The Justice, February 9, 2010

SPORTS PAGE 16

ARTS SunDeis controversy brews 19

SCHOOL RECORDS

FORUM Increase intellectual discussion 10 THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER

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BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY SINCE 1949

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Volume LXII, Number 18

Waltham, Mass.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

ACADEMICS

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Report to be released in Feb

Koplow declines bid for president

■ Department heads have

been informed about proposals for changes to academic programs.

By MIRANDA NEUBAUER JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe announced at last Thursday’s faculty meeting that he intended to inform affected department or program chairs by Sunday about proposals the Brandeis 2020 Committee is considering before the committee releases its final proposals after February break for substantive structural changes in academic programs or for the closure of programs.

Provost Marty Krauss established the Brandeis 2020 Committee last month after Trustee Meyer Koplow ’72, chair of the Trustees’ Budget and Finance Committee, addressed faculty about the need for Brandeis to better balance its academics with its limited financial resources.

In an e-mail to science department heads last Sunday, Jaffe wrote that in the sciences the committee is considering proposing one of three actions. The committee is considering closing the Chemistry Ph.D. program and reducing the number of research areas within the Chemistry department; merging the Chemistry and Biochemistry departments; or creating a Division of Science within Arts and Sciences and identifying specific research areas to phase out. Jaffe wrote that the committee is considering other independent recommendations, including

■ The Faculty Advisory

Committee is reviewing drafts of the case statement and job description.

By NASHRAH RAHMAN JUSTICE EDITOR

A Facebook event, “WRITE IN DIANA AND SAY SCREW THE STUDENT UNION,” was created

by Jennie Shapiro ’11 and has 145 members. The event description reads, “We’re writing in Diana Aronin to show the Student Union that they take themselves too seriously.” Student Union President Andy Hogan ’11 declined to comment on the Facebook event.

Some successful candidates were concerned about the participation rate in the Union election.

“With only 55 votes I was able to win by a landslide,” Skolnik said, continuing, “and so I’d have to say that it seems to me that there isn’t

University Trustee Meyer Koplow ’72, who stepped down from the chairmanship of the Presidential Search Committee after receiving a nomination for University president, “has asked the search committee to withdraw his nomination,” according to Chair of the Presidential Search Committee Stephen Kay’s update on the Presidential Search Web site. Kay’s original Feb. 1 message on the search Web site was updated Feb. 4. “[Koplow] does not want to be considered a candidate and is not available to serve,” Kay wrote in his online update. Koplow could not be reached despite repeated requests for comment.

Vice President of Communications and External Affairs Andrew Gully wrote in an email to the Justice that “[Koplow’s] focus now is on budget and finance.”

Koplow is still serving as the chair of the Board of Trustees’ Budget and Finance Committee and a member of the Board’s Executive Committee.

The search for the next president began after University President Jehuda Reinharz announced his intention to resign in a Sept. 24 campuswide e-mail.

Reinharz will remain president until a new president has been selected or until June 30, 2011, according to a Sept. 24 University press release.

At last Thursday’s faculty meeting, member of the Presidential Search Committee Prof. Len Saxe (BCHM) announced that the Faculty Advisory Committee is reviewing a draft candidate profile and case statement.

A case statement is a document detailing the University’s “goals and aspirations for a new president,” according to the Presidential Search Web site.

See ELECTION, 5 ☛

See SEARCH, 5 ☛

JAXSON DERMER/the Justice

HARD CHOICES: Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe spoke about the Brandeis 2020 Committee at the faculty meeting. enforcing an increase in teaching loads to four courses per year for faculty who have ceased to publish scholarly work.

Prof. Seth Fraden (PHYS) wrote in an e-mail response to other fac-

ulty that closing the Ph.D. program “is totally unacceptable.” “Closing the chem grad program will compromise our Materials Research Science and Engineering Center as materials chemistry is central to

our center,” he wrote.

“Closing chemistry is beyond unacceptable; it’s suicidal for the university. It would provide publicity that is worse than for the Rose,”

See PROPOSALS, 5 ☛

STUDENT UNION

Union primary election results announced ■ Two candidates are

running in the special election today for Student Union Secretary.

By JASON KARELIS and NASHRAH RAHMAN JUSTICE STAFF WRITERS

Results from the first round of Student Union elections were announced last Thursday in an email to candidates, campus media and various Union bodies.

Abby Kulawitz ’12 won the seat for senator for the Class of 2012.

Albert Feldman ’13, a member of

the most recent midyear class, became senator for Village Quad by winning 57 out of 88 votes.

Abraham Berin ’11 became senator for Charles River with 14 votes.

Melissa Skolnik ’12 won the seat for the senator for East Quad position with 55 out of 105 of the total votes. All of the candidates for the position were written in directly by the voters. Over the course of the election, 17 names were written in, with most receiving one or two votes. Rick Alterbaum ’12, who was originally running unopposed for senator of East Quad, decided to drop out of the election.

Ryan Martin ’10 won the seat for the associate justice for the Union

Judiciary position against Deena Glucksman ’11 in the second round of voting held last Sunday. A second round of voting takes place when any candidate does not receive 50 percent of the total votes for the position.

A special election will be held today for the Student Union secretary position after former Secretary Diana Aronin ’11 was removed from office Jan 31.

Aronin was removed from office for failing to present a referendum regarding the creation of a midyear senator position to the Brandeis community. Brahm Wachter ’12 and Jourdan Cohen ’11 are running for the position.

Lunar New Year

Peace-building efforts

Bronner at Deis

■ Students celebrated the holiday with a showcase of Chinese culture.

■ Jerome Kanyog (GRAD) hopes to influence Ghanaian police through peace building initiatives.

■ New York Times Jerusalem Bureau Chief Ethan Bronner spoke at an event last week.

ARTS 21 For tips or info call Let your voice be heard!

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

INDEX

FEATURES 7 ARTS SPORTS

17 16

EDITORIAL FEATURES

10 7

OPINION POLICE LOG

11 2

COMMENTARY

11

NEWS 3 COPYRIGHT 2010 FREE AT BRANDEIS. Call for home delivery.

2

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010

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THE JUSTICE

NEWS BRIEF

POLICE LOG

Constitutional Review Committee holds fourth town hall meeting

Medical Emergency

The Student Union Constitutional Review Committee held its fourth town hall meeting last Tuesday. The meeting was open to all members of the Brandeis community and provided an opportunity to inquire about the nature of the committee and to make proposals to improve its effectiveness.

Members of the review committee addressed student questions about secured organizations and the more efficient ways to obtain and report finances.

The committee, made up of current students and alumni, is tasked with reviewing and recommending pertinent changes to the existing version of the Student Union constitution.

Committee chair Jessica Steinberg ’10 clarified that a secured organization “is essential to the main goals and purpose of the University and student body.” The committee will consider securing Student Sexuality Information Services.

A Brandeis Emergency Medical Corps representative addressed the difficulties the organization faces in dealing with finances in relation to both Brandeis and the community at large. “BEMCo is both a student club and ambulance corps that must report to both Finance Board and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. … They will be looking for efficient ways to report to the Finance Board and efficient ways to get funding,” the representative said.

Feb. 1—University Police received a call that a student and community development coordinator were walking to the University Police station to call an ambulance. The ambulance transported the student to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Feb. 3—University Police received a report of a 19-year-old female feeling faint and complaining of abdominal pain in Ziv Quad. The student was transported to the NewtonWellesley Hospital.

Feb. 3—A caller reported that a party had suffered an ankle injury at the Rabb Graduate Center. BEMCo treated the party on-scene with a signed refusal for further care.

Feb. 3—University Police received a call from a student in Renfield Hall requesting BEMCo. BEMCo treated the

party on-scene with a signed refusal for further care.

Feb. 3—University Police received a call that a party in Village B had an ankle injury.

University Police notified BEMCo. BEMCo treated the party on-scene with a signed refusal for further care.

Feb. 3—A party requested BEMCo for a 19-year-old female passed out in the Goldfarb Library. University Police notified the ambulance, which transported the party to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Feb. 4—University Police received a report of a student with a twisted ankle in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center. The student signed a patient refusal form, and a friend drove him to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Feb. 4—A 19-year-old female was feeling ill in Hassenfeld

Residence Hall. BEMCo treated the party on-scene, and an ambulance transported her to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Feb. 5—University Police received a report of a student having an allergic reaction and feeling faint in Ridgewood Quad. The party was transported by ambulance to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Feb. 6—BEMCo requested an ambulance for an intoxicated female in Ridgewood Quad. The ambulance transported the party to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Feb. 6—University Police received a report of a foot laceration and dispatched BEMCo. BEMCo treated the party onscene with a signed refusal for further care. A second party was found to be intoxicated.

BEMCo treated the party onscene with a signed refusal for

Palin tells “tea party”: It’s revolution time NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Sarah Palin declared, “America is ready for another revolution” and repeatedly assailed President Barack Obama on Saturday before adoring “Tea Party” activists, a seemingly natural constituency should she run for president.

Noting Democrats’ recent electoral losses just a year after Obama was elected on promises of hope and change, she asked: “How’s that hope-y, change-y stuff workin’ out for you?”

Her audience waved flags and erupted in cheers during multiple standing ovations as Palin gave the keynote address at the first national convention of the “Tea Party” movement, an antiestablishment grassroots network motivated by anger over the growth of government, budget-busting spending and Obama’s policies.

Filled with Palin’s trademark folksy jokes, the speech amounted to a 45-minute pep talk for the coalition and promotion of its principles. The speech also was rife with criticism for Obama and Democrats who control Congress but was delivered with a light touch.

Catering to her crowd, Palin talked of limited government, strict adherence to the Constitution and the “Godgiven right” of freedom.

NOTE TO READERS: The Justice is on hiatus for February break. Our next issue will be published March 2, 2010.

Check our Web site at www.thejusticeonline.com for News updates.

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS The Senate Log misspelled the name of an a cappella group. The name of the a cappella group is Ba’note, not B’note. (Feb. 2, p. 2)

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

E-mail justeditor@ brandeis.edu.

theJustice 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 will be held Friday from 10 a.m. to noon in the Justice office this week. Editor in chief office hours are usually held every Wednesday from 1 to 2 p.m.

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Feb. 2—University Police received a report of a student being harassed in Ziv Quad. An investigation is set to follow.

Miscellaneous Feb. 1—University Police received a report from the Waltham Police Department that there was a fight on Old South Street. University Police checked the area and found all to be in order.

Feb. 6—University Police assisted the Waltham Police with a suspect under arrest for operating under a suspended drivers license.

—compiled by Alana Abramson

Senate to begin working on six new committees

AP BRIEF

An article in Arts misstated the date of a concert because the date changed after press time. The Atlas Sound concert is taking place this Thursday; it did not take place last Sunday. ( Feb. 2, p. 19).

Harassment

SENATE LOG

—Ryan Kuhel

The print and original online versions of a story in News stated that Meyer Koplow stepped down to accept a faculty nomination. Koplow actually stepped down following a faculty nomination with no comment on accepting it. (Feb. 2, p.1)

further care.

ROBYN SPECTOR/the Justice

Activist clubs recruit members Various activist clubs on campus provided information about their different objectives at the activist Disorientation Night, which took place last Wednesday in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium.

The Student Union Senate has decided to begin working on six separate Senate committees to address needs on the Brandeis campus. The committees focus on social justice, outreach, diversity, club support, ways and means and services.

Student Union President Andy Hogan ’11 swore in the Senator for the Class of 2012 Abby Kulawitz, the Senator for Charles River Abraham Berin ’11, the Senator for Village Quad Albert Feldman ’13, and the Senator East Quad Melissa Skolnik ’12.

Jenna Brofsky ’10, the director of community advocacy, and Sofya Bronshvayg ’11, the director of executive affairs, updated the Union about Clubs in Service, an initiative designed to connect clubs that are not typically community service-oriented with volunteer opportunities, and urged the Senate to commit to more outreach programs such as visiting student residence halls and dining areas. Brofsky praised the Clubs-inService initative, saying that it had been going extremely well so far.

Senator-at-Large Beneva Davies ’13 is working with Michael Newborn, senator for the Class of 2011, on an interfaith event that will be cosponsored by the MLK and Friends club. The event is planned for Wednesday, March 24 and will include presentations made by religious groups on campus as well as performances by a cappella and culture entertainment groups.

Newborn announced that he will launch a Boston-area map survey sometime next week through Facebook and e-mail in lieu of the campuswide e-mail the Union Secretary usually sends to the student body.

Hogan, Mark Trilling ’12,senator for the Castle Quad, Ruben Abergel, senator for the class of 2013 and Executive Senator Jenna Rubin ’11 will represent Brandeis this weekend at the Boston Intercollegiate Conference to meet with seven other area colleges.

Amy Mandel ’10, senator for the Foster Mods, has contacted Vice President for Campus Operations Mark Collins requesting more electrical outlets in the Usdan and Sherman dining halls.

Davies and Linda Li ’13, senator for Massell Quad, both reported positive student reactions to the Presidential Search Survey conducted last month.

—Fiona Lockyer

ANNOUNCEMENTS Applying for WOW Internship Funding The Hiatt Career Center is providing information about the application process for the World of Work Fellowship, which grants students $3,500 to pursue unpaid summer internships. Today from noon to 1 p.m. in the Hiatt Career Center.

“Why Liberal Arts” panel discussion Profs. Elizabeth Ferry (ANTH), Thomas King (ENG), Chris Miller (BCHM) and Janet Morrison (THA) will speak at a faculty panel entitled “Why Liberal Arts?” a discussion about the pros and cons of a liberal arts education. For more information, e-mail lgrasso@brandeis.edu. Today from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in Rapaporte Treasure Hall.

Employment workshop for international students International Student Advisor Ruth Brigham will provide an information session for J1 visa holders interested in pursuing internships and/or graduation

employment. For more information e-mail rbrigham@brandeis.edu. Today from 4:30 to 5 p.m. in Kutz 215.

Study Abroad: University of Haifa information session Toby Appel, director of admissions at University of Haifa International School, will discuss the study abroad opportunities available for Brandeis students in Haifa, Israel. E-mail abroad@brandeis.edu for more information. .Thursday from 3 to 4 p.m. in Usdan 122.

Writing with Purpose: Cover Letters and Business Correspondence Designed to Get Results The Hiatt Career Center is sponsoring a workshop for students to explore the purpose of writing a cover letter. Students should bring at least one example of a cover letter they have written in the past.

Thursday from 5 to 6 p.m. in the Hiatt Career Center.

Sociology Spring 2010 Colloquium Series featuring Ashley Mears Ashley Mears, an assistant professor of sociology at Boston University, will be featured in a session titled “High End Ethnic: Cultural Production and the Reproduction of Culture in Fashion Modeling.” Her research explores the intersection of culture and the economy and the influences of gender, race and class inequality on pop culture. Thursday from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the Pearlman Lounge.

Latino Studies Program Accepting Proposals for Travel Grants The Latin American and Latino Studies program is accepting summer research proposals for Jane’s Travel Grants. This opportunity is available to all graduate students returning to Brandeis in the fall and all undergraduates except graduating seniors.

THE JUSTICE

ACADEMICS

●

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010

3

ADMINISTRATION

Four depts lose BIG explores several ideas degree option ■ Administrative Resource

Review Committee will present final report to Pres. Reinharz on Feb. 13.

■ The combined degree

programs in Anthropology, History, Physics and Politics will be phased out.

By FIONA LOCKYER JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Graduate School Council and the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee have approved the phasing out of the four-year departmental combined bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in Anthropology, History, Physics and Politics for students who matriculate in Fall 2011, Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe wrote in an e-mail to the Justice. Jaffe also wrote that programs in the life sciences will not be affected.

The combined bachelor’s and master’s degree programs, which currently exist in the Anthropology, Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, History, Mathematics, Neuroscience, Physics and Politics departments provide students with an opportunity to pursue an academic path that is more rigorous than pursuing an honors thesis.

The proposal to review the programs was submitted by Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Prof. Gregory Freeze (HIST), who could not be reached for an interview by press time.

Most professors from affected departments seem to be understanding of the decision made by the Graduate School Council and the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee.

Prof. Elizabeth Ferry (ANTH) wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that “[the combined bachelor’s and master’s degree program is] a program we have hardly used at all in recent years; it really only makes sense for a very few students, and there is the concern that

it detracts from a liberal arts education, by having people concentrate so completely on one subject.”

Additionally, Ferry wrote that the decision affects a small number of students as “[programs like the Anthropology department] don’t get many applicants and accept even fewer.”

Prof. Bernard Yack (POL) wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that “[the combined bachelor’s and master’s degree program] was always quite small, rarely more than one or two a year, so it’s not a big change for [the Politics department].”

History department Chair Prof. Jane Kamensky (HIST) wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that “long experience with the four-year programs led us to seek alternatives that would foster deeper, more meaningful engagement with our disciplines at the undergraduate and MA levels.”

For current History majors, Kamensky wrote, “I hope that exceptional undergraduate History majors will investigate our new MA program.” The departmental Web site includes a description of a one-year master’s program “designed to meet the varied academic and professional needs of graduate students.”

When the phase-out plan was first introduced by the Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering committee, a fear in the proposal was that “The existence of these options [four-year bachelor’s and master’s degree programs] precludes the development of five-year combined bachelor’s and master’s programs, which might offer students an attractive and strong option for achieving the MA degree, while also providing revenue possibilities for [the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences].”

By ALANA ABRAMSON JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Provost Marty Krauss, chair of the Bold Ideas Group, and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Apfel, a member of the Administrative Resource Review Committee, discussed the progress of their respective committees at the Feb. 4 faculty meeting.

According to the charge listed on the Brandeis Web site, the Bold Ideas Group, which was formed last November, is responsible for formulating new programs that will ultimately “yield a steadystate positive net return of at least $2 million.” Krauss listed the ideas the committee had discussed in a PowerPoint presentation at the faculty meeting.

The ideas included expanding relationships with corporations and University partners, seeking out new markets, developing both online and offline master’s programs and expanding the Rabb School of Continuing Studies by reaching out to people from different geographical areas.

She also said that the committee had spoken about expanding high school programs.

Krauss emphasized in an e-mail to the Justice that all of these ideas were in the formative stages and none had been definitively decided upon.

She wrote that the committee’s next meeting will be held Feb. 10 and that no timeline had been established to determine and implement these ideas “We don’t know exactly how many more meetings we’ll have,

but we are continuing to meet to discuss ideas,” Krauss wrote.

The Administrative Resource Review Committee was established at a Sept. 3 faculty meeting with the charge of reviewing staffing trends, administrative practices and internal and comparative financial data.

Apfel said in an interview with the Justice that he is in the process of drafting the committee’s final report, which he will present to University President Jehuda Reinharz upon Reinharz’s return from India on Feb. 13, and that the committee will make a presentation to the Board of Trustees during its meeting in March.

“

We are continuing to meet to discuss ideas.

PROVOST MARTY KRAUSS

In a Jan. 28 e-mail to the faculty, Krauss announced the formation of the Centers and Institutes Review Committee, which will analyze the centers harbored within Brandeis, a project the Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering committee began last year. Prof. Susan Birren (BIOL), the chair of the committee, wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that the committee had not met yet. She did not respond to a follow-up question about when the first meeting would be held.

