the
Justice www.thejustice.org
The Independent Student Newspaper Volume LXXII, Number 5
of
B r a n d e is U n i v e r sit y S i n c e 1 9 4 9
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Waltham, Mass.
ACCESSIBILITY
HOMECOMING 2019
SAS head makes sudden, unexplained departure ■ Director of Student Accessibility Support Beth Rodgers-Kay retired at the beginning of the semester. By GILDA GEIST AND CHAIEL SCHAFFEL JUSTICE EDITOR AND STAFF WRITER
NOAH ZEITLIN/the Justice
This year's homecoming events included soccer games, food trucks, cornhole and more.
SUSTAINABILITY
University implements new sustainability initiatives ■ Brandeis Sustainability
Manager Mary Fisher described new initiatives at the State of Sustainability. By JEN GELLER AND NATALIA WIATER JUSTICE EDITORS
Since the start of the semester, the University has been sharing initiatives it is taking to improve sustainability efforts at Brandeis. According to the Brandeis Sustainability website, the office’s goals are to fulfill the University’s commitment to social justice, reduce its carbon footprint and be responsible members of the global community. During the annual State of Sustainability event held on Sept. 26, Brandeis Sustainability Manager Mary Fisher explained how Brandeis is becoming more sustainable and what the next steps are in creating a greener campus. At the event, Fisher said that converting the Brandeis campus to be completely run on solar or wind power would be impossible. She said that although there are some buildings with solar panels, such as Skyline Residence Hall and Gosman Athletic Center, powering the entire University would require covering the entire surface area of the campus with panels. For wind power, Fisher said that the campus would need 13 wind turbines, and the city of Waltham would not approve this. One turbine would provide 7% of the campus’s energy usage.
Fisher shared one way that Brandeis is tackling this challenge, however, which she elaborated on in an interview with the Justice. The University is looking to build renewable energy sources elsewhere in the country to offset Brandeis’ own usage. In her interview, Fisher said, “We need to look into doing this and push doing this, because it is the best way to reduce our carbon footprint.” This entails buying renewable energy credit by financing a new renewable energy source elsewhere in the country, such as in South Dakota and other states. Locations will be selected based on which areas rely more heavily on coal. This way, the University is offsetting those states’ coal use and providing them more renewable sources. Another initiative Fisher announced at the State of Sustainability is eliminating sales of about 10,000 bottles of water annually by the end of the semester. Water bottle sales will eventually be limited to the Hoot Market and campus vending machines. In her interview with the Justice, Fisher emphasized that “Brandeis’ tap water goes through the same processes of … other bottled water companies,” making it perfectly safe to drink. New bottle filling stations have been added around campus, including the main hallway of Gerstenzang, Slosberg lobby and Mandel Ground Floor, among 11 others. She told the Justice that the carbon footprint of one bottle of Dasani water is the same as over 2,000 gallons of tap water. Fisher added that one factor in completing this goal is the University’s
contract with Coca-Cola, a 10-year contract that has four years left in it. By selling Coca-Cola products, the University receives $50,000 per year. Removing bottled sales, particularly at Einstein’s, could impact the University’s income by up to $200,000. Fisher said that the University was supportive of this change, but needs Coca-Cola on board as well, which can be difficult because they “only care about their sales at the end of the day,” and while the company has sustainability initiatives, getting their products off of the shelves is not one of them. At this time, however, Fisher told the Justice that the school’s initiative should be feasible in both University Starbucks in Heller and Farber, the cafe in Mandel Center, Peet’s Cafe in the Shapiro Science Center, the Faculty Club and Dominic's in the International Business School. Coolers will take the place of plastic bottles where cold and hot water will be available for use for reusable bottles. At the event, Fisher also said that compost is the key to diverting waste, not recycling. Brandeis has increased its composting from 15 tons to 256 tons per year from 2015 to 2019, respectively. Over 40 more compost bins have been added all over campus since August. Next, the University will add compost bins to the Charles River Apartments and 567 South Street, but the timeline for that project is yet to be determined. Fisher said that food makes up 7% of the campus’ total carbon footprint. 13.3% of the food the Brandeis
See SUSTAINABILITY, 7 ☛
Life in a suitcase
By SOFIA GONZALEZ
FEATURES 9 For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org
