The Justice - March 10, 2009

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Volume LXII, Number 22

Waltham, Mass.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

ACADEMICS

ROSE ART MUSEUM

JBS and Business major enacted

Disputes continue over Rose ■ Rose Art Museum

By HANNAH KIRSCH

Jehuda Reinharz announced in an email to alumni that “a donor recently stepped forward to help fund the continued operations of the museum.” But some, including Chairman of the Rose Board of Overseers Jonathan Lee, have questioned the significance of earmarking the donation for Rose expenses.

Rose Director Michael Rush said, “The only [University] contributions

JUSTICE EDITOR

officials, professors and University administrators continue to clash over the status of the museum and the recent six-figure donation toward it.

Administrators, faculty and Rose Art Museum officials continue to conflict over the significance of the recent donation toward the Rose’s operating expenses and the status of the Rose closing as a public art museum.

Last week, University President

to the Rose are what I call ‘below-theline’ expenses—things like light, electricity, heat and our share of how we use what is common to buildings that are on the campus.” He said that there will be “no change in expense for the University” after the Rose is repurposed to an art center and teaching facility: “It’s not about the content,” he said. According to Rush,

See ROSE, 5 ☛

FUNDING ON TRIAL

■ Faculty members passed

proposals for a Business major and a Justice Brandeis Semester last Thurdsay.

By MIRANDA NEUBAUER JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

Proposals for a Business major beginning in fall 2010 and a pilot program for an optional Justice Brandeis Semester, a semester-long, experiential learning initiative, were passed in a first reading at the March 4 faculty meeting, according to Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe.

The Undergraduate Curriculum Committee approved both programs at its Feb. 26 meeting last Thursday after they were submitted by two CARS subcommittees. The proposals will be on the agenda again this Thursday.

Jaffee, who is the chair of CARS, said said the proposals were passed in an effort to increase Brandeis’ applicant pool by 1,000 students over the next four years and increase the undergraduate student body by 100 students per year for four years.

Investing in 400 additional students will make about a $6.4 million contribution to the University’s budget gap in 2014, Jaffe explained.

The University will receive $12 million in tuition after the dispersal of financial aid, he explained.

Subtracted from that are $2.5 million because students participating in the JBS will only pay three-quarters of the a fall or spring semester’s tuition, $1 million in expenses so that campus services can accommodate additional students, $900,000 in costs for new JBS staff and operating expenses and between $700,000 and $1 million in costs for the Business major. Together with expected reductions in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the Arts and Sciences faculty budget, savings would amount to $12 million, Jaffe said.

The calculations assume that “everybody [reduces expenses], because that it is the most conservative assumption,” Jaffe said. In an interview with the Justice last

See JBS, 5 ☛

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

ARGUING THE CASE: Nipun Marwaha ‘12 was on Senator for the Class of 2009 Eric Alterman’s council at the Union Judiciary hearing that took place last Saturday.

Union Judiciary debates money resolution ■ Senator Eric Alterman ’09

challenged the use of the Senate Discretionary Fund to help fund Bill Ayers’ visit.

By DESTINY AQUINO JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

A dispute between Student Union senators questioning the constitutionality of the Senate’s decision to use funds from a Senate Money Resolution to help bring Bill Ayers and Robert H.

King to campus reached the Union Judiciary last Saturday, but the UJ did not release a decision on the case by press time.

The UJ decided to hear the case Saturday, March 8 after Senator for the Class of 2009 Eric Alterman filed a complaint against the Union Senate and against Senators for the Class of 2011 Lev Hirschhorn and Alex Melman, stating that the SMR violated Article IX, Section 1 of the Student Union Constitution by allowing funding for the events to come from the Senate Discretionary

Fund. The section reads: “All Senate Money Resolutions must be used for Student Union Government projects and/or operations.”

The Senate voted 10-8 at its March 1 meeting to provide $900 to bring Ayers, a founding member of the Weather Underground, and King, a member of the Black Panther Party, to Brandeis.

