ARTS PULLOUT PAGE 25
FORUM Arizona abortion law limits rights 11
FESTIVAL PREVIEW
SPORTS Tennis squads encounter rough week 16 The Independent Student Newspaper
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Justice
Volume LXIV, Number 26
www.thejustice.org
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
STUDENT UNION
Waltham, Mass.
HOOPS FOR HAITI
Kirkland elected Student Union president ■ Students elected Todd Kirkland ’13 as president and Gloria Park ’13 as vice president on Friday. By tate herbert JUSTICE editorial assistant
Todd Kirkland ’13 emerged as the next Student Union president, with 296 votes after the polls closed at 1 p.m. on Friday. The presidential election had a 32.85 percent voter turnout, the highest of the positions up for election. This figure is down from 44.16 percent last year. The positions of vice president, treasurer, secretary, representative to the Board of Trustees, representative to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, representative to the Alumni Association, and three out of four Finance Board representatives were also filled, while the racial minority representative to the F-Board remains vacant. Under the instant runoff voting system, students rank candidates in order of preference, and if no candidate wins a majority of votes after the first count, students whose first-choice candidate received the fewest votes have their second-place choice counted instead. Voting counts continue in this fashion until a majority winner is obtained, and if abstain receives the greatest number of votes during a final election, there is no winner. Unfilled seats from the first round of elections will be filled in the second round of elections, which will take place on Thursday. “I’m just really happy. I was really excited when I heard the news,”said Kirkland, who is currently the Student Union secretary, in an interview with the Justice. “I’m really looking forward
See ELECTIONS, 7 ☛
JON EDELSTEIN/the Justice
Fierce competition Student Union President Herbie Rosen ’12 battles Associate Dean of Student Life Jamele Adams for the ball during the “Hoops for Haiti” fundraiser event on Thursday. For more on the game, see Sports, p.13.
dining services
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
University reviews Board elects members on-campus dining ■ Lisa R. Kranc ’75, Michael
■ Brandeis hired a food
service consultant who will hold focus groups with students in May. By sam mintz JUSTICE editor
In an email to the student body, Student Union President Herbie Rosen ’12 and Senior Vice President for Administration Mark Collins announced a “comprehensive dining review” that could bring lasting and substantial changes for University dining services. “This assessment will include a baseline review of our current operations and facilities,” Rosen and Collins wrote in the email. “We
hope that a Dining Services Plan can be constructed with long-term requirements for facilities, services, venues, meal plans, catering and all aspects of dining at Brandeis.” In an interview with the Justice, Collins explained that because the University has had the same provider, Aramark, for 14 years, it is time for the administration to examine and evaluate dining services. “We began our relationship with Aramark in 1998. The dining programs of ’98 were different from those of the ’70s and the ’80s, and the dining programs of 2012 and ’13 are likely even more different,” he said. “I think that we’re exploring where we’re going to be in the next five years and 10 years with dining.” The email also said that a food
By JONATHAN EPSTEIN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
The Board of Trustees has elected three new members, according to an April 11 BrandeisNOW press release. The new trustees and their employers are, respectively, Lisa R. Kranc ’75 of AutoZone, Inc; Michael G. Frieze of Gordon Brothers Group; and George D. Krupp of the Berkshire Group. University President Frederick Lawrence commented that each of the new trustees has relevant experience for governing Brandeis University. “Mike, George and Lisa combine to bring a wealth of experience to the board. Mike and George are profoundly significant members of the Boston philanthropic community. Lisa
See DINING, 7 ☛
See TRUSTEES, 7 ☛
A view on Irish writings
Olympic Games
Proposed changes
Author Colm Tóibín read selections from his book in Rapaporte Treasure Hall last Wednesday.
Tim Morehouse ’00 and Julian Cardillo ’14 placed among the top eight fencers at the Summer Olympics qualifying trials in Virginia.
Student Union President Herbie Rosen ’12 proposed constitutional amendments.
FEATURES 9 For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org
G. Frieze and George D. Krupp were chosen to serve on the Board.
brings extremely valuable skills in marketing and human resources, especially when we are in the midst of strategic planning for our future,” he said in the press release. Kranc is the senior vice president of marketing at Autozone, based in Memphis. After graduating from Brandeis, she received an M.B.A. from Columbia University, and worked at Hannaford Bros. Co., among other companies. She is currently the vice president of Brandeis’ Alumni Association Board of Directors and is on the board of the Brooks Art Museum in Memphis. Kranc could not be reached for comment by press time. Frieze is the chairman of the board of directors of Gordon Brothers Group, where Malcolm Sherman, the chair of the Brandeis Board of Trustees, is the vice chairman. Gordon Brothers is “an advisory, lending and investment firm that helps growing, mature or dis-
Let your voice be heard! Submit letters to the editor online at www.thejustice.org
INDEX
SPORTS 16
ARTS SPORTS
17 16
EDITORIAL FEATURES
10 8
OPINION POLICE LOG
10 2
COMMENTARY
News 5 11
COPYRIGHT 2012 FREE AT BRANDEIS. Email managing@thejustice.org for home delivery.
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TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2012
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THE JUSTICE
NEWS BRIEFS
Targoff wins Guggenheim award
Prof. Ramie Targoff (ENG), the Jehuda Reinharz director of the Mandel Center for Humanities, has been awarded a 2012 John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship. According to the Guggenheim website, “[the] fellowships are intended for men and women who have already demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts.” The fellowship provides these individuals a year of academic leave to be covered by the Guggenheim. The year is to be spent pursuing personal artistic and academic ventures. For her 2012-13 academic year of leave, Targoff will spend her time in Rome with her son, Harry, and Stephen Greenblatt, her husband and fellow Guggenheim Fellowship recipient, notes the Fellowship website. During her time in Rome, Targoff will be working on her book titled Posthumous Love: Eros and the Afterlife in Renaissance England. This novel will touch on many aspects of love on earth as well as love beyond the grave. It looks to examine everything from Shakespeare and Elizabethan sonnets to an in-depth look at sermons on death and burial. In an interview with the Justice regarding the application process for the Fellowship, Targoff described it as “elaborate.” She said it “requires you to give a very full account of the project you propose to do should you be given the grant but also asks you to summarize your academic work up to now. ... The fellowship application also asks for four letters of recommendation.” When asked how being awarded the fellowship made her feel, Targoff answered, “I was thrilled to receive the Guggenheim—it is a huge honor and means a great deal to me.”
POLICE LOG Medical Emergency
April 17—A party in Ziv complained of having an illness and that his antibiotics were not working. The party was transported via police cruiser to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care. April 17—A reporting party stated that an 18-year-old female was having an allergic reaction in the Sherman Dining Hall. BEMCo treated the party on-scene with a signed refusal for further care. April 19—A student in Usen called University Police, complaining of feeling dizzy and nauseated. University Police requested that the BEMCo supervisor and the community development coordinator on call come to the student’s room, and BEMCo cleared the student. No further action was taken by the University Police. April 19—University Police received a call from a student reporting an eye infection. BEMCo responded and assisted the party with a signed refusal for further care. April 20—University Police received a call that a female student had had too much alcohol to drink. BEMCO treated the party on scene with a signed refusal for further care. April 21—A female in the Charles River Apartments complained of wrist and shoulder pain; BEMCo and University Police responded, and the party was treated and
transported via police cruiser to the NewtonWellesley Hospital for further care.
Larceny
April 16—University Police compiled a report on attempted fraud scam via the Internet from a charity firm. No victims fell for the scam as a result of this report being composed. University Library and Technology Services has blocked the scam site from the University website. April 20—University Police received a report of two items stolen from a locked motor vehicle in Tower Lot. There was no signed of forced entry; University Police compiled a report. April 21—A party in the Usdan Student Center reported that someone stole her laptop when it was left unattended in a common area. University Police compiled a report on the theft.
Miscellaneous
April 17—A party from the Mailman House reported that there was a male party in the lobby who refused to give his name and requested to speak with someone. The staff was nervous. University Police arrived to check on the unknown party, assessed the situation and requested an ambulance to transport the party to the hospital for a psychological eval-
This past weekend, the Brandeis Academic Debate and Speech Society sent its 10 qualified debaters to Wesleyan University to compete at the National Championships sponsored by the American Parliamentary Debate Association. According to a press release from the Debate Team, BADASS has had a successful past couple of months, leaving them ranked third behind Yale University and Columbia University. At the Boston University tournament on March 23 and 24, Russell Leibowitz ’14 and Keith Barry ’13 reached the final round of their tournament and defeated the national Team of the Year from Yale and Harvard University. Barry and Leibowitz are the fourth-ranked debate team on the circuit. In an email to the Justice, Leibowitz wrote, “qualifying for Nationals was an amazing moment. The tournament is one of the most competitive in the world.” At the University of Chicago tournament held March 30 and 31, Leibowitz and David Altman ’15 reached the final round of the tournament as well. Leibowitz earned third speaker at the tournament, which makes him 10th in the nation. Altman wrote in an email to the Justice, “[the tournament] was a lot of fun! The great thing about those types of tournaments is that teams from the mid-west who normally can’t debate in the American Parliamentary Debate Association attend, creating an influx of different debate styles, ideas, etc.” At the Hobart and William Smith College tournament both Barry and Leibowitz gathered a successful total of 6 points for their team. According to the American College Debate Association website, “The top novice receives 10 points, the second novice 7.5 points, the third novice 5 points, and the fourth novice 2.5 points. In addition, each of the top four novices receives 2 points for every 10 novices competing at a tournament, for a maximum of 10 additional points.” Altman was enthusiastic about the upcoming trip. In an interview with the Justice, he said, “Every weekend we travel together, sleep on the floor together, eat together, and just spend a lot of time hanging out. The team really feels like a family.” —Rachel Starr
n An article in arts incorrectly identified the director, producer, and stage manager of the play Hedda Gabler. The play was directed by Christopher Knight ’14, produced by Jesse Field ’13 and stage managed by Grace Fosler ’14. The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. Email editor@ thejustice.org.
Justice
the
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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 Mondays from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in the Justice office. Editor News Forum Features Sports Arts Ads Photos Managing
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April 21—University Police received a complaint of a loud party in Ridgewood. The registered party was dispersed without incident. —compiled by Marielle Temkin
Senate charters 5 clubs
BADASS sends 10 to nationals
n A caption in sports incorrectly identified a player on the softball team. The player shown is third baseman Mimi Theodore ’12, not utility infielder Leah McWilliams ’12. (April 3, p. 16)
Disturbance
SENATE LOG
—Danielle Gross
CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS
uation. The party was transported without incident. April 18—University Police compiled a report on a student in Ridgewood who claimed she was being harassed by another student. An investigation will follow. April 20—A student in East Quad called University Police as a result of hearing a loud bang behind the building. University Police checked the area and found no problems. April 22—University Police observed a suspicious vehicle in the Theater Lot. The three parties inside were found with marijuana, and the registered owner of the vehicle was not present. University Police will file University Judicial charges. April 22—University Police discovered two parties involved in a consensual relationship in a motor vehicle on Loop Road. The parties were identified and warrant checks were performed with negative results. The parties were requested to vacate the area.
JENNY CHENG/the Justice
Senatorial presence Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown spoke to a group of students on Saturday in the Mandel Center for the Humanities as part of the Massachusetts Alliance of College Republicans’ Spring Convention.
At the April 15 Senate meeting, the Senate voted to approve three Senate Money Resolutions. An SMR for the WATCH barbecue, an SMR for the Senior Week barbecue that was adjusted to $1,000 and an SMR to pay $1,200 for 200 t-shirts for the Midnight Buffet were each approved with votes of 11 to zero to one. Last Sunday, three SMRs, for SEA Food Day, a barbecue in Massell Quad and the Midnight Buffet, totaling $4,698 were all passed in one vote. The Brandeis Korean Student Association requested approval of a change to its constitution in order to form the Brandeis Korean Courses and Language Initiative. According to its constitution, the BKCLI aims to “enhance” the Korean language “learning experience” and advocate to teach Korean as another East Asian language at Brandeis, in addition to Chinese and Japanese. While KSA will focus on promoting many aspects of Korean culture, the BKCLI will focus on language. The Senate approved the KSA’s constitutional change with a vote of 11 to zero to one and the recognition and charter of BKCLI unanimously with 12 approving votes. Student Union President Herbie Rosen ’12 proposed a series of changes to the Student Union’s constitution that will be sent to the student body to vote upon. At the April 22 Senate meeting, Rosen announced that he would need 10 signatures from Senators in order to approve a student body vote on the changes. The Senate also chartered five clubs and approved three SMRs during last Sunday’s meeting. The Senate chartered Cupcake Obsession, Students for Educational Reform, Global China Connection and the March of Dimes Collegiate Council at Brandeis University. Triskelion requested approval of a constitutional change in order to establish the Queer Resource Center as its own chartered club, not as a branch of TRISK. The Senate both approved constitutional change and chartered the QRC. —Sara Dejene
ANNOUNCEMENTS Celebrate Heller Author Nicholas M. Teich
Dean Lisa Lynch of the Heller School for Social Policy and Management invites you to a conversation with author Nicholas M. Teich to discuss his new book, “Transgender 101,” today at 12:15 p.m. Afterward there will be a reception and signing in the Zinner Forum, with books available for purchase. Nicholas M. Teich is a licensed social worker pursuing a Ph.D. in social policy with a concentration in children, youth and families at the Heller School Today from 12:15 to 2 p.m. in the Glynn Amphitheater in Schneider.
Cultural Food Gala
Ten to 12 cultural groups on campus will cook different dishes Tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 5:20 p.m. in South Campus Commons.
Immigration Support Services Practicum
Join the students in the Immigration Support Services Practicum, taught by
Marci McPhee of the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life, as they share their learnings from a semester of working with organizations in Waltham supporting immigrants. Lunch will be provided. Tomorrow from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in the Hassenfeld Conference Center.
Heart Research Series
Dr. Garret FitzGerald, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology will speak. Tomorrow from 4 to 5 p.m. in Gerstenzang 121.
Travel Signature Day
For international students and scholars on F or J visas, don’t forget to get a travel signature on your I-20 or DS-2019 if you will be traveling this summer. If you have a signature that will be more than six months old when you return to the U.S., come to the ISSO for Travel Signature Day on April 26 to get a travel signature on
the spot. Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Kutz 216.
Yom Ha’atzmaut Party
Party and barbecue on the Great Lawn during the day on Thursday to celebrate Israel’s birthday. There will be food and music. Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Great Lawn.
Present and defend
Join the students of “Advocacy for Policy Change” (LGLS 161b) as they present and defend the legal advocacy projects they have developed over the course of the semester. This course is sponsored by the Ethics Center International Advisory Board member Norbert Weissberg and former Board member Judith Schneider and the International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life. Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in the Hassenfeld Conference Center.
THE JUSTICE
GLOBAL EXPANSION
By TATE HERBERT JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
JENNY CHENG/the Justice
MASSACHUSETTS AND THE WORLD: Governor Deval Patrick spoke on the future of Massachusetts industries and enterprises.
Governor Patrick speaks at IBS Global Trade Summit domestic cooperation with the industries of Brazil, India, Israel and Turkey. By SHANI ABRAMOWITZ JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
Brandeis University and the Brandeis International Business School hosted its second annual Global Trade Summit on Tuesday, April 3 in the Levin Ballroom. The summit focused primarily on the various industries of Brazil, India, Israel and Turkey and welcomed several representatives from companies both international and domestic. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, the Summit’s keynote luncheon speaker, addressed the future of Massachusetts’ industry and some specific trade goals. The opening session of the Summit consisted of welcoming remarks from IBS Dean Bruce Magid; an opening speech from Senior Vice President and General Manager for Global New Business Development of EMC Corporation Joel Schwartz; and a panel framed to discuss opportunities for Massachusetts businesses with emerging markets moderated by Pamela Goldberg, CEO of
Following the luncheon keynote, the Summit participants were guided to a series of breakout sessions, the first of which included three discussion groups titled, “Doing Business with Brazil,” “Doing Business with Israel” and “Entrepreneurs and Global Business.” After a brief 15-minute break, the second of the two breakout sessions began, lasting from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. Discussions included, “Doing Business with India,” “Doing Business with Turkey” and “Using Alternative Channels and Resources to Access Emerging Markets.” The summit concluded with a networking session. “The Global Trade Summit is intended to serve as an informative, practical resource for companies looking to enter emerging markets or improve their position in more mature ones,” Magid wrote in an email to the Justice. According to the program agenda, the Massachusetts Office of International Trade and Investment, AIM International Business Council, the Massachusetts Export Center, Mintz Levin, EMC, Global Atlantic Partners LLC, the Kauffman Foundation, Sovereign Santander, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative and the U.S. Commercial Service sponsored the Summit.
BRIEF University network outage inconveniences students on Monday The University’s computer network failed for about 3 and a half hours yesterday, leaving both laptops and desktop computers across campus with no internet connection and partially disabling the campus telephone system. In an email to the Brandeis community, Vice Provost for Library and Technology Services John Unsworth explained that the problem “emanated from a router—a key piece of the network infrastructure—that failed, but didn’t fail so completely as to
be automatically disregarded by the rest of the network.” Unsworth wrote that Networks and Systems rebooted the router to restore service. Director of Netsys John Turner wrote in an email to the Justice that “the problem we saw today was a fairly unique situation.” Unsworth also said that the equipment involved in the incident had been scheduled for replacement in the next few weeks. Turner’s email clarified that “on the current schedule, [Netsys] is planning to replace that
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Candidates campaign for next election of 2013, 2014 and 2015, senator at large and F-Board representatives are among the positions to be filled in this Thursday’s election.
the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. The panelists included Schwartz; Aron Ain, CEO of Kronos; and Samir Bhattacharyya, worldwide director of market access of DePuy Mitek. During the luncheon keynote, Patrick spoke on the expansion of enterprise and the future of Massachusetts industry. “It is so important for us to seize, improve and expand. The global economy waits for no one. It’s happening—ready or not. And it seems to me that we have every reason to be ready to participate—and to participate successfully,” Patrick said. “As governor, I have made it my mission to make Massachusetts a global player in today’s innovation economy, an economy that is all about the explosion of knowledge,” continued Patrick. “And when you think about the concentration of brainpower we have here in the Commonwealth, we have a natural advantage, and a natural opportunity which we ought to take advantage of.” Immediately following Patrick’s address, the audience was invited to ask the governor questions, which, for the most part, pertained to the specific industries of their countries.
TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2012
STUDENT UNION
■ Senators for the Classes
■ The summit focused on
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exact part of the network on May 22nd after graduation when the campus is quiet.” Unsworth noted that the emergency notification systems remained operational. Some students were inconvenienced by the outage. “I couldn’t do the work I needed to do,” said Kyra Borenstein ’15. “I couldn’t do my essay, it’s due tomorrow,” said Katherine Zheng ’15. —Sam Mintz and Shafaq Hasan
The second round of spring Student Union elections will take place this Thursday beginning at midnight. Thirty students in total are running for a variety of positions including senators for the Classes of 2013, 2014 and 2015, senator at large, finance board representatives, racial minority senator and associate justices. David Fisch ’13, Sarah G. Kim ’13 and Boris Osipov ’13 will vie for the position of senator of the Class of 2013. Fisch entered the race after finishing fourth in last week’s presidential election. “I am still committed to pushing for the changes I had outlined in my Presidential campaign,” wrote Fisch in an email to the Justice. “I have three main goals and those are to improve dining, housing, and school unity.” Fisch was the senator for the Class of 2013 during the last academic year.
“
I will be dedicated to hearing from all students about what changes they feel need to be made. —AMANDA PEREIRA ’15
Kim, one of two current Class of 2013 senators, wrote in an email to the Justice that among her goals, should she be elected, were creating an official “Brandeis Social Justice Network,” in which clubs and individual students can collaborate on social justice projects, continuing to promote test preparation services and planning more events for the Class of 2013. Osipov, the current Ridgewood Quad senator, could not be reached for comment by press time. Annie Chen ’14 and Ricky Rosen ’14 are the candidates for senator for the Class of 2014. Incumbent Senator Rosen, who lost the vice presidential election to Gloria Park ’13 in the first round of elections last Friday, wrote in an email to the Justice that, “If re-elected, I would continue to serve the sophomore class (and the greater student body) to the best of my ability.” Chen did not respond to requests for comment by press time. Seven first-years have entered the race for senator for the Class of 2015: Adam Berger, Derek Komar, Jassen Lu, Danny Novak, James Polite, Sneha Walia and Yuya Yoshida. “I feel that I have done a lot this semester,” wrote Novak, who is currently one of two Class of 2015 senators, in an email to the Justice. “I plan to work on putting together another event if reelected but mainly I want to hear what it is that my constituents want changed,” he wrote. In an email to the Justice, Lu stressed unity and wrote to that he believes “the Union and the University should take greater action to address basic campus environment needs,
such as better sanitation and maintenance” in residence quads and other parts of campus. Komar, the current the midyear senator, wrote in an email to the Justice that, if elected, he would like to create a website with weekly updates on the Union, as well as improve communication with University administrators. “While most of us do not have the time or power to meet with these people, I want to make it a priority,” wrote Komar. Berger, Polite, the current Transitional Year Program senator, Walia, the current Class of 2015 senator and Yoshida could not be reached by press time. Sunny Aidasani ’14, Theodore Choi ’13 and Charlotte Franco ’15 are running for the position of senator at large. In an email to the Justice, Franco, who is currently the North Quad senator, noted her accomplishments serving on several Senate committees. “As Senator at Large, I plan to utilize administration to better dining services and facilities on campus and create better communication between the Union itself, the Union and the student body, and the Union and clubs,” wrote Franco. Choi, who is currently a Class of 2013 senator, detailed his concerns in an email to the Justice. “I am running because I still have unfinished work in the Senate and I know the entire student body will benefit from the goals I have in mind,” wrote Choi. Among other things, he mentioned making a calendar of test dates and extending library hours. Aidasani, who is currently an assistant treasurer, could not be reached for comment. The candidates for racial minority senator are incumbent Jonathan Beaver ’15 and challenger Amanda Pereira ’15. “If elected, I would be committed to bringing … honest conversations about race to the Brandeis campus,” wrote Pereira in an email to the Justice. “Most importantly, I will be dedicated to hearing from all students about what changes they feel need to be made.” Beaver could not be reached by press time. F-Board positions which were not filled last week will also hold elections on Thursday. Three candidates, Manoo SabetyJavid ’14, Moshi Shi ’15 and Audrey Stout ’13, none of whom responded to requests for comment by press time, are competing for the fourth and final remaining slot as F-Board representative. Students will also have another chance to vote for the racial minority representative to the F-Board. The candidates from the first round—Jae Jung ’15, Donald Lim ’15 and Jiaying Zhang ’13—will all run again. Seven candidates are also up for election to seats on the Union Judiciary, all are first years: Zach Breslaw, Seth Brody, Gali Gordon, Eric Giray, Dan Schlesinger, Claire Sinai and Ethan Stein. Breslaw, Gordon and Sinai are currently associate justices. In an email to the Justice, Stein wrote about his previous experience with student government in high school. “I … wanted to make my school the best place it could be and that is what I want to bring here to Brandeis as well, happy kids in an even better place.” Gordon reflected on the graduation of current Chief Justice Shirel Guez ’12. In an email to the Justice, Gordon wrote that “now is a crucial time to keep the judiciary on strong footing, and I am more than willing to fill that void with experience and my leadership.” No other candidates for the Union Judiciary responded to requests for comment by press time.