Apfel told those present at the faculty meeting that the committee had set up organizational charts and engaged in a staff complement analysis, a study that compares Brandeis staff to other institutions, and a compensation review of the staff and will work on a com-

pensation review of the senior administration.

He explained in an e-mail to the Justice that a compensation review entails a comparison of Brandeis salaries to benchmark averages.

He also said that the committee was examining Library and Technology Services offerings with head of LTS Perry Hanson and was working on increasing efficiency and wants to conduct a space review to discern whether it is utilized efficiently.

“We’re not considering outsourcing at this point in time,” Apfel said at the meeting.

Apfel also said that Vice President of Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy was in the process of figuring out a method of gathering student input about maximizing efficiencies. He told the Justice that Eddy had spoken with Student Union President Andy Hogan ’11, and that he had spoken with Heddy Ben-Atar ’11, the student representative to the Board of Trustees, but that no concrete plans had been made to accomplish this objective.

Apfel also discussed Brandeis’s involvement with the Advisory Board Company, explaining that the company had advised Brandeis on various fiscal matters like disciplining spending and optimizing facilities.

According to Apfel’s presentation at the faculty meeting, the committee has discussed forming health care and energy initiatives with the Boston Consortium, a group of 11 universities in the Boston area, and was in the process of forming a procurement initiative with the consortium.

When asked to expand upon the ideas discussed at the faculty meeting, Apfel said he could not provide more details until the report was released. He said the time line of these activities was subject to the report as well.

CAMPUS EVENT

Bronner says media coverage of Middle East conflict differs ■ Ethan Bronner, Jerusalem

Bureau Chief for the Times, spoke about the coverage of the Israel/Palestine conflict.

By MIRANDA NEUBAUER JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

New York Times Jerusalem Bureau Chief Ethan Bronner said at a lecture in the International Lounge last Tuesday that a greater level of discourse in Israel in comparison with the Palestinian territories affects the media coverage of both societies’ roles in the Mideast conflict.

The event was sponsored by the Schusterman Institute for Israel Studies and the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism.

Bronner has covered the Middle East since the 1980s for Reuters, the Boston Globe and as the deputy foreign editor for The Times.

Bronner said that media coverage is chiefly affected by the fact that Israel has “a very, very open, robust debate going on all the time.”

Within the Palestinian territories, “there isn’t that same robust debate; there is very little investigative journalism, … and there are no columnists complaining about the situation the way there are in Israel,” Bronner said. “Don’t complain about us not writing positive things about Israel; complain about our not writing enough negative things about their enemies.”

While Hamas officials have not restricted his reporting as the Israeli government had warned him they would, Bronner told the audience of over 100 that Hamas officials offered less substantive information and studies and more opinions than facts.

Bronner described how The New York Times has had to reconcile the opposing perspectives in its coverage of every aspect of the Mideast conflict.

“In a world that tends to be black

MAX BREITSTEIN MATZA/the Justice

JOURNALIST’S PERSPECTIVE: Ethan Bronner, who has covered issues in the Middle East for almost three decades, spoke at last week’s event in the International Lounge. and white, I traffic in gray,” he said.

Bronner pointed to particular reporting challenges during the conflict in Gaza between Hamas and Israel from December 2008 to midJanuary 2009, particularly in the

context of a controversial report accusing both sides of war crimes.

That report’s lead author, Justice Richard Goldstone, visited Brandeis with former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Dore Gold last

fall. Gold stated that Israel invaded Gaza in self-defense to end rocket attacks from Gaza on towns in southern Israel.

Bronner called the Israeli military’s initial policy of blocking for-

eign reporters from Gaza an “immoral and stupid thing to do.”

Once allowed to enter Gaza, he said he gained the impression that Israel had had a mistaken

See MEDIA, 5 ☛

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THE JUSTICE

PROPOSALS: Report to be released in Feb

CONTINUED FROM 1

Prof. David Roberts (PHYS) wrote in an e-mail response to faculty members. “The administration must be made to understand this; it threatens the entire science enterprise at Brandeis.”

Prof.

Bulbul Chakraborty (PHYS) wrote that faculty should “rally” around the third proposal, although she added that “something needs to be done to shape up the Chemistry Ph.D. program.”

Last year’s Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering committee’s report had stated that “the [Chemistry] Ph.D. program has difficulty competing for top applicants and operates with a high attrition rate. It is the most costly graduate program in the University, approximately $650,000 this year.” But the report noted that this weakness is balanced “by recognition that its students carry significant teaching responsibilities in the undergraduate lecture and laboratory courses” and as graduate research assistants.

Jaffe said he instructed the four school councils, who consist of the department chairs of each of the University’s four schools, to meet next week. He said members of the Brandeis 2020 Committee would also attend those meetings, where faculty will be able to bring up any facts, issues or concerns they would like the committee to consider.

Jaffe added that “it’s not an ideal process, … but given the time constraints we’re operating under, it seemed the most practical way to try to make sure that there are not important considerations that we should have factored in that we might not hear.”

Following that release of the report after break, a deliberative process will proceed during which the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, school councils and the faculty as a whole will review the proposals before Provost Marty Krauss announces her final decision in March as per the Faculty Handbook.

Jaffe said the committee recognizes “that we’re going to lose something that we attribute to our mission and is trying to think about minimizing the impact of those losses.”

During the meeting, faculty brought up concerns about how the announcement of the cuts could affect the admissions cycle.

“We will be able to announce to the world [cuts] that we are contemplating exactly at the time

when students are considering whether to come to Brandeis University. … It will not be linked with simultaneous or even prior announcements … of actual plans for academic innovation, exciting new ideas as they contemplate this announcement,” Prof.

Jerry Cohen (AMST) said at the meeting.

He said that many other universities were waiting until after graduation to make such announcements and stated that “it is possible to delay that mid-March deadline.”

However, in response to a question from Prof. Elizabeth Ferry (ANTH), Jaffe said that the board had “said no” to the proposal of having the process end by June.

In an interview, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Apfel said that the Board of Trustees is concerned that “before we go into [unrestricted reserves] we want to make sure the administration has a plan in place … that is reasonable.” He added in an e-mail that “what you want to know before using savings is: is there a plan to bring monthly expenses into line with monthly revenues?”

He wrote that Brandeis currently has $70 million in unrestricted reserves.

“I truly believe that while there will be aspects of our proposals that people won’t like that it will be possible to cast the overall whole set things we are proposing as a set of changes that are going to make Brandeis a stronger and better institution in the long run,” Jaffe added later in the meeting.

In response to a faculty question, Jaffe said that in the event of a program’s closure, tenure-track faculty would be reassigned to another unit.

Jaffe emphasized that the committee had considered the impact on contract faculty positions as far away as 2020.

“When we have thought about resource savings, we have thought about eliminating positions that are currently occupied by a living, breathing faculty member,” Jaffe said at the meeting.

Jaffe later explained in an interview with the Justice that such a plan would take into account that faculty member remaining in that position initially and “that we might not save any money for a long time.”

In that event, no new resources would be allocated toward a program and departures would not be replaced, Jaffe said.

—Alana Abramson contributed reporting.

CONTINUED FROM 1 In his presentation to faculty, Saxe said that the candidate profile and case statement will be available to other constituencies, including students. “My understanding is that the [Presidential Search Committee] will be in direct contact with the Student Advisory Committee [about the draft candidate profile and case statement],” Saxe wrote in an email to the Justice.

The two documents will then be available for comment on the search Web site.

Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates, the search firm that was selected last week to help in the search process, will also be involved in creating the final versions of the two documents,

according to Saxe’s presentation.

Co-chair of the Faculty Advisory Committee Prof. Anita Hill (Heller) declined to comment on the draft documents. Prof.

Robin F. Miller (GRALL), the other chair of the advisory committee, did not respond to repeated requests for comment by press time.

“We’re hoping within the next several weeks to go public with the effort to identify candidates,” Saxe said at the meeting.

In his e-mail to the Justice, Saxe further explained, “Along with posting materials on the website, I also expect that there will be advertisements and other outreach to potential candidates.”

—Miranda Neubauer contributed reporting.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010

5

SAVING LIVES

JESSICA CHRISTIAN/the Justice

Waltham Group Blood Drive Students had the opportunity to donate pints of blood in the Waltham Group Blood Drive last Tuesday and Wednesday. The Waltham Group, a volunteer community service organization, organizes three blood drives every year along with the Red Cross.

ELECTIONS: Results announced CONTINUED FROM 1 much care [for the elections… and people must not have such huge complaints.”

“Political efficacy at Brandeis, I’m sure as everyone knows, is very low,” Berin said. He added that he decided to run for Charles River senator primarily to fill the vacancy.

The turnouts for eligible voters ranged from the 6.58 percent that voted for Charles River Senator position to the 43.35 percent that voted for the Village Quad Senator.

Hogan commented that the participation rate seemed “standard” for the Union, noting that some senator positions did have competitors.

Last semester, the highest percentage of voters, at 56.23 percent,

participated in the Class of 2013 senator election while the lowest, at 4.10 percent, participated in the off-campus senator election.

“I think this semester is going to be about putting all our noses to the grindstone and getting some results. I think students are excited by results and a lot of the times the Student Union doesn’t deliver on the results, that they promise. So I think the idea is to complete projects, to outreach to the student body more, to make people more excited about getting involved,” Hogan said.

Some successful candidates discussed their goals for the Student Union.

As senator, Feldman said that he wants to unify the midyear and non-midyear populations of the Village Quad.

Feldman said that he ran for the position because “I’m always looking out for my fellow midyears’ backs.”

Kulawitz said that she wants to get students more involved with supporting Brandeis sports teams.

“My main platform was getting some way to get more students going to sporting events. … That’s a really good way to kind of unite students, and although Brandeis isn’t known for its sports, it’s a really good aspect of our school,” she told the Justice.

Martin told the Justice that he wants to “make the role of the Union Judiciary a little clearer for people.” He hopes to update the Union Web site with clearer explanations of UJ rulings to make the student body more aware of the Judiciary’s role in the Union.

MEDIA: More discourse in Israel leads to more coverage, says Times’ Bronner CONTINUED FROM 3

SEARCH: Koplow declines pres bid

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assumption that once it instructed residents to leave their houses, only Palestinian fighters would remain.

He stated that it turned out that many Gazans did not want to leave and did not expect the Israelis to be very violent, since many had lived with Israelis or worked in Israel, a miscalculation he suggested led to destruction of property and inadvertent injuries and deaths among civilians.

Countering Goldstone’s claims, Bronner said the Israeli blockade of Gaza and Israeli military action “are separate policies, but the fact is they feed into the same sentiment that Israel is trying to destroy civilian life in Gaza, which I think is a very harsh assessment.”

Bronner said that in a Gaza neighborhood called Atatra, he questioned statements by the Israeli military that it only destroyed houses it knew contained explosives after an arms expert with him found none. He said military members gave explanations including that they suspected the houses had explosives, which is why they did not want to take any chances and moved residents out and destroyed the houses. Bronner said he attempted a “melding of the two sides that allowed me to build

some kind of narrative but a tentative one.”

Powerful stories from the region encourage media interest, he said.

“You have [the Jewish people] … nearly decimated by the worst genocide in human history; they emerge from the ashes of it and going back to this land that they say they’re from. … They go and build this incredibly successful society in a very short time. That’s what we call a good story,” he stated. “Then in the process of building their very successful society, it gets a little harsh,” he went on to say. “And there’s an occupation, … and the people who all those years were seen as victims are now victimizing others. That’s what we call a good story.”

During a question-and-answer session following the talk, Dexter Van Zile, from the pro-Israel group Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, asked about media coverage of hatred toward Jews on state-run Palestinian television. “I say it could use more coverage than it gets [but] one of the problems with stories that never change, it’s hard to write them again,” Bronner said.

Debby Frisch ’10 asked how Bronner felt he could cover the Middle East objectively with his son having joined the Israeli military.

“I’m not very emotionally involved in this conflict. … I feel that people who are natural advocates shouldn’t go into doing what I do,” he said. His son’s independent choice, he added, “doesn’t affect my sense of what I do.” In a Feb. 6 column by Clark Hoyt in The New York Times, Hoyt advocates Bronner’s removal from reporting on the conflict, while New York Times executive editor Bill Keller is quoted as saying that Bronner’s son’s decision should not affect his father’s position at the newspaper.

In an interview with the Justice after the event, Bronner spoke about the challenges of covering unchanging aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “I am looking down the road and seeing stagnation, and I’m kind of wondering about that. … I’m worried that the world attention will be too focused on other things, … but there’s so much historic interest in it, I think I’ll be fine for a year or two.”

Judy Wolf, a resident of Waltham, called the event “one of the best discussions I’ve heard about Israel and its neighbors in a very, very long time.”

“It was a very interesting and rewarding experience to be able to see the face behind the reporter,” Adam Ross ’10 said.

THE JUSTICE

just

features

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VERBATIM | Sean O’Casey All the world’s a stage, and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.

ON THIS DAY...

FUN FACT

In 1971,the NASDAQ stock-market index debuted.

In the Caribbean there are oysters that can climb trees.

A reconciliation of

tradition and modernity

By MAX BREITSTEIN MATZA JUSTICE EDITOR

As Jerome Kanyog (GRAD) rides the Waltham shuttle to campus, he blends in with other Brandeis graduate students from overseas. He wears an indistinctive thick leather jacket, holds a briefcase and squints to prevent the gleam of reflective snow from obstructing his observant gaze. But Kanyog is different from other Brandeis students.

At the end of the school year, Kanyog will not apply to internships or take time off to travel; instead, he will return to his job as a policeman in Ghana and work to help create the national police peace-training curriculum for the Ghanaian government.

Kanyog, who is 41 years old and has been working as a policeman for 10 years, has been given a year of leave from the Ghanaian government to receive his Master of Arts in Conflict and Coexistence studies. He hopes to use his degree to develop a curriculum on peace education that will be incorporated into the training of reserves at the national police training school.

As a student, Kanyog has shed his gun and uniform in favor of notebooks and pens. While Kanyog has made some sacrifices in order to pursue his goal—he left his wife and twin toddlers at home—he believes that what he learns here will help police in Ghana understand how to respond to conflict.

“You are carrying a heavy, big responsibility. [You] need some form of training on how to respond proactively to conflict,” says Kanyog of being a policeman.

Kanyog uses the metaphor of a fire to explain the necessity of peace training.

“When there is a fire outbreak, whether the fire escalates or dies out depends on the reaction of the first person to get there—the first responder. The same is true in conflict.”

Mari Fitzduff, director of the master’s program in Intercommunal Coexistence and a professor of Coexistence, welcomes security officials into Brandeis’ conflict management courses.

Fitzduff also says the program has a component of mediation skills, which are now increasingly recognized as an essential skill for security forces.

“We always welcome people from the security forces—army or police—to our program on coexistence, as security forces have a critical part to play in all countries in ensuring social cohesion,” says Fitzduff.

As a police officer, Kanyog often faces the challenge of having to reconcile between common, or federal, law and customary, or tribal, law. Although justice can be served according to either in Ghana, it is the duty of the police to enforce verdicts rendered by both judges.

Still, common law supersedes customary law when they are in direct confrontation, as common law has labeled certain cultural or customary practices as illegal.

“Customary law is localized, not codified,” says Kanyog. “There is often a level of subjectivity and arbitrariness. … In Ghana, the culture is so very strong and the people have a lot of close attachment to anything that has to do with the culture.”

For example, one of the conflicting laws Kanyog encounters deals with marriage against a woman’s will. While involuntary marriages are illegal under criminal law, customary law does not always prohibit them.

MAX BREITSTEIN MATZA/the Justice

A PASSIONATE POLICEMAN: Jerome Kanyog (GRAD) is a policeman from Ghana who is currently working to get his Master of Arts in Conflict and Coexistence studies.

Jerome Kanyog (GRAD) works for peace training for police in Ghana Another conflict arises following divorces performed by tribal leaders. In these cases, women are sometimes told that they must “purify” themselves. Although this “purification” is accepted under customary law, if the ritual she is commanded to perform is “dehumanizing,” the state sees it as illegal.

Kanyog believes that in the future customary law must be codified. He also believes that the justice system must be consolidated, as tribe chiefs and kings are currently allowed to arbitrate disputes if they register with the state.

“There are so many places you can go for justice. [Often] there is a level of subjectivity and arbitrariness [in the ruling],” says Kanyog.

However, Kanyog believes it is impossible to disregard local traditions and customs.

“You can’t just say, ‘Let’s abolish it,’” he says.

Nevertheless, many Ghanaians such as Kanyog will never choose to consult a tribal judge.

Kanyog has learned to be patient when explaining complicated and sometimes contradictory policies to Ghanaians who are sometimes illiterate. The care he takes to explain the government’s position in rural Ghana has helped him to communicate complex issues to students here at Brandeis. He chooses his words slowly and deliberately when speaking.

Kanyog also has to deal with the issue of “chieftaincy,” which he describes as one of the more difficult conflicts facing West Africa. As a result of the chieftaincy system, violent disputes often arise over deciding the succession of chieftains within tribes.

The system of chieftaincy is traditional in some regions but arose several centuries ago in other areas when the British regional colonial masters attempted to enforce a hierarchy similar to the northern Nigerian Muslim Caliphate on the tribes. They felt that a hierarchy would help them to disseminate their orders. Further, during the days of the slave raids, a weaker tribe would request the protection of a stronger leader, who would become their chieftain, serving as protector over the other. Today conflicts arise, often deadly, over who should be the chief of the tribe, such as in Bawku, a region in northern Ghana where Kanyog is frequently deployed.

Kanyog is grateful for the skills he is gaining in America and is living off campus with several other international graduate students, whom he describes as a “lovely group.” Still, Kanyog misses the comforts of home and hasn’t seen his family since he started school. Kanyog is currently working to get his family a computer with a camera so that he can video chat with his wife and children.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JEROME KANYOG

THE JUSTICE

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DAVIDA JUDELSON/the Justice

DR. OSTRER DRAWS BLOOD: The geneticist draws a student’s blood in the final step of his genetic test, done in the Tuesday, Feb. 2.

DAVIDA JUDELSON/the Justice

QUESTION TIME: A member of Dr. Ostrer’s team of genetic researchers questions a student on his genetic history to determine whether or not he carries one of several diseases prevelant in Jewish communities.

Dr. Harry Ostrer provides students with genetic testing

By DEBORAH SALMON JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Last Tuesday the Lurias in Hassenfeld Conference Center had a different feel than usual. Instead of having empty chairs and tables, students were seated against the wall waiting in line or moving table to table to answer questions about their genetic histories. Next, students moved to to a table where a blood sample was taken. In four weeks, these students will know what genetic diseases they might carry.

Dr. Harry Ostrer, the geneticist behind the testing, came to Brandeis with a team of assistants from New York University to conduct genetic tests on students of Jewish heritage. Ostrer, who has a distinctively dark mustache, specializes in studying diseases that affect Ashkenazi Jewish populations.

