The Justice - April 21, 2009

SPORTS PAGE 16

ARTS Mochilla Makes Ready for Springfest 19

HOT STREAK

FORUM Racial minority consistuency in question 10 THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER

the

OF

BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY SINCE 1949

Justice www.theJusticeOnline.com

Volume LX, Number 27

Waltham, Mass.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

ROSE ART MUSEUM

CARS RELEASES REPORT

Rose to re-open July 22

The report recommends converting AMST, AAAS and Classics departments into programs

By MIRANDA NEUBAUER JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

■ The University offered four

out of the six current museum staff members continued employment.

By ALANA ABRAMSON JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

The Rose Art Museum will reopen to the public July 22 after a brief deinstallation period in an effort to allow the Committee on the Future of the Rose sufficient time for its deliberations, according to an e-mail sent by Provost Marty Krauss to the Brandeis community last Friday.

The University also offered four out of the six Rose staff members continued employment, according to Krauss’ e-mail. However, Michael Rush, the current director of the Rose, wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that the University did not offer him employment. “My status remains [the] same as it was on January 26. My position is to be terminated on June 30,” he wrote.

“These plans are intended to ensure continuity until such time as the Committee submits its final report and action is taken on its recommendations,” according to the e-mail.

In an e-mail to the Rose Museum Board of Overseers that was cited on the “Looking Around” blog on Time magazine’s Web site, Jonathan Lee, the board’s chairman, wrote that the administration made the announcement after insistence from the office of the Massachussetts Attorney General Martha Coakley.

In a phone interview with the Justice, Lee said, “I spoke with the attorney general; the attorney general has been putting pressure on the administration; the administration put the letter out in response to pressure from the attorney general.”

“As the result of concerns raised by the Rose Museum Board of Overseers, our office inquired about Brandeis’ plans regarding the Rose Museum and the University has reiterated its intent to keep the museum open in the short term. We look forward to working with Brandeis University and the entire Brandeis community to ensure that the wishes of donors are honored as the University considers future plans for the Rose Museum,” Emily La Grassa, communications director for the Attorney General, wrote in an e-mail to the Justice.

In response to Lee’s e-mail to the

The Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering committee has recommended converting the African and Afro-American Studies, American Studies and Classical Studies departments into interdepartmental programs; cutting 10 percent of the faculty from all departments over the next five years; and reducing the size of most Ph.D. programs as part of its final report that was released yesterday afternoon.

The committee’s report also recommends reducing the number of classes in which fewer than eight students are enrolled in order to hold classes in which students show more interest.

As a consequence of these changes, the committee recommends that faculty teach a greater variety of courses over a three-year period, the CARS committee members said in an inter-

view with the Justice. The committee also recommends that departments offer more courses that appeal to m o r e diverse ☛ student interests. “ T h e C A R S committee concluded that we don’t want to shrink the curriculum,” Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe, the chair of the committee, said. “We want to continue doing what we’re doing. … We just want to do it in a different way.”

The CARS committee will present its proposals to the faculty Thursday, before Provost Marty Krauss makes her initial recommendations on the proposals May 4. After another faculty meeting on May 7, Krauss will release her final decisions by May 13.

The committee was created after

faculty voted at a Jan. 22 special faculty meeting. Its purpose was to consider a reduction in the size of the faculty, an increase in undergraduate enrollment and establishment of an expanded summer session, as well as changes to existing departments and programs as a response to financial projections, according to the attendees at the meeting.

In an interview with the Justice, committee members preliminarily estimated that the recommendations could save about $5 million.

Prof. Steven Burg (POL), a member of the committee, explained that AAAS, AMST and Classics were chosen to be converted into interdisciplinary programs because they “are essentially interdisciplinary in character” and are among the smaller departments in terms of faculty. “We think that there are faculty whose

Brandeis reacts to CARS proposals, p.7

HIGHLIGHTS ■ Departments

converted to programs ■ Projected 10-percent

faculty reduction ■ Reduction in the size

of Ph.D. programs

DAVID SHEPPARDBRICK/Justice FIle Photo

See CARS, 7 ☛

Inside the CARS Report An insight into the major changes proposed 1

2

Conversion of AMST, AAAS and Classics depts. into programs - Faculty would affiliate with other depts.

- Courses would be cross-listed with other depts.

- Students could still major in these topics

Reduction of faculty by 10% in all depts.

- Over a five-year time period - Will try to accomplish this as much as possible through departures and retirements - The tenure system will not be affected

DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/Justice File Photo

MAJOR CHANGES: CARS members discuss the curriculum.

3

4

5

6

Reduction in size of Ph.D. programs - Some programs (ex: CHEM) receiving larger cuts than others (ex: PHYS) - Cuts based on affiliation with undergrad. program - No elimination of Ph.D. programs

Enforcement of minimum class size - Classes with fewer than eight people after pre-enrollment get canceled - Or professors must teach under-enrolled classes as an additional course to their normal load

Interdisciplinary focus for high-level classes - More high-level classes in all departments would be cross-listed - Encouragement to broaden class scope and attract a wider range of students

Changing of class rotation timeline - Professors will teach a greater variety of courses less often over a 3-year rotation - Greater variety of classes will be available - Will eliminate unpopular classes.

See ROSE, 7 ☛

Powerful thinking

More Miscues

UJ to hear case

■ Speakers talk about how imagination can influence educational institutations.

■ The baseball team went 2-3 last week as poor defense again played a role in the team’s defeats.

■ The Student Union Judiciary will examine Union positions held for minority students.

FEATURES 8 For tips or info call Let your voice be heard!

Submit letters to the editor online (781) 736-6397 at www.thejusticeonline.com

INDEX

SPORTS 16 ARTS

17

EDITORIAL FEATURES

10 8

OPINION POLICE LOG

11 2

SPORTS LETTERS

NEWS 3 16 11

COPYRIGHT 2009 FREE AT BRANDEIS. Call for home delivery.

2

TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

NEWS POLICE LOG

BRIEFS Brandeis student receives award from nonprofit organization A Brandeis student who, since his sophomore year, has worked with hopeFound, a nonprofit organization that aims to better the lives of homeless people, was awarded a hopeFound Heroes Award for his work with the organization.

Aaron Finegold ’09 was given the award primarily due to a fundraising gala he planned for hopeFound last February that raised over $4,000 for the organization. The fundraising gala was held at Brandeis and was attended by students and faculty.

The hopeFound Heroes Award is given to “recognize people who within the year have done really extraordinary things, [who] have volunteered and done things for the organization,” Finegold said. There were 12 other individuals that were honored with the award.

“Certainly, I feel that it’s a great honor, and I am very grateful to hopeFound for the recognition,” Finegold said. He added, “I hope my work here at Brandeis can inspire others to take on difficult tasks in the name of social justice in the future. Also, I encourage people to become aware of opportunities to volunteer in the greater Boston area because there is so much need.”

Based in Jamaica Plain, Mass., hopeFound aims to better the lives of homeless people in the area. The organization’s mission is to “end homelessness, one person at a time, by providing programs and services that help men and women achieve self-sufficiency and secure permanent housing,” according to the hopeFound Web site. Finegold added, “[hopeFound] started out as an emergency homeless shelter in 1983. It’s not just a shelter; it provides a lot of services so that people can become self-sufficient, including, but not limited to, employment services, stabilization [detoxification program] and help finding housing.”

Referring back to his initial interest in organizing a fundraiser, Finegold explained why he became interested in hopeFound. “I was really inspired by [hopeFound’s] mission, and I wanted to help them,” Finegold said.

Finegold, who is graduating next month, said he still plans to continue working with hopeFound after graduation. “Although I’m moving to [New York City] next year, I still plan on staying in touch, and I would like to potentially help them leverage money in the future.”

Medical Emergency Apr. 7—A caller in Massell Quad complained of a stomachache, a headache, high fever and a burning feeling in her lungs. University Police and BEMCo responded and treated the student on-scene with a signed refusal for further care.

Apr. 8—A caller in Massell Quad reported that her friend, an 18-year-old male, woke up with a bloody nose and general weakness and nausea. University Police and BEMCo responded and treated the student on-scene with a signed refusal for further care.

Apr. 9—A party on Charles River Road requested an ambulance to transport a patient for an involuntary psychological evaluation. The reporting party stated that the patient was nonviolent.

University Police arrived onscene and reported that the psychological evaluation had become voluntary. The party was transported by ambulance to the

Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Apr. 10—A caller reported that a 20-year-old female had fainted twice and regained consciousness. The Waltham Fire Department and an ambulance responded and were escorted by University Police to the scene from the Main Gate. The patient was transported by ambulance to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital, and the community development coordinator on call was notified by phone.

man Function Hall and the Usdan Café and threw tables, chairs and statues into Massell Pond. Photographs were taken, and Facilities Services was notified. University Police will compile a report on the incident.

Apr. 18—A party in Massell Quad reported that someone had carved into the party’s room door and put food into the door’s lock.

University Police compiled a report on the incident, and Facilities Services was notified.

Disturbance

Miscellaneous

Apr. 19—A caller reported loud noise in the vicinity of Ziv Quad.

University Police responded. Officers located the room from which the noise was coming and dispersed the unregistered party in the room without further incident.

Apr. 7—A party in the Faculty Center reported that there appeared to be a homeless person in the area. University Police responded and identified the person as a University staff member waiting for a friend.

Apr. 8—A Styrofoam cooler with a brick on it was found in East Lot. University Police checked the cooler and found it next to a construction worker’s

Vandalism Apr. 15—A caller reported that vandalists spray-painted Sher-

BOSTON (AP)—State police and security officials say a U.S. Marine was arrested Sunday morning at Boston’s Logan International Airport after screeners found bombmaking materials, a gun and ammunition in his checked baggage.

Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Ann Davis says 22-year-old Cpl. Justin Reed of Jacksonville, N.C. was booked on US Airways Flight 877 to Charlotte, N.C. Davis says Reed arrived in Boston on a flight from Las Vegas earlier Sunday morning.

Davis says the TSA is trying to determine why the items were not detected during a screening in Las Vegas.

Reed was charged with possession of an infernal machine and possession of a concealed weapon in a secure area of an airport. Bail was set at $50,000.

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

Campus tours A Brandeis student gives a campus tour to prospective students and their families in front of Gerstenzang. Student-led tours, which last about one hour, are generally held several times a day during the week.

The Justice is the independent student newspaper of Brandeis University. The Justice is published every Tuesday of the academic year with the exception of examination and vacation periods. Editor in Chief office hours are held every Thursday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Justice office.

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The Union passed an Emergency Resolution stating the Senate’s Position on the Office of Racial Minority Senator that read, “Be it resolved that the Union Senate strongly opposes deciding the questions raised by the existence of a RMS senator through a Judiciary case ... . It should be addressed by the people rather than the Judiciary.”

Union President Jason Gray ’10 also spoke to the Senate about the Racial Minority Senator issue. He said that, in his opinion, the position should not be changed or removed.

Gray added that he did not believe the issue should be under consideration by the Union Judiciary and that he was under the impression that any decision rendered by the UJ would only be a recommendation.

Executive Senator Andrew Brooks ’09 opened the meeting to public communication, and several students gathered to speak about the RMS issue.

A majority of the students expressed similar concerns about the issue. Most believed that the RMS was essential to minority representation within the senate. Students also spoke about their misgivings about the way in which the issue was being addressed and expressed the general conviction that the position was essential to minority rights. Many also expressed their anger at the way the issue was being handled within the Student Union.

A few students spoke in defense of the case now before the UJ. They articulated the idea that, in their interpretation, the Student Union Constitution did not allow any elected office to be limited by race or other exclusionary qualification. They expressed their feelings that the Racial Minority Senator was inherently exclusionary and therefore unconstitutional.

Nathan Robinson ’11 unofficially resigned as Castle Quad Senator.

Brooks also brought up the issue of scheduling a special session of the Student Union to swear in new members after the second round of elections.

—Harry Shipps

ANNOUNCEMENTS Fostering Social Change Through Film

theJustice

Apr. 8—A driver in Ridgewood Quad reported that he hit a light pole on a walkway while backing up. University Police responded; there were no injuries. Photographs were taken of the scene, and a report on the incident will be compiled .

Apr. 12—A car crashed into a garage on Old South Street. University Police located an adult male by the Epstein Garage in need of medical attention. The Waltham Police Department and Waltham Fire Department responded. The patient was transported to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital. The vehicle was towed from the scene, photographs of the scene were taken, and a report was compiled.

Gray says RMS position should not be changed

Bomb materials found in Marine’s baggage at Logan Airport

The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification.

E-mail jsw5@brandeis.edu.

Traffic

SENATE LOG

—Reina Guerrero

An article in News last issue incorrectly paraphrased a quote attributed to Dean of Admissions Gil Villanueva. Villaneuva said that faculty and students recruited by the Student Union were contacting 1,200 prospective students, not 250. (April 7, p. 7).

An article in News last issue incorrectly identified the timing of the University’s hiring of an associate director of admissions in San Diego. The position was filled before this year’s admissions cycle, not after it. (April 7, p. 7).

An article in News last issue incorrectly stated which program was successful in determining the number of registrations for the Spring Open House and did not clearly attribute the information. Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy was referring to the initiative undertaken by faculty to contact all prospective students. (April 7, p. 7).

vehicle; it was empty. No further action was taken.

Explore the power and promise of women making movies and building communities in this conversation highlighted by a film by award-winning filmmaker Judith Helfand.

Students can hear about nurturing emerging woman filmmakers as passionate about the craft of storytelling as they are about the social justice, environmental and human rights issues. Today from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Women’s Studies Research Center.

removing trash from the Great Lawn and replanting native species. The first 20 people who help plant will receive a pass to eat for free at the Activist Fair. Students can later visit the activism fair organized by Positive Foundations to learn about activist clubs on campus.

Each club will have a table with info and will be selling food for $5 a plate. Students can bring some extra cash to buy club-specific items such as T-shirts and bracelets. Wednesday from noon to 3 p.m. on the Great Lawn.

Rose Forum

Male Wives and Female Husbands

Students can attend the town hall that will be hosted by the Future of the Rose Committee. The meeting hopes to explore possible options regarding the future prospects of the museum. Today from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the Olin Sang Auditorium.

Join Marloes Janson, a visiting DAAD Scholar and Lecturer in Anthropology and the Center for German and European Studies for a talk about the anthropology of Islam and transnational religious networks. Janson’s other interests include conversion, gender, masculinity, youth, oral history and West Africa: The Gambia and Senegal. Wednesday from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in Lown 2.

Spring into Activism on Earth Day Students can give back to the community by

Academic Changes Forum Students can attend a discussion and feedback forum with the Provost to provide their input on the recommendations regarding the academic changes proposed by the Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering committee. Wednesday from 5 to 6 p.m. in Bernstein Marcus.

A Love Surpassing Women The Hadassah-Brandeis Institute will host philosopher and historian Daniel Boyarin for an evening of discussion on gender and Jewish thought. In his lecture, “A Love Surpassing Women: The Homme-eroticism of Torah Study,” Boyarin will explain the tension between male-male friendship and female-male relationships among Jews. To RSVP please email hbi@brandeis.edu with names and number of guests. Sunday from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in Rapaporte Treasure Hall.

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2009

3

STUDENT UNION

UJ to hear case against two minority positions ■ The Union Judiciary will

hear a case challenging the Union positions reserved for minority students.

By MIRANDA NEUBAUER JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

The Union Judiciary has postponed the election for the senator for racial minority and the Finance Board representative for racial minority students after accepting a case from two students challenging the positions on the grounds that both positions are discriminatory toward students who do not identify as minorities.

The announcement came through an April 16 e-mail sent by Chief Justice of the UJ Rachel Graham Kagan ’09 to campus publications.

The student petitioners, former Union Director of Community Development Ryan McElhaney ’10 and Gideon Klionsky ’11, suggested that the sections of the Union Constitution that deal specifically with the senator for racial minority and F-Board representative for racial minority are in conflict with a different section of the Union Constitution.

Article 2, sections 2 and 3 of the Union Constitution state the position of senator for racial minority students “shall be elected by a majority vote of all Union members who have declared themselves to the University as being racial minority students.” Article 5, section 2 includes a similar statement about the position of F-Board member for racial minorities. McElhaney and Klionsky believe that these sections contradict Article 1, section 3 of the constitution, which states that the constitution “shall be enacted in accordance with all federal, state, and local laws, and University policies.” According to the petitioners, the University policies and other laws prohibit racial discrimination.

The petitioners also say that the positions provide an unfair bias. “We don’t have a senator for gay students, and a senator for Jewish students and

a senator for students from New York,” Klionsky said.

However, McElhaney wrote in an email to the Justice that the focus of the case was on a constitutional issue rather than an “argument about the merits of the position, or students who have served in the position, or students that identify as racial minorities.”

The election for the senator for racial minority was supposed to take place next Sunday. According to Union Secretary Tia Chatterjee ’09, 22 percent of the undergraduate student body is eligible to vote for both positions. The election has now been postponed pending the outcome of the case.

McElhaney and Klionsky originally directed their case against the Elections Commission, after Chatterjee, who oversees the Elections Commission, denied Klionsky’s request to run for the senatorial position because he does not identify as a minority. Chatterjee said that she did not think that the Elections Commission had done anything unconstitutional as it was just following the Union’s constitution.

The UJ later changed the respondent of the case to the Student Union Government instead of the Elections Commission because “the case is essentially a challenge to the Student Union Consitution itself,” wrote Graham Kagan in an e-mail to parties in the case.

The UJ hearing will take place tomorrow at 3:30 in the Shapiro Campus Center Art Gallery. “[Justices who voted in favor of allowing the case to be heard] felt that it was a very important issue,” Graham Kagan said. She said she did not think the UJ would attempt to rule on the Union Constitution’s compliance with federal or state law. “However, I think it would be within our authority for us to recommend that [these positions] be looked at further in regard to [those laws].” Graham Kagan cited the administration as an example of a third party that the UJ can recommend to look into the matter further. She said considering the Union Constitution’s compliance with Rights and Responsibilities was more within the UJ’s ability to examine.

Klionsky said the petitioners do not expect the UJ to invalidate the constitution but that its finding “could provide input for the creation of an amendment to get rid of the position.”

Village Senator Avi Rhodes ’09, who plans to serve as co-council in the case for the petitioners, pointed out that there isn’t a senate position especially available for students who are not from a minority background. Rhodes asked.

“This decision being handled by a couple of students within the UJ is kind of unfair; I feel it should be more democratic [by involving the entire student body],” current Senator for Racial Minorities Kamarin Lee ’12 said.

Jean Souffrant (TYP), who had signed up to run for the position, said he was “very upset” to hear about the case. “The senator of racial minorities at Brandeis is the voice of the minority community at Brandeis,” he said. Together with Kaamila Mohamed ’11, Brandeis Black Student Organization co-president-elect, he has written an email to multiple campus cultural groups urging members to tell Graham Kagan, that the UJ is not the proper venue to discuss the issue because there “will be no representation from the Brandeis racial minority community at the case.”

However, Graham Kagan wrote in an e-mail to the Justice last night that each side will be able to submit a list of current undergraduate or TYP students or administrators to give legal arguments of no more than five minutes.

Before, “we’ve certainly never allowed anyone from the community who has an interest in the case to participate,” in this way Graham Kagan wrote.