The main debates between both the respondents and Alterman, the petitioner, included whether the Ayers and King events were, by definition, Union projects or club

projects, as well as to what extent previously passed Student Money Resolutions, such as $1,500 for the hopeFound Gala this winter and $500 for the Prospect Hill project last fall could serve as examples for projects that received Union Senate funding without prior Union involvement.

In his brief closing arguments, Alterman stated that “the Union’s involvement was far too minimal and arguable to fall within the bylaws.” Melman restated that the Ayers and King events were

See UJ, 5 ☛

‘Vagina Monologues’

The fight to cure AIDS

Corporate sponsors

■ A cast of 30 female students presented the monologues by

■ Epidemiologist Brian Williams talks about ending the AIDS epidemic.

■ With Brandeis struggling, it may be time to consider alternative sources of revenue.

Eve Ensler.

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INDEX

FORUM 8

FEATURES 6

ARTS 20

ARTS

17

EDITORIAL FEATURES

8 6

OPINION POLICE LOG

9 2

SPORTS LETTERS

16 9

COPYRIGHT 2009 FREE AT BRANDEIS. Call for home delivery.

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TUESDAY, MARCH 10 , 2009

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THE JUSTICE

NEWS POLICE LOG

BRIEF IBS in talks with former Playboy Enterprises CEO Christie Hefner The International Business School is in an ongoing discussion with former Chairwoman and Chief Executing Officer of Playboy Enterprises Christie Hefner ’74 about how she can become affiliated with the International Business School, according to IBS Senior Associate Director of Communications Matthew Parillo.

Hefner became the chairman and CEO of Playboy Enterprises in 1988 before stepping down this January. In an e-mail to the Justice, Hefner wrote, “Now that I have stepped down as Chairman [and] CEO of Playboy Enterprises, I have the time to become more involved in a variety of activities that I care about.”

Hefner wrote that she is interested in collaborating with the IBS for three reasons: “I believe passionately in the idea and the ideal of [IBS] that, as Justice Brandeis put it, ‘business can be a force for good.’ The fact that [two thirds] of the students are from outside of the U.S. makes the school especially relevant to today’s global challenges and of [particular] interest to me. And as Brandeis is my alma mater and [IBS] is a relatively young business school, I feel that I could make a larger contribution here than [at] other business schools.”

Hefner wrote, “It is early in the discussions, but I expect that my involvement will certainly include coming out to speak and to interact with the students [at Brandeis].”

Parillo declined to comment on the specific options that the IBS is discussing with Hefner regarding how she can become more involved in the IBS community. He said, however, that the IBS wants to enlist Hefner’s help in achieving its mission statement, which, according to the IBS Web site, aims “to advance knowledge on globalization and to train principled leaders for the global economy.”

Parillo said that talks with Hefner began last December and that “it was [Hefner’s] decision to reopen discussions when she decided to leave [Playboy Enterprises].” In an e-mail to the Justice, Executive Director of Media and Public Affairs Dennis Nealon confirmed that Hefner was only interested in colloborating with the IBS and not the University in general.

In an e-mail to the Justice, Parillo confirmed that as a volunteer leader Hefner will not receive any monetary compensation.

Dean of the IBS Bruce Magid declined to comment.

Hefner is a participant in the IBS CEO forum, which brings leading business executives to speak at the IBS. As a participant of the CEO forum, Hefner last visited the campus Feb. 25 of this year. Angelique Ahmed (GRAD) recalled finding Hefner’s discussion “very interesting as a business student.”Ahmed said, “I think that it’s a brilliant idea that [Hefner] may become more involved with the IBS.” Parillo stated, “There is no time table and the decisions that need to be made are going to be thoughtful.”

He said that an important issue to consider is the fact that Hefner is located in Chicago whereas “some of the executives that help [the IBS] and serve [the IBS] on various aspects … are local.”