Ostrer and his team have been traveling to various college campuses across the United States to offer free genetic screening since the 1970s and 80s.

Since then, Ostrer has been to colleges such as Stanford, Harvard and Yeshiva University.

Genetic testing involves taking a blood sample so that the person’s DNA can be observed in a lab under a microscope.

The students who were tested will get

their results back in four to six weeks.

Ostrer says the importance of getting tested as early as possible comes down to having a broader display of options about potential diseases early on. In the past, people learned about their risk for having affected children only after a child was born.

“Through genetic testing, it is possible to identify people whose children may be at increased risk,” says Ostrer.

Ostrer decided to focus his research primarily on Ashkenazi Jews after finding evidence pointing to the reappearance of many prevalent disorders in Jews of Eastern European descent.

Diseases such as Canavan disease, cystic fibrosis and Tay-Sachs are some of the most severe. The signs and symptoms of Canavan disease are mental retardation, seizures and cerebral palsy.

It progresses rapidly and is fatal by the age of 12, and approximately one in 40 Jews of Eastern European descent is a carrier. Cystic fibrosis causes frequent respiratory infections that later lead to lung damage. The disease also affects the digestive system and ultimately the heart. Approximately one in 20 Ashkenazi Jews are carriers. Tay-Sachs, one of the most feared diseases, causes blindness, mental retardation, seizures and paralysis. It is fatal by age four to five. Approximately one in 25 Eastern

European Jews are carriers, while one in 300 are carriers in other groups.

Understanding how the body works is important in understanding Ostrer’s work. Most traits in our bodies have two genes: one inherited from the mother and one from the father. If one of these genes is mutated, it will not work the way it is supposed to. If a person has a change in only one of his or her genes, the person will only be a carrier of the disease. However, a mutation in both the maternal and paternal genes may actually produce the disease. When a man and a woman (both of whom have mutated genes) have a child, this child has a 25 percent chance of having the genetic disorder.

Dr. Ostrer’s extensive research on Jewish genetics has created awareness among Jewish college students about what diseases they may be carriers of.

Ostrer tests students, most of whom are unmarried, to give them time to think about their options. Since most college students are not confronting reproductive choices, upon finding out that they are carriers of a gene for a recessive disease, they will be able to make more informed decisions.

Paul Gale ’12, is a little nervous about the results but thinks that testing is important and was surprised that more students were not tested.

“It’s a reality I’d have to face at sometime, and I’d thought I’d get it over with. It puts things into prospective,” says Gale.

Ostrer says that couples in which both partners carry recessive genes for any given disease have two options in order to bear a child.

“For couples who have an affected fetus, there is termination of pregnancy. Another possibility for carrier couples is in vitro fertilization,” says Ostrer. “When you’re in college, it is not too soon to start thinking about it.”

With that in mind, some college students were still skeptical about getting tested.

“There is no need to know now, when and if I decide to have children, I will definitely consider getting screened,” says Nathan Mizrachi ’12.

Students who did choose to get tested were primarily of Ashkenazi descent.

However, there is a common misconception that most genetic diseases are prevalent among Ashkenazi communities.

“There are some conditions that are common in both Ashkenazi and Sephardic communities,” says Ostrer.

For example, cystic fibrosis is virtually present among all Jewish populations, says Ostrer.

Ostrer also says that the there is a

very low possibility of there having been any sort of cultural interaction or exchange among Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews, given that they lived on completely opposite sides of the world.

“Some people think that being a carrier of cystic fibrosis actually increases your resistance to being infected by plague, so there may actually have been natural selection occurring that gave selective survival advantage to people with cystic fibrosis,” says Ostrer, although he says this is only a theory.

Apart from his work on college campuses, Dr. Ostrer is also looking to expand these genetic screening tests to involve other ethnic groups. Many ethnic groups have diseases that occur more frequently among their members than in general populations. For example, sickle cell anemia is very common among black populations, and thalassemia is prevalent mainly among individuals of Mediterraean ancestry.

Currently, Ostrer and his team are looking to “develop genetic tests that would be more specific for Iranian and Syrian Jews, which are the third-and second-largest Jewish populations in America.”

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THE JUSTICE

the Justice Established 1949

Brandeis University

HANNAH L. KIRSCH, Editor in Chief J OANNA SCHORR, Senior Editor B RIAN FROMM, Deputy Editor ANDREA FINEMAN, Managing Editor ANYA B ERGMAN, REBECCA B LADY, SHANA D. LEBOWITZ and MAX B REITSTEIN MATZA Associate Editors NASHRAH RAHMAN and HARRY SHIPPS, News Editors REBECCA KLEIN, Features Editor HILLEL B UECHLER, Acting Forum Editor J OSH ASEN, Sports Editor SARAH BAYER, Arts Editor ASHER KRELL and ROBYN SPECTOR, Acting Photography Editors B RIAN N. B LUMENTHAL, Layout Editor EMILY KRAUS, Acting Copy Editor B RAD STERN, Advertising Editor

Foster off-campus living options The University’s financial difficulties and the recent influx of a remarkably large first-year class have made on-campus housing a complicated, frustrating phenomenon. In order to help ameliorate housing chaos, we recommend that the University help facilitate off-campus living.

The University should not only spend time and money reconfiguring campus housing to fit a maximum number of students: It should also invest in staff who can advise students about off-campus housing. Until July 2008, the Department of Community Living staff included an assistant director of residence life for off-campus housing. The University would be wise to reinstate this position, even if just for a few months between October and February. Students debating where to live would be likelier to move off campus if they knew someone could assist them throughout the process.

Because hiring additional staff is a costly decision, the University might also consider hiring students to counsel their peers about off-campus living issues. Rising seniors who have lived off-campus for at least one year could apply for these positions, and current DCL staff could supervise their work.

Students might even feel more comfortable approaching other students with their concerns than they would about meeting with permanent DCL staff. An off-campus housing adviser could address many concerns students have when considering moving off campus. This staff member could help students find housing that matches their budgets in the Waltham area.

The adviser could also provide guid-

Move could reduce crowding ance on paying utilities and purchasing food. Some students living off campus still want to be able to eat on campus, and the adviser could recommend a suitable meal plan.

Brandeis might also consider establishing a forum on myBrandeis for students to communicate about available houses near campus. Students who rent specific houses would be able to answer questions about the advantages of living there or the problems they have faced.

In an effort to encourage students to move off campus, the University should also better publicize the resources the DCL provides. The online “Guide to Off-Campus Housing” offers some useful tips for moving off campus, including average rental rates, advice on subletting and instructions for posting a listing on myBrandeis. As the date for room selection draws nearer, the University should let students know that these resources are available. The DCL could stuff mailboxes with hard copies of the “Guide to Off-Campus Housing” or e-mail students about upcoming workshops on off-campus living. More students might be inspired to seek offcampus housing.

As the size of Brandeis’ undergraduate class continues to increase, the University should think carefully about resolving issues in campus housing. Whether by hiring extra staff or increasing advertising, the University should promote off-campus living as an attractive option and help ease the process of moving off campus.

Elections Web site needs repair With the recent special elections held to fill several vacated Student Union positions, we are once again encountering the problems riddling the current Union voting system.

These are issues that could and ought to be resolved by the Union.

While this page continues to express its disappointment with consistently low levels of voter participation, we currently take issue with the actual voting mechanism—the Web site through which students cast their votes in each Union election.

The current setup of the election Web site makes it unnecessarily difficult to navigate, causing frustration among those proportionally few students who even bother to vote in the first place.

Once a student logs into the Web site to vote, all elections are presented, including those that individual students may not even be eligible to participate in. This creates a visually complicated list of options.

Additionally, there is simply no mechanism in place to ensure that a student who logs in to vote will be guided toward each and every election in which he or she is qualified to vote.

If a student votes in elections in an order other than the one presented on screen in the current system, after each individual vote there is no indication that there are remaining elections in which the student could participate. And even if a student voting

Process is too complicated out of order is aware that there are other elections in which he or she is eligible to vote, it is difficult to maneuver back to the list of elections.

These problems have existed for quite some time, and their presence is no secret to the student population or the Union itself. It would be rash to blame widespread student apathy regarding Union elections on the overly complex voting system employed by the Union. However, it would be remiss to exclude considering it as one of many factors—one that could be feasibly repaired. Additionally, because the election results are calculated electronically, the Union could also issue an e-mail notification to the student body alerting students of the election results following the close of each election process.

The elections system is currently administered by an off-campus company. If the Union is unable to negotiate with the company to improve the current Web site situation, then the Union should seek another administrator from within the Brandeis community for the Web site. We commend the Union for choosing to take such action regarding the actual Student Union Web site, and we encourage it to do the same regarding the elections Web site, perhaps involving on-campus resources such as students and Library and Technology Services.

A. ELI TUKACHINSKY/the Justice

Expand cultural output

By MARY BAINE CAMPBELL SPECIAL TO THE JUSTICE

At the last faculty meeting, I suggested University Provost Marty Krauss convene a “Small Ideas Committee” alongside her “Bold Ideas Group,” which considers ideas that could provide $2 million or so annually in revenue for the University. In response she held two meetings soliciting “small ideas” last week. By a “small idea,” I meant something that might not rake in revenue but would help Brandeis attract positive attention for its intellectual liveliness despite the extraordinary stresses of this moment in the history of the American economy. Something that would have short- and medium-term benefits for the University’s reputation, despite short and medium term economies we may have to make, and thus secure that crucial factor in our excellence, the quality of the students who apply to our programs. This kind of benefit acts to preserve the name of Brandeis and the reality beneath it, the product of generations of labor, passion and genius.

My idea responds to another problem as well. As a young university with a small endowment, Brandeis is feeling the economic pinch more severely than many institutions, but it is hardly alone. Academic conferences and symposia are expensive to host and to attend and have become rarer lately; invitations to give lectures, readings or performances to those beyond commuting distance of host institutions are down as well. Last year, when faculty did not receive our usual stipends for research and conference travel, and few paid invitations from elsewhere materialized, we were left to our own devices: lo, there were wonderful things to take in and venues in which to give forth right here on campus. I’m thinking of the thoughtful and exciting colloquia hosted, often at the Rose Art Museum, by Prof. Mark Auslander (ANTH) and the interdepartmental master’s program in Cultural Production, as well as interdisciplinary events organized there by former Rose Art Museum director Michael Rush, not to mention the Distinguished Faculty Lectures of Women’s and Gender Studies, the Interdisciplinary Narrative Seminar run by faculty from English, Anthropology and Sociology and the lecture and reading series of Center for German and European Studies.

If we are to remain a university we need stimulation. New ideas do not emerge from intellectual isolation. And, I repeat, we are not alone. Faculty at nearby institutions also stand in need of a richer diet closer to home. So do the intellectually curious residents of the western and northern suburbs, our neighbors in Waltham, Belmont, Watertown, Arlington, Lexington, Wellesley, Newton, Acton—many of whom are themselves active or emeritus faculty at area colleges and universities as well as writers, artists and musicians.

We are watching the Mandel Center for the Humanities turn real before our eyes, the melancholy ghosts of those fallen oaks and yellow trees replaced by the literally concrete prospect of a new beginning. In that new building, with spaces for lectures and performances, I propose that we set up a coordinated Center for Humanities and Cultural Studies to host late afternoon and evening lectures, seminars, discussion groups and performance events, free and open to the public. They will feature the ongoing research of members of our own faculty and others locally in the humanities, including disciplines such as history, art history and musicology, and programs here and elsewhere in which there are interdisciplinary interfaces with humanities. I think particularly of anthropology, theater and the other arts, but many who work in literary, linguistic and cultural studies have also collaborated with mathematicians, medical researchers, environmental scientists and evolutionary biologists.

Brandeis professors and graduate students have long participated in monthly seminars at the Harvard Humanities Center and will continue to. But it’s hard to park your car in Harvard Yard and hard to get to seminars from Brandeis in time, even if you have a Cambridge parking sticker. I think there’s a need for such a center on the part of both the Brandeis community and those who live and teach in our area. It could also widen the audience of offerings from programs like Medieval and Renaissance Studies; Cultural Production; Film, Television, and Interactive Media; and Peace and Coexistence Studies. It would even be good for local restaurants, bringing people in who might otherwise be home watching the History Channel and wishing there were a stimulating lecture series around.

For students who may not recognize my use of the word “seminar”: It can mean not only a capped course taken for credit, but also an open-ended venue for lecture and discussion organized around a single subject; such as Animal Studies, Jacques Lacan, Environmental Criticism, Interdisciplinary Narrative Studies, The Eighteenth Century, etc. Such venues have the particular benefit of keeping scholars and students in touch with others whose work may enrich theirs: members can be of help in many ways to each other over the long term.

The writer is a professor in the English Department.

OP-BOX Quote of the Week “In a world that tends to be black and white, I traffic in gray.”

—Ethan Bronner, Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times, while speaking at a public lecture held last Tuesday (See News, page 3).

Brandeis Talks Back How do you think we can increase voter participation in Student Union elections?

TANIA ABRAMOVA ’11 “It needs to be increased.

There should be a meet and greet with the candidates.”

BEN HORNSTEIN ’11 “Make it more relevant. I ended up voting only for associate justice.”

MONISHA RAJINIKANTH ’12 “Just talk about issues that interest people the most.”

NOAM GILBOORD (GRAD) “I don’t know—I didn’t even know we had a Student Union. Get your name out on campus.”

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010

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To combat high cost of student transportation, government should subsidize ticket expenses

READER COMMENTARY Koplow would be great president In response to your article “Meyer Koplow nominated for University president” (News, Feb. 2): Meyer Koplow would be an excellent choice for University president. His talent, integrity, devotion and support to Brandeis make him uniquely positioned to take on this challenge.

—Barbara S. Friedman

to get me and my fellow passengers up to Boston, thousands of people are driving in their cars, burning the gas in their own tanks en route to the same destination.

If there are empty seats on the train, they may as well be set at a price reasonable enough for someone to want to actually fill them.

In Obama’s State of the Union address, he emphasized that in the near future, the country that will lead the world will be not the most powerful country but the most “green.”

If America is truly making an effort to “go green,” it certainly is not evident upon looking at the prices of public transportation these days.

In the United States, to take a train from New York City to Boston on the regular Northeast Regional line (a trip with a duration of approximately 3 hours, 31 minutes) costs $107.

However, in Israel, to take a train from Be’er Sheva to Akko (a trip with a duration of approximately 3 hours, 13 minutes) costs only 57 shekels, or roughly $16.

Furthermore, this price for the 3-hour Israeli train ride is a student price, discounted from the adult price of 63.5 shekels ($17).

Compare this to Amtrak’s “Student Advantage” system: Upon paying $50 for four years, subscribers save 10 percent on Amtrak train trips. All this means is instead of paying $138 for a round-trip ticket from Washington to New York, students will pay $117.30.

This is just not a substantial amount of savings for a college student.

There are also sites such as studentuniverse.com where finding cheaper flights is very hit or miss.

But affordable student travel should be a rule rather than the exception to the rule,

Hannah

GOLDBERG EVERYTHING ILLUMINATED

The writer served with Meyer Koplow on the board of the Westchester Day School and is the parent of Brett Friedman ’00.

As I stood on the sleet-covered train platform in Wilmington, Del. three weeks ago, waiting for my train up to Boston to take me back to Brandeis at the end of winter break, I couldn’t help but become a bit angry.

My anger was not due to the delay—an hour’s delay to my arrival back at school after a month away was not tragic—but because I didn’t know where the exorbitant amount of money I paid for my train tickets was going.

If my train tickets didn’t even guarantee that my train would be on time or that I would have a warm station in which to wait in the case of a delay, then where did my $187 go?

Paying for absurdly priced travel is simply a side effect of the priceless opportunity to go to college at an institution far away from home.

If a student does not live near any university, wants to study a specific subject not offered near her, chooses to pursue an ambitious goal of applying to her “dream school” or simply wants a change of scenery, a college in a far-off land (or state) will likely provide the experience which she seeks.

However, going to college far from home also means paying to get there and back each time you decide to travel between the two.

Additionally, on my $187 train trip, more seats were empty than full. Perhaps the reason was high prices, but in the time that it takes my train to use its set amount of fuel

Koplow is the president we need In response to your article “Meyer Koplow nominated for University president” (News, Feb. 2): Meyer Koplow’s nomination for University president is excellent news. We need someone who has been familiar with the crisis so far so that Brandeis can get out of its current mess, without wasting time getting up to speed.

—Reuven Solomon ’08

Consider Conn senator for the job In response to your article “Meyer Koplow nominated for University president” (News, Feb. 2): I nominate Senator Joe Lieberman. We need a nationally known figure to bring the attention to Brandeis that it deserves. As both a committed Jew and independent thinker, he embodies the spirit of our University.

—Mark D. Gershenson ’74

Brandeis grads took part in killing Regarding your article “To show respect for local community, let Waltham residents use University gym” (Forum, Jan. 26.): Just for purposes of accuracy, can I point out that the two women involved in killing that police officer were Brandeis graduates? I also have some problems with Ayers, but radical— even extremist—activism is a part of our school’s history that we must acknowledge.

—Doug Nevins ’10

and it should be easy to find. Cheap travel should be readily available to already busy students.

Clearly, something is wrong with America’s public transportation system.

It would be in the best interest of college students, the economy and the environment for the government to subsidize forms of public transportation for university students.

College students often cannot have cars on campus and rely on public transportation for four years, so the students could provide steady business for these industries.

Unfortunately, college students are often too busy with classes and extracurricular commitments to hold down a stable or lucrative job, and thus what little money they manage to compile should not be exploited to fuel the economy.

It could even be beneficial for home states to subsidize travel to and from school for college students.

Say for example, a high school student from Wyoming decided to specialize in nanotechnology, and the only schools with programs that matched his interests were on the East Coast.

The state could offer to pay for his travel expenses to school and back in exchange for the promise that after college, the student would devote a set number of years to living and working in Wyoming, hopefully bringing increased industry to the area, thus benefitting the state.

Ultimately, college students who choose to study far from home will be dependent upon public transportation regardless of its price.

If America has a future in “going green,” the simplest tracks to lay are the ones that have already been laid.

Students, take advantage of Univ resources

By LIZ POSNER JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

College is a strange place, when you think about it. When we first arrive here we are told that Brandeis will teach us, nurture our strengths, help us plan our futures, etc. by providing us with an authentic “college experience.” When I arrived here, I felt that I wasn’t just attending a university—I was coming to a place that would help me transition into adulthood.

But then I am reminded, every time and as soon as I log on to sage, of my “current balance,” “finances,” “outstanding charges”— here are the buzzwords that shatter my delusions of grandeur. Brandeis is fundamentally a business, and I am a consumer. These words are indicators of the very real and tangible transaction of funds that allows me to be here.

For example, I can do the math and know that every Spanish class I attend (or occasionally—and now very guiltily—miss) costs my parents around $250. Maybe I should consider the value of that $250. Of course, my tuition pays my professors to teach me and helps maintain the buildings where I do my learning. But there are countless other factors that go into the division of funds. Tuition is allocated to help pay for administrative salaries and student activities, among other things.

So, in theory, only a percentage of that $250 may actually go to my Spanish professor. The University will use much of it to enhance and enrich student life.