Nineteen signatories, including Union President Jason Gray ’10 and members of cultural clubs, have signed an amicus brief asking for the case to be dismissed. Graham Kagan responded to cultural group listservs by stating that the UJ “is seriously interested in engaging with the community of racial minority students on this campus to ensure that we have the fullest range of views and opinions represented” and encouraging minority students to give their input.

CAMPUS SPEAKER

Ayers visit triggers student reactions ■ There will be two town hall

meetings that will be held next week to discuss the controversial April 30 visit.

By HARRY SHIPPS JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

The April 30 visit of Bill Ayers, cofounder of the Weather Underground and professor in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has engendered a wide range of opinions from students, faculty and administration that will be further explored at an upcoming series of town hall-style meetings scheduled for April 27 and 29.

In the days leading up to the town hall meetings, some students have expressed their interest in attending the event, while others like Douglas Moore ’11 have decided to protest against the upcoming visit through an anti-Ayers Facebook group named Bill Ayers is Coming to Brandeis, Seriously? WTF. There is also a Facebook event, Students Against Bill Ayers Coming to Brandeis, which is scheduled to take place the same day as the Ayers visit.

The town hall-style meetings will take place in Lown Auditorium and will be open forums between students and professors, according to Liza Behrendt ’11, event coordinator and Democracy for America member. She said that DFA has not yet received confirmation on which professors will be present at the town hall meetings.

“We hope to discuss people’s reaction. We hope that people who have negative opinions about the event will show up and express their opinions. …

We’re going to talk about the history, … [and] on Wednesday we’re going to

watch the film The Weather Underground,” Behrendt said.

Ayers’ visit will take place April 30 after being postponed from its initial March 30 date due to mounting security costs surrounding the event. DFA members and event coordinators Behrendt and Lev Hirschhorn ’11, as well as Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan, declined to discuss the total cost of the event or the cost of security, but Behrendt and Hirschhorn both said that DFA would be paying approximately $1,400. The event is being sponsored by Democracy for America, Students for a Democratic Society, the Brenda Meehan Social Justice in Action Grant and four academic departments: Peace, Conflict and Coexistence Studies; Education; History; and Social Justice and Social Policy. The event will be held in the Carl J. Shapiro Theater. Tickets will be $5 each and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Only 230 tickets will be sold.

Hirschhorn, who is also a Student Union senator for the Class of 2011, said that it was important to invite Ayers to campus and hear what he has to say because “there are a lot of activists on campus, and I think people are very interested in the lessons to be learned from the antiwar movement of the 1960s and the limits of activism.”

Moore, on the other hand, said, “I think that the problem with him coming to campus is his past involvement in a lot of violent acts, compared to nonviolence and other forms of protest. I think [nonviolence and other forms of protest] should be taught and should be appreciated here on campus, not something like the bombings that the Weather Underground were responsible for.” Moore added that he believes the event reflects poorly on the entire campus and that the visit is “kind of pointless.” Moore is undecided on

whether he will attend the event.

Students Against Bill Ayers Coming to Brandeis criticizes the sponsors of the Ayers visit for “donating money to fund a terrorist, rather than use that money for something useful on campus (like saving the Rose Art Museum).”

This Facebook event encourages anyone who disagrees with Ayers’ outlook to come together to protest, and as of last night there are seven confirmed attendees.

Behrendt said that she thinks it is important to listen to Ayers because “he is a very well-respected person now, yet in the past [he] did horrific things in the name of justice, and that is a very challenging puzzle for current activists to work out.”

The event is also eliciting reactions from several administrators and faculty members. Provost Marty Krauss said about the event, “I’ve never heard him speak, so I don’t know what he will say. I think that Brandeis has always been a place where different speakers come, and if this is a speaker that students are interested in hearing from, I think that it is good that he is coming.”

Prof. Bernard Yack (POL) said that he had no problem with the decision to invite Ayers. When asked what Ayers could add to the conversation about social justice, Yack said, “He has strong opinions on the subject, and he represents the somewhat more radical view so it certainly adds to the conversation.”

Robert Mesika ’12 said that he was fully behind the invitation extended to Ayers. He said, “We should get everyone’s opinions and views on any matter, even if we have to get the radical left or the radical right.”

—Nashrah Rahman contributed reporting

SARA BRANDENBURG/the Justice

100 Days of Obama Greg Mankiw, former chairman of President George W. Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers, spoke about President Obama’s policies last Sunday.

ACADEMICS

Block scheduling changes proposed ■ The Block Scheduling

Committee proposed that classes should only be held until 2 p.m. on Fridays.

By NASHRAH RAHMAN JUSTICE EDITOR

The Block Scheduling Committee, composed of faculty, staff and students, has proposed that more biweekly courses that are 80 minutes long in session should be scheduled during the week than triweekly courses that are 50 minutes long per session, according to a campuswide email sent by Provost Marty Krauss on April 9.

The committee’s report also recommended implementing a full schedule of classes on Thursdays so that classes end at 2 p.m. on Fridays.

The committee has suggested that faculty meetings that are currently held on Thursdays should be consequently scheduled on Fridays. The committee report also recommends changing the starting time for classes to on the hour or half hour and ending 10 minutes before the hour. The report also recommends that the registrar should schedule classes such as the main science and larger lecture courses.

“The current practice of beginning 10 minutes after the hour is unusual and does not match the schedules kept by the vast majority of schools in our greater community,” according to the report. The report states that by following starting and ending times for classes that are consistent with the greater community, it will be easier for students to make work study appointments outside Brandeis.

University Provost Marty Krauss, who is charged with evaluating the committee’s report, said that these recommendations will be discussed this fall, and if passed, they will be used for the 2010 to 2011 academic year.

According to Krauss, the committee was created last year. Considering the different teaching methods and requirements on campus, Krauss said that the University wanted to schedule classes to accommodate different teaching lengths, such as those used by lab sessions, and to suit a variety of teaching environments such as those of advanced classes.

The report states that the proposals used data collected based on a university report regarding classroom use in fall 2007, as well as surveys about class blocks completed by faculty, staff and students. Data was also collected on the class scheduling practices at other institutions.

According to the report, all the recommendations proposed by the com-

mittee will work “on a model of interchangeable ‘Lego’ blocks in which different class lengths may be constructed by combining [class time] blocks.”

The “Lego” blocks model will allow for 11 possible weekly three-hour blocks, according to the report. Prof.

Malcolm Watson (PSYC) explained that such blocks are mainly used for graduate courses, lab courses and advanced seminars.

According to Watson, the committee has recommended reducing the number of triweekly course blocks from 10 to eight. Krauss said that the committee has recommended that triweekly courses should meet on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, beginning at 8 a.m. and running until 2 p.m. because faculty and students complained about having the same course back-to-back. Watson explained that it was easier for students in triweekly classes to catch up on their reading and develop their thoughts if the classes were spread out on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Watson said that the committee recommended increasing the number of biweekly course blocks from 11 to 16. Biweekly courses will meet on Tuesday through to Thursday, beginning at 9 a.m. and running until 9 p.m, according to the report. Watson explained that biweekly courses are usually advanced classes and that more of these 80-minute blocks should therefore be available because “sometimes when you’re in advanced classes 50 minutes isn’t really long enough to develop more discussion.”

Watson explained that holding classes until 2 p.m. would make it easier for practicing Jews and Muslims to make it to their respective services. Krauss added, “It also reflects the fact that it provides an end-of-the week time for all kinds of other activities like seminars and speakers.”

Watson explained the main problem faced by the University that the committee hopes to tackle. “There is a major issue that runs all this: that is we don’t have enough class space. … We are in really tough shape relative to the number of students we have and so we have to utilize our class space really well throughout the day,” Watson said.

Referring to the report, University Registrar Mark Hewitt clarified in an e-mail that the registrar already schedules all classes. “What [the report] is referring to is that with the reduction in 3-days-a-week blocks that there is apt to be more competition [between departments to get] those blocks and thus more care will have to be taken to make sure that courses students routinely enroll in are not set up to occur in the same block,” Hewitt wrote.

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THE JUSTICE

ACADEMICS

Changes to residency requirement postponed ■ Administrators are instead

working to clarify the current language of the requirement.

By ALANA ABRAMSON JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Proposed changes to the University residency requirement of seven semesters will be postponed following the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee’s withdrawal of Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe’s original proposal to increase the current requirement to eight semesters, according to University Registrar Mark Hewitt.

Instead, Jaffe is working with Hewitt to concentrate on clarifying the language of the requirement and adjusting it to incorporate the Justice Brandeis Semester, according to Hewitt.

Jaffe and Vice President of Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy decided to postpone any major changes to the residency requirement on the recommendation of Hewitt and Dean of Admissions Gil Villanueva, wrote Hewitt in an email to the Justice.

Hewitt wrote that he and Villanueva recommended that the administration refrain from making major changes to the requirement this year in order to provide more time for researching ideas for the proposal to solve the problem that degree acceleration poses for the budget.

“These requirements are so basic to the degree program that changes can have a broad impact on students, and we felt that we needed more time to be able to adequately assess the effects of any [major]

changes and to have more time to come up with different approaches that might mitigate the impact on students,” Hewitt wrote.

The residency requirement is the number of semesters a student must complete on campus.

The administration originally proposed to increase the current requirement from seven to eight semesters in an effort to address the problem of revenue loss that occurs when seniors graduate in December, Jaffe explained to the Justice in March.

However, Jaffe announced at the faculty meeting March 19 that the proposal was withdrawn due to faculty concerns that it would disadvantage students who need to graduate early for financial reasons.

At the April 2 faculty meeting, Jaffe had announced that he was working with Eddy on a new proposal that took into account these concerns. He had hoped to be able to present the new proposal implementing major changes to the requirement April 23.

Howver, Hewitt wrote that the decision to postpone any major changes occurred was made after Jaffe made the announcement at the faculty meeting.

Hewitt wrote that the JBS, which requires students to participate in experiential learning, will be treated similarly to study abroad.

“Students who wish to study abroad for two semesters, or take two JBS, or one of each are required to complete eight total semesters.

Students who want to graduate in seven semesters can only have one semester of either study abroad or Justice Brandeis,” Hewitt wrote in an e-mail to the Justice.

Hewitt wrote that he and Jaffe are

proposing to replace the term “academic residency” in the current requirement with “credits required for graduation” and “semesters required for graduation.” Hewitt wrote that they are proposing to change this wording because, judging from listserv discussions, faculty and students find the current wording confusing.

“People get hung up on the contradiction of calling [this requirement] residency when some of the semesters/credits that satisfy it are actually spent off-campus (e.g., study abroad),” Hewitt wrote.

Hewitt added that he and Jaffe are also proposing to eliminate the chart of options in the current proposal and change the wording of “non-resident numeric credit” to “external credit sources” and change “non-resident credit for purpose” to “external exams/courses for purpose.”

Jaffe told the Justice that the changes that he and Hewitt are recommending to the current residency requirement are minor. “This is the kind of thing that we do all the time, fiddling with how things are worded in the bulletin,” he said.

When asked if the administration had come up with any major changes to the current proposal, Hewitt wrote that it would be “premature to mention the ideas that have been proposed at this stage.”

Jaffe also said that Eddy and he are still working on their proposal to implement major changes to the requirement but declined to provide specifics. “Nothing’s going to happen anytime soon,” he said.

Jaffe and Hewitt will propose the minor changes to the current residency requirement to the UCC April 22, Hewitt wrote.

site.

Jaffe e-mailed all faculty members, asking them to submit their research interests and requirements for research assistants. More than 60 faculty members responded.

According to Grabiner-Keinan, students who want to participate in research projects often don’t know how to get involved in research.

“Sometimes [students] just didn’t even [participate in research] because they didn’t know that they could,” she said.

The research guide, Krauss said, is “an effort to make sure that we have as strong a communication plan as possible.” Khan said the guide was designed to increase student-faculty interaction and opportunities for students to participate in faculty research.

The guide is part of the University’s Experiential Learning Program, designed to give students hands-on learning experiences outside the classroom. Its Web site therefore includes links to information about ways to fund student research through fellowships and grants as well as how to get academic credit for participating in research.

This year marks the first time the University has created an online research guide. In the past, Wong said, the University distributed a hard copy research guide. “The Web is the best way to [list research opportunities],” she said.

“We’ve always felt that the opportunity for undergraduates to engage with faculty in research is one of the strongest aspects of the Brandeis experience,” Jaffe said.

Of the more than 60 faculty who responded to Jaffe’s e-mail, Khan said, “Considering that this is the first time this is happening, is a huge number.” As more students use the guide, Khan predicted that “more faculty members are going to come on board.”

Prof. Jill Greenlee (POL) who responded to Jaffe’s e-mail said that the list of politics faculty in the research guide “represent[s] some of the very different research that’s going on in the department,” including international relations, comparative politics and American politics.

While Greenlee and other politics professors have hired undergraduate research assistants, Greenlee said that not all professors will submit information to the guide, as they may not currently require a research assistant.

Similarly, Prof. Daniel Ruberman (MATH), who did not respond to Jaffe’s e-mail with his research interests, said that “everybody in the Math department does research, [but] not everybody is … willing to work with undergraduates.”

Prof. Bulbul Chakraborty (PHYS), who also did not respond to Jaffe’s email, said that the guide covers all the areas of research in the physics department, but it does not cite all physics faculty.

“These are all the areas that we have research going on in, but there are lots more people who should have sent [their research interests] in,” she said.

When Angela Pisoni ’12 asked a psychology professor to work in his lab next fall, she said she “had to ask [a student] who’s already in the [psychology] department to clarify” what research the professor does. A research guide listing all psychology professors’ research interests would have been useful, she said.

Marina Gindelsky ’09 said the research guide would have been “very helpful” while she was a newer student. An Economics major, she said it was difficult to find a professor who needed a research assistant.

“For science [majors] it’s easy [to become a research assistant] because there’s a lot of positions,” she said. “For social sciences and humanities [majors], it’s difficult.”

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TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2009

5

PART OF THE CREW

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

It’s row time!

Crew Team members Doreen El-Roeiy ’12 and Greg Ryan ’12 row on ergometers, or rowing machines. The team was raising money for new rowing machines.

CONSTRUCTION

Library to house New research guide is online genetics program RESEARCH

■ The Gerstenzang Science

■ A guide detailing available

research opportunities for students in various departments is now online.

By SHANA D. LEBOWITZ JUSTICE EDITOR

The Student Union announced in an e-mail April 17 the creation of an online research guide listing all the research opportunities in different academic departments and research centers at Brandeis, according to an April 17 e-mail.

The purpose of the research guide was to make research opportunities more available to students, according to Anum Irfan Khan ’10, the Student Union Director of Academic Affairs. The guide includes the names of more than 60 faculty members from departments in the creative arts, humanities, social sciences and sciences, as well as the Classical Artifact Research Center, The Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education, the Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center, the Volen National Center for Complex Systems and the Women’s Studies Research Center.

Each faculty member’s name is accompanied by their research interest, the qualifications necessary for applying to be their research assistant and the responsibilities of the research assistant.

Khan suggested creating the guide at a meeting with Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe and Provost Marty Krauss. Khan then led the initiative to create the guide along with Jaffe, Krauss, associate Dean of Arts and Sciences Elaine Wong and Adi Grabiner-Keinan, academic administrator for experiential learning.

Kimberly Burk (GRAD), a student in the Cultural Productions program, designed the research guide’s Web

Library will accommodate space for the Genetic Counseling Program.

By NASHRAH RAHMAN JUSTICE EDITOR

The Genetic Counseling Program, a Master of Science program, will be accommodated on the upper floor of the Gerstenzang Library since the Kalman science building, in which it is currently accommodated, will come down this year, according to Provost Marty Krauss.

“Though the specific plans are not yet finalized, the space will include offices for the Genetic Counseling Program faculty, a dedicated classroom for the Program, a Commons area for students in the Program and a conference room that will be used for a number of different undergraduate and graduate classes,” Director of the Genetic Counseling Program Judith Tsipis (BIOL) wrote in an e-mail to the Justice.

According to the Genetics Counseling Program’s Web site, the Genetic Counseling Program is a Master of Science Program.

The Web site states that the curriculum consists of graduate level courses that “are designed to provide students with a solid scientific background, knowledge of counseling techniques and awareness of the social and ethical issues in human genetics today.”

The academic component of the curriculum is completed through a series of seminars in genetic counseling and a laboratory-based project or a qualitative or quantitative study in the genetics field.

Vice President of Capital Projects Dan Feldman told the Justice last month that “[the Kalman and Friedland science buildings] are coming down because they are the

two oldest buildings in the [Science Complex]; they are in terrible condition.”

Krauss told the Justice March 31 that academic programs like the Genetics Counseling Program, that are currently accommodated in these buildings, will be relocated elsewhere in the University.

Krauss said that a part of the upper floor of the Science Library will not be used by the Genetic Counseling Program.

“We’re considering alternative uses for [the remaining space], and it may basically remain as study space for students, but there are some other programmatic needs that may be taken into consideration,” Krauss said.

“All students will continue to have access to the rest of the library—both on the first floor and the lower level,” Tsipis wrote.

Vice President and Vice Provost for Libraries and Information Technology Perry Hanson wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that “many of the volumes [of the book that are currently housed on the upper floor of the Science Library] will be on the lower floor, and others will move to Goldfarb as appropriate.”

Hanson added that what books are currently available online or only in print will be taken into account when determining how to accommodate the books that are on the upper level. “Our goal, obviously, is not to diminish information resources,” he wrote.

The estimates for the renovation project of the upper floor of the Science Library are currently being worked out, according to Krauss. She added, however, “This isn’t complicated space to build, so it should be pretty cost-effective.”

Krauss said that the renovation of the upper floor should be completed by mid-August in time for the beginning of the fall semester.

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2009

7

CARS RELEASES REPORT ACADEMICS

Univ reacts to proposals ■ Brandeis students and

faculty react to proposed CARS committee changes.

By JILLIAN WAGNER JUSTICE EDITOR

In the aftermath of yesterday’s release of the Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering committee’s report, many faculty and students affected by the proposals immediately began to express initial reactions to the committee’s recommendations.

The committee’s recommendations included making American Studies, Classical Studies and African and Afro-American Studies interdepartmental-programs instead of departments and implementing a 10-percent cut of faculty and staff across all departments, reducing the size of most Ph.D. programs.

The recommendation of converting AAAS, AMST and Classics into interdisciplinary programs—meaning the majors are still intact, but the classes will be cross-listed with other departments—was one on which committee members received the most feedback from those affected.

Dean of Arts and Sciences and Chair of the CARS committee Adam Jaffe said that the CARS committee met with the African and AfroAmerican Studies and Classical Studies departments last Friday and with the American Studies department yesterday to discuss the committee’s recommendations. “I would say in all cases they were unhappy with the recommendations,” Jaffe said.

Prof. Joyce Antler (AMST) said, “there’s a difference between a program and a department. [American Studies] has been highly successful, and it’s not a new program that’s come into being. And I think that the rationale for making a transformational change is not convincing.

We don’t see the cost savings in it at all.”

Prof.

Wellington Nyangoni (AAAS) said he would “be extremely disappointed” if the AAAS department were converted into a program. “Programs are not equal to departments,” he said.