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THE JUSTICE
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TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2012
CHANGE IN CHINA
STUDENT LIFE
Students share concerns with Flagel at forum
■ The Student Union held
an open forum for students to share their input following the recent tuition increase. By SUZANNE SCHATZ JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
As a response to student questions about the recent tuition raise, the Student Union held an open forum with Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel on Wednesday April 4. About 10 students attended the forum, hosted by Student Union President Herbie Rosen ’12 Rosen spoke first, asking students to inform him if they are interested in more forums. Rosen then introduced Flagel, asking him to start by discussing the main points considered in the decision to raise tuition, and the background leading up to the decision. Flagel explained that over the last four years, tuition increases have been about 3.9 percent each year. The 2012 tuition increase is 4.1 percent for current students and 4.85 percent for new students. Flagel mentioned that he has only been in office for about six months and that before his appointment the University made a goal of being truly need blind when it comes to financial aid. He praised the University for “[funding] more aid than many institutions.” Flagel also lauded the University for moving down from being one of “the three or five most expensive schools,” over the last few years. He continued, saying that with the 2008 economic crisis, Brandeis made drastic changes such as closing the Linsey Pool and threatening to sell work from the Rose Art Museum to “hold the line on tuition” without making other sacrifices. He said that the University’s endowment has increased, allowing for the reopening of these two institutions, but noted that “although the University is much more stable, [we are] far from comfortable.” As of June 30, 2011, the University’s endowment was about $703.7 million. Flagel explained that in creating the fiscal 2013 budget, the University has tried to take into account the major concerns expressed by students about the growth pattern of the University, specifically about housing, class size and access to faculty. Flagel continued by saying that to alleviate the “tightness in the residence halls” the University is trying to decrease the incoming first-year class by 30 to 50 students. The fall Class of 2015 has approximately 855 students, whereas the fall first-year classes of the previous few years have had about 750 students. He said that about 25 percent of the current first-year class was placed in lofted triples, and that the University hopes to go back down to the previous 10 percent. Flagel added that if the Universi-
ty were to limit the first-year class to about 750 students, the tuition could increase to around 5 percent for current students. When students mentioned that they felt powerless and that they did not have an adequate say in the decision to raise tuition, Flagel responded that “most of higher education has no student input, but we’d like to be better.” When it was suggested that open forums take place while the budget is being discussed, not after it is decided, Flagel said that “for all future budgets, I’ll commit, unless they fire me before then, … that we’ll have more [open forums].” When asked if detailed records displaying how Brandeis allocates its money were readily available for students to view online, Flagel said that some tax documents were available online. He elaborated that rather than having a PDF document, it would be more feasible to work with student media to compress the large volume of budgetary documents into a digestible version available to students. He joked, “if you want to see how much we’re spending on Kleenex we can get down to that level,” but said that while students would be able to see where large chunks of the budget are allocated, certain specifics, such as individual salaries, would remain private. “My social security number is also not available” for viewing, he said jokingly. Subsequently, when asked if these documents include information on Aramark dining services, Flagel said students would be able to see revenue models for Aramark, but not their detailed budgets because Aramark is a private company. However, Flagel stated that Brandeis intends to include students in the process of biding the dining contract over the next year. Next, it was suggested that tuition should be frozen at the student’s time of entrance to Brandeis because, although students should be aware that tuition increases occur every year, those increases almost seem unfair because of their unpredictable and potentially large variability. Flagel replied that continuing Brandeis’ transparency will help students understand the tuition increase, and added, “At Brandeis there shouldn’t be a question you can’t ask.” Chase Hiller ’12 commented, “I found [it] helpful to interact with members of [the administration]. I think it’s important for students to offer their input on things that the Board of Trustees [is] doing.” However, Michael Sklaroff ’13 felt slightly skeptical because President Frederick Lawrence has previously stated that one of his priorities was to lower tuition. “Since we’ve had [economic] conditions that have been markedly better … I’ve just wondered what’s changed … or how [Lawrence] is inadequately informed about the fiscal disposition of the school such that [he won’t] be able to keep that promise.”
JOSHUA LINTON/the Justice
FUTURE OF CHINESE POLITICS: Dr. Cheng Li lectures at an event called “China in 2012: What’s Next” last Tuesday in Rapaporte.
Experts lecture on Chinese politics, economy and future ■ Dr. Cheng Li said that “an
incremental transition to democracy is most likely” in the political future of China. By RAQUEL KALLAS JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
Dr. Cheng Li, an expert in Chinese politics, visited Brandeis last Tuesday to discuss the political future of China. Hosted by the International Journal, the panel was dubbed “China in 2012: What’s Next” and also included a talk by Prof. Gary Jefferson (ECON), a specialist on China’s economy. The event coincided with the release of the International Journal’s latest issue and was funded by the Ellen Lasher Kaplan ’64 and Robert Kaplan Endowment for Economic Growth. Li is Director of Research on China at the Brookings Institution, a D.C.based think tank dedicated to “[securing] a more open, safe, prosperous and cooperative international system,” according to its website. He currently teaches at Hamilton College in New York, and has authored several books including China’s Leaders: The New Generation and China’s Changing Political Landscape: Prospects for Democracy. Prof. Chandler Rosenberger (IGS) introduced Li, remarking that Li had turned down interviews from three different branches of BBC News in order to be at Brandeis that afternoon. Li outlined the four major changes presently occurring within the Communist Party of China: one party with two coalitions, new generations with new identities, strong factions and weak leaders and political pluralism with policy deadlock. He noted that
THINK YOU CAN MAKE THIS AD LOOK
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two-thirds of China’s top leaders will soon be replaced due to mandatory retirement ages. This will result in new, young leaders filling the majority of government positions. The two coalitions that Li discussed are the Populist (Tunapi officials) and the Elitist (Princeling officials). Together, they make up the CPC, but their ideologies and interests are different. However, they are essentially equal in power. According to Li, the changes are “potentially the greatest upheaval of the CPC since Tienanmen Square in 1989.” He discussed the ongoing Bo Xilai scandal that is threatening the legitimacy of the current regime. Xilai and his wife are suspected of orchestrating the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood, among other wrongdoings. Li called the scandal “a manifestation of the conflict between two factions [of Chinese government].” Li summarized the current state of China using an airplane metaphor: “The pilot announced to his passengers that he has good news, and bad news. ‘The good news,’ he said, ‘is that we are ahead of time, we are ahead of schedule. The bad news,’ he said, ‘is that we are lost.’” Connecting this to Chinese politics, he said that China was one of the first countries to recover from the global financial crisis, “but the political system does not accommodate the society and economy.” An additional change that Li mentioned is the dwindling of technocrats in Chinese government. He noted that while technocrats dominated the CPC in the 1990s, today’s leaders are mostly specialists in non-scientific fields
such as history, law and business. In his conclusion, Li weighed the different possible political outcomes for China. He does not believe that there will be “resilient authoritarianism,” nor “the collapse of China.” Rather, he thinks that an “incremental transition to democracy is most likely.” In a follow-up email to the Justice, Rosenberger wrote, “There’s no way to know what democratization in China would mean for US foreign policy. Social scientists have enough trouble understanding the present and the past; we should not be in the business of predicting the future.” Jefferson followed Li’s political discussion with an interpretation of China’s economy. He started off by agreeing with Li that “democracy is the solution.” Jefferson then explained how the economic conditions that gave rise to political reform are just as powerful as the political reforms themselves. Additionally, he noted that a transition in property rights is occurring today. Instead of state-owned, communist style properties across China, individuals are beginning to obtain their own estates. They are also now in position to choose their own jobs and lifestyles. Jefferson finished by reaffirming that the solution for China is a multiparty democratic system. Audience members asked questions at the conclusion of the panel. Two questions directed at Li pertained to China’s one child policy and female leaders. Li asserted that he believes there will be a rise of female leaders in China’s future, as well as a relaxation of the one child policy, noting that “China will soon have a labor shortage.”
JOIN LAYOUT Contact Nan Pang at layout@thejustice.org
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proposed changes starting at midnight next Wednesday. By sara dejene JUSTICE editor
JON EDELSTEIN/the Justice
AMERICAN DREAM: Ken Langone spoke yesterday at the second annual Saul G. Cohen Memorial Lecture in Rapaporte Hall.
Langone lectures on business and charity Depot was given the Saul G. Cohen Memorial Lecture Award after his talk. By suzanne schatz JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
Ken Langone, a co-founder of Home Depot who is also well known for his philanthropy, delivered the second annual Saul G. Cohen Memorial Lecture titled “Not Business as Usual: When Doing Well Means Doing Good” yesterday in the Rapaporte Treasure Hall University President Fredrick Lawrence began the series of introductions preceding the lecture. Senior Advisor to the Provost for Research Irving Epstein (CHEM) was next to speak and summarized Cohen’s life and accomplishments. Cohen was a graduate of Harvard University, worked for Polaroid helping to develop instant photography and later became a Brandeis professor and the first chairman of Brandeis’ chemistry department. Subsequently, Elisabeth Cohen, Cohen’s daughter, introduced Ken Langone. Langone began his lecture by commending Brandeis for exploring a multitude of viewpoints on different issues. More broadly, he praised the United States, saying “I think there’s no nation on Earth that reflects more on what philanthropy is than the good old United States of America.” Langone went on to say that he would not have been able to achieve what he has today if his grandfather had not moved to America.
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Amendments put forward by Rosen ■ Students will vote on the
Langone asserted that donations of any kind are only charity if the giver “goes without for someone else.” To provide a concrete example, he said that his philanthropy, or “doing good,” is not in writing checks, but rather in donating time because money can be replaced while time cannot. He continued to say that individuals who provide true charity deserve to be appreciated. Through his scholarship program at Bucknell University, he recognizes such charitable students, specifically those who have overcome great difficulties or that show great potential for giving back to society. Langone said that those who make it big are generally good and should not be vilified, because class warfare can be extremely destructive to American society. He further stated that doing good increases one’s sense of self-worth and sense that “the world was better because they were here.” He later said this self-confidence is helpful in achieving one’s goals. He went on to comment that Americans have shown the ability to do anything, and said that “[the United States is] the greatest nation on Earth, and there will never be an America again like this America. And my advice to anybody who doesn’t like it, get the hell out of here.” He then stated that success creates self-respect, but that American society does a lot to take away from its citizens’ feelings of self-worth. He elaborated on this point stating, “I don’t know how anybody can have a sense of worth or self-respect if they’re living on a check from the government that they didn’t earn, that they didn’t
TUESDAY, april 24, 2012
sTUDENT UNION
THE BUSINESS OF CHARITY
■ The co-founder of Home
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pay into.” He added that he does not mean that Americans should “go to bed hungry,” but that this kind of system takes away the drive that caused so many people’s ancestors to build themselves up from nothing. Langone added that he feels much of what he has accomplished was only possible due to his selfconfidence, which he gathered from philanthropy. Accordingly, he stated that it is impossible not to gain for oneself from doing good. Langone’s speech was followed by a question-and-answer session. Langone previously articulated his disdain for the current healthcare bill, later elaborating that it is not incremental enough and, thus, will increase costs. In the question-and-answer session, he added that one of his goals for the future is to provide free tuition for all New York University medical students, in order to attract higher quality students to the medical field by helping reduce the debt that medical students face. After Langone answered questions, Lawrence presented him with the Saul G. Cohen Memorial Lecture Award. Sarah Zoloth ’14 said that she thought Langone’s ideas on philanthropy were interesting and that “it is nice to see a that … a ‘fat cat,’ as [Langone] called himself, does [philanthropic work] because sometimes you don’t think of them as doing so.” Daniel Graulich ’12 agreed, saying “I thought [Langone] had a good perspective on charity, [especially] the idea of giving your time and not just writing off a check. … He’s basically the American dream, it’s very inspiring.”
Student Union President Herbie Rosen ’12 and President-elect Todd Kirkland ’13 announced, in an email to the student body last night, seven proposed changes to the Student Union’s constitution. These proposals include the “incorporation” of a non-voting staff member from the Department of Student Activities into the Finance Board allocation process, increased communication between the Board of Trustees and the student body and transfer of the responsibility of the constitutional review to the Student Judiciary. According to the email, students will be able to vote on the changes next Wednesday from midnight to midnight. The first proposed change is a “constitutional recognition and establishment” of Campus Operations Work Group. The Student Union would take responsibility for “facilitat[ing]” COWG and “advocat[ing] for improvements to campus facilities.” In the proposal, Rosen wrote that this change would give quad senators “a chance” to become more efficient by voicing “their constituents’ concerns directly to administrators.” The second proposed change would only allow students who have served at least a semester in the Union Treasury or on the F-Board to run for the office of Union Treasurer. Currently, candidates for the position are not required to have this experience but are required to announce their candidacy “four weeks prior to the election” in order to partake in a mandatory fourweek training session provided by the incumbent treasurer. However, current assistant treasurers are not required to undergo training. According to Rosen in the proposal, the change would prevent newly elected treasurers from having a “honeymoon period” to become adjusted to the position by electing only candidates who have prior experience and knowledge of Union finances. In addition, treasurers would be able to focus on other responsibilities by not having to train candidates for the position. Another proposal that would affect Union finances requires including a non-voting staff member from the Department of Student Activities in the F-Board allocation process. This staff member would provide “council and advice” on “student-programming ideas.” The F-Board would not be required to follow the staff member’s recommendations but would be able to use him or her as an information resource.
The fourth proposal aims to enhance “communication between the undergraduate student body and the Board of Trustees.” The changes would require the senior student representative to the Board of Trustees to serve on the Union’s Executive Board. In addition, both the senior and junior representative would prepare for the Board of Trustee’s meetings “at least two weeks prior” by “organizing some form of outreach to the student body.” This would allow students to communicate opinions and concerns to the Board of Trustees and would provide “several outlets” for the representatives to engage with students. Also among the proposals is a change that would transfer the student-elected position of representative to the Alumni Association to an appointment by the Future Alumni of Brandeis from its own membership. None of the responsibilities of either the senior or junior representative would be eliminated but would be expanded to include “facilitating communication between the student body and the Alumni Association.” Rosen wrote that the position would be largely ineffective if the representative was not a member of FAB, which is “in place to foster communication and collaboration between students and alumni.” The sixth proposed change would transfer the responsibility of the constitutional review to the Student Judiciary. In addition to the full review of the constitution held every four years, any undergraduate student may propose a constitutional change along with his or her reasoning in between the full reviews. The Judiciary would then either conduct a review or “be advised to present a proposed amendment or bylaw” to the Senate, if the majority of members agree that the “issue is a cause for concern.” Currently, an independent task force performs a constitutional review every four years. The task force is composed of representatives elected or appointed by various constituency groups among the Brandeis community. Rosen wrote that this change would ensure constant “monitoring” of the constitution so that the Union is “operating off of a ‘living’ document.” The last proposed change would alter all gender-specific pronouns to gender-neutral pronouns in order to make all members of the student body “feel comfortable and accepted, regardless of their gender or identification,” according to Rosen in the proposal. In the email to the student body, Rosen wrote that he would accept student feedback, and that should any student disagree with any of the proposed changes, they may send him a counter-argument no later than 5 p.m. on April 30.
inside the justice
Wingens elected editor ■ Andrew Wingens ’14 was
elected editor in chief of the Justice on April 3. Andrew Wingens ’14 was elected editor in chief of the Justice at a staff-wide meeting on Tuesday, April 3. The Justice editorial board met immediately following the election and confirmed Wingens as the newspaper’s next editor in chief. The votes took place following a speech and subsequent discussion in which Wingens enumerated different large-scale projects to improve the Justice. He also spoke fondly of the two years that he had already spent as part of the staff. “The Justice has taught me a lot over the past two years,” Wingens said, addressing the staff, “and I’m looking forward to a great year ahead.” Wingens explained that during his tenure as deputy editor he had been expanding his knowledge outside of the News section, where he began to write during the first semester of his first year at Brandeis. During his second semester he was designated a
News editorial assistant and later News editor. In those capacities, he wrote numerous articles for the paper covering content ranging from campus speakers to major University develWingens opments. He is the first editor in chief to be elected as a sophomore since 2008. “The Justice is basically my life,” he said, going on to explain that he would be dedicating the majority of his time to ensuring that the paper continues to run smoothly. Wingens noted that his plans for next year include expanding the types of articles published by the newspaper and creating more of an online presence for the Justice through the use of Facebook and Twitter. Emily Kraus ’12, senior editor and former editor in chief, said that “working with Andrew has been a really great experience. He’s picked up on things very quickly, and I expect he’ll do a great job moving forward.”
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Thomas and Cadge were recognized with teaching and mentoring honors. By ALANA ABRAMSON JUSTICE EDITOR
Profs. Timothy Hickey ’77 (COSI), Irina Dubinina (GRALL), Christine Thomas (CHEM) and Wendy Cadge (SOC) received four different awards for teaching and mentoring, which were presented at last Thursday’s faculty meeting. Dubinina received the Louis Dembitz Brandeis Prize for Excellence in Teaching. Hickey received the Lerman-Neubauer ’69 Prize for Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring, a prize rewarding a professor who is “not just an exceptional teacher, but also one who has had a significant impact on students’ lives as a mentor, advisor, and friend,” according to information provided at the faculty meeting. Thomas received the Michael L. Walzer ’56 Award for Teaching, which is presented annually to “a tenure track faculty member” who “combines superlative scholarship with inspired teaching,” according to a University press release. Cadge received the Dean’s Mentoring Award for Outstanding Mentoring of Students in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. All recipients expressed gratitude and excitement about receiving their respective awards. In an email to the Justice, Hickey, who has been teaching at Brandeis since 1984 and has chaired the Brandeis Computer Science department, the School of Science Council, the Internet Studies program and the Faculty Senate, wrote that he was “especially honored because the
award is for mentoring and teaching. In my opinion, winning one of these awards based on student nominations is the highest praise for college faculty.” According to one of the student nominations, which was also cited on BrandeisNOW, Hickey is “incredibly knowledgeable, patient, encouraging and caring about our progress in his class, as well as the sometimes difficult adjustment to college life. Even in a class of over one hundred people, he took the time to learn our names and we got to see how passionate he was about the subject. His enthusiasm shined through – putting a smile on everyone’s face.” Thomas wrote in an email to the Justice that she was ecstatic to have made an impact on her students’ intellectual growth, citing her greatest achievement as “incorporating problem-solving and critical thinking components, combined with the most cutting-edge modern techniques and topic.” “It’s truly an honor to win this award. You always know how much effort you are putting in, but it’s extremely gratifying to know that you’re getting through to your students and they appreciate your efforts,” added Thomas. Dubinina emphasized her appreciation for her students. “This award is meaningful precisely because it comes from students, and their opinions are very important to me. … Students say that my enthusiasm is infectious, but the truth is I get my energy from working with the students. I think we have great students at Brandeis; my energy would not go very far if the students were not eager to learn,” she wrote in an email to the Justice. In an email to the Justice, Cadge said that she was “thrilled to win the award.”
TRUSTEES: Alumna, philanthropists elected CONTINUED FROM 1 tressed businesses manage through strategic change,” according to its website. Frieze previously served as a trustee from 2001 to 2005, and his wife, Lisa, is a member of the Heller School Board of Overseers. He is currently a trustee of Children’s Hospital and Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and is a supporter of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, among other causes. He wrote in an email to the Justice that his admiration for Brandeis stems from “the University’s commitment to social justice demonstrated by the POSSE and TYP programs as well as the Heller School.” Frieze declined to comment on a host of recent controversial decisions made by the Board of Trustees, including those to raise tuition by 4.1 percent for returning students and to increase the size of the undergraduate body. Krupp is the co-founder and cochairman of The Berkshire Group, an investment firm specializing in the multifamily real estate industry. He is a trustee of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has donated a gallery at the Museum of Fine Arts and has supported the natural sciences at Ben-Gurion University in Israel and the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program at Brandeis, according to the BrandeisNOW press release. Krupp is also a founder of Gann Academy, a Jewish day school in Waltham. In the BrandeisNOW release he thanked President Emeritus Jehuda Reinharz for his logistical support during the school’s first years, which he cited as a catalyst for his giving back to Brandeis. Asked what his top priority as a
trustee will be, Krupp replied that he would work to keep tuition affordable. “My own view is universities in general cannot continue to raise tuitions and hope to susKrupp tain a diversified student body,” he wrote in an email to the Justice. He declined to comment on recent issues before the Board of Trustees. Krupp and his wife, Liz, are consistent doKranc nors to the Democratic Party. They each gave $35,800 to President Obama and $30,800 to the Democratic National Committee in the most recent election cycle—the maximum legal Frieze contribution— according to the Huffington Post. They have also given to congressional and gubernatorial candidates, and together have given $139,200 to Democrats in this election cycle, according to the Huffington Post. The Board of Trustees now has 45 members and is permitted by its bylaws to have up to fifty. Additionally, there are seven trustees emeriti. The terms of the new trustees begin May 20.
TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2012
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PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
Professors receive teaching awards ■ Profs. Hickey, Dubinina,
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JOSHUA LINTON/the Justice
SERIOUS QUESTIONS: All six candidates for Student Union President took part in a debate Wednesday night in Olin-Sang 101.
ELECTIONS: Seats left vacant CONTINUED FROM 1 to next year.” Kirkland added that he was looking forward to “working with the Union to make it more efficient.” “My biggest hope is that he takes every single mistake that I made and does a better job and learns from them,” said current Student Union President Herbie Rosen 12 of Kirkland. “I think he will.” Kirkland’s opponent Dillon Harvey ’14 was the runner-up with 234 votes. Joshua Hoffman-Senn ’13 received 223 votes, David Fisch ’13 received 195, Louis Connelly ’13 received 99, and Steven Milo ’13 received 69 votes. Incumbent Gloria Park ’13 was elected vice president with 572 votes, while her opponent, current senator for the Class of 2014 Ricky Rosen, received 486 votes. “It feels really good. I was very surprised,” Park said in an interview with the Justice. “I think [Rosen] had a very good campaign. It motivated me because I wanted it [the vice presidency] as well. I was very surprised.” As for her plans for her second term, Park said that she and Rosen ’12 are “reaching out to [Director of Public Safety Ed] Callahan to see if we can have more trials [of shuttles to Riverside].” Park also mentioned donating more furniture to Cholmondley’s and meeting with administrators to talk about other issues on her platform. David Clements ’14 won the race for treasurer, claiming 380 votes. Runner-up Sunny Aidasani ’14, who is currently an assistant trea-
surer, finished with 288 votes, while Owen Voelker ‘14, also an assistant treasurer, received 160 votes. “I am very excited to serve the Brandeis student body in this expanded role,” Clements wrote in an email to the Justice. “I have already begun brainstorming ideas of how to make the Treasury more efficient, helpful and responsive to all the clubs on campus.” Carlton Shakes ’14, currently an assistant treasurer, will be the next secretary after receiving 522 votes. Opponents Dean Kaplan ‘15, the current Massell Quad senator, and Derek Komar ‘15, the current midyear senator, received 147 and 139 votes, respectively. “I’m very excited that everyone wants to give back and be part of change and improving connecting Brandeis,” said Shakes in an interview with the Justice. “I’m ecstatic!” Jack “Zev” Hait ’14 was elected representative to the Board of Trustees, with 305 votes. Susannah Feinstein ’14 received 211 votes, and current assistant treasurer Nathan Israel ’14 received 193. Lys Joseph ’14 won the position of representative to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee with 742 votes. Andre Ve Tran ’14 claimed the seat of representative to the Alumni Association with 711 votes. “I hope to create and advertise more events that are cosponsored by Student Union [and Alumni organizations] as well as continue to be a reliable intermediate between the Student Union and Alumni Asso-
ciation,” said Tran in an email to the Justice. Tran also said that he hopes to build on the work of last year’s representative, Destiny Aquino ’12, on redefining the representative’s position within the union. Hait and Joseph could not be reached for comment by press time. Elly Kalfus ’13, Ajai Scott ’15 and current F-Board member Paul Lee ’13 won three out of the four available positions as Finance Board representatives, with “abstain” coming in third place and forcing the fourth seat to remain open. “I was really happy to hear the results, and I want to start looking into ways to help F-Board already,” said Kalfus, who received 229 votes, in an interview with the Justice. Scott, who won her position with 154 votes, said in an interview with the Justice that she was “very, very excited about the opportunity and the position,” and that she hopes to make “positive changes within the F-Board.” “We had a great year of cultural expositions and excitement this year as I served as the Racial Minority representative in the Finance Board,” wrote Lee in an email to the Justice. “I will strive for greater things in the coming year,” he added. Lee received 109 votes. The abstain option also won in the election for Racial Minority representative to the F-Board, with Jae Jung ’15 coming in second by a margin of 17 votes. —Sara Dejene and Sam Mintz contributed reporting.