So what exactly is my relationship to this place? Is this my new community, or is it just the place where I live and attend classes in return for a hefty check? Let’s look at the question from a different angle. What am I doing exactly when I cheer for the Judges at their basketball game? Am I rooting for the “University” as an abstract, mystical entity that holds my allegiance? Or am I merely expressing my approval of this particular form of entertainment that Brandeis has provided for me—sponsored, in part I’m sure, by a sizable slice of my tuition—as a distraction

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from my workload?

The answer is more muddled than either of these two options. Brandeis is first and foremost a school that students pay to attend. In a way, we are like customers buying a product.

Our role in the relationship is somewhat clear in this sense. The identity of the product is more complicated. One way to think of it is this: we pay for the classes, but to give us our money’s worth, the University provides all these extra services. This is what sets Brandeis apart from other universities of lesser quality. The extra services are the features that will attract applicants and maintain a high quality of life here. I tend to think of them as the college equivalent of those freshly baked cookies that some hotels give you at check-in—little personal touches that enhance the experience and ensure that the customer will return in the future.

Students are even more of a monetary investment to the University in this sense. If Brandeis does a good job preparing me for my future career, chances are I’ll eventually become successful enough to give back to the school through alumni donations.

For sure, this is a cold, capitalistic way of understanding the University. We pay, we learn and we leave with a brand-name diploma. But I don’t think this outlook on the college experience necessarily has to be so bleak.

We can remain sentimental, or we can begin to think of Brandeis as a resource waiting to be tapped and, with that knowledge, make a conscious decision to take advantage of our time here. It turns out there is way more to take away from this campus than what one could get out of a successful round of “Sherman shopping.”

So how do you pillage and plunder your way through all Brandeis has to offer? Follow these simple steps!

1) Take advantage of TAs. They are there to help you. Think of them as private tutors who would charge you for their time if someone wasn’t already paying their salaries (ignore the fact that, in a way, you already are paying them through tuition).

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

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STACY HANDLER/the Justice

2) Use the gym. A gym membership at home would cost me about $70 a month, so why not make use of the Brandeis gyms while I’m here?

3) Take advantage of the accessibility of religious services held on campus. Brandeis is the ideal place to be for this. You never know when or where in your lifetime you will next have the opportunity to explore spirituality in an open forum, free of charge. Or schedule a one-on-one with one of the chaplains and learn a little more about your own religion.

4) Make an appointment at the Hiatt Carreer Center and brainstorm potential career options, and if you find yourself in trouble, do not hesitate to visit the Counseling

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

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Center and use one of your 12 free sessions per semester.

5) Go to the free or discounted concerts, plays and other events on campus. You may as well get yourself a little more cultured while you’re here.

6) We’re right outside Boston, possibly the greatest resource available to us. And we’ve even got free shuttles running there all weekend. Check it out sometime.

My overall suggestion is to experiment with this new mindset. There are tons of “freebies” sitting on campus waiting to be snatched up.

The most amazing realization, you might discover, is that you are entitled to all of this.

You are a paying customer, after all.

EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS NEWS: Alana Abramson FEATURES: Tess Raser ARTS: Bryan Flatt LAYOUT: Debra Friedmann ADS: Cody Yudkoff

STAFF Senior Writers: Miranda Neubauer, Melissa Siegel Senior Photographer: Julian Agin-Liebes, Rebecca Ney Senior Copy Editor: Joyce Wang Senior Illustrator: A. Eli Tukachinsky News: Erin Doniger Forum: Eitan Cooper, Hannah Goldberg, Rebecca

Kellogg, Matt Lawrence, Ethan Mermelstein, Leah Smith, Avi Snyder Sports: Quincy Auger, Jeffrey Boxer, Max Goldstein, Jonathan Steinberg Arts: Rebecca Brooks, Wei-Huan Chen, Alex DeSilva, Morgan Manley, Daniel Orkin, Alex Pagan, Bryan Prywes, Justine Root, Ben Serby, Sujin Shin, Shelly Shore Photography: Genevieve Armstrong, Maegan Bautista, Jaxson Dermer, Nathaniel Freedman, Davida Judelson, Shaefali Shandilya Copy: Danielle Berger, Rebecca Brooks, Jacob Chatinover, Hilary Cheney, Jenn Craig, Camille Dolfen, Ariel Glickman, Patricia Greene, Rachel Herman, Liana Johnson, Daniella Kohlhagen, Mailinh Phan-Nguyen, Zane Relethford, Marielle Temkin, Amanda Winn, Liat Zabludovsky Illustrations: Rishika Assomull, Stacy Handler Layout: Nadav Havivi, Karen Hu, Nan Pang

12

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010

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THE JUSTICE

FORUM

Cut the five-day workweek to four Hillel

BUECHLER AND SO ON

I love Brandeis Fridays; I really do.

That last class of the week, Sherman chicken wings, catching up on those shows you missed on Thursday night after your 12:10 to 1:30 p.m. class—it’s a delightful little way to end the week.

But I’ve come to recognize that perhaps Fridays as I know and love them ought to maybe change for the benefit of the University at large.

At one of the recent budget cut brainstorming forums, one participant raised the prospect of switching from a five-day to a four-day workweek.

Switching the way we operate relative to time in order to save some money?

Seems a little bit crazy—in the United States, hearing about something other than a five-day workweek evokes a certain sense of unnatural disorder.

But shifting from the five-day workweek to a largely, yet not completely, four-day one (as I’ll explain) presents possibly significant and sustained financial savings, which seem to be the precise type of economic BandAid the University has been seeking.

Even though our strangely standard Monday-WednesdayThursday and Tuesday-Friday classes may have some nostalgic appeal, just as the Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering committee noted in its report last spring, weaning off such a system is probably in the University’s best interest. But that CARS committee suggestion doesn’t go nearly far enough.

I’m not sure exactly how the individual that spoke up at the forum envisioned a Brandeisian four-day workweek, but my vision looks something like a more radical version of the current model employed by schools like Columbia University. There, most classes occur in MondayWednesday and Tuesday-

RISHIKA ASSOMULL/the Justice

Thursday pairs, with some longer seminars at various blocks throughout the week. Fridays are much emptier than other days, reserved only for a handful of language classes, seminars and lab courses.

We could use a similar system— obviously by pushing most courses to fit a more limited range of time slots, it would be beneficial to use the Columbia-style idea of pushing at least some of the lab

classes to Friday.

But aside from those and the low-level language courses, there would be no need for classes on Fridays.

However, so long as individual department offices remain operational on Fridays, it’d be tough to reap in the real financial gains that could materialize from completely closing down a number of University buildings an extra day of the week.

So to that end, if the University wanted to embrace the full merits of a four-day workweek, it should phase out Fridays as a workday for most University departments.

Some buildings in the Mandel Quad, as well as other places around campus, could then be completely closed an entire extra day of the week.

The University could save a notable amount of money from having one less day of tempera-

ture control and maintenance for a number of large buildings on campus.

And if the four-day workweek extended to other campus entities like administrative and advisory offices, then the savings start rolling in at an even greater pace.

Faculty course loads would remain the same, and thus their pay would logically be unchanged.

Yet how such a change would ultimately be reflected through employee pay gradients would remain to be seen. The University could simply choose to continue its current demands on different segments of the academy with a new, increased focus on time efficiency.

Switching to a four-day workweek might be perceived as a rather radical change for the University.

But I’m willing to say that it’s far less radical—and perhaps just as effective—as any of the cuts that will be announced in the coming weeks.

The difference is that the switch to a four-day workweek might make things rather tough across much of the University’s infrastructure.

Additionally, in light of recent economic woes, many school districts across the country switched to four-day workweeks to save money on transportation costs as well as other costs that would be comparable to the costs saved at this University.

That might seem like the messier and more frustrating option. The switch to such a system would be chaotic and hopelessly inconvenient, at least at first.

On the other hand, phasing out entire academic programs might seem like cleaner cuts for the University to make.

But that doesn’t make them the right cuts—it only makes them the simple ones.

I’m a fan of my treasured 12:10 to 1:30 p.m. class on Fridays. But I’d be willing to trade that in for a better Thursday night and the potential preservation of programs that might otherwise be wholly eliminated.

Wouldn’t you?

Diversity of thought could benefit campus

By LEAH SMITH JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

When I applied to college during my senior year of high school, my college adviser told me on several occasions that my profile was too plain to get me into an elite university. She always stressed how much colleges were looking for diversity.

And she often told me that as a white student, my application would have less of an advantage in the affirmative-action system unless I presented very compelling reasons why I was a worthy candidate.

Of course, after I proved my adviser wrong and got into an elite university, I pretty much stopped caring about her opinion. But her comment about my race as a potential disadvantage to my application still bothered me.

I understood, of course, that colleges were looking for diversity.

But I could not understand why colleges continue to use a system that favors one student over another based on race.

It further baffled me that colleges could think that my being white made me “not diverse” when I come from a very unusual family background and, as a result of being particularly well-traveled, have an uncommon worldview.

My adviser’s comments bothered me even more when I got to Brandeis and found that the majority of the student population is pretty homogenous.

This is not to say that there isn’t some level of diversity at Brandeis.

We have students of many cultures, religions and ethnic backgrounds here, and that is something we should celebrate. However, just because there are many ethnicities to be found on the Brandeis campus does not necessarily mean that we are benefitting from diversity of thought.

Because of my college experience, I believe that there is a problem with the current, race-based affirmative action system. Affirmative action is meant to increase diversity on campus and combat prejudice as a potential barrier to enrollment of minority students in institutions of higher education. While it would be a long shot to say that prejudice is no longer an issue for minority groups, the enrollment rates of minority students in colleges and universities across the country are higher than ever before.

Despite higher rates of enrollment for minorities, the rates of enrollment for the lowest socioeconomic classes are at an all-time low.

According to a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, the

rate of enrollment for the bottom socioeconomic quarter at 146 of the most selective institutions is only 3 percent. In contrast, the rate of enrollment for the top quarter is 74 percent. If a classroom contains students of all different races, but many of those students come from similar economic backgrounds and as a result have all have had similar life experiences, their educations might not be enhanced by a multiplicity of views. Isn’t diversity meant to encourage understanding by utilizing different viewpoints?

That being said, it seems that the best way to remedy this problem is to reform the current affirmative action system. The idea of classbased, rather than race-based, affirmative action is one that has been proposed before. A class-based system could present a lot of problems in implementation, including removing need-blind admissions policies. However, there are already a number of students from lower socioeconomic classes at Brandeis who consequently bring an entirely different set of experiences and views to the table. If we want to increase diversity here, it would be in our best interest to bring more of these students to campus.

Unfortunately, despite much dis-

cussion about potential class-based systems, no colleges seem to be making the change. However, several Ivy League universities have created programs in which they waive tuition, room and board fees for students whose families make less than $60,000 a year. This system at least provides opportunities for students from lower classes, even if it doesn’t necessarily encourage more of those students to apply.

In order to increase diversity, all colleges should, in theory, adopt similar systems to bring more students from lower classes to campus.

But as we all know, the current financial crisis would make it virtually impossible to waive tuition, room and board for some students, especially at Brandeis. In addition, because of economic woes at colleges, an application that was not need-blind might discourage the admission of students who would need more financial aid.

Nonetheless, even if certain institutions like our own cannot afford to implement some measure of class-based affirmative action, the problem of diversity still remains.

But maybe a solution to this problem is easier and cheaper than we think.

While many elite universities ask for additional essays so prospective

students can highlight their unique qualities, Brandeis’ current supplement asks for little more than one’s name and home address. Perhaps the admissions team should consider adding to the Brandeis supplement to the Common Application an optional essay in which applicants could demonstrate what it is about them that would make them a diverse addition to the Brandeis community.

With such an essay, applicants could elaborate more upon their personal experiences and insights.

Whether applicants believe they would be a diverse addition because they come from a lower socioeconomic class or because they have been skydiving in six different countries, an optional essay would allow them to share those experiences and insights. These are things that one cannot know simply by looking at a person’s race, yet these are the things that make people truly different from each other.

Furthermore, this essay would be optional, so choosing not to write it would not be a detriment to anyone’s application.

At least this option would give the admissions team some more insight into the true diversity of prospective students until we can afford a better solution.

THE JUSTICE

●

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010

13

SPORTS TRACK & FIELD

Both teams thrive in invitational at Tufts ■ The men’s and women’s

indoor track and field teams raced in the Tufts Stampede Invitational Saturday.

By JEFFREY BOXER JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

The men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams traveled to Tufts University to compete in the Tufts Stampede Invitational Saturday, a meet geared for individual rather than team competiton.

The most impressive results for both squads came in the 1-mile race. The women placed first and second, with captain Beth Pisarik ’10 leading the field with a time of 5 minutes, 4.96 seconds. Hannah Lindholm ’11 finished 11 seconds behind her for second.

For the men, Chris Brown ’12 finished second by 1/100th of a second.

“For the last 150 meters Brown and [Tufts senior Jesse Faller] were neck and neck, and it was a very, very close finish,” Anifreed Sinjour

’13 said. “You couldn’t tell who won with the naked eye, and it is disappointing that he lost, but it was a very intense finish.”

His time of 4:17.20 was still a personal best. Dan Anastos ’11 finished 10 seconds behind Faller and Brown, grabbing third.

Both the men and women also succeeded in the 3,000-meter run.

For the women, Alyssa Pisarik ’12 finished more than seven seconds ahead of the next-best racer, easily grabbing first with a time of 10:23.46.

Sinjour believed that Pisarik ran well at Tufts.

“Alyssa looked really strong,” Sinjour said. She was sprinting her last few laps and made it look effortless.”

The men’s squad placed two runners in the top 10, paced by a third place finish from Marc Boutin ’12 with a time of 8:52.14. Kerwin Vega ’11 finished tenth with a time of 9:02.76, Devon Holgate ’11 won the 1,000meter race with at time of 2:33.56, Coach John Evans was pleased

with Holgate’s performance.

“Devon ran a really good race,” he said. “He looked really strong and he is read to go for the next couple of weeks in the 1-mile.”

Classmate Ben Bray ’11 finished third with a time of 2:34.71, while Mik Kern ’13 finished 10th.

The results in the long distance events were especially impressive given that many of the distance runners had the weekend off following two meets during the previous week.

“A lot of people had run three days the previous weeks, so a lot of the distance runners were given the meet off,” explained captain Lucia Capano ’11.

In the sprint events, the women led the way with first place finishes in the 400- and 600-meter races. In the 400-meter race, the Judges were paced by Sinjour, whon won the event with a time of 1:00.41.

“Anna had a great race,” said Capano. “She held perfect pace, came around the corner first, and really pushed through to the end.”

In the 600-meter run, Julia Alpaio

On Friday night, the Judges lost to Case 63-61, despite the fact that Brandeis had defeated Case 70-52 Jan. 29. The game went back and forth in the first half with the Spartans closing the half on a 12-5 run to take a 35-29 lead at the break.

Case stretched the lead to 12 points with 12:20 remaining and led 52-42 with 9:34 left before Brandeis climbed back into it.

A layup from Kriskus pulled the Judges within three with 3:33 left and they never trailed by more than four the rest of the way.

Despite pulling within one point on three separate occasions the Judges were unable to complete the comeback.

The closest they got was with 22 seconds left, when Roberson missed the second of his two free throws and Hollins grabbed the rebound.

Small went for a jumper that would have given the Judges the lead, but it was off the mark.

Case then grabbed the rebound and created a fast break layup to

side was by the 4x400 relay team, which finished in second. The group of Stanley Xuelin ’12, Charlie Pino ’12, Lin and Foley finished in 3:31.35.

Sinjour thought that the team ran exceptionally in the meet.

“The 4x400 team looked really good. All of them ran pretty well and it was a very solid performance. It was definitely one of their best competitions in a while,” noted Sinjour.

Despite having both squads record high finishes in the meet Saturday, Evans still wants his runners to record faster times in their races. “[We need to] continue the way we are running. We just want to run faster and run some faster times. It couldn’t have gone much better right now, but we are looking for people to run faster times for the next couple of weeks and peak a little bit.

The men’s and women’s squads will next compete at the Valentine’s Day Classic at Boston University next weekend.

DRIVING FOR TWO

MBBALL: Judges split UAA contests CONTINUED FROM 16

’10 won the race with a time of 1:38.95, and was followed immediately by Emily Owen ’11, who finished second and less than half a second behind Alpaio.

“They’re both usually 800-meter runners but [Coach Evans] had them run the [600-meter race] because it’s a really good sprinting workout, and they both ran excellently,” Capano noted.

Anne Gregory ’13 gave Brandeis three runners in the top 10, finishing 10th with a time of 1:46.58.

Perhaps the most impressive individual performance on the day came from Capano, who easily finished first in both the long jump and the triple jump and also finished fifth in the qualifying leg for the 55-meter dash.

Also grabbing first place in an event for the women was Suzanne Bernier ’10, who won the high jump with a height of 1.60 meters.

The men’s sprinters were headlined by Brian Foley ’13, who finished third in the 200-meter event by with a time of 23.37.

A surprising finish on the men’s

increase the lead to 3 points with 11 seconds left. Hughes was then fouled on the other end and hit both his free throws to pull the Judges back within 1.

But after Case senior guard Bryan Erce hit one of two freethrows, Roberson’s desperation 3pointer at the buzzer was wide.

“Against Case, we came out flat, and I think we underestimated them for the most part, and we paid the price of losing the game, a game we needed in the league to win,” Hollins said.

Next week, the Judges return home for a three-game stand, starting with a game tonight against Amherst College at 7 p.m., followed by a game against No. 3 Washington University in St. Louis Friday at 8 p.m. They then play UAA foe University of Chicago on Sunday at noon.

Meehan wants his team to focus on one game at a time and play its own style of play.

“We’re just going to focus on what we do and try to get better,” he said.

FENCING: Both squads fall to Penn State CONTINUED FROM 16 Penn State, 22-5.

Saber Adam Austin ’11 had the best record on the day for the men, finishing at 7-5.

Just like on the women’s side, the Penn State men proved to be insurmountably high competition.

“Penn State is just too good for everybody,” Shipman said. “Some of them are national class; some of them are even world-class fencers, so it’s very difficult to keep up with them.”

In general, according to Shipman, the competition seen at Duke was higher than the team had seen at past meets.

“The épée field was very strong, and our guys maybe weren’t quite at their best,” Shipman said. “For a team that carries most of its veterans on its épée squad, high competition in that area has made team victories hard to come by. “ The young foil team struggled as it faced teams such as Penn State, whose roster includes sophomore

Miles Chamley-Watson, an allAmerican currently ranked No. 2 in the country for foil. Épée Alex Clos ’10, the men’s captain, noted impressive resilience by the team through the tough competition they saw at the Duke Invitational.

“Our morale was low in the beginning, but by the end, we were definitely showing more community,” Clos said. “That’s something we can always improve on.”

Clos stressed the importance of staying composed in the face of skilled foes, something the experienced fencers on the team are trying to teach the younger players.

“A lot of the bouts that we fence are taking on … much more experienced or higher skill level fencers,” said Clos. “So it’s a fairly overwhelming thing to be faced with that.”

