The Justice, April 29, 2014 Issue

ARTS PageS 19-23

FORUM Al-Quds professor defends Hirsi Ali 11

ARTS FESTIVAL

SPORTS Softball ends week on winning streak 13 The Independent Student Newspaper

the

of

B r a n d e is U n i v e r sit y S i n c e 1 9 4 9

Justice

Volume LXVI, Number 26

www.thejustice.org

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

ADMINISTRATION

INAUGURAL TRADITION

Vetting process raises questions ■ The University’s decision

to rescind its honorary degree offer to Ayaan Hirsi Ali received backlash.

By MARISSA DITKOWSKY JUSTICE EDITOR

The University’s decision to rescind Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s honorary degree has not only gained national attention in the media but also has stirred controversy among students, faculty, administration and alumni.

The Brandeis community expressed dissent regarding the University’s initial selection of Hirsi Ali, a Somali-born women’s rights activist who has campaigned against female genital mutilation among other human rights causes, as an honorary degree recipient due to various statements she has made regarding Islam. Hirsi Ali, herself a victim of genital mutilation and forced marriage while living in an Islamic-ruled area, has referred to Islam as a “backwards religion” and a “destructive, nihilistic cult of death” that legitimizes murder.

A student petition at www.

Change.org, started by Sarah Fahmy ’14, called on University President Frederick Lawrence to rescind the offer of an honorary degree. A faculty petition, in the form of a letter to Lawrence, also asked that the University rescind its invitation to Hirsi Ali. On April 8, the University released an official statement on BrandeisNOW to rescind its invitation to Hirsi Ali as an honorary degree recipient at its 63rd annual commencement ceremony on May 19. “Following a discussion today between President Frederick Lawrence and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Ms. Hirsi Ali’s name has been withdrawn as an honorary degree recipient at this year’s commencement,” the statement read.

Although the statement referred to Hirsi Ali as a “compelling public figure and advocate for women’s rights,” the statement continued on to say that “we cannot overlook certain of her past statements that are inconsistent with Brandeis University’s core values.”

The statement invited Hirsi Ali to speak on campus in the future

See ALI, 7, ☛

ADMINISTRATION

University hires VP for operations ■ James W. Gray will begin

as the vice president of operations on June 23, replacing Mark Collins.

By MARISSA DITKOWSKY JUSTICE EDITOR

Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Steve Manos sent an email to the Brandeis community yesterday to announce that the University hired James W. Gray as vice president for operations. Gray will report to Manos, and will officially take on the role of vice president of operations on June 23.

Gray’s position was created as a replacement position after former Senior Vice President for Administration Mark Collins’ departure at the end of the 2013 calendar year, though there are several differences between the two roles.

According to Senior Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer Marianne Cwalina in a Jan. 14 Justice article, the vice president for operations will continue to be in charge of facilities, public safety, major capital projects, environmental health and safety, conferences and events, dining and other campus services.

However, “[j]ob descriptions may change based on the qualifica-

See OPERATIONS, 7 ☛

GRACE KWON/the Justice

TRANSITION: Current Student Union President Ricky Rosen ’14 swore President-elect Sneha Walia ’15 into office yesterday.

Walia sworn in at State of the Union ■ Student Union President

Ricky Rosen ’14 reflected on the 2013 to 2014 academic year.

By SARA DEJENE JUSTICE EDITOR

Last night, Student Union President Ricky Rosen ’14 recapped the University’s and Union’s major changes and accomplishments during his term as president during the biannual State of the Union address.

Speaking to a crowd of students in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium, Rosen looked back on what he called the “most transformative” year for the University he has seen during his Brandeis career.

Many of the major changes seen by the Brandeis community include changes to dining, transportation and budget transparency.

Specifically, the University saw the arrival of Sodexo as the new dining services provider and the addition of several new dining locations. The University also saw the arrival of Joseph’s Transportation as the new shuttle service provider, as well as both recent and anticipated changes to the mailroom, health center and bookstore.

Changes in University administration and staff also marked this

past year. Senior Vice President for Administration Mark Collins, Dean of Admissions Mark Spencer and Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer all left the University, while it welcomed Sheila McMahon as its first sexual assault services and prevention specialist and James W. Gray as the vice president for operations, as announced yesterday in an email to the Brandeis community from Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Steve Manos.

Regarding the numerous changes made to dining services over the past year, Rosen thanked those who were involved in those processes and relayed the feedback he has received from “satisfied” students.

As for future changes, Rosen stated that plans to renovate the Stein into a sports bar will be fully implemented by the 2015 to 2016 academic year.

Rosen also reflected on the upcoming meal plan changes, including plans to make them mandatory for all students living on campus starting the 2016 to 2017 academic year. Rosen stated that the Union and the Senate Dining Committee is advocating for an “affordable alternative” to the new options for students heavily supported by financial aid, which they hope to have ready by the time mandatory meal plans come into effect.

Other changes include those made to transportation, including the expansion of Boston and Cambridge

shuttle hours, the addition of weekend shuttle service to the Riverside Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority station, and the creation of an online BranVan reservation system and those made to the Student Union’s constitution approved by 74 percent of the student body who voted, which were proposed by a Constitutional Review Task Force formed last semester.

Throughout his speech, Rosen repeatedly affirmed the Student Union’s commitment to voicing the concerns of the student body to the administration. One such concern was budget transparency, which Rosen said the Union made a “fundamental priority.” Rosen recapped ways the Union provided opportunities for students to discuss these issues with senior administrators, such as last month’s town hall meeting and roundtable discussion.

While Rosen addressed many issues he had planned to take on at the beginning of his term, he also stated that he found himself working on an unexpected issue: parking. In collaboration with the Graduate Student Association and University administrators, the Union worked to look into student dissatisfaction with the amount of parking available and possible solutions.

A task force formed came up with a “comprehensive proposal,” which was submitted to the administra-

See UNION, 7 ☛

Cooked creativity

Power swing

Kagame pays visit

 Baking competitors dished out book-themed edible masterpeices.

 The men’s baseball team dropped a doubleheader to Trinity College.

 President of Rwanda Paul Kagame came to Brandeis to discuss the state of Rwanda.

FEATURES 8 For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org

Waltham, Mass.

Let your voice be heard!

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

INDEX

SPORTS 16 ARTS SPORTS

17 16

EDITORIAL FEATURES

10 8

OPINION POLICE LOG

10 2

READER COMMENTARY

News 3 11

COPYRIGHT 2014 FREE AT BRANDEIS. Email managing@thejustice.org for home delivery.

2

TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014

●

THE JUSTICE

NEWS SENATE LOG

Clubs approach Senate for final meeting The Senate convened last Wednesday night for its final meeting of the year before next year’s senators were elected.

First, Brandeis Bridges approached the Senate to request recognition and charter. Currently, Brandeis Bridges Fellows bridge the gap between the Jewish and African American communities on campus. However, the fellows said that they wanted to open this opportunity to the entire Brandeis community. The club was recognized and chartered.

DEIS.kernel, a computer science club that was recognized last semester, then approached the Senate to request charter. The club requested money for speakers, as well as other expenses such as a projector. The club was unanimously chartered.

Brandeis Consulting and Marketing Group then approached the Senate. Prior to recognition, the Senate first had to de-charter and de-recognize the non-functioning Marketing Club in order to merge marketing and consulting. After the Senate voted to do so, the Senate voted in favor of recognizing Brandeis Consulting and Marketing Group.

Next, the Caribbean Club approached the Senate to request both recognition and charter. The club described its purpose as not only celebrating Caribbean culture, but also eradicating prevalent stereotypes about the Caribbean and people from the Caribbean.

Some senators raised concerns, inquiring about the whereabouts of the Caribbean and which countries are included in the Caribbean, in order to ensure that there was no duality of purpose with other clubs on campus. There was not. Other senators raised concerns as they were unsure of the existence of such stereotypes, and asked for specific examples.

The club also petitioned for charter in order to hold events.

Several senators raised concerns because they were unsure if the club had specific plans, and argued that the club could receive charter at a later time. Ultimately, the Senate voted to charter and recognize the Caribbean Club.

The French and Francophone Club then approached the Senate for recognition and charter. The claim aims to celebrate French and Francophone culture. The club also said that it would require funding for several events and lecturers, as well as a possible event with the French consulate in Boston. The club was approved for recognition and charter.

Class of 2015 Senator and Chair of the Sustainability Committee Anna Bessendorf approached the Senate on behalf of the Brandeis Sustainability Fund. The Senate then approved changes to the constitution that would streamline and update the BSF approval process.

A Senate meeting with the newly-elected senators and the sitting senators to select an executive senator for the fall 2014 semester will take place tonight at 9 p.m. in Levin Ballroom before Midnight Buffet.

According to Student Union Vice President Charlotte Franco ’15 in an email to the Justice, the meeting will be informal and predominantly in executive session in order to select the next executive senator.

Social Justice and Diversity Committee Chair and Senator-at-Large Naomi DePina ’16 announced that the president of the American Bar Association will visit the University on Tuesday for the scheduled event at 11:30 a.m. in the Lurias.

DePina then proposed a Senate Money Resolution for another event taking place on Tuesday titled “Navigating Transitions.” The SMR was passed.

By-law amendments to give the Sustainability Committee some of BSF’s previous responsibilities were then brought to the Senate. The amendments were passed.

Bessendorf then added that 40 percent of all energy used on campus comes from the Shapiro Science Complex.

POLICE LOG Medical Emergency

April 13—University Police received a report that an elderly male at Bethlehem Chapel felt weak and ill. BEMCo responded and he was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further treatment.

April 14—University Police received a report that a female suffered a head injury at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management from a fallen umbrella in dangerous weather conditions.

BEMCo arrived and transported her to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further treatment.

April 27—University Police noticed a female student on camera who lay inert in front of the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center. BEMCo arrived but the student refused further care and was eventually transported to her apartment without incident.

Sex Crimes

April 8—A resident in North Quad reported a past incident of sexual assault to University Police. Officers compiled a report to prepare for an ensuing investiga-

tion of the incident.

April 23—A student reported to the Department of Community Living and University Police that she was raped the night after Pachanga. Officers compiled a report of the incident and will prepare to conduct an investigation.

Disturbance

April 13—University Police received a report of loud chanting noises on Chapels Field. Officers arrived at the scene, determined the noise originated from speakers at the Holi event and advised those responsible to turn down the music as they lacked a noise permit.

April 14—University Police received a report that a suspicious group of people were dumping large objects at Epstein Building. Officers arrived at the scene and determined it was a theater group disposing of used stage products.

Larceny

April 9—University Police received a report that several green signs were stolen around campus

in the past week. Officers compiled a report of the thefts.

Harassment

April 16—University Police received a report that an employee at Bernstein-Marcus Administration Center received harassing mail. Officers compiled a report of the incident.

April 18—A faculty member at Epstein Building notified University Police that he received a consistent stream of harassing emails. Officers compiled a report of the incident.

Vandalism

April 24—University Police received a report of vandalism to a parked vehicle in the East Quad lot. Officers compiled a report of the incident.

Miscellaneous

April 14—University Police officers on patrol reported two unknown, suspicious parties taking photos of the Usen Castle. Upon further determination, a mother and son were taking photos of the historic landmark. No further ac-

FACE FIRST

Research awards granted

NOTE TO READERS

Check www.thejustice.org for updates.

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

Justice

the

www.thejustice.org

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 2 to 3 p.m. in the Justice office.

Editor News Forum Features Sports Arts Ads Photos Managing Copy Layout

editor@thejustice.org news@thejustice.org forum@thejustice.org features@thejustice.org sports@thejustice.org arts@thejustice.org ads@thejustice.org photos@thejustice.org managing@thejustice.org copy@thejustice.org layout@thejustice.org

The Justice Brandeis University Mailstop 214 P.O. Box 549110 Waltham, MA 02454-9110 Phone: (781) 736-3750

—compiled by Adam Rabinowitz

BRIEF

—Marissa Ditkowsky

The Justice is on hiatus for the final exam period. Our next issue will be published on May 20.

tion was taken.

April 20—A student called University Police to report that her Brandeis email account—and credit card information—was hacked. Officers compiled a report of the incident and submitted the suspicious email to security@brandeis.edu.

April 21—University Police noticed several students were wading in the Massell Pond. Officers dispersed the students without incident.

April 21—University Police observed several students on the roof of Bassine Science Building.

Officers advised the students to depart without incident.

April 26—University Police received a report that a resident in Gordon Hall was playing with a lighter in his room, burning the desk. Officers and the CDC on call were notified, arriving at the scene to handle the matter and compile a report of the incident.

University judicial charges will be filed against the student.

MORGAN BRILL/the Justice

Hillel hosted a barbecue on the Great Lawn on Wednesday to kick off Israel Awareness Week. At the event, students could buy pies to smash in people’s faces to raise money for the Save a Child’s Heart organization.

Within the past two weeks, Profs. David Engerman (HIST) and Sylvia Fishman (NEJS) received notable awards in their respective fields. Engerman received a John Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship for his work in the field of history, while Fishman was recently honored by the Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry (ASSJ) with the Marshall Sklare Award.

The Guggenheim Fellowship, a project of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, is a grant program that lasts between six and 12 months and is designed to allow recipients to dedicate their time to a specific endeavor with the assistance of a financial grant, according to the foundation’s website.

In an email to the Justice, Engerman wrote that he plans to take a research leave through the fellowship to work on his new book, titled Planning for Plenty: The Economic Cold War in India. This work will be “a history of the economic Cold War in India, following American and Soviet aid projects in the world’s largest democracy from the mid-1950s through the mid-1970s,” according to Engerman’s email.

Engerman is one of 177 other scholars whom the foundation awarded the fellowship to out of 3,000 applicants, according to the foundation’s website.

According to the ASSJ’s website, the Marshall Sklare Award is given to a “senior scholar who has made a significant scholarly contribution to the social scientific study of Jewry, primarily through the publication of a body of research in books and articles or of published work related to public policy.”

In an email to the Justice, Fishman wrote that she is “thrilled to be honored with this award named for my mentor, Professor Marshall Sklare.” Sklare was a professor at Brandeis for over two decades until his retirement in 1990. While on campus, he played a significant role in the creation of the Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, and served as director of the center from 1981 to 1986.

The award will be formally presented to Fishman at an ASSJ-sponsored session of the Association of Jewish Studies’ annual conference, during which she will give a talk tentatively titled “Jewish Identity and Transmissibility in an Open World,” she told the Justice. The conference will be in Baltimore this year, during December.

—Zachary Reid

ANNOUNCEMENTS TransBrandeis Presents: Navigating Transition

A panel of trans identified folks are coming to Brandeis to talk about navigating transition. Topics could include coming out, dating, terminology, hormones, surgeries, employment and more.

Today from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Intercultural Center Swig Lounge.

Security and Governance Analytics webinar

Brandeis Graduate Professional Studies is hosting a webinar led by George Radford.

Security and Governance analytics have changed rapidly. The average intrusion has a dwell time of 400 days, over a year. So it’s a big data problem. And when the actual theft attempt occurs, you’ll have about 30 seconds to detect and stop it, which is a fast data problem. Governance has become increasingly difficult with larger and larger numbers of users, devices, files, policies, controls and compliance requirements. This webinar will review challenges and discuss emerging architectures and best practices that meet

these challenges.

Tomorrow from 7 to 8 p.m. online.

Candle-light ceremony for South Korea

The Brandeis Korean Student Association will hold a memorial candlelight ceremony regarding the recent tragedy happened in Korea.

On April 16, a passenger ship, S.S. Sewol, on her way to Jeju Island with more than 470 passengers on board, sank leaving majority of the passengers missing. Most of the missing passengers are the high school students from Ahn San High school in Seoul, Korea. The death toll is still rising and more than hundred bodies are still left in the capsized ferry.

To remember and pray for the passengers and students who died and who are still underwater, the BKSA is holding a candlelight ceremony.

While some of the group will hold candles for the ceremony, participants are encouraged to bring their cell phones, as the

group will be holding up our phones with flashlights on.

The entire event will be filmed to be sent to the Ahn San High school in Korea, where most of the victims attended.

Today from 9 to 10 p.m. on the Great Lawn.

First Annual New Book Reception

Come and help celebrate new book publications by Brandeis faculty in the humanities. Lunch will be served.

Thursday from 12 to 1 p.m. in the Mandel Center for the Humanities Forum.

Professor Emeritus Michael Gilmore Memorial

Join the English department as we celebrate Prof. Emeritus Michael “Timo” Gilmore. Timo’s colleagues and former students will read from his work, and we will celebrate his lasting legacy at Brandeis in a joyful way.

Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Shapiro Admissions Center Presentation Room.

THE JUSTICE

RESEARCH

claimed that the University’s use of federal funding for research was “unsupported.”

By TATE HERBERT JUSTICE EDITOR

An audit of Brandeis’ use of federal funding for its Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Center of Excellence claimed that $608,646 of four separate cooperative agreements—awards similar to grants— totaling $3,826,950 and awarded from 2008 to 2011, were “unallowable” or “unsupported” expenses, according to spending guidelines established by the Office of Justice Programs.

The most recent award was due to end on March 31 of this year.

While the audit, conducted by the Office of Justice Programs and the Office of the Inspector General, concluded that while the PDMP Center of Excellence met its goals, it recommended that Brandeis “remedy” the entirety of the questioned costs. The report was unclear on the manner in which this should occur.

The Center of Excellence used the cooperative agreement funding to train and assist state agencies monitoring and tracking prescription drug data, establish a clearinghouse for PDMPs, and help to develop the Interstate Information Sharing Project, among other projects.

The Center of Excellence recently released a report on its findings, recommending that medical insurance companies utilize such data sharing services that the center helped to develop in order to track prescription drug use and potentially curb abuse.

A report on the audit detailing the Office of the Inspector General’s methods and findings was released last Thursday, April 24.

The breakdown of the questioned expenditures includes $595,001 in unsupported consultant expenditures, over $60,000 in unallowable consultant fees, just under $24,000 in incorrectly charged costs and $7,301 for a subcontractor’s staff members to attend a “pharmaceuti-

cal diversion summit” in Orlando, Fla. The report states that Brandeis did not approve the use of these funds, and that the summit was not in the original funding agreement.

This totals more than the final questioned amount of $608,646; however, the audit subtracted overlapping consultant costs from the total.

Brandeis disputed the findings in its official response to the OIG, signed by Assistant Provost for Research Administration Paul O’Keefe and Vice President of Financial Affairs and University Treasurer Christopher O’Brien.

The University agreed only that $31,224 of the recommended total was unallowable or incorrectly charged, and therefore should be remedied.

This amount includes $23,923 that was charged to the wrong cooperative agreements and $7,301 spent on the Florida summit.

Out of 12 areas of compliance tested in the audit, seven were found to be weak or deficient. Specifically, the report lists “deficiencies in Brandeis’ system of internal controls ... unsupported and unallowable expenditures ... inaccurate and late grant reporting ... inadequate contractor monitoring ... inadequate subrecipient monitoring ... noncompliance with special conditions, and ... deficiencies in inventory controls.”

Michael Horowitz ’84, the U.S. inspector general, recused himself from the audit due to his status as a Brandeis alumnus.

When the Justice reached out for comment, O’Keefe and O’Brien did not respond to messages left at their offices on Monday afternoon by the Justice. An assistant to O’Keefe stated that he would not be available until Wednesday. As well, John Eadie, director of the Center for Excellence, did not respond to a message left at his office Monday by the Justice.

The Office of General Counsel at the Philadelphia Regional Audit Office of the Inspector General’s office did not return multiple calls requesting comment by press time.

The Justice was unable to learn the reason for the audit, or the frequency of such audits, due to a lack of response from the OIG.

BRIEF University closes deal with Xerox On Thursday, Director of Strategic Procurement John Storti sent an email to the student body announcing that the University is partnering with Xerox Corporation beginning June 1 to improve Mail Services, the Copy Center and printing services on campus.

The changes to the mailroom, he wrote, would include email or text message notifications instead of the paper slips that are currently used to inform students that they have packages, mail automation “which will result in earlier and more accurate and on-time mail delivery service” and a postal kiosk where students will be able to purchase postage 24 hours a day.

In his email, he also informed students that the Copy Center will be improved with new production equipment. The center will also do in-house print work for “a quick turnaround and competitive pricing.”

The final change announced in Storti’s email involved updates to current printing abilities on campus. He wrote that there will be Cloud printing, allowing students to print to any device on the network. There will also be new printing devices around campus that will be available to students to scan, copy and print their work.

Storti wrote that these changes are being implemented “in order to ensure that all faculty, staff and students of Brandeis University are provided with the best services and products used every day at the best possible negotiated price and service level.”

In an interview with the Justice, Josh Motta, the meter clerk in the mailroom, said that he felt that Brandeis is going for more of a “corporate system that will help technologically” but that it will reduce the personal interaction and the valuable relationship between students and mailroom staff who have been working there for years.

Motta said that he has been working in the University’s mailroom for 17 years, and is also concerned that the new contract could bring about staffing changes in the mailroom. He said he was unsure if the transition would be like that of Aramark to Sodexo, during which Sodexo allowed all staff members to keep their jobs and simply be retrained, or if there might be a possibility that people who have worked in the mailroom for years could lose their jobs.

Storti did not respond to questions regarding these concerns by press time.

—Hannah Wulkan

TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014

3

CELEBRATING ISRAEL

Program goes under review ■ The Department of Justice

●

MORGAN BRILL/the Justice

Hillel kicked off Brandeis Israel Awareness Week with a barbecue in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium. The event featured giveaways, cotton candy and other activities.

CAMPUS SPEAKER

Kagame speaks on Rwanda ■ President Paul Kagame

discussed Rwanda’s genocide in a talk at Brandeis.

By ANDREW WINGENS JUSTICE EDITOR

President of Rwanda Paul Kagame joined Brandeis University for a talk and roundtable discussion among faculty, students and policy officials on April 23 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the end of the genocide in Rwanda.

“This is a time of remembrance as well as serious reflection,” Kagame said in a video recording of the event posted online.

Kagame, who became Rwanda’s president in 2000, “shared the lessons learned during and following the Rwandan genocide” and “spoke about the challenge of rebuilding Rwanda,” according to an April 25 BrandeisNOW article.

“There is no template for putting a country back together after such a major tragedy,” Kagame said. “Everything was a priority. Almost every-

thing of value had been destroyed in Rwanda. We had to make decisions without any comfort of adequate time or resources.”

The Gosman Sports and Convocation Center was shut down for the day of Kagame’s visit, according to an email sent to the club sports leaders.