DINING: Contracts to be evaluated CONTINUED FROM 1 service consultant has been brought in to assist with the process. According to Collins, the consultant’s name is Ray Petit, and he will be a part of two focus groups that will take place with students on May 1 and 2. According to the Petit Consulting website, the company “provides insightful and experienced planning advice to foodservice and hospitality clients.” The company’s client list includes many colleges and universities, including local ones such as Emerson College, Smith College and Tufts University. In terms of specific issues that will be addressed, Collins cited “meal plan issues that [the University has]. There are choices, selections that students have talked about, venues which may not be reflective of what … our peer sets are doing.” “The University is undergoing a dining review because they finally reached a point where they’ve been hearing a lot of feedback from the community with the strategic plan launching, a new administration, the university wanting to move forward—it’s time to just look at our dining services,” said Rosen in an interview with the Justice. Rosen added that he has “met with
Plans underway for library coffee shop The University is planning to build a coffee shop in the Goldfarb Library, according to Senior Vice President for Administration Mark Collins. “We have done some preliminary work on this project,” said Director of Dining Services Aaron Bennos in an email to the Justice. “We are meeting with project managers and engineers this week. Hopefully if all goes well we could see a coffee shop in Goldfarb Library ready to open for fall semester.” In an interview with the Justice, Collins said that the administration is “looking at a variety of loca-
the consultant … and outlined student concerns and thoughts, [and] what we’d like to see from this process ideally.” Rosen also said that he has opened the discussion to students using focus groups. In an email to the Justice, Director of Dining Services Aaron Bennos wrote that he thinks it “makes good business sense for any company, in this case the University, to evaluate
tions in the Farber library.” “No matter where you go these days, whether it’s libraries or book stores, there’s always some sort of café model blended in there. That’s our goal,” he added. “I’m in favor of it as long as they think it’s a financially smart thing to do,” said Student Union President Herbie Rosen ’12 in an interview with the Justice. “I hope it offers different things,” he added. Collins said that there is a “high likelihood” that the coffee shop will be ready for the fall. —Sam Mintz
their contracts. There are a number of areas that will be looked at, from hours of service, meal plan options, and the facilities that we operate in.” There will be follow-up surveys sent to the University community in the fall to continue to evaluate dining services on campus. Collins was not able to provide a more specific timeline for the evaluation.
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features
TUESDAY, april 24, 2012
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THE JUSTICE
VERBATIM | WILLIAM SAROYAN Good people are good because they’ve come to wisdom through failure. We get very little wisdom from success, you know.
ON THIS DAY…
FUN FACT
In 1915, the arrest of 250 Armenian intellectuals in Istanbul marked the beginning of the Armenian Genocide.
Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny, was allergic to carrots.
Healing with music
ASHER KRELL/the Justice
ENTHUSIASTIC PERFORMANCE: Starving Artists, an a capella group on campus, brought joy to Andy, a brain injury patient who still loves listening to and singing along to a capella music and attending musical concerts.
Starving Artists members perform songs for brain injury patient By JESSIE MILLER JUSTICE staff writer
ASHER KRELL/the Justice
COMMUNITY IN SONG: Ellyn Getz ’13 spoke to Daniel Stewart about singing for Andy.
ASHER KRELL/the Justice
SUPPORTING MEMBERS: Sammy Ballan ’14 sang “Billie Jean” with other members.
Brandeis is known for its many talented and diverse a capella groups. We go to their shows, applaud for our favorite songs and hum the tunes stuck in our heads. Music has the power to bring a community together, even just for a moment, but music can also touch people in a different way. On March 30, the singing group Starving Artists performed for Andy, whose last name is not given to protect his privacy, a Waltham resident living in a group home for those with traumatic brain injuries. At the group home, Daniel Stewart is responsible for the residents and assists them with daily tasks, like taking medicine. Stewart first realized Andy’s penchant for music when he was listening to a college a capella group on the radio and he heard Andy start to sing along. “I started thinking if there’s an a capella group somewhere around, wouldn’t it be great to have him meet them and brighten his day a little bit,” said Stewart in an interview with the Justice. Stewart ended up contacting Ellyn Getz ’13, the events coordinator of Starving Artists, one of the a capella groups on campus. “I was so happy to be contacted by Dan. I brought the idea to the group, we all agreed that we would really enjoy the experience, and I planned the rehearsal date with Dan,” she said. Getz was excited that the group was given the opportunity, especially because “[Dan] was so impressed by the music we created and mentioned that it would be so cool to expose Andy to the way that we arrange and piece music together,” she added. On the day of the rehearsal, the group members were nervous about what to expect. Sarit Friedman ’13 said “Some people were both nervous like what it would be like
and… if [Andy] would feel bad if he couldn’t catch on to some of the syllables. But we had said right off the bat whatever you can do, do and whatever you don’t feel like doing just enjoy it.” Instead of just a show, the performance became an interactive rehearsal where Andy could fully immerse himself in the music and experience what it is like to be in an a capella group. While singing with Starving Artists, “there were a couple of moments where [Andy] would close his eyes and sway. You can just tell when somebody feels the music,” said Friedman. Andy, the victim of a drunk-driving accident, suffers from a brain injury but Stewart described him as an extremely intelligent man with a love for music. Not only a source of entertainment, music also has a beneficial effect on the brain. “Without a doubt, music has had a positive impact on Andy’s life,” because Andy frequently listens to a capella and attends the symphony, Stewart said. Marlee Rosenthal ’14, another group member, thoroughly enjoyed singing for Andy. “I was really amazed at how a lot of the group members really got into it. It could have just been ‘okay we’re doing a mini-little rehearsal,’ but each Starving Artists member really included Andy and Dan into the experience … We had a constant dialogue going on,” she explained. During the rehearsal, the group practiced several songs and incorporated Andy into their sets. “At first, Andy was a little slow to warm up, but he ended up standing in the circle with us. He would chime in with a couple of notes here and there,” said Friedman. Stewart was particularly touched when during the girls’ solos they leaned in towards Andy, singing directly to him. “They just took him right under their wing. The love they exuded toward Andy touched me and I know it touched them,”
said Stewart. The group members were also touched by the experience. Rosenthal said that it was a “win-win situation. I think we made his day, but we also lifted our spirits up too because it showed us that this a capella group is not just about singing, it’s about community building and pushing the envelope and doing things that we normally wouldn’t do.” Getz added that performing for Andy is one of her favorite memories at Brandeis. “It was so moving to see how the music inspired Andy—and inspired us to share our passion for music with him,” she explained. After rehearsal, Starving Artists was slated to perform on the Great Lawn as part of Bronstein Week and invited Andy and Stewart to watch them. “At one point during the concert, Ellyn said ‘This song is for you Andy.’ He was just sitting there watching and he was touched,” said Stewart. Looking ahead, Friedman hopes to continue singing for more people outside of the Brandeis community. “It was a really great experience for us to have and I hope we have more of them in the future,” she said. Rosenthal expressed the same sentiment and “wish[ed] we were able to meet more people. To sing for more people.” The group hopes to become more involved in the Waltham community through what Friedman calls “the gift of music.” This Sunday, they will be singing at a nursing home and will also hold food-drives and charitable fundraisers, according to Getz. Most memorable is the effect that Starving Artists’ compassion had on Andy and how reaching out to one individual can be so moving. Stewart was particularly moved by the occasion and said, “It really brought me to tears. All the kids … it hit me how talented they were.”
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TUESDAY, April 24, 2012
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A reading with
Colm Tóibín
JENNY CHENG/the Justice
BOOK COLLECTION: Copies of the author’s previous works were made available after the lecture, a reading and question-and-answer discussion with Prof. Kathy Lawrence (ENG) and questions from audience members.
Author lectures about Ireland and book on Henry James’s life By selene campi0n JUSTICE staff writer
Author Colm Tóibín already had a connection to Brandeis University before he entered Rapaporte Treasure Hall on Wednesday night. “There were two people that no matter what I did or how hard I worked came away better than me at everything: they were funnier than I was, they were better looking than I was, and they were certainly cleverer than I was.” Those people were Richard Kearney, now a professor at Boston College, and Gerard McNamara, who obtained his graduate degree from Brandeis. Rapaporte Hall was packed with students and professors alike to hear author Colm Tóibín read and discuss his book The Master, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2004. The story is set in the late nineteenth century and details five years of author Henry James’ life—from the failure of his play Guy Domville to his seclusion in Rye, East Sussex where he produced several masterpieces, including What Maisie Knew and The Awkward Age. Some of the attendees were obvious literary buffs while others were simply curious to learn more about the famous author who came to Brandeis to discuss everything from his love of Henry James to his childhood in Wexford, Ireland. Tóibín attended University College Dublin, graduating in 1975. His friendship with McNamara served as his first introduction to Brandeis. “When he came back from America he didn’t just have an American accent, he didn’t just have a Massachusetts accent, I realized that what he has was a pure Brandeis accent. The way he moved, the way he spoke—and it never ended. He had a certain wit and certain response,” described Tóibín. He continued to describe his deep attachment to his hometown of Wexford, Ireland, “Ireland only seems small when you measure, it doesn’t seem small archaeologically, certainly racially and not in soul or in spirit. There are variations every five or ten or thirty miles.” After recounting stories of his childhood, including sneaking into his neighbor’s house to watch The Flintstones as a child, it was obvious that his childhood greatly shaped his character. His family “was so
JENNY CHENG/the Justice
SPEAKING ON WRITING: Tóibín spoke about his research on James, his childhood and his connection to Brandeis. conscious of being from Wexford that Ireland seemed more alien in a way than Boston did.” After treating listeners to two excerpts from The Master, he sat down for a conversation with Prof. Kathy Lawrence (ENG), who is currently teaching a class called “When Genius is a Family Affair: Henry, William, and Alice James.” She said, “It was audacious of you to write this book in a way, because so many
people think they own the material, avid fanatics, and you were entering unsafe territory.” James’ life continues to be a controversial topic today. Many literary scholars debate his sexuality, and his time in seclusion still eludes those who study his works. Tóibín admitted, “I think it’s been very difficult, as an Irish writer, to write about America after a certain year, when you start getting new
names for things. You start getting Cadillacs and The Great Gatsby arrives and your fridges become five times the size they need to be. I would get the words wrong for all of them. But with this [book] I was closer to it and I could do it. I didn’t know how much trouble it was going to cause me, but then again I have nothing else to do with my time.” Tóibín also discussed James’ odd
relationship with the city of Boston. Lawrence commented, “James had a certain fear of Boston. I think that’s one of the reasons he didn’t include The Bostonians in his collective New York edition.” Tóibín continued to discuss the prolific author’s life and stated that after his death, his sister-in-law Alice carried his ashes back to Boston to bury him even though he had lived most of his life in Europe. Judging from the enthusiastic audience reactions to Tóibín’s tales of his childhood, it’s safe to say Tóibín’s work paid off. Prof. Dawn Skorczewski (ENG) said in the question-and-answer session, “I have to say that when I see your name in the New Yorker, I think ‘what a treat, this is the best dessert’ but listening to you speak, I think I’ll never have to eat again; it was like banquet of all mankind.” Both Undergraduate Departmental Representatives for the Creative Writing department, Erica Lubitz ’12 and Samantha Paternoster ’12, were equally thrilled to have Tóibín visit Brandeis. Reacting to the reading, Paternoster said, “Amazing, it’s the best one yet. I like how he incorporated parts of his personal life, his characters and the actual work itself. We’ve known about [the reading] for months and we’ve been so excited, it’s always fantastic to have the experience of someone in the industry come here and talk about their books.” Lubitz agreed, “It’s amazing to see someone with this much prestige come to our school. It’s a big deal. We’ve had fantastic writers come here before, but this is so much bigger than we could’ve imagined. We pushed our nerd glasses up for this one.” Chen Arad ’15 said after the event, “Though I never read any of his books, a quick Google [search] made me feel like he would be an interesting person to listen to, and I was not disappointed.” His favorite part of the presentation was listening to Tóibín read his work. “He didn’t really lecture, just read. I always really enjoy listening to authors reading their own work and I certainly did in this case. Closing my eyes and listening to what he was reading I felt almost like I was in that theater during Henry James’ premiere and even at some points like I was standing in his shoes.”
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TUESDAY, april 24, 2012
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THE JUSTICE
Justice Justice
the the
Established 1949, Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Established 1949
Andrew Wingens, Editor in Chief Emily Kraus, Senior Editor Marielle Temkin, Managing Editor Eitan Cooper, Production Editor Alana Abramson, Rebecca Blady, Brian Blumenthal Bryan Flatt, Rebecca Klein, Asher Krell, Fiona Lockyer, Nashrah Rahman, Tess Raser and Robyn Spector, Associate Editors Sara Dejene and Sam Mintz, News Editors Celine Hacobian, Features Editor Shafaq Hasan, Forum Editor Adam Rabinowitz, Sports Editor Ariel Kay and Emily Salloway, Arts Editors Jenny Cheng and Joshua Linton, Photography Editors Nan Pang, Layout Editor Hillel Buechler, Online Editor Maya Riser-Kositsky, Copy Editor David Wolkoff, Advertising Editor
Voice concerns over Aramark According to an email to the student body from Student Union President Herbie Rosen ’12 and Senior Vice President of Administration Mark Collins, the University will be conducting a comprehensive review of Dining Services prompted by feedback from students regarding Aramark, the University’s food service provider. This board is glad the University is critically reevaluating our relationship with Aramark. We hope by weighing the benefits and detriments of this partnership, the administration will address students’ concerns by taking this opportunity to reconsider the quality of the food and the meal plan options. In the past few years, dining has been a continued source of frustration for students—in particular, the quality of the food has drawn complaints. While we appreciate the variety of food Aramark provides, some students are still dissatisfied with the options available in the dining halls. Using the freshest produce and pushing for more creative dishes will work toward improving the quality of the food. In order to make the University more attractive to prospective students as well as current students, the administration should be trying to put its best foot forward with the quality of our dining services. Moreover, considering the amount Aramark charges for our meal plans, the company can improve meal plan options to better accommodate students. To help students fully utilize their meal
Improve campus food options plans, Aramark can expand the options that can be bought on a meal, such as microwavable products and bottled soda drinks. In an interview with the Justice, Mr. Collins stated that while the University has been working with Aramark since 1998, “It’s time to just take a fresh look at dining, and get to the concerns that are voiced periodically from students, from faculty [and] from staff.” Certainly, the University and Aramark have worked together in the past to respond to student feedback to Dining Services. The decision to introduce the 5 Meal Combo Plan two years ago was made only after Aramark met with student groups and tried to understand how they could best meet students’ dining needs. We hope the administration will show the same consideration to students during this review and the results from these discussions address their concerns. Mr. Rosen and Mr. Collins indicated in their email to students that the dining review will follow a similar format and on May 1 and 2 the administration and Aramark will speak to focus groups to elicit their concerns and opinions. We encourage students to voice their opinions about Aramark. We also hope the University will continue to actively listen to students’ concerns during this process and keep their interests in mind while seriously considering the future of our relationship with Aramark.
Move past Union to community On May 1, President-elect Todd Kirkland ’13 will assume his new role as Student Union president. We congratulate him on his successful campaign and his decisive victory. In the upcoming year, this board hopes that Mr. Kirkland will be able to effectively respond to a number of pressing issues continually expressed by students. We encourage Mr. Kirkland to learn from current Student Union President Herbie Rosen’s ’12 shortcomings and successes. It would serve Kirkland well to continue the projects Mr. Rosen began, including the ’DEIS Impact social justice festival and a close relationship with students and faculty. At the same time, as Mr. Kirkland noted at the presidential debate, Rosen sometimes suffered from an inability to delegate projects to members of the senate and executive board. It is crucial moving forward that the Union functions efficiently and stays focused. That being said, it is particularly important for students’ needs to take center stage. The president’s focus should extend beyond the narrow purview of the Union and its workings. While Mr. Kirkland’s platform focused on communication efficiency and the importance of the strategic planning initiative, a facet of the Union that certainly merits attention, there is a wide range of concerns that also require action: subpar dining services, an ever-growing housing crisis, tuition increases and a lack of
Advocate for students club funding are of utmost importance. This board understands the challenges of addressing all of these issues simultaneously. However, students are interested in real, practical changes in their lives at Brandeis. Seriously addressing even one of these concerns would be a significant achievement. We urge Mr. Kirkland to not only focus on the issues he raised in his campaign platform but to also advocate aggressively on students’ behalf for the issues noted above. The job of Student Union president is not only to make connections with the administration but to also make use of these connections in order to improve student life. Opening channels of communication with the administration is helpful only if those channels are used to their full potential. It may sometimes be necessary to challenge the administration on pressing issues. Our president cannot just be a figurehead who delivers addresses to faculty and students. He cannot solely work to make the Union more efficient. While it’s imperative the president individually assumes these roles, it’s important that they be synthesized with the most significant element of any presidency: impacting the constituents’ lives. It will serve Mr. Kirkland well to keep this in mind as he leads students this upcoming year.
SARA WEININGER/the Justice
Standardized testing depreciates education Naomi
Volk et cetera
According to a recent New York Times article, standardized testing may be coming to colleges and universities in an effort to publicly rank colleges and provide an alternative to the U.S. News and World Report’s ranking. The government officials discussing the possibility are modeling the initiative after No Child Left Behind, the standardized test implemented under former President George W. Bush to reform elementary and secondary education, which should then carry over into the college level. This misguided focus on standardized testing—a poor tool to judge education—not only fails to understand the purpose behind a college education, but also misrepresents the quality of education in universities based on irrelevant criteria. The purported reasoning behind administering standardized exams to college students is to test skills like critical thinking to show taxpayers and prospective students the educational and intellectual growth possible at the university. However, while critical thinking is one of the skills students should be honing during their college education, it is not easily measured. The real world of work and life are more likely to accurately test someone’s problem solving abilities, rather than a standardized test. Being able to reason, write and work cooperatively with others are all skills that should be improved during higher education. The fact of the matter is that standardized testing does not necessary equate to applications of knowledge in the academic world. While my ability to reason and analyze the symbolism of a poem may later help me think critically about data I have to compile for a job down the line, it isn’t necessarily going to be easily measured in my ability to pick out how, exactly, a certain word is used in a story. If NCLB has taught us anything, it’s that standardized testing is not always the answer. According to the 2007 article in Time magazine, “How to Fix No Child Left Behind,” NCLB mainly highlighted poorly functioning elementary and secondary schools and demanded they do better, which in turn forced the schools to demand higher test scores without focusing on the quality of education in general. Do we really want to do the same to our colleges and universities? Encouraging colleges to shift the focus and resources on test scores that will make schools look better will only be at the expense of the real learning. While U.S. News and World Report’s rankings have their own problems in how they determine a school’s ranking, implementing standardized tests is not the solution. Speaking as someone whose SAT scores did not reflect her high school GPA, some students just aren’t good test takers. But that doesn’t mean that they aren’t learning untold amounts in the classroom, and isn’t that what’s most important? According to a recent column in the New York Times, colleges and universities are not teaching and challenging students to where they truly should be. It suggests the best way to combat this problem is to give schools a chance to see how they’re doing. However, it also proposes expanding these results to the general public. While schools should have a measure of how students are learning, ranking schools for the purpose of recruiting prospective students takes away from the holistic nature of school selection. Anonymous self-reporting by college students would be an exponentially better assessment of students’ experiences in the classroom. This would provide a sense of how students themselves feel their critical thinking skills have grown during their time in college. These responses could then be coupled with a group of randomly selected students whose papers, lab reports or art pieces from the beginning and end of their college careers would be examined by fellow professors. These impartial judges could give a sense of how students in the particular college have grown. Instead of a blind test, these measures could show real improvement in students’ work, which combined with the selfreports, would give a more accurate picture of the learning inside the classroom. Students would have nothing to gain from false reporting, giving them free reign to explain how they believe they have matured. These products of critical thinking, more than any standardized test, can give administrations and the public a better sense of what the particular school is doing for its students. Rather than expanding the failed No Child Left Behind, colleges and universities should find other measures to test students’ learning besides standardized testing.
OP-BOX Quote of the Week “For me, the [sculptures] succeed in something that humans really have to try hard to succeed at. They age and tarnish, but still retain their character even if their shine is hidden.” —Sarah Bierman ’14, explaining sculptures she created for the Festival of the Arts (Arts, p. 28)
Brandeis Talks Back How do you feel about the new Student Union president, Todd Kirkland?
Sabrina Libretti ’15 “I don’t know him personally or his stance on issues. I’m completely uninformed.”
Claudiane Philippe ’13 “I don’t know him, but from his emails he seems like a very approachable person.”
Dan Flores ’12 “As an experienced secretary, he will make a great president.”
Paul Gale ’12 “Seems like a lot of nepotism to me.” —Compiled by Shafaq Hasan Photos by Jenny Cheng/ the Justice
THE JUSTICE
READER COMMENTARY
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TUESDAY, April 24, 2012
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CHASTITY BELT
Knesset protest was ineffectual In response to your article, “Student arrested at SJP protests of Israeli Knesset,” (April 3): I moderated the event so I was up on the stage making my introduction when it took place. It was a silly protest, actually infantile. The protesters did not respond to any person or any statement. They protested for the sake of proclaiming Israel as an apartheid state. The lack of seriousness was apparent to anyone who looked at that stage on which sat not only an Arab Member of Knesset but an Arab who is the Deputy Speaker of the Knesset and had recently been a Minister in the Israeli cabinet in a previous government. In reality, the protest was a non-event for the nearly 800 people who stayed the nearly two hours of fascinating discussion about many contentious issues concerning Israel. According to the Youtube video they posted immediately after leaving the hall, the protest lasted 1:11 minutes. That is, 1 minute and 11 seconds out of an event that lasted nearly two hours. The protest was clearly irrelevant, not even a minor annoyance to those who attended. One last word, as moderator I commented that the protesters clearly do not understand what apartheid is about. I shared that I had the high honor of awarding Nelson Mandela an honorary doctorate at Capetown University on behalf of an Israeli university before a packed hall that included representatives from 35 South African institutions of higher education. Mandela, who knows what apartheid was about, gave a glowing and warm speech that demonstrated a deep appreciation for the Jewish state. The protesters could learn much from Mandela’s example rather than follow the shallow and distorted path of mouthing slogans they poorly understand. —Ilan Troen ’63 The writer is a professor in the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and the Director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies.