Nathan Robinson ’11, a declared AAAS major, said, “I believe the University has shown a weak commitment toward the AAAS department. I am concerned the studies of African-American issues will merge into the study of the social justices or race and gender issues generically, and I think it’s very important for those of us who are genuinely interested in African or Afro-American studies that we have an intense focus on that particular subject.”

Lee Marmor ’10, a Classical Studies major, was one of two students who organized a Facebook group called Save the Classical Studies Department last night to “protest the recent decision to reduce the status of Classical Studies to an interdepartmental program,” according to the group’s Facebook page.

“It’s outrageous, and universities were founded originally, basically, on the study of classics. I know they’re not getting rid of this, but still, it’s ridiculous,” he said.

Prof. Steven Burg (POL), a member of the CARS committee, explained to the Justice Sunday that he understood the department’s initial reactions.

“If somebody came to me and said, ‘Steve, we’re doing away with the Politics Department,’ ... I’d be shocked … But if you make a strong institutional argument, if there may be benefits to me as an intellectual in terms of closer relationships with colleagues in the University with whom I can share some overlap, then there are certain benefits to be had.” He added, “These are what are called ‘difficult conversations.’”

Also released in the report was a recommendation to reduce the number of low-enrollment courses taught each semester.

Prof. Jonathan Sarna (NEJS), whose department has several courses that routinely draw fewer than eight people after pre-enrollment, believes these classes will be shifted to graduate classes to which some undergraduates could be invited to take the class. He explained that this could allow for some specialized classes.

“But at the same time ... we now have to realize that if there are going to be 10 percent fewer faculty

and 10 percent more students, then all of us have to carry a load,” Sarna said.

Another recommendation in the report is a 10-percent cut of faculty across all departments over five years.

“Certainly, these are difficult times ... This is a burden that should be shared across the University, and [we need to] find ways to continue to offer an effective curriculum with whatever attrition is necessary,” Antler said.

The report also included a recommendation that would increase the variety of courses taught by each faculty member over a three-year rotation, which would, in effect, mean that each course would be offered less frequently.

Antler expressed concerns about this. “Beyond [every other year], it gets very difficult for students who might want to catch courses in their first two years or last two years, and [the courses are] just not available,” she said. “[The classes] can’t be so irregular that students can’t plan for them.”

Several faculty members declined to comment because they had not yet read the report.

Provost Marty Krauss said that she will issue a preliminary response May 4, which will be discussed at a special faculty meeting May 7. She will then issue a final report May 11.

Faculty members will begin discussing the report at this week’s faculty meeting, and there are open forums scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday and Monday where Brandeis community members can provide their input to Krauss directly, according to a campuswide e-mail sent by Student Union President Jason Gray ’10.

Krauss said, “I don’t want to say very much now about my reactions to it because I really want to hear from the community.”

Burg said Sunday, “It’s not clear to me whether those recommendations will in the end find enough support in the faculty,” but he added that, “I believe there are strong arguments for them.”

—Hannah Kirsch, Shana D. Lebowitz, Miranda Neubauer and Daniel D. Snyder contributed reporting.

CARS: Curriculum changes proposed CONTINUED FROM 1 existing research and teaching agendas match up very nicely with, for example AAAS, but because they’re in different departments … there’s an artificial administrative barrier which we wish to remove,” Burg said.

Burg emphasized, “The faculty in AAAS will have to make decisions about where they wish to affiliate in terms of departmental affiliation, but they’ll still be a program.” More courses will be cross-listed, and students will have more courses to choose from, Burg explained.

Burg added that the committee believed the changes could strengthen both the established departments and the new interdepartmental programs by making use of the expertise of the faculty, who will be able to contribute in related academic fields.

Another CARS member, Prof. Tim Hickey (COSI), said that there is an advantage to increasing the interactions between different departments by making them more interdisciplinary. Hickey explained that small departments put extra burden on faculty because the rotation of the chair goes through fewer people.

The committee informed AAAS and Classics on Friday and AMST on Monday, committee members said.

They had sought input from various departments throughout their deliberations and also received 107 responses to a faculty survey.

The committee also provided a model for the University’s previously announced goal to reduce the faculty by 10 percent, about 30 positions, over the next five years through departures or retirements.

“We looked at each department and decided how much we can shrink it and still preserve the curriculum,” Hickey said. “Everyone’s going to be unhappy; all these target sizes are smaller.”

Burg emphasized that Brandeis remained fully committed to the tenure track system. “We are not going to use the tenure process to achieve [the goal of shrinking departments],” he said. In order to be a quality insitution, “You must constantly reinvigorate your faculty with new Ph.D.s and assistant professors,” Burg said.

The report also noted that while the committee considered closing Ph.D. programs, it concluded that the programs were too valuable as undergraduate teaching resources and too integral to the University’s “scholarship mission” to give up.

“It’s not clear to me that Brandeis would have as distinguished a faculty as it does have … if we didn’t have these Ph.D. programs,” Burg said.

The report estimates that the University could save about $1.8 million by cutting the size of Ph.D. programs. “This report, to some extent, squeezes the graduate school in order to preserve the core undergraduate mission of Brandeis,” Jaffe said.

The report calls for a reduction of about 20 percent in the number of Ph.D. students funded by University stipends.

The committee proposed enforcing the cancellation of classes with fewer than eight students enrolled after preregistration, or if it is not canceled, it shall not count as a faculty member’s teaching load.

The committee is also strongly encouraging faculty to teach a greater variety of courses over the same three-year timeline. Assuming that a faculty member teaches four courses over three years, “it is now the case that those 12 courses would really be the same four three times; we’re trying within the 12 to have six different courses,” Burg said.

Faculty from existing interdisciplinary departments will need to choose to affiliate with other departments, members explained.

The report recommends a review of institutes and centers, the creation of interdisciplinary major in the creative arts and the abolishment of four-year BA/MA programs. The report also suggests closing interdisciplinary programs such as Medieval and Renaissance Studies; Language and Linguistics; Peace Conflict and Coexistence Studies; History of Ideas and; Internet Studies if financial difficulties arise.

“We did everything we felt was necessary to preserve the quality of the liberal arts college,” Burg said.

—Mike Prada, Hannah Kirsch and Nashrah Rahman contributed reporting

ROSE: The museum will reopen July 22 CONTINUED FROM 1

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

Waltham Group Celebrates The Waltham Group hosted a Volunteer Appreciation night for its volunteers. The celebration featured a chocolate fountain and a chance to win gift certificates.

Rose Museum Board of Overseers, Krauss said, “There has been a lot of misinformation going around, which is unfortunate” According to the announcement, Roy Dawes, currently the assistant director of operations, will serve as director of museum operations; Valerie Wright, who is currently the museum registrar, will serve as collections manager; and Karina Sheerin will remain director of financial control, budgeting and analysis.

When asked to name the two out of six Rose staff members who were not offered continued employment by the University, Krauss wrote, “I cannot comment directly about personnel decisions.”

However, Lee confirmed that Jay Knox, the current administrator of the museum, was also not offered employment and that his position, like Rush’s, will terminate June 30.

Lee added that Emily Mello, the director of education at the Rose, declined the University’s offer of employment.

Krauss explained the staffing decisions in an e-mail to the Justice. “We wanted to ensure that the Permanent Collection has professionally trained staff to secure its preservation and treatment. But we didn't want to preempt the role that the Committee for the Future of the Rose has in recommending programmatic and artistic goals for the future,” she wrote, further explaining that “From [the committee’s] recommendations, we will assess the staffing needs necessary to implement adopted recommendations. So, as of today, it is not known

what full staffing needs will be required.”

Rush wrote that he cannot speak for the administration about the decision concerning his employment status, but he wrote, “I am considered an enemy for being so vocally opposed to the decision to close the museum and sell artwork. This is clear.”

Sheerin wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that as a result of the staffing changes she will be working with Dawes more closely.

Mello, Knox, Wright and Dawes could not be reached for comment by press time.

Krauss wrote that the July 22 reopening date and prior timeline were endorsed by the Committee on the Future of the Rose in a meeting she attended with the committee April 7.

However, Prof. Jerry Samet (PHIL), the chair of the Committee on the Future of the Rose, wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that “the committee did not make specific staffing recommendations to the Provost ... [Krauss] took the lead on these matters and then discussed her plan with the committee.”

Samet wrote that the Committee had been urging Krauss to announce a transition plan for the museum as soon as possible. The Committee is involved in developing a long-range plan for the Rose, and the uncertainties about [the status of the Rose in the short term] was very worrying for the whole Brandeis community.

“Knowing that and how the Rose will continue its operations for the shortterm gives the committee some

breathing room to carefully deliberate about the long-term,” Samet wrote.

Samet wrote that the Committee has not decided when they will issue a final report because the report would come out either over the summer, when few people will be on campus to discuss it, or in the fall, in which case “the period of uncertainty is extended.”

The current Hans Hoffman exhibition at the Rose will be extended until May 17, Krauss wrote.

Prof. Nancy Scott (FA) wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that while it is a good sign that the museum will be open this summer, “the staffing situation, however, is skeletal at best, and it will be difficult now to arrange for any substantive educational programming for next year.”

“I was astonished, just as I had been [with the initial announcement to close the Rose Jan. 26],” Rush wrote. “The university has essentially disenfranchised me as director. They have done the same with the Rose board of overseers. It’s as if we don’t exist.”

“This decision means the University is responding to some pressure, which is a good thing,” he added. “What it means otherwise is not much: There will be no director, no curator, no administrator, no funding stream, no Board (most likely).

What kind of museum is that?”

—Jillian Wagner contributed reporting.

8

TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2009

just

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THE JUSTICE

features

VERBATIM | T.S. Eliot Humankind cannot stand very much reality.

ON THIS DAY...

FUN FACT

In 1775, the British began their siege of Boston.

The average person will spend two weeks over his or her lifetime waiting for the traffic light to change.

Infusing education and imagination

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

EXPLAINING IMAGINATION: Director of education for the Rose Art Museum Emily Mello, left, talks about how wonder motivates. Next to her are Prof. Mark Auslander (ANTH) and Prof. Dirck Roosevelt (ED).

The Second Annual Symposium on the Pedagogy of Imagination discusses how imagination relates to learning

By HARRY SHIPPS JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

What do we gain from wonder?

What can imagination teach us?

How do we think about these concepts in a world that puts increasing emphasis on the concrete and the tangible elements of life, especially in education?

These questions were central to the Second Annual Symposium on the Pedagogy of Imagination.

Held on April 1 in the Lois Foster Wing of the Rose Art Museum, the symposium provided a forum to discuss the abstract elements of life: how our imagination works, why it is so difficult to understand, what creates wonder and how the abstract can be used to create in an educational setting.

Prof. Dirck Roosevelt, an assistant director of the Education program, director of the Master of the Arts in Teaching program and assistant professor of education, was the keynote speaker of the event.

However, there were many other speakers, including graduate students and other professors. The event was co-sponsored by the Master of Arts in Teaching program, the Philosophy department, the Cultural Production program, the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education and the Rose Art Museum.

The theme of this year’s event, titled “Arresting Moments: Wonder and the Pedagogy of the Imagination,” focused on the position of wonder in education institutions and pedagogic endeavors.

In the symposium, participants considered the “drop-dead” mo-

ments of wonder felt in the face of a great work of art or performance.

How are these moments to be understood usefully, framed and built upon?

The audience, which was composed mostly of adults, heard presentations from Brandeis professors and graduate students as well as scholars from the greater artistic community.

Emily Mello, director of education for the Rose, said, “I think that wonder is a huge motivator, and I think that you can’t have true education without wonder. You can have memorization, you can have training, but you can’t have the kind of deep learning that involves critical thinking, that involves letting things slowly unfold in the mind.”

Mello began the evening by introducing the topics to be discussed and the role that the Rose had played in advocating creative instinct and the importance of imagination on the Brandeis campus. She also said that there has been some confusion since the announcement was made in January about the planned [closing] of the Rose and the plans to liquidate its collection. She took a moment to clarify that the final day for the staff of the Rose is still set at June 30.

“There are no exhibitions currently planned beyond the exhibitions that are up now, which close May 17, … and there are still ... plans to go forward to sell some of the art in the collection,” Mello said.

After Mello’s introduction, Roosevelt, one of the original minds behind the Pedagogy of Imagination symposium, quickly remarked on the theme of the evening. He said,

“We meet in the Rose Art Museum, and it’s hard to imagine what would be a more appropriate setting than this for consideration of the most precious human capacity, the capacity of ‘what if?’”

As Roosevelt introduced the human propensity to wonder, Prof.

Andreas Teuber (PHIL) described his interest not in wonders but in the power that wonder has as a teaching tool.

This was the central theme of the symposium: how the feeling of wonder can be understood and to some extent be used in an educational setting.

Teuber spoke of the abstract nature of wonder.

He said, “there was a distinction between miracles and the marvelous. … Miracles were things that defied the laws of nature and were really, truly, incomprehensible.

Therefore, you would be struck by a miracle, but you couldn’t get it, and the fact that you couldn’t get it confirmed the existence of some supreme being. … The marvelous were something in between the ordinary and the miraculous but something that was accessible to human faculties and could be opened up and maybe understood.”

The presentations that followed focused on examples of imagination and wonder as well as their effects in real-life scenarios from housing developments to the Rose itself.

Professor Mark Auslander (ANTH) and a group of students from his class “Engaged Anthropolgy” presented what they had achieved through their work with the Waltham Family School, an Even Start Literacy program that

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

POWER OF WONDER: Prof. Andreas Teuber (PHIL) speaks about the laws of nature.

The event included speeches by professors, students and others. improves educational opportunities by combining childhood and adult education in literacy as well as parenting activities.

Auslander and the students had been working with immigrant women in an anthropological context discussing the meaning of clothing and human appearance. This process involved the women creating images of clothing as well as visiting the Rose and discussing what they saw.

Finally, Roosevelt gave the keynote address.

He explained that “making art … is a structured experience for ele-

mentary-age youngsters, who come here [to the Rose] for five sessions, … and discussions are designed to combine looking at, thinking about and discussing one or more of the current exhibits and making their own art and thinking about and discussing that art.”

Although the symposium ran well beyond the scheduled time, it seemed to take on the very sort of nature that infuses imagination: a process of thinking and wondering about things that can never be truly understood but is immensely powerful and can achieve amazing things.

M

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2009

9

ore than just juggling

The juggling club displays both skills and friendship

By IRINA FINKEL JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

As I walk into the Winer Lounge, where the Juggling Club meets at 8 p.m. on Thursdays, I see a group of students gathering around a table, cutting a carrot cake. The group is surrounded by toys that could have come straight from the circus, a unicycle and a pogo stick included. The club’s vice president, Michelle Faits ’10, explains it is club member Kanchana Ravichandran’s ’10 20th birthday. Thus, a homemade carrot cake and a delightful rendition of “Happy Birthday” marks the occasion.

The tight-knit organization usually celebrates each member’s birthday with some sort of baked good.

There is a familial atmosphere in the room in the Usdan Student Center as the group jokes around and enjoys the dessert.

Slowly but surely, everyone picks up various gadgets and begins to practice. The Juggling Club is a deceptive name because there is so much more to do than just juggle.

Every member finds his or her own activity.

Juggling Club president Daniel Weisz ’09 explains that the club owns everything from “juggling clubs to poi to pogo sticks to magic boxes to devil sticks and unicycles.”

The mission of the club, he says, “was to have fun and enjoy life in a juggling atmosphere.” He picks up three multicolored juggling balls and begins to throw and catch them.

He emphasizes that the “club had grown from three people two years ago to 15 to 20 [regular] members.”

Though they do not actively seek out members throughout the year, the club always has a table at the activities fair.

Faits explains that the club loves seeing new faces and that at the activities fair “most people are intrigued by the idea of a juggling club. Even [juggling] three balls is a cool trick.”

Weisz admits that it’s not a very serious organization. It meets on a weekly basis, but the club itself is not a very formal one. “There’s very little organization; some people just come to hang out,” he explains.

Another member, Andrew Vorsanger ’09, begins to play with the juggling balls. While Weisz and Vorsanger juggle, they talk about the loose structure of the club, saying people learn their activity of choice through “impromptu learning,” according to Weisz.

Most members of the club have a circus-like specialty that they happily teach when asked. Weisz specializes in juggling, while Faits has a knack for poi, a form of juggling in which a ball is attached to a rope and swung around in special patterns to create different illusions.

While I speak to Weisz, I watch Faits teaching some of the other members a poi trick called the “water fountain.”

This officially chartered club usually gets funding from the Finance

EMILY BERK/the Justice

FANCY HANDWORK: Above, Kanchana Ravichandran ‘10, a member of the juggling club practices using devil sticks. The club meets in the Winer Lounge in Usdan.

EMILY BERK/the Justice

TRICKS WITH TEAMWORK: Above: Members of the Juggling Club fool around with some of their equipment. Below: Daniel Weisz ‘09 practices his juggling.

EMILY BERK/the Justice

BEYOND JUGGLING: Above, Caitlin Dichter ‘09 practices her unique skills. The juggling club has poi, pogo sticks, magic boxes, devil sticks, and unicycles in addition to juggling. Next semester is the club’s ten-year anniversary.

Board “to buy toys” explains Caitlin Dichter ’09, a two-year member of the club. The organization was started in 1999 by a few sophomores who lived in the Castle and liked to juggle. The tradition was carried on, and the club will be celebrating its 10-year anniversary next semester.

The club holds several events to get the campus involved, to recruit new members and to entertain students. Members participate in about five coffeehouses at Cholmondeley’s every semester and take part in the Senior Silent Auction, where, this year, Weisz auctioned off a free jug-

gling lesson.

They also take part in the Bernstein Festival of the Arts, where some members of the club usually give a performance. Additionally, the club is involved in Communiversity, a Brandeis-sponsored annual student tutorial, in which students sign up to teach different skills. Every year, one of the members, usually the president, teaches a class on juggling.

The members all attend events off campus together. Every year in April, the club pilgrimages to see Le Grand Daniel, a magic show in Bev-

EMILY BERK/the Justice

erly, Mass. Le Grand Daniel was started by Brandeis alumni and is the longest-running magic show in the country.

Faits says that “it’s a fun activity that also has a Brandeis connection.” The magic show has not only typical magic tricks but also an interesting variety show which includes singing and dancing. Aside from this, the members have seen the Cirque du Soleil show, Kooza, which featured a prominent world juggler. “It was a great experience,” says Faits. “It helped bring everyone closer.”

She says it was a great motivational tool because everyone wanted to be a great juggler after seeing the show.

Most of the members that belong to the club were drawn in by a juggler they knew. Dichter got her boyfriend, Vorsanger, to join, and Faits brought both her roommates to a meeting. Since their introduction, they’ve all remained involved in the club. According to Vorsanger, “It’s more about the community than juggling.”

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TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

the Justice Established 1949

Brandeis University

MIKE PRADA, Editor-in-Chief ANDREA FINEMAN, Managing Editor HANNAH KIRSCH, Deputy Editor J OEL HERZFELD, SHANA D. LEBOWITZ, DAVID SHEPPARD -B RICK and DANIEL D. SNYDER, Associate Editors JILLIAN WAGNER and NASHRAH RAHMAN, News Editors REBECCA KLEIN, Features Editor REBECCA B LADY, Forum Editor IAN CUTLER, Sports Editor JUSTINE ROOT, Arts Editor JULIAN AGIN -LIEBES and MAX B REITSTEIN MATZA, Photography Editors B RIAN B LUMENTHAL, Layout Editor B RIAN FROMM, Copy Editor C OURTNEY B REEN and SARA ROBINSON, Advertising Editors

Maintain major specificity If the new proposals by the Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering committee can be called anything, it’s ambitious. Its meticulous collating of academic disciplines and redistribution of academic resources shows as much consideration for both students and faculty as one should expect, especially given the state of our University’s finances.