Both the men’s and women’s fencing squads will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 21 at Mt. Holyoke College for the New England Championships.

DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/Justice File Photo

EYES ON THE BASKET: Forward Amber Strodthoff ’11 drives toward the hoop at home against Rochester University Jan. 22.

WBBALL: School records achieved CONTINUED FROM 16 “We knew these were two tough teams, and we couldn’t go in with a chip on our shoulders,” she divulged. “We especially couldn’t let up when [Case Western Reserve University and Carnegie Mellon] had home court advantage.”

Friday night the Judges put Gieschen’s advice into action as they claimed a decisive 65-56 win over Case.

It was an odd defensive day for Brandeis as they stole the ball nine times but eked out only 27 of the game’s 69 rebounds. Defensively, the Judges only grabbed 10 defensive boards while the Spartans grabbed

18 offensive rebounds.

“Pretty much, we weren’t being disciplined, and we weren’t doing what we needed to do while rebounding,” Chapin stated.

Chapin continued her path of domination with 18 points, five rebounds and five assists. Cincotta and Morgan Kendrew ’12 notched 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Strodthoff held down the boards for Brandeis with seven rebounds.

A 3-pointer by Cincotta only seconds into the beginning of the game started the Judges off strong. With 8:52 remaining in the first half, Brandies scored 13 unanswered points and ended the half with a 38-22 lead. Cincotta had 11 of her points in

the first half.

The lead increased to 19 in the second half and was vast enough that the Judges shook off an 8-point run

by Case to cruise to victory.

Gieschen thought that points off of turnovers (26 for Brandeis compared with 12 from Case), which, combined with bench points, assisted the Judges immensely.

“We really turned it up on defense in the second half against Case,” she said. “We really didn’t ever feel threatened by Case even when the score was close. We were just playing our game.”

The Judges next play Washington University in St. Louis at home Friday at 6 p.m.

THE JUSTICE

■ The men’s basketball guard

grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds in the team’s 62-43 win over Carnegie Mellon Sunday. He acheived a doubledouble in both games last week.

3

sprinters in the top 10 for the women’s 600-meter race. They were Julia Alpaio ’10, Emily Owen ’11 and Anne Gregory ’13.

19

rebounds, a career high, for men’s basketball forward Terrell Hollins ’10 in the team’s victory Sunday.

36 0 7

points scored by women’s basketball guard Jessica Chapin ’10, a school record, in the team’s victory over Carnegie Mellon Sunday.

team wins for the men’s fencing team at the Duke Invitational Sunday.

3-pointers made by Chapin in the team’s victory over Carnegie Mellon Sunday. Her mark set another school record.

DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/Justice File Photo

will face No. 3 Washington University in St. Louis.

Despite facing University Athletic Association rival WashU Friday, Hollins noted that the team can’t look ahead and needs to focus on Amherst College.

“We have to take one game at a time.

Amherst is first.”

Hollins, who is in his last season playing basketball for Brandeis, has enjoyed the experience since he started as a firstyear.

“I wouldn’t change it for anything,” he said. “I would love to encourage other athletes to come to Brandeis.”

—Josh Asen

UAA STANDINGS Men’s Basketball UAA Conference WL Washington 8 1 JUDGES 6 3 New York 5 4 Emory 5 4 Chicago 5 4 Rochester 4 5 Case 3 6 Carnegie 0 9

Women’s Basketball W L 18 2 15 4 14 6 13 7 11 9 13 7 11 9 4 16

Overall Pct. .900 .789 .700 .650 .550 .650 .550 .200

UAA Conference WL Washington 8 1 Chicago 7 2 JUDGES 6 3 Rochester 5 4 New York 5 4 Case 2 7 Emory 2 7 Carnegie 1 8

W L 18 2 15 5 13 6 15 5 13 7 11 9 9 11 8 12

Overall Pct. .900 .750 .684 .750 .650 .550 .450 .400

TEAM LEADERS MBball (points)

MBball (minutes)

Guard Kenny Small ’10 leads the team with 14.2 points per game.

Guard Andre Roberson ’10 leads the Judges with 34.6 minutes per game.

Player Kenny Small Terrell Hollins Vytas Kriskus Andre Roberson Tyrone Hughes

Player Andre Roberson Tyrone Hughes Kenny Small Terrell Hollins Christian Yemga

PPG 14.2 12.4 11.3 11.0 9.8

MPG 34.6 32.1 31.1 26.3 24.2

WBball (points)

WBball (minutes)

Guard Jessica Chapin ’10 leads the Judges with 17.8 points per game.

Guard Jessica Chapin ’10 leads the team with 32.7 minutes per game.

Player Jessica Chapin Morgan Kendrew Amber Strodthoff Diana Cincotta Kasey Gieschen

Player Jessica Chapin Morgan Kendrew Amber Strodthoff Diana Cincotta Kasey Gieschen

PPG 17.8 10.4 8.3 7.7 6.5

MPG 32.7 28.2 28.2 25.5 20.9

UPCOMING GAME OF THE WEEK Men’s basketball vs. WashU Friday at 8 p.m.

The men’s basketball team will face Washington University in St. Louis at 8 p.m.

1

st-place finish for Devon Holgate ’11 in the men’s 1,000-meter race, finishing with a time of 2 minutes, 33.56 seonds.

15

Saints win their first Super Bowl title by defeating Colts 31-17

Terrell Hollins ’10

Judging numbers

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010

AP BRIEF

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

A week after scoring his 1,000th point at home against Carnegie Mellon University, men’s basketball forward Terrell Hollins ’10 continued his impressive play against Case Western Reserve University and Carnegie last week.

Hollins had a double-double in each of the team’s two games, extending his streak to six straight games with one. On the road against Case, which saw Brandeis lose 63-61, Hollins scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. He made five of eight shots and was five for six from the free throw line.

In Sunday’s 62-43 victory over Carnegie, Hollins scored 17 points in only 28 minutes of play. Despite shooting only five for 14, Hollins made eight of 11 free throws.

But the statistic that most stands out from the Judges’ 21-point victory against the Tartans was Hollins’ 19 rebounds, a career high for him. He previously set a career high in rebounds with 16 in Brandeis’ 72-59 over Carnegie Feb. 2. Eight of Hollins’ 19 rebounds were on the offensive end.

Hollins contribues his rather poor shooting performance for his ability to get offensive rebounds, but also the physicality of the game against Carnegie Mellon “I missed a lot of shots and got a lot of my own rebounds,” Hollins said. “It was a physical game. ... It was like a football game.”

The Judges have key games coming this week. Tonight, at home, Brandeis will face off against Amherst College, which has a record of 14-7. After Amherst, the Judges

●

On Jan. 15, the Judges traveled to and upset No. 3 Washington University in St. Louis 58-55 in overtime.

WashU remains No. 3 in the latest d3hoops.com poll and it will look for revenge when the team travels to Red Auerbach Arena Friday night to face the Judges.

In the win against WashU, guard

Andre Roberson ’10 scored 15 points, while fellow guard Tyrone Hughes ’12 contributed 13 points.

Graduate student Sean Wallis scored 10 points and had eight assists for the Bears. Wallis was an AllAmerican selection last year, and he leads the team with 7.3 assists per game.

MIAMI—The New Orleans Saints turned the Super Bowl’s postgame celebration into something out of the French Quarter.

From the trophy podium on the field, quarterback Drew Brees blew kisses and caught confetti raining down as Dr. John and Professor Longhair blared from the stadium speakers.

Coach Sean Payton hung over the railing clapping and shouting down to the crowd as if he were rolling on a Mardi Gras float, then waved a newspaper with the banner headline “WORLD CHAMPS.” Who are the champions? The New Orleans Saints, “dat’s” who.

The Saints overcame an early 10-point deficit, pulled off a risky onside kick and won their first National Football League title by beating the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 Sunday night.

Brees tied a Super Bowl record for completions and was voted the game’s most valuable player, while the Saints held Colts quarterback Peyton Manning to a single score in the final three quarters, intercepting him for a touchdown that sealed the victory.

New Orleans knows how to celebrate, but for the beleaguered city and its long-bedraggled NFL franchise, the championship touched off a new kind of joy.

“Four years ago, who ever thought this would be happening when 85 percent of the city was underwater?”

Brees said. “Most people left not knowing if New Orleans would ever come back, or if the organization would ever come back. We just all looked at one another and said, ‘We are going to rebuild together. We are going to lean on each other.’ This is the culmination in all that belief.”

Nearly an hour after the game, Saints rooters kept chanting their rally cry, “Who dat?” One player climbed into the stands, others tossed their sweaty padding to souvenir seekers and Payton held up the Lombardi Trophy so fans along the railing could touch it.

“I just wish we could split it up in a lot of little pieces,” Payton said.

With the city still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, an NFL title is sure to accelerate the healing.

It was the Saints’ first appearance in a Super Bowl, and few outside of Louisiana foresaw a victory, with Indianapolis a 5-point favorite.

“We really felt as underdogs we had the better team,” Payton said. “To be in that position where maybe a lot of people were picking against us, we liked the spot we were in.”

The Saints weren’t thrilled to fall behind 10-0.

Manning directed an early 96-yard touchdown drive that tied a Super Bowl record, and when New Orleans managed only one first down on its first two possessions, a blowout seemed possible.

Instead, the Saints mounted a comeback to match the largest in Super Bowl history, and the onside kick turned the tide. The last chord of “Won't Get Fooled Again” from The Who’s halftime show had barely faded when the Colts got fooled.

“That really becomes like a turnover,” Payton said.

“We knew we were going to call it at some point. At halftime I told them, ‘We’re going to open up the second half with this. Let’s go make a play.’”

The Saints had spotted a flaw in the Colts’ alignment, but they needed for kicker Thomas Morstead to put the ball in play properly.

“I was terrified and excited at the same time, because I knew we could do it if I executed it,” Morstead said.

The Saints’ Chris Reis emerged from a huge scrum with the ball, and six plays later Brees’ 16-yard touchdown pass to Pierre Thomas gave them a 13-10 lead.

Manning and the Colts answered with a 76-yard touchdown drive, so the Saints had to rally again.

Brees threw for another score, a 2-yarder to Jeremy Shockey, and this time they were ahead to stay, 24-17.

With barely three minutes left, the Colts’ last chance was for Manning to make an open-field tackle, and that wasn't going to happen.

Cornerback Tracy Porter returned an interception 74 yards for the clinching score, with Manning spinning awkwardly to the turf at midfield in his vain attempt to stop the score.

An anticipated shootout between the NFL’s two highest-scoring offenses never materialized. Manning finished 31 for 45 for 333 yards, and the Colts outgained the Saints by 100 yards. But Indy scored on only one of its final six possessions against a Saints defense that ranked 25th during the regular season.

“We probably never got into a great rhythm,” Manning said.

The Colts came up shy in a bid for their second NFL title in four seasons. Four-time NFL MVP Manning used the word “disappointing” at least 10 times in his postgame interview session.

But the New Orleans native could appreciate what the result meant to Louisiana.

“I certainly know how it was three years ago when we won,” Manning said. “I know the people of New Orleans and the Saints have that same feeling right now.”

Garrett Hartley, hero of the NFC title game with his overtime field goal, made kicks of 46, 44 and 47 yards to keep the Saints close, and Brees put them over the hump.

He went 32 for 39 for 288 yards and two scores, and the Saints scored on five of six possessions as the game swung their way.

“We just believed in ourselves, and we knew that we had an entire city and maybe an entire country behind us,” Brees said.

Long derided as the “Aints” for their futility, the Saints became nomads after Katrina in 2005. The NFL refused to abandon the city, and the Saints won the NFC South division in 2006, their first season with Brees and Payton.

This winter they swept three postseason games after winning only two in the previous 42 years.

“This championship is for you, New Orleans,” Brees said.

just

Sports

Page 16

STATISTICS MACHINE Men’s basketball forward Terrell Hollins ’10 had a doubledouble in each of the team’s two games last week, p. 15.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Waltham, Mass.

ABOVE THE OPPOSITION

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Chapin ’10 sets school records

FENCING

Squads fall to elite schools at Duke

■ The women’s fencing team

went 2-2, while the men’s team went 0-4 at the Duke Invitational last weekend.

■ Women’s basketball

guard Jessica Chapin ’10 set school records for points and 3-pointers in a game.

By TREVOR COHEN JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

By QUINCY AUGER

Magee will play tonight against Amherst College.

Both teams struggled shooting in the first half, with the Judges shooting 37.9 percent from the field and the Tartans hitting just 31 percent of their shots.

Carnegie had a 9-6 lead with 13 minutes, 36 seconds left in the half after a three pointer by senior guard Jack Anderson, but consecutive 2-pointers from guard Tyrone Hughes ’12 and forward Christian Yemga ’11 gave the Judges a lead they would not relinquish. They led by as much as 8 in the first half before going into halftime up 29-22.

But the Tartans would not go away, pulling back within three with 16:18 left and again with 9:05 left in the game. Only the Judges’ run at the end put them out of reach.

Hollins had his sixth consecutive double-double and ninth of the season with 17 points and a career-high 19 rebounds, with 13 of his points coming in the second half. Small, forward Vytas Kriskus ’12 and Hughes also scored in double figures with 12, 11 and 10 points respectively.

Last Sunday, the Brandeis women’s fencing team competed with four others at the Duke Invitational in Durham, N.C. Against heavy competition, the Judges finished even at 2-2, defeating University of North Carolina and United States Air Force Academy, while losing to Duke University and No. 1 Penn State University.

A day earlier, the men struggled through a winless competition, falling to each of their four opponents.

The women, who spent the competition at the Eric Sollee Invitational last Saturday at Brandeis, began their Sunday strongly, beating UNC, a team that took a close match from Brandeis in December.

This time, the Judges came out on top, 15-12, on the back of 6-3 win in saber with strong fencing from captain Alex Turner ’11 and Zoe Messinger ’13. The women went on to beat Air Force 18-9 in a weapons sweep.

The competition got tough for the Judges when they went up against Duke and Penn State.

Despite a 5-4 win in épée, Brandeis fell to Duke 19-8 with a winless match for foil, which lost 9-0 in a number of close bouts.

Brandeis then lost 25-2 to a powerful Penn State team, whose topranked squad carries some of the country’s best fencers.

Coach Bill Shipman praised Penn State’s impressive talent.

“They’re just too good,” he said.

“Too strong, top to bottom.”

Both Shipman and the Brandeis fencers, who were realistic about their chances coming in, felt good about the team’s performance.

“The team spirit was there,” said saber Anna Hanley ’11. “We were fencing hard, but the level of competition was high.”

Turner was particularly impressed with the épée squad’s handling of Duke.

“They weren’t intimated by them and they just went out there and did their thing,” she said.

Among Duke’s strongest fencers was saber Becca Ward, who won the gold medal at the 2006 World Fencing Championships and went on to win bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in both individual and team saber.

Regardless of the team’s overall record, Turner said that it was an amazing experience to compete against one of the top girls in the country.

“We held our own,” Turner said.

“Obviously it would have been nice to beat Duke or beat Penn State, but we came out and we did what we wanted to do, and we did well.”

The men, who have not fared as well as the women this season, experienced similarly high competition as they went up against No. 1 Penn State and No. 10 Duke. After losing a closely fought match to North Carolina, 16-11, Brandeis fell to Air Force, 21-6; Duke, 21-6; and

See MBBALL, 13 ☛

See FENCING, 13 ☛

JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

A steal and assist by forward Shannon Hassan ’12 set guard Jessica Chapin ’10 to knock down her seventh 3-pointer of Sunday afternoon’s game at Carnegie Mellon University as the Judges defeated the Tartans 59-50.

The win locked Brandeis into third in the University Athletic Association standings with a 6-3 record. Overall the Judges are 13-6.

Chapin had yet another career day as she established school records with 36 points and seven 3-pointers in one game. The Brandeis co-captain notched 17 points in the first half and 19 more in the second to secure the Judges’ victory and her place in the record books. Chapin shot 67 percent on the day and added four steals.

Co-captain and center Kasey Gieschen ’10 commented on her teammate’s vital role in the pair of wins.

“Chapin really had a great weekend where everything was going for her,” she said. “That was great for her, and it was great for us as a team.

She had the hot hand so we gave her the ball, and a couple threes by Chapin at the end of the game put us up by 12.”

Chapin remanined humble when asked about her performance.

“We were just running the plays through and taking the open shots that were given to us,” Chapin observed.

Hassan led the team with six rebounds and guard Diana Cincotta ’11 added 6 points of her own.

Chapin referenced Cincotta’s impressive defense play Sunday afternoon.

“Diana was playing really great defense and just running around everywhere,” she remarked. “She is a really tough person to play against.”

Guard Carmela Breslin ’10 found that the post players were crucial to the second-half start.

“I think when we started the second half we started with a lot more energy,” she said. “That had a lot to do with our first few possessions.

Amber [Strodthoff] ’11 and Shannon crashed the boards and got a couple key rebounds in a row, … and that set the tempo for the rest of the half.”

The rematch from last week appeared to be a fairly equal bout with the teams entering the locker rooms looking to throw a dagger early in the second half. The deadlock continued from Brandeis’ narrow 28-26 lead at the half. Brandeis jumped ahead with a 3-pointer by Chapin just under four minutes into the second half to put the Judges ahead by one.

It wasn’t until 12 minutes, 18 seconds remained in the game that a set of free-throws by Hassan would give the Judges a 2-point edge and a lead they would carry to the end of the game.

Gieschen noted that teamwork really allowed the Judges to succeed last weekend.

See WBBALL, 13 ☛

DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/Justice File Photo

UP AND ABOVE: Forward Terrell Hollins ’10 rises over his opponent in the team’s win over Rochester University Jan. 22.

Judges come together after loss ■ The men’s basketball

team split its two UAA road games against Case and Carnegie last weekend.

By MELISSA SIEGEL JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

With just over five minutes left in the men’s basketball team’s game at Carnegie Mellon University Sunday, the Tartans had pulled within 4 points after senior forward Jon Wolleben stole the ball from Brandeis forward Terrell Hollins ’10 and junior forward Matthew Pettit converted the turnover into a layup.

But Hollins responded with a jumper in the paint to put the Judges back up by 6.

“We started playing man-toman defense [with about five minutes left],” Hollins said. “We couldn’t really do it the whole game because we’re a man down and our rotation’s already slim as we speak, so we had to play a little bit of 3-2 zone, but we started executing on offense, we hit pretty good shots, and the defense fuels our offense.”

Hollins’ basket was the start of a 15-0 run by Brandeis to end the game as they defeated Carnegie Mellon 62-43.

The win improves the Judges’ record to 15-4 (6-3 in the University Athletic Association play) after a tough 63-61 loss at Case Western Reserve University Friday night.

The win was the 76th for the Judges’ five seniors: Hollins, fellow forward Rich Magee ’10 and guards Andre Roberson ’10, John Weldon ’10 and Kenny Small ’10.

They now have most wins of any senior class in Brandeis history.