University’s actions are contradictory In response to your article, “Student arrested at SJP protests of Israeli Knesset,” (April 3): Our group’s action sent a message that resonated and brought international attention to the University administration’s very problematic complacency with Israel’s Apartheid policies. I find it disgraceful as a Brandeis student to know that the administration welcomes with great ceremony war criminals such as Avi Dichter and proto-fascists such as Ofir Akunis, Fania Kirshenbaum, and Lia Shemtov—who proposed legislation to make all government employees sign oaths of their loyalty to the Jewish nature of the state of Israel. Just because there are Arab members of the Knesset does not mean that Israel is not an Apartheid state. The crime of Apartheid is a legal definition, referring to policies and practices of racial segregation and discrimination for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons. Although some have expressed indignation at the use of the word “Apartheid,” myself and other individuals involved in the walkout have in the past experienced beatings, intimidation, and the use of chemical and other weapons at the hands of Israeli occupation forces simply for demonstrating against the military occupation enforced on Palestinians for generations. That is Apartheid. That is fascism. Those involved in sponsoring events such as the Knesset panel last week, as well as those attempting to marginalize our voice and trivialize these legitimate concerns share culpability for the continuation of the Israeli government’s Apartheid policies. —Seth Grande ’12 The writer is a member of Brandeis Students for Justice in Palestine.
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SHAFAQ HASAN/the Justice
Abortion law undermines women’s reproductive rights By Maya Riser-Kositsky jUSTICE editor
On April 12, Jan Brewer, the Republican governor of Arizona, signed into law the latest of the recent cornucopia of anti-abortion bills, the Women’s Health and Safety Act, according to an article in the Atlantic Wire. Although the bill’s name sounds innocuous, the purpose of the law is to limit women’s ability to get an abortion in Arizona. Women in that state will now have two fewer weeks in which to get an abortion. Many states have considered laws like Arizona’s that would limit women’s reproductive health options, waging what some call the “war on women.” Our legislatures should stop interfering in women’s personal health decisions and instead focus on ending the recession, improving public education and improving the standard of living for all citizens. The new law in Arizona legally determines a fetus’ age from the first day of the mother’s last period—something which doctors already do—according to an article in the Huffington Post. The new official definition of the unborn child’s age, however, as reported by Arizona-based news website azcentral.com, puts Arizona’s standard ban on abortions after 18 weeks of pregnancy; two weeks before that of any other state. These two crucial weeks are when fetuses are tested for fatal diseases and other problems that could lead a woman to seek an abortion, according to the Atlantic Wire. The 18week clause is based on the medically suspect claim that fetuses can feel pain by the 20-week mark. This section of the law is not only based on faulty science, but it also violates Supreme Court rulings that allow states to outlaw abortions only after a fetus could theoretically survive outside the womb, an accomplishment only achievable at 20 to 22 weeks, azcentral.com reported. Hopefully the Supreme Court will strike down the law quickly. In the meantime, however, more very unhealthy babies may be born in Arizona, placing a heavy burden on
Fine Print
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. The Justice is the independent student newspaper of Brandeis University. Operated, written, produced and published entirely by students, the Justice includes news, features, arts, opinion and sports articles of interest to approximately 3,200 undergraduates, 800 graduate students, 500 faculty and 1,000 administrative staff. In addition, the Justice is mailed weekly to paid subscribers and distributed throughout Waltham, Mass. The Justice is published every Tuesday of the academic year with the exception of examination and vacation periods. Advertising deadlines: All insertion orders and advertising copy must be received by the Justice no later than 5 p.m. on the Thursday preceding the date of publication. All advertising copy is subject to approval of the editor in chief and the managing and advertising editors. A publication schedule and rate card is available upon request. Subscription rate: $35 per semester, $55 per year.
families’ and the state’s finances. The Women’s Health and Safety Act really shows that Arizona lawmakers are more interested in imposing their values on women than on the well-being of the state’s finances and the female population. Legally measuring the length of a pregnancy starting with the first day of a woman’s last period has sent many commentators into fevered nightmares of possible dystopian futures (with only a few modifications in the law, every 12- to 50-year-old woman could legally be considered pregnant simply because they could potentially get pregnant within two weeks!). Measuring a pregnancy from before the pregnancy could possibly have begun will only be used in Arizona retroactively, to gauge the legal age of the fetus, so don’t get too worked up about entering a legal state of perpetual pregnancy when you visit Arizona.
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Placing limitations on abortions does not solve any problems, and it will not end unwanted pregnancies. The bill does, however, legitimately pose a threat to women’s ability to make decisions about their own bodies. Surgical abortions, rather than abortions induced by taking a pill, are actually very rare, and other provisions of the bill will have a much greater impact on women’s lives. Perhaps the most wide-reaching part of the legislation concerns the administration of non-surgical abortions, or abortion pills. Under the new law in Arizona, doctors cannot prescribe abortion pills more than 30 miles away from a facility where they have hospital privileges, effectively shutting down many
The Staff
For information on joining the Justice, write to editor@ thejustice.org.
abortion clinics in the state. The bill also moves the required pre-abortion ultrasound from one hour before the operation to an entire day before and outlaws abortion pills after seven weeks rather than the standard nine, according to azcentral. com. Arizona’s law is only the latest in a string of state laws that limit abortions and disrespect women and their right to make decisions about their own bodies and families. This bill is particularly harmful because it will keep women from ending pregnancy even after they learn that their child may die shortly after being born. Placing limitations on abortion does not solve any problems, and it will not end unwanted pregnancies. No one gets pregnant in order to have an abortion, but some people just find themselves in situations where they feel that they need an abortion. This bill can only lead to a rise in unsafe, illegal abortions, thus resulting in the polar opposite of what it claims to do—protect women’s health. Gov. Brewer said that she signed the legislation because it “safeguard[s] our most vulnerable population—the unborn,” according to the Daily Beast. In our current state of recession, why does Arizona want to force pregnant women to carry horribly diseased babies to term, and spend more money on doctors’ and hospital bills when they can have a quick and inexpensive abortion? The Arizona Republicans who passed this bill seem to be neither supporters of personal rights nor fiscally conservative. I personally would prefer that our legislatures focus on the many problems, like improving the economy and education, of our preexisting population and agree with former President Bill Clinton that abortions should be “safe, legal and rare.” No woman wants to have an abortion, but any woman should be able to have an abortion should she need one. It must remain her right to choose.
Editorial Assistants News: Tate Herbert Layout: Rachel Burkhoff Staff Senior Writers: Josh Asen, Aaron Berke, Dafna Fine, Wei Huan-Chen, Amy Melser, Shelly Shore Senior Illustrator: Sara Weininger Senior Photographer: Alex Margolis News: Shani Abramowitz, Jonathan Epstein, Danielle Gross, Luke Hayslip, Raquel Kallas, Suzanne Schatz, Rachel Starr Features: Selene Campion, Jessie Miller, Rachel Miller, Gabrielle Santoro Forum: Glen Chagi Chesir, Aaron Fried, Philip Gallagher, Diego Medrano, Joshua Nass, Sara Shahanaghi, Avi Snyder, Naomi Volk
Sports: Jacob Elder, Becca Elwin, Henry Loughlin, Jacob Lurie, Jacob Moskowitz, Madeleine Stix Arts: Damiana Andonova, Alex DeSilva, Olivia Leiter, Leanne Ortbals, Louis Polisson, Mara Sassoon, Ayan Sanyal, Maya Shemtov, Aziz Sohail, Viet Tran, Dan Willey Photography: Jon Edelstein, Morgan Fine, Nathaniel Freedman, Josh Horowitz, Josh Spiro, Michelle Wang, Anna Yatskar Copy: Aliza Braverman, Jennie Bromberg, Kinza Kukhari, Patricia Greene, Andrew Hayes, Max Holzman, Brittany Joyce, Eunice Ko, Megan Paris, Christine Phan, Mailinh Phan-Nguyen, Leah Rogers, Will Schneiderman, Amanda Winn Layout: Jassen Lu, Denny Poliferno, Michelle Yi Illustrations: Mara Sassoon, Arielle Shorr, Tziporah Thompson
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TUESDAY, April 24, 2012
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THE JUSTICE
FORUM
Campus littering requires our attention By jassen lu JUSTICE contributing writer
Sheets of paper, cigarette butts, disposable cups, and even dining hall cups—does this sound like a pretty picture? Unfortunately, this picture describes much of the Brandeis campus. The campus walkways, lawns, academic and residential quads are constantly covered with trash, and the garbage has almost become a normal part of our campus. During my first year here, litter has been unavoidable around campus, especially in the most heavily visited areas. Massell Quad, known for its garden setting, has fallen to heavy littering throughout the year. The pond area tends to collect the most garbage, which includes—but is not limited to—used cigarettes, coffee cups, plastic snack packaging and reusable cafeteria cups. Despite the new receptacles now standing around campus, littering is still a notable problem. Academic areas such as Mandel Quad have seen their share of damage too, despite the unmistakable presence of waste and recycling receptacles in multiple areas. The walkways and bushes around these areas collect great amounts of waste, ranging from tissue paper to food waste, cigarettes to plastic dining utensils. When this littering combines with an absence of trash and recycling receptacles, the problem only gets worst. While we know of the harmful environmental impacts of littering, this issue could also adversely affect the University in other ways, too. Littering also harms Brandeis’ reputation and image. We are one of the finest institutions in the country, accepting the most disciplined and responsible students. If visitors come and see the Great Lawn and the sidewalks in the residential quads sprinkled with garbage, they may doubt the students’ responsibility and ability to maintain and respect their school and its surroundings. Prospective students may be discouraged from spending the next four years in such an environment. As such, our recognition as an advanced, high-class institution would be compromised. We have all been taught the importance of having a sustainable and eco-friendly campus, and the University’s efforts in attaining
TZIPORAH THOMPSON/the Justice
that goal are commendable. The Campus Sustainability Initiative and Sustainable Energy Program have come a long way to make Brandeis more environmentally friendly. The initiative, consisting of a coalition of students, departments and staff, works to promote awareness of environmental issues at Brandeis. Student representatives from the organization, known as Eco-Reps, are assigned to address different
sustainability needs of their resident quads. The group also cooperates with the Brandeis Sustainability Fund, which funds projects enhancing campus sustainability, to implement environmental projects. According to the Fund’s website, past projects have included creating a drying rack rental system and installing a recycling deposit machine in Usdan. The Sustainable Energy Program, a division of the initiative, specifies
its goals to reducing energy use and inefficiency around campus, and is currently organizing an energy modernization project to renovate Brandeis’ aging energy system. According to an article in BrandeisNOW from this February, the Board of Trustees has contributed $5 million to the project. I support these projects to reduce waste, promote recycling, and modernize energy use. We are moving in the right direction, but the initiative is incom-
plete. I find it rather ironic that while our sustainability initiatives and projects have placed the bulk of their attention on waste and energy, they have given little consideration to the littering problem—the most rudimentary, and perhaps easily addressed, environmental issue on campus. The large amounts of visible garbage show that it is a pressing enough issue, and along with raising awareness of recycling and climate change, we should also promote greater awareness of littering on campus. The newly placed trash and recycling cans around the school are part of the right idea, but we can do more. We should increase the number of trash and cigarette receptacles around campus, especially where students tend to congregate, and we should also discourage campus littering. This is where the Sustainability Initiative and the Student Union can contribute more. The Initiative and the Union can organize campus-wide efforts to clean up the University, and educate students more on the harmful effects of littering. According to the West Virginia University’s Office of Sustainability, the campus’s sustainability project has implemented such efforts, among which is an initiative to distribute portable extinguishing ashtrays. Brandeis could emulate these practices to resolve our own littering problem. Furthermore, I suggest that the University impose strict policies on littering, with penalties for violation. University sanitation is simply too important to neglect, and students must make an effort to not to litter on campus anymore. Similar to any sustainability initiative, this project cannot be accomplished without support from students. The problem is serious enough that we really cannot ignore it anymore, and the amount of garbage scattered across the campus demonstrates the necessity of attention for this issue. Our physical campus is an important part of our school, and for most of us, our home as well. I do not believe that anyone would voluntarily turn his or her house or backyard into a dump. The time is long overdue for us to be responsible for our actions and do our part to maintain the University.
Internet terrorism has permeated the home By GLEN CHAGI CHESIR JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
On April 12, 29-year-old Tarek Mehanna was sentenced to 17 and a half years in prison for conspiring to help Al-Qaeda by promoting their idealology online to recruit followers. When Mehanna went to Yemen in search of terrorist training and came back emptyhanded, he then turned to one of the newest weapons available in the terrorist arsenal: the Internet. Mehanna has attracted significant support from the Muslim community and civil rights groups. Supporters sent more than a hundred letters to the judge and U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, pleading for leniency. In addition, while being escorted out of the courtroom, Mehanna’s followers cheered and applauded wearing “Free Tarek” T-shirts. There were many stirring parts of the trial, most notably the speech Mehanna delivered to the judge prior to being sentenced. A video of this speech has gone “viral” on the Internet. Mehanna used excellent rhetoric in his speech to show he is not trying to reduce his sentence, but rather simply trying to convey the truth. He started by saying that he learned from Batman to side with the oppressed, not the oppressor. He attempted to make the case that
what Paul Revere and the Minutemen accomplished at Lexington and Concord by defeating the British soldiers is simply called Jihad. He falsely compares the U.S. “Shock and Awe” attack of Iraq in 2003, when America obliterated infrastructure among other things to start the war, to Sept. 11.
“
The website fails to realize that ... Mehanna is as dangerous to society as an extremist criminal. None of these things, Mehanna said, makes the headlines. He ended his speech by stating, “The government says that I was obsessed with violence, obsessed with killing Americans. But as a Muslim living in these times, I can think of a lie no more ironic.” According to the Anti-Defamation League, a leading civil rights and human relations agency, at least 12 of the 30 groups on the U.S. State Department’s list of designated foreign
terrorist organizations maintain websites on the Internet. The uses of these websites range from basic terrorist training—called on some websites “the terrorists handbook”—to selling books and propaganda that support their cause. In addition to terrorist sites, the Internet also houses dozens of sites run by domestic white supremacist and militia groups using the information superhighway to promote their radical anti-U.S. Government agendas. In today’s era, the Internet has become a new way for all sorts of dangerous groups, including terror organizations, to find sympathizers and radicalize them. In addition, “cyber-terrorism,” or an attack on online databases or websites, has grown recently. Cyber-terrorism has been in the media recently with attacks by both Israeli and Palestinian radical groups. Israeli banks and the Israel national airline, EL AL, have been attacked in the past year. In response, Israeli hackers have stolen the credit card information of thousands of Palestinians and posted the infornatuion online. Both the U.S. and Israel have created new agencies in the past few years to defend themselves against cyber-terrorism. This type of warfare is no longer limited to novels and movies; it is a real threat. All sorts of terrorist propaganda can be found by simply doing a Google search. Tarek
Mehanna grew up in Boston and had a normal life. Mehanna, in his defense speech, credited research that he did on the Internet in influencing his views on America. According to the official ruling, Mehanna was ultimately convicted for spreading his terrorist message. Mehanna is a college graduate, not a radical, but the Internet was able to change that. A website, freetarek.com, has been created in the belief that Mehanna is not an actual terrorist because he never hurt anyone physically. The website quotes Mehanna assaying that his arrest had “little to do with terrorism,” implying that it was more of a statement by the oppressive American government. However, this website fails to realize that in today’s age of the Internet, Mehanna is as dangerous to society as an extremist criminal. Although he never killed or physically harmed anyone, he preached Al- Qaeda’s message, which is just as dangerous. There is no limit to the number of people his words could affect because everyone is a viable target on the Internet. To quote the federal prosecutor on the case, Aloke Chakravarty, “We don’t know how many people this defendant radicalized, who he has wound up and sent along their way.” Internet terrorism is a rising threat that must be recognized as a threat and stopped. We must acknowledge that the War on Terror is no longer limited to the battlefield; it has entered the home.
THE JUSTICE
SOFTBALL
Squad battles for another two wins in an action-filled week ■ The softball team notched
two victories out of a fivegame slate last week, improving to 19-14. By HENRY LOUGHLIN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
Though the softball squad jumped out to two wins at Bowdoin College on April 15 and was cruising at a 1711 mark, the Judges came down to reality after the vacation, enduring a 2-3 week. Before falling to No. 9 Tufts last Sunday by a score of 10-5, Brandeis split double headers against Babson College and Clark University, beating the Beavers 7-4 and the Cougars 8-3. However, they dropped close decisions 4-3 and 1-0, respectively, that prevented the Judges from extending their hot streak to their home turf. In Sunday’s contest, the Jumbos jumped out to an early 1-0 first inning advantage and never looked back, building a 5-1 lead which saw them take the game in decisive fashion. Sophomore catcher Jo Clair was the featured star, hitting three for four with three runs batted in and single-handedly incurring the
Judges' untimely demise. However, Brandeis made an effort to get back into it, scoring three in the bottom of the fifth to pull within three runs. However, it was too little, too late as the Jumbos pulled away. First baseman Marianne Specker ’12 proved to be the offensive force in that game, bringing in two runs on a two-run double. Starting pitcher Caroline Miller ’12 took the loss for the Judges on the mound, but registered two hits. Though they fell in their first game against Clark to a heartbreaking walkoff run in the last inning, the Judges made the most of their second game. While it was not the only contribution in the second encounter of the afternoon, center fielder Lauren Porcaro ’12 fired off a grand-slam in the first inning which set the tone and allowed for Brandeis to pull away for a decisive five-run victory. In the second game, shortstop Brittany Grimm ’12 chipped in with a double to add to Porcaro’s grandslam. Starting pitcher Melissa Nolan ’14 took the win on the hill. While she was ultimately credited with the loss, Miller’s one-hit, seven strikeout performance in the first
game was superb. Right fielder Amanda Genovese ’15 explained the importance of Brandeis’ powerful offense in supporting the pitching and increasing momentum for the team. “We backed [our pitchers] up offensively by either getting hits, putting the ball in play or walks,” she said. She also explained how the team struggled initially, but as all season, was able to rebound and pick up the crucial victory. “It started off a little rough, and nobody was communicating, and nobody was hitting, but then we definitely started working together,” Genovese said. Brandeis took the top frame of the doubleheader against the Beavers in decisive fashion. Trailing by a single run, 3-2, in the top of the seventh, Porcaro hit a three-run homer to put the Judges ahead 5-3. From there, they were able to notch a couple more runs, building a 7-3 lead. Though Babson would make things interesting, scoring a run in the bottom of the seventh, they were unable to erase the deficit, resulting in a final score of 7-4. In addition to Porcaro, Miller— who took the win on the mound—
hit two home runs, while Grimm, Genovese, and third baseman Anya Kamber ’15 each had multiple hits for Brandeis. The second game proved to be a tighter affair, as Babson freshman pitcher Meghan Hayes—who seemed in control going into the bottom of the seventh—allowed a three-run homer to Porcaro to make a seemingly safe 4-0 lead disappear to 4-3. However, Babson was able to get some revenge for the first defeat of the day and close out the win. In that game, Nolan took the loss on the hill, allowing four runs, walking two and striking out three. Having emerged from their fourgame road trip at an even mark, the Judges will receive one last test at home before the conclusion of the season next week. Brandeis will host Framingham State University in two straight contests Wednesday before traveling to Worcester State University and University of Massachusetts at Boston for doubleheaders on Thursday and Friday. There is no doubt that the squad will be aiming for revenge against their next three foes in a vital last week of play.
CLASH OF THE FENCERS
COURTESY OF JULIAN CARDILLO
TO THE POINT: Foilist Julian Cardillo (left) is exposed against Gerek Meinhardt in a second-round match at a 2012 Summer Olympics qualifier event in Virginia Beach, Va.
FENCING: Morehouse and Cardillo rank in the top eight at 2012 Olympics event CONTINUED FROM 16 he said. “I was very happy with how I fenced him, in addition to how I fenced the entire day. This was my best result ever, and there I was, standing on the podium with seven other fantastic fencers.” After placing in 7th at the championships, Cardillo reveled in his accomplishment. “I feel that I had gotten to the next level and that there was nowhere to go but up,” he said.
It was business as usual for Morehouse, though. After finishing 22nd in individual competition in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, he is ready to repeat the effort in London. Morehouse was also prepared to defend his title at the national championships, winning in both 2010 and 2011. Although he performed especially well against many Olympians, he lost to Williams in a hard-fought match in the final round, earning a silver medal in the tournament.
“I was hoping for my third title in a row, but it was still an incredibly strong effort, and it definitely helped me in preparing for this summer,” he said. Now that Morehouse has been formally announced as a member of the 2012 Olympic team, he faces an extensive training regimen before traveling to London this June. However, he knows it is all for that elusive gold medal – one the United States has failed to earn. “I’ve been competing for a while
in preparing for London,” he said. “The training is similar – we know the feel and now we can start to prepare for facing the top fencers in the world.” Before the Olympics, Morehouse will host the Fencing Masters Tournament in New York on June 26. He also has just released his memoir, American Fencer: Modern Lessons from an Ancient Sport, detailing his experiences in fencing both at Brandeis and on the national level.
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TUESDAY, April 24, 2012
13
TENNIS: Teams fail in a tough schedule of games CONTINUED FROM 16 given tennis meets are usually composed of six singles and three doubles matches. However, both coaches wanted to get more players involved on Senior Day. If the match had been played with customary rules, the Judges would have defeated Bryant 5-4, but the squad had to use players who do not often play in matches, resulting in a final 10-5 defeat. “Some matchups were bad in the spots we lost, I think, but I think we played well as a whole,” Josh Jordan ’13 said. Jordan, Michael Secular ’15 and Ben Fine ’15 were the only Judges to win their singles matches against Bryant. In doubles action, the No. 1 squad of Jordan and Steven Milo ’13 and the No. 2 duo of Secular and Alex Siegel ’15 bested their opponents by scores of 8-4. However, the three remaining doubles teams could not match the teammates’ successes, failing to secure a point with a win. There were also some appearances from athletes on the team who are not often featured on the roster. In the matches featuring Brandeis players not typically written into the lineups, there were a couple of close calls. In doubles action, Evan Berner '14 and Matthew Zuckerman '14 suffered a 9-7 defeat at No. 4. Zuckerman dropped a 7-5, 6-3 loss at No. 8 in singles play, while Jon Ostrowsky '13 dropped a tiebreaker in the first set at No. 9, 7-6 (7-1), 6-0. In the squad’s 5-4 loss to Trinity, the Judges won all three doubles matches and looked to take the match, needing only to win two more singles matches. However, Ezra Bernstein ’11 MA ’12 was the only player to win in singles, bringing the team just short of victory. Secular and Siegal had extremely close losses that could have truly gone either way. Siegel fell, 7-5, in the first set at No. 3 before dropping a 6-1 decision to Jugal Marfatia of the Bantams in the second. At No. 5, Secular took Ned Mandel to a tiebreaker in the second before losing 6-3, 7-6 (7-3). “We performed really well in doubles and we took all three, and that was a very good start,” Jordan said. “Singles was a matter of matchups. They’re very deep, and I think we could have played better individually, but they’re very deep and very good at singles.” The women’s squad plays at home today against Trinity College on Senior Day before competing alongside the men at the University Athletic Association Championships from April 27 to 29 in Orlando, Fla. Steven Milo ’13 noted that to succeed in the UAAs, the men’s squad will have to improve its singles play. “We need to play big doubles, and we need to believe and have confidence in our singles play because I feel we have lacked that in some of our matches this year,” he said. Lamanna echoed that sentiment, stating the women’s squad must capitalize on doubles play in their matches at UAAs. “It’s going to come down to being up after doubles, and we’re real capable of doing it,” Lamanna said about the women’s squad. “I really do think we need to play tough in those big moments.”
