother’s confusion.

Mayenburg highlights the validity of religious fervor and the ability of a young person to splinter from his parents’ ideas. Mayenburg’s character Benjamin, although brought up in a secular democratic world, becomes enamored with fundamentalism and allows Christian text to completely dictate his life.

The panel talked about this message — our susceptibility to religion even when brought up in a secular world — in the broader sense of the modern world using “Martyr” as a means to critique wider society. The panelists commented on ISIS, how it is presented in the American media and the luring

effects of religion. This same method of critique will be demonstrated in the production of “Martyr,” as Benjamin and his life are merely means for Mayenburg to critique the susceptibility of the human psyche to religious fundamentalism in a completely debilitating way.

Although the panel was advertised as a discussion of the play, the play as art was not discussed in depth.

While this may have upset those in attendance who came to learn more about the work as art, the discussion itself — which almost exclusively discussed modern politics and not the play — brought to light questions about art and the validity of art as a means to further Mayenburg’s agenda, specifically to give validity to religious extremism and its seriousness.

The discussion touched on whether art is a viable method of tackling questions regarding religious and political matters. While, in some ways, it seems art is too personal a medium to present questions on issues that affect such a vast portion of society, the panel’s discussion made it clear that art is a viable method to bring about political discussion and induce debates, as the panel’s discussion itself was largely political in nature.

The panel included scholars with varying backgrounds. From the University’s faculty was Clémentine Fauré-Bellaïche, an assistant professor of French and Francophone studies; Cynthia Cohen, who is currently Director of the program Peacebuilding and the Arts and Acting Director of the Ethics Center; and David Siddhartha Patel, Senior Research Fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies. Outside of Brandeis’ faculty, the final panelist was Alexander Görlach, known for founding the debate magazine “The European.”

Despite Cohen and Fauré-Bellaïche’s artistic backgrounds, the discussion leaned much more toward Islam and religion’s place in the communities of the Middle East.

Overall, the panel was much more a discussion evaluating the media and religious extremism in today’s society, rather than in relation the Mayenburg’s play. This is not to say, though, that the point of this play was not evaluated in great depth. This is a play with a political agenda meant to spur political conversation, something it did almost too well, moving the majority of the panelists’ discussion away from “Martyr” itself and onto the show’s message in a modern society.

POLITICAL PANELISTS: Panelists discuss modern religious extremism in conjuction with religious extremism in “Martyr.”

TALYA GUENZBURGER/the Justice

FUTURE STAR: Raphael Stigliano ’18, who will be playing Benjamin in “Martyr,” was one of the speakers at the panel.

TALYA GUENZBURGER/the Justice

film Review

‘Handmaiden’ driven by complex characters

By MAX moran justice EDitor

In English-speaking countries, South Korean director Park ChanWook’s latest film is called “The Handmaiden.” In Korea, it’s called “Agassi,” which is a polite term for a young woman, often translated as “lady.” The Korean title captures much more of what Park’s latest masterpiece is really about: femininity, etiquette, tenderness and its absence.

Don’t worry Park fans; it’s not like the director of 2003’s gruesome revenge thriller “Oldboy” has gone soft. What he has done is made a thoughtful and captivating exploration of female sexuality and all the ways men misunderstand and horrifically abuse it.

Set in Japan-occupied Korea during the early 1900s, the story follows a Korean girl named Sook-

Hee (Kim Tae-ri) who is hired as the new handmaiden of an unstable Japanese heiress named Lady Himeko (Kim Min-hee).

Secretly, Sook-Hee is in cahoots with Himeko’s new gentleman caller, a Korean con artist posing as a Japanese baron (Ha Jungwoo). He plans to marry her, take her fortune and then lock her up in an asylum, but Sook-Hee’s job — persuading Himeko to fall for the baron — gets harder when she herself begins falling in love with the heiress — and the heiress reciprocates.

Park adapted “The Handmaiden” from a novel set in Victorian England, but the film’s new setting better suits his version of the story.

The film wonderfully parallels Japan’s conquest of Korea with how men view women throughout the film: as objects to be used and discarded, unworthy of sympathy and incapable of thought. But the

“

heart of the film is Sook-Hee and Himeko’s relationship.