According to Parillo, “What we’re doing is pretty common. .. where we’re always in touch with business leaders and we try to engage them as best as we can.” “We would be excited to work out a process by which she can help our students,” he said.

—Nashrah Rahman

Medical Emergency Mar. 2—An 18-year-old female in the Usdan Student Center reported that she had a migraine and was vomiting. University Police and BEMCo responded, and the patient was transported by ambulance to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Mar. 3—University Police escorted an ambulance to East Quad to transport a student for a psychological evaluation. The patient was transported without incident.

Mar. 4—A student in the Village twisted her ankle. The patient was transported to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital bypolice cruiser.

Mar. 5—A party in Ziv Quad reported that her friend fainted and hit her head. University Police and BEMCo responded. The patient was transported to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital by ambulance.

Mar. 6—A student in Massell

Quad reported that her roommate passed out, did not regain consciousness and had been vomiting prior to passing out. University Police and BEMCo responded and notified the Waltham Fire Department.

BEMCo reported that the victim had sustained a head injury. The party was transported via ambulance to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Mar. 7—A student in Ziv Quad reported that her friend had become sick in the last three hours.

University Police and BEMCo responded. BEMCo treated the student and transported her to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

investigation.

Traffic Mar. 4—University Police compiled a report on a hit-and-run near the Charles River Apartments.

Mar. 6—A caller reported an automobile accident on South Street across from the Linsey pool. The Waltham Police Department was notified.

Vandalism Mar. 7—A caller in Ziv Quad reported that a group of individuals was “golfing” beer cans onto South Street. University Police checked the area and found nothing.

Disturbance

Theft

Mar. 8—A caller in the Charles River Apartments reported that people downstairs were playing loud music. University Police asked the individual to turn the music off for the night, and the individual complied.

Mar. 3—A party in the Mailman House reported that a laptop computer, credit card and cell phone were stolen from an open locker in the men’s locker room.

University Police compiled a report t and will follow up with an

MAX BREITSTEIN MATZA /the Justice

Purim Party From left, Avram Mlotek ’09, Adam Elkins ’12 and Eli Katzen ‘09 performed at the annual Hillel Purim Party, which was held last night. Students donned costumes and danced the night away.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

theJustice

Students considering applying to graduate school can attend a workshop. A panel of admissions, financial aid and career experts will provide an overview of the process of choosing, applying to and paying for graduate school. Wednesday from 6 to 7 p.m. in Hassenfield Conference Center, Lurias.

Main Line News Forum Features Sports Arts Ads Photos Managing

(781) 736-3750 (781) 736-6397 (781) 736-3746 (781) 736-3754 (781) 736-3745 (781) 736-3753 (781) 736-3751 (781) 736-3752 (781) 736-3567

The Justice Brandeis University Mailstop 214 P.O. Box 549110 Waltham, Mass.

02454-9110 E-mail: justice@brandeis.edu

—compiled by Brian Fromm

Union passes Bill of Rights to School Council

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

E-mail justeditor@brandeis.edu.

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

Mar. 2—University Police responded to an incident in East Quad involving several knives.

University Police and the community development coordinator confiscated the knives from the suspect. The suspect was transported by ambulance for a psychological examination.

University Police will file University judicial charges against the suspect.

Mar. 3—University Police responded to a report of a woman screaming near 110 Angleside Road and reported the area was quiet. Officers spoke to the reporting party, who could not pinpoint the location the screams were coming from. University Police searched the area, found nothing and left after determining the report was unfounded.

SENATE LOG

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS An article in News two weeks ago incorrectly abbreviated CARS. CARS is the “Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering Committee,” not the “Committee on Academic Restructuring.” (Feb. 24, p. 1) The News teaser last week incorrectly stated the amount of the U.S stimulus package. It is a $787 billion stimulus package, not a $787 stimulus package.

(Mar. 3, p. 1).