But as good as many of these suggestions are, this editorial board has some reservations about the longterm effects of some of the CARS proposals, some of which we fear may dilute the academic rigor for which our school is known.

For some departments, absorption under a larger academic umbrella makes sense. Much of American Studies can easily be placed under the auspices of a larger History or Politics department, as can African and Afro-American Studies. In these cases, the committee’s fat-trimming exercises are well-thought-out and appropriate. However, with a department such as Classics, the formula doesn’t work quite as well. The study of ancient Greek and Latin history, texts and culture has been codified over the centuries as a traditional academic discipline. While the CARS program allows students to continue to have the option of majoring in African and Afro-American Studies, American Studies and Classics, even if those departments are absorbed into other similar departments, dissolving the Classics department and spreading its professors among different departments cannot be accomplished easily and logically and will be much more to the detriment of Classics majors than such a maneuver would be for majors in African and Afro-American studies and in American Studies.

While America’s service economy calls for well-rounded, flexible minds and people who can move easily among fields, the University should take caution before rendering a large majority of traditional majors “interdisciplinary.” Classics cannot easily be redistributed as simply history, art and literature classics focusing on the Greeks and Romans. Likewise, other areas of study cannot easily broaden the scope of their classes in order to appeal to a wider demographic.

As another example, CARS recommends that upper-level foreign language classes, which often focus on literature, be taught in English with readings in translations. It’s true that this approach makes such classes as “French Drama of the 20th Century” and “Literary Women in Early Modern Spain” open to students who aren’t proficient in French or Spanish. But such a change in the teaching style of these upper-level classes would be greatly detrimental to foreign language majors and those who simply want to improve their foreign language skills alike. Currently, upper-level language classes are taught in their foreign language, assignments are completed in the foreign language, and readings are done entirely in the foreign language.

Allowing French, Spanish, Italian, German and other foreign language majors to take classes conducted entirely in English would cheapen the value of their foreign language

Don’t overemphasize interdisciplinary studies degrees. Additionally, broadening the appeal of these classes in order to attract more students to each course would take away one of the factors that makes these classes (and majors) appealing in the first place: a small class size, which is conducive to foreign language learning.

Those are just two examples. We believe the move toward broadening upper-level classes in general, a recommendation made repeatedly in the detailed CARS proposals for each department, is threatening across the board. Broadening the scope of upperlevel Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, History or English literature classes in order to attract or enable a larger number of students potentially could dilute the specific level of study in these classes. For example, broadening a specific class such as “Israeli Art” to include the artistic traditions of other nationalities in order to attract students not particularly interested in Israel to the class takes away the professor’s ability to go indepth in studying the topic with the students.

Additionally, upper-level classes with very narrow topics that are intended for majors and upperclassmen will attract (or be forced to admit) students without the requisite expertise, creating an atmosphere in which students who are truly upperlevel will be held back by their inexperienced classmates. Majors are supposed to be highly specialized and indepth; broadening the scope of upperlevel classes, which in essence makes them more similar to intro and survey classes, not only fails to challenge students and provides a more shallow level of instruction but also will mitigate the prestige of undergraduate degrees.

There’s another problem with CARS’ desire to appeal to the lowest common denominator: One of CARS’ recommendations states that the amount of University “support” for graduate programs shall be determined by the level of undergraduate involvement, counted in number of undergraduate students enrolled in the program’s classes. Undergraduate involvement in graduate level study and research is one of the things that high schoolers look for when applying to schools and something that undergrads benefit from immensely. However, not every graduate-level program at Brandeis can reasonably expect to absorb large numbers of undergraduate students.

While we commend CARS’ desire to include undergraduates in graduatelevel research and classes, it seems wrong to punish graduate programs for not being broad enough to include younger, less experienced students.

We recognize that CARS found good solutions for tightening without cutting programs altogether, but we urge Provost Marty Krauss, in whose hands these proposals ultimately rest, to keep the above concerns in mind.

Interdisciplinary studies are a strong point in our education system, but some of these proposals take the concept just a little too far and might do more harm than good down the road.

ELI TUKACHINSKY/the Justice

UJ cannot eliminate racial minority offices Hillel

BUECHLER AND SO ON

This week, the Union Judiciary will hear a case regarding whether the positions of senator for racial minority students and Finance Board representative for racial minority students are inherently discriminatory and thus violations of University policy as well as the Union Constitution.

Under the present circumstances, I can hardly see how the justices could find the positions illegal. The positions are imprudent for a different reason—and should be abolished by constitutional revision—but they’re not discriminatory as far as the UJ can be concerned.

The crux of the issue at hand regards the policy against discrimination outlined in the University’s Rights and Responsibilities Handbook, which prohibits discrimination based on race. Initially, it seems that any position created specifically for racial minorities would automatically violate that clause, or similar clauses in federal law, which prohibit racial discrimination. But at Brandeis, every student has the opportunity to engage in what I call racial mobility. Anyone can claim to be any race or ethnicity—no questions asked.

Last year, Jonathan Kane ’10, though ethnically Caucasian, ran for the position of senator for racial minority students after going to the Registrar’s Office and simply changing his biodemographical information from “Caucasian” to “Other.”

Racial minority leaders on campus had no issue with his candidacy. If Kane truly wanted to represent that constituency, then his race was irrelevant.

The main complainant in the current UJ case, Gideon Klionsky ’11, couldn’t run for Senator for Racial Minority Students since he isn’t registered as a racial minority. But because of the racial mobility available to students at this University, ethnicity did not directly prevent Klionsky from running for such a position. It was simply his lack of officially being a part of the racial minority electoral block, according to University records, which kept him from running. According to the Union Constitution: “A candidate for an office must be a voting member of the constituency that the office represents.”

The inciting predicament for the UJ case isn’t notably different from someone in East Quad wanting to run for the position of senator for Rosenthal Quad. If such a person really yearned to be Rosenthal Quad senator, then that individual would need to move to Rosenthal and become a part of that constituency. Of course there is an obvious overarching difference between the positions of a quad senator and the senator for racial minority students: They’re different classes of senator.

The electoral constituencies of all senators, except that of the senators-at-large, who are elected by all students, and the senator for racial minority students, are based on either class year (including a Senator for the Transitional Year Program) or place of residency. All Brandeis students fall into one slot in each of those two basic categories: year and residency. But the constituency for the senator for racial minority students, as it stands, is an elective constituency. Anyone can join it.

This is different from gaining representation based on where you live or what year you graduate. The most important problem with creating this electoral constituency is that there are no parallel ones. Unlike quad and class senators, the racial minority group is in a category of electoral constituencies unto itself. Either you’re in it, or you’re not. It would be like granting senate representation to only certain quads or classes.

In reality, people who consider themselves racial minorities comprise a group, not an electoral constituency. Groups have interests, and in the case of racial minorities, the interests are of great importance to everyone. But it’s still a group. It’s only an electoral constituency once the Union Constitution grants it representation. This is fundamentally undemocratic.

The situation is even more undemocratic with regard to FBoard, in which one of the five representatives is the representative for racial minority students. In this situation, the voluntary electoral constituency is the only electoral constituency with its own representative.

But creating a voluntary electoral constituency doesn’t really violate any official policies. If it were limited based on race, that’d be something. However, as it stands, that’s a nonissue.

The UJ needs to uphold the legitimacy of the two positions, but the Senate and student body do not. The Constitution needs some revision. The positions of senator for racial minority students and F-Board representative for racial minority students should be cut—in the appropriate manner.

OP-BOX Quote of the Week “I think that wonder is a huge motivator, and I think that you can’t have true education without wonder. You can have memorization, you can have training, but you can’t have the kind of deep learning that involves letting things slowly unfold in the mind.”

—Emily Mello, the director of education for the Rose Art Museum, at the Second Annual Symposium on the Pedagogy of Imagination.

(See Features, page 8)

Brandeis Talks Back What do you think about the transformation of AAAS, AMST, and Classics from departments to programs?

SRIDATTA MUKHERJEE ’09 “As long as students can still major in the subjects they want and there are no unnecessary job cuts, I don’t have a problem with it.”

HEIDI FILION ’10 “I don’t see the benefit aside from helping the school financially.”

MATTHEW KESSLER ’10 “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

DANIEL STERNBERG ’11 “That happened?”

THE JUSTICE

READER COMMENTARY Low applicant rates hit many colleges In response to your article “Acceptance rate up 8 percent” (April 7 issue): Just to add some specifics/perspective, many other schools that are small and excellent like Brandeis have experienced similar or more severe declines this year in total applicants. For example, according to press reports, Williams College is down 20 percent, Middlebury is down 12 percent, Bates and Colby are each down 7 percent, etc. Clearly, it’s the fault of the economy.

—Stuart Young ’77

Calendar is inconvenient for students In response to your editorial “University schedule too restrictive” (April 7 issue): Here, here! It is a common oversight of the University, which goes out of its way to recruit students from across the world, to neglect to factor in travel time for students who don’t have the convenience of living in Massachusetts or even close-by New York. I had a three-hour plane ride home for break, and in order to get home by sundown in time for the Passover seder, I had to leave Boston at 2 p.m., which meant leaving campus by noon.

How was I supposed to avoid missing classes if I wanted to go home for break just like all the other students who live nearby?

—Jenna Rubin ’11

University should reconsider days off In response to your editorial “University schedule too restrictive” (April 7 issue): It’s not just the Passover break that is too restrictive.

One other article in this issue mentioned the Wednesday before Thanksgiving as a comparable situation. This is a step in the right direction.

Furthermore, if there’s a policy of not giving days off for all of the possible Jewish holidays (which was what we saw in fall 2007 and fall 2008 but fortunately not the next two years, when most of the fall holidays are on Saturday and Sunday), there should be better evaluation of which days do have school. For example: Simchat Torah, the “ninth” day of Sukkot outside of the Israel and Reform Jewish calendars, is a day that is far more appreciated and celebrated (at the expense of classes) than the day that precedes it, Shmini Atzeret. It also falls on the same day of the week as the first day of Sukkot, which is a school holiday. Yet in choosing which of these two days to have off, Brandeis chose Shmini Atzeret both of my two years here. This means that students who wish to observe Simchat Torah (a wider population than those who observe Shmini Atzeret) have to miss a day of scheduled class. It also means one additional “Brandeis Day,” when a Tuesday becomes a Wednesday.

It turns out to be easier to satisfy more people.

Let’s see these changes happen.

—Gideon Klionsky ’11

Congrats to golf team on great effort In response to your article “Golf team raises funds to continue program” (April 7 issue): Congratulations to the members of the golf team for turning a catastrophe into a resounding show of character and collaboration. They should be rewarded with the support of the University and the opportunity to compete for Brandeis in their chosen sport.

—Laura Clos The writer is the parent of Alex Clos ’10, a member of the fencing team.

JAM aimed to balance interfaith talk In response to your article “Jews and Muslims talk at JAM” (April 7 issue): The event was publicized widely, but it was also not an obvious campaign. We wanted the campus community to be aware of the event and to come—in fact, there were several non-Jewish and non-Muslims participants! That being said, we were appreciative of the phenomenal support we received from the Muslim Student Association, Hillel, the Ethics Center and the Brandeis Pluralism Alliance, but the amount of money we raised was not enough to accommodate a large group. Moreover, one of the main reasons to keep it small was to try to keep the number of Jews and Muslims somewhat balanced—we did not want 50 Jews and 5 Muslims to show up. Merely based on numbers, we knew that there are many members of the Jewish and broader Brandeis community who are interested in interfaith, and we wanted to ensure that the Muslim voices were present.

All too often in interfaith work, the minority voices are clumped together. One of our main goals was to illustrate the diversity within each faith to members of the other faith group in order to lessen the feeling of “me versus them.”

—Jessica Kent ’09

Write to us

The Justice welcomes letters to the editor responding to published material. Please submit letters through our Web site at www.thejusticeonline.com. Anonymous submissions cannot be accepted. Letters should not exceed 300 words, and may be edited for space, style, grammar, spelling, libel and clarity, and must relate to material published in the Justice.

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All submissions are due Friday at 5 p.m.

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TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2009

11

Help shape our school’s future

By ADAM JAFFE and JASON GRAY SPECIAL TO THE JUSTICE

On April 20, 2009, the Curricular and Academic Restructuring Steering Committee released its recommendations. These are designed to strengthen Brandeis’ curricula and organization while positioning the University to effectively deliver the Brandeis experience in the face of the challenging fiscal environment. The full report can be found online at https://secureweb.brandeis.edu/ transformation.

We began in February, and dozens of faculty, students and staff have worked incredibly hard on multiple CARS subcommittees and produced the innovative Justice Brandeis Semester, the new Business major, creative new Web site designs, ideas for more flexible requirements and ideas for removing barriers to flexible and creative curricular innovation.

There is no doubt that the financial crisis requires tough decisions and sacrifices to be made. At Brandeis, a university with the atmosphere of a small liberal arts college with strong research faculty, we are committed to having faculty and students jointly engaged in learning and scholarship. This is what makes us special, and the CARS process reflects that precious trait of our community.

Together we have worked to create a process for communicating and discussing these recommendations that is as inclusive as possible. Multiple town hall meetings, online forums, meetings with faculty and various

departments and constant outreach to affected parties have all led to better results.

The CARS recommendations will make Arts and Sciences more flexible and effective, so that we can be lean and strong rather than feeling undernourished. The report includes targeted reductions in the size of the faculty, and it also includes changes in how we operate so that this reduced faculty can still deliver. In the end, the Committee decided not to recommend the closure of any undergraduate major or minor or any graduate program, but instead to rely on more efficient and flexible provisions of the courses necessary for these programs.

In particular, the recommendations are designed to make the process of constructing each year’s curriculum more flexible, so the courses that need to be taught will be taught with minimal duplication and maximum variety. As the number of courses taught each semester is reduced slightly, better management of course rotation will ensure that variety and depth are maintained.

The recommendations also include transforming some existing departments into interdepartmental programs in order to increase the extent to which faculty from multiple departments contribute to those majors and to ensure that faculty currently in those interdisciplinary departments contribute to maintaining the strength of other departments.

Implementation of the recommendations will lead to some shrinkage of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. This reduction

will allow the University to focus its resources on undergraduate education, while still maintaining the crucial core of the research university.

Read the report—you will agree with some of the changes and disagree with others.

Although no programs are disappearing, there will be changes to the way our existing majors, minors and graduate programs are delivered. Get involved and make your voice heard.

When the community is involved in making change, we can better ensure that as many voices and perspectives are as heard as possible. If we are all involved in the process today, our University will be better positioned for tomorrow.

Students, please attend one of a series of forums with the provost announced in her April 20 e-mail, and give your feedback.

Faculty, please attend the faculty meeting on Thursday.

The provost will be reviewing these recommendations and your feedback and comments before any final decisions are made.

It has been a challenge and a privilege to participate with our fellow faculty and fellow students shaping our University for the future. Thank you to all who have been, and the many who will continue to be, engaged with us in the process of making change.

Editor’s Note: Adam Jaffe is the dean of Arts and Sciences and Fred C. Hecht Professor in Economics. Jason Gray ’10 is the president of the Student Union.

The effect of Obama on student life Zachary

MATUSHESKI COMMENT IS FREE

April 30, the date that marks President Barack Obama’s first 100 days in office, is rapidly approaching. United States presidents are typically evaluated by their first 100 days. Obama has delivered legislation of real value for college students in his first 100 days. Two areas stand out: Obama’s handling of the student loan system and what he has made of the recession.

The most pressing issue for college students is often paying the bills. Obama offered three reforms in his budget that relate to college financing. The first deals with Pell Grants. Obama proposed that the Pell Grant be increased to $5,500 and moved to, in the words of Education Secretary Arne Duncan, “the mandatory side of the Congressional budget.” This means that the grants will not be subject to the whims of the financial markets or banks. Instead, the government will make these grants a permanent part of the budget.

The budget legislation ensures that Pell Grants are indexed above inflation. This means that as dollar values change, so will the amount of money available for loan from the government. Pell Grants have lower rates of interest than private loans. This part of the plan is a concrete way to make college education available to all students.

The second reform deals with streamlining loans in general. All new loans will now function under the direct loan system, which takes the loans out of the hands of the market.

The system will also make the granting of loans more efficient because the loans will be centralized. This saves taxpayers $4 billion every year and makes life easier for students. This proposal is one way that the Obama administration hopes to make the confusing financial aid process simpler.

The third reform deals with the expansion of Perkins loans. Perkins loans are used to supplement paying for costs the Pell Grants are not large enough to cover.

The opinions stated in the editorial(s) under the masthead on the opposing page represent the opinion of a majority of the voting members of the editorial board; all other articles, columns, comics and advertisements do not necessarily. For the Brandeis Talks Back feature on the opposite page, staff interview four randomly selected students each week and print only those four answers.

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Fine Print

SARA BRANDENBURG/the Justice

WHAT OBAMA MEANS FOR STUDENTS: Students heard panelists analyze Obama’s first 100 days.

The number of schools offering Perkins loans will go from 1,800 to 4,400. The number of students who will qualify will go from 500,000 to 2.7 million. The loans would carry a five percent interest rate.

The private sector would handle debt collection.

One major problem is inherent in Obama’s reforms. There is little legislation keeping the costs of college down. All of this financial aid reform will help the federal government function and will make college more affordable for students in the short term. But if the Department of Education does not move swiftly to find a middle ground between the specific needs of colleges and reasonable tuition prices, the problem of heavy debt will remain.

While there seems to be great confidence in Obama among the American and global public, his election has not reversed the recession. But Obama has spent the majority of his time during his first 100 days trying to get America into better economic health.

The difficult realities of this situation have had a positive result: More students are deciding to get involved in public service. Teach for America received 35,000 applications this year, a 42 percent increase from the previous year. The gov-

The Staff For information on joining the Justice, write to justeditor@ brandeis.edu

ernment-run Americorps program has reported a 400 percent increase in applications. While applications have risen, more positions have been created.

Congress’ passage and Obama’s signing of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act will expand nonprofit activities. It raises the number of positions of service from 175,000 to 250,000. The act also will allow the government to invest in social entrepreneurial programs. It creates “Community Service Funds,” which, according to Senator Barbara Mikulski, “are basically venture capital funds to help the nonprofit sector seek talent and put it to work.”

Overall, President Obama has done well by students and their families in his first 100 days. He has made education easier to finance. For students who are close to graduation and facing a dark job market, he has worked with Congress to expand the number of service positions in the government. Legislation like The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act goes beyond expansion of positions to investment in social entrepreneurs and projects. Obama’s administration is definitely adhering to his initial campaign filled with idealism and a commitment to service.

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THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2009

13

SPORTS LAYING OUT

DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/the Justice

DIVING PLAY: Shortstop Julian Cavin ’12 lunges for a ball in the Judges’ 9-2 victory over Salem State College at home last Friday. Cavin also had two hits and an RBI in the game. The Judges are now 13-19 this season.