Just as its principals all keep secrets from each other, so too the film tricks the audience constantly.

With his typical mastery of genre — in this case, the period romance — Park depicts each woman’s gradual attraction to the other, their inner conflicts about both their sexualities and the social complications of who they’re actually falling in love with. The film’s NC-17 rating comes from a sex scene where they finally consummate that attraction, and

it’s the tenderest moment in the movie.

But again, Park Chan-Wook veterans know that he’s not interested in straightforward genre flicks. Like with “Oldboy,” Park bobs and weaves in and out of genre tropes as they suit his interests, keeping the film expertly paced and consistently surprising.

The film also stays fresh through its almost-three-hour runtime due to its wide emotional range. Before the credits roll, the audience feels warm romance, horrid disgust, deep sadness and the sweet taste of just revenge. It could almost be a screwball comedy, if you forget about every male character in the film.

Just as its principals all keep secrets from each other, so too the film tricks the audience constantly.

It slowly but steadily unfolds as we see the same events from different characters’ perspectives.

Park is an efficient storyteller; he doesn’t draw attention to a prop or a line if it doesn’t come back in some important way later.

By the end, the audience knows every room and every secret in the bizarre mansion where Himeko’s uncle keeps her.

It also helps that “The Handmaiden” is a beautiful film to look at. While it does not employ as many memorable shots and neat visual tricks as some of Park’s other outings, the movie’s sedated color palette and precise framing complement its period setting and themes of secrecy and female oppression.

But ultimately, “The Handmaiden’s” characters drive the film. It’s the depth of their struggles, the complexity of their personalities and the humanity imbued in even the most repulsive parts of the cast that make Park’s “The Handmaiden” a masterpiece.

THE JUSTICE i arts i TUESDAY, November 8, 2016

THEater

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PHOTOS BY NATALIA WIATER/the Justice

DANCE-OFF GONE WRONG: Agnes (Joanna Murphy ’17, center) beats out Evil Gabby (Emily Bisno ’19, 2nd to L) and Evil Tina (Jessica Spierer ’18, 2nd to R) in an epic dance battle.

Cast slays in ‘She Kills Monsters’

By ISABELLE TRUONG justice Staff writer

“She Kills Monsters” presented

by Brandeis Ensemble Theater, details twenty-something high school English teacher Agnes’s (Joanna Murphy ’17) quest to unearth more about her late sister Tilly (Jessica Kinsley ’20) through Tilly’s favorite game,“Dungeons and Dragons.”

Riddled with epic fight scenes and mythical creatures — some of the scariest being high school cheerleaders — the play handles its themes such as the sister-sister dynamic sensitively, highlighting the sentiments felt but never expressed outright.

The cast was able to convey the narrative without overacting or relying on elaborate production values such as crazy sets or props.

In a way, there was a sort of minimalism to the play that placed emphasis on the acting, which really shined. One of the most memorable scenes in the play is when Agnes admits to the audience the reason that this game has suddenly become so important to her that she puts her life — her boyfriend, her job and her apartment — on hold She commits a considerable amount of her time to befriending high school student Chuck Biggs, played by Zack Garrity ’20, to have him teach her the ways of D&D because during Tilly’s lifetime, Agnes never developed a strong connection with her sister because they were exact opposites; in the beginning, we learn that Agnes was

more interested in “normal” hobbies such as “boys, music and popular television programs,” whereas Tilly found enjoyment in everything but.

Her pastimes mainly involved the dark arts and slaying evil monsters.

Agnes explains that they were too different and perhaps one day they would have bonded, once Tilly grew out of her “dorky” ways of “Dungeons and Dragons” and mythological realms. But that mutuality never presented itself, and what would have been never happened.

However, as the play progresses, it becomes apparent that Agnes does grow from playing the game.

She learns that instead of waiting for her sister to change and become someone else she isn’t, she should have appreciated their differences.

As she becomes more deeply involved in the game, Agnes learns more and more about Tilly. She realizes Tilly’s remarkable compassion and love for her closest friends — Tilly inventively re-imagines her real-life friends into characters in the game.

For example, she portrays one of her friends who is reserved, quiet and handicapped as a fierce and ruthless elf called Kaliope Darkwalker (Jessie Gedallovich ’20).