“Last year we’d seen that senior class, they were the winningest, so going into the season we knew we needed 14 or 15 wins or so [to break the record], so we felt like we could probably do it,” Hollins added. “We were part of some great teams coming in too, and they kind of showed us the way and how to win.”

Magee did not get to experience the record-breaking performance in person, however, as he did not make the weekend road trip after being injured in the Judges’ Jan. 29 game against Case.

Coach Brian Meehan believes

just ARTS

February 9, 2010

ringing in the Lunar New Year p. 21

Photos: Jessica Christian and Nathaniel Freedman/the Justice. Design: Robyn Spector/the Justice.

18

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010

●

THE JUSTICE

POP CULTURE

INSIDE ON CAMPUS

18-22

■ ‘Funnyhouse of a Negro’ 19 The production by Brandeis Theater Company was moving and thoughtful.

■ SunDeis controversy 19 Some students oppose changes made to SunDeis, the yearly campus film festival.

■ Lunar New Year 21 Brandeis Chinese Cultural Connection put on an extravagant show to celebrate the holiday.

22 ■ Prof. Hoseob Yoon JustArts spoke to the South Korean artist prior to his residency at Brandeis.

22 ■ Ba’note The new a cappella group seeks to include observant Jewish female students.

OFF CAMPUS

22-24

22 ■ Pop Muse A recent concert in Boston offered a rare opportunity to experience the music of Japanese pop star Utada Hikaru.

23 ■ ‘The Turn of the Screw’ Boston Lyric Opera staged Benjamin Britten’s operatic adaptation of the classic thriller.

23 ■ Saray Allston’s Turkish restaurant offers satisfying starters, although its desserts are lackluster.

23 ■ ‘Dreamgirls’ Boston hosts Broadway Across America’s stunning production of the popular musical.

CALENDAR

INTERVIEW

by Shelly Shore

Did you think Lindsay Lohan was out of the public eye? Think again!

While she’s been laying low for the last few weeks with the exception of a few fashion show appearances, Lindsay popped back up onto TMZ’s radar this weekend when she was spotted with a bottle of prescription pills in her purse on Jan. 31.

The U.K.’s Daily Mail ran the headline “Fears for Lindsay Lohan’s health as she is spotted with ‘prescription drugs.’” The paper claimed that images of the pills inside her purse, halfhidden among her lipstick, hairbrush and wallet, have prompted fears that the often-wayward star may be slipping back to her old ways.

Back in October, Lindsay’s father, Michael Lohan, told RadarOnline.com that he was “terrified” that Lindsay’s constant overuse of prescription drugs would lead her to share the same fate as other stars. “I hate it when people talk about illegal drug use,” he said. “It’s not just drinking and illegal drugs that kill you.

Prescription drugs can destroy and kill a person and are sometimes harder to stop. Look at Heath Ledger and Michael Jackson.”

Michael Lohan’s parenting habits have a history of being horrific—he tends to only butt into Lindsay’s life when he has a comment to make about her lifestyle or habits, but never seems to actually be a physical presence in her life—but he raises a good point. The slew of deaths in young Hollywood in recent months due to prescription drug use seems to be indicating a scary habit among young stars. Actress Brittany Murphy died suddenly on Dec. 20 at the age of 32 with a large stash of prescription drugs in her home. While the coroner’s final report stated that the final cause of her death was pneumonia, toxicology tests revealed dangerous quantities of prescription drugs (specif-

Benowitz plans bands ■ In an e-mail interview with

justArts, Jackie Benowitz ’11 spoke about how she balances her responsibilities as Live Music Coordinator of WBRS with hosting duties on three weekly shows.

EVAN AGOSTINI/The Associated Press

KEEPING IT CLEAN: Lindsay Lohan has run into trouble in the past for drug and alcohol abuse. ic brands were not released) in her body.

So has Lindsay fallen off the straight-and-narrow bandwagon and climbed onto a much more dangerous one?

No, she hasn’t! Lindsay herself told Gossip Cop on Feb. 2 that the pills “are trazodone, … a non-narcotic sleeping aid for when I travel.

They’ve been prescribed to me since I was in rehab!”

Looks like Lindsay’s sticking to her New Year’s resolution to leave her bad habits in 2009.

You go, girl!

What’s happening in Arts on and off campus

ON CAMPUS EVENTS Prof. Hoseob Yoon artistic residency Prof. Hoseob Yoon of Kookmin University in Seoul, South Korea is a graphic artist concerned with environmental conservation issues. His devotion to green issues has earned him a residency as distinguished visiting practitioner through the International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life.

The residency is built around the theme of “The Green Canvas: The Artist as Environemental Activist.” Yoon will deliver his keynote address in the Pollack Auditorium. His remarks will be followed by a mixer hosted by the Korean Student Association. His residency continues through Thursday with a schedule that can be found at http://www.brandeis .edu/ethics/events/index.html. For more information, see the article on p. 22.

Keynote address today at 7 p.m. in the Pollack Auditorium. Student mixer today at 9 p.m. in the South Campus Commons.

‘Funnyhouse of a Negro’ Funnyhouse of a Negro is a play by Adrienne Kennedy, directed by David Gammons, running at Brandeis from Feb. 4 through 14. The play first debuted in 1964 in New York City and recieved an Obie Award for most distinguished play of that year. It chronicles the last hours in the life of Sarah, played by Japonica Brown (GRAD), a young black woman dealing with issues of race and identity. Tickets are on sale all week, and student and faculty discounts are available.

Thursday to Saturday from 8 to 10 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Laurie Theater.

Iron Chef Brandeis Students who have signed up in advance with the Department of Student Activities will have the chance to serve their dishes to a team of judges as they vie for the title of Iron Chef Brandeis. A secret required ingredient and an allowance of $15 will be released to registered competitors the day before the competition.

Today from 7 to 10 p.m. in the Intercultural Center Lounge.

B.O.M.S. The Brandeis Open Mic Series serves up another installment of its monthly series open to any type of creative writing or performance art. The first hour will feature a poetry skills workshop and will be followed by the open mic portion of the evening. After performances by students, poet Alex Charlambides will perform. Charlambides is the founder and director of Speakout! Poetry Collective. The event will conclude with a poetry slam that gives participants the chance to compete on the Brandeis Slam Team.

Today from 8 to 11 p.m. in Cholmondeley’s.

Atlas Sound concert After last Sunday’s concert was postponed, Deerhunter front man Bradford Cox arrives on campus this week for a concert with his side project, Atlas Sound. The sound is that of computer-generated instruments as well

LOCKETT PUNDT/Motormouth Media

RAIN CHECK: Atlas Sound will perform at Cholmondeley’s on Thursday after the appearance that was originally scheduled for Sunday was canceled due to inclement weather. as samples from live recordings. Atlas Sound’s latest album, Logos, was released in 2009. The concert, sponsored by Punk, Rock n’ Roll Club, is free to all students.

Thursday from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Cholmondeley’s.

HISP/LALS photo contest and mixer Brandeis students who have recently studied or traveled in Spain and Latin America are encouraged to enter their original photographs in this contest sponsored by the Hispanic Studies and Latin American and Latino Studies programs. At the mixer, refreshments will be served as attendees have the chance to view the entries. The best photographs will receive prizes. Photos can be entered by e-mailing them to Karen Lowe at kdlowe@brandeis.edu or Simona Lang at simona@brandeis.edu, or by bringing them to the event.

Thursday from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in Shiffman 123.

OFF CAMPUS EVENTS The Magnetic Fields Stephen Merritt’s acclaimed indie band arrives in Boston as part of its tour in support of its eighth album, Realism, which was released Jan. 26. The A.V. Club describes the album as “songs about the lost, the lonely, and the self-obsessed, set to bells, accordions, and an array of pluckable acoustic instruments.”

Wednesday at 8 p.m. at the Wilbur Theatre, Boston.

The Fifteenth Annual Bugs Bunny Film Festival The Brattle Theatre in Cambridge presents three compilations of the popular Looney Tunes character’s best-loved cartoons: All Bugs Revue, A Devil of a Time, and Looney Tunes Revue. For a full schedule, see the theater’s Web site at http://www.

brattlefilm.org/brattlefilm/calendar.html.

Friday through Feb. 21 at the Brattle Theatre, Cambridge.

Valentine’s Day Concert: Love is in the Air The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston presents the Boston Museum Trio, consisting of Nancy Armstrong (soprano), Robert Honeysucker (baritone), Laura Jeppesen (viola da gamba) and Prof. Daniel Stepner (MUS) (baroque violin). The quartet will perform a collection of romantically themed musical works, including pieces by Stephen Sondheim and George Gershwin.

Saturday from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at the Remis Auditorium, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Reggie Watts/Tommy Smith: ‘Disinformation’ Director/playwright Tommy Smith has teamed up with Reggie Watts, a performer whose unique blend of improvisational comedy and musical performance has attracted considerable acclaim, for this comment on humanity’s refusal to accept the end of the world. Watts mixes humorous monologues with beat-boxing, rhymes and a cappella singing in a stream-of-consciousness take on the human need to understand ourselves.

Tickets are $20 for general admission and $16 for students.

Saturday at 7 and 9:30 p.m. at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston.

‘Dreamgirls’ Broadway Across America brings the Tony Award-winning musical stage production that inspired an Oscar-winning film to Boston. The play is loosely based on the story of the formation of the singing group The Supremes as well as the founding of Motown Records. For more information, see the article on p. 23.

Today through Saturday at 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at the Colonial Theater, Boston.

JustArts: What are the names of your shows, and what inspired you to create them?

Jackie Benowitz ’11: Well, on Sunday evenings there’s my radio show Jackie’s Random Theme. It was inspired by my old radio show Roy G. Biv (color theme, different color each week). I felt that I needed a theme or each radio show would be similar each week. I have two live music shows because I love doing live music and sound engineering. Last semester, I had an impromptu vinyl hour with one of the music directors, Jake [Blair ’13]. ... It started one day when I was at the station early for one of my shows and Jake and I were looking at vinyl and I knew the next DJ wasn’t gonna be there, so we were like, “Let’s play some vinyl!” There are a lot of gems in that collection. ... We talked about doing it this semester, however we haven’t worked out our schedules yet (and Jake has a lot of shows this semester, too) so I can’t promise anything. It would be pretty cool if we can get it working again.

JA: What kind of themes do you do? What are some recent themes? What are some themes you plan on doing in the future?

JB: I do all types of themes, chosen by me or my various random co-hosts that show up to keep me company. Usually, they have to do with something that happened that week, or something I really want to play. For example, next week I’ll be doing Beaches because a) I’m in love with the Beach Boys and b) that new Beach House album is pretty awesome.

My most popular show, last semester, featured Boy Bands, which was a pretty great idea. I played Protozoa on that show (from Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century); and I’m not embarrassed to say I loved it. I’ll probably be doing another one of those this semester.

JA: Could you please describe the two live music shows for our readers?

JB: So, the first show is entitled The Joint, in which we bring in a full band to play a set live on air. As compensation, we give the band a recording of the set that night. We feature Brandeis bands and Boston area bands (and sometimes bands on tour from, like, California). In the past (the way past), we’ve had the Pixies and the Dresden Dolls come on. So, it’s pretty interesting to see what band might make it big in the future.

Secondly, we have The Coffeehouse, in which we feature an acoustic band or an acoustic set by a full band. Usually it’s a very folk-y scene, but sometimes we have different genres (last semester we had this emoesque acoustic guy ... that was ... fun). It’s nice and relaxing, though; especially compared to Tuesday nights, which can be pretty hectic.

JA: Can you talk about what you do as live music coordinator? Also do you have any special plans for the Coffeehouse and The Joint this semester?

JB: As the Live Music Coordinator, I book the shows for the semester, direct the staff during shows, and make sure the show runs smoothly.

JA: What are some upcoming bands for those two shows that you are looking forward to?

JB: Well, I am planning to bring two bands from last semester for a Cholmondeley’s show this semester. I’m really excited about that. Both bands were pretty awesome: Adrien and the Fine Print and The Day Life.

That should be pretty cool, and nice to see these bands in a real-venue environment. ...

Chum’s is more like a club, with couches and the stage and lights and all. The Multipurpose Room is just that: a multi-purpose room, with no stage, no stage lighting, no sound system. It is a surreal venue, and bands often comment on the vastness of the room.

As for bands I’m looking forward to for this semester, there’s this guy who calls himself Skyjelly who’s coming Feb. 23. He’s like a techno, electronic, Middle Eastern sounding guy. It should be really interesting.

Actually, last week we had a Brandeis band called The MTs playing. The MTs are made up of 3 sophomores: Harrison Webb, Benny Gronich, and Myles Tyrer-Vasell.

They relate themselves to Iron and Wine, saying they are acoustic-folk, and their lineup includes a ukulele.

Jackie’s Random Theme airs from 8 to 10 p.m. on Sundays. The Joint airs from 10 to 11 p.m. on Tuesdays and is broadcast from the Shapiro Campus Center Multipurpose Room.

Coffeehouse is broadcast from 3 to 4 p.m. on Fridays.

—Andrea Fineman

THE JUSTICE

●

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010

19

ON CAMPUS THEATER

‘Funnyhouse’ restructures identity ■ The production of the provocative 1964 play by Brandeis Theater Company was captivating.

By JONNA COTTRELL JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Brandeis Theater Company’s production of Funnyhouse of a Negro is a powerfully spooky rendition of Adrienne Kennedy’s 1964 play. It is a heart-wrenching story of a biracial woman struggling to accept her identity.

Set in New York City in the early 1960s, the play deals with the theme of civil rights struggles that were so prevalent at that time in history but also with more personal conflicts such as racism, self-hatred and the inability to self-identify.

Japonica Brown (GRAD) portrays the psychologically disturbed character, Sarah, whose main source of anguish is her father’s rape of her mother. She poetically describes her hatred for her father’s blackness as he forcibly meshes it with her mother’s lighter skin. Because of her internal conflicts, Sarah hallucinates and pretends to be a happy white woman to distance herself from the reality of her existence.

Brown stated in an e-mail interview with justArts, “This play will surely make people very uncomfortable.

The ‘n’ word is used in such a way that I was brought to tears my first week of rehearsals.” The language is poignant and left the audience in silent awe after every intense sequence of action and dialogue.

The premise of the play is the central journey through Sarah’s mind.

She is trapped in several fantasies in which she identifies herself with historical figures including Queen Victoria (Tanya Dougherty [GRAD]), the Duchess of Hapsburg (McCaela Donovan [GRAD]), Patrice Lumumba (Equiano Mosieri [GRAD]) and Jesus (Ben Rosenblatt [GRAD]). The representations of these characters, while they do somewhat evoke prestige and his-

PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE LOVETT

DERANGED DUO: McCaela Donovan (GRAD), left, plays the Duchess, a character who visits the disturbed Sarah (Japonica Brown [GRAD]) in ‘Funnyhouse of a Negro.’ torical accuracy, are also insane.

For example, the director shows Sarah’s perception of Jesus as a hunchbacked, ragged dwarf. In her interview with justArts, Brown also asserts about her character that, “her perception of religion and identity is totally confused and severely damaged.” Her portrayal of Sarah illuminates these warped views on history and religion.

The characters’ costumes are fancy, but tatters and dirt mask their once-pristine appearance, and white makeup with black surrounding the eyes contributes to the inhumanity of these characters. Costume designer Elisabetta Polito (GRAD) succeeds in conveying these disturbing characters as alternate versions of Sarah.

The first thing one notices upon

entering the Laurie Theater is the set, which includes large, translucent sheets of plastic hanging from the ceiling. This creates eerie and unclear shadows on the stage, foreshadowing the mood that the play will develop. The stage is strewn with books, papers, chairs and other assorted objects, and the Harlem apartment generally represents chaos and destruction.

Additionally, lighting designer Benjamin Williams (GRAD) plays up the downtrodden spirit of Sarah’s apartment by installing caged light bulbs that hang, swinging from the ceiling. This highlights the sadness of Sarah’s unkempt apartment in which she isolates herself from society. For most of the play the stage is dark, illuminated by low yellow and red lights. The director, lighting de-

signer and sound designer collaborate in creating eerie comic relief when the characters suddenly begin dancing happily to circus-type music on a brightly lit stage in response to a skull dropping from the ceiling. The contrast of the dark and creepy sequences in the play and the bright, cheerful dance contribute to the disturbing nature of the production.

Director David R. Gammons, theater director at Concord Academy, creates a compelling account of one woman’s struggle to identify herself and her role in society through noise and sights that captivate the audience. Often, the actions in the foreground accompanied by poetic dialogue and noises of grievance are mirrored in the background by silent actors. This adds dimension

to the image on stage and also contributes to the pronounced insanity of Sarah and her alter egos.

Several lines and stanzas of the play are repeated by the different alter egos, but one quotation from Sarah resonates with the audience more than the others. She claims, “There are no places, only my Funnyhouse.” This struck me as moving not just because it invokes the title of the play, but because it illustrates the director’s intended purpose of the character Sarah—to illustrate the insanity that results from her self-abhorrence and failure to accept her identity.

Funnyhouse of a Negro will be playing through Sunday and is a must-see for those looking to be stimulated by a meaningful performance.

FILM

Students criticize plans for revamped SunDeis ■ Some fear the campus film

festival will lose student focus as it gains resources.

By ELLY KALFUS JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The SunDeis Film Festival was started five years ago by a group of students who believed there should be a forum for film students to get their work out there. Intended to unify and strengthen the film community at Brandeis, new plans for SunDeis may now be dividing it.

SunDeis started small and grew each year, drawing in more and more submissions from student and independent local filmmakers and encouraging a greater appreciation of the art of film. The annual festival has developed hand-in-hand with the Film, Television and Interactive Media Program, which started out offering only a few classes in the Film Studies minor but over time has grown to the point that in 2008 the University created a major for it.

As of last year, SunDeis’ future was in jeopardy. Due to substantially reduced funding from Student Activities and a lack of leadership, rumors abounded that SunDeis would be canceled this year. In response, the Film program, headed

by Prof. Alice Kelikian (HIST), offered to ease the financial burden on Student Activities by co-sponsoring SunDeis in partnership with BTV. According to BTV president Avi

Swerdlow ’10, who also serves as undergraduate departmental representative to the program, the organizers will create a SunDeis 2010 planning committee. It is composed of seven to 10 people, mostly from BTV and the Film program, although as in years past, the committee will expand to include students not necessarily connected to either group. The sponsors also plan to offer prize money for the first time and bring high-profile speakers to campus, as permitted by the newly expanded budget.

“I think it’s a good reflection of the film community that’s growing on campus,” says Swerdlow of the organizers’ goals.

On the other hand, Illona Yuhaev ’11 and Tom Charging Hawk ’10, who were involved with SunDeis in past years, do not think that these changes are for the better. Yuhaev believes that with the Film program’s involvement, the festival would no longer be truly studentrun. She advocates a neutral planning committee comprised of interested students not necessarily affiliated with the Film program or BTV, and she wants these students to have the power to decide which student films will be screened.