Several protesters stood across South Street with signs that read “Shame on you Brandeis.” Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan wrote in an email to the Justice that the group was “allowed to protest away from the Gosman Center.” He said he did not believe the protesters were members of the Brandeis community.

Kagame has spoken at other universities including Tufts University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University in the past few weeks. According to accounts in the Tufts Daily, Kagame’s appearance at their school was a ticketed event open to the community, and he spoke before a packed auditorium.

Editorial pages at each of these universities’ campus newspapers were critical of the Rwandan president’s visit. An op-ed by Stanford’s STAND, a student-led movement against geno-

cide and mass atrocity, called for the organizers of the talk to “actively address the Rwandan president’s unambiguous record of human rights violations, his consistent oppression of political opposition and his prominent role in the violence and political instability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”

The event at Brandeis was invitationonly with no publicity within the general Brandeis community. The event also had tight security restrictions. “I have been told that there were a number of security restrictions around his visit and that everyone in attendance had to be submitted to the security detail several days in advance,” wrote Senior Vice President for Communications Ellen De Graffenreid in an email to the Justice.

The Heller School for Social Policy and Management Sustainable International Development program and Coexistence and Conflict program sponsored Kagame’s visit.

Prof. Alain Lempereur (Heller) moderated the roundtable discussion that followed Kagame’s opening remarks.

—Marissa Ditkowsky contributed reporting.

CAMPUS CLUBS

Student Events plans restructure ■ Student Events will

undergo structural changes in order to include more members of the student body.

By RACHEL HUGHES JUSTICE EDITOR

In the interest of involving more of the student body in its operations, Student Events has begun to restructure its club to increase membership size and streamline club function, with changes to go into effect next semester.

In the fall of this year, Student Events members began talks about changing the way the group is structured, but it was not until this semester that they started to actually envision a restructuring of the club’s leadership, Student Events Executive Director Samantha Gordon ’14 wrote in an email to the Justice.

At the National Association for Campus Activities Convention, which was held in Boston in February and was attended by members of college programming groups similar to Student Events, the group was exposed to many new ideas about ways to restructure its current system and optimize the process. For instance, the idea of having an executive board to run the club and then a general committee to seat the rest of the club’s members, Gordon wrote, comes from a student group they met from Quinnipiac University.

“I also met with first year general board member students from schools in Kentucky, Texas, and California [at the conference]. They all seemed to have this similar formatting and it works at these other institutions,” she wrote. The Quinnipiac group ac-

commodates over 100 general board members, which, Gordon wrote, “really allows for student body input,” something that Student Events will be implementing in the upcoming year by increasing the number of positions on their own board.

Brandeis’ new Associate Director of Student Activities Stephen Pagios, who joined the staff this spring, elaborated on the process of expanding Student Events in an interview with the Justice.

“At the end of the day, the point of the restructure is opening up Student Events to more Brandeis students to take part in,” he said.

Currently, Paigos said, Student Events is operated by a team of five directors—directors of concerts, entertainment, finance, public relations and social programs—who work under an executive director. Some coordinators work underneath this team, he said, and all together, this group of under 20 students runs the entirety of Student Events.

Restructuring the club to include more members and student body input will change its regular meeting functions as well, Pagios continued. Pagios said that he envisions that “[the] biggest component to it is there is now going to be an active general board membership,” as opposed to the current structure, which does not include a general board. He said that, ideally, the club will hold “a weekly meeting that’s open to the whole campus, that people can come and each department can give updates, and there might be some brainstorming.”

Gordon wrote that, once the new general board is established, “[w]e will first start with an introduction meeting in which we will give overviews of the departments and let the attend-

ees choose which department is most interesting to them.” From there, she said, the directors will lead individual meetings for each department with the general board members, during which they will go through the process of planning large scale events.

Student Events will most likely hold general board meetings on a monthly basis, Gordon wrote, but affirmed that the specific details will be determined by the incoming executive director for Student Events for the 2014 to 2015 academic year, Rachel Starr ’15.

Pagios said that holding meetings that will be more widely attended will ultimately give more people a chance to apply for the club’s director positions, “since more people will know what Student Events is like, because, ideally, they’ll be on the general board.”

Once the general committee is established and its members have the opportunity to participate in departments within the group, Gordon wrote that this could mean each department could be staffed by 10 to 15 people. Anyone could apply to be a member of the general committee.

In order to begin involving more students who are not currently affiliated with Student Events, the group plans to advertise opportunities for involvement on Facebook and at the student involvement fair in fall 2014, Gordon wrote, in addition to implementing an advertising plan that Student Events’ public relations director will produce.

“Already, people have asked me about how to get involved next year without applying to Student Events so it’s exciting that we have students who are ready to jump right in,” she added.

—Sarah Rontal contributed reporting.

4

TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014

●

THE JUSTICE

TURNING THE TABLES

STUDENT UNION

New executive board elected ■ Sneha Walia ’15 won the

presidency for the 2014 to 2015 academic year in the first round of elections.

By SARA DEJENE JUSTICE EDITOR

MORGAN BRILL/the Justice

Caroline Hjelt, one of the members of pop duo Icona Pop, performed on Chapels Field during Springfest on Sunday night. See Arts page 20 for full coverage of the event.

STUDENT UNION

Class senator positions filled ■ Only one of the Class of

2016 senator seats was left unfilled. The election will take place in the fall.

By MARISSA DITKOWSKY JUSTICE EDITOR

In the second round of elections, which began last Thursday at midnight and ended last Friday at midnight, class senators, senators-at-large and associate justices for the 2014 to 2015 academic year were elected. Only one seat, one of the Class of 2016 senator positions, was left vacant.

Current Class of 2015 Senators Caiwei Zheng and Anna Bessendorf were both re-elected. Bessendorf and Zheng were the only two candidates running for the position of Class of 2015 senator. Bessendorf received 139 votes, 67 percent of the total pool, while Zheng received 111 votes, or 54 percent.

Bessendorf wrote in an email to the Justice that she looks forward to continuing her efforts within the Senate Sustainability Committee. “[W]e’ve created a lot of positive momentum with Facilities and the [Brandeis Sustainability Fund], in terms of learning about resource usage on campus, and we plan to publish all that information so that students can be a little more aware about how this campus runs,” she wrote. Bessendorf also wrote about several initiatives that she would like to implement through the committee next year, including subsidized Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority passes for students.

Zheng wrote in an email to the Justice that she is excited to start her third year in the Student Union next year. “[C]onsidering it would be my senior year and my last year in the union I would definitely want to focus on initiative [sic.] that have lasting influence,” she wrote. Zheng wrote that she would most like to push for further renovation of the GoldmanSchwartz Art Studios. “It is one of the buildings that needs updating the most. Especially considering the safety concerns it raises,” she wrote.

Nyah Macklin ’16 was elected to one of the Class of 2016 senator positions with 112 votes, or 43 percent. Ninetyseven students, or 37 percent of those that voted for this position, elected to abstain. Thus, only one Class of 2016 Senator seat was filled. Brianna Majsiak ’16 received the next highest amount of votes at 75, or 29 percent.

According to Student Union President Ricky Rosen ’14, an election to fill the second seat will take place as a part of the regular fall elections, during which the Class of 2018 senator positions and quad senators positions will be filled.

As a transfer student, Macklin wrote in an email to the Justice that she is “looking forward to getting to know the friends that I have yet to meet, and in doing so make every single member of our class feel comfortable enough to come to me, with whatever concerns or praises they have about their Brandeis experience.

“As soon as every student feels comfortable approaching the people who represent them, and that goes up the chain, all the way up to University

President Frederick Lawrence and the Board of Trustees, the sooner our students can feel like a real, collaborative community,” Macklin added.

Macklin wrote that her primary initiative is to “build a foundation for those who follow in my footsteps to create a tangible change on this campus.” She wrote that she will be working to create a series of on-campus community-building initiatives to draw attention to groups that sometimes go unrecognized.

Class of 2017 Senator Benjamin Margolin was re-elected. Brittany Finney ’17 will fill the other Class of 2017 senator position. Finney received 168 votes, or 52 percent, while Margolin received 161 votes, or 50 percent.

The third candidate, Ashley Morales ’17, received 113 votes, or 35 percent.

Margolin wrote in an email to the Justice that because he won a special election and joined the Senate later on in the academic year, “I found that I only recently have gotten into the swing of things, and I’m looking forward to putting that experience to good use in full force starting from day one of next semester.”

Some of Margolin’s planned initiatives include continuing to bridge the gap between the Jewish and Hispanic communities on campus. “Because of deeply rooted cultural ties, I think we have more in common than people believe, and we can use that to strengthen our Brandeis community as a whole,” he wrote. Margolin also wrote that he would like to help raise school spirit on campus. “Because of all of our amazing clubs/organizations on campus, people tend to feel a connection only to one particular group, instead of the university as a whole.

I simply want to channel students’ passions from one specific thing, to a greater good,” he wrote.

Finney wrote in an email to the Justice that, while campaigning for Class of 2017 Senator, she “gathered as many concerns that the class members of 2017 could inform [her] of and formed a campaign circling around three values: honesty, diversity, and spirit.” She wrote that she hopes to improve transparency regarding all of the Senate’s decisions.

“Additionally, I want to increase the amount of diversity related events, being that some diversities seem to be [more] underrepresented than others,” she wrote. Finney also added that she also wants to work on expanding school spirit, specifically by planning a school-wide event that will boost spirit, similar to ’Deis Day. Current Senator-at-Large Naomi DePina ’16 was re-elected. Current North Quad Senator Brian Hough ’17 will fill the other senator-at-large position. DePina received 367 votes, or 43 percent, while Hough received 298 votes, or 35 percent. Current Class of 2017 Senator David Heaton received the third highest number of votes at 253, or 30 percent.

“As Senator for the entire student body, I want to ensure that all students have a Senator who will advocate for what is important to them. I also want to work to improve the dialogue between students, the Student Union, and the administration,” Hough wrote in an email to the Justice. Hough also wrote that he wants to improve oncampus, specifically by advocating

for more options on campus, as well as more vegetarian, vegan and foodsensitive options. He also wrote that he plans advocate for the installment of more energy-efficient light bulbs, putting more recycling containers on campus and working to help reduce Brandeis’ carbon footprint.

“I also plan to help with improving the Constitution, proposing amendments and bylaw amendments to ensure that the Senate and Student Union continue to work efficiently and productively,” Hough wrote. He also wants to help improve first-year, midyear and transfer transitions to Brandeis, and host more student-wide events on campus.

DePina could be reached for comment by press time.

Marlharrissa Lagardere ’16 won the racial minority senator seat, with 92, or 32 percent, of the votes. Lagardere wrote in an email to the Justice that her main goals are to work alongside Dean of Students Jamele Adams “to make certain that Brandeis University creates an safe atmosphere that allows for open dialogue and discourse revolving around race and resolving issues that occur amongst scholars of color.” She wrote that she would also like to “require a stronger inclusion of scholars of colors ideas and opinions within the Student Union.”

Brian Dorfman ’16, Gali Gordon ’15, Alex Rahmanan ’17, Alina Cheema ’15 and current Chief Justice Claire Sinai ’15 were elected to fill the five associate justice positions. Seven candidates ran for the positions. Dorfman received the most votes with 330 votes, or 38 percent. Sinai received 321 votes, or 37 percent. Rahmanan received 312 votes, or 36 percent, while Gordon also received about 36 percent of the votes with 315 votes. Cheema received 268 votes, or 31 percent.

Dorfman wrote in an email to the Justice that although he is excited about winning, “what excites me more is that more than a quarter of the Brandeis undergraduate population came out to vote this election day.” Dorfman wrote that his plan as an associate justice is to “do some strong constitutionally backed decision-making.”

Rahmanan wrote in an email to the Justice that after losing to the abstain option in February’s special election for the Student Union Judiciary, “running again in last week’s election wasn’t even a question.”

As an associate justice, Rahmanan wrote that he hopes to “help solve any club, Union, or club member disputes as quickly, and efficiently as possible.

“There may be some cleaning up that needs to be done around Brandeis’ realm of student life, and as a Justice, solving these problems will be my number one priority,” he added.

Sinai wrote in an email to the Justice that she is “excited” to serve on the Student Judiciary for a fourth year running.

Cheema wrote in an email to the Justice that as an associate justice, she hopes “to always maintain a safe and fair environment and, with my best effort, to fulfill all my responsibilities.” She stated that her main goal is to make decisions that benefit the whole student body.

Gordon could not be reached for comment by press time.

In the first round of Student Union elections, Student Union Secretary Sneha Walia ’15 was elected as the next Union president.

Walia, who won 62 percent of the vote, wrote in an email to the Justice that she is “unbelievably excited.”

Walia wrote that she plans to focus on increasing transparency about “major Union initiatives” and work with student groups on campus on diversity related initiatives.

The other presidential candidates, Terrell Gilkey ’15 and Class of 2015 Senator Anna Bessendorf, received 12 and 19 percent of the votes, respectively.

In a close race, Sofia Muhlmann ’16, was elected Student Union vice president, winning over Senator-at-Large Naomi DePina ’16, with 42 percent of the votes going to Muhlmann and 40 percent to DePina. “[O]ne of the first things that I believe we as the Student Union need to think about is setting goals at the beginning of our terms, making reasonable deadlines to accomplish these goals, keeping all undergraduates in the know, and informing our constituency about how it is we are collectively working to represent and support our undergraduate community,” wrote Muhlmann in an email to the Justice.

Muhlmann also wrote that she is “looking forward” to tackling issues such as improving residence halls and meal plans, “increasing awareness” arround sexual assault and its advocacy as well as pushing for increased transparency regarding the University’s administrative and financial affairs.

Current Union Vice President Charlotte Franco ’15 was elected secretary with 56 percent of the votes.

Franco wrote in an email to the Justice that her top priorities will be “the club system as a whole,” as well as the structure of the Union. She wrote that she hopes to collaborate with Student Activities to examine and look for ways to improve the support and resources provided for clubs.

Assistant Treasurer Andrew Miller ’16, the sole candidate for the office of the treasurer, was elected with 70 percent of the vote.

Miller could not be reached for comment by press time.

Class of 2016 Senator and Director

of Communications Jonathan Jacob, Judy Nam ’16, Elad Ohayon ’17 and Ari Ben-Elazar ’17 were elected to the Allocations Board.

Jacob wrote in an email to the Justice that he aims to work with the Senate to de-charter “defunct or inactive clubs” and look for ways to provide funding for performance clubs, which currently do not receive money from the Union.

Nam wrote in an email to the Justice that she will work to increase transparency between the A-Board and club leaders.

“Increasing transparency will help students be assured that their money is being put to use efficiently to benefit not just select members of the campus, but the Brandeis community as a whole,” she added.

Nam’s other goals include helping clubs on campus find ways to maximize funding for their events, building communication between the ABoard and clubs leaders and “smoothing out some procedural kinks in the financial process.”

In an email to the Justice, Ben-Elazar wrote that he will work with clubs to focus on “smarter spending.

“I see that there is potential to reform the allocations process and promote more sustainable spending so we can make the absolute best of the [Student Activities Fee],” he wrote.

Xinyu Annie Li ’17 was elected the racial minority representative to the Allocations Board. Li, the only candidate running for the seat, received 63 percent of the votes.

Li could not be reached for comment by press time.

Grady Ward ’16, who was elected the junior representative to the Board of Trustees with 49 percent of the votes, wrote in an email to the Justice that his top priority will be getting a “better picture” of the University’s finances.

“I will be setting up meetings with administrators to better understand how the allocation process works and formulating plans as to how to insert student input into that process,” he wrote.

“At the same time, I am going to be contacting and organizing community leaders to begin strategizing about ways that we can bring our concerns to the administration,” he added.

Class of 2016 Senator Kathy Nguyen was elected the junior representative to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee with 41 percent of the votes.

Nguyen could not be reached for comment by press time.

The two seats for representative to the Brandeis Sustainability Fund remain unfilled, as no candidates ran for those positions.

BRIEF Future of divestment still unknown The University’s Exploratory Committee on Fossil Fuel Divestment, which was established in October 2013 in order to assess whether or not the University should divest and how it would go about doing so, is continuing to work toward a way for Brandeis to divest from fossil fuels According to Michael Abrams ’15, a student representative on the committee, the committee is currently looking at a period of three to five years during which the University would gradually move its portfolio away from fossil fuel corporations.

The committee is comprised of students, faculty and administrators. Based off its analysis, the committee is expected to put together a proposal to present to the faculty and the Board of Trustees including its recommendations. A timeline has not yet been released.

In April 2013, Students for a Just and Stable Future partnered with Brandeis Democrats and Students for Environmental Action to put divestment on the ballot for a vote by the student body. Students were given the opportunity to decide whether or not they thought the

University should divest from fossil fuel corporations and instead invest in other, more “green” stocks for its endowment portfolio. The student body passed the motion with 79 percent of voters in favor of divestment, a total of 897 votes.

Divestment is a “gradual process,” Abrams said. “It takes time to find suitable replacements for the fossil fuel stocks.”

The chair of the committee and Dean of Student Financial Services, Peter Giumette noted in an email he wrote to the Justice that “there are a wide range of opinions as to that best course, and I am glad that we have a broad and well informed group considering these important issues.”

Senior Vice President of Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel wrote in an email to the Justice that the committee is continuing to work to make sure that its eventual proposal will “honor our social justice values and be representative of our diverse student and community views” and limit the “costs to Brandeis students.”

—Kathryn Brody

THE JUSTICE

CAMPUS SPEAKER

contemporary issues of the LGBTQ community in the United States and Russia.

By Hannah wulkan JUSTICE Editorial assistant

The Sex and Sexualities Symposium held its sixth annual Undergraduate Sexualities Research Conference on Thursday, April 10. The conference included a keynote speaker, Psychology Professor Sharon Horne of the University of Massachusetts, Boston, followed by several panels that addressed issues of gender, sex and sexuality. The event concluded with breakout discussion sections on a range of topics.

SASS is a student-run group that is part of Triskelion, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer interest group at Brandeis. It is intended as an intellectual discussion group that “is dedicated to more theoretical and academic style discussions related to gender, sex and sexuality,” said SASS Coordinator Scott Kluger ’15 in an interview with the Justice.

Horne spoke of her research on both national and international issues of LGBTQ rights, focusing particularly on Russia and Africa.

She began by addressing LGBTQ issues in the United States and said that the New England ideology is that LGBTQ rights have already won and are natural. Horne said that Americans have seen so much political and social progress on the issue in the past few years and that political acceptance of gay rights seem inevitable at this point. However, she said that even in the United States there is quite a bit of backlash to this progress and that people are trying to pass legislation in some states to restrict LGBTQ rights, including not allowing discussion of LGBTQ issues in schools. She also pointed out that 33 states still have a constitutional ban on gay marriage.

Horne moved on to talk about LGBTQ rights outside of the United States. She pointed out that although many countries do fully support gay marriage and rights, in many places in the world, people are still persecuted for their sexuality.

Because Horne’s studies focus particularly in Russia, she went into detail about the problems that the LGBTQ community currently faces in that part of the world. She said that, in the past, Russia was actually fairly neutral in terms of issues of gay rights and that the LGBTQ community was basically left alone there. However, she said that under Russian President Vladimir Putin, persecution of members of the LGBTQ community begun.

The Russian Parliament hosted

American anti-gay activist Paul Cameron, who recommended that LGBTQ individuals should not be allowed to teach in schools because they are likely to be pedophiles.

The Parliament also passed the gay propaganda law in June of 2013, which essentially forbids the distribution of information about homosexuality to minors. Horne said that the history of anti-Semitism in Russia has exacerbated the anti-LGBTQ sentiment because, in the past, people often thought that being Jewish and being gay were related to one another.

Horne told the group that in 2012, a law was passed in Moscow that banned pride parades for the next 100 years in all of Russia. She said that this anti-gay sentiment has since spread widely, and that a recent poll even concluded that 63 percent of Ukrainians believed that homosexuality is a perversion or mental disease, while only nine percent supported rights for the LGBTQ population.

This lack of support for LGBTQ rights is largely due to the fact that Western news is censored from the general population, so people only consume Russian media and propaganda, according to Horne.

Horne also spoke of the severe antigay sentiment in many parts of Africa, including Uganda, Malawi and many other countries. She said that people are persecuted for their sexuality and in some places the penalty for homosexuality can be as extreme as death.

She finished her talk by explaining that there are several websites to get involved with and ways to support those struggling for freedom of sexuality in other parts of the world. Specifically, she mentioned the International Network of LGBTQ Concerns, as well as several Russian LGBTQ support websites. She also said that a great way to help is to donate to support asylum seekers who have to flee their countries due to intolerance for their sexuality.

Three panels followed Horne’s lecture. The first was titled “Reproducing Gendered Bodies,” the second was called “Intersectionality and Intersexuality” and the third was “Solving the Injustice of Tradition.” Each panel addressed a different aspect of LGBTQ life and theory. After these panels, there were themed breakout discussion sections, during which each group could engage in conversation about sexuality in a certain context. The groups discussed media and literature, religion and culture, policy and politics and queer theory.

“I hope that more people are inspired to get involved in or share research that they have done related to these topics,” said Kluger in an interview with the Justice about the purpose of the conference.

BRIEF DuPont leaves Hiatt Career Center After a seven-year career at Brandeis, Dean of Career Services Joseph DuPont at the Hiatt Career Center is leaving the University to assume the position of associate vice president for student affairs at Boston College, beginning in the fall.

“I am delighted about the opportunity at Boston College but will miss the amazing colleagues, staff and students that I have had the good fortune to work with in the past 7 years,” DuPont wrote in an email to the Justice. “They are truly special, as is Brandeis.”

At Boston College, DuPont continued, he would have the opportunity to oversee “career initiatives for undergraduate, graduate and professional students in several different schools,” including the College of Arts and Sciences, Carroll School of Management, Lynch School of Education, Connell School of Nursing and Woods College of Advancing Studies.

DuPont wrote that he hopes to “create a united cross divisional school approach,” which would “maximize career opportunities” for all of Boston College’s students.

The system would, as DuPont went on to say, draw upon “the expertise and strengths of many different departments and members” of the university.

DuPont wrote that he is excited about being part of this “new venture to serve student career needs,” and wrote that his time at the Hiatt working with both students and alumni has been “wonderful.”

According to DuPont, University administration is putting together a search committee to replace him. The last search for the position, which ended with DuPont’s appointment in 2007, lasted almost a year before finding a suitable candidate.

—Kathryn Brody

TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014

5

TAKING A STAND

SASS addresses LGBTQ issues

■ Sharon Horne spoke on

●

OLIVIA POBIEL/the Justice

Students gathered on the steps leading up to the Mandel Quad on Wednesday, April 9 for Take Back the Night. The event took place to raise awareness about sexual violence.