An article in Features last week incorrectly stated the last name of the author of Comeuppance: Costly Signaling, Altruistic Punishment, and Other Biological Components in Fiction. His last name is Flesch, not Flesh. (Mar. 3, p. 8) An article in News last week incorrectly stated the amount of money contributed by the History department for Bill Ayers’ visit to campus. The History department is donating $100, not $400.

(Mar. 3, p. 1).

Miscellaneous

Applying to Graduate School

Treatment of People with Disabilities Join Dr. David A. Ticchi from Newton North High School in supervising a SchoolTo-Career program for a talk on the “Social and Professional Treatment of People with Disabilties.” Dr. Ticchi teaches a Disability Awareness seminar for managers and certified trainers of the Legal Sea Foods Corporation and co-chairs the company’s ethics program. As a result of his extensive work and the fact that he has been legally blind since birth, Dr. Ticchi is recognized

as an expert on the blind population in America Wednesday from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Pollack Auditorium.

Implications of Alternative Policy Responses to Illegal Immigration Students can attend a Zinner Distinguished Lecture featuring President and Executive Director of the Applied Research Center Rinku Sen, Center for Immigration Studies Director of Research Steven Camarota and journalist Paul Solman ’66.

They will discuss immigration, pathways to citizenship and policy implications.

Wednesday from 7 to 9:00 p.m. in Zinner Forum, the Heller School for Social Policy and Managment.

Speaker Series: Daniel Nepsted Listen to tropical forest ecologist Daniel Nepsted talk about the idea of a payment framework to compensate nations for

Student Union President Jason Gray ’10 spoke about the State of the Union address, which will be held March 17. He also reported that the proposals for a new Business major and a Justice Brandeis Semester were passed at a faculty meeting that took place last Thursday. Gray said that the proposals were passed as a trial program and that the Union’s resolutions about these proposals “made a difference in that room.”

He also said he is working on finishing up final projects for the Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering Committee.

Gray reported that Director of the Office of Student Rights Laura Cohen ’09 and Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer have come up with a tentative agreement on the Student Bill of Rights and that they had passed it along to the School Council. One example of a new student right, Gray said, is that in certain situations in which it would be extremely uncomfortable for a student to speak, such as if the student cannot speak English, the student’s advisor will be able to speak on behalf of the student.

The Dining Services Committee reported that there is a new dining Web site with a sleeker design that makes the Web site more accessible. The committee said that it will get plaques noting the name of the manager on duty to provide a way for people to voice their disapproval of the food of the day. The committee also reported that Java City has been replaced with an all-day waffle station and that there is now a kosher-togo option at Einstein Bros. Bagels.

Student Union Director of Community Advocacy Andrew Hogan ’11 passed out the new editions of the Stall Street Journal for senators to distribute next Sunday. He is also making door hangers for the Union.

Senator for the Class of 2010 Rebecca L. Wilkof said she is in the process of organizing a Meet the Senators event that will take place March 23.

The Senate voted 12-1 with one abstention to recognize Global Business Brigades, a club providing microfinancing. The Senate also voted to recognize the Motorcycle Licensing Resource Center Club. The Senate tabled a money resolution that would provide funds for compost bins in the Charles River apartments and the Foster Mods.

— Alana Abramson

maintaining forests. Nepsted’s research includes analyzing public policy to conserve the Amazon’s natural resources, predicting future trends of forests and people and developing carbon markets to reduce deforestation within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Friday from 12:15 to 1:45 p.m. in G3, the Heller School for Social Policy and Management.

Social Entrepreneurship in Recessionary Times Students can join Jeffrey Swartz in his delivery of the Hornstein Program’s 40th Anniversary Lecture. Jeffrey Swartz is president and CEO of Timberland. Today, Swartz leads this organization while demonstrating best practices, measurable impact and sustainable programs. Sunday from 7:30 p.m. in Rapaporte Treasure Hall, Goldfarb Library. For more information, call (781) 736-2990.