Kelikian is eager for the program to become more involved in organizing SunDeis because of the potential to “broaden the festival,” making it more inclusive of the entire film-making community, with an emphasis on alumni outreach, the greater Boston area and celebrity guests and judges. Ke-

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALICE KELIKIAN

CELEBRITY CONNECTIONS: Prof. Alice Kelikian (HIST), right, meets with the actors Patricia Neal and the late Roy Scheider at the 2007 SunDeis Film Festival. likian maintains that the festival will continue to be student-run but asks, “Why should we limit ourselves?” She hopes the involvement of people outside of the Brandeis community may create more opportunities for student filmmakers and attract larger audiences to screenings and panel discussions.

Although Yuhaev admits the Film program could contribute significant funding and make the festival larger than it has ever been before, she feels that in the long run, “It is better for students to have a voice.”

Yuhaev feels that by taking over sponsorship and trying to engage bigger names in the film commu-

nity, the program is endangering SunDeis’ future. “If it’s not going to happen through students then it’s gone, it’s going to die,” she says. She fears that the Brandeis community will forget about SunDeis if the program absorbs most of the control over it and that the festival will lose its significance.

As a result, Yuhaev and Charging Hawk have started efforts to create a separate festival not affiliated with the department, which would be “completely student-run.”

Yuhaev and Charging Hawk organized a “Save SunDeis” meeting held on Thursday in the Getz Media Lab to raise student awareness of what

is currently happening with the festival. Yuhaev has gone forward with plans to execute what she considers a truly student-run festival, which will focus on students’ work and give any interested students the opportunity to help organize the festival, select judges and screen submissions without rigid demands from the Film program being placed on them. In this way, she hopes to create a solid base of students who can carry on the tradition and assume roles of leadership once the current organizers graduate, ensuring SunDeis will remain for years to come.

Even as both festivals are in the planning process, attempts are being made by all parties involved to form some kind of compromise, since, as Yuhaev says, “It would be a waste of resources” to have two festivals. Swerdlow agrees, adding that it might come off as confusing to students. “We just want to make it as open and inclusive as possible,” he says, which is why the program’s festival coordinators held a townhall style meeting yesterday, to which all interested parties were invited, in order to reflect on the goals of the SunDeis festival and offer everyone the chance to become involved in the activities. Until the two sides can reach an agreement, both will continue planning separate film festivals, with some confusion over rights to the name “SunDeis” and the timing of the two festivals. Either way, there will certainly be no lack of film festivals at Brandeis this spring!

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010

ANNUAL EXTRAVAGANZA

Ushering in the Lunar Year

FLOURISHING FANS: Students performed a hip hop-inspired fan dance during Brandeis Chinese Cultural Connection’s celebration of the Lunar New Year in the Carl J. Shapiro Theater on Saturday.

Students mark holiday with stunning cultural showcase

By JOYCE WANG JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Although Brandeis Chinese Cultural Connection puts on a Lunar New Year show every year, some years are decisively more successful than others. This year’s show, almost four hours in length including the intermission, managed to pack in a lot of great acts. Most noticeable was a palpable sense of friendship among performers and audience members alike—the visible camaraderie onstage translated into an enthusiastic, receptive and boisterous audience. Overall, the show would have benefited from fewer acts and a slightly more polished production, but the charm and talent of many of the performers kept the audience entertained.

The show started a little later than the scheduled 6 p.m. on Saturday, but one could immediately see the great effort that had gone into decorating the Carl J. Shapiro Theater, which was packed beyond full capacity.

Red and gold streamers were strung all along the aisles, and paper lanterns and red banners hung about the stage in front of a lovely backdrop of a gold painted tiger. Emcees Olen Shen ’10 and Charles Hu ’11 started off the ceremony with a brief explanation of the origins of the Chinese zodiac as well as some facts about the year of the tiger, then introduced the first act of the evening, a friendly group sing-along comprised of BC3’s executive board members: Co-Presidents Ann-Nin Wong ’11 and Karen Hu ’12, Treasurer Travis Chui ’12, Publicity Chair Wei-Huan Chen ’12, Secretary Tina Rong ’11 and Intercultural Center Representative Max Xu ’13. Traditionally, each Lunar New Year show also contains a “freshman skit,” and this year was no exception. Five brave first-years (in addition to some older guests) performed a humorous, glib morality skit about spending money obtained from hong bao, or the red envelopes received as gifts from Chinese relatives during the holidays.

This was followed by what was easily the most adorable performance of the evening, a young troupe of Chinese yo-yo performers from the Greater Boston Chinese Cultural Association. The children could not have been older than ages eight to 13, and the initial performance—a group of children spinning glow-in-the-dark yo-yos—was followed by even more impressive individual performances involving a variety of tricks in addition to even more complicated maneuvers involving multiple spinners. True, the children did drop the yo-yos on occasion, but this seemed to endear them to the audience even further, for you could often see the performers’ disappointed expressions. Clearly, they were very skilled, but they were certainly not icy professionals, which helped contribute to the convivial atmosphere of the show.

The rest of the first act was mostly followed by a number of vocal performances that were generally sweet and competently performed but did not quite match the dynamic level of the yo-yo performers, although there was certainly a lot of powerful emoting. Many of these songs were quite recognizable to the audience, such as Jay Chou’s “An Jing,” during which I could hear people

behind me singing along. One act that stood out was a “voice double” comedy skit performed by Lisa Qi ’11 and Chui, in which Chui read a script while Qi performed the script. Now, I think comedy is even harder to pull off than effective vocal or dance performances, but this pair managed to make it work with a combination of Qi’s exasperated seriousness foiled by Chui’s almost buoyant effervescence. Act I ended with a presentation on China Care, a charity devoted to improving the health care of orphans in China.

Act II began with a lion dance by members of the Calvin Chin Martial Arts Academy, which was entertaining if standard fare, followed by some martial arts performances. Unusually, this year’s show also included an interactive trivia section in which the emcees quizzed the audience about various facts relating to the Lunar New Year, handing out various prizes to the correct guessers. I am one of those people who is always a little disappointed when “cultural” shows are composed of nothing more than tasty food and flashy dances, so I was pleased to see that some measure of knowledge was being foisted upon the audience. Members of the GBCCA (a few of whom I recognized from the yo-yo act) next performed songs on the erhu, a traditional Chinese two-stringed instrument. Although they began with somewhat of a novelty piece, a theme from the Lord of the Rings film franchise that was recognizable but curiously distorted, they were really at their best when performing traditional pieces meant to be played on the erhu, such as their last song, “Horse Running on a Field.” Somehow, the instruments really managed to not only recreate the clip-clop of hooves but the imagined grace of those running horses, even ending on an instrumentcreated whinny.

Other pieces from Act II included a traditional fan dance that morphed into a hip-hop piece involving no fans and Lady Gaga’s “Lovegame,” a pleasant and entertaining fusion of seemingly conflicting dance styles. A team of first-year girls also performed “You’re the Most Popular,” an energetic vocal piece that highlighted their strong voices but suffered from the same technical mishaps that had plagued some earlier performances. Microphones seemed to go in and out of service, most prominently in this act, when one girl had to share a mike with her peer for most of the song. However, this was followed by perhaps the most impressive act, a trio of break dancers called “Level Up Boy,” who were not only highly skilled but also humorously self-effacing. They provided some of the most entertaining moments of the evening when they combined some wince-inducing physical feats with a self-deprecating air. Lunar New Year ended, as it often does, with a fashion show featuring many of its performers that gradually segued into a series of effusive and heartfelt thank-yous from the e-board. Then the audience was ushered out to enjoy the mounds of Americanized Chinese food that awaited them in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium—perhaps a little worn from the length of the performance, but in genial spirits nonetheless.

Editor’s note: Wei-Huan Chen is a Justice staff writer.

COLORFUL CREATURE: Students paraded a traditional dragon puppet around the Carl J. Shapiro Theater to mark the Lunar New Year.

CROONING COUPLE: Above, Kenny Dai ’11 and David Deng ’11 sing a heartfelt duet medley during the Lunar New Year celebration.

TALENTS ON DISPLAY: At left, a young boy shows off his yo-yo skills. Above, John Zhang ’12 and Josephine Kong, a Boston University senior, sing the Chinese pop song “Moment of a Sight.”

Photos by Nathan Freedman the Justice

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010

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THE JUSTICE

OFF CAMPUS MUSIC

NEW VOICES

Megastar offers an intimate show in Boston Brad

STERN POP MUSE

On Utada Hikaru’s last tour, 2006’s Utada United tour in Japan, the average audience size per venue varied from 20,000 to 50,000 attendees nightly. On Feb. 5, the singer responsible for the highest-selling album in Japanese history was about to play to a tiny club of about 300 people in Boston, a few of whom were only vaguely familiar with the music she was to perform.

As is the case with so many culturally significant, internationally celebrated pop stars from across the world, America’s perception of Utada remains limited. While the 27year-old singer has made two major attempts to break into the American market, her visibility has continued to float below the radar aside from two successful theme songs she lent to the popular videogame series Kingdom Hearts.

Nonetheless, the In The Flesh Tour was dedicated to those who’ve followed Utada’s remarkably successful career for the past 10 years in both Japan and America, providing an up-close-and-personal celebration of her full catalog of music.

When I got to the venue around 5 p.m., there were already about 50 people waiting outside the door. As I later learned, the first people in line had been waiting there since 9:30 that morning.

The general makeup of the crowd was predictable, including nerds, anime lovers, gays and nerdy, anime-loving gays. Far and away, though, the makeup of the audience was largely Japanese. That fact would be later confirmed when Utada prompted the crowd three songs in with Nihongo no uta? (basically, “How about a Japanese song?”), which was met with a deafening cry of approval.

After waiting outside for roughly an hour and a half in 20-degree weather, the audience was finally corralled into the Paradise Rock Lounge while being subjected to a fairly rigorous, unusually high security pseudo-strip search and interrogation process. Cameras of any kind were confiscated, and cell phones were required to be off at all times while the show was in session.

While I still don’t understand the logic behind limiting the audience’s interaction with the performance, I must admit that being forced to concentrate on the show rather than the viewfinder of my camera did enhance the experience. It was, as old people refer to it, the “real way” to experience a concert.

While the crowd began to thaw, DJ Mike Rizzo stepped on stage to warm things up with some of his latest mixes from Ke$ha, Britney Spears and Lady Gaga. Even though I took to dancing around on the side of the stage, no one else seemed to join in, even when the DJ spun a mix of Utada’s “Dirty Desire.”

A few minutes after 8 p.m., the band slowly filed onstage as the sweeping sound of Exodus ’ “Opening” greeted the suddenly dimming lights. To the screeching delight of the crowd, Utada appeared from backstage, sporting a fierce pair of spiked pumps, pink leggings and an off-the-shoulder velvet lavender top, all complimented with a shock of sexed-up, messed-up bedhead hair.

Standing at 5’ 2” (sans the stilettos), Utada was a walking sex bomb.

As the singer grabbed hold of the mic, the band started in on a rockier, rowdy rendition of “On and On,” the lead track off of her latest

album This Is the One . Almost immediately, you could tell that her voice was in top-notch condition and, if possible, had only grown stronger over time. Whether it was the smaller venue size or simply her own maturation as an artist, there was plenty more control and confidence in the superstar’s voice as evidenced by the many throaty shouts and vocal riffs that would have been all too ambitious for the Utada of yesteryear.

Utada managed to create a warm environment by alternating between languages as the show carried on in its unusual English-to-Japanese-and-back-again pace. Ikimasu, she said dutifully before sitting down at her keyboard.

“That means ‘I’m going’ or ‘I’m about to play,’” she offered to the English-speaking fans before playing the first few chords of “Sakura Drops” on the piano.

The night included a very generous sampling of her English and Japanese discography as well as a fair share of moments from her past tours, including my personal highlight of the night: Halfway though the show, the lights dimmed to a murderous red as Utada launched into the threefold power punch of “Devil Inside,” “Kremlin Dusk” and “You Make Me Want to Be A Man,” as performed on Utada United 2006.

Not more than an arm’s reach away, Utada raged across the stage, howling and yelping during the monumental, explosive breakdown of the final song just as she did four years ago on the massive arena stages in Japan.

The Japanese songs carried a large degree of nostalgia for me—and evidently the crowd, as well—as I watched dozens of people shriek with delight each time the opening notes of some of her bestselling classics began to play, including “First Love,” the title track off of her first Japanese album. As soon as the first chords began to pluck at the piano, the entire audience all but lost their minds, including both myself and the small Japanese girl next to me, who began spasming, seizing and flailing against the banister in what I could only describe as a sort of J-Popinduced exorcism. Between Utada’s tender crooning and the crowd’s loud singing, I’ll admit that by the end I was a little teary-eyed from watching it all happen in front of me.

Aesthetically speaking, it was easy to see why the In the Flesh tour was chosen as the name of this showcase. Aside from two small picture projections on either side of the stage displaying the album cover of the song being played, there was next to nothing visual carrying the show aside from the singer herself.

While I may never be able to see Utada Hikaru live again (at least not in this hemisphere), the experience was a gift that most of her fans would never ordinarily experience.

Unlike the audience members seated at her stadium-sized venues in Japan, I was no more than 10 feet away from one of my most personally influential and inspiring musical idols in the flesh for the entire night, and that is something I’ll never forget.

With no grand theatrics or onstage scenery to veil any technical or musical shortcomings, this was the most raw, intimate showcase I’d ever witnessed from an artist (let alone one of such superstar proportions), and probably one of my greatest concert experiences thus far. It was the kind of show that I imagine Utada has always intended to perform; one without much fuss or frivolous distractions, which made the results nothing less than gold.

ROBYN SPECTOR/the Justice

WARBLING WOMEN: Members of the a cappella group Ba’note foster a sense of community through group activities.

Ba’note strikes a chord The new all-female Jewish

a cappella group caters to a sense of community.

By WEI-HUAN CHEN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

For Director Lora Slutsky ’12, a cappella isn’t just about singing.

Ba’note, Brandeis’ newly established all-female Jewish a cappella ensemble, is about community as much as it is about music. “My friends and I would celebrate the Sabbath every week by singing prayers together,” Slutsky said. She explained that the weekly ritual encouraged the starting of the a cappella group. In fact, despite the 11-member ensemble’s mix of different musical backgrounds, all the members are brought together by a similar religious background and a respect for Jewish practices.

The group began informally in the spring of 2009, when Slutsky founded the group with the help of Aliza Sebert ’12 and Michelle Kaplow ’12, who now act as Ba’note’s musical directors. They continued to sing in the fall of 2009, but the ensemble wasn’t recognized officially as a club until this spring. Within the past few weeks, however, Ba’note has quickly worked toward becoming one of Brandeis’ well-established a cappella ensem-

bles. The group recently held auditions and gained an additional singer, Dafna Broekman ’13. They also became a Hillel member group, joining Manginah and Jewish Fella Acappella as a cappella groups supported

by Brandeis’ largest student-run Jewish organization. Ba’note performed for Hillel’s Shabbat dinner on Jan. 29, bringing live music to students in Upper Sherman.

“We’ve always wanted to be in an a cappella group, so we decided to start our own,” said Sebert. “I’ve sung all my life, and I was in involved in a cappella in high school too, so music is definitely one of my passions.” For Sebert, singing in Hebrew is a natural choice, as her main experience with choral music has been in Hebrew.

Ba’note sings a combination of Hebrew and English songs, many of them carrying messages of community and family. One of their songs, “Chaverim,” means “friends” in Hebrew and speaks of the meaning of friendship.

The ensemble is unique in that its songs are all arranged for either fourpart harmony or harmony with three singers on the melody. What this means is that no singer will ever be singing a solo or performing a part alone, which adheres to a Jewish rule of modesty stating that no girl should ever sing alone in public. “We want to accommodate religious girls and

their practices,” said Sebert, explaining that Ba’note’s musical direction respects the rule by never having a soloist stand in front of the rest of the singers. The result of this arrangement is a rich, choral sound for the group and another way to promote the group’s emphasis on togetherness.

Ba’note’s rehearsal process shows the members’ commitment to each other as well. Before every rehearsal, one member is assigned to bring a fun activity to the group that will help them bond. “One time we did something where each person wrote their name on a piece of paper and passed it around,” said Sebert. “Everyone would then write something nice about the person on the paper until we all had a compliment for every member.” These activities serve to give members a time to relax from the stressful week while helping them build group cohesion. “We spend a lot of time together, so it’s good to make sure we can work well together,” said Slutsky. “And we’re always excited about performing together as well.”

Be sure to check out Ba’note’s Youtube channel page at youtube.com/brandeisbanote as well as their performance March 13 at the Fourth Annual Jewish A Cappella Fest, hosted by Jewish Fella Acappella at 8 p.m. in the Sherman Function Hall.

ART

Yoon honors the environment in art Prof. Hoseob Yoon plugs

green initiatives on his Web site, greencanvas.com.

I like to consider myself a person who prizes material utility. I like when I can use one tool for multiple tasks or when one of my actions can accomplish two things in one fell swoop. But usually I only apply these preferences to gadgets, menial chores and the like. I value complexity and detailed ornamentation in art: I see Renoir’s “Dance at the Bougival” and I take in every color, every blot of paint, every line, every fold in cloth, and this is what I prize above all in a visual art piece. If it is complex and painstakingly rendered, to me it is beautiful. And so when I walked into the Shapiro Campus Center Art Gallery, I wasn’t immediately struck by aesthetic awe. I did, however, note that there was a definite beauty in the blocky and large designs of the prints hanging off the walls. And a homey friendliness, like that of your father’s best friend, radiated from the resident artist Prof. Hoseob Yoon from Kookmin University of South Korea. After a brief introduction, he proceeded to business.

He offered me many items of the environmentally conscious and activist genre, such as a T-shirt made with completely organic materials that was graphically printed with a spinach-

based tree-resin ink mix. I also received posters detailing his life and work printed on soy ink and the most inexpensive and organic papers available. As he gave me these eye-opening gifts, I slowly began to realize the true beauty that lay within his art. The complexity and detail was not in the external visuals but in the implicit and meaningful messages that they were intended to convey. The satisfied eye is not the end in this case, but only the tool for the more profound and beautiful significance of environmental urgency that strikes the viewer in Yoon’s work. Inspired, I asked a few questions of the artist himself.

JustArts: What made you start your crusade for environmental action?

Hoseob Yoon: At an event called the 17th World Jamboree Mondial, I created a poster for a [non-governmental organization]. At that event, a Japanese college student named Miyashita Masayoshi asked me what an NGO was and how many volunteers were working towards preserving the environment, and I didn’t know. Afterward, I looked it up and was spurred to activism. After that moment, I was changed.

JA: Why did you come to Brandeis University?

HY: There is the distinguished artist practitioner residency. It is a project with the Ethics Center. They chose one person from the world, and I was invited.

JA: What do you do with the designs when you make them? Do you sell them to companies or do you use them mostly for protesting and activism?

HY: It’s mostly for my own personal gratification but I do make these projects sometimes with my students. I occasionally sell these designs to companies. And also for the media as well, to get the message out.

JA: Are these campaigns in exhibition in Korea as well?

HY: Yes, these are often exhibited in Korea—officially once or twice a year.

My goal is to bring the message to the people, and so I mingle with the people also to disseminate the idea among everyone.

JA: What do you do in your everyday life to decrease your environmental impact?