CAMPUS SPEAKER

Journalist speaks on Israel ■ SAIPA hosts lecture with

reporter about six different perspectives on the IsraeliPalestinian conflict.

By SAADIAH McINTOSH JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Jerusalem-based journalist Ben Birnbaum visited Brandeis on Thursday, April 10 to give a talk titled, “One Conflict, Two Peoples, Six Sides: The Six Angles on the Israel Palestinian Peace Talks.”

Students for Accuracy about Israeli and Palestinian Affairs, along with the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, a nonprofit media-monitoring, research and membership organization, brought Birnbaum to campus to discuss the many points of view on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict In a statement to the Justice, SAIPA president Ari Givner ’17 said that “[t]he vast majority of students don’t really understand the parties involved in the conflict and the negotiations, why they take the positions they take and why they believe what they believe. [This event is] meant to help students better understand the perspectives of all the stakeholders involved.”

Before he began, Birnbaum emphasized his love for the state of Israel, and noted that he understands the need for multiple perspectives on any argument—and said that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is no different.

Birnbaum began his discussion by mentioning President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, both of whom he said serve as the powerful faces behind one of six perspectives on the issue.

However, he said that while Obama favors a two-state solution, “Kerry is more enthusiastic about that enterprise.”

According to Birnbaum, Kerry wishes to see the two-state solution come to fruition as quickly as possible, but noted that the obstacle to this was the Israeli government’s resistance to adhere to the Palestinians’ preconditions.

The second perspective on the conflict is most prominently represented by Tzipi Livni, the Israeli Minister of Justice, along with a number of other “center leftists,” as Birnbaum called them. According to Birnbaum, the Center Leftists

believe that a two-state solution is the only feasible option for the state of Israel to remain both Jewish and democratic.

Birnbaum said that he thinks that “Livni believes that if she and [Palestinain Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas were in a room, they could probably come to a deal.”

Birnbaum then proceeded to speak about Israeli Minister of the Economy Naftali Bennett, who, along with the “hard right,” as he called them, typifies the third perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He said that that Bennett and the “hard right” believe that a proposed two-state solution is not a workable resolution to the conflict, and that they point to past instances of Palestinian violence as validation for their beliefs.

Birnbaum summarized the hard right’s perspective, saying that they believe that “Jews are not occupiers in their historical homeland... asking them to divide Jerusalem is like asking the Italians to divide Rome, or asking the U.S. to divide Washington.” Birnbaum backed up his claims by mentioning that he recently had the opportunity to interview Bennett.

At the forefront of the fourth perspective of the issue, Birnbaum said, is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who he called Bennett’s “frenemy.” Birnbaum noted that Netanyahu has come out in support of the two-state solution, but has also said that the Palestinians have to reciprocate what he said that he believes have been earnest efforts by his country if the Israeli government is to cooperate.

Birnbaum said that he believes that “Netanyahu wants to make peace, but not at any cost. He feels he’s gone the extra mile for peace, but doesn’t get any credit for it.”

Later on, Birnbaum mentioned Abbas, and a group that he referred to as the “Palestinian pragmatists,” who he said believe that the creation of the state of Israel is unjust, but recognize that it will not disappear overnight. They represent the fifth point of view on the IsraeliPalestinian conflict.

According to Birnbaum, Abbas and the Palestinian pragmatists are more “forward” than the other factions of the Palestinian community, and believe that peace is an achievable goal, but not with Netanyahu.

Of Abbas, Birnbaum said that “[if] he had his way, Israel would disap-

pear. But the thing is, Israel is not going to disappear, and I think Abbas and many other Palestinians have understood that for decades.”

The sixth perspective on the conflict is Hamas’ perspective, “and the Rejectionists,” Birnbaum said.

He stated that Hamas and the Rejectionists believe that destruction of the State of Israel is a long-term project on which they must take the reins.

According to Birnbaum, Hamas and the Rejectionists know that “Israel’s not going to disappear tomorrow. … In the short term they are … more concerned with political survival, but they definitely want to get more of an audience in the west.

So they’ve adopted the language of moderation, without really changing their policies.”

Birnbaum noted that using moderate language, such as the term ’67 borders” in reference to their alleged desire to diminish Israeli borders to what they were prior to the Israel’s land acquisitions in the Six-Day War in 1967, helps Hamas gain an audience in the international community.­ During his talk, Birnbaum presented these six perspectives on the conflict, of which he said all who are interested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict need to be aware.

At the end of his talk, he noted that the main obstacle to productive discourse on the conflict stems from the theory of cognitive dissonance, which involves individuals’ tendencies to only engage with those who agree with their sentiments.

He concluded by saying that while it is important to understand each side of an argument, it is not necessary to empathize with every side, and that forming an opinion is healthy. He encouraged everyone to read a variety of news sources, and concluded that engaging with conflicting opinions is oftentimes educational, and usually leads to a strengthening of one’s own convictions.

A Cornell University graduate originally from the Boston area, Birnbaum has written about the Middle Eastern conflict for a variety of publications such as Tablet Magazine, Newsweek and The New Republic. Birnbaum has also appeared on BBC, MSNBC, Turkey’s TRT and Israel’s Channel 2 to talk about the conflict in the Middle East, among other issues.

Everyone has a story.

Help us find it.

Write for the features section of

the

Justice

Contact Jaime Kaiser at features@thejustice.org for more information.

THE JUSTICE

CONTINUED FROM 1

GRACE KWON/the Justice

Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel spoke to Brandeis students last night to recognize their continuing service efforts and volunteerism.

OPERATIONS: Rosen in favor of University’s hiring choice tions of the individual ultimately selected,” Cwalina wrote. According to Manos in an email to the Justice, the position's responsibilities have not since changed based upon Gray’s qualifications. According to Union President Ricky Rosen ’14 in an interview with the Justice, the only difference, from what he is to understand, is that vice president for operations is not a part of the senior administration, whereas Collins was. “[Gray] has extensive experience in facilities and construction, having served as Associate Vice President, Real Estate Services at Harvard University; Executive Director, Real Estate, Construction, Security, and Facilities at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio; and Senior Vice President and General Manager of Duke Realty Corporation, a for-profit corporation in Minneapolis, Minnesota,” Manos wrote in his announcement to the community. Manos continued, writing that Gray has been the executive director of the Berkeley Food and Housing Project, a nonprofit student housing and food service cooperative in Berkeley, Calif. “[Gray] was described by references from individuals he worked with and for throughout his career as: respected, someone you can really trust, efficient and professional, energetic and enthusiastic, having

high standards, and a great team member. Believe me, I could go on,” Manos wrote.

According to the announcement, Gray has served as a trustee of Indiana University and chaired their building and grounds committee.

He has also been a member of the executive committee of both the Harvard Square Business Association and the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce.

According to Manos in an email to the Justice, the decision to hire Gray as vice president for operations was finalized “in the last week or so.” The initial timeline, according to the Jan. 14 Justice article, projected that an individual would be hired to take on the position in March.

According to the Jan. 14 Justice article, the search firm of Witt/Kieffer was hired in December to assist Brandeis with the search for a vice president for operations. In addition, a search committee comprised of representatives from administration, faculty and students worked to select the vice president for operations. According to Rosen, the only student representative on the committee, in the Jan. 14 article, its first meeting was on Dec. 16.

Rosen said in an interview with the Justice that the committee held day-long interviews with applicants starting in either late February or early March. According to Rosen, applicant materials were available

JOIN

TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014

7

ALI: Honorary degree causes campus uproar

RECOGNIZING SERVICE

CONTINUED FROM 1

●

in an online database for committee members. Members were also able to participate in day-long interviews and correspond via email regarding their opinions on the applicants.

“My role in the decision-making process was such that I was the only student in the room,” Rosen said.

He said that there was also a faculty representative and “four or five” senior administrators on the committee. “From the senior administrative perspective, I think that the goal was to select a vice president of operations who was experienced, who could bring some leadership to the position,” he said. “But from my perspective, what I wanted was an individual that had a level of rapport with students … because certainly, the vice president of operations, as was the case with Mark Collins, was … the Student Union’s greatest ally in the administration.”

Rosen said that Gray will start in time for newly-sworn in Union President for the 2014 to 2015 academic year Sneha Walia ’15 when the academic year begins. According to Rosen, he used to meet with Collins every two weeks, and expects that practice to remain consistent for Gray and Walia.

“Based on my knowledge of Mr. Gray, his experience, of what he brings to the table, and as well as the perception of other committee members, I thought that he would be a very good choice,” Rosen said.

“to engage in a dialogue about these important issues,” though it did explain that, for commencement, “we are committed to providing an atmosphere that allows our community›s focus to be squarely on our students.”

The University claimed in the statement that, previously, it was “not aware” of Hirsi Ali’s anti-Islamic statements. This claim raised questions within both the Brandeis community and the national media regarding the thoroughness of the University’s vetting process for potential honorary degree recipients.

According to the University’s website, any individual can submit the name of a potential honorary degree candidate to the Honorary Degrees Committee. The website outlines the selection process as follows: the committee then brings these names to the entire Board of Trustees for approval; the president of the University selects degree recipients from the list of approved nominees. Lawrence, in this case, selected Hirsi Ali from a pool of vetted individuals.

According to Senior Vice President for Communications Ellen de Graffenreid in an email to the Justice, a nomination by the Board of Trustees is viable for five years and can be renewed up to two times, meaning that an individual can be nominated to receive an honorary degree for a maximum total of 15 years. De Graffenreid said she does not know when Hirsi Ali was initially nominated “as it was well before I arrived at Brandeis.” However, de Graffereid wrote that she currently

staffs the same Honorary Degree Committee.

De Graffenreid did not respond to questions regarding the specifics of the vetting process or whether or not the University was implementing any initiatives to change the process in response to the backlash from its initial selection of Hirsi Ali. When the Office of Development and Alumni Relations was asked what sort of response it has received and whether or not the situation has affected fundraising and donations, Director of Development Communications David Nathan directed the Justice to de Graffenreid, who wrote that “Brandeis alumni and friends have reached out to the Office of Development and Alumni Relations to share their opinions concerning this year’s honorary degrees. It is clear that our friends and alumni care deeply about the University and want to see it continue to flourish.” De Graffenreid did not go into specific regarding alumni and donor responses that the University has received.

Hirsi Ali has made a presence in the national media, and published what she had planned to say at commencement in an April 10 Wall Street Journal opinion piece. However, Hirsi Ali was never scheduled to speak at commencement. She was only originally scheduled to speak at the International and Global Studies mini-commencement ceremony. Articles have also been published in publications like The New York Times and The Washington Post on the situation.

—Phil Gallagher contributed reporting.

UNION: Address points to year’s achievements CONTINUED FROM 1 tion last week. The proposal calls for a long-term investigation into the construction of a parking lot, optimization of current spaces and the creation of a system with “rationed” and “premium” parking, that would charge students at different rates based on their proximity to certain lots.

Rosen reported that the administration was “very receptive” to these recommendations and the Union will work to have some of these changes implemented within the next two years.

Rosen also announced plans to form a gender and sexuality center and coordinator position, spearheaded by Junior Representative to the Board of Trustees Alex Thomson ’15. Rosen thanked Thompson and members of the administration for their work bringing this project to reality.

During the latter portion of his speech, Rosen reflected on annual Student Union initiatives, such

as the Thanksgiving shuttles, the course evaluation guide, the “Take Your Professor Out to Lunch” vouchers, ’Deis Day and ’Deis Impact and thanked those involved.

Before closing his portion, Rosen extended gratitude to current members of the senate and honored those graduating this year.

After Rosen’s speech, current Union Secretary and Presidentelect Sneha Walia ’15 took a few moments to address the audience.

During Walia’s address, she expressed gratitude and excitement for her upcoming term and listed her major goals and initiatives.

Among them, she announced plans to revise the petition process and create a documentation system for student concerns and feedback, working with student groups on diversity-related issues, and informing the student body about major initiatives at the beginning of the year.

—Joshua Linton contributed reporting.

CONTACT TATE HERBERT AT EDITOR@THEJUSTICE.ORG

the Justice

8

features

TUESDAY, april 29, 2014

just

●

THE JUSTICE

VERBATIM | GABRIEL GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ You know, a man always judges himself by the balance he can strike between the needs of his body and the demands of his mind.

ON THIS DAY…

FUN FACT

In 2004, Dick Cheney and George W. Bush testified before the 9/11 commission in an unrecorded hearing.

In 18 months, two rats could multiply to have over a million descendants.

Innovating with a calculated risk

PHOTO COURTESY OF KAREN HU

YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS: From left to right, Zhaoming Deng M.A. ’12, Han Wang M.A. ’12, Yeifi Chen M.A. ’12 and Tong Shen M.A. ’12 in their company office on Moody Street in Waltham, Mass.

Graduates create a food-focused mobile application as their first start-up venture

By ROSE GITTELL Justice editorial assistant

PHOTOS COURTESY OF KAREN HU

ACCURATE DINING: Farseer, Inc.’s mobile app FotoDish allows app users to view professional-quality photographs of local Boston area restaurant food.

For a technology start-up, the prospects of wild success are low and the prospects of complete failure are high. Why would a group of bright, well-trained engineers, who have the world of job prospects in research and technology at their feet, choose instead to start an iPhone application For the team of Farseer Inc., Han Wang M.S. ’12, Zhaoming Deng M.A. ’12, Tong Shen M.A. ’12, David Deng M.A. ’12, Yeifi Chen M.A. ’12 and Karen Hu ’12, the answer comes in two parts—passion and challenge.

Farseer, Inc. is the team behind the Boston based mobile application FotoDish, which works directly with restaurant owners to provide app-users with professional quality photographs of local restaurant’s most popular dishes. They recently reached the milestone of $100,000 in funds raised. The company’s professional brief describes the goal of FotoDish as making “the dining experience more enjoyable, by providing [the customer] the most accurate information straight from the source.”

Wang, the CEO and co-founder, worked for an Information and Technology company in Boston before quitting his job in search of the challenge that working independently would offer. “We only have two modes: sleeping and working. That’s the reason all of us are here—because we want to be challenged,” Wang said in an interview with the Justice.

Co-founders Zhaoming Deng and Shen primarily work on the web application and partially on the mobile application.

The original Farseer Inc. team was brought together by a passion for computer science entrepreneurship and a desire for a bigger challenge than what a conventional post-graduate job would offer. They met as Computer Science masters students at Brandeis and were inspired by classes in the department that focused on computer science entrepreneurship.

While their mutual interest in entrepreneurship was cultivated in the classroom,

their friendship was formed on the basketball court. Their weekly pick-up games brought them closer together as friends and future business partners.

Hu, public relations manager for Farseer Inc., met the rest of the team in a different way. Hu was an Economics and Business major, and was introduced to the team by her close friend Deng. Her passion for public relations was born out of the marketing classes and clubs she participated in while a student at Brandeis.

“I loved doing event planning at Brandeis.

I did event planning for the Asian American Student Association, Chinese Student Association and Culture X for two years in a row. All this led me to want to work for Farseer Inc. in public relations, and help them to coordinate and connect with restaurants,” Hu said.

Although each member of the team pursued other job opportunities after graduating, their friendship and mutual desire for a challenge brought them back together to make Farseer Inc. a reality in August of 2012. Zhaoming Deng, for example, worked for a year in lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology pursuing diabetes research before joining the team. “I realized that in my personality I was not very passionate about working in a lab. I preferred to interact with people. I really enjoy working with friends,” Zhaoming Deng said.

The excitement of being part of a constantly evolving enterprise is another factor that motivated these recent graduates to form a start-up. They felt that the stagnancy of working for a large well-established firm presents a lack of challenge and imagination, as well as the feeling that an individual cannot have a real influence over the course of the company’s future.

“A lot of large companies are completely established in their structure. In a new company, there are always fresh challenges,” Zhaoming Deng said.

The beginning stages of the company’s evolution, as the co-founders remember it, seemed discouraging and impossible.

“When we first started recruiting owners, we didn’t have an app and we didn’t have

users, so it was hard to just walk into restaurants and convince restaurant owners.

At the beginning it’s very tough,” Shen said. Zhaoming Deng remembers walking into the first restaurant he ever pitched, Lizzy’s Ice Cream in Waltham, and being terrified at the prospect of rejection. The owner, Miriam Benitez, expressed excitement at the idea of the app, boosting Deng’s confidence in the viability of the app’s future.

The idea for FotoDish happened by accident. “We are food lovers, and we always wanted to try all the restaurants in Waltham. That’s what drew us to the restaurant industry,” Wang said. He personally loves fried rice, and his co-founders joked that they made a channel on the app exclusively so that Wang could find the best fried rice in Boston.

The application is unique because of the source of the information, which is not from the consumer, but the restaurant owners themselves. This allows restaurant owners direct influence over how they present their restaurant, which allows them to portray the reality of what the consumer will receive through photography. They contrasted FotoDish with the hugely popular app and website Yelp, which allows users to rate restaurants and view other’s ratings of restaurants throughout the United States. “FotoDish is local. It’s more accurate, and a lot closer to the restaurant owners. It’s not just usergenerated content, everything is professional,” Hu said.

As young people working for a start-up, delineation between work and life ceases to exist. Their colleagues are their closest friends, and they are working in a highrisk, high-reward environment every day to create something unique.

“I personally love this kind of status,” Wang said. “I know I am learning and growing stronger. I know the company is growing stronger.” When asked about where he hopes to see Farseer, Inc. in five years, Wang said, “we don’t know. In a start-up, everything could change five months from now.”

THE JUSTICE

●

TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2014

RAFAELLA SCHOR/the Justice

BOOKISH TREATS: A competition hosted by Goldfarb Library allowed students to create edible artwork that celebrated their love of reading.

Bibliophiles

WINNING CREATION: “A Mintsummer Night’s Dream” cake was awarded the top prize overall, and combines raspberries, chocolate ghanoush and caramel.

BRIANNA MAJSIAK/ THE JUSTICE

with a sweet tooth

Goldfarb Library hosts its very first literary themed baking competition

By BRIANNA MAJSIAK JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Don’t judge a book by its cover—unless the cover happens to be made of frosting and you’re judging it in a cake competition.

“Eat a book today” was the theme of an event sponsored by the Goldfarb Library during which students and staff made edible book cakes, judged them, and then ate them.

On April 11 in the Rapaporte Treasure Hall, the library hosted its first Edible Book Festival.

Students were invited by academic outreach librarian Melanie Radik to take part in this festival by “eating someone else’s words.”

The International Edible Book Festival is an event that typically occurs on or near April 1 to celebrate the birthday of Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, a French gastronomist and politician born in 1755. Artist Béatrice Coron and librarian and art writer Judith A. Hoffberg started the event in 2000 and it has since been celebrated in libraries all around the world.

Brillat-Savarin is famously known for founding the gastronomic essay. Gastronomy is the study of food and culture and is derived from two Ancient Greek words that essentially mean, “the art or law of regulating the stomach.” It puts a specific focus on gourmet cuisine, nutrition and the ingestion of food. The festival incorporates this by challenging participants to make delicious tasting edible books.

Vice Provost, University Librarian and Chief Information Officer John Unsworth suggested the event, while Radik organized it. “It occurs in many countries and is typically hosted in public libraries. Not a lot of people do it at once, but it is pretty widespread,” Radik said.

The most commonly featured books were the classics. “It seems to be a split between classics and children books. [There is] a lot of visual inspiration [among them].

With the classics people think other people will get the joke,” Radik said. There were over 20 edible book entries, ranging from an entry based on “Sesame Street Unpaved” to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Sesame Street Unpaved featured three of the Sesame Street character’s faces made into vegetable platters with dip as the eyes. “A Mintsummer Night’s Dream” was a two-tier cake covered in mint and chocolate.

A team of judges decided on their favorite edible book creation. To participate in creating an edible book an online form had to be submitted to the library.

All edible book creations had to be “bookish” or inspired by literature. They could simply be a recreation of cover art, a scene or illustration from a book, a pun on the title, or the shape of a book.

Another entry drew upon the book The Old Man and the Sea. It was adapted into a cake with a man’s face on top of blue and white icing. Another was inspired by the children’s book, If You Give a Moose a Muffin, titled “If You Give a Mousse a Muffin.”

Another titled “Metamorphosis” was a chocolate cake shaped into a giant cockroach. The inside of the cake resembled what happens when you step on a cockroach.

Many of the cakes were inspired by puns or jokes of books. “I like the puns, I like puns in general and find that books and a visual gag is just great,” Radik said.

Radik explained that she hoped this library event would bring the Brandeis community together.

“I hope it gets people into the li-

brary and thinking about books.

I like that we got entries from all over the community. The librarians were very involved but we also got students, staff, family of staff [to attend the event],” Radik said.

After attendees had the chance to view the cakes, the judges announced a winner and the attendees got to dig in. The edible book entry “A Mintsummer Night’s Dream,” created by Tamar Forman-Gejrot ’16 was the “Best In Show” winner of the festival by popular vote.

Forman-Gejrot’s creation was a two-tier cake covered in marshmallows, mint leaves, icing and much more. The top of the second tier had chocolate that resembled fairy wings.

“It’s a chocolate fudge cake with a mint-oreo buttercream as well as a raspberry whipped cream and a caramel filling and white chocolate ghanoush covering more chocolate buttercream,” she said.

Forman-Gejrot wanted to participate in the contest because of the entire process. “I love baking especially. I have always wanted to do a baked showcase cake and I have never actually done it because there is no occasion.”

Pichya Nimit ’16 , an attendee of the event, was pleasantly surprised to learn that library was hosting the festival, “If I would have known about it sooner I would have attempted to make one.”

Brillat-Savarin once said, “The pleasure of the table belongs to all ages, to all conditions, to all countries, and to all areas; it mingles with all other pleasures, and remains at last to console us for their departure.” Brandeis’ first celebration of the gastronomist’s birthday was one that he would have enjoyed.

RAFAELLA SCHOR/the Justice

DELICIOUS METAPHOR: Brandeis librarians Tania Fersenheim and Lisa DeMings created the chocolate cockroach cake titled “Metamorphosis.”