Adapted from the original play written by Qui Nguyen and produced in New York City, “She Kills Monsters” is a refreshing choice for Brandeis Ensemble Theater. Not only was the screenplay written by a person of color, the characters are also strong warrior women. And for once, the heroine did not compromise her life in order to enhance the

HEROIC ENCOUNTERS: Steve (Ryan Sands ’19), Tilly (Jessica Kinsley ’20), Agnes (Joanna Murphy ’17) and Orcus (Jason Kwan ’20) (L to R) discuss their weapons.

male counterpart. A majority of the characters in Tilly’s world are also queer, a fact that initially surprises and even offends Agnes. Only through Tilly’s gamebook does Agnes become aware that her sister was a closeted lesbian coming to terms with her first love, all the while dealing with school bullying and fear of societal rejection.

The play’s strong emotional streak is cut with frequent moments of comedic relief which are fresh and aptly acted. Although the jokes that received the most laughs were crude, even these jokes kept with the play’s theme and did not come off as indulgent. Jason Kwan ’20, who played Orcus, ruler of the underworld, seller of souls, bearer of fuzzy feet and devil ears, as well as Ryan Sands ’19 who played mage Steve, an audience favorite, provided the majority of this necessary humor, making the play thoroughly enjoyable. Murphy and Kinsley were extremely convincing sisters, and their emotions at many moments felt real and raw, creating a necessary depth to convey the heavy themes the play addressed.

The show succeeded in maintaining a pace that was easy to follow from beginning to end. Never at any point throughout watching did the characters’ performances feel rushed, confusing or slow. The response from the audience seemed to attest to this — their faces and reactions demonstrated an active and entertained engagement the whole way. Major props to the cast and crew of “She Kills Monsters.” If there is any testimony to the value of hard work, this play is it.

SISTERLY LOVE: Agnes (Joanna Murphy ’17, L) and her sister Tilly (Jessica Kinsley ‘20) share a tender moment in alternate game universe.

SASSY STABBING: Evil Tina (Jessica Spierer ’18, L) stabs Lilith (Rachel Greene ’20, 2nd to L) as Tilly (Jessica Kinsley ’20, 2nd to R) Lilith’s girlfriend, watches on in horror.

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TUESDAY, November 8, 2016 | Arts | THE JUSTIce

Brandeis TALKS

INTERVIEW

What will you do if the candidate not of your choice wins?

Rafi Diamond ’18

Daniela Michanie ’19

AMANDA NGUYEN/Jusitce File Photo

“I would accept the result, because to do otherwise would be to threaten democracy.”

This week, justArts spoke with Rafi Diamond ’18, who is directing “12 Angry Jurors,” to be put on by Hillel Theater Group this upcoming weekend. Rafi also directed HTG’s production of “Guys and Dolls” last semester. justArts: How does directing this show compare to “Guys and Dolls?”

JUSTICE FILE CARTOON

Eli Cohn ’19 “I’ll try to make a change for the next election, just make the best of it.”

Nic Neves ’20 “Projectile vomit.”

Tova Weinberger ’18 “I would wait a little bit, see what happens. That would be a scary world. My dad said that if Trump gets elected and gets reelected, then we’re leaving the country. Four years, okay.

Eight years, no.”

—Compiled and photographed by Natalia Wiater/the Justice.

STAFF’S Top Ten

NFL Uniforms

By BEN KATCHER

justice EDITORial assistant

With the NFL season well under way, many avid football fans are plastered to their screens on Sundays waiting for clutch touchdowns and devastating hits.

However, if the sport itself isn’t for you, you can keep a lookout for these eye-catching uniforms.

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 One may save your life 7 Secluded glen 10 Day named after the Norse god of victory (abbr.)

13 Louisianan language 14 Give credit (to) 16 *What an angry boss might want from an errant employee 18 Sows 19 See 48-Across 21 Word before credits or times 24 Canadian letter 26 Have a yen for 27 Place to go in Britain?

28 Gardening tool 30 “Losing My Religion” band 33 Hosp. workers 34 Frodo’s destination, for short 36 Persmissible to eat, for a Muslim 38 *Got out of a rough spot 42 Champing at the bit 43 Dressed to the nines, with “out” 45 It has a chocolate variety 48 One who might call you 19-Across, for short 49 _____ Paul 50 Application file suffix 51 Swear 53 ______ Te Ching 55 Jeanne d’Arc, e.g.