BASEBALL: Judges drop to six games under .500 CONTINUED FROM 16 scored one run in the second inning and three in the third to take a 4-3 lead. After Babson tied it in the bottom of the sixth inning, Brandeis scored the game-winning run on an RBI double by designated hitter

Drake Livada ’10 that scored Cavin from second base.

“Coming back in that game was pretty big,” Nicholson said. “We tried to carry that into the second game [against Babson] but it just didn’t work out.”

Last Friday against Salem State,

starting pitcher Drew Brzozowski ’10 pitched 7 2/3 innings and gave up just two runs in a 9-2 Judges win that snapped a six-game losing streak.

Brandeis scored first in the bottom of the fourth inning on an RBI single from Livada and a sacrifice

fly from Nicholson and never trailed the rest of the game.

“That was huge coming off a bunch of hard losses [for the team],” Nicholson said. “Having [Brzozowski] go up there and throw eight innings of real strong baseball was huge for us, and I’m just glad

that we gave him some run support so we actually end up winning the game.”

Brandeis next plays today at Amherst College at 3:30 p.m.

They play again tomorrow at home against University of Massachusetts-Boston at 3 p.m.

SOFTBALL: Team notches 20th win TENNIS: Men’s squad 0-3 at UAAs; women take two as the UAA tourney nears

CONTINUED FROM 16 Vailette was strong in the win, giving up just three hits and three walks.

Before the seventh inning, Wesleyan’s only real threat to score was in the sixth inning, when senior shortstop Molly O’Connell singled to right field and advanced to third on an error by Brandeis rookie right fielder Lara Hirschler ’12 with two outs. Vaillette struck out Wesleyan junior catcher Taylor Zavadsky to end the threat.

In the first game against Wesleyan, the Judges took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third on a single by shortstop Chelsea Korp ’10 that scored center fielder Carly Schmand ’11.

Wesleyan then tied the score in the top of the sixth inning on a single to center field by senior left fielder Julia Chamberlin.

The Cardinals took a 3-1 in the following inning, but the Judges came right back. After Brandeis pulled within 3-2, a walk drawn by third baseman Danielle Lavallee ’11 loaded the bases. Catcher Erin Ross ’10 then hit a long fly ball to center field that Bello could not handle, allowing the eventual tying and winning runs to score.

“It felt good coming off the bat, and then when I saw it I thought I got a little under it, … and then when I saw [Bello] go all the way back I got excited,” Ross said of her game-winning hit. “I knew I had to get contact at least because everybody else did their job and got on base, so I couldn’t just leave them hanging.”

The Judges only losses of the week came in a doubleheader at Babson College last Friday. In the first game, the Judges went ahead 3-0 in the sec-

CONTINUED FROM 16

DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/the Justice

SCORELESS DEFENSE: Shortstop Chelsea Korp ’10 throws out a runner in the Judges’ shutout victory over Wesleyan University at home last Saturday afternoon. ond inning, only to see Babson tie the score in the bottom of the third inning and eventually score two more runs to win 5-3.

“Against Babson we basically gave two games away,” Johnson said.

The Judges next week play two

home doubleheaders Wednesday versus Salem State University at 4 p.m. and Thursday versus Rhode Island College at 4 p.m.

A doubleheader yesterday against Pine Manor College ended too late for this edition.

the year, so there was a little bit of a revenge factor that made us want to win even more.”

Later in the same day, the Judges hung close but ultimately fell 5-3 to host University of Rochester in the seventh-place match, dropping two of three doubles matches and three of five singles matches.

No. 1 doubles partners Miller and Schulman handled junior Brian Bowman and sophomore Bennett Peterson, 8-5, but No. 2 partners Seth Rogers ’10 and Mayur Kasetty ’11 lost to sophomore Patrick Sheehan and rookie Matt Volkov, 83. Sophomore Daniel Barbash and freshman Brian Schmeer knocked off the No. 3 duo of Nieman and Elman 8-4.

In singles, the Judges took victories from No. 3 Miller and No. 4 Rogers but dropped matches in the top two and fifth singles slot to close out the match.

The women’s team won two of three matches last week, beating Connecticut College and Babson College but losing at No. 26 Skidmore College last Sunday.

Against Connecticut College, the Judges swept an opponent for only the second time this season, beating the Camels 9-0.

In the Babson match, the Judges

won five of six singles matches and two of three doubles matches to clinch the 7-2 victory.

Against Skidmore, the Judges were swept in doubles and split the six singles matches. No. 1 singles player Rachel Rosman ’11 beat Skidmore sophomore Danika Robison 1-6, 6-2, 6-1, No. 3 singles player Ariana Sanai ’10 defeated rookie Allie Burns 6-4, 6-4; No. 5 singles player Emily Weisberger ’10 topped sophomore Caroline Sherman 6-0, 6-2.

“Skidmore’s a good squad, and even if we didn’t live up to our highest expectations, it was still a good match to keep in perspective,” captain Gabrielle Helfgott ’09 said. “We have a lot on our plate to look forward to, and it’s going to be a challenge. Our focus will be on doubles for the next two days, trying to go at least 2-1 in doubles.”

The women’s team will host the women’s tennis UAA Championships starting Friday. It is the first time Brandeis has hosted the UAA Championships since 2005, when it hosted the men’s tournament.

The men’s squad will next play at Bryant University this Wednesday at 3 p.m. in its last match of the 2008 to 2009 season.

—Ian Cutler contributed reporting

14

TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2009

●

THE JUSTICE

GOLF

OUTDOOR TRACK

Judges slip from fifth to sixth at JWU Invitational

Both squads place in top tiers at Fitchburg State

■ The golf team finished sixth of 13 teams at the Johnson & Wales University Invitational last weekend.

By ANDREW NG JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

After tumultuous 13th and 14th holes, golf team captain Aaron Hattenbach ’09 was simply happy to make it through the first day of the Johnson & Wales Invitational last weekend.

With a par 5 dogleg left on the 13th hole, meaning a hole that bends to the left, Hattenbach’s first two strokes resulted in him driving the ball onto a small island 20 yards away from the grass. Although the ball was playable, Hattenbach could only reach the ball by putting on a pair of rain pants and crossing onto the island. However, the stream was not the only obstacle he had to confront, as a goose that hissed and flapped its wings, threatening Hattenbach as he prepared to chip the ball.

“I went up there and toughed it up, thinking that if this bird makes a run at me, I’ll just take my club and whack it,” Hattenbach said.

On the next hole, an opposing golfer in the woods hit a line drive towards Hattenbach’s head as he prepared to tee off on the 14th hole, forcing him to fall on his back to dodge the golf ball.

“At that point I just took off my drenched shoes and played the hole in my wet socks. It was almost comical after a bird almost attacks and you almost get killed with a golf ball,” Hattenbach said.

Hattenbach may have escaped

the tournament in one piece, but the Judges once again struggled in the competition. The Judges finished with a team score of 335 on the first day last Saturday, putting them in fifth place at 51 strokes over par. On the second day, they failed to gain any ground on the competition, slipping to sixth place out of 13 teams despite scoring a 327 on the final day of the tournament, totaling at 662, 94 strokes over par.

New York University won the event with a score of 606 at 38 strokes over par.

“This team isn’t playing terribly; it just hasn’t performed to the level we showed during the fall season,” coach Bill Shipman said. “They’re a little rusty, and they haven’t gotten it together. Sometimes you have to score even when you’re not hitting the ball well, and they have not been doing that.”

Charles Sacks ’11 and Lee Bloom ’10, who scored a 17-over-par 159 and 21-over-par 163, respectively, led the Judges in scoring over the weekend. Fernando Pineres of Babson College turned in the best score of the tournament by shooting just four over par in the two-day event.

While Sacks led the Judges, he was unimpressed with his own performance.

“There were a few good shots here and there, but I had some trouble scoring,” he said. “My ball striking was good, but it wasn’t good enough to get me close enough to the hole.”

Sacks said his greatest challenge over the weekend was playing the par-five holes, where he scored three over par.

“The worse you ever want to score when playing a par-five is

even, and I botched them up,” Sacks said.

Bloom’s performance was highlighted by his resiliency on the final nine holes. After doublebogeying the 10th hole and triplebogeying the 11th hole, Bloom bounced back to finish even par on the rest of the back nine.

While Bloom earned the second best score for the Judges, he was more focused on regaining his stroke from the fall season, when he won two individual tournaments.

“I made some progress this weekend,” Bloom said. “I’m still trying to shake the rust off of my swing.

I’ve only played about eight rounds since the fall season, and I’m still trying to get the feel back.”

Rounding out the remaining Brandeis scores were Daniel Goldsmith ’11 with a 28-over-par at 170; Hattenbach with a 171, 29-overpar; and Aaron Cusato ’12 with a 174, 32-over-par.

Throughout the meet, the Judges struggled to position themselves well on many holes.

“Our shots from the fairways weren’t hitting greens. When you’re three, four, five strokes over par, it’s going to be hard to come away with a good number,” Hattenbach said.

“They were missing the greens and not chipping the balls close to the hole. They were even struggling to putt the ball even after getting on the green. On the bright side, they hit the ball off the tee well and their precision with their irons was pretty good,” Shipman added.

The Judges will next compete in the University Athletic Association Championships at Royal Lakes Golf Course in Flowery Branch, Ga. from Friday to Monday.

■ The women’s outdoor

track team was second while the men were seventh of 14 teams last Saturday.

By SEAN PETTERSON JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

After opening the outdoor track and field season against top Division I, II and III competition in their first two meets, the Judges took advantage of lesser opponents at last Saturday’s meet at Fitchburg State College.

The women’s team finished second out of 14 teams with 121 points while the men’s team finished seventh out of 14 teams with 33 points. Worcester Polytechninc Institute won the women’s meet with 124 points and the men’s meet with 201.5 points.

Normally overshadowed by the duo of Ali Sax ’09 and Anat Ben-Nun ’09, Lucia Capano ’11 took advantage of the two getting a weekend of rest.

Capano won both the triple and long jumps with leaps of 11.09 in the triple jump and 5.25 in the long jump, both of which were personal bests.

I’m really proud of [Capano],” coach Mark Reytblat said. “She’s become so consistent now, so I look forward to every single event that she competes.”

Suzanne Bernier ’10 opened her outdoor season much like she did at the University Athletic Association Indoor Championships March 7, winning the high jump at 1.60 meters.

Teammate Lily Parenteau ’12 finished second behind Bernier with a jump of 1.50 meters.

“I could have done better. I was a little laggy and wasn’t springy enough,” Bernier said. “[But] a win is a win.”

The Judges showed their depth in the long-distance events, particularly in the 1,500-meter run. The Judges finished first through seventh in the race, all within 14 seconds of each

other. Marie Lemay ’11 finished first for the Judges with a time of 4 minutes, 47.81 seconds.

“It was extremely impressive. I was excited because it shows the depth of our team,” Lemay said. “It was very helpful that we kind of worked together and we [had] a lot of camaraderie together.”

In the 800-meter run, Beth Pisarik ’10 and Emily Owen ’11 lapped the field, finishing first and second and distancing themselves from thirdplace sophomore Lindsay Kennedy of Bentley College by 7 seconds.

Michelle Gellman ’11 edged out first-year Nicole Lemelin of Salem State College in the 200-meter sprint by a mere 0.16 seconds, finishing in 27.41 seconds.

Katy Agule ’09 was the final women’s event winner in the 3,000meter steeplechase, an event in which competitors run through a course that consists of five wooden barriers, each 30-inches high, and one water pit.

Agule took the event in 11:26.14.

The men’s team continued to compete without any field athletes, relying upon their distance squad to finish seventh out of 14 teams.

The men’s team also displayed its depth in the 1,500-meter run. Captains Matt Jennings ’09 and Mike Stone ’09 finished third and fourth with times of 3:57.21 and 3:58.06, followed closely by teammate Chris Brown ’12 in fifth at 4:01.34. Marc Boutin ’12, Sam Donovan ’11 and Alex Hulse ’12 rounded out the finishes for the Judges, finishing seventh, 11th and 12th, respectively.

In the 800-meter run, the Judges got a pair of finishes. Aaron Udel ’10 finished fourth with a time of 1:59.69, and Ben Bray ’11 ran in 2:06.31, finishing ninth.

The men’s and women’s track and field teams will compete at next weekend’s UAA Championships at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Penn.

THE JUSTICE

■ The tennis player won all three of his singles matches at the University Athletic Association Championships last weekend.

4

shutouts for softball pitcher Emily Vaillette ’10 this season after the Judges beat Wesleyan University 1-0 last Saturday at home. One of her shutouts was a no-hitter April 2 against Framingham State College.

8

strikeouts for baseball starting pitcher Drew Brzozowski ’10 in 7 2/3 inning of work last Friday in the Judges’ 9-2 win over Salem State College. The eight strikeouts match a team high for this season, which Brzozowski also set March 28 against Springfield College.

5

unearned runs scored by the softball team in its 9-0 win at Salve Regina University last Thursday. Salve Regina made three errors in the fifth inning that led to six Brandeis runs in the frame.

0

wins for the men’s tennis team at the University Athletic Association Championships last weekend. The Judges went 0-3 and finished last.

3

home runs for designated hitter Drake Livada ’10 to lead Brandeis.

Livada hit his third home run of the season in the Judges’ 5-4 win at Babson College last Saturday.

16

multi-hit games for softball second baseman Melisa Cagar ’11 this season. In the Judges’ eight games last week, Cagar had at least two hits in five of them.

15

What’s your 40? A look at what NFL teams want on draft day

Simon Miller ’11

Judging numbers

TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2009

AP BRIEFS

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

The men’s tennis team only managed a last-place finish at the University Athletic Association Championships, even as Simon Miller ’11 managed to win all three of his singles matches. For Miller, the three victories were the end of a true comeback, as he had taken a leave from the team in the fall semester.

“I guess I kind of lost sight of things in the fall,” Miller said. “I maybe forgot why I love to play the game so much. ... I had to decide if tennis is what I really wanted.”

As a rookie last year, Miller quickly assumed the role as the team’s top singles player and played in all but four matches at the No. 1 slot, missing three matches with an ankle injury and playing one match at No. 2 singles immediately after recovering from the injury. Miller was 6-8 at No. 1 singles and 1-0 in his only match at No. 2 singles.

After taking a leave from the team, Miller returned but struggled at the No. 1 slot, going 0-4 against top players from opposing schools. However, Miller thrived at the No. 2 and No. 3 singles slots, going 31 at No. 2 and 7-3 at No. 3.

Miller said the time he took off has helped him get back on the right track.

“Taking the break helped a lot,” he said.

“It helped me to realize how much I love the game and helped me realize how much I want to work at being the best player I can.”

Last weekend, the Judges opened UAA play with an 8-1 loss to Washington University in St. Louis, with Miller’s 7-6 (72), 6-4 victory at No. 3 singles earning the Judges’ only point. Then, despite a 5-4 loss

●

DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/Justice File Photo

against New York University, Miller anchored the Judges’ No. 1 doubles squad with captain Scott Schulman ’09, winning 8-2, and again took his No. 3 singles match 6-2, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2. Finally, Miller again won both his singles and doubles matches against the University of Rochester to finish the weekend as the only Brandeis player to win all three of his singles matches.

Because of the time off, Miller said he

felt he was finally coming into his own as the season ended.

“I wish we had a few more matches, maybe even another UAA tournament would be nice,” he said. “But I definitely got some momentum coming in for next season.”

—Ian Cutler and Jeffrey Pickette

UAA STANDINGS Baseball

Softball

Not including Monday’s games Overall W L 24 10 17 9 22 15 12 28 13 19 9 9

UAA W L Rochester 4 2 Washington Univ. 3 3 Emory 3 3 Case Western 3 3 JUDGES 2 4 Chicago 0 0

Not including Monday’s games Overall UAA W L W L Washington Univ. 7 1 23 8 Emory 5 3 28 10 Rochester 5 3 23 10 JUDGES 3 5 20 12 Chicago 0 0 10 10 Case Western 0 8 14 21

TEAM LEADERS Baseball (on-base percentage)

Baseball (runs batted in)

Third baseman Jon Chu ’12 leads Brandeis with a .470 on-base percentage.

Designated hitter Drake Livada ’10 leads the Judges with 22 RBIs.

Player Jon Chu John O’Brion Nick Gallagher Julian Cavin Mike Alfego

Player Drake Livada Sean O’Hare Tony Deshler Jon Chu two tied with

OBP .470 .467 .429 .400 .394

RBI 22 20 17 14 12

Softball (on-base percentage)

Softball (runs batted in)

Pitcher Caroline Miller ’12 leads Brandeis with a .500 on-base percentage.

Catcher Erin Ross ’10 leads the Judges with 18 RBIs.

Player Caroline Miller Melisa Cagar Marianne Specker Samantha Worth Lara Hirschler

Player Erin Ross Melisa Cagar Chelsea Korp Marianne Specker Courtney Kelley

OBP .500 .441 .436 .395 .377

RBI 18 15 14 12 11

UPCOMING GAME OF THE WEEK Women’s Tennis at UAA Championships at HOME Brandeis will host the University Athletic Association Championships starting Friday.

The women’s tennis team will host the University Athletic Association Championships this season, starting Friday and lasting through Sunday.

The Judges are 10-6 overall this season and will play in one final home match against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology today at 3 p.m. before the UAA Championships begin.

Brandeis has faced one UAA team this season in a March 14 match on a neutral court against New York University. The Judges won the match 7-

2, taking two of three doubles matches and five of six singles matches.

Four UAA teams are ranked in the top 15 according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association official rankings as of April 14. Carnegie Mellon University, Emory University and the University of Chicago own the third through fifth spots, respectively, while Washington University in St. Louis is ranked 14th in the nation.

No. 3 Carnegie Mellon has the best overall record among UAA teams at 17-1.

SALT LAKE CITY—Just because the 40-yard dash has been around forever doesn’t mean it’s antiquated.

A great time in the 40 still matters, at least enough to get a prospect a look he may not have received if he was just a tenth of a second slower.

“You can always teach them to catch better, but it’s hard to teach them to run faster,” said Gil Brandt, the NFL draft consultant and longtime personnel director of the Dallas Cowboys.

As intricate as evaluating NFL potential has become, the 40 is one of the simplest tests in football: run 40 yards, we’ll time you. Go! For players who run it fast enough, it opens a door of opportunity. Former University of Utah defensive back Brice McCain was considered too small and an unlikely pick before scouts came to town last month to look at him and a few other former Utes.

McCain ran the 40 twice, and both times were among the fastest in the country. The scouts looked at their stopwatches and collectively timed him at 4.30 and 4.34 seconds. Suddenly, his size (5 feet 9 inches) was much less of a concern.

“A lot of teams are very interested now,” McCain said.

Brandt said McCain could go maybe as high as the fifth round next weekend because he was able to back up his 40 speed with great marks in the shuttle run and other drills that assess quickness more than overall speed.

The 40 is only one part of the complicated formula teams use to evaluate talent. It is more relevant for receivers and defensive backs than linemen, who are evaluated more in drills that demonstrate quick feet and agility.

Paul Brown was credited with first timing the 40 when he coached at Ohio State University in the 1940s and tried to figure out who could get downfield the fastest to cover punts. It has grown into a football staple, recognized by every player who has had to run it and hold his breath while waiting to hear the time, and by fans in need of an offseason debate topic. Teams exhaustively break down every aspect of a player—physical and mental—before deciding who they want on future rosters.