9

10 TUESDAY, april 29, 2014 ● THE JUSTICE

the

Justice

Brandeis University

Established 1949

Tate Herbert, Editor in Chief Andrew Wingens, Senior Editor Glen Chagi Chesir, Managing Editor Phil Gallagher and Rachel Hughes, Deputy Editors Rachel Burkhoff, Sara Dejene, Shafaq Hasan, Joshua Linton, Jessie Miller, Olivia Pobiel and Adam Rabinowitz Associate Editors Marissa Ditkowsky, News Editor Jaime Kaiser, Features Editor Max Moran, Forum Editor Avi Gold, Sports Editor Emily Wishingrad, Arts Editor Josh Horowitz and Morgan Brill, Photography Editors Rebecca Lantner, Layout Editor Celine Hacobian, Online Editor Brittany Joyce, Copy Editor Schuyler Brass, Advertising Editor

Actively respond to University critics Last Wednesday Rwandan president Paul Kagame visited for the Heller School for Social Policy and Management for a talk and roundtable discussion between faculty and select students. Kagame’s appearance though went largely unpublicized, open only to specifically invited guests. Many were only informed of the presidential visit after noticing heightened security on campus. This event was yet another example of the University’s current inept handling of communication issues this past academic year.

Repeatedly this year, communication was determined by the University in a closed-room, top-down manner. Only after each of these situations came to a relative close, did it become clear that communication was either disjointed or, in many cases, potentially nonexistent between decisionmaking parties within the University. Even more so, information disseminated to the broader Brandeis community was either remarkably vague or even nonexistent.

Internal campus incidents like the staff early retirement plans offered earlier this year represent examples of miscommunication between parties on campus. Broader issues, such as the extended scandal surrounding executive compensation policies and the controversial suspension of the University’s partnership with Al-Quds University, occurred entirely behind closed doors.

Most recently, and perhaps most notably, the awarding and eventual rescinding of an honorary degree to Ayaan Hirsi Ali occurred without an explanation of the decisions, sans a short, unattributed statement.

The decision to offer staff over the age of 60 an incentive to leave the University— politely dubbed an “early retirement package”—was made known to the faculty only after the decision was made.

This program was only brought to the broader campus community’s attention after faculty dispersed the letter to students on their own accord. “I will take responsibility for a rollout that was less than optimal,” said University President Frederick Lawrence at an April 3 faculty meeting.

The University’s compensation to its current and former executives, which came under scrutiny after being publisized by this paper and subsequently by the mass media including the Boston Globe, further exposed this basic lack of communication. In a Dec. 10, 2013 Justice article, Prof. Sarah Mead (MUS), then chair of the committee for Integrated Planning and Budget Committee stated that she had not previously known President Emeritus Jehuda Reinharz’s salary. If the chair of the budget committee was not even aware of Reinharz’s salary, then at best, inter-university communication was poor. At worst, transparency was intentionally ignored.

The list goes on. This board has previously called into question the University’s decision to suspend its relationship with AlQuds University without consulting with the three faculty members the University sent to East Jerusalem to report on the situation. In poetic fashion, Profs. Daniel Kryder (POL), Susan Lanser (ENG) and Daniel Terris, director of the International center for Ethics, Justice and Public life, have been outspokenly against the decision and continue to be perplexed in its regard, as per a roundtable discussion with the three professors sponsored by J Street U Brandeis on March 17th. To date, no further information has been delineated and the relationship remains in a perpetual state of “suspension.”

The most profound example of this closeddoor decision making strategy comes with the recent Ayaan Hirsi Ali honorary de-

Inform Brandeis community gree scandal. After a Change.org petition initiated by students, as well as a multideparmental faculty letter, voiced concerns over extending a degree to Hirsi Ali, the University issued a press release on April 8 that stated it would rescind the degree. The release stated, “we cannot overlook certain of her past statements that are inconsistent with Brandeis University’s core values.”

The press release, constituting Brandeis’ lone official response to the controversy, failed to elaborate specifically on why the decision to rescind her degree was made.

The statement even failed to mention what her exact role in the greater commencement ceremonies was originally intended to be— solely a recipient of an honorary degree at commencement with a subsequent speech to the diploma ceremony of the International and Global Studies program. Directly due to this ambiguity, facts have been twisted and manipulated—to the point of erroneous information being disseminated by others on a massive scale.

Hirsi Ali, for example, has published her supposed speech to the Brandeis Class of 2014. This board questions the lack of clarity and disclosure that would have misled Ms. Hirsi Ali to believe that she would potentially address the entire graduating class. This consequent misunderstanding has again influenced many publications’ perception that Brandeis inhibited her ability to engage in free speech. There is a key distinction to be made between endorsing her opinions and preventing her ability to voice them. A film screening of her latest documentary is, in fact, set to air on campus tomorrow and she has even been invited to campus to speak about those viewpoints— both by the University in its statement and by Joshua Nass ’14 on behalf of the the Brandeis Coalition for Liberty live on Fox News on April 10.

Besides accusations of censorship, the University has suffered significant blows to its reputation for no other reason than providing a lack of rationale. The Wall Street Journal editorialized that “[Brandeis] might also ask if its ‘core values’ now include intolerance and the illiberal suppression of ideas.” The Jerusalem Post noted how “it is worrying that Brandeis is being held captive by repressive forces that dominate most Muslim-majority countries.” The New York Times, Reuters and the Economist—along with an array of premier international publications—have also published stories that portray the controversy in this light. This board welcomes debate and dissent on the decision to rescind Hirsi Ali’s degree—however only those based on the objective facts on hand.

To date, there has been no public response from Brandeis since that initial press release, even as misguided and harmful assumptions are published. This board was able to articulate our opinion on the matter in the April 8 edition of the Justice; we wonder why the University has instead hid its head under the proverbial pillow.

We as an editorial board, but even more so as Brandeis students, want to believe these decisions were made in the best interests of the University and its greater community; many of the decisions this board has suggested and agreed with. We are therefore perplexed as to why the University is choosing to remain silent on these issues. The University must display a concerted effort at transparency both within its own halls and to the greater world—after all, what do they have to hide?

TZIPORAH THOMPSON /the Justice

Views the News on

With another academic year coming to a close, Brandeis again finds itself in the national spotlight with continued scrutiny over its rescinding of an honorary degree to controversial women’s rights activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali. This scandal follows the media focus on Brandeis’ executive compensation earlier this year, as well as the suspension of a longtime relationship of with East Jerusalem’s Al-Quds University. Several of these stories proved to be the causes for major University policy changes. Which story will prove to be most significant for Brandeis, and why?

Prof. Gordon Fellman (SOC) I don’t see any clear policy changes coming from any of those sad scandals. Given financial exigencies of our University, the issue of executive pay is especially significant. It reveals the extent to which universities, Brandeis included, are becoming corporatized. As labor sociologist Robert Ross put it at a labor forum on campus a few weeks ago, universities now, like corporations, pay excessive salaries at the top, supposedly because they have to compete for talent, and remarkably low salaries at the bottom, to compete with other corporations (universities) for who can get the most work for the lowest wages. Adjuncts with PhDs are now paid at about the same level as McDonalds and Walmart workers. And other workers are paid barely a living wage. How about that. I see the corporatization of universities as unconscionable and immoral. As for executive pay, the mayor of Boston makes $175,000 a year. The president of the United States is paid $400,000 a year. Is it really harder to run a university than a major city or the entire country? High executive pay in universities, as in corporations, is a scam. It will last only as long as it is tolerated.

Prof. Gordon Fellman (SOC) is a professor in the Sociology department and chair of the Peace, Conflict and Coexistence Studies program.

Aaren Weiner ’16 Ending relations with Al-Quds University will prove significant for Brandeis. We must view the suspension in the context of Brandeis’ attitude toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Al-Quds demonstrations were interpreted to support Nazism and anti-Semitism. If Brandeis is committed to “open dialogue on difficult issues,” then there exists an underlying anger which we must acknowledge. The “Islamic Jihadists” and Palestinians are angry—at Israel for its occupation and imposition of religiously and racially motivated sanctions on those native to Palestine, and at the world for using anger and no other diplomatic tool in opposing a peaceful solution. Members of Students for Justice in Palestine hosted Israel Apartheid Week this semester and were met with hostility upon illuminating the truth from a place of compassion for human rights. By ending the relationship with Al-Quds, Brandeis refuses to meet anger with an open mind, to lead the thorny way to peace, and to live up to its name as an institution dedicated to social justice. “Behind every argument is ignorance.” Justice Louis Brandeis would be ashamed to see his namesake ignoring the truth staring us in the face.

Aaren Weiner ’16 organized a student protest against executive pay practices in March.

Avi Gold ’16 In addition to being the most recent of the controversies Brandeis has faced this past year, it seems as though the issue of Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s rescinded degree will prove to be the most significant when all is said and done. Unlike the other controversies, the degree has the potential to be taken the furthest out of context and twisted to fit whatever narrative necessary. Especially considering the lack of response by the University, the rescinded degree has been used as proof of anything from the school’s apparent double standard to an issue of free speech. Since the University has not had a clear response to the controversy anyone can interpret it as they please, making the outside reaction much harsher to Brandeis than the other controversies, and the rescinded degree the most significant.

Avi Gold ’16 is the Justice sports editor.

Noam Cohen ’16 Reinharz’s compensation and the Al-Quds relationship are important but self-contained incidents which will not cause policy shifts. The Ayaan Hirsi Ali scandal, however, will have repercussions for the University. Some critics claim that freedom of speech is the issue at hand in the scandal, but the heart of the matter is Brandeis’ religious sensitivities, especially in its complicated relationship with Judaism. The University, which describes itself as Jewish-sponsored but nonsectarian, already struggles with how Jewish to be. One of the arguments made against the rescinding of the degree is that there is a double-standard; in the past Brandeis has celebrated figures who opposed the state of Israel. Brandeis must formulate clearer positions as far as religion is concerned—a Jewish-sponsored university should respond differently to these situations than a public university would, for example.

Noam Cohen ’16 is the president of the Brandeis Orthodox Organization.

THE JUSTICE

READER COMMENTARY Revoking Hirsi Ali degree is cowardly In response to your article, “University Rescinds decision to honor Hirsi Ali” (April 9): The decision of Brandeis University not to award an honorary degree to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, after first announcing that it would do so, is disgraceful.

The cowardice it reflects contrasts sharply with the courage Hirsi Ali has shown in condemning aspects of Islam that she rightly considers cruel, bigoted, and misogynistic, and for which she has suffered grievously.

It is yet another example of how arrogant, closed-minded faculty, and students who believe they can prohibit anything on campus that makes them uncomfortable, can intimidate administrators such as University President Frederick Lawrence to the point where one of the principles essential to higher education—a tolerance of opinions with which one disagrees—is dispensed with in the name of preserving “a welcoming environment.” But the very essence of education is being challenged intellectually, and if students cannot endure the discomfort that that often induces, they have no business attending a college or university.

President Lawrence justifies his decision by claiming that Hirsi Ali’s views violate what he calls “the core values” of the University. But Brandeis saw nothing wrong in awarding an honorary degree to Tony Kushner, who has called the creation of the state of Israel a mistake and falsely accused it of ethnic cleansing; and to Desmond Tutu, an anti-semitic bigot who has compared Israel to Nazi Germany. From this one could reasonably conclude— since Tutu’s anti-Semitism did not cause Brandeis to refrain from awarding him a degree—that anti-Semitism is either one of the core values of your university or is not inconsistent with these values.

It is clear that at Brandeis University Israel can be smeared and those who do so are rewarded, but someone who properly criticizes Islam is unfairly attacked and dishonored. In short, Brandeis has made its sorry record in awarding honorary degrees even worse.

And what makes its shameful capitulation especially regrettable to me is that I am an alumnus of Brandeis University, Class of 1970. President Lawrence’s university is my university. And right now I am ashamed to call it my alma mater.

—Jay Bergman ’70 is a professor of history at Central Connecticut State University.

Louis Brandeis would support Ali In response to your article, “Disinvite Hirsi Ali from Commencement” (April 8): Allow me to express my disgust with your decision to agree with Brandeis’ decision to disinvite Hirsi Ali to your commencement address. I am aware the reason was statements she made in her book which you interpret to be incompatible with religious coexistence. However these statements, taken out of context, should not overshadow the achievements she’s made in her life.

She has dedicated her life, at great personal danger, to the fight for the human rights of Muslim women. Her achievements have been made for Muslims everywhere of all genders, and certainly this renders irrelevant statements, contrary to your interpretation, which were made about certain types of Islamic beliefs, not Muslims. Your decision is a surrender to the demands of the Council on American—Islamic Relations, an organization accused of material support of terrorism. This is cowardice of the worst kind. You have empowered bullies and promoted intolerance in the name of “respect” or “values.”

Louis Brandeis once said, “Courage is the secret of liberty and liberty is the means to happiness.” You have shown no courage.

This will only serve to destroy our liberty and bring all of us, whether connected to Brandeis or not, grief. You are a poor steward of Judge Brandeis’ legacy and I, as a Jew, resent that you have been chosen to uphold the legacy of one of my personal heroes.

—Jonathan Reich is an assistant professor of medicine at Florida Atlantic University.

Write to us

The Justice welcomes letters to the editor responding to published material. Please submit letters through our Web site at www.thejustice.org. Anonymous submissions cannot be accepted.

Letters should not exceed 300 words, and may be edited for space, style, grammar, spelling, libel and clarity, and must relate to material published in the Justice. Letters from off-campus sources should include location. The Justice does not print letters to the editor and oped submissions that have been submitted to other publications.

Op-ed submissions of general interest to the University community­—that do not respond explicitly to articles printed in the Justice—are also welcome and should be limited to 800 words. All submissions are due Friday at 12 p.m.

●

TUESDAY, April 29, 2014

11

Review causes of Al-Quds, Hirsi Ali scandals

By Prof. seth frantzman special to the justice

The decisions by Brandeis University to suspend its partnership with Al-Quds University and cancel an honorary degree for Ayaan Hirsi Ali both represent illiberal views that cast aside important work because of controversial statements and actions.

As Justice Louis Brandeis noted in Gilbert v.

Minnesota, “In frank expression of conflicting opinion lies the greatest promise of wisdom.”

Brandeis would be wiser today had a more open debate about both these actions been conducted.

My own experience lecturing at Al-Quds University may serve to illustrate why.

Over the last three years I have taught Palestinian students about U.S. Constitutional law, culture and the American impact on globalization. I have stressed the concepts of unfettered freedom of expression and the importance of the separation of church and state. These are not normative values in the Middle East, but many students are truly inspired to read the words of Thomas Jefferson or the debates of the U.S. Supreme Court in cases relating to sedition and offensive actions, such as the decision to permit neo-Nazis to march in Skokie, Ala. in 1977.

On Nov. 5, 2013 I was supposed to be on campus at Al-Quds. Weather led to the cancellation of my “Events in US History” class. Later, photos emerged of an Islamic Jihad rally on campus that day that featured men with plastic weapons “waving flags and raising the traditional Nazi salute,” according to a statement by BrandeisNOW. Although the group has a very small campus presence, President Fred Lawrence demanded a condemnation of the rally by the university administration, and when that was not forthcoming, the partnership between the two universities that dates back to 2003 was suspended.

The irony of suspending the partnership was that traditionally those most supportive of work with Brandeis at Al-Quds have been the Palestinian faculty on the liberal end of the political spectrum who stress the need for coexistence.They have sought to create an open-minded environment on campus. This includes fostering open debate, critical thinking, discussing democracy, free speech and civil rights. My students were shocked to learn that a small rally to which none of them had any connection resulted in their being punished by an American university named after a foremost supporter of free speech.

Brandeis’ hasty decision to suspend the partnership with Al-Quds was symbolically problematic. It sent the message that because of the actions of the few students who participated in the rally, or the timidity of a campus administration to confront those offensive actions, the entire University is tainted. If the desire is to encourage

GABRIELA YESHUA/theJustice

students to stand up against rallies by Islamic Jihad, or admonish administrators for not preventing them, how does suspending a partnership that exposes students and faculty to American forms of critique help? By demanding condemnation Brandeis put Al-Quds administrators in the position of having to accept the dictates of a foreign university. A better decision would have been to use the rally as a way to encourage more dialogue and student exchange, and to show solidarity with Palestinian students who do not support extremism. Rather than shutting down avenues for exchange, it should have been a catalyst to redouble efforts, explain why these rallies are offensive and to discuss why militarism receives so much support among Palestinians.

Similar to the decision to suspend work with a progressive university because of the offensive actions of some students, the decision to cancel an honorary degree for Hirsi Ali stems from a mistaken litmus test. Brandeis argued that “we cannot overlook certain of her past statements that are inconsistent with Brandeis University’s core values.” These cherry-picked statements included that Islam is “a destructive, nihilistic cult of death”; that “Mohammed’s example is terrible” and that religion “is not compatible with the modern Westernised way of life.” Her view of organized religion and generalizations are timid compared to many other Western intellectuals.

Writer Emile Zola argued that “civilization will not attain its perfection until the last stone from the last church falls on the last priest.” Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins called God of the Old Testament, “vindictive, bloodthirsty, racist, infanticidal.” Mathematician Blaise Pascal claimed “men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it for religious conviction.” Voltaire thought Christianity “the most absurd and bloody religion” while Leo Tolstoy felt it brought “atrocity, stupidity and cruelty.”

Mark Twain believed religion has made a “graveyard of the globe.” Under the current Brandeis policy, few Enlightenment era intellectuals, or even Socrates, who was condemned to death for

“offending religion,” would be eligible for an honorary degree. Had Hirsi Ali said that “Jesus’ example is terrible” or “Christianity is a cult of death,” would that really be considered “hate” or “Christianophobia?”

How did an indigenous, Muslim-born Somali woman speaking out about her own experiences of vicious oppression at the hands of religion in Saudi Arabia, who, like Salman Rushdie, has been the subject of death threats for her views, be considered the one whose views are unacceptable? Previous generations would have looked to her as a role model, like we did former slave Fredrick Douglass who, like Hirsi Ali, faced injustice during his youth which led him to “hate the corrupt, slave holding, women-whipping, cradle plundering and hypocritical Christianity of this land.” Is that also now offensive hate speech? A nuanced reading of her life story would encourage less blanket judgement of her, while at the same time we could condemn her unidimensional portrayals of Islam in some statements.

A recent cartoon in The New Yorker notes “have you figured how to be on the right side of history without being on the wrong side of now?”

Brandeis’ decisions in the Al-Quds and Hirsi Ali cases are on the right side of now; they cater to those who shout “offended” and they meekly throw out the baby with the bathwater to avoid being associated with controversy. The University should have stood with my students and with Hirsi Ali. At the very least it would be good to get to know both of them. Expose Brandeis to the life story of Hirsi Ali and rather than running from a rally at Al-Quds, seek to learn from the students; encourage critical thinking on both sides, and progressive thought. Only through frank open debate will society improve. Silencing the voice of any woman who condemns the religious role in female genital mutilation, or muzzling every campus that contains a hate-speech filled rally, won’t make either go away.

—Seth Frantzman is an Assistant Professor of American Studies at Al-Quds University.

Orthodox community must embrace its diversity Phil

Gallagher Back to basics

Diversity is an important value to the Brandeis community, but it is usually discussed in terms of opposing parties: scientists versus humanists, Democrats versus Republicans, Reform versus Reconstructionist versus Conservative versus Orthodox. The lines of division are drawn, and people join a clearly delineated camp. We become blinded, however, by this love of neat categories and fail to sufficiently consider diversity internal to these camps. Are there scientists who appreciate fine literature? Republicans who are in favor of gay marriage? What about traditional Jews who choose to marry someone of another faith?

Individuals with each of those beliefs exist.

They are a minority in their movements, trying to fit their complicated set of values into an uncomplicated set of categories. They create what I will call “internal diversity.”

I decided to explore this phenomenon in my senior thesis for the Sociology department, choosing to focus on Orthodox Judaism, the denomination of Judaism that adheres most closely to traditional Jewish law. Specifically, I analyzed the integration of Orthodox Jews in college who are less stringent in following Jewish law. How does a traditional religious community, committed to following Jewish law, handle this internal diversity of religious practice?

I found that the answer, simply put, is “quietly.” In interviews that I conducted with Ortho-

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 last page of the newspaper, 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 3,500 undergraduates, 900 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.

dox students, they largely refrained from passing judgment on less observant peers. A couple of students contrasted themselves from the larger Orthodox campus community as a whole, which they thought was not very open to diversity, and described themselves as completely refraining from any critique of another’s religious practice.

Many expressed sadness when they noticed a community member becoming less religious, often from eating non-Kosher food, inconsistently observing the Jewish Sabbath, or adopting dress that does not follow religious standards of modesty. The students I interviewed also told me, however, that they were careful to avoid communicating those feelings to the less religious student lest they embarrass or offend. Instead, they preferred to use language of being in “different places” religiously from less observant peers, which seemed to acknowledge the diversity, and tacitly accept it but avoid approving of it.

A sincere eschewal of judgment about other’s religious practices is a virtue in this community.

I don’t believe that this passive form of tolerance, however, will be sufficient to maintain the community’s status quo into the future.

Although the Orthodox community at Brandeis is host to individuals with various stringencies of practice, the toleration toward these various stringencies is facilitated by a largely common ideal of Orthodox practice: a uniform understanding of what Orthodox students should be striving for in their Judaism. Students are in “different places” when it comes to meeting that ideal.

Orthodox Judaism is currently developing a more vocal left wing that brings new interpretations of traditional Jewish texts to the table. As this left wing slowly becomes more prominent on college campuses, the Orthodox campus community will have to grapple with a very real ideo-

The Staff

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

logical diversity in its midst. The community’s common ideal of Orthodox practice will have competition from these new interpretations.

This challenge of managing diversity itself strikes me as a paradox of community; emphasizing the specific values of a community can be alienating to moderates by suggesting that deviation from those values is unacceptable, while emphasizing inclusion dilutes the centrality of those values. Many communities, including the Orthodox community at Brandeis, find themselves working to uphold their own values while simultaneously handling the diversity, both practical and intellectual, that exists among its members.

Orthodox Jewish college students are a case study for the larger point of recognizing internal diversity. In college organizations, where students are still trying to figure out their own values, emphasizing the values of the community too strongly over inclusion is alienating. This is, obviously, not to say that values should be completely disregarded. Rather, a balance must be struck that allows the organization to be actively inclusive rather than merely tolerating, a passive form of inclusion. Values are often articulated in an organization’s constitution or bylaws, where they can be referenced to ensure the consistency in the organization’s identity. There is little risk of forgetting what they are.

It is important to provide room for students who do not neatly fit into polarized camps, whether those camps be Democrats against Republicans or pro-life against pro-choice. These camps are often so loud and firmly established that it prevents a cohesive minority movement from forming. However, these minority students can often see the perspective of both sides and thus may be the ones who help foster dialogue between camps in the future.