14
TUESDAY, April 24, 2012
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THE JUSTICE
TRACK AND FIELD
HOOPS FOR HAITI SLAM DUNK: Ben Bartoldus ’14 rises for an open dunk in a tight match against the staff, but ultimately can’t seal the deal for the students in the overtime loss. JON EDELSTEIN/the Justice
Squads race past rivals in big meet ■ The men’s and women’s track
teams raced to strong finishes at Fitchburg State University’s outdoor meet last Saturday. By MADELEINE STIX JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
Shooting for a cause: one basket at a time Third time’s a charm for Hoops for Haiti event By HENRY LOUGHLIN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
While the season is officially over for the men’s and women’s basketball teams, the Red Auerbach Arena court was used one final time for basketball. Hoops for Haiti—in its third year—showcased a dramatic 4342 overtime victory for the staff team, including Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer, Associate Dean Maggie Balch, and Associate Dean Jamele Adams. While the outcome was a disappointment for the students, who sought to extend their winning streak over the staff, it did nothing to dampen their spirits. “Remember the words of legendary coach, John Wooden, though: ‘Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character’,” wrote Amanda Dryer ’13, vice president of Hoops for Haiti in an email to the Justice. “Don’t worry – we [the students] will be ready to go next year. “ Following the devastating earthquake of 2010, which left many Haitians homeless and
took thousands of lives, a group of Brandeis students banded together to make an impact. Though eyes elsewhere have slowly drifted away from the impact of the tragedy, Hoops for Haiti continues to support Haitians’ efforts toward recovery. “The earthquake that devastated Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010 gained the attention of the world, but slowly it has faded away,” according to an excerpt from the Hoops for Haiti mission statement. “We stand together: through our work, Haiti and its people will not be forgotten. But we can build a foundation for a community that cares about its fellow human beings —a community devoted to researching and solving both the immediate and long-term causes of poverty and injustice in Haiti.” While staff member Fred George enjoyed playing in the game, he echoed Dryer’s sentiments. “That game was awesome,” said George, who played for the staff team for the first half before humorously announcing the second half. “When the earthquakes
first happened in Haiti, everyone wanted to donate things, but people slowly forgot about it. There are still a lot of people suffering there. If this is my part that I can do to help out, then I’m happy to.” Though the student lineup featured a star-studded cast, including varsity basketball players Vytas Kriskus ’12, Youri Dascy ’12, Ben Bartoldus ’14 and Derek Retos ’14, the staff boasted a strong team as well. While some would have given the students the edge given their youth, the staff ultimately took a 22-21 lead into the end of the first half. The second half proved to be more of the same. After the staff established a late five-point lead, the students clawed their way back to tie the game up with little time left. Despite a strong effort at the buzzer, the staff could not win the game in regulation. It took an overtime period to decide this battle. Adams would ultimately seal the game for the staff. With seconds remaining in overtime and the score still deadlocked at 42, Adams was fouled and awarded
two free throws. Though he missed the first one, Adams left no doubt with his second, clinching the win for the staff team. Dryer was extremely pleased with the turnout, stating that the enthusiasm and money raised for the event reflected the central purpose of the Hoops for Haiti event. “It contributes to the Brandeis community at-large because it brings the staff and students together for an important cause,” she wrote. “PJ Dickson from [the Department of] Academic Services, Cary Weir Lytle ’98 from Hiatt [Career Center], and Stephanie Grimes from [the Department of] Student Activities understand that this event brings “unity”. They have been exceptionally helpful in helping [BHI President] Jon [Ostrowsky ’13] and myself keep this event going.” While she was very satisfied with the reception for the event, Dryer encourages those who are interested to join the Brandeis Haiti Initiative to contribute to enjoyable events such as Hoops for Haiti that can make a lasting impact for those in need.
STEPPING UP FOR HAITI: Admissions staff member Jared Rivers rises up for the open- layup against a stationary Wouter van der Eng. JOSH HOROWITZ/the Justice
Despite an abrupt transition from the indoor to the outdoor season, the men’s and women’s track teams continue to turn in strong performances. Both teams traveled to Fitchburg State University this past Saturday for the Eric Loeschner Invitational, and after competing against 16 other regional teams, the men earned 46 points and a 4th place finish, while the women placed in 5th, notching 49 points overall. Sprinter Vincent Asante ’14 finished in the top three runners of the 200-meter dash, completing the race in 22.79 seconds, only seven-hundredths of a secondplace spot, behind the first-place competitor. With a notable performance last weekend, Asante moved up to seventh in the University Athletic Association in the 200-meter dash. Alex Kramer ’13 finished the 1,500-meter race with a time of 4:00.96, earning first. In the long jump, Kensai Hughes ’14 leaped 6.11 meters, placing third overall in the competition. Viet Tran ’15 landed at 12.42 meters in the triple jump, earning fourth place in the event. Jonathan Gilman ’15 finished in seventh in the javelin throw competition, a brand-new event for the oudoor season. High jumper Jeffrey Maser ’15 is encouraged by the addition of the javelin event to the outdoor track season. “Gilman and [Jacob Wilhoite ’15] are both first-years but are proving to be really strong competitors this season,” he said. The women’s track team also finished well at the meet last Saturday. Kristi Pisarik ’12 started the competition off on a high note, earning second place in the 800-meter race with a time of 2:29.41. A group of Brandeis runners made a statement in the 1500-meter race, with Amelia Lundkvist ’14 leading the pack with a first-place finish at 4:50.88. Victoria Sanford ’14 soon followed her lead, finishing behind the second place competitor by just eight-hundredths of a second at 4:56.29. Erin Bisceglia ’13 finished right behind Sanford in fourth with a time of 4:57.95, while Ali Kirsch ’14 rounded out the field in sixth for Brandeis at a time of 5:04.92. In the high jump, Lily Parenteau ’12 finished in third place with a leap of 1.58 meters, beating her personal record and moving to sixth overall in the UAA. Kim Farrington ’13 moved to fourth in the UAA with a leap of 10.86 meters in the triple jump. Brittany Bell ’14 notched a jump of 5.11 meters in the long jump, earning a ninth-place finish in the UAA. While most of the team was in Fitchburg this weekend, Chris Brown ’12 and Kate Warwick ’12 competed in the Larry Ellis Invitational at Princeton University. Ranked third in Division III this season, distance runner Brown finished first in the 1500-meter race, with a time of 3:47.19, and 19th overall in the competition. Warwick finished sixth in the 5000-meter run with a time of 17:29.17. Maser noted that this was a great development for the team, and is confident that with practice, both squads can excel. “We are just as prepared as any other team,” he said. “There aren’t nearly as many meets as indoor [season], and the conference championship is approaching pretty quickly.” The men’s and women’s track teams next compete at the UAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship this Friday at Carnegie Mellon University. Editor’s Note: Viet Tran ’15 is a Justice Arts Staff Writer.
THE JUSTICE
jUDGES BY THE NUMBERS UAA STANDINGS
TEAM STATS
Not including Monday’s games
Kenny Destremps ’12 leads the team this season with 17 RBIs. Player RBI Kenny Destremps 17 Zach Malis 14 Pat Nicholson 13 Brian Allen 12
Runs Batted In
Overall W L Pct. 23 11 .676 24 11 .686 25 14 .638 10 18 .357 7 29 .194 19 10 .655
UPCOMING GAMES: Tomorrow vs. Bowdoin Sunday at Trinity (2)
TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2012
15
CLUB SPORTS
baseball
UAA Conference W L Emory 7 1 WashU 5 3 Case 4 4 Rochester 3 5 JUDGES 1 7 Chicago 0 0
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Women’s rugby exceeds its spring expectations
Strikeouts Mike Swerdloff ’13 leads the pitching staff with 32 Ks. Player Ks Mike Swerdloff 32 Kyle Brenner 25 Colin Markel 21 Pat Nicholson 19
SOFTBALL UAA STANDINGS
TEAM STATS Runs Batted In
Not including Monday’s games UAA Conference Emory WashU Rochester Case JUDGES Chicago
W 6 4 4 3 3 0
L 2 4 4 5 5 0
Overall
W L 29 3 25 10 26 12 23 14 19 14 18 8
Pct. .906 .714 .684 .622 .576 .692
UPCOMING GAMES:
Tomorrow vs. Framingham St. (2) Thursday at Worcester St. (2) Friday at UMass Boston (2)
Marianne Specker ’12 leads the squad this year with 35 RBIs. Player RBI Marianne Specker 35 Brittany Grimm 28 Lauren Porcaro 28 Caroline Miller 18
Strikeouts Caroline Miller ’12 leads all pitchers with 29 strikeouts. Player Ks Caroline Miller 29 Lauren Porcaro 19 Amanda Genovese 17 two tied with 14
TRACK AND FIELD Results from Eric Loeschner Invitational at Fitchburg last Saturday.
NOTABLE FINISHES (Men’s)
NOTABLE FINISHES (Women’s)
200-METER DASH TIME Vincent Asante 22.79 1,500-METER RUN TIME Alex Kramer 4:00.96 LONG JUMP DISTANCE Kensai Hughes 6.11 meters
1,500-METER DASH TIME Amelia Lundkvist 4:50.88 1,500-METER RUN TIME Victoria Sanford 4:56.29 HIGH JUMP DISTANCE Lily Parenteau 1.58 meters
COURTESY OF CARLY LENHOFF
WIDE OPEN: A member of the Brandeis women’s rugby team is about to rein in the ball in a game at Connecticut College.
■ Even amid a transition
UPCOMING MEET: The track teams will next compete at the University Athletic Association Championships at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA.
year, the rugby team has won two games this season and looks to a bright future. By JACOB MOSKOWITZ
TENNIS
JUSTICE Staff WRITER
Results from matches at Brandeis last weekend.
NOTABLE FINISHES (Men’s)
NOTABLE FINISHES (Women’s)
MEN’S SINGLES Steven Milo
RECORD 5-3
WOMEN’S SINGLES Carley Cooke
RECORD 9-2
MEN’S DOUBLES Bielfield/Siegel
RECORD 2-2
WOMEN’S DOUBLES Cooke/Levine
RECORD 2-1
UPCOMING MEET: The men’s team will next travel to Tufts University at 4 p.m., while the women’s squad takes on Trinity College today at 3 p.m.
Women’s rugby is nothing new to Brandeis. Founded in 2000, the club team competes in a Division IV league called the New England Rugby Football Union, participating in tournaments such as the Beast of the East and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Prom Dress. The team practices twice a week in a rigorous schedule, looking to succeed in a transition season. The roster is made up of 21 players, 15 playing at any given time. This past fall they went 2-3-1. However, the team showed signs of growth and seems to be making a push to improve for next season. “We have a fairly new coach and only half the team had ever played
before,” said team secretary Molly Hillman ’14. “Next year, if we don’t switch leagues, it’s very possible we’ll win the division, which I never would have said in the fall. We’ve grown unbelievably.” That growth is already evident in the team’s past two victories this spring against Framingham State University and Connecticut College. Although the women’s rugby squad displayed an impressive showing last weekend at the Beast of the East, the biggest intercollegiate rugby tournament in the Northeast, the team came away with no victories. The team was recently invited to join the New England Women’s Collegiate Rugby Conference, a new conference that started just this year. Hillman said that the conference would present a whole new level of competition and an opportunity for which she and the team are extremely excited. Although women’s rugby is only
a club sport at Brandeis, Hillman said that the team is very competitive and very dedicated to practice. “Many people on the team make rugby one of their top priorities, but there’s still plenty of time to get schoolwork done if you plan around it,” she said. “Rugby is a sport that takes a lot of commitment- you really get out of it what you put in. We pride ourselves on being a dedicated team with a lot of intensity. We work hard, but we all really enjoy it.” The team has a few former varsity athletes who can attest to how rigorous the practice schedule can be. “Many of our players are former high school athletes who find within our club the level of competition and team bonds that they’ve been missing,” said Hillman. The team next competes in its final tournament of the season, the annual Prom Dress Rugby Sevens tournament at MIT this upcoming Saturday. After that, the squad heads into uncharted waters.
BOSTON BRUINS PLAYOFF BEAT Bruins brought to the brink of elimination in Eastern Conference quarterfinals vs resilient Capitals It seems as if the Bruins’ chance at a second Stanley Cup will come down to a Game Seven. Last Sunday, the Bruins outplayed the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center, extending the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals to a do-ordie final game. The Bruins will have the benefit of returning home for this crucial match, with a rowdy Boston crowd to cheer them on. In Game Six, the defending Stanley Cup Champions took an early lead with a tip-in goal by center Rich Peverley. Although center Patrice Bergeron played in the game despite an injury suffered in game five, coach Claude Julien was rewarded with an excellent offensive effort from makeshift center Peverley. Therefore, Boston found itself with added reinforcements in a game
where they desperately needed it. The Bruins and Capitals were even with two goals apiece until 20-year-old Bruins center Tyler Seguin swiped the puck from left-wing Alexander Semin and streaked down the right wing. Seguin fired and missed his shot, but defenseman Andrew Ference recovered the puck and slipped it by Capitals goalie Braden Holtby for the go-ahead goal. At the end of regulation, the game was tied 3-3. With only a few minutes played in overtime, center David Krejci nabbed a Capitals pass and shot it down the ice to left wing Milan Lucic. Lucic was well-defended, but he shuttled the puck to the right to Seguin. From there, Seguin glided past an aggressive Holtby and fired the puck into the net, giving the Bruins one more chance to advance to the East-
ern Conference semifinals. Last Saturday, the Bruins suffered a critical loss that put their backs against the wall. The game came down to the wire. The Bruins and Capitals were tied 3-3 with less than two minutes remaining in regulation. A Bruins penalty, though, allowed Capitals right wing Troy Brouwer to hit a wrist shot past Bruins goalie Tim Thomas. “The last goal he fooled me and beat me clean,” he said. “He’s coming down with a lot of speed, and he shot, and I read that the shot was going lower. And by the time I even realized that the shot was going that high, I didn’t even have time to raise my hand.” The Capitals took a 4-3 advantage and, moments later, the game as well. Last Thursday, Boston had the chance to knock Washington to the
brink of elimination and take a 3-1 advantage in the series. However, the Bruins could not offset the Capitals’ strong energy and determination to even the series. Although Boston dominated the ice early on, the Capitals were resilient. A hooking penalty on Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk gave the Capitals a key opportunity. With the game tied 1-1, Semin ripped the go-ahead goal and put Boston away. Washington was shorthanded heading into the game, especially with the loss of center, and 2006 first-round draft selection, Nicklas Bäckström. However, Holtby saved the day, racking up 44 saves, and was the focus of praise. “He just makes it very calm for the rest of us,” forward Brooks Laich said. “If we give up a shot, we know
[Holtby] is going to cover it. … When you have a goaltender that is on top of his game, it really, really settles your team down. He was a leader for us tonight.” The rise of Holtby has served as one of the more dramatic storylines of this series. A third-string goalie, Holtby was called on during the last game of the regular season following injuries to goalies Tomãs Vokoun and Michal Neuvirth. Holtby has become a pseudo-legend in the games he has played so far. Although he has not risen to the recognition level of New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin, Holtby does have something that Lin has not yet earned: playoff wins. The Bruins will fight for their playoff lives tomorrow night at home. — Jacob Lurie
just
Sports
BATTLE OF THE AGES The staff squeaked past the students in a 43-42 overtime win at the third annual Hoops for Haiti fundraiser event, p. 13.
Page 16
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
FENCING
SILVER SLUGGER
Judges excel at Olympic qualifier for 2012
Waltham, Mass.
tennis
Squads feel the heat with a winless stretch ■ The men’s team continues to experience trouble, losing in both of its matches, while the women encountered a setback against Wellesley.
■ Tim Morehouse ’00 and Julian Cardillo ’14 foiled the competition at the USA Olympics qualifying event.
By josh asen
By ADAM RABINOWITZ
JUSTICE Senior WRITER
JUSTICE EDITOR
Brandeis fencers served some justice at the Olympic Games qualifying trials in Virginia City, Va. on April 13 and 14. After two consecutive trips to the Games, sabreist Tim Morehouse ’00 cruised to a secondplace finish to secure a trip to the London Olympics this summer. He finished only behind national teammate James Williams. Foilist Julian Cardillo ’14, however, made quite the statement, but fell short of packing his bags for the United Kingdom at 19 years old. After stringing together five straight wins in the first and second rounds of the match, Cardillo fell in a 15-7 loss to foilist Gerek Meinhardt. However, he can take pride in the fact that he is now the 11th-ranked fencer in the United States and has an opportunity to represent America at the World Cup in Havana this June. Cardillo faced a reality check in the beginning stages of the trials, losing two out of his first three matches. He was defeated in consecutive 5-1 losses by Miles Chamley-Watson, who qualified for the Olympics, and Robert Nunziato, who finished third in the tournament. Cardillo, however, said that he quickly found his comfort zone after approaching the matches from a different perspective. “I started fencing not my best, but I started to get comfortable and I started playing my game,” he said. “I was ranked 13th after the first round, and I just came out with a different mindset in the second round.” His match with Robbie Moore, a top fencer from Ohio State University, proved to be the turning point. Cardillo immediately faced a 6-1 hole but then clawed back to force a tie. However, the parity would not last for long. He once again was down by 12-8, but this time, Cardillo was able to pull through with a 15-13 victory. “It was kind of an elusive match in the sense that I was always down,” he said. “But me (sic) and my coach worked on a strategy to settle down and find a tactic that worked.” From there, it was smooth sailing. Cardillo earned a hardfought 15-9 win, his first, against Michael El-Saleh from Pennsylvania State University. While he fell short in a 15-7 loss to Meinhardt, Cardillo was impressed with his effort over the day. “I ended up losing to Gerek 157, which is pretty respectable,”
See FENCING, 13 ☛
ALEX MARGOLIS/the Justice
CRUSHED: First baseman Pat Nicholson ’11, MA ’12 makes solid contact in a home game last Tuesday against Amherst College.
Team loses three more to prolong season woes ■ The baseball team is
still mired in its season struggles, dropping three of four games this past week. By ADAM RABINOWITZ JUSTICE editor
Starting pitcher Dylan Britton ’13 came to the mound in the bottom of the eighth inning, looking for two crucial outs to keep the game tied 1-1. Instead, Endicott College shortstop E. J. Martinez delivered a sacrifice fly to hand the Gulls the lead – and the 2-1 victory. The demoralizing loss capped another difficult week for the Judges, who lost three of their last four games to drop to 7-29 on the season. The Judges’ pitching staff was tagged for 29 runs in losses to Amherst College and Keene State College earlier in the week. “It is tough because our games have not worked out,” said relief pitcher Alex Tynan ’12. “We have delivered some great performances. It’s a matter of how the games unfold each day – we are definitely improving though.” The team’s fortunes finally seemed to take a turn for the better at the outset of last Saturday’s game against Endicott. Starting pitcher Brian Ing ’14 was flawless through the first four innings, allowing just one hit. However, the Gulls were the first team to bring a runner to home plate. First baseman Colin Sitarz ripped an RBI single to right field
to drive in center fielder Tad Gold to break the scoring open. However, it would take the Judges until the seventh inning to strike back. Shortstop Brian Allen ’15 delivered a sacrifice fly to tie the game. Ing continued the string of solid pitching performances for the team, scattering just one run and five hits over seven innings. After Britton allowed the fateful sacrifice fly, the Judges could not issue the equalizer in the ninth inning, ultimately snapping their winning streak. “Even though this season was rough, we have come together as a team,” said Tynan. “We just need to focus more, and I think we have the potential to end the season on a high note.” Last Thursday, Brandeis notched its first victory since April 9 in a win over Roger Williams University. In the bottom of the fifth inning, amid a scoreless duel, the Judges finally cracked through against starting pitcher Bryan Motta. After an infield single and hit by pitch, Allen struck a ball that popped right out of Motta’s glove, allowing second baseman Tom McCarthy ’15 to scramble home for the first run. Right fielder Zach Bardwell '15 capitalized on an error from the opposing second baseman, giving right fielder Zach Malis ’12 the opportunity to notch the second run of the inning. While Roger Williams would finally earn a run against Michael Swerdloff ’13, it would prove to be a futile effort. Swerdloff was masterful, issuing eight strikeouts in his
second complete game. While the Judges’ pitching stifled Roger Williams’ offense, it failed to hold down an explosive Keene State lineup. Tynan only lasted onethird of an inning, surrendering seven runs. It would be a hole that Brandeis couldn’t overcome. Encouragingly enough, the Judges did come through with 13 hits. Third baseman Sean O’Hare ’12 launched two hits, including a home run to right field in the fifth inning. In a marquee matchup last Tuesday versus Amherst College, the Judges came out swinging. After Brenner allowed two quick first-inning runs, O’Hare erased the deficit with a two-run homer to right field. He did it again just 10 minutes later to put the Judges ahead. After catcher Kenny Destremps ’12 delivered an RBI double in the fourth inning, Brandeis cruised to a 5-2 lead. Then the onslaught began. Brenner almost made it to the seventh inning unscathed, recording a quick two outs. However, the next seven Lord Jeffs players reached base, allowing for five runs to cross the plate. The lead was gone and Amherst never looked back, leading to another defeat for the Judges. Tynan stated that he was impressed with the team’s persistence and knows the Judges will continue to persevere this season. “We will come ready to play and enjoy the game,” he said. “That is all I can ask for.” The Judges will try to rebound against Bowdoin College tomorrow afternoon at home at 4:00 p.m.