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2009

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ACADEMICS

CMS major delayed for further revisions ■ Concerns about the

Communications, Media and Society major’s curriculum were raised.

By MIRANDA NEUBAUER JUSTICE SENIOR STAFF WRITER

A proposal for the Communications, Media and Society major was withdrawn from a vote at last Thursday’s faculty meeting because further revisions were deemed necessary, Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe said at the meeting.

Seven faculty from the Anthropology, American Studies and Sociology departments had made the proposal to the Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering Committee over February break. The major would include two core courses, one media theory and one media history class and three separate tracks for Journalism, Technology and Communication and Culture and Communication. The program had

been approved by the University Curriculum Committee Feb. 26 along with the Business major, which the faculty did approve at Thursday’s meeting.

Jaffe said in an interview that members of the humanities and social sciences school councils had expressed concerns about the curricular and pedagogical aspects of the program. He said the faculty who had proposed the program had revised their proposal but had not yet had time to resubmit it before the meeting.

The chairs of the humanities and social sciences school councils could not be reached for comment by press time.

“When we first presented it to the UCC [Feb 26] there were some concerns about the third [Culture and Communication] track. … The feeling was that that track was a little amorphous and that it maybe needed to be tightened up a little bit just so that it would be a more productive educational experience,” Prof.

Maura Jane Farrelly

(AMST), director of the Journalism program, told the Justice. “I think there was also a little bit of concern expressed … by some of the people in the humanities about trying to tighten up the relationship between the major [and] the humanities.”

Farrelly noted that the first track had a solid orientation towards journalism while the second track was oriented toward technology. “The third track, …. we had it oriented toward culture ... we had some courses in there that were about museums and museum culture; … we had other courses that were about politics and political culture and other courses that were about advertising, so the thought was, can we construct something that will give students a little bit more guidance in terms of what they should be picking?”

Farrelly said that the faculty’s new idea envisioned merging the second and the third tracks and then having subcategories within those two.

She said that those proposals were also subject to further change,and that the authors of the proposal were

still waiting for new input from other faculty and the administration.

“I think the administration was hoping to get this together in time that it could go before the faculty and be voted upon … so that the admissions people could start touting it in their admissions literature for the incoming class,” Farrelly said. “Now that it has not happened, I think we’re not feeling as much under the gun, so we’re going to take our time.”

However, Farrelly added, “I did find out from [the administration] that they’re still very interested in getting a major like this designed and passed.”

Farrelly explained that the faculty proposing the major initially thought that since the proposal was approved by the UCC, any revisions made would be mild enough that it could still go before the faculty.

“But we ended up making some pretty significant changes to it, so it will have to go through the whole process again,” she explained.

Jaffe informed the faculty proposing the major Wednesday that the changes were probably too extensive, Farrelly said.

Farrelly added that she was told by Senior Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences Elaine Wong on Friday that “the hope is that we could get something passed this semester.”

Wong noted that CARS had actually commissioned the other new major, Business, with an official subcommittee, which therefore had double or triple the amount of time to work out their proposals compared to the CMS major.

“I think they’re basically working on the curriculum structure and coming up with a syllabus for the core course and more [information] just about how this program compares with other programs,” Wong said. “The journalism proposal was quite structured, but then the other two [tracks] were less structured” she said.

—Nashrah Rahman contributed reporting.

CAMPUS EVENT

Pachanga tickets will be restricted to pre-sales only ■ Tickets for Pachanga will

be sold on a pre-sale basis to avoid the security problems. Only 850 tickets will be sold for the dance.

By HARRY SHIPPS JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Tickets for this semester’s Pachanga dance will only be available through presales and will not be sold at the door in order to avoid security problems and to ensure all students who purchase tickets before the event are guaranteed entrance, according to the event’s organizer.

Leon Markovitz ’10, president of the International Club that coordinates the event, said that 850 tickets will be sold in the presales.

The presales began last Sunday with tickets in the form of blue wristbands priced at $5.