The one test that seems to have caught on most in the public is the 40, a much more lively topic than anticipating who will move up in the draft by nailing the team interview.

As much as the times are talked about, they are tricky to gauge.

Each scout keeps his own times, and although the distance is the same, conditions vary from site to site. A player running on grass will not be as fast as someone on a harder, artificial surface. And nobody is clocked running in the cumbersome pads they wear when actually playing the game and not just trying out for it.

The importance of a distance few players ever have to run during a game is also debated. Prospects can survive a slow 40 time and still be drafted if that’s their only apparent flaw.

Brandt said Jerry Rice ran around a 4.65, which was obviously not much of an indication of what kind of receiver he would become in the NFL. Although scouts emphasize there is so much more to evaluations than just the 40, some players feel the 4-plus seconds can decide their future. Many at the annual scouting combine decline to work out there, preferring to run their own on-campus showcase. A bad showing on an unfamiliar surface can cost even the top prospects who were already considered good enough to make the combine.

McCain was among the other players whose future depended on “pro day,” when scouts make a scheduled stop on campus during the never-ending search for potential draftees. McCain impressed, largely with his two times in the 40, and has been getting calls from teams who weren’t so interested before.

“With my 40 time, I’ve just gotten more looks,” McCain said.

“A guy runs a fast 40; that’s going to open eyes,” said Zach Miller, another player who may have run himself into the late rounds of the draft last month when scouts stopped by to see him at the University of NebraskaOmaha.

A lifelong quarterback who ran the option in college, Miller is trying extend his football career as a tight end and is about as raw as a prospect can be. His 40 time of 4.51 seconds was impressive enough that somebody may take a chance on him with a late pick.

“It doesn’t gauge how good of a football player you are, but getting into that process, I think it plays a very important role,” Miller said. “That’s kind of the big thing—how fast did you run your 40? It shows your speed, your explosiveness.”

Miller’s fast 40 will be meaningless if he cannot catch or block, skills he’s been trying to learn over the last few months.

He and McCain both enrolled at TEST Sports Football Academy in New Jersey, where they spent weeks trying to perfect their technique before the workouts that would decide their draft future.

It has become a popular business. Players who think they can cut their 40 time and prepare for the other predraft drills will hire a professional trainer. Hey, slight improvement could be the difference between getting drafted and an invitation to training camp as an undrafted free agent.

TEST founder Brian Martin said McCain was able to knock off almost one-tenth of a second from his 40 time with a few adjustments in his stride. Miller was already fast enough to run the option, but also found a few ways to get his time down to the 4.5 range.

“They’re kind of under the radar,” Martin said.

“Hopefully with the great results they get on the radar.”

The NFL Draft will begin Saturday and last through Sunday and take place in New York.

NBA Playoffs Tonight The NBA will continue its playoff season with three Game 2s tonight. In the Eastern Conference, Detroit will play at Cleveland trailing 1-0 in the series. In the West, Houston will be at Portland leading the series 1-0 while Utah will be at Los Angeles trailing 1-0 in the series.

just

Sports

Page 16

GOLF TAKES SIXTH The golf team finished sixth of 13 teams at the Johnson & Wales Invitational last weekend, p. 14

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Waltham, Mass.

SAFE AT HOME

TENNIS

Men’s team last at UAAs

■ The men’s tennis team was

winless at the University Athletic Association Championships while the women’s team won two of three matches last week.

By JEFFREY PICKETTE and ADAM ROSEN JUSTICE STAFF WRITERS

DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/the Justice

LONE RUN: Left fielder Britanny Grimm ’12 scores the only run of the game in the Judges’ 1-0 win over Wesleyan University last Saturday to improve the team to 20-12.

Squad wins six of eight games ■ The softball team won its

20th game of the season and is now 12-4 in April after six wins last week.

By MELISSA SIEGEL JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

In the top of the seventh and final inning in the softball team’s second game of a doubleheader against Wesleyan University last Saturday, starting pitcher Emily Vaillette ’11 found herself in a familiar situation with the bases loaded against her and her team clinging to a small lead.

The last time this happened to her was last Friday in the second game of a doubleheader against Babson College. Armed with a 4-1 lead in the

final inning of that game, Vaillette gave up four straight hits to allow Babson to tie the game, and the Judges eventually lost in extra innings. Against Wesleyan, Vaillette was given a 1-0 lead and once again found herself struggling, giving up three walks to load the bases with two outs.

This time, however, Vaillette was able to come through when she needed to.

Vaillette induced Wesleyan sophomore pitcher Chelsea Swete to pop out, giving the Judges the 1-0 victory and a sweep of the doubleheader after winning the first game 4-3. This concluded a week where the team went 6-2 to improve to 20-12 overall.

“I thought [Vaillette] did well bouncing back after [last Friday]. It was a tough loss, and she came out;

she controlled [Wesleyan] all the way through 6 1/3 [innings] basically, and then we had a little trouble there in the end, but she pulled it out,” coach Jessica Johnson said on the pitcher’s performance last Saturday. “She stepped up for us and she got the job done, so kudos to her.”

The Judges started the week with doubleheader sweeps at Wheaton College last Tuesday and at Salve Regina University last Thursday, combining to outscore both squads 29-10 over the four game span. They then dropped a doubleheader last Friday at Babson before sweeping Wesleyan last Saturday.

Brandeis scored its only run in the second game against Wesleyan in the bottom of the sixth inning. After left fielder Brittany Grimm ’12 singled to

center field, third baseman Samantha Worth ’09 hit a single that was misplayed by Wesleyan rookie center fielder Chrissy Bello, allowing Grimm to score the eventual winning run from first base.

It was a moment of redemption for Worth, who, in the bottom of the fourth inning, flied out with the bases loaded and two outs.

“Well, I was disappointed with myself not scoring any runs with the bases loaded,” Worth said. “I think that’s something definitely that our team needs to work on. But then coming up [in the sixth inning] knowing I had a second chance, … I figured, ‘Hey we’re running out of time; I got to get it done,’ so I just visualized what needed to be done, and I succeeded.”

See SOFTBALL, 13 ☛

BASEBALL

Judges fall short of second comeback in 2-3 week ■ The baseball team won

only two of five games last week to drop its season record to 13-19.

By MELISSA SIEGEL JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

In the first game of the baseball team’s doubleheader at Babson College last Saturday, the Judges fell behind 3-0 in the first inning but overcame the deficit to win 5-4.

In the second game, however, the team was unable to pull out of a similar hole.

The Judges lost the second game of the doubleheader 8-7 after falling behind 4-1 in the second inning. The doubleheader split gives Brandeis a 13-19 record this season after a 2-3 week that saw the team lose to Worcester Polytechnic Institute last Wednesday and

Johnson & Wales University last Thursday but defeat Salem State College. All three of those games were played at home.

In the second game against Babson, Brandeis struck first with a run in the top of the first inning off an RBI single by left fielder Jon Chu ’12.

Babson tied it in the bottom of the inning and scored three more in the second inning as starting pitcher David Packard ’09 allowed the first five Beaver batters to reach base before recording an out.

Packard did manage to get three straight outs at the end of the inning to limit the damage, aided

by Brandeis catcher Artie Posch ’10 throwing out Babson centerfielder junior Peter O’Toole while he was trying to steal third base, but gave up six runs in 2 1/3 innings of work overall.

“From the beginning, [Packard] really didn’t find the strike zone,”

first baseman Pat Nicholson ’11 said.

The game against Babson was the second start of Packard’s college career, as he is traditionally a reliever. Nicholson said coach Pete Varney started Packard to give some of the regular starters a rest in the team’s fifth game in four days. Packard came into the game against Babson having appeared in five games as a relief pitcher with a 24.30 ERA, mainly a result of giving up six runs in an inning of work against Hastings College Feb. 19, a game the Judges won 19-15.

Alex Tynan ’12 relieved Packard, and limited the Beavers to one more run in the inning, but the Judges were still behind 6-3. It remained that way until the fifth inning, when an RBI groundout by third baseman Tony Deshler ’11 and a passed ball helped Brandeis pull within 6-5. The Judges then tied it in the top of the seventh on

an RBI single by Nicholson and took their first lead since the first inning on an RBI single by right fielder Andrew Cohen ’11 in the top of the ninth inning.

As in the first inning, the lead would not last, as the Beavers scored twice in the bottom of the inning off Brandeis reliever Justin Duncombe ’11. A throwing error by Duncombe on a pickoff attempt allowed the tying run to reach third base, and an error by shortstop Julian Cavin ’12 on what would have been the third out of the inning allowed the inning to continue and Babson to score the winning run.

“Things like [the errors] just lead to extra outs and extra outs lead to runs, so it’s just unfortunate we couldn’t win that game,” Nicholson said.

In the first game, Brandeis fell behind 3-0 in the first inning but

See BASEBALL, 13 ☛

After snapping a season-long seven match losing streak with an 8-1 win over Babson College April 6 and a 7-2 victory April 13 over Colby-Sawyer College, the men’s tennis team reverted back to its old ways last week.

The Judges dropped four straight matches, including three at the postseason University Athletic Association Championships in Rochester, N.Y., where they finished in last place with an 0-3 record. The Judges are now 7-13, with one match remaining before the end of the season.

The women’s team ensured that it would finish with a record above .500 this year with a 2-1 week, sweeping Connecticut College 9-0 last Wednesday, defeating Babson College 7-2 last Thursday and falling to No. 26 Skidmore College 6-3 last Sunday.

After a 7-2 loss to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology last Tuesday, the men’s team headed to Rochester for the annual UAA Championships, which began last Friday. As the seventh seed in the UAA, the Judges drew second-seeded Washington University in St. Louis, the No. 2 team in the nation and the defending NCAA champion. Despite the huge disparity in records, the Judges were able to salvage a point, ultimately losing the match 8-1. The lone point in the match came courtesy of No. 3 singles player Simon Miller ’11, who knocked off junior Danny Levy 7-6 (7-2), 6-4.

WashU went on to win the UAA tournament for the second straight season.

“You have the intimidation factor [when playing against WashU] coming in because they’re the defending national champions,” Miller said.

“But, really, it’s kind of like playing anybody else—you go out there and play to your strengths; attack your opponent’s weaknesses. It shouldn’t be any different than any other match.”

The following day, the Judges took on New York University and dropped a close match 5-4. Steven Nieman ’11, back after missing four matches due to mononucleosis, and Miller were the only two of six singles players to win their matches. No. 2 Nieman handily defeated senior Craig Berger, 6-0, 6-2, and Miller defeated senior captain Calvin Chou in three sets, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2.

Brandeis was also able to win two of the three doubles matches against NYU. Miller and captain Scott Schulman ’09 teamed up at No. 1 doubles to beat Chou and Berger, 8-2, while No. 3 doubles partners Nieman and Craig Elman ’12 also won their match, knocking off sophomore Matthew Gross and rookie Pavel Zhuravlev, 8-5.

For Miller and Schulman, the win avenged a loss suffered to the same NYU pairing in a match March 15, in which Miller and Schulman fell to Chou and Berger 8-5 as part of a 6-3 NYU victory.

“We had a lot of fire coming out,” Miller said. “[Schulman and I] had lost to that doubles team earlier in

See TENNIS, 13 ☛

April 21, 2009

Spring and the Bernstein Festival of the Arts arrive at Brandeis Photo and Design: David Sheppard-Brick/the Justice

18

TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2009

●

THE JUSTICE

POP CULTURE

INSIDE ON CAMPUS

18-19

■ ‘Musicologists Making Music’ 19 Eight Brandeis graduate students performed in the Slosberg Music Center last Saturday, treating concer t-goers to a selection of pieces by classical and contemporar y composers. Songs played included Choral Prelude: Drop, Drop Slow Tears by Vincent Persichetti, Ruckert Lieder by Gustav Nahler and Cabaret Songs by William Bolcom.

■ Mochila Moves Forward 19 Members of the band—the name of which refers to a bag used by Columbian Indian farmers—discussed the origins of the ensemble and their respective reasons for joining the group. In the upcoming days, Mochila will release their first album (the 13-track LP Green Bullets) and play at this year’s Springfest concer t.

OFF CAMPUS

19-20

19 ■ ‘Sweep’ Haunts Internet Despite having been canceled in 2003, the television game show Supermarket Sweep lives on by way of such entities as the Internet. Consequently, those who previously may not have seen the show during its nonconsecutive 10-year run are able to experience its abundant use of product placement and analyze its potential as an example of gender discrimination.

CALENDAR

Q&A

by Shelly Shore

New Moon, the sequel to the blockbuster film Twilight, isn’t even in postproduction yet, and it’s already stirring up headlines in Hollywood.

The love triangle between actors Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Nikki Reed—who play the characters of Edward Cullen, Bella Swan and Rosalie Hale, respectively—has been the subject of rumor since the release of Twilight. “The girls are competing for Rob’s attention,” an unnamed source told Star magazine. “Kristen and Nikki both like him, and it’s getting ugly.”

How ugly? Well, it seems things have moved past the flirting and suggestive paparazzi photos of the Twilight days. Pattinson, despite staying in a different Vancouver hotel than the actresses (to protect him from the fangirls, no doubt), is frequently spotted at the girls’ hotel—very, very early in the morning. One eyewitness, a regular in the hotel’s News Café, reports, “[Rob] charges coffee to a suite on the ninth floor, where Nikki has a room.

He always looks like he just woke up.”

But when Nikki returned to Los Angelas for a few days, another insider dishes that “Rob was hitting the 12th floor, where Kristen is staying!”

So, who’s winning the battle for Rob’s heart?

Jasmine Mamujee, an extra on New Moon, tells Star: “It’s as though he has a crush on both of them. He’s a ladies’ man, and he likes to play around.”

“Both girls might be the losers in this war,” agreed another source.

It’s not all rocky love, though. Actors Ashley Greene and Jackson Rathborne, who play onscreen lovers Alice and Jasper, aren’t denying their flying sparks. While numerous photos and sizzling on-screen chemistry have suggested a romance between the two, Green is adamant that they’re not dating—but admits that the only thing keeping them from doing so are their schedules.

“He and I both don’t have time to date, but we do

Alum follows theatrical career ■ John Kooi MFA ’88, who studied

acting at Brandeis, entered the theater and hasn’t looked back.

Brandeis alumnus John Kooi MFA ’88, who stars in Merrimack Repertory’s current production of A Moon for the Misbegotten, spoke with the Justice about his acting career. The Eugene O’Neill play begins Thursday and runs through May 17.

PETER KRAMER/The Associated Press

PLAYER PATTINSON: The ‘Twilight’ star has been connected to Kristen Stewart and Nikki Reed. have amazing chemistry,” she says.

“We both have such big crushes on each other and it clearly shows. We got along instantly and the day we met, he was teaching me how to swing dance. … He does everything. He sings, he dances, and he’s so sweet. Even my mum has a crush on him and tells me, ‘You should date him.’ So, who knows, maybe when we both stop running around the world.”

One thing’s for sure—for a movie about forbidden romance, it’s certainly got its share of drama.

Maybe some of it will even make it onto the screen.

What’s happening in Arts on and off campus

‘Lysistrata’ This version of Aristophanes’ prefeminist, antiwar comedy will be performed with postmodern minimalism by three actors (Amy Klesert ’09, Geehae Moon ’12 and Eli Tukachinsky ’11). The play—which is directed by Lily Nagy-Deak ’11, stage-managed by Elana Friedland ’11 and features set design

by Elizabeth Pascale ’09—is co-sponsored by the Peace, Conflict, and Coexistence Studies program with support from the Karpf-Hahn Peace Awards.

Wednesday from 8 to 10 p.m. in the Merrick Theater.

‘Sources of Creativity: The First Spark’ When and how does the first spark of creation begin? Artists from various disciplines will discuss and illustrate their firsthand experiences in this panel discussion.

Panelists include Karen Frostig, Suzanne Hanser, Rachel Kadish, Karin Rosenthal and Rosie Rosenzweig.

Thursday from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in the Epstein Lecture Hall.

Boris’ Kitchen: ‘Grounded Indefinitely’ Brandeis’ only sketch comedy troupe will perform all-new, never-before-seen material during this special spring show.

Friday from 8 to 10 p.m. in the Carl J. Shapiro Theater.

JACK PLUNKETT/The Associated Press

DECEMBER IN SPRING: The Decemberists, pictured above, will be per forming at Springfest this coming Sunday with such groups as RJD2, Deerhunter, Asher Roth and Brandeis’ own Mochila.

AREA EVENTS Art in Bloom 2009

Guitarathon Students and faculty guitar gods and goddesses are invited to come together for an afternoon of improvisation. Bring your axe and see what happens. For more information, contact Eric Chasalow at chasalow@br andeis.edu.

Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium.

Super Springfest!

You voted for your favorites, now come see them live on Chapels Field! Student Events and WBRS is proud to present Super Springfest 2009, which will feature performances by Mochila, Deerhunter, Asher Roth, RJD2 and The Decemberists. The event, which is free, will also have BBQ (kosher and non-kosher), drinks and beer for those over 21 years of age.

Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. on Chapels Field.

WHAT’S ON?

Celebrate spring at this annual festival of fine art and fresh flowers! See the Museum of Fine Arts’ galleries transformed by 50 extraordinary arrangements inspired by magnificent works of art—from Asian sculptures to world-renowned European paintings. Renowned floral experts lecture, demonstrate, and teach master classes for small groups. The museum opens its doors with free general admission for all to enjoy during Art in Bloom Monday, and during the open house, free admission to the special exhibition “Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese: Rivals in Renaissance Venice” will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Saturday, Sunday and Monday at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

The Bean Music Presents Keep Me Conscious (formerly Cherry S/T), Mission Hill, Spectator and The Thickness

will play at this concert. At this show, Hepburn—a Boston-area band—will also be staging a reunion performance.

Saturday, doors at 8 p.m., at the Middle East Downstairs.

‘The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)’ Filmed over the course of 23 years (from the 1980s to the present), The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) is an epic story of one family's journey from war-torn Laos to the mean streets of New York. Thavisouk Phrasavath tells his story as a young man struggling to survive a war and the hardships of immigrant life. His mother tells her own astonishing tale of perseverance as a soldier’s wife.

Renowned cinematographer Ellen Kuras’ directorial debut is a remarkable collaboration with co-director Phrasavath, a poetic, deeply personal film about the hidden human face of war’s collateral damage. In English and Lao with English subtitles.

Thursday from 3:45 to 5:25 p.m. in the Remis Auditorium at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

JustArts: After attending St. John’s [University] in Minnesota for your undergraduate work, how did you come to choose Brandeis for your graduate school?

John Kooi: It was actually quite a lengthy process. I knew that I wanted a school that had a professional actor training program. At that time there were maybe a dozen or 15 schools that were considered to be among the best of them. Schools like Yale [University], [the] Julliard [School], [New York University], Temple [University]— Brandeis was one of those schools. When I researched the program, the program at Brandeis and the faculty at Brandeis seemed to be what was suited for what I wanted to do. I don’t think it was so much that I specifically targeted being in the Boston area, it was where are the schools that have the program I want. Brandeis was one of them, and it was of great interest to me.

JA: Could you elaborate on how Brandeis was suited for what you wanted to do?