Despite a three-match winning streak and a No. 20 national ranking, the women’s tennis squad could not sustain its momentum, falling in a 6-3 loss to No. 19 Wellesley College last Saturday. The men’s squad, which has now lost four consecutive matches, suffered a 10-5 loss to Division I Bryant University last Friday and a 5-4 loss to No. 24 Trinity College last Tuesday. In a matchup of ranked squads, the Judges trailed 2-1 after doubles play against Wellesley. The No. 1 doubles team of Carley Cooke ’15 and Faith Broderick ’13 won their match 9-7, while Allyson Bernstein ’14 and Roberta Bergstein ’14 at No. 2 succumbed to a 8-5 loss. Simone Vandroff ’15 and Dylan Schlesinger ’15 at No. 3 also dropped an 8-2 match. In singles play, only Broderick and Bergstein won their matches. At No. 2, Broderick won in straight sets 6-2, 6-0, while Bergstein, who lost 6-1 in the first set of her No. 6 match, came back to capture the final two sets 6-4, 6-0. Vandroff and Alexa Katz ’14 struggled in their singles matches, though, losing in straight sets. Despite the loss, coach Ben Lamanna noted how close several of the individual matches were. “We were down 4-2 in the match at one point and came back pretty well,” Lamanna said. “The team fights hard and supports each other well. We were just a few points from winning 5-4, and we ended up losing. It came down to adjustments at the end that we didn’t make that Wellesley girls made.” Before the loss to Wellesley, the Judges defeated the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 6-3 on the road last Tuesday. The Judges trailed 2-1 after doubles play, even with Schlesinger and Vandroff winning at No. 3, but were still able to rally back to take the match. Cooke, Broderick, Bernstein, Bergstein and Katz all defeated their opponents in straights sets, Vandroff, on the other hand, was the only player to lose in singles. She would ultimately lose in a super-set tiebreaker 10-6. “The girls played great in singles and just moved the ball around well,” Lamanna said. “They fought really hard and made a lot of balls. They were just one ball tougher.” Against Bryant University, the men’s team played in 15 matches, 10 of which were singles matches. This was an unusual format,
See TENNIS, 13 ☛
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S T R A
April 24, 2012
Cultures get eXaminedp. 20 Photo: Josh Horowitz and Jon Edelstein/the Justice. Design: Asher Krell/the Justice.
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TUESDAY, april 24 2012 ● THE JUSTICE
POP CULTURE
INSIDE ON CAMPUS
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■ ‘Without Gorky’
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■ Willem de Kooning lecture
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Filmmaker Cosima Spender screened her newest documentary about the life of her grandfather, artist Arshile Gorky.
John Elderfield from the MoMa gave a talk about the Dutch abstract expressionist.
■ Culture X
The Intercultural Center sponsored this show featuring student groups of many ethnic backgrounds.
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■ ‘Elegies’
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■ ‘In the Next Room’ review
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Mindy Cimini ’12 and Leah Carnow ’12 put together a production of William Finn’s song cycle ‘Elegies’ for their senior thesis project. Brandeis Players’ show told the touching, comical story of the early use of the vibrator in a post-Civil War doctor’s home and office.
■ Nite Jewel announcement
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WBRS and Student Events reveals the final act for the SpringFest concert this Sunday.
OFF CAMPUS
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■ Critical Hit: Wii U preview
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■ Piattini review
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JustArts buzzes about the newest console from Nintendo to be released later this year. This Boston Italian restaurant and wine café pleased a JustArts food critic during a recent visit with delicious pasta dishes.
CALENDAR
Interview
by Shelly Shore
This week held a series of brief talking points: Kim Kardashian and Kanye West went public with their much-suspected romance; rumors surfaced that Jessica Simpson—it really seems like she’s been pregnant forever, doesn’t it?—had given birth to a baby girl (on Sunday, TMZ reported that those rumors were false and Jess is still ticking towards her due date); and on Saturday, the ever-classy Carey Mulligan married childhood pen pal and Mumford & Sons lead singer Marcus Mumford. The big talking point, however, was the new HBO series Girls, leading up to its premiere on Sunday night. Created and written by 25-yearold Lena Dunham, the show has been touted as the “anti-Sex and the City:” it follows four 20-something friends in New York City, chronicling their “slackerish adventures, awkward hook-ups and studied self-deprecation,” writes the Boston Globe. But the issue which critics— and prospective viewers—have with the show is not the girls’ colorful adventures, but rather the lack of any other color—namely, the lack of any characters with a skin color other than white. Set in a city where 64 percent of the population is made up of black, Hispanic and Asian people, Girls—like Sex and the City in 1998 and Friends in 1994—presents a remarkably whitewashed world for its protagonists. As the Globe review explains, “America is transforming into a majority-minority nation faster than experts could have predicted, yet the most racially and ethnically diverse metropolis in America is delivered to us again and again on the small screen as a virtual sea of white.” Indeed, much of the show takes place in Brooklyn, a borough where only one-third of the population is white, yet the girls seem to exist in an “all-white bubble.” In an interview with the Huffington Post, Dunham presented herself as confident and powerful, a woman in full control of the show
Artwork inspires modern dance Rachel Klein ’12 used a piece in the Rose Art Museum as a basis for her three-person dance about family relationships and emotional lives.
ALISON HARBAUGH/Maryland Film Festival
NEW ‘GIRLS’: The creator and star of HBO’s newest show comes under fire for lack of diversity. in which she also stars. But when questioned about the lack of characters of color, Dunham was less direct. While she admitted that she wanted to have characters in the show to point out the lead characters’ white privilege, she also downplayed the power she had recently boasted of: “When I get a tweet from a girl who’s like, ‘I wish there were more women of color.’ You know what? I do, too, and if we have the opportunity to do a second season, I’ll address that.” Dunham is the lead writer on the show and its creator, so the question has to stand: why aren’t there already characters of color? When you write a show set in one of the most diverse cities in the country, the opportunity to include characters of color is staring Dunham in the face. So why did she choose not to?
What’s happening in Arts on and off campus this semester
ON-CAMPUS EVENTS Quidditch coffeehouse
Come support Brandeis’ most magical club sport team, the Wizengamot, at their coffeehouse. Performers include TBA, VoiceMale, Manginah, Rather Be Giraffes, False Advertising and Company B. Tonight from 9 to 11:30 p.m. in the South Campus Commons.
Brandeis Early Music Ensemble performance
The Early Music Ensemble, which performs works from the Medieval and Renaissance periods, will offer a preview of its Thursday concert a day early. Tomorrow from noon to 1:30 p.m. in Mandel Center for the Humanities Atrium.
Take Back the Night
Students Talking About Relationships is hosting Brandeis’ chapter of the international march against violence and in support of rape and domestic violence survivors. Tomorrow at 8 p.m. in front of the Rabb Graduate Center.
Voices of Soul semester show
Brandeis co-ed a cappella group Voices of Soul will be saying goodbye to its four senior members and singing one last show before summer vacation. There will be several new songs mixed in with the group’s favorites from past performances. Tomorrow at 9:30 p.m. in Cholmondeley’s.
Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Arts
This week, four days will be devoted to the arts on campus. Performances and fine arts pieces will be available for viewing to both the Brandeis community and visitors to campus. For a complete list of attractions, see the Festival of the Arts calendar on pages 26 and 27. Thursday through Sunday, at various times and locations on campus.
Ethan Goldberg, tenor: senior recital
Ethan Goldberg ’12 will give the final solo undergraduate recital of the semester. Goldberg will perform works by Schumann, Virgil Thomson and Reynaldo Hahn. Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Slosberg Recital Hall.
Nightmarket
The Taiwanese Student Association is hosting its biggest event of the semester, a night of free food and games with prizes. Southeast Asia Club, Korean Student Association, Japanese Student Association, Chinese Cultural Connection and Asian American Student Association will each be running games such as basketball, egg toss and wishing tree at the event as well. Friday at 6 p.m. outside the Intercultural Center.
‘Attack the Block’ screening
The Brandeis Film Collective hosts this screening of the 2011 film Attack the Block, in which members of a teenaged South Lon-
ROBYN SPECTOR/Justice File Photo
BLOW YOUR HORN: The What Cheer? Brigade, a big brass band, will return to campus on Sunday, April 29 for the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Arts. See a complete schedule of the Festival on pages 26 and 27. don gang must defend their neighborhood from an alien invasion. The film crosses the genres of science fiction, horror and comedy. The club will also be providing food for moviegoers. Friday at 7 p.m. in the Mandel Center for the Humanities auditorium.
Cloud Nothings and The So So Glos concert
Punk Rock n’ Roll Club and WBRS present Cleveland band Cloud Nothings and Brooklyn group The So So Glos. Cloud Nothings have been named “Best New Music” from Pitchfork.com and have recently released their third album, “Attack on Memory.” The So So Glos have toured with Titus Andronicus, Matt & Kim and The Futureheads and have a great punk-pop sound. Friday at 9 p.m. in Cholmondeley’s. Free admission with a Brandeis ID.
Chamber Music Ensemble performance
The student group will play a variety of pieces under the direction of piano instructor Evan Hirsch. Monday from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Slosberg Recital Hall.
OFF-CAMPUS EVENTS ‘From Tel Aviv to Ramallah’
Beatbox musician Yuri Lane has created a hip-hop play about Israeli-Palestinian tensions seen through the lives of Amir, a Tel Aviv deivery boy and DJ Amir Khalid, a Palestinian Internet cafe owner. Lane has travelled extensively throughout Israel and Palestine and has captured the struggle and occasional humor in the ongoing conflict. Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Leventhal-Sidman Jewish Community Center, 333 Nahanton St., Newton, Mass.
‘The Inspector’
Boston Lyric Opera presents this musical comedy loosely based on Nikolai Gogol’s 19th century play, ‘The Government Inspector,’ about the corruption and greed of Imperial Russia. This show—by John Musto—tells a story of bribery, fraud and corruption in 1930s Sicily. Through April 29 at Citi Shubert Theatre, 265 Tremont Street, Boston. Evening performances are at 7 p.m. and matinees are at 3 p.m. Ticket prices and showtimes vary according to performance date.
‘Tigers Be Still’
David Miller directs this dark comedy, in which Sherry Wickman finds herself with a master’s degree in art therapy yet unemployed and living with her parents again. When she gets hired as a substitute art teacher, things start to look up. If only her family would cheer up, her student would turn in his homework and someone would catch the tiger that escaped the zoo. Written by Kim Rosenstock, the show is full of quirky characters and crazy situations. Through May 5 at the BCA Plaza Black Box Theatre, 527 Tremont St., Boston. Ticket prices and showtimes vary.
‘Fela!’
The award-winning Broadway musical is touring the nation and has finally stopped in Boston. Directed and choreographed by Tony award-winner Bill T. Jones, Fela! tells the story of legendary African musician Fela Kuti through dance, music and theater. The show features many of Kuti’s own songs and received three Tony awards in 2010. Through May 6 at the Cutler Majestic Theatre at Emerson College, 219 Tremont St., Boston. Showtimes and ticket prices vary.
Rachel Klein ’12 was inspired by feminist artist Kiki Smith’s “Lucy’s Daughters,” to create an interactive dance piece for the upcoming Festival of the Arts. “Lucy’s Daughters” mimics the standard design for a family tree, but replaces names with small, faceless figures in varying shades of gray and black. Klein and her dancers will debut their piece, titled “Rivers are Lost in the Sea” on Saturday at 4 p.m. outside the Foster Wing of the Rose Art Museum. “Lucy’s Daughters” is on display in the Lois Foster Gallery of the Rose in the Collecting Stories exhibit. JustArts: What inspired you to create this kind of dance work? Rachel Klein: I saw that the Office of the Arts was accepting applications for the Festival, and I really wanted to do something because I’ve loved being a part of all the stuff at Festival of the Arts, just being a participant, but I never had my own project. I can’t do anything in the visual arts, nothing like that. So I thought that I would do a dance. And they wanted it to connect to the Rose in some way, and I work at the Rose. This [Kiki Smith] work was one piece that I had looked at a lot. I thought it was really interesting and that I could take a lot out of it. JA: When did you begin working on the piece? RK: The application process took place last semester, in the fall, so that’s when I began. JA: How did you go about creating the dance? Did you first cast the performers or first create the choreography? RK: Well, there are two other dancers and me in the piece. I started with the cast and then from there I worked on choreographing and incorporating all the different ideas I had to tie it back into the artwork. JA: Have you choreographed before, or was this a new experience for you? RK: I went to a high school for performing arts, and I was in the dance department, so I’ve been choreographing my own stuff since ninth grade. But this is probably going to be my last time. I’m really grateful that I had one last opportunity to do some choreography. JA: Have you been involved in other dance pieces at Brandeis? RK: Yeah, I was part of Adagio for a bit, and I’ve also done Liquid Latex. JA: Can you describe what kind of dance your piece is? RK: It’s modern dance, so there’s nothing very technical. It probably wouldn’t be the same experience as going to see a ballet or a jazz performance; there’re no real moves that you can name. Instead, there’s a lot of movement and working with the different props we’re going to have. It’s more about emotions and being aware of your body. JA: What kind of props are you going to be using? RK: It’s a surprise. JA: Where does the piece’s title come from and how does it relate to the dance itself? RK: It’s a quote I find by Theodore Roosevelt. I was looking for quotes about water, but this quote specifically spoke to me because the Kiki Smith work, the way I interpret it, is about a family tree, and the way that individuals tie in together to make a larger group like a family, including our ancestors and the way we’re all connected. And this quote, “Rivers running into the sea”: It’s all about how smaller bodies of water trickle down into larger bodies of water. JA: When people come to see this work what do you expect them to take away from it? RK: I hope that they enjoy it. I hope that they feel inspired and hopefully moved a little bit. Not just to enjoy watching other people, but to feel that they too can dance and be a part of the art. I don’t want it to be something where it’s just the dancers and the audience, but something that incorporates everybody. And I think that’s what the Festival of the Arts is really about, engaging the whole community. A lot of times dance can be turned into more of a sport or a competition, and I hope that this piece is a chance to show people that dance really is an art and it’s a way of expressing emotion. Hopefully that comes across. JA: Have you related at all to the Art Activates theme? Have you seen your own work relating to that on a larger level? RK: Definitely. We’re a dance piece inspired by a work of art at the Rose. The idea for the piece is to take something that’s a physical object and make it into movement. So it’s like we’re activating the artwork.
— Ariel Kay
THE JUSTICE
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TUESDAY, APRIL 24, 2012
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ON CAMPUS GORKY’S CASTLE OF LIES
PHOTO COURTESY OF VALERIO BONELLI
LIFE MINUS GORKY: Agnes Magruder discusses her late husband in an interview.
PHOTO COURTESY OF VALERIO BONELLI
FAMILY PHOTO: In an old photo, Arshile Gorky, daughters Maro and Natasha and wife Magruder go on a family outing.
‘Without Gorky’ reveals artist’s secrets ■ Granddaughter of Arshile
Gorky, Cosima Spender, visited campus and screened her new film. By EMILY SALLOWAY JUSTICE editor
Arshile Gorky was a famous Impressionist and Postimpressionist American painter whose works have been displayed in museums all around the world. But Without Gorky, the documentary film made by his granddaughter, Cosima Spender, is not about his art. It is about his private life and the secrets he kept until his death. “The only way forward is to be really open and really honest,” Spender said after the screening in the Wasserman Cinematheque last Thursday night. She was taking questions from the audience, and one woman had asked if Spender had been afraid of the impact the film would have on her family. “It
was hard to be honest about our situation and I was always a bit scared to hurt people making the film,” she admitted. “I’m not going to lie, it was very difficult. [But] actually … everyone [in my family] feels really liberated. They’ve said things through the film that they never dared say to each other face-to-face. The film is an intermediary for them to solve their relationships.” Without Gorky tells the painter’s adult life story through exclusive interviews with his wife, Agnes Magruder, and the couple’s two daughters, Maro and Natasha. After hearing the outpouring of truth about Spender’s family’s difficult history, it makes sense why Gorky kept so many secrets. Born as Vostanik Manuk Adoyan in Khorgom, Armenia, at the beginning of the twentieth century, Gorky, his mother and three sisters fled their town in 1915 at the onset of the Armenian Genocide. Walking all the way to Istanbul, he and his siblings were able to board a ship to America, but his mother died of
starvation before the journey. Once in the U.S., the artist changed his name to Gorky in an attempt to disconnect himself from his traumatic past. In 1941, he met Magruder, whom he affectionately nicknamed “Mougouch.” After a brief courtship, the couple married in 1941. They lived in New York City for a time before moving to Sherman, Conn., where Gorky suffered a series of tragedies and eventually took his own life. The film uses his wife’s memories and letters to her late husband and Gorky’s own written records to weave together its narrative. It was important for Spender to make this film, she said, because she wanted to set the record of her grandfather’s life straight. “[There have] been books written about [Magruder’s] life and I [thought] it was time she just said with her own voice what really happened, all the complicated bits, all the gray areas,” Spender said during the question-and-answer session. As the film showed, Gorky and
Magruder’s relationship was not an easy one. They would often fight in front of their children, and on many occasions, Gorky threatened to beat his wife. He was frequently in a state of depression, especially after he was diagnosed with cancer in the mid-1940s. Following a car accident in which he broke his neck and a fire in his studio barn that cost him 30 of his paintings, he became resolute in his decision to commit suicide and did so on July 21, 1948 at age 44. Only now, over sixty years later, is the family truly beginning to heal from what Spender called Gorky’s “castle of lies.” At the end of the film, Maro and Natasha venture to their father’s birthplace on the shores of Lake Van in Turkey. Spender explained that the placement of this scene at the end of the film was one of the most difficult editing decisions: “Conventionally, when you talk about the life of someone, you start with their birthplace. … But if you did that, then you weren’t getting to the story with Mougouch,
and the audience somehow would blame her for her actions, which sometimes would seem almost irresponsible and violent. But there was so much she didn’t know about him. … I think it was important to structure it along with how Mougouch came to know about it.” The film aired on the BBC earlier this year, and Spender has also sold the film to television stations in Canada and Finland. It recently screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and is on its way to the Museum of Contemporary Arts in Los Angeles. As difficult as the process of digging up the past has been, Spender hopes to be able to share the truth of her grandparents’ lives with many more people. “It made me really think,” Spender told the audience after the screening, “about child-rearing and … about the responsibility of being a parent and how difficult relationships can be and the price of living with a genius, the price of living with a great artist.”
FINE ARTS
John Elderfield presents on Willem de Kooning ■ MoMA’s John Elderfield
describes Willlem de Kooning as innovative and constantly striving for improvement. By olivia leiter JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
The Lee Gallery in the Rose Art Museum was filled to capacity on Monday, April 2 for a lesson by John Elderfield on premier Abstract Expressionist painter Willem de Kooning. Elderfield, the Chief Curator emeritus of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art, has been studying de Kooning’s work for the last six years, most recently acting as the curator for MoMA’s exhibit, “de Kooning: A Retrospective.”
During his talk, Elderfield presented a slideshow on de Kooning titled, “The Artist Who Wouldn’t Stand Still.” Elderfield’s presentation, dedicated to covering seven decades of de Kooning’s career, highlighted his constantly shifting approach to painting. “I want to address issues of continuity and change within de Kooning’s work,” Elderfield explained. Elderfield went through the chronology of de Kooning’s artistic development, starting with his early paintings (1904-1937) and ending with his late paintings (1979-1997). Elderfield selected works that embodied the themes and techniques that de Kooning used at specific periods in his career. De Kooning, born in the Netherlands in 1904, was always searching for new techniques and a new
means of expression in his paintings. He arrived in New York as an illegal immigrant, where he took jobs in commercial art and started to find a community of artists. At this point, Elderfield noted, “[de Kooning] had a beautiful but conservative early modern style.” But his style changed over the years. As de Kooning encountered works by Picasso, Stuart Davis and Arshile Gorky, he developed a more mature technique, which Elderfield described as “a blend of geometric abstractions and abstract surrealism.” De Kooning eventually strayed from commercial painting and started to focus on fine art. In 1945, “de Kooning thr[ew] away everything he ha[d] done before and ma[de] a different kind of picture,” explained Elderfield. In this new type of painting, de
Kooning fused together abstraction and figuration. This is illustrated in his oil and charcoal on canvas work, “Pink Angels,” (1945) the final painting in his first series dedicated to images of women. De Kooning rejected traditional representation of the human body and painted more abstractly, using forms that merely suggest the presence of figures. Yet it was “Painting 1948,” one of the many black and white pictures in de Kooning’s first solo exhibition, that really propelled him to public attention. Just five years later, de Kooning exhibited his third “Woman” series to critical acclaim. When people accused these paintings of being misogynistic, de Kooning responded, “[You’re] all telling me what I cannot have in my pictures.” Elderfield explained that de Koon-
ing’s motto was “Don’t be afraid of disappointing people.” Moreover, de Kooning had always admired old Chinese artists who changed their names once they became famous as a way to protect their freedom. Elderfield explained that this centered on “an attitude towards oneself. One has to be willing to move into uncertainty.” Elderfield quoted the lyrics to Patti Smith’s “My Blakean Year” to encapsulate de Kooning’s artistic journey: “so disposed/ toward a mission yet unclear.” It is hard to pinpoint de Kooning’s “mission,” because he was always working towards “uncertainty” by experimenting with different methods of expression. Perhaps it is this permeating sense of experimentation and innovation that actually ties de Kooning’s works together.
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TUESDAY, april 24, 2012
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THE JUSTICE
performance
Culture X mixes a variety of traditions ■ The annual event organized
by the Intercultural Center showcased a wide range of cultures and talents. By mariellE temkin JUSTICE editor
When asked what the annual event and this year’s theme, “the world is our stage,” meant to her, coordinator Sriya Srikrishnan ’12 remarked in the introductory video, “Culture X is a big, cultural smoothie.” Her statement would prove to be a very accurate description of what the event held in the Levin Ballroom on Saturday night had in store for its sold-out audience. Coordinating Culture X was an allsenior team composed of Karen Hu, Yvonne Perez, Yeiri Robert, Alison Uliss and Srikrishnan, whose introductory video also featured University President Frederick Lawrence (who attended the event), Associate Dean of Student Life Jamele Adams and various student leaders. The coordinators also announced that whatever money was raised by selling T-shirts and Indian samosas during intermission would be donated to SOUL: School of Unity & Liberation, which is located in California but does work all around the country. According to the printed program, SOUL “seeks to promote cultural awareness and diversity in society through educating and training the voice of our future: children.” At the end of the night, it was announced that the event had raised over $300 for the charity. The first performer to take to the stage was singer and guitarist Ayan Sanyal ’14, who sang an original song titled “Wonder-Esque (Someone Like You).” Sanyal filled up Levin with his powerful voice, starting the night off on a good note. A huge crowd favorite was the So Unique Step Dance Team, which caused many audience members to enthusiastically cheer and shout the names of the students on the stage. The team’s synchronization, even through progressively complicated step patterns, was remarkable. Another crowd favorite was the act titled “Blast to the Past,” where
JOSHUA LINTON/the Justice
NINETIES NOSTALGIA: Six seniors performed an act in Culture X which they called ‘Blast to the Past’ and danced to a medley of ’90s American pop songs and Indian hits. six seniors—Monisha Rajinikanth, Liz Watson, Sriya Srikrishnan, Siddhi Krishna, Ramya Kuchibhatla and Christine Scarlata—dressed in traditional Indian dance outfits and energetically moved to a medley of popular American and Indian ’90s music. The group radiated an infectious sense of fun as the dancers seamlessly transitioned from songs by the Backstreet Boys to Britney Spears to the Spice Girls to equally catchy Indian pop songs with the moves to match. Members from this act were seen again in Brandeis bhangra team Chak De Deis’ performance, which was introduced by emcee D’Andre Young ’15 as a high-energy folk dance.
The first part of the dance was set to a mix of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” and “Punjab” by E=MC featuring Jaswant Sanghiawala, which worked surprisingly well together. The dancers were tireless, despite the neverceasing speed of their steps. Toward the end, Hyder Kazmi ’12 burst out of the curtains in front of the stage to finish the routine with them, which brought the audience to its feet. The band Bolsa Nova—composed of a bass guitar, alto saxophone, cello, acoustic guitar, drum and two singers—played a beautiful song that was notable for its unique sound and for how each instrument seemed to steal the melody away from another one in a seamless blend.