HY: Minimize. Use less water, try to make less [carbon dioxide]. I also didn’t buy any new clothes since the year 2000. I reuse and repair all my clothing. Also, I’m here, aren’t I? JA: Do you have any suggestions for students to help decrease their impact too?

HY: Have pride in yourself. Be conscious. Be respectful. Be courageous.

Just think of the future generations. If I mess up the environment, then what would my progeny be left with? If one changes their attitude and has pride in his self and his world, the actions will follow.

—Sujin Shin

THE JUSTICE

‘DREAMGIRLS’

By SUJIN SHIN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

JOAN MARCUS/Broadway Across America

ENSEMBLE ENERGY: From left to right, Adrienne Warren (Lorrell), Syesha Mercado (Deena) and Margaret Hoffman (Michelle), shown above with ensemble, form a singing group that hits it big in the touring production of ‘Dreamgirls.’

Musical amazes again ‘Dreamgirls’ packs the same power as the original Broadway production.

By BRYAN PRYWES JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

In 1981, Henry Kreiger and Tom Eyen wrote Dreamgirls, a musical loosely based on the story of the Supremes and the founding of Motown Records. This revolutionary production went on to be nominated for 13 Tony Awards and win six. Twenty-five years later, the movie version starring Beyoncé Knowles, Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Murphy and Jamie Foxx won two Oscars, three Golden Globes, two SAGs and a Grammy. That’s a lot of pressure.

Now, with a new national touring production recently mounted after an engagement at New York City’s Apollo Theater, the show has some big shoes to fill. This production is an interesting combination of the original Broadway production and the movie, adding the songs written for the film to the script.

The show follows three female vocalists known as the Dreams in the midst of the Motown revolution. They sign a contract with Jimmy Early (loosely based on James Brown) and soon their careers begin to rise. When the television era is born, however, Effie White, the heaviest member of the group, is replaced. She goes solo and battles her old group to top the

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‘Screw’ is twist on conventional opera Benjamin Britten’s ‘Turn of the Screw’ at the Park Plaza Castle last weekend.

Billboard charts in an ever-changing world of music.

With a stellar cast, cutting-edge technical elements and the combination of an onstage and pit orchestra, this production is unlike any of its predecessors. Each character in the show stands out as much as the portrayal before it.

After Jennifer Holliday’s original stage performance as Effie White and Jennifer Hudson’s award-winning on-screen portrayal, I must admit, I was skeptical to see how this new production approached the character. When the end of Act One came, however, and Moya Angela belted the award-winning song “And I Am Telling You,” all doubt was forgotten. For as great as she was in this number, she truly shone in Act Two’s “I Am Changing.” She tore down the house with her powerful vocals and snappy attitude.

Her sassy performance is only outdone by that of Chester Gregory, who put Eddie Murphy’s Oscar-nominated performance of Jimmy Early to shame. His comedic timing was impeccable and his astounding movements are reminiscent of James Brown and perhaps even a young Michael Jackson.

Additional noteworthy performances are American Idol’s Syesha Mercado (Deena Jones), who gives Beyoncé a run for her money, and Trevon Davis (C.C. White).

This production would not be half as impressive, however, if it were not for the astonishing technical elements. Kudos to Scenic Designer Robin Wagner for

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010

OPERA

Boston Lyric Opera staged

A touring production of

revamping his original 1981 design and finding the brilliance in absence of set, going so far as to make all furniture transparent. His fivepaneled grid-like LED screens set the mood for every sequence in the show, along with the helping hand of media designer Howard Werner.

The icing on the cake in this technical extravaganza seems to be Ken Billington’s lighting design, composed of over 300 lights, finely tuned to create mood and, in some instances, setting.

It is also impressive to watch the combination of pit and onstage orchestras help the show come to life.

The use of the onstage band allows opportunities to create such settings as a recording studio or even as simple a place as a night club.

This also creates the perfect opportunity for co-choreographers Shane Sparks (So You Think You Can Dance and America’s Best Dance Crew) and Galen Hooks to have ensemble members blend with the band as dancing instruments, a key feature sure to leave any jaw on the floor.

The acting is excellent, the singing astounding, the set and lighting revolutionary and musical elements perfected. However, it is when these elements are all combined that they create an extraordinary performance that transports the audience throughout the decades of Motown history.

With only one week left to see this stellar revival, buy your tickets, stand in line for student rush and do whatever you can to see one of the finest musical spectaculars to hit Boston in a while.

I can’t say that I am an opera connoisseur yet—I mean, I’ve only gone to one other opera in my entire life.

But I know the traditional opera structural set-up for sure: the main characters encounter some sort of obstacle, they sing-talk all of the dialogue, then occasionally someone will sing a 7- to 10-minute aria explaining what just happened right before the characters sing-talk about what just happened again, then move on. It makes sense. This circular tradition has worked for many years in the past and persisted into the 20th century because of its usefulness. With The Turn of the Screw, composer Benjamin Britten decided that he wanted to toss those old ideals and rework the tradition into a new-fangled thing that could have been a musical sung like an opera or an opera written like a musical. But in spite of the strange twists wrought into the traditional structure of an opera, it works. The Turn of the Screw, as staged by the Boston Lyric Opera, was an experience for the senses: it was musically excellent, visually stunning and sent shivers up the spine.

The story is based on a novella by the American author Henry James in which a governess to two orphaned children discovers some weird goings-on afoot. She sees strange figures in the window and around the home: a handsome man and a woman around her age. She asks the old housekeeper who they might be, and in horror the housekeeper declares them to be Peter Quint, the former valet, and Miss Jessel, the old governess. That would only be slightly unsettling (they seemed to have a negative effect on the children) if it weren’t for the fact that they were both dead.

The current governess is now determined to protect the sweet, dear children from these ghostly intruders and save them from the terrors that might await them.

Now, the hook for Henry James’ novella is that as the children seem to be plagued by more and more negative influences, the governess doesn’t know whether it is the ghosts that are doing it or whether it is really she who is going mad.

But in the opera, it is quite clear that the ghosts are the ones leading the children down the paths of evil.

The creepiness turns into all kinds of crazy here: The ghosts slowly devour the children. They do it through song, through playing with toys with them, even by physically enveloping them on the stage. They touch them, whisper in their ears, stare into their eyes. I was squirming in my seat. It takes actors of certain fortitude to withstand that

without recoiling. The cast had that fortitude, and it delivered.

The acting was quite polished in The Turn of the Screw . Emily Pulley, the current governess, was warm and honest with her portrayal—until her character starts to slip further and further into madness, which she easily and expressively performs. The former governess, Miss Jessel, is played by Rebecca Nash, and the desperation and desire she shows feel natural and real. The housekeeper, Mrs. Grose, played by veteran of the opera stage Joyce Castle, is portrayed as the quintessential motherly and tender old woman. Her very sophisticated acting skills were quite evident, as is expected with years of experience under her belt. The two children, Flora, played by the adult soprano Kathryn Skemp, and Miles, played by child treble Aidan Gent, captured quite well the innocence of young children. I was honestly confused for a while as to whether Skemp was really a young girl or not because she portrayed the youthful role so well.

But the character that struck me hardest, and also had me cringing with discomfort, was Peter Quint, sung masterfully by Vale Rideout. I think it was the wooden expression that he had for most of the show; it was almost sadistic in its immutability, and when he would look at Miles with that face, I couldn’t help but fidget in my seat. He sent shivers of uneasiness down my skin—yes, he was that creepy. And it was wonderful.

The musical aspect of The Turn of the Screw was, as expected, wonderful. The orchestra was impeccable, with an expressive conductor to match. The composer, Benjamin Britten, had many different types of elements going on in the book. I heard some pieces of the French Romantic tradition, some grand and march-like sections and finally the polyphonic, dissonant chords and rhythms of modern compositions, all mashed together into one strange but compellingly united work. And as usual, the voices of the performers were beautiful, strong and traditionally trained even for this untraditional work.

One voice of note was that of Aidan Gent, a singer of the male-treble practice. I haven’t heard a boy-treble before, and his voice was quite sweet and flute-like, reminiscent of the Gregorian choirs of medieval Europe.

I’ve never seen a modern opera before, so I’m not sure what my final word on The Turn of the Screw would be. I just know that when I walked out, I was not disappointed.

I might have been slightly confused and shaken up by the experience of a completely different type of opera than what I was used to, but I was still satisfied. Gothic, avant-garde, and once again, all kinds of creepy, I didn’t feel shortchanged by this modern take on a century-old tale.

But I wished I’d brought a jacket to the Park Plaza Castle—I was shivering all night.

FOOD

Saray provides Mediterranean cuisine of a variable quality The Turkish restaurant

specializes in filling starters, but its desserts disappoint.

By ELIZABETH STOKER JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Located near Boston College, the small Turkish restaurant Saray is cozy, reasonably priced and good enough to go back to.

As part of a strip shopping center, Saray would be easy to miss if you weren’t looking for it. It’s surrounded by various trendy restaurants—shabu-shabu joints and classic bistros—so it’s a little hard to spot its red awning. The inside of Saray is clean and comfortable, a

modern take on Middle Eastern styling with a crisp but warm look to the blond wood and copper-painted walls. There isn’t too much room inside, so if you’re thinking of stopping in for an occasion or on a Saturday you might consider making a reservation.

If you’re not feeling too ravenous, you could easily make a meal of the awesome appetizers. The hummus is a real treat, evenly textured and spiced with just enough garlic and tahini, with an almost light consistency. Also try the haydari—it’s made of thickened Greek yogurt with plenty of dill and garlic as well as chunks of walnut. If you’re with a group, try both of them—the cool taste of the haydari is a great complement to the warm spice of the hum-

mus. Saray serves a traditional Turkish wheat bread with plenty of seeds and whole grains, which is quite a bit more substantial than the typical standby pita. With its array of appetizer offerings including baba ganoush and sigara borek—that is, fried filo dough with feta—a lunch on appetizers would be great.

Saray has an extensive kebab menu and features quite a few vegetarian dishes. For my entree, I chose the spinach à la Turca, a dish consisting of wilted spinach cooked with rice and onion and served with a garlic yogurt and neapolitan sauce. I had imagined that it would be something rather solid, with a nice balance between the spinach, rice and onion. A warning: This dish is rather like a soup served in a shallow bowl. Eaten

with leftover bread, it was a pretty good dip, though the predominant flavors were certainly garlic and salt, leaving very little room for the more subtle flavors of spinach and cooked onion.

My regular dining partner (again my dad visiting from Dallas) chose the chargrilled chicken kebab. His report was that the chicken was spiced warmly, with red pepper and a hot marinade and was quite tender. The plate was very colorful—a circular arrangement of red cabbage, black olives and moist white rice. It seems that Saray mostly focuses its attention on its vast kebab menu, which seems to feature the greatest variety in meat, vegetables and flavors.

I think it’s also appropriate to issue a warning on Saray’s desserts.

Though they may be made in house, they’re certainly not fresh. As a dedicated rice pudding lover, I was disappointed to find that the pudding arrived in an aluminum container. It was cold, custard-like and quite eggy, featuring a once-hard sprinkled sugar crust that had long gone soggy.

Still, what Saray does, it does well, and at very reasonable prices. Its classic Turkish dishes, like the hummus, haydari and chicken kebab, were all very well done and presented. However, the dishes that most likely get very little play among the college crowd were a bit of a disappointment. Nonetheless, it is a cozy restaurant and a fine place for lunch or dinner with a group of friends, and in that sense, it’s a real Turkish delight.

24

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010

●

THE JUSTICE

TOP of the

ARTS ON VIEW

TRIVIA TIME 1. What country was once known by the Latin name of Caledonia?

2. Guadalcanal is part of which island group in the Pacific Ocean?

3. Which actors voiced the two main characters, Woody and Buzz, in the Toy Story movies?

4. Who is credited with inventing the Hula hoop?

5. Who played the character Latka Gravas on Taxi?

6. What was domain of the Greek god Aeolus?

7. In what war were tanks first used?

8. What is the only letter of the alphabet that does not appear in the name of any U.S. state?

9. The term “vicennial” refers to a period of how many years?

10. What is the symbol for the zodiac sign Capricorn?

CHARTS Top 10s for the week ending Feb. 9 BOX OFFICE 1. Dear John 2. Avatar 3. From Paris With Love 4. Edge of Darkness 5. Tooth Fairy 6. When in Rome 7. The Book of Eli 8. Crazy Heart 9. Legion 10. Sherlock Holmes

WBRS

1. Scotland 2. Solomon Islands 3. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen 4. Richard Knerr and Arthur “Spud” Melin 5. Andy Kaufman 6. God of the winds 7. World War I 8. The letter “Q” 9. 20 years 10. The goat STACY HANDLER/the Justice

ANSWERS

CROSSWORD

SHOWTIMES 2/12 - 2/18 Edge of Darkness Fri-Mon 1:00, 3:40, 6:50, 9:35 Tues-Thurs 2:25, 5:00, 7:50 Dear John Fri-Mon 1:10, 3:50, 7:00, 9:40 Tues-Thurs 2:30, 5:00, 8:10 Valentine’s Day Fri-Mon 12:40, 3:30, 6:40, 9:30 Tues-Thurs 2:10, 4:50, 8:00 The Wolfman Fri-Mon 1:20, 4:10, 7:10, 9:45 Tues-Thurs 2:40, 5:10, 8:20 Invictus Fri-Mon 12:30, 6:30 Tues-Thurs 2:00, 7:30 Precious Fri-Mon 4:00, 9:45 Tues-Thurs 4:50 Avatar Fri-Mon 12:50, 4:20, 8:00 Tues-Thurs 2:50, 7:00

The Embassy is located at 18 Pine Street in Waltham

ACROSS 1. Feathery neckpiece 4. Weevil invader 8. Diplomacy 12. Puncturing tool 13. Reed instrument 14. Petri-dish matter 15. Giving permission 17. Entice 18. Online address 19. Exhibition setting 21. Sweeney Todd, e.g.

24. Deposit 25. With 21-Down, “Arabian Nights” hero 26. Scoot 28. Rub the wrong way 32. Exclamation point 34. Conger or moray 36. — podrida 37. Battle verbally 39. Afternoon affair 41. Fleur-de- — 42. Succumb to gravity 44. Thing 46. Baton wielder 50. Journal 51. Pinnacle 52. Soothing 56. Fit of peevishness 57. Voice of Fiona in Shrek 58. Teachers’ org.

59. Towel marking 60. A handful 61. Sailor DOWN 1. Sheepish remark?

2. Hooter 3. Sexy 4. Alley athlete 5. — -Wan Kenobi 6. Protracted 7. Constitutional 8. Hunter’s cry 9. Chills and fever 10. Singer Vikki 11. Deuce beater 16. Scepter topper

1. The Hood Internet – “The xx Gon’ Give It To Ya” 2. Freelance Whales – “Hannah” 3. Omar Rodriguez Lopez – “Locomocion Capilar” 4. Daphne Willis – “Everybody Else” 5. Heligoats – “Fish Sticks” 6. Fucked Up – “Toronto FC” 7. Woodhands – “Pockets” 8. Free Energy – “Hope Child” 9. OK Go – “This Too Shall Pass” 10. Friday Mile – “Autograph”

COLLEGE RADIO 1. Animal Collective – Fall Be Kind (EP) 2. Vampire Weekend – Contra 3. Tom Waits – Glitter and Doom Live 4. Devendra Banhart – What Will We Be 5. Tegan and Sara – Sainthood 6. BlakRoc – BlakRoc 7. Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures 8. Real Estate – Real Estate 9. Flaming Lips – Embryonic 10. Owen Pallett – Heartland

BILLBOARD

20. Fond du —, Wisc.

21. See 25-Across 22. Winged 23. Actress McClanahan 27. Trawler prop 29. Making a claim 30. Gendarme 31. Bridge position 33. Fabric inserts 35. Author Buscaglia 38. Pack away 40. Burning 43. Alumni 45. Cohort of Whoopi and Sherri 46. Hawkeye’s sitcom 47. Dermatology subject 48. Ottoman potentate 49. Hodgepodge 53. Hasty escape

1. Lady Antebellum – Need You Now 2. Various Artists – Hope For Haiti Now 3. Lady Gaga – The Fame 4. Susan Boyle – I Dreamed A Dream 5. Barry Manilow – The Greatest Love Songs Of All Time 6. Michael Jackson – Michael Jackson’s This Is It 7. Corinne Bailey Rae – The Sea 8. Various Artists – 2010 Grammy Nominees 9. Celtic Woman – Songs From The Heart 10. Black Eyed Peas – The E.N.D. Album information provided by Billboard Magazine. Box office information provided by Yahoo! Movies. Radio charts provided by CMJ.

STAFF PLAYLIST

“My Top 10”

By BRYAN FLATT

Solution to last issue’s crossword.

54. Ultramodern 55. Tie up the phone

King Crossword Copyright 2010 King Features Synd., Inc.

STRANGE BUT TRUE It was François VI, Duc de la Rochefoucauld and Prince de Marcillac, a noted 17th-century French author and memoirist, who made the following sage observation: “Few are agreeable in conversation, because each thinks more of what he intends to say than of what others are saying and listens no more when he himself has a chance to speak.”

Rutherford B. Hayes, the country’s 19th president, was the first to install a phone in the White House.

It was 1948 when the first vinyl musical recording was made. The piece of music so immortalized was Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite.

Although we tend to think of the bikini as a modern fashion innovation, two-piece bathing suits can be seen in murals in the ancient city of Pompeii.

According to Romanian tradition, a surefire hangover remedy is tripe soup. In Poland, drinking sour pickle juice is supposed to cure the morning-after agonies. And if you’re in Germany, you should try

the local remedy: pickled herring.

The shortest street on record can be found in the small town of Wick, Scotland. Ebenezer Place is a mere 6 feet, 9 inches long.

Do you suffer from pogonophobia? If so, you probably have some issues with Santa. Pogonophobia is a fear of beards.

If you’re like most Americans, you’ve stolen from your employer—though probably not much. It seems that 58 percent of your fellow citizens admit to taking office supplies for personal use.

Albert Einstein’s final words are lost to history.

He spoke his last words in his birth tongue, German, and it seems that the nurse who was attending him during his last moments spoke only English.

Thought for the Day: “The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.” —e.e. cummings

JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

When I first tried to make my top 10 list for this column, I wanted to stick to a theme or some sort of order.

What I realized, though, is that my music taste spans across so many genres that to make one top 10 list for one theme would be to ignore so many songs I also love. These songs are extremely eclectic and not meant to be taken as a playlist but just as my current favorite 10 songs.

THE LIST 1. Billy Joel – “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant” 2. Jackson 5 – “I Want You Back” 3. Lupe Fiasco – “Daydreamin’” 4. The Beatles – “Here Comes the Sun” 5. Nujabes – “Lady Brown (feat. Cise Starr from CYNE)” 6. Benny Benassi – “Satisfaction” 7. Sufjan Stevens – “Chicago” 8. Michael Bublé – “Feeling Good” 9. Louis Armstrong – “What A Wonderful World/Cabaret” 10. John Mayer – “Waiting on the World to Change (Live)”