56 Place for a yacht club 59 Island home of the earliest recorded civilization in Europe 63 *Where a crossword clue may be 68 Nemo’s abode 69 “______ Can Whistle” 70 Ones blocking for the QB 71 Curvy letter 72 Quality of the last word of each of the starred clues

Rafi Diamond: It feels very different going from an open-cast musical to a straight play with a limited cast, and I feel like I’ve learned a lot from the first process. Obviously, there’s a difference in the number of people and attitude of the show, but it’s nice to see familiar faces and to be working with similar people again.

JA: How did you decide you wanted to direct this show?

RD: It was proposed to HTG and voted on, and I felt it had a really important message, especially considering the timing of the show right near the election. It was a really interesting look at justice and injustice and how we work in the system to change what we care about.

JA: What’s been your favorite part of directing the show?

one 22 Ref’s ruling on an endzone pass, perhaps 23 Went the way of the ______ 25 Humdrum 28 Adversary of Colonel Klink 29 Symbol of resistance 31 Give the slip 32 Rams or stallions 35 “_____ on a Grecian Urn” 36 When repeated, sarcastic laughter 37 Corporate letters 39 Result of a fender-bender 40 Barely obtains, with “out” 41 Emoji locale 44 Sweet _____ (“Always Sunny” character) DOWN 45 On the ______ (wanted) 1 German cry of surprise 46 Movie whose first sequel of 4 2 Rage comes out in 2018 3 Mens _____ 47 Humdrum 4 Beach ______ (what 49 “Quaint and curious” thing, to musclemen have) Poe 5 Soothing balm 52 Word after baby or wet 6 KISS member Simmons 54 Pines (for) 7 Lose concentration 57 ______ de plume 8 Subj. for many immigrants 58 “Are you a friend or _______?”

9 Eton, e.g. (abbr.)

60 Greek letters 10 Tennessee player 61 Morrison who won the Nobel 11 Got a ride, perhaps Prize in Literature 12 More spooky 62 Organic chemistry suffix 15 GPS datum 64 State that borders Kty. 17 Woodcutting tool 65 Certain website ender 20 Sullivan and Sheeran 66 Feminine one in Paris?

21 Boston’s Liberty Tree was 67 Occupational suffix

CROSSWORD COURTESY OF EVAN MAHNKEN

RD: So far, my favorite parts have been being in rehearsal with the cast, trying to figure out difficult scenes, how to show when people are doing something wrong and when people are doing something right and really getting into the human aspect of the characters and what they’re saying and how much they mean it [versus] how much they’re just saying what they say.

JA: What has been challenging part so far?

the

most

RD: It’s been a real challenge to have so many people on stage the whole time and trying to figure out what everybody’s doing for every single second of the show. To go out of work, especially from the actors, to sit there for 90 minutes not talking for most of the time — because most of the time, most of the characters aren’t talking! Trying to make sure that they’re really present in what’s happening in the show, then working through that and figuring out where that is; it’s become really impressive to see how much their energy adds to the show.

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.

1. Miami Dolphins 2. San Diego Chargers 3. Buffalo Bills 4. San Francisco 49ers 5. Pittsburgh Steelers 6. New Orleans Saints 7. New England Patriots 8. New York Giants 9. Kansas City Chiefs 10. Oakland Raiders

JA: What do you hope the cast got out of working on this show?

RD: I hope, aside from having an opportunity to explore a character very deeply for a long amount of time and really embody that character, they, too, have started thinking about some of the themes we’ve discussed, both in the rehearsal room and in the show.

JA: What do you hope the audience gets out of watching the show?

RD: I really hope the audience starts to think about justice and the role they take in pursuing justice and being part of justice and law and rethinking how they see the legal system and how they see themselves.

JA: Anything else you want to add?

RD: I really hope everyone comes to see our show! We’ve all been working really hard on it and I think you’ll all gain a lot from it!

Solution to last issue’s sudoku

Sudoku Copyright 2014 Tribune News Service, Inc.

—Lizzie Grossman