In a change of pace from the dance numbers and musical performances were Kazmi, Wajida Syed ’12 and Ashni Dave ’12 who performed slam poetry in a way I had never seen it done. Each of them started with a story or personal anecdote that seemed to have nothing to do with the others, but bit by bit, they each began chiming in with the others’ words, and they all ended on the line, “When we are finally standing still, we are dancing.” The beauty of their stories enthralled me, as did the power and emotion with which they spoke. The Women of Color Alliance made its Culture X debut to loud approval from the audience. Dancing to a medley of songs starting with Beyoncé’s
“Love on Top” and ending with her “Run the World (Girls),” the performers of WOCA brought down the house with their fierce attitude and hardhitting dance moves. And ending the night with equally strong moves was the always crowdpleasing Kaos Kids, whose number had the theme of “fairytale gone wrong.” Stephanie Ramos ’14 was particularly impressive as the evil queen, even though the “good” dancers triumphed over her at the end of the routine. Through the variety of acts displayed in Levin on Saturday, the theme of the night held true as Brandeisians brought the cultures of the world to our stage.
theater
Senior thesis ‘Elegies’ brings audience to tears ■ With a combination of
unstoppable vocal talents, William Finn’s musical ‘Elegies’ comes back to life. By emily salloway JUSTICE editor
I’m going to cut to the chase here. Elegies: A Song Cycle, Leah Carnow ’12 and Mindy Cimini’s ’12 joint senior thesis production, was musically the best show I have seen at Brandeis. The casting was absolutely perfect: not one of the five actors struck an offchord. Admittedly, the theme of the show itself was a downer. The production featured song after song about death, and many of the numbers told the story of the playwright, William Finn’s, acquaintances. Carnow and Cimini’s sparse staging seemed to move the focus away from the development of distinct characters and anecdotes: instead, with Cimini’s piano center stage, the production concentrated more on the music and emotions of the show. In fact, I didn’t realize the characters were based on real friends and colleagues of Finn’s until I did some research online later that night. Judging by the fact that many members of the audience cried through its 90-minute entirety, I think not clarifying the play’s connection to its writer and defining its characters with costumes or information in the playbill was a successful choice. It was easier to relate to when the stories created feelings of loss and appreciation rather than a series of eulogies.
JOSHUA LINTON/the Justice
MUSICAL MAGIC: The stars of ‘Elegies’ embrace a light-hearted moment in the show, about remembering lost loved ones. An especially emotional song was Jackie Theoharis’ ’14 rendition of “Anytime (I Am There),” during which Theoharis’ flexibility in tone and dynamics proved to be vital in creating a strong emotional effect. There were also moments in the show when the vocalists’ voices
eclipsed the lyrics and the whole of the Laurie Theater was overcome by the wave of sound. One of the most impressive of these instances was when powerhouse Sara Schoch MFA in Theater Arts Acting ’14 sang “Infinite Joy.” Several people nodded at her talent, seemingly in
acknowledgment that Schoch has it, whatever it is, before erupting into applause at her final note. Ben Oehlkers’ ’12 “Joe Papp” was spunky and soulful and he, along with the backup vocals of Robert St. Laurence ’11 and Jeremy Weinberg ’12, created a fun but meaningful
reminiscence of Papp’s, an American theater producer and director, no-nonsense personality. St. Laurence told the rather unexpected story of his character’s three dogs in “My Dogs.” While the song was funny and lighter than the rest of the musical numbers, it still made poignant and heartfelt points about how the death of a pet can have a significant impact on our lives. St. Laurence gave the song a strong dose of humor and humility. Weinberg, who was cast to portray Finn himself (although I did not get this from his performance), held his own in songs like “Mark’s All-Male Thanksgiving” where he bitter-sweetly told the story of Finn’s attendance at gay rights advocate Mark Thalen’s party. Weinberg had a strong stage presence and seemingly no fear, as he put on an accent for the song, “Venice,” about a former lover named Bolek from Poland. The show also touched upon the events of September 11, but after Elegies’ whirlwind of emotions, the tragedy didn’t hold the same effect at the end of the show. The unrelenting onslaught of reminiscence and pain became almost too much at that point. Despite the actors’ dedication and pure talent, the play itself was a one-topic overload, and some of the numbers missed their marks, regardless of how much thought went into making them visually interesting and vocally memorable. Still, Carnow and Cimini did a fine job of taking a play that could have been their kiss of death (no pun intended) and giving it a sense of variety and a set of vocalists who made it worth sitting through.
THE JUSTICE
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TUESDAY, april 24, 2012
21
theater
Play sheds light on early use of vibrator ■ ‘In the Next Room’
enthralled audiences due to strong performances from Leila Stricker ’13 and Nicole Carlson ’14. By ariel kay JUSTICE editor
Scientists are not entirely sure of the evolutionary purpose of the female orgasm. It may be a physical fluke, created because all fetuses start with the same building blocks, regardless of gender, and therefore men and women end up with some of the same bodily abilities. Or, perhaps, female orgasms serve an evolutionary function: some scholars argue that female orgasms help keep sperm inside the woman and even propel it upwards towards the ovaries. Sexy. The characters in Brandeis Players’ In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play), which ran Thursday through Sunday in the Carl J. Shapiro Theater, don’t quite think in terms of evolutionary purpose, however. The play takes place shortly after the Civil War in the home of a doctor who specializes in curing “hysteria”—a uniquely female catch-all condition used to explain as diverse symptoms as fainting spells, weakness, sensitivity to light and insomnia. The cure? Pelvic massage. Due to the recent innovation of electrical wiring in private homes, doctors can now masturbate their female patients into good health. Of course, the character Dr. Givings (Aaron Fischer ’15) sees nothing sexual in this therapy. He chats quite amiably with his patients as he manipulates “the instrument” under a sheet, asking them to describe their experience and practically patting them on the head afterwards, rewarding them for a job well done. At first, Dr. Givings’ wife, Catherine (Leila Stricker ’13) is blissfully unaware of the mechanics of her husband’s practice, noting only how his patients seem to rapidly improve after several daily sessions. Catherine’s growing sense of detachment from her husband is the undercurrent running throughout In the Next Room. She was once proud to refer to Dr. Givings as an aloof “scientist,” grinning as she pronounced the word to Sabrina—a patient—and her husband Mr. Daldry (Nicole Carlson ’14 and Ben Gold ’13, respectively). As the play progresses, however, the audience comes to know Catherine’s feelings of loneliness and uselessness, which are spurred by her inability to provide milk for her newborn. Stricker was a wonder as Catherine. She deftly juggled her character’s swift changes in mood, skillfully morphing from the flighty chatterbox of the first act to an introspective, demanding woman in the second. For a less-skilled actress, the role could have been trite or simply comedic. Stricker, however, demonstrated a young woman’s confusion and dawning realization that life is not all she hoped it’d be with touching emotion. As Sabrina, Catherine’s accomplice in uncovering the mysteries of hysterical paroxysm—a.k.a. orgasm—Carlson was another delight. Upon her first entrance into the Givings’ home, Sabrina is covered in layers of dramatic dress, thick velvet draping her tiny frame and a large hat and veil perched upon her head like the top of an acorn. Executive costume designer Shana
ALEX MARGOLIS/the Justice
THE GOOD DOCTOR: Dr. Givings (Aaron Fischer ’15) treats Sabrina Daldry (Nicole Carlson ’14) for her hysterical symptoms with a newly invented cure, the electric vibrator. Burstyn ’12 and costume designer Grace Fosler ’14 did a magnificent job with the period costumes, particularly as dressing and undressing are such important tropes in the play. As In the Next Room progresses, Sabrina’s hysteria dissipates along with her cloak and concealing veil, revealing an easy giggle and willingness to participate in Catherine’s schemes. Using Sabrina’s hatpin, the women break into Dr. Giving’s operating theater, a chamber off the Givings’ living room. Catherine coaxes her friend into operating the vibrator on her. Thus, a female bond is born by way of orgasm. The dissonance between what modern audiences know to be naughty and the utter seriousness with which the characters conduct their “therapy” gives In the Next Room its comedic edge. However, this is a joke that, at times, grows stale. Watching Dr. Givings or his efficient nurse Annie (Chastity DeLorme ’14) bring unsuspecting women to orgasm is funny the first time. Watching it again and again becomes overkill, particularly as the play runs a lengthy two and a half hours. I wondered how the men in the audience viewed these scenes (and the play in general). Men invariably have a different attitude toward orgasm, a pleasure most can achieve even before puberty without the use of forbidden toys or a Barry White CD. In the Next Room, by playwright Sarah Ruhl, could only have been written by a woman. And a deft, affecting performance such as the one I saw on Saturday night could only have been directed by a woman—in this case, Tess Suchoff ’13. Though In the Next Room takes place in the 1880s, when the vibrator was first invented, women are often still discouraged
ALEX MARGOLIS/the Justice
MAY I?: Catherine Givings (Leila Stricker ’13) is seduced by a British artist (Julian Seltzer ’15) her husband is treating. from taking control over their own bodies and pleasure today. The play comes to a close in a tender, dramatic scene between Catherine and Dr. Givings. Inspired by her wet nurse Elizabeth (Sneha Walia ’15) and a brief infatuation with a rare male patient (Julian Seltzer ’15), Catherine becomes determined to reconnect, sexually and emotionally, with her husband. Echoing an earlier point in their relationship in which Catherine recalls writing her name in the snow as a gift to her husband, the
pair wander out to their garden on a snowy winter night. Catherine gently commands Dr. Givings to undress, discovering her husband visually for the first time. They make love in the snow, and Catherine experiences her first orgasm from her husband. The scene was beautifully arranged. Executive lighting designer Carolyn Daitch ’14 and lighting designers Jessica Podhorcer ’15 and Ian Carroll ’15 bathed the stage in small flickering lights. Catherine and Dr. Givings stand nearly bare before lying on the
ground. I’ve seen nudity and simulated sex in theater before. But, perhaps because the play was not a glossy professional theater production, or because Ruhl’s dialogue turned so raw and needing, I was more emotionally stirred by this scene than I have been by similar spectacles. In the Next Room’s conclusion shined a light on the play’s true theme beyond its sexual highjinks: forming true connections. —Maya Riser-Kositsky contributed reporting.
MUSIC
Nite Jewel rounds out 2012 SpringFest lineup ■ The California electronica
musician is the last addition to the concert set list. Her music fits into many genres. By ARIEL KAY JUSTICE EDITOR
Student Events and WBRS finally announced the fourth act performing at SpringFest shortly after students returned from Passover and spring recess. Low-fi singer-songwriter Ramona
Gonzalez, a.k.a Nite Jewel, a Los Angeles-based artist who released her first album, Good Evening, in 2008, will be joining headliner Childish Gambino and openers fun. and Phantogram at the concert on April 29. Nite Jewel’s sound can be described as hypnotic dance and electronica. The artist writes and sings her own music and also plays the keyboard. Although she released her first CD only four years ago, Nite Jewel has managed to put out six additional recordings since then: three EPs, two vinyl singles and a second album,
One Second of Love, which featured her most popular single, “She’s Always Watching You.” Nite Jewel’s sound is difficult to pin down, in part because she seems to jump between genres depending on her mood. The music review site Pitchfork described her music as, “molten and surreal, conjuring Dali paintings with drum machines and keyboards melting in place of clocks.” Her voice sounds as though Zooey Deschanel covered the electronica pioneers Eurythmics. Some of her songs bring up images of too-cool music clubs, while others
inspire comparisons to female folkrock singers like a mumbling Stevie Nicks. This plethora of styles could be viewed as a positive for listeners interested in hearing a multidimensional performer. However, it could also be viewed as a lack of artistic substance. In addition to creating music, Nite Jewel, who majored in philosophy at Occidental College, has created numerous multimedia art pieces that mix electronic sound design with film footage. These projects mimic her musical creations in that both use outdated
technology and simple recording devices to layer various elements—vocals, keyboards, synthesizers, drum machines—to create ethereal pieces of art. Nite Jewel rounds out SpringFest’s eclectic lineup, which already includes a hip-hop star, a rock band and an electronica duo. This year’s concert will certainly have something for everyone. Her bass-driven music, perfect for dancing in the sun, may not have the most profound lyrics, but it will fit nicely with the sounds of the other three SpringFest performers.
COLUMBIA SUMMER 2012
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THE JUSTICE
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TUESDAY, April 24, 2012
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OFF CAMPUS GAMing
Nintendo readies market for new system Dan
WILLEY CRITICAL HIT
Nintendo’s newest console, the Wii U, is set to release at the end of this year, just in time for the holidays. At this point, however, little has been publicly revealed about the system, other than demonstrations of its new tablet-like controller. But for the past week, the Wii U has been the focus of renewed attention as Nintendo has stepped forward with several important announcements regarding possible launch titles, or games that will be released at the same time as the console. Nintendo has officially announced that it will debut Pikmin 3 (a followup to the strategy game that follows Captain Olimar and his leafy-headed companions) as well as another entry in the New Super Mario Bros. series at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo. Both of these games appear to be set to launch with the Wii U, but commentators on popular gaming news outlets, such as IGN.com, have openly wondered whether these two titles will be enough to ensure the success of the new system. Pikmin 3 will be the latest entry in the Pikmin franchise, which has not seen a release since Pikmin 2 launched back in August 2004 for the Gamecube. Two factors have left some to wonder whether Pikmin can draw enough of an audience to push the sales of the Wii U. Both Pikmin and Pikmin 2 were eventually re-released for the Wii with updated controls, but the console never saw a new game in the series, meaning that Pikmin largely skipped an entire console generation. Thus, many of the
ZE_BEAR/Wikimedia Commons
U WANNA PLAY?: Nintendo’s latest console, the Wii U, boasts a futuristic looking tablet controller (above) and new games. younger gamers—who constitute a large segment of Nintendo’s core demographic—may not be familiar with the series at all. And while the first two games received critical praise, they were not nearly as successful commercially. The New Super Mario Bros. series, on the other hand, is in nearly the opposite situation as the Pikmin series: although the latest iteration didn’t receive much critical praise, it was a huge seller for Nintendo. New Super Mario Bros. Wii is the fifth best-selling
Wii game ever as of December 2011, but many critics felt that the game lacked the originality of other Mario games such as Mario Galaxy 1 and 2. It didn’t have the signature difficulty of other Mario games, but perhaps Nintendo will change that with this new release—making the game harder would make it more appealing to experienced gamers. New Super Mario Bros. has always felt like less than a full Mario game and many, including myself, are disappointed to learn that Nintendo won’t be releasing a more full-fledged
Mario title instead. While many are excited by the announcement of these two games, it’s up for debate whether these titles can drum up enough hype to ensure the successful launch of the Wii U. Nintendo has notably struggled with its most recent console launches, as the Gamecube, Wii and 3DS all faced trouble out of the gate. Fortunately, Nintendo may still have a few tricks up its sleeve. Several of Nintendo’s strongest development studios have gone quite a while with-
out releasing or announcing any new games. Most prominent among these studios is Retro Studios, which successfully breathed life back into the Metroid series with two incredibly popular Metroid Prime games on the Gamecube, as well as one on the Wii, after the series had gone a considerable time without any new releases. Retro did the same with Donkey Kong Country Returns in 2010, which marked their most recent release. The studio has been quiet since then, and given the timeline of the release of the Wii U, they are almost certainly working on a game to launch with the system. Retro Studios’ impeccable track record suggests that a new release could be just what the Wii U needs to achieve success. Beyond this, Nintendo’s downloadable game market holds a lot of promise. While the Wii Shop Channel failed to live up to the success of its competitors, the Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Store, and the 3DS’s eShop have already seen the release of several popular downloadable titles. These titles, such as Pushmo and Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword, have demonstrated that Nintendo can launch clever, creative and successful downloadable games. If Nintendo can translate this online success to its new home console, gamers will have a lot to look forward to outside of the traditional retail releases that have been touched upon. Nintendo tends to hold its cards close to the chest, waiting for major media events such as E3 to surprise gamers and build up hype. With E3 starting on June 5, just over a month away, Nintendo gamers have a lot to look forward to in the near future. The story of the Wii U is still being written, and until we see what else Nintendo has waiting for us, it’s far too early to say whether the Wii U will be a success or not. Given the fact that there’s so much we don’t know about it, things really could go either way. I personally can’t wait to find out.
food
Boston’s Piattini serves big Italian taste on little dishes ■ The tapas-style restaurant
specializes in pasta dishes at reasonable prices. By emily kraus JUSTICE editor
When people ask me for recommendations of where to eat in Boston, I don’t often steer them toward Newbury Street. Restaurants there are fairly pricy, and you don’t usually get the kind of bang for your buck that you can find a little farther off the beaten path. These restaurants tend to belong to one of two categories: either so-so food for $10 or a fancy dinner for $30; there isn’t very much in between. But, there is one place that breaks this rule of thumb: you can’t go wrong stopping by Piattini, a small self-described “wine café” located in the heart of Back Bay. Piattini’s name comes from the Italian for “little plates,” a phrase that goes to the heart of the restaurant’s concept. If you like Italian food served
tapas-style, this is the place for you. It serves small portions of all kinds of dishes, perfect for sharing at a more reasonable cost than the fare at many of the restaurant’s neighbors. Customers can sample different varieties of Piattini’s dishes or as appetizers to their entrées. When I arrived at Piattini, the first thing I noticed was the intimate dining room. There aren’t a lot of tables, so if you’re planning on going during peak hours, you might want to call ahead. The lighting is dim but not dark, providing an ambience that’s perfect for a date or a get-together with friends. The restaurant’s staff was very, very friendly: some places treat you as a second-class citizen if you don’t order wine or fancy entrées, but our server at Piattini was incredibly warm and accommodating the whole time my dining companion and I were there. We were not rushed us so she could turn over the table or pressured to order more than we planned. We decided to split a few different piattini so we could sample the most food possible, something I’d defi-
nitely recommend doing. My favorite dish by far was the gnocchi ($7.95). They’re made with spinach instead of potatoes and come served in a pesto cream sauce with tomatoes. The gnocchi were light but a bit on the chewy side (I prefer them that way, but traditionalists might object), and the sauce was so good I could have eaten it with a spoon all by itself. The portion was also bigger than most of the other dishes. The other pasta dish I tried was the ravioli di zucca gialla ($7.95), a butternut squash ravioli served in a sauce made with apple cider, brown sugar and sage. I wasn’t sure what to expect since the dish is one I would normally expect to see in the fall instead of the spring, but I was pleasantly surprised. The brown sugar in the sauce complemented the dish perfectly. It was a sweet balance to the savory notes the squash and sage brought out, and it made the whole thing seem like the perfect comfort food regardless of the season. The portion size is quite a bit smaller than the gnocchi’s (you only get four ravioli as opposed to a decent-
sized plate of the other), so you may want to keep that in mind if you’re particularly hungry. To me, the pastas far outshone the two other dishes I tried, although there wasn’t anything on the table I didn’t like. The Italian sausage featured in the sausage and polenta ($9.95) was very good, although I wouldn’t have minded it a bit spicier. I really enjoyed the roasted red peppers and onions served alongside it, but I could have gone without the comparatively bland polenta. There wasn’t anything specifically wrong with it; I just thought the sausage and vegetables were tastier on their own. I wasn’t a huge fan of the Calamari Puttanesca ($8.95), but that was probably more a result of my distaste for olives (the dish is made of calamari, gaeta olives, capers and cherry tomatoes in puttanesca sauce) than anything else. My dining companion enjoyed it, and the sauce itself went nicely with the well-cooked calamari. I should note that as Piattini is a wine café, its wine list is extensive. Each dish on the menu has numbers
listed next to it that correspond with recommended wines, and it’s clear that a good amount of thought went into all of the pairings. I didn’t partake in any myself, so I can’t comment on the quality of the recommendations; however, the fact that the restaurant specializes in wine (and that most of the diners seated near me were enjoying glasses with their dinners) seems to be a good indicator. All in all, Piattini is a great place if you’re trying to get a great variety of food without breaking the bank—it’s definitely on the nicer end of the spectrum for most college students, but for a filling meal and a great atmosphere, you won’t do much better in the area. If small plates aren’t your thing, the restaurant serves regular-sized entrees as well, but it’s much more fun to sample a variety of their delicious dishes and share with a date or with friends. If nothing else, order the pasta and you won’t go wrong. Piattini is located at 226 Newbury St., Boston. Call (617) 536-2020 for more information or to make a reservation.
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24
TUESday, APRIL 24, 2012 ● THE JUSTICE
TOP of the
ARTS ON VIEW
TRIVIA TIME
CHARTS
1. Where are the Faroe Islands located? 2. Which TV sitcom’s theme was the song “I’ll Be There for You”? 3. What planet is named for the Roman god of trade, thieves and travel? 4. When did the United States repeal Prohibition, which forebade sales of alcohol? 5. What is an affidavit? 6. Which book of the Bible describes the Israelites’ deliverance from slavery in Egypt? 7. What European country’s basic monetary unit was the escudo—prior to the euro? 8. What was the nickname for Teddy Roosevelt’s Progressive Party? 9. What is the purpose of gills in fish? 10. What kind of bird was featured in the Disney song “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah”? ANSWERS 1. Between Scotland and Iceland 2. Friends 3. Mercury 4. 1933 5. A written statement made under oath 6. Exodus 7. Portugal 8. The Bull Moose Party 9. To take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide 10. A bluebird
STRANGE BUT TRUE oIt was Canadian author Saul Bellow who made the following sage observation: “You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.” The U.S. military has created self-cleaning underwear. Yep. It seems they wanted skivvies that soldiers could wear for several weeks without changing. Nanoparticles and chemicals in the fabric repel liquids and bacteria. More books have been written about Abraham Lincoln than about any other American president—more than 15,000 to date. It is only to be assumed that Arabella Young, a Massachusetts woman who died in 1771, was considered to be a bit too talkative. Otherwise there would have been no need for the following epitaph: “Here lies as silent clay / Miss Arabella Young, / Who on the 21st of May / Began to hold her tongue.” Be glad that you did not have the misfortune to be in Bangladesh during record storms in 1985. You might have been brained by the record hailstones, some weighing more than two pounds each. You might not be surprised to learn that among his Hollywood friends, screen legend and notorious drinker Humphrey Bogart was nicknamed Whiskey Straight. The founders of the Arby’s chain were a pair of brothers, Forrest and Leroy Raffel. They wanted to name the original restaurant Big Tex, but found that the name was already owned by someone else. They settled on Arby’s to represent the initials R.B. for Raffel Brothers.
Top 10s for the week ending April 22 BOX OFFICE
1. The Hunger Games 2. The Three Stooges 3. The Cabin in the Woods 4. Titanic 3D 5. American Reunion 6. Wrath of the Titans 7. Mirror Mirror 8. 21 Jump Street 9. Lockout 10. Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax
NYT BESTSELLERS
ASHER KRELL/The Justice
ON THE BOARDWALK: Justice Associate Editor Asher Krell ’13 took this picture of a port in Tel Aviv and the lights on the water just after sunset while visiting Israel during Passover recess.