Editorial Assistants

Arts: Carly Chernomorets, Aliza Gans, Kiran Gill, Rachel Liff,

News: Kathryn Brody and Hannah Wulkan

Alexandra Zelle Rettman, Mara Sassoon, Nate Shaffer

Features: Rose Gitell

Photography: Zach Anziska, Jenny Cheng, Annie Fortnow,

Photos: Grace Kwon

Shayna Hertz, Annie Kim, Abby Knecht, Bri Mussman, Leah

Copy: Catherine Rosch

Newman, Chelsea Polaniecki, Abigail Rothstein, Rafaella Schor, Olivia Wang, Xiaoyu Yang

Staff

Copy: Kathleen Guy, Aliza Braverman, Melanie Cytron, Angie

Senior Writers: Jacob Moskowitz, Henry Loughlin, Zachary Reid

Howes, Grace Lim, Mara Nussbaum

News: Jay Feinstein, Ilana Kruger, Sarah Rontal, Samantha

Layout: Shayna Hertz, Jassen Lu, Ricky Miller, Abigail Pearlman,

Topper

Maya Riser-Kositsky, Lilah Zohar

Features: Rose Gittelli, Rebecca Heller, Hee Ju Kang, Elior

Illustrations: Hannah Kober, Marisa Rubel, Tziporah Thompson,

Moskowitz, Casey Pearlman, Aditi Shah

Gabriela Yeshua

Forum: Jennie Bromberg, Jessica Goldstein, Aaron Fried, Kahlil Oppenheimer, Jassen Lu, Catherine Rosch Sports: Elan Kane, Daniel Kanovich, Dan Rozel

12

TUESDAY, april 29, 2014

●

THE JUSTICE

FORUM POINT/COUNTER-POINT

Rescinding Hirsi Ali degree upholds open debate Max

Moran The Bottom BUnk

On March 31, Brandeis released its list of honorary degree recipients for this year’s commencement ceremony, including keynote speaker Geoffrey Canada, and five other honorees. Among these other honorees was Ayaan Hirsi Ali, whose nomination caused an uproar in the Brandeis community, leading to her degree invitation being rescinded. Now, almost a month later, the school, its faculty and student body are still dealing with the fallout from someone, somewhere in the administrative food chain, not taking the time to read the first sentence of Hirsi Ali’s Wikipedia page.

Hirsi Ali has done hugely significant work defending women and girls from forced marriage and female genital mutilation in the third world—work which I, along with many on both sides of this debate, find inspiring and praiseworthy. She has also, however, stated directly that she believes the Western world is at war with the religion of Islam. To quote her 2007 Reason interview, “once [Islam] is defeated, it can mutate into something peaceful.

It’s very difficult to even talk about peace now.

They’re not interested in peace.”

According to Hirsi Ali, that“they’re” is the entirety of the Muslim faith, as she has made clear over the years that she does not distinguish between fringe extremism and the majority at large of those who practice the second most popular religion on earth. Her reasoning is quite understandable. As a child, Hirsi Ali was a victim of many of the human rights violations she now fights against, including genital mutilation. This was a direct result of the militant Islam that surrounded her childhood in Somalia. These are the facts.

Had I endured such trauma, I am not sure I would still be able to mentally function, much less become a successful activist and beacon of hope to so many. Nonetheless, the Brandeis community has Muslim members, Muslim members that are nonviolent, just like the majority of Muslims around the world. Calling for warfare against any member of the Brandeis community, much less a sizable portion of the student body and faculty, is reason enough to at least question whether someone ought to be invited to campus.

But, critics ask, is this not censorship? Is this not forbidding someone from speaking their mind, silencing a debate and forcing an opinion on the majority? These are critical questions to ask. And they are exactly the reason why rescinding Hirsi Ali’s degree was the best decision Brandeis could have made.

Consider who invited Hirsi Ali, and for what purpose. This year alone, Brandeis has invited figures as controversial as Max Blumenthal, an advocate for the destruction of Israel as a Jewish state to our campus. Brandeis has a large Jewish, Zionist population, but Blumenthal’s event was well attended and well received. Why didn’t the blustering, pigheaded Brandeis of the recent national news coverage immediately censor and expel Blumenthal?

Because he was invited as a guest speaker, not as a model citizen. He was invited by a club, Students for Justice in Palestine, not by President Frederick Lawrence. He was only representing himself and his own opinions, and after he had finished talking, he happily took questions from the many audience members who disagreed with him.

The audience was not forced to celebrate this man, merely to consider his ideas and allow him to consider their own. The debate was civil and courteous, and while many were angered by Blumenthal’s opinions, none made efforts to prevent him from responding to student outcry.

This is the heart of free speech. This is everyone having a chance to say how they feel, not being forced to celebrate those with whom they take issue, or being silenced when they voice dissent. Hirsi Ali is a highly controversial figure, but the student body would have welcomed her with open arms had they not been told that they were to exclusively and unequivocally celebrate her.

Now, for clarity’s sake, let’s take a look at what would have happened had Brandeis not listened to the pressure from within (a faculty petition with 75 signatures) and without (an online petition with 6,800 signatures) to disinvite Hirsi Ali from commencement. Despite misinformed national news coverage to the contrary, and a misleading statement issued

by Hirsi Ali herself, she was never going to speak at the main commencement ceremony.

The plan was for her to say a few words at a smaller ceremony for graduates of the International and Global Studies program, and even then, none were to be given a chance to argue back and forth with her.

At the main commencement, in front of the whole school, all that Hirsi Ali was going to do was listen to a few nice words spoken about

PATRICK CHAPPATE/Creative Commons

her by the administration, receive the degree, smile for the camera and sit back down. She was never going to engage the student body in the “debate” which the school now supposedly suppresses. At the end of it all, she would have put the event on her resume, hung the degree in her study and that would have been the end of that.

The national coverage of the rescinded invitation has given Hirsi Ali far more opportunities to speak to the world than she ever would have had without the controversy.

And that’s exactly the problem. Those who claim that disinviting Hirsi Ali from commencement has silenced debate don’t recognize that there was never to be a debate in the first place. Invite Hirsi Ali to campus, sure, but do so in a context where both the speaker and the students can each express their rights to free speech.

If Brandeis has contradicted the liberal arts mandate to hear ideas that make oneself uncomfortable, then how would a non-conversation in which one side is endorsed by the University president before even saying a word be starting healthy debate?

Consider what it means to receive an honorary degree. It is an absolute statement of approval and celebration of everything that the recipient stands for, an assertion that this individual fully embodies and speaks to the

values of the institution which confers the honor. A degree recipient is not someone who the student body has a chance to challenge or debate against, they are someone who is only supposed to be wholeheartedly applauded.

Many view the decision to revoke Hirsi Ali’s degree as a loss for free speech and democracy.

On the contrary, I view it as a sign that the system still works. A huge number of students and faculty members banded together and vocally expressed what they wanted to see happen.

They informed the higher-ups that there was a problem in their society, and showed that it was affecting a large number of the members of that society. The administration responded by doing what the vocal body needed them to do, even if it was not what they, the administration, might have wanted.

Is that not the heart of democracy? Is that not the majority opinion of the group deciding what actions the group should take, even if those in power dissent?

My issue is not with Hirsi Ali personally.

Far from it. What she has had to endure from the school is unjust and unfair, and I extend a heartfelt apology to her for this embarrassment. My issue is with the University for issuing this degree in the first place to someone who, though a hugely commendable figure, does not embody the values that Brandeis specifically seeks to uphold.

Taking back degree values sensitivity over free speech Aaron

fried Free thought

Universities offer honorary degrees to recognize a person’s achievements in an intellectual field. Since 1953, Brandeis University has taken part in this tradition, which, the Board of Trustees’ website states, serves “to identify the University with the values expressed through the work and accomplishments of [its honorees]; … and to emphasize its own institutional mission and purposes.”

One of the honorees for the 2014 commencement was Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the noted writer, politician and activist. Hirsi Ali is renowned for her advocacy of women’s rights and her particular opposition to the abuses women face in the Islamic world. Through her own experiences with these abuses, Hirsi Ali has become an unapologetic and unequivocal public critic of Islam—despite receiving death threats for her commentary.

Hirsi Ali’s career as a worthy public intellectual is indisputable, and her unflinching courage in the face of violent intimidation is admirable. If Brandeis University values the rights and lives of women, and, as stated in the description of honorary degrees on the University website, seeks to honor someone of “distinctive achievement in … public service, philanthropy … international understanding, and human rights,” Hirsi Ali is— and was recognized as—a clear candidate.

Yet, due to some of Hirsi Ali’s provocative statements about Islam, some members of the Brandeis community felt otherwise. On April 8, the editorial board of this paper urged, as is clear through their article’s title, that we ought to “Disinvite Ayaan Hirsi Ali from

Commencement.” The board argues that “graduating seniors should not have to sit in the presence of their University’s support for a message that devalues an entire religion.”

This relies on a bizarre premise: the notion that when a university honors a person’s work, it endorses and honors everything in which that person believes.

Honorary degrees have never been a university’s version of knighthood or sainthood.

Brandeis accepted this idea by conferring honorary degrees on several polarizing figures within recent memory.

Desmond Tutu and Tony Kushner, whose hostile views towards Israel provoked outrage, were duly honored in 2000 and 2006, respectively. Even Whoopi Goldberg, the entertainer who was honored in 1997, is frequently embroiled in public controversy. At no point did Brandeis University intimate that when they honored these people, they were honoring their controversial—and sometimes offensive—views. Somehow, the figment that Brandeis was not only honoring Hirsi Ali’s laudable activism, but also her views on Islam, infected some community members. In addition to the editorial, two other articles denouncing Hirsi Ali’s honor were published in that issue of the Justice. An online petition to disinvite Hirsi Ali was also circulated, and it was so popular that over 200 percent of the undergraduate “student body” signed it.

The administration buckled under this pressure, and revoked the honor. University President Frederick Lawrence’s release on the matter offered the feeble and far-fetched excuse that, in the age of search engines, the University was unaware of Hirsi Ali’s statements that do not comport with the University’s values.

Yet, Lawrence did not specify why her views are unacceptable to the University. We can infer his reasoning based on the views that he has publicly espoused. Lawrence gave a talk at the Heller School for Social Policy

and Management last spring, discussing his view that free expression should not include “hate speech,” which he broadly defined as speech which undercuts a person or group’s “human dignity”—a term which is undefinable and ripe for subjective interpretation.

This doctrine implies that anyone’s emotional response to an argument holds moral precedence over the content of the argument and the speaker’s right to make it. The notion that every argument should specially consider any chance listener’s feelings is not exclusive to Lawrence; it is the dominant view toward opinionated speech at Brandeis.

Hirsi Ali was disinvited because of this emotionalist zeitgeist. A guest op-ed called “Ayaan Hirsi Ali degree is an insult to Muslim students” in the April 8 issue of the Justice represents this paradigm clearly. The authors of the article, Alina Cheema ’15 and Yasmin Yousof ’15, argue that “there is a fine line between freedom of speech and hate speech.” They say that “Hirsi Ali has shamelessly passed this boundary.” They fail to identify what this boundary between free speech and hate speech is, and thus cannot explain how it was breached. Instead, the authors wield “hate speech” as an undefined term of opprobrium to loosely connote that Hirsi Ali is a hateful bigot, without bothering to prove it—some cherry-picked quotes snatched out of context notwithstanding.

In an attempt to justify this, they claim that since “[Hirsi Ali’s] remarks [do not only] regard her experiences, but rather condemn an entire religion,” they are unacceptable.

Religions are philosophies, or sets of ideas that govern the life of its adherents.

As such, they do not possess some sort of moral immunity to criticism. Religions are only treated differently because they are closely—and emotionally—held. Passionate indignation against Hirsi Ali’s criticisms was, apparently, sufficient for Lawrence to revoke the honor.

Observe the pleas for sensitivity to their feelings that Cheema and Yousof offer in lieu of arguments against Hirsi Ali’s honor. They claim that “many [Muslim students] feel isolated and unwelcomed” by it, later explaining that “[Hirsi Ali] incites and supports insensitivity.” The authors explain that “Hirsi Ali’s personal tragedies do not give her the absolute right to attack Islam as a religion,” and assert that they “deserve respect and rights that every other student has,” as if Hirsi Ali’s presence would negate these.

The authors are claiming that their religion has the right to immunity from harsh, external criticism—which no one has the right to make.

Their inversion here is clear: Do not hurt my feelings, free speech be damned. Such hidebound demands are becoming commonplace on this campus. We are declining into a culture of chronic hypersensitivity, in which logical arguments are at risk of being smeared and dismissed as “offensive.”

Consequently, our intellectual discussions tend to lose caustic and controversial—but potentially valuable—insight.

Before offering their opinion in this cultural climate, people tend to self-censor, asking “can I say this?” All of this is perpetrated in the name of tolerance, but it only results in a school of anxious milquetoasts who are intolerant of anything resembling an intransigently certain argument. This is the opposite of the intellectual culture a university ought to strive for.

So long as a person presents their views clearly, intelligently and without threats of open violence, he or she should be regarded as proper intellectual company for any university student. Hirsi Ali’s public statements clearly measure up to this test as well as any of Brandeis’ prior honorees. The University failed to tolerate her strong difference in opinion, and our administration owes her, at the very least, an apology.

THE JUSTICE

●

APril 29, 2014

13

TRACK: Squads finish in seventh place at UAA meet

FULL POWER

CONTINUED FROM 16 seventh in the 4x400 meter relay, completing the race in 4:12.79.

A pair of first-years represented the Judges in the women's 5000-meter run.

Maddie Dolins ’17 and Kate Farrell ’17 took 12th and 15th, respectively, timing in at 18:26.54 and 19:18.88.

Ashley Hebard ’17 finished 14th and 15th in the 200-meter and 400-meter dashes, respectively, timing in at 31.22 and 1:10.23.

Maggie Hensel ’16 was Brandeis’ lone competitor in the women’s 800-meter run, placing 14th in 2:33.68.

The men's squad was paced by Mohamed Sidique ’15, who won the triple jump with a leap of 14.33 meters.

“The meet went pretty well, not as well as many of us might have hoped but still a solid weekend," Lundkvist said. “[Sidique] won triple which was amazing and I'm pretty sure that qualifies him for NCAAs... [Whitaker] also came in second in the 1500 which

was also awesome. She finished very strong and really had a great race.”

Mark Franklin ’17 picked up points in the high jump, leaping 1.84 to tie for fourth place with Emory University senior Brandon Bassell.

Jonathan Gilman ’15 placed seventh in the men's javelin, throwing 47.56 meters. Adam Berger ’15, meanwhile, took eighth in the triple jump with an effort of 12.86 meters.

Berger, Sidique and Franklin racked up eighth, ninth and 15th places in the men's long jump, leaping 6.24 meters, 6.22 meters and 5.70 meters, in that order.

Nick Wactor ’17 led the Brandeis effort in the 200-meter dash, taking 13th in 23.08. Berger, Jeremy Wilson ’17 and Ben Pomerantz ’17 took spots 15 through 17, timing in at 23.94, 24.34 and 24.50, respectively.

In the finals of the 400-meter dash, Wactor and Sidique placed seventh and eighth, respectively, completing the one-lap race in 51.66 and 52.54. Wil-

son placed 14th in 54.08.

Matthew Becker ’16 placed 12th in the 800-meter run. Becker broke the two-minute barrier for the first time, completing the two-lap race in 1:59.55.

In the other middle-distance event, Grady Ward ’16 placed 14th in the 1500-meter run, going 4:07.18.

In the relays, the Judges amassed a trio of seventh-place finishes. The quartet of Tai, Wactor, Berger and Sidique ran the 4x100 meter relay (45.04). Later, Sidique, Wilson, Becker and Wactor clocked in at 3:30.25 in the 4x400 relay.

“UAAs [are] different because we are the black sheep of the conference,” Lundkvist said.

“All of the other teams have much bigger numbers and much more depth than we do so that makes it hard for us to really compete as a team.”

The team will next compete on Friday and Saturday at the New England Division III Championships, hosted

by Springfield College.

SOFTBALL

Women sweep doubleheader ■ The Judges extended

MORGAN BRILL/Justice File Photo

EYES ON THE BALL: Danny Lubarsky ’16 goes airborne during doubles play for a shot during the Judges’ 8-1 loss to Division I Bryant University on April 9.

TENNIS: Judges face nationally ranked teams CONTINUED FROM 16 got to a slow start, dropping the No. 2 match by an 8-4 margin.

Schlesinger and Vandroff came close to drawing a tie with the Maroons, but ultimately, fell victim to a break of serve, dropping a 9-7 match to sophomore Stephanie Lee and junior Kelsey McGillis.

Cooke and Roberta Bergstein ’14 came even closer than that, falling just short after a 7-2 tiebreaker loss to the junior duo of Megan Tang and Tiffany Chen.

Cooke avenged her defeat to Tang, the top-ranked player in the Central Region, with a 6-4, 6-1 win in straight

sets in singles play. However, the rest of the team then experienced a rut, dropping the next three matches. Vandroff and Maya Vasser ’16 won at the No. 5 and No. 6 courts, but ultimately, could not win it for the Judges.

The squads may have concluded their season, but as Granoff noted, expectations are high for squads that will have plenty of experience next year.

“Next year, we expect to do even better and be nationally ranked… with experience, we hope to build off of our lessons and end in the top four at the UAA to hopefully make NCAA’s,” he said.

their winning streak to five games with a sweep of visiting Emerson College on Senior Day.

By AVI GOLD JUSTICE EDITOR

The women’s softball team finished off a nearly flawless week with a sweep of a doubleheader against visiting Emerson College, taking the opening game 5-2 and surviving an 8-6 slugfest in the second. The wins are part of a five-game winning streak for the Judges, a turnaround from a prior three-game losing streak.

The Judges now sit at 20-16 overall on the year.

Earlier in the week on Thursday, the team swept a doubleheader at Worcester State University, taking the opener 12-7 and the second game 5-4, and split a doubleheader at Clark University last Tuesday—dropping the first game 9-8 but responding with a 9-8 win in the second game.

Right fielder Danielle Novotny ’16 said the winning streak is due to both a strong performace by both the offense and defense.

“The biggest contributing factor has been hitting in the lineup from top to bottom—everyone has had a clutch hit to contribute to us scoring runs,” she said. “Our defense has been very solid as of late; we've turned a lot more double plays recently and that gives us momentum which we bring to the next play.”

Center fielder Anya Kamber ’15 paced the Judges offense in the first

win over Emerson, going a perfect 4-for-4 from the plate, driving in five runs on a pair of RBI doubles and an RBI single. Starting pitcher Nikki Cote ’14 picked up the win on Senior Day, allowing three runs on six hits, while striking out three batters over six innings pitched.

Emerson pushed across a run on their first hit of the day. After a pair of walks began the top of the first inning, Emerson senior outfielder Bianca Buono brought home a run with a single to second base.

Cote avoided further trouble when the Judges caught Emerson freshman pitcher Jenna Giannelli in a rundown between third and home during a stolen base attempt and got out of the inning.

Brandeis would respond in the bottom of the first inning, cashing in on a one-out walk by second baseman Leah McWilliams ’14, who scored on second baseman Liana Moss’s 17 home run just one batter later.

The Judges tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the second inning and three in the bottom of the third—four by Kamber—to jump out to a 7-1 lead. Though Emerson got two runs back in the top of the fifth inning, Kamber’s fifth RBI of the game in the bottom of the inning gave the Judges an 8-3 lead put the game out of reach.

In the second game, starting pitcher Melissa Nolan ’14 pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on six hits, and striking out six batters over seven innings of work. The Judges relied upon the longball to get past Emerson, scoring all five runs of the game via home run. First baseman Jordan Buscetto ’16 hit a three-run

home run in the bottom of the second inning before third baseman Madison Sullivan ’16 and Nolan led off the bottom of the sixth inning with backto-back home runs to seal the victory.

Kamber went 2-for-3 from the plate with a pair of singles, the only member of the Judges to record multiple hits on the day.

“It's been great seeing our pitchers succeed late into games because it gives them confidence, and it's generally good for them to face the same batters over and over again because they can pitch to the batter's weaknesses,” Novotny said.

Sullivan led the Judges to a 5-4 victory in eight innings on Thursday in the first game of a doubleheader at Worcester State, driving in Novotny with no outs in the eighth inning.

Cote pitched all eight innings to pick up the win for the Judges, recording three strikeouts along the way.

In the first game, a 12-7 victory, Sullivan and second baseman Madison Gagnon ’16 each had two RBIs, while both Novotny and Kamber went 4-for5 and scored at least two runs.

The Judges began their winning streak with a 7-5 victory over Clark, getting two RBIs from both Moss and Novotny. Gagnon set the table as the leadoff hitter, going 2-for-5 with two runs scored. In a 9-8 loss in the first game, relief pitcher Melissa Soleimani ’17 took the loss, giving up three runs in 2.2 innings of relief.

McWilliams paced the offense in the loss with a perfect 4-for-4 day from the plate, driving in three runs in the process.

The Judges conclude their regular season with a trip to Babson College today at 5 p.m.

BASEBALLSOFTBALL TENNIS TRACK

WRITE FOR SPORTS Contact Avi Gold at sports@thejustice.org

BASEBALLSOFTBALL TENNIS TRACK

A E S K I A H T M N U A O TH Y D ?

N A A C TER NE O T E B

O Y A

L IN

JO

!

T U AT R NE

C C I C T EBE JUS

R HE T C @T A T N T

CO YOU LA

Follow Justice!

the

@theJustice and like us at: Facebook.com/thejusticeonline

G

T R N A O A L E.

Complete Package Deal From $253 Reserve yours today!

Just 5 minutes from campus!

THE JUSTICE

●

Tuesday, APRIL 29, 2014

15

ATHLETE PROFILE

jUDGES BY THE NUMBERS baseball TEAM STATS

UAA STANDINGS

Runs Batted In

Not including Monday’s games.

UAA Conference

W L Case 6 2 Emory 6 2 WashU 4 4 Rochester 2 6 JUDGES 2 6 Chicago 0 0

Tom McCarthy ’15 leads the team with 19 RBIs. Player RBIs Tom McCarthy 19 Connor Doyle 15 Greg Heineman 14 Brian Ing 14

Overall L Pct. 10 .750 10 .744 15 .615 14 .622 19 .406 Strikeouts 22 .290 Kyle Brenner ’15 leads all pitchers with 58 strikeouts.

Player Ks UPCOMING GAMES: Kyle Brenner 58 Today at WPI Elio Fernandez 20 Tomorrow at UMass Dartmouth Colin Markel 15 Liam Coughlin 12 W 30 29 24 23 13 9

SOFTBALL UAA STANDINGS

TEAM STATS

Not including Monday’s games.