JK: The program was specifically designed toward training professionals. It was run by among the best people that there were at the time.

My acting teacher was Ted Kazanoff. Ted was considered one of the best acting teachers for 25 years that there was outside of New York City.

The man who was running the design program was called Karl Eigsti. He was a Broadway designer. While I was there they brought over a woman from Israel, Nola Chilton. She was the best in Israel in terms of teaching actors. She came out of a very strong movement in New York City in the 1960s. I had her for a semester—was able to learn from her, watch the work that she was doing. To be able to have that opportunity, to work with people like that among the best that there were in the country at the time was specifically what I wanted, and it was here at Brandeis at that time.

It was a very different program than it is today.

There were a lot more students at the graduate level. There must have been 45 or so graduate actors running around, plus designers. There was a lot going on at Brandeis at the time.

JA: What’s the difference between acting in a classic play written by a Nobel Prize winner like Eugene O’Neill, as opposed to something a little more contemporary?

JK: There is a difference. I just had the opportunity a couple of years ago to work on a David Mamet play. David Mamet is a superb writer, a contemporary. We’re talking about O’Neill writing in the 1940s. You’re talking about a historical difference. Comparing someone like Mamet and O’Neill, their emphasis on plot and language, the similarities are absolutely remarkable. David Mamet writes in a much more modern format, but he focuses so much on the characters, plot, and language. And O’Neill did very much the same thing, just 50 years earlier. It’s fascinating to me how the language is so important to what is going on. With both of those playwrights there is an absolute understanding that it’s about what’s heard, what is spoken.

O’Neill’s writing is incredible. He’s credited with being the first modern American playwright, taking modern situations, modern themes, and writing in a very colloquial form at the time. It’s absolutely amazing to be working on something like that. It’s not quite Shakespeare in terms of heightened language, but there’s so much emphasis on the language and what’s being said. There’s a lot of depth in it; it’s not just cheap jokes.

JA: What’s next for your acting career?

JK: Being released in June or July is a Sandra Bullock-Ryan Reynolds film that I have a very small role in. I shot it over a year ago but the film hasn’t been released yet. It’s called The Proposal.

At the moment there’s nothing else in the works that’s definitive right now. It’s always looking for the next job, the next project; that’s the biggest obstacle with this profession.

—Andrea Fineman

Top 10s for the week ending April 21

Box Office

WBRS

Billboard

Staff Playlist

1. 17 Again 2. State of Play 3. Monsters vs. Aliens 4. Hannah Montana: The Movie 5. Fast & Furious 6. Crank High Voltage 7. Observe and Report 8. Knowing 9. I Love You, Man 10. The Haunting in Connecticut

1. Barbara Carr – No Getting Over Me 2. Nick Moss – Don’t You Lie To Me 3. Zora Young – Hubert’s Groove 4. Cyril Neville – Slavedriver 5. Enrcio Crivellaro – Midnight Blue 6. Various – One More Mile 7. Sammon/Holland – You and That Sack 8. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Zero 9. Vovka – Euphoria (LIVE) 10. Pink – Sober

1. Rascal Flatts – Unstoppable 2. Soundtrack – Hannah Montana: The Movie 3. Jadakiss – The Last Kiss 4. Jason Aldean – Wide Open 5. Various Artists – NOW 30 6. Taylor Swift – Fearless 7. Keith Urban – Defying Gravity 8. Soundtrack – Twilight 9. Prince/Bria Valente – title 10. Lady GaGa – The Fame

1. Oingo Boingo – “No Spill Blood” 2. Oingo Boingo – “Forbidden Zone finale” 3. Oingo Boingo – “Piggies” 4. Oingo Boingo – “Mary” 5. Oingo Boingo – “Nasty Habits” 6. Oingo Boingo – “Only a Lad” 7. Oingo Boingo – “Ain't This the Life” 8. Oingo Boingo – “Grey Matter” 9. Oingo Boingo – “Whole Day Off” 10. Oingo Boingo – “Cinderella Undercover”

Album information provided by Billboard Magazine. Box office information provided by Yahoo!Movies. Radio charts provided by CMJ.

—Joel Herzfeld

THE JUSTICE

●

TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2009

19

MUSIC

TELEVISION

Studies become serenades

Shameful ‘Supermarket’

■ Musicology students treated attendees of their April 18 show to a selection of pieces by contemporary and classical composers.

■ The show played upon negative gender stereotypes and featured sly advertising.

By DANIEL D. SNYDER JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

By WEI-HUAN CHEN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Brandeis graduate students performed last Saturday, conveying the subject of their studies to Slosberg Recital Hall. The concert consisted of eight musicology grad students bringing music from classical and contemporary composers to life. The performers, who study the nature, structure, and historical development of music, range from Masters students to Ph.D. candidates in musicology.

The event was marked by its older listeners, whose quiet chatter died down as they were thanked for coming to the recital. When the first performer, Alexander Lane, entered the stage and took his seat at the notable Recital Hall organ, the audience greeted him with formal yet delighted applause.

Lane’s piece, Chorale Prelude: Drop, Drop Slow Tears by Vincent Persichetti, began with him pressing the pedals of the organ with his feet and producing low, majestic tones that resonated throughout the Hall.

Once Lane started using his fingers, the organ bellowed out an array of dissonant chords and leaps until a consonant, major chord would slip in, if only for a second. The composition of the piece was riveting, yet the most impressive part of Lane’s performance was probably seeing his hands move swiftly between keys and knobs while the organ breathed out strange combinations of notes.

Another piece of note was Trio for flute, cello, and piano, H. 300 by Bohuslav Martinu with Sarah Caissie on flute, Laura Schechter on cello and Erin Jerome on piano. The blend of the three distinct voices in the piece’s three movements was cohesive if not, similar to most of the selections in the concert, dissonant.

As the first movement, Poco allegretto, entered a fiery staccato section, all three musicians played unison runs involving augmented leaps and chromatic steps. The piece ended with a long, but rewarding Andante movement that exchanged the melody quickly among the three musicians.

Vocal-piano duets were also high-

PHOTO COURTESY OF ERIN JEROME

MUSICOLOGY MUSICIANS: From left, Erin Jerome, Amanda Gadrow and Laura Schechter perform at “Musicologists Making Music.” lighted, beginning with Gil Harel, tenor, and Alexander Lane on piano performing Ruckert Lieder by Gustav Nahler, a German lied with a somber melody. Amanda Gadrow, mezzo-soprano, and pianist Erin Jerome followed with Cabaret Songs

by William Bolcom. As Gadrow leaned back on the piano and smiled while she sang, it was apparent that the piece was meant to be fun and lighthearted.

The final showcase by the musicology graduate students was Brahms’ Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 40, featuring Georgia Luikens on violin, Alicia Kaszeta on French horn and Erin Jerome on piano. Although the piece was a worthy finale to the concert, it was apparent that the performers were first and foremost scholars of music and only play instruments as a way to enhance their studies in musicology. Kaszeta, for

example, had only recently begun playing the horn after a 10 year hiatus. Regardless, all three performers demonstrated superior skill as they played complicated, range-stretching runs with relative ease.

The concert, aptly named “Musicologists Making Music,” was produced with the help of the Brandeis Music Department and the coordination of Shawna Kelley and Sarah Mead.

MUSIC

Fusion band Mochila moves forward ■ The musical ensemble, which plays pieces with jazz and Arabic elements, will perform at Springfest this coming Sunday.

By SARAH BAYER JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISSTANT

Before Asher Roth and the Decemberists take the stage at Springfest on Sunday, those assembled on Chapels Field can expect to hear something a little less classifiable: the jazzy, Arabic fusion sounds of Mochila, a band composed of 11 Brandeis undergraduates and one alumnus who play instruments ranging from piano and violin to qanun and sitar.

Mochila’s appearance during the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Arts is apt, as it first performed at last year’s festival. The project was conceived by Mohammad Kundos ’10, who had just completed “Before Sunrise,” his documentary about the experiences of Palestinian students at Brandeis.

The film still needed a soundtrack, and rather than download a few instrumental pieces from the Internet, Kundos decided to write his

own compositions and enlist friends and acquaintances to play them.

His goal in forming Mochila, Kundos says, was “to build a stage where everyone can come and bring his personal story.” With this ambition in mind, he scheduled the band to play a live show before the documentary aired and then to perform at Culture X the following night.

Alberto Lopez ’12 was visiting Brandeis as an accepted student and says he knew he wanted to join Mochila after seeing the band perform at Culture X. The following fall he became the group’s bongo player, and his brother, Jonathan Lopez ’11, joined at the same time on bass guitar.

The pair had played in a cover band in high school but hadn’t worked on world music before. “At first I wasn’t sure I would fit in,” Jonathan says, “but then I really liked it more than I expected.”

Kundos says he asked his Colombian brother-in-law to think of “a catchy name that will be sexy and nice for a band that is doing experimental stuff.” The name Mochila refers to a bag made made of simple materials by Colombian Indian farmers. “Despite the different identities and cultures, together we hold a lot of weight. Our message is very heavy,” Kundos says.

Kundos comes to Brandeis from Jaffa, Israel, and he says those at home “struggle to understand the idea” of blending so many cultures through music,” but “the message that we’re bringing is strong enough to make people listen to it.”

In November, the ensemble played the Battle of the Bands, competing for the opening Springfest slot. The members of Mochila arrived “very excited, because we’re bringing a different kind of music,” Kundos says, but their victory still took them by surprise. Since then, some members have gone abroad, but the group has continued to expand.

Alex Singer ’10 says she was sitting in Goldfarb Library earlier this semester when Kundos approached her. The two had lived in Rosenthal Quad as sophomores but didn’t know each other too well beyond that. “Mohammad came up to me and said, ‘Hey, I saw you carrying around a violin last year. Do you still play?’” Singer remembers. She had played with rock ensembles and orchestras, but never anything quite like Mochila. So far, she says, she’s really enjoyed the chance to contribute her background in jazz violin to Mochila’s eclectic sound.

Mochila is a band in which individuals of all tastes and back-

grounds can fit in, notes Jae Kyo Han ’10, a pianist who joined the group only a couple of weeks ago.

Han describes the band as “a motley crew,” likening it to a group of adults who have very different careers but enjoy making music together in their free time. For example, Han is a Music major and Kundos majors in Film Studies, while Jonathan Lopez is a Politics major.

The variety of personalities in the group makes for a very laidback rehearsal process. According to Alberto Lopez, rehearsals “are mostly jamming” as members try to work out improvised contributions to Kundos’ composed works.

There’s been no slackening in the band’s work ethic even as it has absorbed new members. The group’s first album, Green Bullets, is slated for release this week. The 13-track LP was recorded in three weeks, partly funded by a grant from the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Arts. To pay off residual debts, the musicians are planning a dinner-concert fundraiser April 24. On May 2 the band will perform in New York City at Alwan for the Arts, a cultural center with a focus on the Arab community.

Asked if he is excited to share a stage with Asher Roth at Springfest, Kundos jokes, “Maybe I will invite him for coffee.”

As television sits in a nebulous limbo between the Web and live broadcast, it seems like a good time to look back and see just how far we’ve come. One of the wonderful things about the Internet is that it’s allowed us to go back and view old media previously lost to history, material that was never meant for repeated viewing and the meticulous eye of modern cultural analysis. With everything available on the Internet, we can skip back and forth between eras, adding a Z-axis to our perception of the media organism.

At a casual gathering earlier this week, the focus of our merry group slowly, predictably turned to the Internet as the pinnacle of attention. And from the blackest pits of the Web, from the most shameful, stone portions of our hearts, we wrenched forth the beast: Supermarket Sweep, an American game show that ran on various networks from 1965 to 1967, from 1990 to 1995 and again from 2000 to 2003.

Like some bizarre sexually transmitted infection, the show periodically flared up and died, but not before being passed to another host network. The show featured women (and the occasional effeminate man) at various stages of clinical obesity answering trivia questions about grocery product slogans and wheezing uncontrollably while they ravaged the shelves of a studio supermarket in search of the most prized items. Today, the show serves as a relic of ham-handed product placement and a disturbingly recent example of the kind of blatant gender discrimination that we thought died with Rosie the Riveter.

After a short, horribly animated introduction, the announcer calls forth the poor contestants from the audience, not by name, but by the products they are holding. “Who’s got the Kings Hawaiian Sweet Rolls?! OK! You’re on!” he bellows.

This method of participant selection hints to other losers that with the right purchase in the supermarket, they to might one day amount to something: a fat person on a daytime TV show.

The episode we watched featured an endless tirade of similar product placement. In the first game segment, our host, a buoyantly enthusiastic David Ruprecht (now a staunch libertarian who serves on the Board of Directors for the Downsize D.C. Foundation) quizzes the poor cows on their knowledge of product slogans. He reads the first half: “When Hubby cleans the bowl, he gets real mannish. He makes stains —” “Vanish!” shouts the only male contestant.

Once the team successfully names a product, the other partner must run (rather, waddle in most cases) to find said product in under 30 seconds. We now know the product’s name, slogan and location in the supermarket. Look at the clock, and we’re less than three minutes into the show, far less than the average commercial break. That’s some devilishly efficient advertising.

But the show’s function as corporate ad space isn’t really the root of its evil. That sort of marketing practice has always been around and most likely always will be. Thankfully, they’ve gotten a lot more subtle about it (the price tag episodes of The Hills notwithstanding). What’s far more depressing is the gender paradigm the program pushed on its viewers.

Of all the episodes I forced myself to sit through, there were very few deviations from the mold as far as the contestants were concerned. The women fell into two categories. The older women were almost always mothers and housewives, while the younger, more conventionally attractive ones were flight attendants or professional dancers. One of the female contestants who did have a promising career as an associate designer at a clothing line was noticeably less visually appealing. Meanwhile, the occasional male counterparts, unless they were partnered with a spouse, were oddly effeminate loners. The lessons here were pretty clear: The supermarket and all associated activities are the domain of homemakers.

Any other societal elements wishing to partake are clearly defective.

People still complain about both product placement and gender discrimination in modern television. I would like to send these people a video featuring some of the Sweep’s most egregious offenses in these areas just to show them how far we’ve come.

20

TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2009

●

THE JUSTICE

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) You’re doing better on the flexibility issue, but you still need to loosen up a bit to show you can be less judgmental and more understanding about certain sensitive matters.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Your personal aspect continues to dominate this week. But try to make time to deal with important careerlinked matters as well. A change of plans might occur by the weekend.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Excuses are not really needed for much of the confusion occurring this week. However, explanations from all parties could help in working things out to everyone’s satisfaction.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) That surprising (but pleasant) recent turn of events continues to develop positive aspects. But be prepared for a bit of a jolt on another issue that needs attention.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) Creating a fuss might bring you that attention you want. But are you prepared for all the explaining you’d have to do? Better to use more subtle ways to make your bid.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) With education continuing to be a strong factor this week, this could be the time to start learning some new skills that can later be applied to a bid for a potential career move.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) You might do well to reconsider some of your current time priorities before you get so deeply involved in one project that you neglect meeting a deadline on another.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) With an important decision looming, you need to be careful about the information you're getting.

ACROSS 1. Audacious 5. See 6-Down 9. Waste no time 12. Hebrew month 13. Brewery creations 14. Peculiar 15. Breakfast spuds 17. Family Guy daughter 18. Tire patterns 19. Adversary 21. Mother 22. Ask (for), as a loan 24. Wan 27. Occupation 28. Shakespeare sobriquet 31. Writer Buscaglia 32. Parisian pal 33. Stickum 34. Dalai — 36. “Of course” 37. Mile fractions 38. Go in 40. Greeting 41. Fibula neighbor 43. Aromatic resin 47. Perp. to vert.

48. Base runner’s goal 51. Lamb’s dam 52. Exam format 53. Unyielding 54. Gullet 55. Right on the map?

56. Knight’s backup DOWN 1. Thai money 2. Bloodhound’s clue 3. Weak, as an excuse 4. So-o-o-o handsome 5. Monkey — 6. With 5-Across, “open

Half-truths are essentially useless. Get the full story before you act.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) Find out what everyone’s role is expected to be before accepting that workplace proposal.

Getting all the facts now could prevent serious problems later on.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) A flexible position on a workplace matter could be the best course to follow during the next several days. A personal issue also benefits from an open-minded approach.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) Involving too many people in your workplace problem can backfire. Remember: Allegiances can shift. Ask trusted colleagues for advice, but don’t ask them to take sides.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Before submitting your suggestions, take more time to sharpen the points you want to make. The clearer the presentation, the more chance it has to get through when submitted.

BORN THIS WEEK: Your clear sense of who you are gives you confidence when you need to tackle difficult situations.

BRANDEIS

Through the Lens

Solution to last issue’s crossword.

DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/the Justice

Hand of Judgment Last Sunday, the hand of Justice Louis Brandeis was accompanied by the touch of spring. The arrival of warmer weather is

Sudoku sesame” man 7. Spelldown 8. No liability 9. Web site intro 10. The same (Lat.) 11. Provocative 16. Food safety org.

20. Gist 22. Marge’s hubby 23. Sacred Egyptian bird 24. Every crumb 25. Vast expanse 26. Domestic beer?

27. Davidson of The Crying Game 29. Fish eggs

30. Speck 35. Blackbird 37. Embellishment 39. U.S. resort lake 40. Chance 41. Yon folks 42. The Music Man locale 43. Sash 44. Rani’s wrapper 45. Covering 46. Clothing store department 49. — pro nobis 50. More, to Manuel

King Crossword Copyright 2007 King Features Synd., Inc.

■ It was humorist and commentator Andy Rooney (of 60 Minutes fame) who made the following sage observation: “Making duplicate copies and computer printouts of things no one wanted even one of in the first place is giving America a new sense of purpose.”

■ At one time in Corpus Christi, Texas, city leaders saw fit to make it illegal for an individual to raise alligators in his or her home.

■ The next time you find yourself picking up a complimentary toothpick on your way out of a restaurant, you might want to consider this fact: More Americans choke on toothpicks than on any other item.

■ If you’re a man, you might be surprised to learn that in a recent survey, more than 40 percent of women in the United States admitted that they would wear a stylish shoe even if it were uncomfortable. If you’re a woman, you might be surprised that the figure was only 40 percent.

■ Resources are very scarce in outer space, so it’s important to conserve wherever possible. The astronauts on the International Space Station might be going a bit far, however; it’s been reported that they change their underwear only every three or four days in order to cut down on laundry.

■ Those who study such things say that the average grocery store today carries approximately 30,000 different items—that’s more than twice as many items as those stores carried 20 years ago.

■ A couple of years ago, Mariah Carey—the American singer, songwriter, actress and, not incidentally, pitchwoman for Gillette’s “Legs of a Goddess” ad campaign—insured her legs for $1 billion.

Thought for the Day: “Writing is the only profession where no one considers you ridiculous if you earn no money.” —Jules Renard

Enter digits from 1 to 9 into each blank space so that every row, column and 3x3 square contains one of each digit.

Sudoku Copyright 2007 King Features Synd., Inc.

certainly welcome news to students returning from break, particularly those who visited hotter climates over the past week.

April 21, 2009

just

ARTS

presents your guide to the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts

Art is ‌

more dangerous than we realized. Art is not what it looks like, but what it does to us. Art is often taken for granted. Art is anything people do with distinction. Art is emotion made manifest. Art is personal discovery of a common truth. Art is appreciated when creating discord. Art is a beautiful problem.