Last semester’s Pachanga dance was marred by rowdiness among students waiting to enter the dance and overcrowding of the Levin Ballroom. One student was arrested for assault and battery of a Brandeis police officer and four others were placed in protective custody. Many students who had purchased tickets during the pre-

sales were unable to enter the dance because the ballroom was filled to almost 500 people over its capacity. Markovitz estimated that the club had sold roughly 1,600 tickets last semester, more than double Levin Ballroom’s 750-person capacity.

Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan said that the response of University Police and other departments on campus to Pachanga would be consistent with what has taken place in past years; however, he declined to discuss specifics about the deployment of security resources. Callahan added that Public Safety wants to avoid the type of incidents that occurred at Pachanga last semester but said, “There are many stances that we can take involving judicial referrals or protective custody if people are intoxicated or appear to be under the influence of something.

Obviously, if they’re assaultive or combative, we can arrest people, [but] this is the last alternative that we like to initiate.”

Last semester, along with Brandeis and Waltham Police officers, security personnel from Knight Protection Service, a private security firm hired and paid in part by the International Club, were present. Markovitz confirmed that the club intends to use Knight again, though he did not say how many se-

curity guards would be on hand and declined to discuss the cost of that security.

Gerry Kaufman, a member of the Waltham Police Department who works in the Community Policing division, said that the department traditionally takes no specific, independent action in preparation for or in response to Pachanga. He added, however, that last year Brandeis requested a detail, a group of Waltham police officers who work in a security capacity, from the department.

Ed Callahan confirmed that a police detail of what he believes to be at least two officers has been requested this semester.

Amanda Segal ’12, who attended Pachanga last semester, said “I think that selling tickets only presale is a good idea because it prevents people who are really drunk or people from other schools who have no connection to Brandeis from showing up that night and entering the dance.”

Ariadne Lyon ’12 also said that she thought selling tickets only presale was a good idea, but she gave a different reason. She said, “Selling tickets presale will prevent problems of overselling.” She also said that she knew people who were unable to get into last semester’s dance and who were very upset about it.

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

Learning to defend Jujitsu master Ryan Shuwgo and Tiffany Roberts ’11 held a self defense workshop last night. Basic techniques were taught, and questions were answered at the workshop.

STUDENT UNION

Senate cuts $2,000 from $5,000 Midnight Buffet budget ■ The Student Union cut

$2,000 in food and entertainment from the Midnight Buffet budget. The event is held during finals.

By IRINA FINKEL JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Student Union Senate decided to cut $2,000 in food and entertainment from the $5,000 budget of the Midnight Buffet, a long-standing exam period tradition sponsored by the Student Union that occurs one night during finals week.

The Midnight Buffet is an annual event at which students come to take a study break during finals week and are provided with free food and T-shirts at the buffet.

Kalynn Cook ’11, who originally proposed the budget cut, explained

her reasoning, “We, as students, are not taking our role seriously.”

She added that in times of economic difficulty, having a $5,000 buffet is not “cost-beneficial.”

Cook e-mailed the Brandeis Budget Cut Coalition listserv to inform the Brandeis community of the Midnight Buffet’s typical budget in order to motivate students to talk to their senators about a cut.

Cook said she would ideally like “to cancel the event altogether, but then [the Senate] would have to change the constitutional bylaws.”

Cook said she was ultimately pleased with the $2,000 budget cut but would prefer that this “silly tradition” be canceled altogether.

Nipun Marwaha ’12, the Massell Quad Senator, however, said that he thought the Midnight Buffet is “a good idea that helps bring the community together.”

He also said that he understands that budget cuts are necessary in

light of current economic conditions, He said, however, that cuts should be made across the board and “not [by] just cutting $2,000 from one thing.”

Senator for the Class of 2012 Akash Vadalia, who is organizing the Midnight Buffet, said that he had no problems cutting $2,000 from the budget.

He said that since students are not as excited about the buffet, it would not be worth spending $5,000 dollars on.