Runs Batted In

UAA Conference

W L Emory 5 3 WashU 5 3 Case 5 3 Rochester 4 6 JUDGES 3 5 Chicago 0 0

Strikeouts

W 36 30 25 22 20 25

Overall L Pct. 7 .837 15 .667 15 .625 10 .688 16 .556 8 .758

Anya Kamber ’15 leads the squad with 36 RBIs. Player RBIs Anya Kamber 36 Liana Moss 27 Cori Coleman 21 Madison Gagnon 21 Melissa Nolan ’14 leads all pitchers with 57 strikeouts.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The team will conclude their regular season with a game at Babson College today at 5 p.m.

TOP PERFORMERS (Women’s)

Brown guides Judges in final year on the court

1500-METER RUN Kelsey Whitaker Amelia Lundkvist Victoria Sanford Kristi Pisarik

■ Adam Brown ’14 led the tennis team to several big wins this year, including a victory over Trinity College this month.

Player Ks Melissa Nolan 57 Nikki Cote 50 Samantha Wroblewski 25 Emma Krulick 21

TRACK AND FIELD Results from the University Athletic Association Outdoor Championships.

TOP PERFORMERS (Men’s) 400-METER DASH TIME Nick Wactor 51.66 Mohamed Sidique 51.86 Jeremy Wilson 54.08 1500-METER RUN TIME Grady Ward 4:07.18

PHOTO COURTESY OF ADAM BROWN

OVERHEAD SWING: Adam Brown ’14 watches a shot during the Judges’ 5-4 victory over visiting Trinity College on April 12.

TIME 4:41.48 4:43.88 4:52.41 4:55.13

By Celine hacobian Justice editor

UPCOMING MEET:

The men’s and women’s track and field squads will travel to the Brown Collegiate Springtime Invitational at Brown University on Saturday.

TENNIS Updated season results.

TOP PERFORMERS (Men’s)

TOP PERFORMERS (Women’s)

MEN’S SINGLES Brian Granoff

RECORD 14-8

WOMEN’S SINGLES Carley Cooke

RECORD 14-5

MEN’S DOUBLES Granoff/Secular

RECORD 10-6

WOMEN’S DOUBLES Bernstein/Lazar

RECORD 12-11

EDITOR’S NOTE: The men’s and women’s tennis teams both concluded their seasons at the UAA Championships held this past weekend in which the women finished in sixth place and the men finished in seventh place.

Adam Brown ’14 has been playing tennis since his parents signed him up for lessons at their racket club when he was 10 years old. Unlike many of his tennis friends, neither of Brown’s parents was familiar with the sport, so he had to figure out much of the culture himself.

“I had to figure out how to play tournaments and stuff on my own and my dad never wanted to drive very far for tournaments,” Brown said. “But it was good that way because I think I enjoy it more than some people. I’ve had to discover it for myself.”

As captain of the men’s tennis team, Brown has the responsibility of uniting the team both on and off the court. He struggled in the beginning to unify the five new first-years and the existing team.

“Once everyone became closer off the court, it became a lot easier to fight for each other in matches,” Brown said.

“Tennis is kind of unique because you grew up playing it individually,” he continued.

One of the team’s biggest disappointments was the match against New York University, as they played them earlier in the season on indoor courts, which affects the pace of the ball and the environment because of a lack of wind or sun.

“Indoors, you have to play offensive or you’re not going to win.

Outdoors, you can play however you want and just be really good at the way you play,” Brown said.

The match against NYU affected the team’s seeding, and placed them in the eighth seed for the University Athletic Association Championships, although the team ranks 30th in the country, and placed seventh in the tournament.

Brown brought his team closer with a hiking trip in New Hampshire as well as captain’s practices in the offseason.

One of their best matches took place against Trinity College. Head coach Ben Lamanna had not been able to win against them since he started coaching at Brandeis nine years ago. A couple weeks ago, however, the team was able to win the match 5-4.

In order to establish a rhythm between his style of play and his oppo-

nents’, Brown takes advantage of the warm-up before matches. During the first few games, after getting a feel for their style, “each player make more errors than they do the rest of the match because they’re trying to feel out their opponent,” Brown said.

“But then after that, you get used to the player and how they play, [Because] everyone does play a little differently.”

Brown said that the sport has become much more than a game for him. He remembered last year’s Senior Day, when the players were emotional speaking about the seniors. “It really just made me realize how much of a family Brandeis tennis was and how much it means to everyone,” he said.

It will be a family he will miss next year, as he will be working in an information technology company in Hartford, Conn. “I interned there last summer, so it should be good, I’m excited for it, but not excited to stop playing college tennis,” he said.

Brown has high hopes for next year’s team and faith in the way the first-year players will carry the team for the rest of their time at Brandeis on the team. According to Brown, “They have all the tools to really take this team—we’re losing no starters this year, so [they] just [need] to take the team to the next level.”

PRO SPORTS BRIEF Opening round of NBA Playoffs providing no home court advantage for league’s top-seeded teams It took 82 games to decide homecourt advantage throughout the NBA Playoffs, but after a week of basketball all of that could be thrown out the window.

Of the eight playoff series in the first round, the only team to maintain its home court is the defending champion Miami Heat, which only had to contend with a limping Al Jefferson after he injured his plantar fascia in the opening minutes of the first game.

Out of the seven series in which the higher seed has lost home court advantage, two teams lost both games at home.

The Chicago Bulls, exceeding all expectations by grabbing the fourth seed after guard Derrick Rose went down for the second-straight season and forward Luol Deng was traded

away to the Cleveland Cavaliers, have seemingly come down to earth and lost both home games to start off the series. The young Washington Wizards team on the other hand seems to be peaking at just the right time, led by their explosive backcourt duo of guards John Wall and Bradley Beal.

Now the Bulls are down 3-1 going back home, which unfortunately for them guarantees nothing.

The Houston Rockets are dealing with a much different set of expectations, but they are struggling just the same.

Guard James Harden is shooting an abysmal 27-for-82 for the Rockets, a 33 percent that is well below his season average of 46 percent from the field.

What is even more concerning is

that he’s not getting to the free throw line, where he thrived during the season.

The Portland Trail Blazers’ forward LaMarcus Aldridge is making life especially difficult for the Rockets, breaking team records and putting up numbers that put him into an elite class of playoff performers.

Aldridge is averaging 37 points and 12 rebounds per game, all the while shooting 53 percent over the first three games and a quiet 29 points in the Blazers’ overtime win in Game 4.

Continuing with the head-scratching trend, the Blazers went home after winning two games on the road and proceeded to lose the game in overtime, making the series 2-1, but responded with a win in game 4 for a 3-1 series lead.

The grander picture looming over

the struggles of these higher seeds is the job security that seems to be slipping away from coaches like Kevin McHale of Houston, Frank Vogel of Indiana and Scott Brooks of Oklahoma City.

Amid the Indiana Pacers’ collapse, rumors started to swirl that Vogel was in danger of losing his job if he couldn’t get his team out of the first round. Pacers general manager Kevin Pritchard jokingly tweeted on the matter, assuring fans that Vogel’s job was safe.

Brooks and McHale have not been so lucky as to avoid controversy.

Both Brooks and McHale have been criticized for their respective team’s lack of imagination on the offensive side of the ball, but their star players are not helping matters.

Both Oklahoma City Thunder for-

ward Kevin Durant and guard Russell Westbrook have been in a rut on offense, shooting 40 percent and 44 percent for the series, respectively.

Harden has struggled from the field for a Rockets team that finds itself down 2-1 in the series.

As the teams struggle to find any continuity, their coaches take the brunt of the blame.

As the playoffs progress, only time will tell if this trend continues.

There’s evidence that these series might even out eventually, as the Pacers, Thunder and Clippers have all regained home-court advantage.

Then again, predicting the outcomes of these series based on homecourt advantage would be a foolish thing to do.

—Daniel Kanovich

just

Sports

Page 16

LAST HURRAH Adam Brown ’14, captain of the men’s tennis team, has steered the Judges to another successful campaign, p. 15.

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Waltham, Mass.

tennis

FROM THE STRETCH

Squads travel to UAA tournament ■ The women’s team took

sixth place and the men’s team took seventh at the UAA Championships.

By Adam rabinowitz JUSTICE editor

GRACE KWON/Justice File Photo

TWO SEAMER: Pitcher Liam Coughlin ’17 throws a pitch in the Judges’ 9-7 victory over Western New England University on April 10.

Judges unable to hold late leads in defeats ■ Center fielder Sam Miller

’16 was the only member of the Judges to record multiple hits in the team’s losses to Trinity College on Sunday.

By AVI GOLD JUSTICE EDITOR

The men’s baseball team has struggled to find its offense in games away from Stein Diamond, resulting in a 3-10 record in games away from home.

This past week was no easier for the Judges, as the team dropped all four of its road games, including a pair of late-inning losses to Trinity College on Sunday afternoon.

With the four losses, the Judges fall to 13-19 overall, just a .406 winning percentage. Although the team’s offense averages more than four runs scored in every home game, it is only averaging three runs in away games.

In the opener of Sunday’s twin bill at Trinity, the Judges offense handed pitcher Kyle Brenner ’15 an early lead.

With runners on first and third and one out in the top of the second inning, catcher Connor Doyle ’16 hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Brenner from third base and giving the Judges a 1-0 lead.

From there, Brenner threw a gem, allowing just one hit between the third and sixth innings. In the bottom of the seventh, however, Brenner was tagged for an unearned run before wiggling out of a two on, two out jam.

The Judges stormed right back in the top of the eighth inning, using an RBI double from left fielder Brian Ing ’14 to regain the lead.

Though the Judges had jumped back in front, Trinity tied the game in

the bottom of the inning with a leadoff home run. The home run gave Trinity all the momentum they needed, sitting down the Judges in order in the top of the 10th inning before walking off with an RBI single in the bottom of the frame.

Brenner took the hard-luck loss for Brandeis, striking out seven batters over 9.2 innings.

Doyle, who had one hit on the game, saw a problem in the Judges’ inability to string hits together.

“I just think we have to make the most of our opportunities with runners on base,” he said. “I think we would be a better team if we could get a bunch of hits together and get runners on and get some runs across the plate.”

In the second game, the Judges used a three-run fourth inning to jump out to a lead but once again could not secure the win in late innings. Brenner, second baseman Dominic Schwartz ’14 and Doyle all had RBIs in the threerun third, punctuated by Brenner’s RBI double.

Starting pitcher Colin Markel ’14, who gave up three runs on six hits over six innings, was removed for relief pitcher Liam Coughlin ’17 for the bottom of the seventh inning.

Coughlin was plagued by a suddenly weak defense, allowing the bases to be loaded on a single and a pair of errors committed by the Judges.

With nobody out and the bases loaded, Trinity needed just one batter to get the single they needed for the 4-3 victory over the Judges.

“When we do the little things we are a very successful team,” said pitcher James Machado ’16. “When we do not do the little things, we lose close games like we did against Trinity.”

Doyle said the team’s large number of extra-inning games and difficult schedule have both contributed to

their late-inning struggles.

“It’s mostly focus,” he said. “We’ve gotten into a couple long games with extra innings, [so] I think it’s a mental thing but we’ve also got some new guys in the lineup. I think it’s mostly being able to bear down [and get out of an inning.]”

Earlier in the week, the Judges had no better luck finding their offensive stroke. On Friday, the team traveled to Salve Regina University and could not keep up with the offense in an 8-2 loss. Just a day before that, the team dropped a 2-0 decision to Daniel Webster College. The Judges were able to get a walk off win of their own, however, defeating Curry College 6-5 in 10 innings in a home game last Tuesday.

Designated hitter Cameron Shaw ’15 smashed a home run in the top of the eighth inning in Friday’s loss at Salve Regina, and third baseman Greg Heineman ’16 followed with an RBI single in the top of the ninth inning, but the six-run deficit was too much for Brandeis to overcome. Machado gave up one run in 2.2 innings of relief.

Starting pitcher Elio Fernandez ’15 pitched seven strong innings against Daniel Webster, striking out four batters but allowed both runs in the 2-0 loss. Center fielder Sam Miller ’16 and shortstop Brian Allen ’15 both had two hits for the Judges.

In the home win over Curry, second baseman Rob Trenk ’15 laid down a sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the 11th inning, allowing Brenner to score and handing the Judges a 6-5 win.

Brenner, who picked up the win with 3.1 innings of scoreless relief, began the inning with a double to the center field gap.

The Judges conclude their home season with Senior Day today with a game versus Worcester Polytechnic Institute at 3:30 p.m.

On April 21, en route from a road match against local rival Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the men’s and women’s tennis teams were on two different positions.

The No. 30 men’s squad surged from a 3-1 deficit in singles play to take down the Engineers in a critical 6-3 victory. The No. 22 women’s team only mustered one point against MIT in an 8-1 loss, snapping a six-match winning streak.

The men looked to build upon their success and the women sought to shake off defeat at the University Athletic Association Championships in Orlando, Fla. that weekend.

One week later, on the flight back to Waltham, the squads were at odds once again. The men salvaged a seventh place finish in the UAA, and an 11-10 record, with a commanding 7-2 victory over the University of Rochester. The women dropped to sixth place, and an 11-11 finish, after suffering a 5-4 loss to Case Western Reserve University.

“Against Rochester, we were all just in better shape and wanted it more than them,” said Brian Granoff ’17. “Their guys were cramping up but we were all fine and played much better than them all around.”

Granoff and Danny Lubarsky ’16 clinched an 8-4 win at the No. 1 slot, setting the tone for the Judges. Alec Siegel ’15 and Michael Arguello ’17 offset a tight 8-6 loss at the No. 3 with a nail-biting 9-8 victory of their own.

Michael Secular ’15 and Granoff rolled over their opponents in straight sets, leaving the decisive match to Lubarsky.

He delivered in the No. 3 slot with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Rochester junior Julian Danko. Ryan Bunis ’17, for added measure, rode his way to the end of the season on a 10-match winning streak, securing a 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) victory.

Just a day earlier, the men almost

avoided the seventh-place match with Rochester, falling just short in a 5-4 defeat to the University of Chicago for fifth place. The Maroons raced out to two straight victories on doubles courts.

However, in singles play the Judges shined. Secular topped Chicago freshman Max Hawkins 7-5, 6-2 at the No. 6 court, laying the foundation for three critical Brandeis wins.

Granoff noted that the shortcomings in doubles play primarily led to the Judges’ downfall.

“Against Chicago, the doubles was the huge difference,” he said.

“We went down 3-0 after doubles and just couldn’t win five out of the six singles matches.”

The men, however, improved greatly after suffering an 8-1 defeat to the defending UAA champion Washington University in St. Louis at the outset of the tournament.

Bunis earned the lone point for the Judges, maintaining his winning streak with a 6-0, 3-6, 10-16 triumph over WashU senior Tim Noack.

The women’s squad followed a different trajectory on their UAA path this weekend. On Sunday, in the fifth-place match against Case, the Judges dropped their first two doubles matches before Dylan Schlesinger ’15 and Simone Vandroff ’15 attained a 9-8 victory in the No. 3 court.

However, the women weren’t going home without a fight. Carley Cooke ’15 improved to 8-0 at the No. 1 court in UAA play with a 6-2, 6-2 straight-sets victory over junior Marianne Bonnano. Allyson Bernstein ’14 and Emily Eska ’16 took control from there, winning at the No. 2 and No. 4 spots, respectively.

Yet, Case proceeded to win the next two matches to knock off the Judges.

It was a different story for the women against New York University on Saturday. The senior duo of Bernstein and Marissa Lazar ’14 secured an 8-4 victory at the No. 2 for their ninth win in 10 matches while Vandroff and Schlesinger cruised to an 8-1 win. In singles, the women did not even drop a set, ensuring an 8-1 victory over NYU. In the quarterfinal match against fourth-seeded Chicago, the women

See TENNIS, 13 ☛

Track and Field

Teams race UAA foes at conference meeting ■ Mohamed Sidique ’15

earned All-UAA honors in winning the men’s triple jump and setting a personal best.

By Henry Loughlin JUSTICE senior WRITER

When the stakes are high, both the men’s and women’s track and field teams seem to perform best.

Competing at the University Athletic Association Championships at the University of Chicago, the teams featured one individual winner, a second place relay squad and many other standout performers in many of the competitors’ final meet of the spring season.

Both teams finished seventh, with the women racking up 30 points, while the men collected 27.5 points.

The women made a strong show-

ing in the 1500-meter run, as four Brandeis competitors ran. Kelsey Whitaker ’16 took second in four minutes, 41.48 seconds, just 2.41 seconds behind New York University senior Emily Cousens. Amelia Lundkvist ’14 was next in fifth, running 4:43.88. Victoria Sanford ’14 took 11th in 4:53.02, while Kristi Pisarik ’15 rounded out the Judges' effort in 4:55.13, good for 14th place.

As a senior, Lundkvist reflected on her final trip to the meet.

“It was pretty sad to realize that that was my last ever UAAs and that I didn't finish as I wanted but it was still a great trip and I'm really going to miss traveling with them and competing with them,” she said.

Meanwhile, the foursome took second in the 4x800 meter relay, running a time of 9:21.61, just .76 seconds behind the Chicago's quartet. Later, the same four runners also placed

See TRACK, 13 ☛

JustArts 25 Volume LXVI, Number 26

Your weekly guide to arts, movies, music and everything cultural at Brandeis and beyond

Tuesday,April April29, 8, 2014 Tuesday, 2014

Waltham, Waltham,Mass.

Mass.

Springfest Annual concert brings RJD2, American Authors, Atmosphere and Icona Pop >> p.20

Boston Typewriter Orchestra-Orchestra uses an unconventional instrument to create rhythmic music » 22

INSIDE

Livingston Taylor Classic pop artist holds concert, carrying on his connection with the University » 22

‘Illuminations’ Performance art depicts the lives of 16th-century nuns » 19

Puppet Show Bonnie Duncan performs ‘Squirrel Stole My Underpants’ for children and adults alike » 23

18

justARTS

TUESDAY, April 29, 2014 | THE JUSTICE

CALENDAR

INTERVIEW

$

What’s happening in Arts on and off campus this week

ON-CAMPUS EVENTS UNDER COLOR

As the Hadassah-Brandeis Instititute artist-in-residence, Jeanne Williamson worked on site to create a series of Jewish wedding canopies, or chuppot. Using common construction fencing as her template, Williamson draws inspiration from this material and its grid-like patterns. Visually and conceptually linking the �protected area of an urban building site with the symbolic protection of the wedding canopy, the chuppot on view offer a new interpretation of our relationship to our surroundings and the ritual of marriage.

On view today through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Kniznick Gallery of the Women’s Studies Research Center.

Sponsored by the Women’s Studies Research Center and HBI.

Jason Dick ’14

Unexpected Pathways

Challenge your expectations, delight your senses and follow your own improvisational pathways. This event is presented by the Brandeis Improv Collective and directed by Tom Hall.

Today from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Slosberg Music Center. This event is free and open to the public.

Associate Producer for Festival of the Arts JOSH HOROWITZ/the Justice

This week, justArts spoke with Jason Dick ’14, the associate producer for the annual Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Arts.

JustArts: Why did you become involved with the Festival of the Arts?

TBA Improv and Sketch Comedy group presents their semester show based off the classic campfire story.

Today at 9 p.m. in Cholmondeley’s Coffeehouse.

The Singing Party

Directed by Prof. Nancy Armstrong (THA), this musical event will feature the talented voices of many singers, Today at 7 .m. in Laurie Theater of the Spingold Theater Center.

Proscenium’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah

Come celebrate the a cappella group Proscenium’s 13th birthday and semester show.

Wednesday from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the

JA: Can you tell us a little about the inspiration for this year’s theme?

JA: Can you tell us a little about how you chose who will perform?

JD: So there’s an application for people to perform on Super Sunday and we tell everyone about that. We recruit people, and I send out lots of emails. Based on those applications we accept everyone whose performance is appropriate for a 20-minute slot at a festival. We try to accept everyone that we can, and we expanded a bit this year, we added a couple of new locations. Sometimes it’s people returning, and sometimes it’s people applying for the first time, and sometimes it’s us thinking this would fit in well with the rest of the Festival.

JA: Why is the Festival of the Arts important for Brandeis students?

JD: Brandeis is a school where people don’t really find themselves in one niche, they’re not really only invested in one thing, and I find that most people have some kind of an affiliation with the arts. Whether they have a friend who is growing fungus, which is happening this year… whether you know somebody or you did a show once or you like to go to the Rose [Art Museum], or you just enjoy seeing the art around campus, I think it’s just got something for everybody. This year we have things ranging from somebody doing aerial silks routine to a cappella fest, to “Unframing Kassandra” which I can’t even begin to explain. It’s the brain child of Lenny Schnier ’13 and Alex Weick ’15, enough said I think. It varies and it’s rare that you find a festival of this scale right in your own back yard and everything is free. You can just walk out your door and take advantage of that, and why wouldn’t you if you could?

JA: So if a student were to only see one event, which one would you recommend?

JD: Can I give you one for every day? I’m going to leave out Super Sunday because that’s obvious. Right now I’m really excited for our Festival of the Arts de-stresser, it’s called “A Squirrel Stole My Underpants.” This professional creator/performer/dancer named Bonnie Duncan has this solo act where she uses puppetry and dance to tell the story of a squirrel stealing a little girl’s underpants. I think it’s going to be fun—a nice hour to destress.

—Emily Wishingrad and Carly Chernomorets

Opening Reception

Join the Class of 2014 Senior Studio majors in the opening reception of their art exhibition. Refreshments will be served.

Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Dreitzer Gallery of Spingold Theater Center.

First ever Getz Gallery

For the fist time, Getz Multimedia Lab is hosting a gallery to display student work that showcases the different effects used in Photoshop.

Attendants will also have the opportunity to ask staff questions about how the photos will be edited and take pictures in a photo booth.

Wednesday from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Getz Multimedia Lab in Farber Library.

Belly Dance Ensemble

For their semester show, the Brandeis Belly Dance Ensemble will perform their colorful and exciting dances.

Wednesday from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium.

Camp Fire Stories

Jason Dick: I’ve been very actively involved in the arts at Brandeis since I arrived four years ago, and I found myself with a lighter load this semester … moving towards post graduation plans, so I thought to myself “oh wow that’s something I’d really like to do,” so I sent in a resume and a cover letter not really knowing what it would entail. I’d attended festival events before but I never really got the grand scheme of it until I started working it. So I talked to Ingrid [Schorr, Associate Director of the Arts] about it. I realized I wanted the job when I was driving one day after I had the interview with her and I had this idea so I pulled over and wrote it in the notes app of my iPhone. Just from my involvement with arts over the years [I got involved] and I’d always wanted to work with Scott [Edmiston, Director of the Arts] and Ingrid.