ACROSS 1. Pod occupant 4. Pedestal part 8. Rug type 12. Hosp. hookups 13. Satan’s specialty 14. Inlet 15. Old-style music provider 17. Destruction 18. Incessantly 19. Chutzpah 20. Piece of hardware 22. Jane Lynch’s show 24. Pork cut 25. Sweater with a rounded collar 29. Qty. 30. Accordion feature 31. Noon, in a way 32. Worker’s compensation 34. Bridge 35. Wheels of fortune? 36. Got up 37. Oust 40. Friend of Dorothy 41. Met melody 42. Insignificant bit 46. Tirade 47. Emanation 48. Zero 49. Caustic solutions 50. Skating jump 51. Highlander’s hat DOWN 1. Stone 2. Actress Longoria 3. Harshness 4. Moisten 5. State with conviction 6. Bracketed word 7. Wapiti 8. Mosquito thwarter 9. Session with a shrink 10. Tel — 11. Heredity component 16. Still 19. Mr. Gingrich 20. Hit Stooge-style 21. Prolonged sleep 22. — -Roman wrestling 23. Plumbing problem
CROSSWORD
iTUNES
1. Gotye feat. Kimbra —“Somebody That I Used to Know” 2. Justin Bieber — “Boyfriend” 3. fun. feat. Janelle Monáe — “We are Young” 4. Carly Rae Jepson — “Call Me Maybe” 5. One Direction — “What Makes You Beautiful” 6. Flo Rida feat. Sia — “Wild Ones” 7. The Wanted — “Glad You Came” 8. Train — “Drive By” 9. Gotye feat. Kimbra —“Somebody That I Used to Know (Tiësto Remix)” 10. Linkin Park — “Burn it Down”
BILLBOARD
25. Skelton’s Kadiddlehopper 26. Champion of a cause 27. “Arrivederci” 28. Benevolent 30. Dr. McGraw 33. Baseball shoes 34. Put an end to 36. Twine fiber 37. Count counterpart 38. Picture of health? 39. Christmas tree, often 40. Muse’s instrument 42. Air safety org. 43. Illumination measure 44. Spy novel grp. 45. Airline to Amsterdam
1. Lionel Richie — Tuskegee 2. Adele — 21 3. Nicki Minaj — Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded 4. Monica — New Life 5. One Direction — Up All Night 6. Bonnie Raitt — Slipstream 7. Gotye — Making Mirrors 8. Alabama Shakes — Boys & Girls 9. Rascal Flatts — Changed 10. Hoodie Allen — All American (EP) Top of the Charts information provided by Fandango, the New York Times, Billboard. com and Apple.com.
Solution to last week’s crossword
King Crossword Copyright 2012 King Features Synd, Inc.
SUDOKU INSTRUCTIONS: Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each small 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.
Thought for the Day: “I never blame myself when I’m not hitting. I just blame the bat, and if it keeps up, I change bats. After all, if I know it isn’t my fault that I’m not hitting, how can I get mad at myself?”
Fiction 1. Calico Joe — John Grisham 2. Guilty Wives — James Patterson and David Ellis 3. The Lost Years — Mary Higgins Clark 4. Come Home — Lisa Scottoline 5. The Shoemaker’s Wife — Adriana Trigiani Nonfiction 1. Drift: the Unmaking of American Military Power — Rachel Maddow 2. Mrs. Kennedy and Me: an Intimate Memoir — Clint Hill with Lisa McCubbin 3. The Big Miss: My Years Coaching Tiger Woods — Hank Haney 4. Imagine: How Creativity Works — Jonah Lehrer 5. Trickle Down Tyrrany: Crushing Obama’s Dream of the Socialist States of America — Michael Savage
—Yogi Berra
Solution to last week’s sudoku
Sudoku Copyright 2012 King Features Synd, Inc.
STAFF PLAYLIST
“Working Ballads” By ALEX MARGOLIS
Justice PHOTOGRAPHER
This playlist is full of relaxed melodies that I know by heart and like to listen to while I work. The songs are calming and help me focus on the tasks at hand. THE LIST 1. “Prince of Spades” — Dispatch 2. “A Pirate Looks at Forty” — Jimmy Buffett 3.“When I Fall” — Barenaked Ladies 4. “Fix You” — Coldplay 5. “Say Hello Wave Goodbye” — David Gray 6. “Comfortable” — John Mayer 7. “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” -— Israel Kamakawiwo’ole 8. “The Cave” -— Mumford & Sons 9. “Graceland” — Paul Simon 10. “Californication” — Red Hot Chili Peppers
just
ARTS
April 24, 2012
presents
Photos: Robyn Spector and Asher Krell/Justice File Photos and Courtesy of Office of the Arts. Design: Robyn Spector/the Justice.
26
TUESDAY, April 24, 2012
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THE JUSTICE
Schedule of Events Thursday, April 26
The Opening Celebration
This year’s theme for the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts is “Art Activates.” On a campus as active and creative as ours, it is only fitting that the festival reflects the way art activates dreams, revolution and the future. 5 to 5:30 p.m. in the Carl J. Shapiro Campus Center Atrium
Art and Angst: Is Pain Necessary?
Composer Dana Maiben, poet and writer Diana Durham, music scholar and viola da gambist Laury Gutiérrez, and artist Michele L’Heureux will lead a discussion on the effects of suffering on creativity and whether pain can be inspirational or detrimental to an artist’s process. Writer Rosie Rosenzweig will moderate the panel and harpsichordist and fortepianist Vivian Montgomery will act as respondent. 12:15 p.m. in the Women’s Studies Research Center
Ponder
Travis Alford, a Pd.H. candidate in Music Composition and Theory, has put together a recital inspired by Handel’s water music, specially designed, with aesthetics and acoustics in mind, that will be performed outside of the Brandeis chapels. 6 p.m. at Chapels Pond
Saturday, April 28
Joshua Gordon: Midcentury Modern
Inspired by the current exhibit “Art at the Origin: The Early 60s,” Lydian String Quartet cellist Prof. Joshua Gordon (MUS) will perform music by composers John Cage, Gunther Schuller, Mario Davidovsky, Morton Feldman and Vincent Persichetti; all central in crafting music from the 1960s era. 1 p.m in the Rose Art Museum
Brandeis Early Music Ensemble: “En las Riberas Ultimas de Espana”
Under Prof. Sarah Mead’s (MUS) direction, the Early Museum Ensemble will perform a repertoire of Spanish Renaissance music, reflecting love and the joys and troubles it can bring. 7 p.m. at the Harlan Chapel
‘Next to Normal’
Music and Dance of Ghana
The Tony Award-winning musical about a family’s struggle with mental illness will be performed by Free Play Theater Cooperative. Directed by David Benger '14, music direction by Bryan Belok ’12, and stage managed by Rachel Huvard ’14 and Jessica Pizzuti ’15. Ages 16 and older. 2 p.m. and 8 p.m in the Schwartz Hall auditorium
All semester, master drummer Nani Agbeli has worked with the students in his “MUS 87: Music and Dance of Ghana” to teach them everything he knows on the subject. Together as the ensemble Fafali, the students and their teacher will unveil what they have studied about the Ewe tradition of West Africa through a musical performance. 8 p.m. in the Slosberg Music Center
Slam poetry performance and workshop
Prize-winning slam poet Regie Cabico will perform, lead a workshop and hold a talkback on the topics of sexuality, ethnicity and nationality. Cabico’s work has appeared in over 30 anthologies and has taken three top awards in national poetry slams among other victories. 8 p.m. in the Lurias, Hassenfeld Conference Center
Feel the Pulse
Adagio Dance Company’s semester performance features dances in styles ranging from hip-hop to tap to contemporary. Free for Brandeis community, however a $5 donation is suggested. To purchase $15 reserved seats, email Marla Merchut (mmerchut@brandeis.edu). 8 p.m. in the Levin Ballroom
Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts
Activate Friday, April 27
ART
Art Happenings
Various performance and visual art pieces will occur throughout the day in many locations around campus. All day, campuswide
Etgar Keret: ‘Suddenly, a Knock on the Door’
Israeli writer Etgar Keret will give a reading from his new book of short stories, Suddenly, a Knock on the Door. He will also screen the five-minute film, “What About Me?” Keret is well-known for his writing for stories, film scripts and graphic novels. He is currently writing a film called Jerusalem, I Love You. His work is frequently aired on the National Public Radio program This American Life. 3 to 5 p.m. in the Mandel Center for Humanities Auditorium (G03)
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF THE ARTS. DESIGN BY RACHEL BURKHOFF/the Justice.
Rivers Are Lost in the Sea: The Dance of ‘Lucy’s Daughters’ In a choreographed dance inspired by Kiki Smith’s artwork in the Rose Art Museum, Rachel Klein ’12 and two other dancers will perform Klein’s interpretation of “Lucy’s Daughters,” a ink interpretation of a family tree. Read JustArts’ interview with Klein on p. 18. 4 p.m. in the Rose Art Museum
Queering the Rose As part of Pride Month, Triskelion, Brandeis’ GLBT/ Queer and Allied Student Organization, is sponsoring walking tours through the Rose Art Museum focusing on the queerness present in a selection of art and artists. 4 p.m. in the Rose Art Museum
Intersections: BEAMS at 50
The Brandeis Electro-Acoustic Music Studio and the Rose Art Museum are both celebrating their fiftieth anniversaries this year. Graduate and undergraduate composers, along with other studio-affiliated musicians will be performing experimental pieces created on synthesizers, drum machines and with computer programs. 7 p.m. in the Rose Art Museum
Boris’ Kitchen: Lot of Strings Attached
Boris’ Kitchen’s semester performance is entirely written and performed by students. Featuring video and live sketches, the yearly show always gets its audience laughing. Expect outrageous costumes, physical gags and maybe even some highbrow humor. Tickets are $5; $3 for the Brandeis community. Ages 16 and older. 8 p.m. in Carl J. Shapiro Theater, Shapiro Campus Center
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THE JUSTICE
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Brandeis Theater Company will perform iginal abstract storytelling experience that rges dance, sculpture and music together once. Choreographer Susan Dibble and tor Tory Fair collaborate together e first time to try and discover how mulart-forms interact on one stage through audio-visual formats. and 8 p.m in the Spingold Theater Center
Makeup workshop
vent yourself and learn some tips and tricks ow to apply flawless drag makeup as part de Month. In a preparation for the May 1 Show, members of Triskelion will help all e interested of any skill level with various up techniques. They request if you have own makeup to please bring it though some supplies will be provided. p.m. in the Intercultural Center MultipurRoom
Kitchen: Lots of Strings Attached
riday’s schedule. in the Carl J. Shapiro Theater
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TUESDAY, april 24, 2012
Feel the Pulse
See Thursday’s schedule. 8 p.m. in the Levin Ballroom
‘Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog’
BORG will present the comedy-musical created by writer/director Joss Whedon and originally performed by stars Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion. Sing-Along Blog tells the story of an unfortunate aspiring super-villain, Dr. Horrible, competing for the girl of his dreams Penny with his arch-nemesis Captain Hammer. Ages 12 and older. At 8 p.m in the South Campus Commons
Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra
Brandeis and Wellesley musicians will come together to perform the Walton Concerto for Viola (1929) and the classically spirited Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto (1878). Featuring winners of the BWO concerto competition, Yoni Battat ‘13 and Suyun Lee, a Wellesley senior, and conductor Neal Hampton, the orchestra is considered one of New England’s premiere student orchestras. 8:30 p.m in the Slosberg Music Center
Folk Festival Located on the Great Lawn Nicholas Bogosian
Classic folk artist with claw hammer, banjo, fiddle, foot percussion and enthusiastic vocals performs. 1 p.m.
Heather Dale
Dale’s style is a mix of Celtic folk tradition, world music and rock. 1:50 p.m.
Nikolas Metaxas
Metaxas has been described as a mix between a young Elvis Costello, Brandon Boyd and an early John Mayer. 2:40 p.m.
Too Cheap for Instruments
One of Brandeis’ all-female a cappella group and hosts of the festival will be showing off its melodies and percussive beats. 3:30 p.m.
The Four Legged Faithful
Using folk and bluegrass instruments, they will create authentically touching music. 4 p.m.
Tripping Lily
The group is a pop vocal quartet whose use of acoustic instrumental and vocal arrangement is unique and aurally enticing. 4:50 p.m. ROBYN SPECTOR/Justice File Photo
Sunday, April 29
Sidewalk Sam
Community artist and chalk-drawing extraordinaire Robert Guillemin composes original works and instruct festival-goers on the art of chalk drawing. Throughout the day outside the Shapiro Campus Center
Big Fuzzy
Brandeis’ own folk outfit, Big Fuzzy, will perform a set featuring numbers from singer Anneke Reich ’13 and guitarist Max Kennedy’s first album, All Our Enemies. Big Fuzzy has previously performed on campus at Cholmondeley’s and other venues to great success. 1 to 1:20 p.m. in the Bernstein-Marcus Plaza
SpringFest
Headliner Childish Gambino and openers fun., Phantogram and Nite Jewel come together on Chapels Field for an afternoon of hip-hop, rock, folk and electronic music that is not to be missed. Student disc jockeys also perform, and prizes and free food and beer (for those over 21) will be available. 1 to 6 p.m. on Chapels Field
Juggling Extravaganza
The Brandeis Juggling Club will show off their impeccable timing and rhythm in this circus act. 1 to 1:20 p.m. in the Carl J. Shapiro Theater
Top Score
The six-piece student-run orchestra will perform familiar pieces from some film and theater favorites. 1 to 1:20 p.m. in the Carl J. Shapiro Campus Center Atrium
Mysteries of the Middle East: The Miras Project I
Six undergraduates will perform Middle Eastern music under the training of American Council of Learned Societies New Faculty Fellow in Music Ann E. Lucas. 1 to1:20 p.m. in the Lee Gallery of the Rose Art Museum
Mysteries of the Middle East: The Miras Project II
Master musicians from Lebanon, Egypt and Palestine come together as the Miras Project to perform mystical works from the Middle East. 1:30 to 1:50 p.m. in the Lee Gallery of the Rose Art Museum
Miss Tess and the Bon Ton Parade
Get in the swing of things with vintage jazz songstress Miss Tess. The performers, who hearken back to the days of classic American blues and jazz, will liven up the afternoon with their big band sound, which earned them a nomination for Best Jazz Band from the 2012 New England Music Awards. The event is sponsored by the Brandeis Swingers, who will teach the audience some vintage moves. 1:30 to 2:20 p.m. in the Bernstein-Marcus Plaza
Songs from ‘In the Heights’
Hip-hop group Kaos Kids and other singers and dancers bring their impressive Brandeis Cares set back for another go. In the Heights, a Tony Award winning musical about urban life in New York City, features energized dance routines and dramatic songs. 1:30 to 1:50 p.m. in the Carl J. Shapiro Campus Center Atrium
Beyond the Boundaries
See Saturday’s schedule 2 p.m.in the Spingold Theater Center
‘Next to Normal’
See Saturday’s schedule 2 p.m. in the Schwartz Hall Auditorium
will play works by Bach on a clavichord, a stringed instrument similar to an acoustic keyboard. 3 p.m. in the Rapaport Treasure Hall
Boston Children’s Theatre Show Choir
Some of the most talented kids at the Festival haven’t even graduated high school yet. The Boston Children’s Theater Show Choir features 20 talented singers from the Boston Area. The group performs all types of music, including show tunes, pop and rock hits. 3:00 to 3:20 p.m. around campus starting in the Bernstein-Marcus Plaza
Brass Band Parade Mayhem
Prof. John Burt (ENG) and his Russian folk music group, Iveria, will perform traditional and religious Georgian works. 2 to 2:20 p.m. in the Lee Gallery of the Rose Art Museum
The Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure Society and the What Cheer? Brigade team up for over an hour of brass band controlled chaos. Joining in the spectacle are profession hula hoopers the Boston Hoop Troupe. The Parade will travel around campus, starting at the Bernstein-Marcus Plaza. 3:30 to 4:50 p.m. in the Bernstein-Marcus Plaza
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
All About Korea: Korean Performance Arts
Iveria
See Saturday’s schedule 2 p.m. in the South Campus Commons
Animation Festival
Want to see how the creators of Up and Wall-E got their start? Check out the Animation Festival, featuring short works by artists from around the country. The Festival is curated by the award-winning animator Julie Zammarchi. 2 - 5 p.m. in the Carl J. Shapiro Theater
Lydian String Quartet: Tribute to President Fred Lawrence
Explore Korean culture with traditional and K-Pop music (sung by Christy Kang ’13 and So mie Choo ’13) and the celebrated fan dance, or Buchaechum. Audience members can make their own fans after the performance. 3:30 to 3:50 p.m. in the Carl J. Shapiro Campus Center Atrium
Freshman 15
Brandeis’ newest a cappella group, Freshman 15, performs popular songs from Coldplay, the Civil Wars and others. 4 p.m in the Lee Gallery of the Rose Art Museum
The Gentlemen’s Very High Art Society of South Waltham
Music professors Daniel Stepner, Mary Ruth Ray, Joshua Gordon and Judith Eissenberg will perform string works by Prof. Yu-Hui Chang (MUS) in honor of the university’s president. 2:30 to 2:50 p.m. in the Lee Gallery of the Rose Art Museum
Graduate student composers will present their elegant brass and string compositions. 4 to 4:20 p.m. in the Lee Gallery of the Rose Art Museum
Banjo Breakdown with Nicholas Bogosian
Bella Pietra
Head for the hills with Appalachian banjoist Nicholas Bogosian. Originally from Texas, Bogosian fell in love with old-timey Americana music, and invites listeners to “catch that spirit.” 2:30 to 2:50 p.m. in the Bernstein-Marcus Plaza
Brandeis Ballroom: Latin Formation
The Brandeis Ballroom Dance team will demonstrate its Latin flavor with cha-chas, rumbas and salsas. 2:30 to 2:50 pm. in the Carl J. Shapiro Campus Center Atrium
Rose exhibition tours
Experience one of Brandeis’ most engaging venues, the Rose Art Museum. Students will lead tours and comment on some of the museum’s newest acquisitions. 3 to 3:40 p.m. in the Lee Gallery of the Rose Art Museum
Clavichord Concert
Ulrika Davidsson, an assistant professor of organ and historical keyboards at University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music,
This imaginative dance performance from the Allegro Dance Company tells the story of what happens in a museum after the doors close for the evening and the statues come alive. Alumnae dancers take a page from The Nutcracker and Night at the Museum in this exquisite performance. 4:30 p.m. in the Lee Gallery of the Rose Art Museum
A Cappella Fest
Hosted by Starving Artists, 11 a cappella groups share the stage at this miniature festival. The performance seeks to raise charitable funds to support local music and theater education programs, so a $3 donation is encouraged. 7 p.m. at the Slosberg Music Center
‘Imagine’
The final event of the festival is an artistic pajama party. Molly Nathanson ’12 directs a dance-theater piece about a little girl’s dreams turning to reality. Audience members are encouraged to come in sleepwear and stay for milk and cookies after the show. 10 p.m. in the Carl J. Shapiro Campus Center Atrium
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THE JUSTICE
Outdoor
art
JENNY CHENG/the Justice
LIFE IN MINIATURE: Sarah Bierman ’14 sets up her art exhibit made of copper, “The Enchanted Life of Trees.”
JENNY CHENG/the Justice
TAKE A RIDE: One of Bierman’s copper structures balances on a tree branch in the middle of campus.
JOSHUA LINTON/the Justice
GORGEOUS GRAFFITI: Sarah Hershon ’14 knits part of her yarn-bombing project for the Festival of the Arts.
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TUESDAY, april 24, 2012
Festival-sponsored artists reinvent areas of campus By dafna fine JUSTICE senior writer
Tiny copper people, carefully crafted into detailed creations will find a home in the trees of Mandel Quad during the coming week. Balls and balls of yarn that have been transformed into knit graffiti to paint the campus with color. These are only two of the various visual art projects that student grant recipients will display to transform the campus during the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts, which will begin this Thursday. Sarah Bierman ’14, creator of The Enchanted Life of Trees project, to which the copper people belong, and Sarah Hershon ’14, responsible for the Knit Graffiti project, received funding after being selected to display their projects in the festival taking place April 26 to 29. Students applied for the grants with a proposal, which detailed their project, the purpose of the work and how much funding would be necessary. The idea for Bierman’s project began last semester when she created twoinch copper foil sculptures to hang in trees for her “Blurring the Boundaries” sculpture class. Tasked with creating a project that interacts closely with its environment, Bierman came up what she viewed as a simple project: “little copper people, chilling out in trees.” After hearing a few weeks later that students could apply for grants to participate in the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts, Bierman decided to turn her five tiny copper people into something big. “I explained that I thought the copper people are very telling of the human experience. They are the ideal version of the human experience,” Bierman said of her grant proposal. “The copper people will interact with the environment effortlessly,” she said. In rain or snowfall, Bierman says the copper people will adapt to look more like their environment, unlike humans, who are challenged to craft unforeseen circumstances into something meaningful. “For me, the copper people succeed in something that humans really have to try hard to succeed at,” Bierman explained. “They age and tarnish, but still retain their character even if their shine is hidden.” Since Bierman’s project was accepted for the festival at the beginning of the semester, she has spent hours crafting her copper people which will be displayed in the trees of Mandel Quad throughout the week. All engaged in different actions, Bierman has created a copper Rapunzel, a man playing an accordion to a girl on a balcony and a girl reading a book to a bunch of kids, among dozens of others. While the ideas came randomly at first, Bierman has since started gaining inspiration from some of her favorite feature length films and TV shows. “If there are people in it, that means they’re doing something. I watched You’ve Got Mail a bunch of times and I have copper people sharing coffee,” she said. Many of the copper people, she
says, are portraits of herself, inspired by relationships with her own friends. For Bierman, her hope is that the copper people will invite viewers to look more closely at their environments, and that the way they make her feel will translate into something more universal for the campus. “When I met with the entire grant recipient group in January, [Associate Director of the Office of the Arts] Ingrid Schorr used the word ‘enchanted.’ I didn’t think of it when I was writing my proposal, but when she said that I thought it was the perfect word,” Bierman recalled. “Because yes, they are people doing everyday things, but they’re in trees and they’re shiny and that has a feeling of enchantment for me,” she said. During the festival, as spectators move from Mandel Quad down toward lower campus, the art will transition from the tiny copper creations to knit graffiti, which will paint the area behind the Shapiro Campus Center. “My project is called yarn bombing. It’s kind of like knit graffiti. It’s this emerging graffiti form that’s come about in the last five years. It consists of covering things, usually [outdoors], in pieces of knitted fabric. So lots of times it’s light posts or trees or parking meters or bicycle [racks],” Hershon explained. She sees the project as not only beautiful, but as something fun and whimsical with its bright shades of pink and orange. A double major in Women’s and Gender Studies and African and African American Studies, Hershon explained that though she’s never had any fine arts training, she began knitting six years ago and has always been interested in crafts. Since being selected for the grants in January, Hershon has spent hundreds of hours knitting with others in preparation for the project. “I wanted to make it as communityinvolving as possible. The main goal of this entire project was just to get people on campus to knit and to get people on campus who do knit to come together and do it,” she explained. Hershon therefore began organizing weekly meetings where students and faculty gather to knit for the project. With eight others helping Hershon knit for the upcoming festival, she says she’s done about 60 percent of the knitting on her own while the others have helped her cover the rest. “I think that it’s absolutely something that starts a conversation. One of my big things is starting a conversation about what is art versus craft,” Hershon explained of the project. For both Bierman and Herson, the hope is that their projects will cause people to stop and look, enjoying the aesthetics of the work displayed during the festival. “I hope to inspire the glance of an eye or two. I hope to allow the viewer a chance to stumble upon discovery. Art is transformative, sites are moving, and when I get that feeling I need to pass it on,” Bierman wrote in her proposal.
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