NOAH ZEITLIN/the Justice
An abrupt departure
Rodgers-Kay’s absence was sudden — SAS staff and students who had appointments with her expected her to be in the office and filling appointments on the first day of the semester, Aug. 28. According to SAS Undergraduate Accessibility Specialist Kaitlyn Rogers, SAS staff learned on Aug. 30 — two days after the semester began — that Rodgers-Kay “would not be on campus as we had anticipated,” per a Sept. 24 email to the Justice. In a Sept. 6 email to the Justice, Dean of Academic Services Erika Smith wrote that Rodgers-Kay’s last day would be in mid-September. Jette clarified in a Sept. 27 email to the Justice that Rodgers-Kay worked from home for “several weeks” until her official retirement date of Sept. 23. On Sept. 12, two weeks after the start of the semester, Brandeis Academic Services sent an email announcing Rodgers-Kay’s retirement to students registered with SAS. Ac-
See ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES, 7 ☛
GRADUATE STUDENTS
New rule would prohibit graduate student unions ■ This rule would prevent
graduate students employed at private universities from unionizing. By ARI ALBERTSON JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
Graduate students working as teaching and research assistants would be prohibited from unionizing under a rule proposed by the National Labor Relations Board on Sept. 23. According to the rule, graduate students who work for a university are not employees because their relationship to the school is “primarily educational in nature.” The NLRB ruled in August 2016 to grant graduate students at private universities the right to unionize, according to a Sept. 20 New York Times article. Brandeis University’s graduate students voted to unionize in May 2017. In 2018, the union negotiated a contract with the Service Employees International Union Local 509, forming the second contract for graduate students at a private university since the 2016 ruling, according to an Aug. 27, 2018 Boston Globe article. Benefits of unionization include increased pay, capped workloads and mental health ser-
A conversation with Janikah Brice ’20
This week begins a new series, "Life in a Suitcase," which highlights immigrant narratives on campus.
Image Courtesy of CREATIVE COMMONS
Shortly after the semester started, Elijah Harrison ’21 walked into the Student Accessibility Support office for a scheduled appointment with Director of SAS Beth Rodgers-Kay. Earlier that day when he had emailed her about running a few minutes late, he received an automated reply from Rodgers-Kay: “I am out of the office. I will not check email during this time.” In the office, Harrison waited for half an hour before being told that Rodgers-Kay would not be in that day. Instead, Scott Lapinski, the accessibility specialist for graduate students, met with Harrison. Lapinski told Harrison that Rodgers-Kay had retired. Rodgers-Kay — who had been director of SAS for nearly a decade and a half — stopped showing up for work at the SAS office sometime in late August. According to Director of Media Relations Julie Jette in an email to the Justice, Rodgers-Kay officially
retired on Sept. 23. On Aug. 30, SAS learned that Rodgers-Kay would not be coming back to work for at least a few weeks. Some students who had Rodgers-Kay as their case manager were notified of her departure as late as mid September.
vices for graduate employees. NLRB members are appointed by the President of the United States, which explains the Board’s backand-forth policy on graduate student unions, from prohibiting unions in 2004 under President George W. Bush to overturning that ruling in 2016 under President Barack Obama, and now yet another reversal under President Donald Trump, whose NLRB appointees have sought to limit union power. The proposed rule’s potential effect on existing unions, including the one at Brandeis, is uncertain. Dominick Knowles, a fourth-year PhD candidate and member of the Brandeis Graduate Union, said in an interview with the Justice that the rule change “could mean the end of our contract and a return to pre-2016 labor relations,” and noted that the rule would make it much more difficult for students at other universities to unionize. “It would mean, essentially, starting from scratch with no legal precedent,” Knowles said. According to a Sept. 20 Washington Post article, the rule would not necessarily prevent schools from voluntarily recognizing unions, but nonetheless administrative opposition at many universities could make unionizing more difficult.
See GRAD UNIONS, 7 ☛
University archives receives Abbie Hoffman tapes By JACKIE TOKAYER
The Justice talked to the president of YourStory International.
A love letter to affirmative action
By LUKE LIU
Men's soccer wins three games
ARTS AND CULTURE 19
By JONAH WHITE
Make your voice heard! Submit letters to the editor to letters@thejustice.org
By HARRISON PAEK
COPYRIGHT 2019 FREE AT BRANDEIS.
NEWS 5 FORUM 12 SPORTS 16