JD: It’s based on the 2013 word of the year: “selfie.”

The way they do the theme is by looking at all of the applications for grants and thinking about what they all have in common. There were a lot of self-reflection pieces this year, a lot of exhibition projects that were really looking at self, like “The Memory Project,” which is all about finding yourself in art. So they toyed around with a lot of phrases and they were about to choose it right before I signed on and they said “What do you think of it?” I told them that I really loved the simplicity of it. I think that in years past there’s been a lot more to the themes and this one takes it down to a more simplistic level and gives it more variety.

Mandel Center for Humanities Atrium.

Tickets are $5 at the door.

Top Score Semester Show

Top Score, Brandeis’ only studentrun orchestra, hosts their semester show that will feature orchestral versions of popular songs.

Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Schwartz Hall. The event is free.

SCRAM Study Night

The Student Committee for the Rose Art Museum will be providing a quiet study space inside the museum for students. Tables will be set up in the galleries, along with coffee and refreshments. .

Wednesday from 8 p.m. to twelve midnight in the Rose Art Museum.

Great Lawn Groove

Hosted by Brandeis Beats, this lively spring event will feature a lesson on drumming taught by professional drummer Jeremy Cohen.

Thursday at 4 p.m. on the Great Lawn.

Learn how to make a poster

Sign up to learn how to make a photoshop poster during Getz Multimedia Lab’s final workshop of the semester. .

Saturday from 3 to 4 p.m. in the Getz Media Lab. Prior registration required.

Com Pani Code!

Company B presents their semesterly show with a theme based on Dan Brown’s novels. The singers will unravel the Dan Brown-style mysteries they meet with their typical a cappella style.

Sunday at 4 p.m. in the Laurie Theater in the Spingold Theater Center. Tickets are $5 at the door.

Starving Artists Semester Show

Starving Artists presents their semester show.

Sunday at 2:30 p.m. in Mandel G03.

Voicemale’s Testfest

The all-male a capella group presents their biggest performance of the year where they will release their brand new EP. Sunday from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium. Free with a Brandeis ID.

OFF-CAMPUS EVENTS

ArtWeek Boston

Sponsored by the Citi Performing Arts Center, this week-long event incorporates art and community with different events in Boston Occurring in various locations throughout the Boston area from April 25 to May 4. See artweekboston.org for more information.

Pop Culture n !

ww you believe that it’s the last Can day of class, Brandeis? It’s been a whirlwind year for all celebrity news and this week’s pop culture headlines only add to the excitement. So, take a break from all of your finals woes and catch up on some of this week’s celebrity gossip!

Last Sunday, actors Olivia Wilde, 30, and Jason Sudeikis, 36, welcomed their first child, a son named Otis Alexander. Wilde took to Twitter the following Wednesday to write, “Ladies and gentlemen, Otis Alexander Sudeikis has LEFT the building (I’m the building).” Wilde started dating Saturday Night Live alum Sudeikis back in late 2011, months after her divorce from her first husband, Italian filmmaker Tao Ruspoli, was finalized.

Wilde and Sudeikis became engaged back in January 2013 and have never been shy about their relationship. In October 2012, the actress famously boasted that she and Sudeikis “have sex like Kenyan marathon runners” while speaking at an event hosted

by Glamour that featured a series of comedic monologues by women in Hollywood. Since baby Otis’ birth, paparazzi have caught proud Papa Sudeikis happily showing off photos of his son to his co-stars (including Glee actress Dianna Agron) while on the Boston set of their upcoming film Tumbledown.

Another celebrity couple welcomed a new addition to their family. Last Tuesday, actress Drew Barrymore gave birth to Frankie, her second daughter with her husband, art adviser Will Kopelman. Frankie joins 19-month-old big sister, Olive.

Barrymore, 38, married Kopelman, 36, back in June 2012. Earlier this month, Barrymore had a star-studded baby shower—Reese Witherspoon, Cameron Diaz and Gwyneth Paltrow all attended. Who knows—considering Barrymore herself was born into a family of actors, perhaps Olive and Frankie will eventually follow in their mother’s footsteps.

By Mara Sassoon

CREATIVE COMMONS

BUNDLE OF JOY: Last Sunday, Sudeikis and Wilde welcomed their first child together.

Our last piece of news might come as a shock. George Clooney is engaged. Yes, that’s right; the actor, a notorious bachelor, finally popped the big question to his girlfriend Amal Alamuddin. People Magazine confirmed the news Sunday night.

Clooney, 52, and Alamuddin, 36, a British attorney, were first photographed together this past October. Just last Thursday, the couple was seen having dinner in Malibu, Calif. with model Cindy Crawford and her husband Rande Gerber. Reportedly, Alamuddin had an eye-catching ring on her left hand that night. Still, there hasn’t been confirmation about the exact date

Clooney proposed.

Clooney was married to actress Talia Balsam from 1989 to 1993. Since then, he has dated a number of women including actress Renée Zellweger, Italian television personality Elisabetta Canalis and former WWE wrestler Stacy Keibler. In a famous 1995 interview with Barbara Walters, he had even asserted he wouldn’t get married again. Apparently, he’s had a change of heart.

That’s your pop culture round-up for this week. Hopefully, you can recover from this earth-shattering revelation that George Clooney is ready to break his bachelor ways and get on with studying for your finals.

ARTS COVER IMAGES: GRACE KWON, OLIVIA POBIEL, JOSHUA LINTON an d MORGAN BRILL/the Justice, DESIGN: OLIVIA POBIEL AND GRACE KWON/the Justice.

ON CAMPUS

THE JUSTICE | TUESDAY, April 29, 2014

19

performance art

Performance depicts 16th-century nuns

OLIVIA POBIEL/the Justice

ILLUMINATING HISTORY: In a performance installation at Bethlehem Chapel, artists re-created lives of nuns of the Cistercian Abbey of Salzinnes in present-day Belgium.

By JAIME KAISER justice EDITOR

Bethlehem Chapel is routinely utilized as a place of worship for Catholic community members.

Perhaps the religious hymns that issued from the sacred space on Saturday evening seemed in keeping with the theme of the location to passersby who neglected to take a closer look.

Yet as if the songs possessed some kind time-bending magic, guests of the chapel that night were privileged with a unique experience that transported them to a different era.

On April 26, the Chapel hosted an event titled “Illuminations” a performance-installation piece depicting a 16th-century convent of nuns of the Cistercian Abbey of Salzinnes, Belgium. The event was featured as a part of the Festival of the Arts, showcasing a musical performance from the professional music ensemble called Capella Clausura.

The goal of the ensemble is not only to academically assess the

historical and musical dimensions of music but to bring it to life, performing music dating back to the eighth century up to the modern day.

Musical theorist Amelia LeClair, a visiting scholar at the Women’s Studies Research Center, founded Cappella Clausura in 2004 and was the artistic director of “Illuminations,” along with WSRC scholar Alexandra Borrie.

The installation is a testament to the recently discovered Salzinnes Antiphonal, which remained largely ignored by the academic community until art historian Judy Dietz decided to take the manuscript for her master’s thesis at Saint Mary’s University in Nova Scotia.

Dressed in full period costume, “nuns” sat among audience members as they chanted the liturgical hours.

The audience sat beside them in rapt attention as the chorus of sopranos and altos chanted with impeccable unison and pitch.

Frequent intermissions occurred during which the performers

stopped singing but remained in character; they did not speak, and guests were discouraged from interacting with them.

Intermissions were announced with a bell, signifying to the audience that it was appropriate to speak in hushed tones as they perused other parts of the event.

In addition to the ensemble, the event also allowed a peek into other aspects of medieval culture. Food included barley bread with grainy mustard and Gouda cheese served with stewed pears and preserved cabbage.

The display also features pigments replicated from the “Illuminations,” accurately placed inside mussel shells, which were typically used by medieval artists to hold such pigments.

LeClair collaborated with a team of close friends over the course of two years to create the finished piece. The idea came through a frustration with traditional museums.

LeClair frequents many museums and art galleries, but as an “oral person,” is often disappoint-

ed by the lack of focus on the auditory aspects of displays. “I want to create a gallery where the music is as important as the visual,” she said. Given the rich musical quality of the antiphonal, as well as the stunning Illustrations, she felt it was the perfect text to bring to life with equal parts music and visual art.

Just as the performance provides a unique perspective on the Belgian convent, the antiphonal, dating back to 1554, has shed light on unique lives in the particular Belgian convent it deals with.

The document contains full-page illustrations, or “illuminations” of biblical figures and scenes such as the Magi, the Virgin Mary and Christ’s baptism along the Jordan River.

The illuminations were imposed onto fabric banners that prominently hung from the ceiling of the chapel.

However notably and uniquely, the “Illuminations” also illustrate the lives of the 34 nuns who lived in the abbey. They have also signed their names at the bottom

of the pages to create an interesting contrast.

According to LeClair, “The church even today espouses anonymity. You’re not supposed to have any vanity about yourself and naming yourself in a way is a prideful thing to do,” she said.

The songs and antiphons as well as canticles sung by the nuns mimic the daily liturgical recitations that Cistercian nuns were tasked with.

Many nuns and monks today continue to carry out the task of reciting 150 songs in a week’s time, which amounts to five hours of chanting per day.

Attendees were not required to stay the entire time but could instead come and go as they pleased, fostering a casual, natural dynamic between the performers and themselves.

“The first name of it was ‘immersion’ because I thought that was exactly what I was doing,” said LeClair. Indeed, the event provided an intimate and experiential look into certain lives of the nuns.

ROSE ART MUSEUM

Classes draw inspiration from pieces at the Rose

By Phil gallagher justice editor

Students came together from different artistic disciplines on Saturday to perform original dances and songs inspired by artwork in the Rose Art Museum.

As part of the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Arts, students from Prof. Susan Dibble’s (THA) movement and dance class and Prof. Seth Coluzzi’s (MUS) songwriting class staged a show in the Lois Foster Gallery of the Rose.

Two groups from Dibble’s class performed dance pieces and four students from Coluzzi’s class performed original songs and the links between the artwork and their performances were clear.

One group from Dibble’s class, consisting of Tara Loeber ’14, Bethany Adam ’15, Chris Knight ’14 and Rachel Benjamin ’14, choreographed a dance that had highly mechanized gestures as well as mirror-image movements, drawing on the metal bridges on exhibit by Chris Burden and the cracked mirrors from an exhibit by Walead Beshty, respectively, according to the show’s program.

Dibble explained that she was both a choreographer and a painter, allowing for the two fields to meet in her artistic endeavors.

For her class, the assignment emphasized themes of both symmetry and asymmetry. “I had seen this exhibit before I gave the assignment, and I thought it was great because

all the exhibits here have either one or the other as part of their work,” Dibble said. “[Choreography works] in a way to move from one to the other so you are mixing between the two opposites, and ultimately that’s the way to catch an audience.”

In Coluzzi’s class, Ernest Ling ’15 wrote a song inspired by “Tsss,” a work by Mika Rottenberg, currently on view at the Rose. Rottenberg’s piece features an air conditioner above a heated hot plate, causing water leaking from the air conditioner to sizzle upon contact with the plate.

Ling discussed how the artwork and the consistency of its sound reminded him of childhood memories with his grandmother. He played the guitar and sang along with his own lyrics.

Coluzzi briefly compared the act of songwriting based on a painting to using a Ouija board. “You’re still controlling it, but you don’t really know it,” he said.

“You’re just getting compelled around the board in directions that you can’t anticipate.”

But what really made the performances significant was the centrality of the Rose in their development.

By linking the inspiration of each individual act to a work of art in the museum, it solidified the importance of the Rose across artistic disciplines at the University; the Rose is not just for art historians.

It can be used as a point of depar-

ture for a variety of pieces of art and underscore the rather crossdisciplinary nature of art that often proves to be unappreciated.

Additionally, the fact that the performances took place in the Lois Foster Gallery of the Rose was no-

table. As Student Committee for the Rose Art Museum member and emcee Daniela Dimitrova ’16 said at the beginning of the performances, “this is our museum, so it’s supposed to be our home as well.”

Together with the inspiration

from the paintings, the show allowed students to take ownership of the Rose. They utilized the entire museum to their advantage, performing in the gallery, setting up chairs, moving about the room and making music.

NATHANIEL FREEDMAN/the Justice

ARMS UP: Rachel Benjamin ’14, Tara Loeber ’14 and Bethany Adam ’15 (left to right) perform a piece inspired by Burden’s bridges.

20

TUESDAY, april 29, 2014 | THE JUSTICE

concert

Icona Pop headlines for this year’s rainy Springfest

PHOTOS BY MORGAN BRILL

AMERICAN BEAUTIES: Zac Barnett, lead singer of American Authors, sang “Cruise,” “Believer” and their hit, ‘Best Day of My Life,” on Sunday afternoon.

DROP THE BEAT: Icona Pop’s Caroline Hjelt (left) and Aino Jawo (right) rock out to their mixed tapes and their hit songs including “I Love It” and “All Night.”

By ilana kruger justice Staff writer

STAR STRUCK: Students at the front of the stage danced enthusiastically to the well-known headliners even through the soggy weather conditions.

Students filled Chapel’s Field on Sunday armed with beach towels and sunglasses for Springfest 2014 despite the rainy weather.

The excited chatter that had been circulating campus since the lineup was announced in late March culminated in cheering and singing that echoed around campus.

Organized by Student Events and WBRS, the concert featured Atmosphere, American Authors, RJD2 and headliner Icona Pop. This year’s theme was a beach party, which was ironic because of the chilly temperature and wet ground. The non-musical attractions included free pizza, a rock wall, a slip-and-slide (which was out of place in the climate) and giveaways including towels and tee shirts.

The event, which coincides with the annual Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Arts was planned by Director of Concerts for Student Events Stefani Gospodinova ’14 and WBRS general manager Lee Nisson ’14, along with the Springfest board, which is made up of four members from Student Events and WBRS. Gospodinova and Lee began brainstorming for this year’s Springfest after Student Events’ fall concert in October. Choosing the artists took up until late January, based on availability and price range. Artists are constantly moving up and down in the list,” Gospodinova said in an interview with the Justice, “if artist A doesn’t work, we move to artist B, and so on.”

The concert’s lineup was diverse and full of crowd-pleasers.

“When we heard that Icona Pop was available just this weekend, it was a no-brainer based on their popularity,” Gospodinova said.

“We really wanted a female headliner, since we haven’t had that in a while.”

[They are] the kind of artist that will be innovative and interesting but not necessarily out of anyone’s comfort zones.”

Add in emerging rockers American Authors, hip-hop vets Atmosphere and disk jockey RJD2, and the lineup was varied enough to please a variety of different student tastes.

Electronica DJ RJD2 opened the concert to a relatively small audience that continued to grow as his set progressed.

He was rescheduled for Springfest because he had to miss his performance at the canceled winter concert in February due to a snowstorm. He made up for it on Sunday by spinning an upbeat set to get the crowd dancing.

Students rushed to the stage

when American Authors began their set, dancing and singing to their lesser-known songs but becoming even more enthusiastic when they performed a cover of Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise” and popular singles “Believer” and “Best Day of My Life.”

The indie rock band from Brooklyn, N.Y., which is led by vocalist Zac Barnett, is at the same phase in its career as the band fun. was when they played at Springfest in 2012. Fun. took to the stage at Springfest when they had one or two radio hits but had not reached their current level of fame.

Atmosphere, an indie hip-hop and rap group, led by “Slug” (Shaun Daley), continued American Authors’ energy by performing some of their 17-year-spanning catalogue. “This song is older than all of you,” Slug joked when introducing material from their 1997 album Overcast!

The rain and increasingly muddy conditions didn’t stop the crowd from jumping along and repeating lyrics, enjoying the act despite the fact that the group is on the older end of Springfest performers.

Finally, headliner Icona Pop drew the largest crowd and was lucky enough to have the sun come out. The dance duo, consisting of Caroline Hjelt and Aino Jawo, both from Sweden, stuck to their DJ roots and spent half of their set spinning dance tracks before taking to the microphones themselves.

Seamlessly transitioning into each upbeat, dance-worthy track, the quirky pair brought their dance moves and encouraged the audience to sing and have fun with them. Hjelt even played a kazoo on the track “Then We Kiss” and left the stage to join the crowd at one point. When the amplifier was turned down, they showed off their voices, which are often hidden by the electronic beats on their album. The group closed its set with its megahit “I Love It,” while the audience joyfully joined in the chorus.

The event was a success, judging by the happy crowd at the end, even though the audience’s shoes were covered in mud. With its diverse lineup, Springfest offered something for everyone.

Student Events members and volunteers started setting up on Saturday and woke up at 6 a.m. on Sunday to set up. Volunteers stayed to clean up, which shows the dedication of students to put on a great concert.

Springfest is a chance for students to take a break from their pre-finals stress and enjoy themselves, and this year’s event more than satisfied.

THE JUSTICE | TUESDAY, April 29, 2014

FESTIVAL

“Golem”

21

Special projects emerge on campus for Festival of the Arts “Home Sweet Home” The campus-famous yarn bomber Sarah Hershon ’14 struck campus again with her colorful knitted designs on a bench outside the Shapiro Campus Center. Hershon’s work, according to the Festival of the Arts pamphlet, “softens and domesticates a table and chairs, blurring public and private.”

Alongside the steps leading to Mandel Quad, Paul Belenky ’14 constructed an enormous steel and wood Golem, described in the Festival of the Arts pamphlet as a “traditional symbol of protection and defiance.” The structure of the Golem originated in 16th-century Prague when a rabbi built the structure to protect the Jews in his village.

Belenky explained on a descriptive plaque next to the statue that the Golem serves as a “symbol of protection” for the graduating seniors.

“Constructed Spaces”

“Mycorrhizas at Work”

Taking place on the Great Lawn, Olivia Leiter’s ’14 project invited the participation of students and festival guests in creating an artistic collage on the walls. Leiter’s interactive project changed daily as new people entered the room and added their own touch to the exhibit.

Upon entering, people could choose visuals from a stack of magazines, organizing their own ideologies on the structure’s walls.

Aside from creating your own collage, it was also interesting to view other participant’s work.

“The Maw”

“The Memory Project”

Designed and constructed by David Yun ’14 and Vincent Wong ’14, “The Maw” stands in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium and towers over viewers. The hollow structure, triangular in shape, is colored black and white.

This international project united members of the Brandeis community with children across the world to paint portraits of the children, which were then given to the children as gifts. Coordinated by Marissa Lazar ’14, several of the portraits hung on a stand in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium.

“The Memory Project” is a non profit organization where students draw portraits of disadvantaged or abused children around the world to capture their childhood as a work of art. In a statement next to the portraits, Scott Edmiston, Director of the Office of the Arts, explained that he saw something sad in the eyes of the boy he painted, but painted the boy “feeling the promise of a brighter moment” and hopes the boy will know someone is thinking of him when he receives the portrait.

Designed to provoke people to think about what a mycorrhiza does, LauraBen Moore’s ’14 project aims, as she explained in an email to the Justice, “to explore a conversation about the cultural ascription of meaning to visual objects like signs” and “to convey genuinely important scientific information.”

Scientifically, fungi aid in the survival of the majority of plants and have a symbiotic relationship with many species. The project also expands upon Moore’s senior thesis that “represented a larger attempt to make people question their mycophobia (fear of fungi) while inviting them to explore a more complex and beautiful world of fungi,” she explained.

“The Grass Waltz”

“Conserving Pitchers” Allison Clears ’14 created an interactive project outside the Shapiro Campus Center and other locations that are marked only by a small, white sign in the ground. The Festival of the Arts pamphlet invites attendees to “participate in a symbolic planting of the spectacular carnivorous northern pitcher plant, rendered in copper.”

Created by Sarah Bierman ’14, these man-made grass hills punctuate the normal landscape of the Great Lawn. Constructed with sod, the hills also resembled miniature bridges and provided an interesting twist to the popular area on campus.

In an email to the Justice, Bierman explained that her thesis focuses on integrating

“sculpture or found objects into landscape in a way that appears to be seamless while still looking completely unnatural.” In her work Bierman aims to “make site-specific art that beckons interaction and fosters community” and “The Grass Waltz” succeeded at attracting viewers, some of who even walked or sat on the hills.

“I WALKED A MILE IN YOUR SHOES AND NOW I’M A MILE AWAY AND I’VE GOT YOUR SHOES” For this special project, Aliza Sternstein ’13, Ashley Freinberg ’13, Rachel Sevanich ’13, Mark Ferrell ’13 and Clare Churchill Seder ’13 painted a series of six-

by-six foot canvases over the course of three days outside around campus. The canvases all showcase the artists’ talent and different styles of painting.

Design by REBECCA LANTNER/the Justice

22

TUESDAY, april 29, 2014 | THE JUSTICE

concert

Boston Typewriter Orchestra taps out catchy beats By adam rabinowitz justice editor

The Lois Foster Wing in the Rose Art Museum this semester has featured Mika Rottenberg’s sparse Bowls Balls Souls Holes exhibit. However, on Sunday, as a part of the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Arts, that space transformed to feature the five-member Boston Typewriter Orchestra, a group focused on employing rhythmic typewriter manipulation to create eccentric and inventive music.

The BTO, founded 10 years ago by Tim Devin, came to life on the heels of a spontaneous purchase. Devin bought a thrift store typewriter and pitched to the current members of the group—Alex Holman, Jay O’Grady, Brendan Quigley, Richard Madallo and Chris Keene—an unparalleled idea: an orchestra that uses typewriters.

“The idea was totally innovative and out of the box but we figured it would be a great creative outlet,” O’Grady said in an interview with the Justice. “There are no rules and it’s totally free-form.”

One decade later, the orchestra is writing the rules for typewriterbased music and on Sunday the Brandeis community learned them.

The clacking of the typewriter keys, a now unfamiliar sound to the average individual, pervaded the gallery at the outset of the first composition. The group then made the most of the various parts of the typewriter, adeptly adding the sounds of the carriage release lever and the platen knob to the composition. The combination created a cohesive, rhythmic piece that had the audience on its feet.

The Boston Typewriter Orchestra, however, prides itself on an eccentric and inventive satire behind its rhythmic typewriter manipulation. The second piece complemented a narrative that centered on the themes of de-individuated workers and corporate monotony with a repeated

drumbeat of the keys and consistent rubbing of the typebars. Ironically, though, those simplistic movements and one-track compositions grabbed the audience’s attention and proved to be greatly enjoyable.