When asked what the remaining $3,000 would be used for, Vadalia said, “It’s the [Finance Board’s] money,” and the constitution will dictate what is to be done with it.

“We have a great theme in mind and different kinds of foods and different kinds of activities, so we’re really expecting this to be great,” said Non-Senate co-Chair of the Services Committee Hillary Mishan

’09 who is involved in planning the Midnight Buffet.

The Senate considered getting entertainment like circus performers, according to Cook, but after the budget cut, the Senate won’t be hiring any new entertainment.

Cook said she had no problem running a surplus in the Senate this year and just rolling the money over to next year.

She said she would like the money to “contribute to the future of the institution.”

She explained that the midnight buffet is a one-night event; Cook said that if there was a way to spend the money in a more lasting way Cook would be willing to spend the money.

Cook hopes that this budget cut will “help attract students with social justice and academic integrity,” who will not look down at the school for cutting a Midnight Buffet budget in lieu of a financial crisis but in-

stead “will have greater priorities than a free meal.”

The cut to the event’s budget should not have a significant effect on the execution of the Midnight Buffet, according to Mishan.

“We’re going to have a great Midnight Buffet this year even with whatever money that we are spending,” Mishan said.

Craig Elman ’12 agreed with Cook, saying that “the event should be cut.”

Other students like Virginia Partridge ’12 said that if the Senate was going to have a Midnight Buffet, it should publicize it better.

In this way, said Patridge, students will be aware of events going on around campus and the money spent on events such as the Midnight Buffet will not count as a waste of the school’s resources.

—Nashrah Rahman contributed reporting

THE JUSTICE

TECHNOLOGY

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TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2009

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STUDENT UNION

Univ Web site redesigned A Cappella Etc. ■ The new Brandeis Web

site under construction will feature profiles of faculty, students and alumni.

By MIRANDA NEUBAUER JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

A redesign of the Brandeis University home page is underway in order to emphasize academic areas of study more effectively to attract more incoming students and respond to community concerns about Brandeis’ Web presence.

Chair of the Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering Committee’s Subcommittee on Admissions and Recruiting Prof. Steven Burg (POL) and Vice President for Communications Lorna Miles confirmed the plans to redesign the Website. Theyelaborated that the new Web site will feature more profiles of students, faculty and alumni.

Brandeis last redesigned its home page in January 2008. At that time, Miles explained, the goal of the Office of Communications was to emphasize Brandeis’ global outlook, the four pillars of the University, Brandeis’ proximity to Boston and the fundraising campaign for Brandeis; for the first time, the home page also included prominent information about applying to Brandeis, Miles said.

The January 2008 version also included a flash movie featuring Leonard Bernstein and Eleanor Roosevelt to show Brandeis’ history, Smart Balance margarine to showcase Brandeis’ research, an image of Prof. David Hackett Fischer (HIST) to emphasize our commitment to the humanities and images of the new science center and of students, Miles said. “[Smart Balance] was an iconic image that people could recognize but probably didn’t know that it had a connection to Brandeis. … It caused a lot of discussions on campus,” Miles said.

Many faculty took issue with the presentation of Smart Balance on the

University Web site on faculty listservs. Faculty involvement in designing the Web site has been little in the past, Prof. Marc Brettler (NEJS) wrote in an e-mail to the Justice. “The issue with Smart Balance was it seemed silly to many faculty to be represented by a margarine— even if it is a healthy one that we created on campus.”

When discussion about Smart Balance resurfaced recently on the faculty listserv established this January as a way for faculty to discuss academic curriculum options, Miles said she arranged for the image to be taken down that afternoon in response to faculty concerns and because she anticipated the Web site would be redesigned anyway. She said she did not think the Smart Balance image deterred incoming students. “I didn’t hear prospective students coming in the door and saying, I’m not applying to Brandeis because of Smart Balance.’ ” The Office of Communications received an invitation from the CARS subcommittee on Admissions and Recruiting to work on ideas for several new sites, including a new treatment for the home page. “[The subcommittee] is faculty- and student-driven, and this new concept suggests [a] new way of describing ourselves,” Miles said.