Art is not without its thorns. Art is if you look close enough. Art is what makes everything else bearable. Art is progress.

Art is the commiseration of fools with liars.

Art is our story. Art is

HAPPENING

Design: Brian Blumenthal/the Justice. Photos and quotes courtesy of the Office the of Arts.

22

TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2009

●

THE JUSTICE

Sch

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Festival Ope

Students in will lead m neous, inte to kick off t 5:10 to 5:30 Atrium.

Opening Re

Artwork cr faculty will benefit the 5:30 to 7 p.m

Brandeis E Chamber C

Sarah Mea composers Salamone Bassano.

7 p.m. in Be

A Cappella

Brandeis’ n their popu benefits the ization pro treatment o 8 p.m. in th

‘Lysistrata’

A minimal edy by Ar actors: Am Tukachinsk 8 p.m. in th

Thursday

Art Happen

This intera question th 9 to 9:10 a.m

Women Art PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF THE ARTS

QUIRKY QUINTET: Boston’s Guy Mendilow Band will perform Sunday in the Carl J. Shapiro Theater. The group’s family-friendly concert provides a whimsical take on international music.

A symposiu ed with the delve into t Prof. Rosie

BE A PART OF T Super Sunday, April 26 Schedule Carl J. Shapiro Theater ‘An Arabian Adventure’: Tanglewood Marionettes A story of a Persian prince’s courageous pursuit of the princess he loves, performed using handcrafted marionettes and featuring classical and traditional Middle Eastern music.

1 to 1:45 p.m.

Guy Mendilow Band The local band delivers a fun, family-friendly performance introducing audiences to unusual instruments and songs from many cultures.

3 to 3:50 p.m.

‘Philosophical Love’ A performance of Justin Becker’s ’09 dance piece about a young man hiding from love, inspired by gay culture in China. Followed by a discussion.

4 to 5 p.m.

Slosberg Music Center ‘Il Giuoco del Quadriglio’ This opera cantata about a farcical, philosophical card game features sopranos Katherine Schram ’09, Aimee Birnbaum ’10 Mariah Henderson ’12, and Koren Wake ’06.

1 p.m.

Hooray for Bollywood A new Brandeis dance group, Chak de Deis, will perform dances popularized by Bollywood films.

1:30 to 1:50 p.m.

“A Room of French Windows and Limestone Sculptures,” an experimental multimedia performance by grad composer Mu-Xuan Lin. 2 to 2:30 p.m.

Springtime in Song Katherine Roller ’09, Karen Lowe ’10 and Jared Field ’11 will perform Franz Schubert’s “Shepherd on the Rock,” a classic celebration of springtime, in addition to songs by German Romantic composer Louis Spohr.

2:30 to 2:50 p.m.

spoken-word performance with a hip-hop sensibility.

Not recommended for children under 12.

2 to 2:50 p.m.

Spingold Theater Cent

Disposessed

‘The Tower’

A staged reading of a one-act play by WilliamBernard Reid-Varley ’09. The play is a meditation on life’s absurdity that grows out of a chance encounter of three strangers on a New York subway car. Not recommended for children under 12.

3 to 3:35 p.m.

Chapels’ Field

Rose Tour Coolsville Prof. Bob Nieske (MUS) and the Brandeis Jazz Ensemble will perform jazz standards and original compositions.

4 to 5 p.m.

1:30 to 2 p.m.

Rose Art Museum Brandeis Dance Collective Prof. Susan Dibble (THA) directed this presentation of original modern dance by Brandeis alumni, faculty and students from across the country.

1 to 1:20 p.m.

Rose Tour

New Music and Dance

Students lead a tour of current exhibitions.

1:30 to 2 p.m.

This performance includes “Three Drops on My Hand,” a ballet choreographed by Mira Muraoka Ph.D. ’10 with music by Florie Namir Ph.D. ’12, and

ARTiculation: Theater for Our Generation Local slam poetry group Company One improvise a

Springfest

The Decemberists will headli turing Asher Roth and Deerh Mochila will open.

Noon to 6 p.m.

Brandeis Playback Society Students improvise scenes based on real-life experiences recounted by audience members.

4 to 5 p.m.

Mochila: Don’t Be Afraid. Shout. Out. Loud.

Mohammad Kundos ’10 and his band seek to bridge cultural gaps through a fusion of many different styles of music. Their performance will celebrate the release of their new album Green Bullets.

7 p.m.

See Saturday schedule above 8 p.m. in the Merrick Theater

Around Campus Big Nazo

‘All Springs’ See Saturday schedule above.

6:30 p.m.

An international group of vis campus with outlandish pupp 1 to 5 p.m.

Cholmondeley’s

Sidewalk Sam and Art Street

“Moon Zoo: The Trilogy” Three short plays will take audience members to a comical version of outer space, based on improvisations masterminded by Alex Fleming ’09 and the cast, including Samuel Zelitch ’09 and Sam Roos ’09.

9 p.m.

Women’s Studies Research Center ‘Journey for a Better Future/Un Viaje Hace un Mejor Futuro’ See Saturday schedule above.

8 p.m.

’Boston’s own Robert Guillem ers create original works of s side Shapiro Campus Center.

Hassenfeld Conference Cente 1 to 5 p.m.

Art Happenings

Artists take over the Great L ings that you won’t want to m 1 to 5 p.m.

THE JUSTICE

hedule of Events

day, April 22

pening: Art Happening

n the Brandeis School of Creative Arts members of the community in a spontaeractive piece of performance art aiming the festival with energy.

0 p.m. in the Shapiro Campus Center

eception and Silent Auction

reated by Brandeis students, staff and l be available for bidding. All proceeds Brandeis School of Creative Arts. m. in the Slosberg Music Center.

Early Music Ensemble and University Choir

ad directs a concert of music by Jewish s of the Renaissance, including Rossi, Joseph Lupo and Jeronimo

ethlehem Chapel.

Fest

nine a cappella groups share a stage for ular yearly concert. This year’s show e Shana Foundation, a nonprofit organomoting awareness, prevention and of bacterial meningitis. Admission is $5. he Slosberg Recital Hall.

list staging of the popular antiwar comristophanes, performed by only three my Klesert ’09, Geehae Moon ’12 and Eli ky ’11. Directed by Lily Nagy-Deak ’11. he Merrick Theater.

y, April 23

ning

active performance may cause you to he meaning of time and perception. m. on the Rabb Steps.

tists and the Experience of Creation

um by a panel of artist-scholars affiliate Women’s Studies Research Center will the complexities of the creative process. e Rosenzweig (WMGS) moderates.

12:15 p.m. at the Women’s Studies Research Center.

Noon to 2 p.m. in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium.

Salon of the Arts Live

Inventors of Music

An exhibition showcasing the talent of Women’s Studies Research Center scholars, featuring poetry reading, photographic displays and performances. The works presented explore the theme of cairns, which are piles of stones erected as tomb markers, landmarks or for astronomical or supernatural purposes.

2:30 p.m. at the Women’s Studies Research Center.

The Irving Fine Society Singers and Ensemble, will present a concert of 20th-century German and American Neoclassical music, including choral works by Samuel Barber and Irving Fine, solo piano works by Erwin Schulhoff and works for voice and piano by Edwin Geist. A reception will follow the concert.

2 p.m. in the Slosberg Recital Hall.

Liquid Latex

‘All Springs’

In the ninth annual dance concert, organizers hope to disprove the idea that “You Are What You Wear.” Whatever the concept, you can expect to see brightly painted Brandeisians and provocative choreography. Open to Brandeis students only. $5 for standing-room tickets; $7 for a seat.

8 to 11 p.m. in the Levin Ballroom.

Ovid’s Metamorphoses provides the inspiration for this original dance-theater work directed and choreographed by Catherine Wagner ’09.

6:30 p.m. in the Rose Art Museum. Also on Sunday at 6:30 p.m.

Friday, April 24 Art Happening Take time out of your afternoon to watch Brandeis faculty and staff from a variety of departments put on an improvised, interactive performance.

1 to 1:15 p.m. in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium.

BEAMS in Concert Graduate students from the Brandeis ElectroAcoustic Music Studio show off the latest musical technology in a multimedia performance. With special guest Charles Dodge of Dartmouth University.

8 p.m. in the Slosberg Recital Hall.

Go Modelmental!

An opening reception will kick off the exhibition by grad students and faculty in the Fine Arts and Music departments.

6 to 9 p.m. in the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation, 154 Moody St., Waltham.

Saturday, April 25 Guitarathon All are welcome at this public jam session, which will be led by students and faculty.

‘The Tower’ This play by Matthew Maguire incorporates theater, dance and music to explore language and global coexistence in a retelling of the Tower of Babel story.

8 p.m. in the Merrick Theater. Also on Sunday at 8 p.m.

‘Journey for a Better Future/Un Viaje Hace un Mejor Futuro’ Tim Pracher-Dix’s ’09 original play dramatizes the true stories of Brandeis’ Latino custodians, investigating the complex immigrant experience. The play will be performed by Brandeis students in collaboration with the custodians themselves.

Performed in Spanish with English subtitles.

3 p.m. at the Women’s Studies Research Center.

Also on Sunday at 8 p.m.

Carmina Burana: Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra and Brandeis University Chorus The Brandeis-Welleseley Orchestra and a onehundred-voice chorus come together for a performance of Carl Orff’s ubiquitous 1937 cantata.

8:30 p.m. in the Levin Ballroom.

See Sunday schedule below.

●

TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2009

T

his year’s Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Arts reaches beyond the galleries and concert halls of Brandeis, infusing energy into shared campus spaces. The lineup includes such annual favorites as Springfest—relocated to Chapels Field and bigger than ever—and Liquid Latex, as well as small-scale spontaneity including a student-faculty jam session and multiple “happenings” over the course of the festivities.

The coming week holds many ways to celebrate the Brandeis community’s artistic potential as another school year draws to a close.

About the Cover Top photos, from left to right: Big Nazo, ARTiculation, dancer, and “Taisha” by Ariella Silverstein-Tapp ’09.

Bottom: The Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra and Brandeis Chorus.

All photos courtesy of the Office of the Arts Quotes on the cover were submitted in response to an email sent out to the community by Office of the Arts Director Scott Edmiston, inviting students to complete the sentence “Art is...”

THE HAPPENING

ter

e. r.

ine this show, also feahunter. Brandeis band

sual artists will roam pets and dancers.

min will help festivalgosidewalk chalk art out. Rain location: er.

Lawn to create happenmiss.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF THE ARTS

MODERN MOVEMENTS: Justin Becker’s ’09 ‘Philosophical Love’ dance performance about gay culture in China will be presented Sunday in the Carl J. Shapiro Theater.

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THE JUSTICE

●

TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2009

Artists with answers

Interviews by Andrea Fineman

Painter brushes history

Director Nadworny builds ‘The Tower’

With money from her Festival of the Arts grant, Ariella Silverstein-Tapp ’09 has created a series of oil paintings titled, “Public Memory, November 4th, 2008.” Her art will be shown in the Slosberg Music Center.

JustArts: Describe to me what your grant is for. What are you spending it on, and what is the project?

Ariella Silverstein-Tapp: It is a series of paintings of people reacting to President Obama being elected on Election Night and the various themes. The photos are taken from the newspaper, mostly from the Chicago Tribune although there’s some from The New York Times. It’s very much about the need right after the election to talk about it, and for me, the desire to look forward. In my lifetime this is the most important thing I’ve experienced, especially for me and my community, since I was born and raised in Chicago.

JA: How long have you been working in the vein of current events?

AST: I guess just this year. I think that over the summer, I was trying to make work that was about history and politics and social issues, but I wasn’t framing it in any current sense, and I think that was a failure. I am interested in finding a way to talk about issues I want to talk about but in a very current way.

JA: Is your grant just for supplies?

AST: For supplies, and also I find that it’s helpful to have some written statements. Last year for my grant I just did a series of portraits, and I also had gotten a separate grant for an undergraduate research project. I put that money toward supplies, and I also did research and created a brochure with my artist’s statement and a statement about the research I had done. So this year I think my money is going toward that as well because it’s really important to me to have that written statement with a connection to the visual aspect.

JA: And you’re also participating in some sort of dance event.

AST: Justin Becker ’09 is reprising his dance performance from last semester, Philosophical Love, and I choreographed that, but I’m not dancing. That was a project he did last semester for a different grant. So we asked for the money again.

JA: What’s next for you in your arts career?

AST: I know for a fact that I’m moving to Philadelphia. I’m doing Teach for America and getting my Master’s at University of Pennsylvania in Elementary Education. So I’m excited to be starting my teaching career, and I’m also planning on continuing to work as a painter. Right now the hope is to have a good workspace and teach in the day and paint at night. Philadelphia has a really vibrant art scene and is a lot more affordable and less pretentious than New York City. I think there are also a lot of murals everywhere. I think it would be really interesting for me in my work to get involved and take inspiration from the murals.

I can see the subject matter and intentions of my work fitting in with the murals. I believe that art should be accessible to everyone and murals are a perfect medium for that.

Katie Nadworny ’09 directed Free Play Theatre Cooperative’s inaugural play, A Summer Evening in Des Moines, in 2006.

This year she received a grant to direct The Tower, also produced

by Free Play. A founding board member of Free Play, she is now its associate artistic director.

She spoke to the Justice about her work in the Brandeis theater scene and hopes for the future. The Tower will be performed April 25 and April 26 at 8pm in the Merrick Theater.

The Justice interviews Brandeis artists about their work COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF THE ARTS

JustArts: Could you describe how you chose The Tower?

Katie Nadworny: I’ve had this play with me for a long time, just waiting for the right time, the right opportunity. I found this play in the Brandeis library my freshman year and I wanted to do it then, but I ended up putting it on the back burner to do some other projects. When I was trying to figure out what I should do for my senior thesis, The Tower was there waiting for me. It’s exciting to finally realize a play that I have been reading and thinking about for such a long time.

JA: What is The Tower about?

KN: The Tower is a contemporary retelling, or reimagining, of the Tower of Babel story.

Ruth, the protagonist, is having an operation on her mouth.

Through flashback and hallucination we discover that she has been trying to rebuild the Tower of Babel. And as the surgery goes on and we descend deeper and deeper into her head, the surgeons begin speaking all the words in her mind, and her nightmares fuse with the operating theater.

JA: What are you spending your grant on?

KN: Props, costumes, and hope-

fully a talk-back event.

JA: Have you participated in the Festival of the Arts before, or is this your first time?

KN: I have. My sophomore year I directed the 365 Days/365 Plays project. We performed all over campus every day during the Festival week. It was a very, very different project from The Tower. This will actually be the first play I’m directing in a real theater at Brandeis. I’ve always been interested in alternative theater spaces, but the Merrick, though it is a theater, is as strange a space as any of the other places I’ve been directing in on campus. It’s a nice way to illustrate that whether you do a play in the Gluck Lobby, in the Rose [Art Museum], in a dance studio, on the Rabb steps, or in the Merrick, it doesn’t matter.

All are legitimate theater and all can use space in similar ways.

JA: You’ve been involved in Brandeis theater for a while now, and you’re graduating soon. What does the future hold for you? Are you going to do a theater grad program; are you going to become an actress; or are you going to do something unrelated to theater? Or have you even decided yet?

KN: Well, I won’t be an actress. I don’t really act. I direct— though I will be acting in Allison Vanouse’s ’09 thesis, apparently. After Brandeis, I want to travel a little—I will likely be in Israel this summer—and then who knows? I am in no rush to attend a grad program. I want to see where life takes me a little. But theater is what I love, so I can,t imagine that I will be staying away from it. Graduation isn’t really an end—it's a beginning. So I’m excited to see what will begin.

POLITICAL PRIDE: Ariella Silverstein-Tapp’s ’09 oil painting “Jose” portrays one man’s reaction to the election of Barack Obama in November 2008.

BEAMS brings musical innovation to the spotlight The Brandeis Electro-Acoustic Music Studio was founded in 1961 to study how the studio can be used as a tool to create music.

For years BEAMS students have put on a performance for the Festival of the Arts, and this year is no exception. James Borchers (GRAD), along with Peter Van Zandt Lane (GRAD) and Christian Gentry (GRAD), received a grant to organize the performance. In a recent interview, Borchers gave us an idea of what to expect.

JustArts: It seems like the concert has gone through a lot of incarnations, like in the past it was 12 or six hours long. What can people expect from the concert this year?

James Borchers: Last year was a little on the longer side but it wasn’t like a six or 12 hour thing that we’ve had in the past. I think this year’s will be somewhat consolidated as well, like a two- or three-hour concert. There will also be a lecture by Charles Dodge, who’s our guest artist, at 4 [p.m.], so we’ll have a lecture with him from 4 to 6 [p.m.], then a time when people can congregate in between, and then we’ll have the concert at 8 [p.m.].

JA: What’s the overview of the performers? Is there a common link among them or just a big group of different performers doing their different things? Last year’s was quite varied, with multimedia presentations and traditional instruments.

JB: I’m not sure yet what everyone’s doing at this point. Some of the composers haven’t unveiled their pieces yet. People are planning to do stuff that is straight electronic, there’ll be some live instruments, and one person is doing something with video. We have two guest performers: there’s a pianist, Sarah Bob who’s a fairly well-known freelance pianist around Boston and also Christa Reutner is a violinist who performs quite regularly in the area. I’m planning to play some percussion and electronics.

There’ll be also a series of classic pieces or electronic music pieces, sort of a history of 20thcentury music.

JA: What are you working on in particular?

JB: I’m working on a piece that’s just for tabla and electronics, laptop. We didn’t have a ton of money to hire performers, so the composers are working on things that they can present

themselves, run the laptop or run the sounds, maybe have one other person do the sound cues.

There are not a lot of huge ensemble things. I’ve been working on an interface that improvises with me so I’ll play and then the computer recognizes the sounds that I’m playing, mostly the sound pressure level and how high or low it is.

JA: So the computer is doing improvisational responses to whatever you play.

JB: I control the form of it in a way so that I have a sense of how it’s going to respond, and that changes over time, and it goes through different sections. In a sense it’s a composition but it’s not predetermined. It’s going to react based on how I improvise it in the moment. I’m calling the piece “Composed Improvisation.” The idea is just questioning the boundary between what’s composed and what’s improvised. A jazz player is going to play from a set of things that he already knows how to do. He’s not choosing at random; he has scales that he knows will fit in and those adapt over a period of time based on the form of the song. My goal is to try to make a computer inter-

face that does something similar to that, that chooses notes from a collection, trying to make intelligent choices to create a consistent form that’s not the same every time.

JA: What about the texture of the sounds? Are those going to be recognizable as traditional instrument sounds?

JB: Some of them are related to trumpet sounds, some of them are bell-like sounds. I’m still trying to figure that out, actually.

JA: Here at Brandeis we have an undergraduate student working on a similar project. Is that just a coincidence or a trend?

JB: In a way, a current trend in electronic music is interactive music. There’s always been interest in classic electroacoustic pieces to create sort of a dialogue between a performer and electronics. I think more recently the processing power of a laptop can respond in real time.

Not even six or seven years ago you couldn’t do that because the computers weren’t fast enough to respond in real time. Some people would argue we’re still a long ways off from creating a computerized musician that can have a dialogue with a living musician.

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