The performance, though, took interesting turns in its fourth and fifth compositions, ones that particularly stood out for their messages and musical differences. The BTO began to type in unison but then added a modern twist. One of the members of the orchestra rose on his seat, calling for a “revolution” against the mass fixation on social media—and the 140 characters on Twitter.

However, he then layered this commentary with obsolete, 1950’s-based pitches for suburban home products.

The temporal juxtaposition was fascinating. In the process, the other members of the orchestra hunched over their typewriters, typing and cracking the carriage release lever to create a monotonous drumbeat.

The spoken and musical components worked in tandem to make a resonant critique punctuated by the line “The revolution will be typed!.”

The sixth performance took a lighthearted turn, replicating a modernday pop rhythm with a new typing arrangement and shifting of the type wheel. The members of BTO, were hammering away at the keys and banging on the backs of the typewriters when an orchestra member rose on a chair to surf along to the sound, catching the audience off-guard.

As the group approaches its 10th anniversary, it is consistently looking for new ways to make a noise out of a typewriter and develop an arrangement, as well as a message, from their art.

“Our best pieces come from just banging the hell out of the typewriters until we find a new rhythm that works and we go from there,” O’Grady said.

Even after 10 years, there still seem to be many parts of the typewriter— and many combinations—left unexplored.

festival

Folk Fest brings crowds By carly chernomorets justice Staff writer

Last Saturday afternoon, the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium came alive with the sounds of the fifth annual Folk Festival. Sponsored by Too Cheap for Instruments, Brandeis’ all female folk a cappella group, the Folk Festival merges up-and-coming folk groups with local art and food vendors to create a worthwhile and relaxing event as part of the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Arts.

This year, The Four Legged Faithful, who brought the audience to its feet with upbeat bluegrass influenced folk music, headlined the event. Students and visitors alike jumped around the SCC, donning flower crowns and clapping along to the catchy beats. Other performances of the afternoon included Casey Abrams, Ari & Mia, Too Cheap for Instruments, Forts/Gainesville and Monica Rizzio & Old Kings Highway.

Although every group drew an audience, sister act Ari & Mia brought the crowd to their feet after every number. The duo’s biography on the Festival of the Arts’ webpage categorizes them as a mix of “the sounds of Appalachian cottages, rural dance floors and urban concert halls.” The sisters use the cello, a fiddle and their crystal clear voices to create a brilliant symphony that captivated the audience for their full 45 minute set.

In addition to planning and running the event, Too Cheap for Instruments also performed. Their blend was especially on point, and the

acoustics in the Atrium made their voices ring throughout the entirely of the SCC. The group sang a beautiful cover of “Hide and Seek” by Imogen Heap, for the last time ever at Folk Fest, and the audience was lucky to catch the song’s last performance.

The group is retiring the song after three semesters, as is customary, and it will truly be missed.

Emily Scharf ’16, Too Cheap For Instruments’ Music Director and a cocoordinator of the event, explained in an email to the Justice that the Folk Festival began five years ago as the vision of Chaya Bender ’11. “She really wanted to get this campus active in folk music and made her vision come to life,” she said. Scharf says she likes “the sense of peace and unity” that comes from Folk Fest. She said it was “a joy to present to the community.”

One of the most unique aspects of the Folk Festival is the vendor population that it draws. Too Cheap for Instruments invites many area vendors to sell their goods that range in creative nature and quirky charm quite in the same way that the bands performing did. The items for sale varied from pewter rings in the shape of dinosaurs to peanut butter and jelly sandwich-shaped heating pads. They were a huge hit with many of the students in the crowd.

Even though it was dreary and gray outside, the cheerful sounds of folk music and the voices of joyous audience members coming together in song made for a beautiful break from studying for finals, and a fantastic way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

concert

GRACE KWON/the Justice

JAMMING AWAY: This Friday Livingston Taylor, who has appeared on campus on numerous occasions, came again to play as part of the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Arts.

Taylor takes the stage, continuing a tradition By emily wishingrad justice editor

The Archon from 1983 notes that pop singer-songwriter, Livingston Taylor, performed for a crowd of around 200 students at Cholmondeley’s that same year.

A longtime Brandeis favorite, Taylor has performed on campus numerous times since the ’80s and in 2009 even hosted Brandeis’ Folk Fest.

He took the Brandeis stage again on Friday night, performing a set of diverse songs, telling stories and short anecdotes to a packed recital hall in Slosberg Music Center.

Taylor made the audience feel right at home as he engaged with them on a personal level, using casual language and telling jokes.

It is no wonder why Taylor is very skilled at stage performance—he has built part of his career around the art. A professor at the Berklee College of Music, Taylor teaches classes specifically focused on stage performance.

In an interview with the Justice, Taylor spoke about the performance class he is currently teaching. “It’s a class that focuses on how to be onstage and what your responsibilities are on stage … and above all, how you can be of service to an audience with an inherent understanding that this was your idea to be onstage—not theirs,” he said.

Taylor opened with “Call Me Carolina,” a mellow song with a soothing while slightly solemn

tune. He continued to play a variety of pieces: some soft, some fast, some slow, some sad, some jovial.

Although Taylor’s style has been categorized as jazz, gospel and even Broadway, he told the Justice that he thinks of himself primarily as a pop musician, playing music that is, as he said, “easy and accessible to listen to.”

“I don’t like to strain my listeners very much. I don’t like to demand much from my audience,” he said.

Many of Taylor’s songs were serious and included themes of lost love and heartbreak. But some were quite funny, including “Dollar Bill,” a song about a woman who writes a message on a dollar bill that travels from hand to hand until it magically, and conveniently, ends up in her lover’s hand. When asked about the major themes in his work, Taylor said, “Generally, the theme that works best is … either honor and duty or reproduction. People simply never tire [of] hearing about the reproductive process and all the problems associated there.”

In a very amusing improvisation right before intermission, Taylor made up a piece about intermission, singing verses about concessions, CD sales, bathroom lines and getting caught up talking to old friends.

Taylor did not stick to his own compositions entirely—he performed a variety of his covers by other artists and from other time periods. He played “Wonderful Guy” by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, a toned-down

and more melodic version of “The Trolley Song” from the musical Meet Me in Saint Louis (1944), both the Tin Man’s and Scare Crow’s songs and “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz. Taylor switched between the guitar and the piano throughout his performance but he says enjoys playing the guitar more: “I play the guitar better than I play the piano so I tend to lean on the guitar. It sounds better when I play the guitar.”

He also noted the advantages of playing the guitar in performance: “The thing I like about the guitar is that when you’re playing the guitar, it’s very easy to watch your music land on an audience— see what effect your music is having,” he said.

However, some of his guitar pieces would not be possible without the help of the piano. “The piano is the language that music is spoken in. So sometimes I’ll start writing a song on the guitar and then I’ll take it to the piano to solve some technical problems,” he said.

Taylor ended the concert with a soulful rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and asked the audience to join in. The soft singing in unison represented the community that the Festival of the Arts fosters every year.

On Friday night, Taylor further developed his strong relationship with the University community, a relationship that runs deep and will hopefully continue for years to come.

THE JUSTICE | TUESDAY, April 29, 2014

23

PERFORMANCE CHA CHA CHA: The Ballroom Dance team performed four different cultural dances: cha-cha, rumba, salsa and jive in Culture X. PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE LOVETT

Culture X creates unity within diversity

By Emily wishingrad justice editor

This year’s Culture X, “Fireworks!

A Colorful Explosion” erupted with vibrancy and life in Levin Ballroom on Saturday night as hundreds of students took breaks from studying to watch their peers perform in 19 different multicultural acts.

The show’s opening video was modeled after a dramatic reality competition show. An automated, monotonic woman voiced-over the video—explaining the “competition.” Performers talked about their pieces, rehearsals and even joked about quarrels and tiffs that they were theoretically having with other performers or choreographers in their individual interviews.

The audience laughed, cheered and called out as their friends engaged with the tongue-in-cheek interviews.

Stop Motion, a newly formed dance group on campus, performed “Channel Surfing,” an upbeat, visually energetic and exciting dance.

Four friends (Matt Yan ’17, Yoon Jae Lee ’17, Alex Suk ’17 and Youngjai Kim ’17) founded the group just this February but they are already very polished.

The program notes that Stop Motion aims to mix break-dancing and popping within the hip-hop style. In the spirit of Culture X, Stop Motion danced to songs from places such as Germany, the Balkan Peninsula, South Korea and the United States.

When they danced to Jason Derulo’s hit song “Talk Dirty,” the audience erupted in cheers.

Another audience favorite was the ballroom dance performance titled “International Style Formation Dance.” The female students in glittering gold, flapper-style dresses and male students in tuxedos per-

formed a cha-cha, rumba, salsa and jive—showing off a variety of cultural dances. The team performed the routine at Harvard University’s Ballroom Competition, which ran from March 23 through 24.

Kaos Kids performed a neverbefore-seen piece: “The Legend of Kaos,” that retold the story of Avatar: The Last Airbender, in which a kid named Aang saves the world from the evil fire nation. Each nation in the film was represented in the dance: water, earth, fire and air.

The pounding music kept the audience nodding their heads to the beat as Kaos Kids impressed yet again in an incredibly synchronized routine.

Hooked on Tap performed a ’20s-inspired dance that included a dance-off between the males and females as they performed classic flapper-style moves. Fergie’s “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody” was especially a hit with the crowd. The

program stated that as a “commonly overlooked cultural dance style,” tap dance can be found all over the world in places ranging from Ireland to New York.

“Lotus: Thousand Hand Bodhisattva” was an awe-inspiring dance in which performers moved together in perfect synchronization and harmony to form images of lotus flowers.

The program notes that the dance “showcases the oriental mystical art depicted in the murals along the silk-road grottoes.” The dancers’ golden costumes, which included headdresses and long, sparkling finger extensions, shimmered as they moved in perfect coordination.

The audience clapped throughout as they were constantly amazed by the beauty of the dance and the seemingly inhuman perfection of the coordination.

The last performance by the Women of Color Alliance focused on

the theme of female empowerment.

Wearing pink masks, the performers danced to Beyonce’s “Flawless.”

The masks gave the impression that whatever your race or color, there is an inherent bond between females that surpasses any differences. At one point in the show, a male student came onstage looking extremely frightened as the women menacingly circled him; the audience burst into laughter.

Culture X was a success yet again this year. There are many large cultural shows throughout the year, but Culture X is unique in the fact that it presents many different cultures in one single performance—showing similarities between cultures but also the differences that make each one distinct.

—Editor’s Note: Marissa Ditkowsky’16 is a Justice Editor and performed in Culture X.

theater

performance art

‘Twelfth Night; Or What You Will’ takes an outside forum to shine By catherine rosch justice Staff writer

JOSHUA LINTON/the Justice

FLY AWAY: Bonnie Duncan’s original puppet show, Squirrel Stole My Underpants delighted audience members, young and old, on Friday afternoon in the SCC.

Puppet show gets laughs in the SCC By emily wishingrad justice editor

Over 50 children sat on blankets on the floor of the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium on Friday afternoon, watching eagerly as Bonnie Duncan performed her self-written one-woman puppet show: Squirrel Stole My Underpants.

The public atmosphere of the bustling atrium allowed students, faculty and visitors passing by to catch snippets of the lively, funny and slightly silly show in between lunch or classes. Students from the Lemberg Children’s Center were also invited to attend, adding energy to the atrium.

As for the show’s plot, it is nicely summed up in the name of the performance. Squirrel Stole My Underpants revolves around a deviant squirrel who sneakily runs off with a pair of large pink underwear he finds hanging on a clothes line. The human protagonist, Sylvie, follows the squirrel to a strange and magical land where shirts on clothes lines are personified and where music boxes ease the listener into a deep sleep. Duncan

played both the part of the squirrel and of Sylvie by separating her body into two distinctly different characters that, at times, were able to convincingly interact with each other.

The entire show, except one offstage line at the beginning, was performed completely in mime and accompanied by a soundtrack that provided musical supplement, as well as sound effects. The only other sounds were the children in the audience laughing hysterically as Duncan used her incredible miming techniques to create a detailed plot overflowing with slapstick humor.

After the show, Duncan engaged with the young Lemberg Children’s Center students in an educational discussion about miming and puppetry—she walked the children through using their hands as puppets, and demonstrated easy miming techniques.

A very playful and extremely entertaining show, Squirrel Stole My Underpants was enjoyable for students of all ages and provided a way for Brandeis students to relax in the last few days before finals.

Mixed-up twins. Physical comedy. Drunk knights. Trying to find true love. And, of course, bright yellow stockings. These were just some of the plot highlights in Twelfth Night; Or What You Will, a student production co-sponsored by the Brandeis Office of the Arts and the Brandeis department of the Theater Arts, put on as part of the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Arts.

The audience sat on blankets and lawn chairs outside the Foster Gallery at the Rose Art Museum. The set was simple, mostly made up of a large wooden structure with steps and a low tower.

Beer bottles filled with sand and mason jars holding electric candles lined the stage and formed aisles through the audience for the actors to come and go.

The nautical details to the set and the costumes that mixed modern and period gave a casual feel to the production.

However, the occasional turkey or car horn could occasionally disrupt the performance.

In the play, Viola, played by Morgan Winters ’17 is a young woman shipwrecked in a foreign land, Illyria. In order to survive, she disguises herself as a boy named Curio and goes to work for Duke Orsino (Ryan Kacani ’15) and quickly falls in love with him.

However, Orsino is in love with Olivia (Caley Chase ’16), who is mourning her dead brother and refuses to love anyone.

Orsino sends Viola to court Olivia on his behalf, but in a comic twist, Olivia falls in love with Viola/Curio, thinking she is a man.

Winters and Chase had hilarious

counterpoint in every scene when Olivia tried to flirt with the clearly uncomfortable Viola. Kacani captured the completely oblivious Duke perfectly, making the audience both laugh and feel bad for the lovestruck Viola.

Sir Toby Belch (Justy Kosek ’14), Olivia’s drunken uncle, is trying to set up his young, equally drunken and stupid friend, Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Levi Squier ’14) with Olivia. However, after Malvolio (Aaron Fischer ’15) scolds the two of them for drunkenly singing late at night, Toby and Andrew set up a plan with the fool Feste (Jamie Semel ’17) and Olivia’s maid Maria (Grace Fosler ’14) to get revenge on Malvolio by tricking him into thinking Olivia is in love with him.

Kosek and Squier played drunken idiots perfectly, slightly slurring their speech and staggering around, getting laughs from the crowd every single time they came on stage.

Fischer was my personal favorite cast member. His Malvolio was hilarious, transforming from stiff and stuck-up to love-struck and ridiculous, prancing around the stage and clicking his heels.

His mannerisms were especially excellent in his many scenes with Semel, who made Feste an intelligent prankster and a foil to both Malvolio and the two drunkards.

The story only gets more complicated as Sebastian (David Getz ’15) and Antonio (Alex Davis ’15) come to Illyria. Sebastian is Viola’s twin brother and everyone confuses the two of them, including Olivia, who proposes marriage to Sebastian/ Curio, leading to further mayhem.

The duke is heartbroken, Viola confused, and at Toby’s urging, Andrew challenges Viola to a duel.

The duel scene was one of the

strongest scene in the show, thanks in part to Kacani and Kosek’s fight choreography. Winters and Squier minced and timidly jumped back and forth, shrieking any time their swords hit.

Although not one of the main actors, Davis was utterly hilarious in his portrayal of Antonio, making silly faces at the audience and even occasionally ad-libing lines as he went on and off stage.

Getz brought characterization to a more minor role as well; in a memorable scene, Getz sneaks back on stage, partially undressed, after leaving with Olivia. Getz played up the sexual humor with a swagger and plenty of winks towards the audience.

As with any Shakespearean comedy, everything ends with all the loose ends tied up. Sebastian and Viola run into each other and Viola is finally able to tell the Duke that she is, in fact, a woman.

The Duke improbably falls in love with Viola as soon as he learns she is a girl. The two couples, Orsino and Viola and Sebastian and Olivia, get married. Malvolio learns that Feste, Toby and Andrew played a prank on him and is forgiven by Olivia. Compared to the rest of the play, the ending was a little bit flat, although that was not the fault of the actors.

After all the mayhem, ending with a wedding just wasn’t quite as exciting as the rest of the play.

In a fun twist, rather than taking a traditional bow, the cast ran back on stage, led by Semel, singing and dancing, before thanking the production staff.

This year’s production of Twelfth Night brought a refreshing perspective to a classic Shakespeare play and had the audience in stitches for most of the show.

24

TUESDAY, April 29, 2014 | THE JUSTICE

TOPof the

ARTS ON VIEW

Brandeis TALKS

CHARTS

Quote of the week

for the week ending April 27

“From the senior administrative perspective, I think that the goal was to select a vice president of operations who was experienced, who could bring some leadership to the position,” he said. “But from my perspective, what I wanted was an individual that had a level of report with students … because certainly, the vice president of operations, as was the case with Mark Collins, was … the Student Union’s greatest ally in the administration.”

BOX OFFICE

1. The Other Woman 2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier 3. Heaven Is For Real 4. Rio 2 5. Brick Mansions 6. Transcendence 7. The Quiet Ones 8. Bears 9. Divergent 10. A Haunted House 2

—Ricky Rosen, president of the Student Union, (News, p. 1)

NYT BESTSELLERS

What was your favoite part of your weekend?

CELINE HACOBIAN/the Justice

PARISIAN PYRAMID: Justice Editor Celine Hacobian ’14, took this photo while on a trip with her family to Paris last July, just as the sun set behind the Louvre pyramid with a ferris wheel in the background.

the justice wants to see your original artwork!

Samantha Gordon ’14 “On the stage, emceeing of course.”

Rebecca Groner ’17 “The Finale at Chum’s. Now, that was really fun.”

Vanessa Chalem ’16 “Mendel Chein’s bar mitzvah.

The whole thing was so sweet!

(Mendel Chein is the eldest son of Peretz and Chanie Chein, the co-directors of Brandeis Chabad).”

Jess Ochs-Willard ’15 “Waking up at 6 a.m. obviously!”

Submit your photography or a photo of your original drawings, sculptures, paintings or works in other mediums to photos@thejustice.org to be featured in the next issue!

DOWN 1 Carrying extra weight 2 Another round, perhaps 3 Goes off script 4 2006 World Cup champion 5 Colleague of Boris 6 Get out 7 Options above “none of the above” 8 Pointed end 9 Org. created by the 1964 Civil Rights Act 10 Iliac lead-in 11 Magician’s way out, maybe 12 Whole number 13 Team lists 19 Fill the hold

1. Pharrell Williams—“Happy (from Despicable Me 2)” 2. John Legend—“All Of Me” 3. DJ Snake and Lil Jon—Turn Down For What 4. Idina Menzel—“Let It Go” 5. Katy Perry (feat. Juicy J)—“Dark Horse”

BILLBOARD

1. Soundtrack—Frozen 2. August Alsina—Testimony 3. NEEDTOBREATHE—Rivers In The Wasteland 4. Jason Derulo—Talk Dirty 5. Ingrid Michaelson—Lights Out 6. Luke Bryan—Crash My Party 7. Pharrell Williams—GIRL 8. Lorde—Pure Heroine 9. 5 Seconds of Summer—She Looks So Perfect 9. Various Artists— NOW 49 Top of the Charts information provided by Fandango, the New York Times, Billboard. com and Apple.com.

21 Aphid predator 24 Type of malware 25 Bristle 30 Slow flow 32 Western star makeup 33 Pop-ups, e.g.

34 Cozy retreat 35 Had to wear the winning team’s jersey, say 36 Decides 37 Viva __ 38 Like some files 39 Carbon-14, e.g.

43 Narrow cut 44 Scrubs 45 Puts away 46 Ricky Gervais’ forte 47 Demands, as payment 49 “Zut __!”: French exclamationSheep’s cry 51 In front 52 Hoity-toity types 54 “Great Expectations” convict Magwitch 58 Stat for Clayton Kershaw 59 Busy one thathas made itsmark in this puzzle’s five longest answers

STAFF’S Top Ten

Best Restaurants Solution to last issue’s crossword Crossword Copyright 2013 MCT Campus, 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.

Zephry Wright ’17 “The Bad Grammer Alumni Show. And no, they weren’t funnier than us. They’re old.”

—Compiled by Lilah Zohar and photographed by Josh Horowitz/ the Justice

Nonfiction

1. Flash Boys—Michael Lewis 2. Thrive—Arianna Huffington 3. Players First—John Calipari and Michael Sokolove 4. The Divide—Matt Taibbi 5. 10% Happier—Dan Harris

iTUNES

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Hardly hardy 6 Wind instrument 10 Minute Rice instruction 14 Caused 15 Title lover in a 1920s Broadway hit 16 Cartoonist Peter 17 Camp Granada chronicler Sherman 18 Hipsters who prefer old-school programming languages?

20 Minute Rice instruction 21 “Knots Landing” actress __ Park Lincoln 22 Mythical transport 23 Tiny Timex?

26 Challenger, for one 27 NFL gains 28 One was written to Billie Joe 29 Bolted, say 31 Not ’neath 32 Shot 33 It’s inspired 34 British bombshell Diana 35 Golf club used as a dance pole?

38 Literary __ 40 Hikes 41 Scam 42 Pack animal 43 Friday is one: Abbr.

44 Boxers’ org.?

45 Memphis-to- Mobile dir.

48 Register button 50 Furrier’s assessment?

53 Latin catchall 55 Garden tool 56 __ bene 57 R2D2’s bar order?

59 Kind of acid 60 Mime 61 Part of Q.E.D. 62 “A Horrible Experience of Unbearable Length” author 63 “We should!”

64 Mates 65 Two-part curves

Fiction 1. The Collector—Nora Roberts 2. The Goldfinch—Donna Tartt 3. I’ve Got You Under My Skin—Mary Higgins Clark 4. NYPD Red 2—James Patterson and Marshall Karp 5. Keep Quiet—Lisa Scottoline

Solution to last issue’s sudoku

Sudoku Copyright 2013 MCT Campus, Inc.

By HENRY LOUGHLIN justice SENIOR WRITER

Food is good. Because I enjoy it, I’ve dabbled in many food establishments in the greater Boston area. Of course, as any of my friends know, Franco’s Pizzzeria and Pub is without doubt the most-frequented and number one place on my list. Regardless, I am usually down to experiment with most places, as long as they fit my budget. Here are a list of the top 10 places I’ve eaten at during my time here: 1. Franco’s Pizzeria and Pub 2. Legal Seafoods 3. Nine Tastes 4. Watch City 5. The Mad Raven 6. John Brewer’s Tavern 7. Dave’s Fresh Pasta 8. Remy’s 9. Prime Deli 10. Lizzy’s Ice Cream