Burg wrote that the subcommittee is “working with admissions staff, communications staff, faculty, and student committee members to develop seven ‘micro-sites,’ or pages within the overall University Web site, that will be introduced via much improved labeling and attendant descriptions and links on the homepage.” He explained that the goal is to “develop descriptive text and accompanying materials—including, most importantly, profiles of outstanding students engaged in learning and action—that will give prospective students a much better picture of the opportunities for learning, faculty-student engagement, and application of knowledge to real world problems that goes on at Brandeis.” he wrote.

Burg also wrote that the working titles the committee came up with for the seven micro-sites are Health and

Society, Computational Science, Visual and Performing Arts, Justice and Public Life, Humanities, A Global University and Fields of Practice.

Burg explained that Fields of Practice refers to academic areas that prepare students for practical applications such as premed, pre-clinical psychology, film studies, legal studies, journalism and education. “We expect the micro-site for this area to draw heavily on profiles of students/recent alumni who pursued study in one or more of these areas and now are ‘practicing’ what they have learned,” Burg wrote in an e-mail to the Justice.

The subcommittee has also proposed that Brandeis emphasize on the Web site through links and page placement the terms community, opportunity and social justice as “conceptual labels,” ideas that “members of the sub-committee believe capture the essence of what Brandeis offers its students,” Burg wrote in an e-mail to the Justice.

Burg further explained that the committee had limited survey research data, beyond the “interests” or “intended fields of study” surveys of the College Board about academic areas that incoming students are interested in. “From this we can see how we might present information about Brandeis in a way that might have greater appeal to a larger number of prospective students,” he wrote.

Over the next 12 weeks, staff from the subcommittee and the Office of Communications plan to work together to further refine the plans before presenting preliminary versions of the web pages to the University community, Miles said.

Senior Research and Technology specialist in the Biology department Steven Karel said he would like to have more information about research on the Brandeis Web site with regard to senior theses, course materials and video lectures. “One way of publicizing the University is simply having as much content out there as we can [so that when] people do searches on Google, they wind up finding stuff from Brandeis.”

can receive funds from F-Board

■ The Student Union voted

to charter A Cappella Etc. event though cappella groups are regarded as exclusive groups.

By SHANA D. LEBOWITZ JUSTICE EDITOR

The Union Senate voted to charter A Cappella Etc., the umbrella group for all 11 campus a cappella groups, led by Dan Newman ’09 and David Baumgold ’09.

The Senate first recognized A Cappella Etc. in November 2007, and Newman has been trying to get the group chartered since then.

Chartered clubs are entitled to request money from the Finance Board.

The Senate has never chartered a cappella groups since they hold auditions and therefore qualify as exclusive organizations. According to the Student Union bylaws, a chartered club must be open to all members of the Brandeis community.

Before the Senate chartered A Cappella Etc., the club had to demonstrate in its constitution that it was not exclusive. Senator for the Class of 2011 Alex Melman, Senator for the Class of 2009 Eric Alterman and Executive Senator Andrew Brooks ’09 worked with Newman to draft the club’s constitution.

“We wanted them to focus more on a cappella event planning,” Alterman said. He suggested that A Cappella Etc. bring in outside

speakers to conduct workshops and host benefit concerts, for example.

According to Newman, “As it stands right now, any money received [from F-Board] for A Cappella Etc. will be for an event.” The money will not go toward individual a cappella groups.

All members of the Brandeis community can join A Cappella Etc. and request funds if they want to hold an a cappella-related event, Newman said. Everyone is also welcome, he added, to start an cappella group and join A Cappella Etc. Some leaders of campus a cappella groups are hopeful that the Senate’s decision to charter the club will allow them to host oncampus events more easily. Becky Sniderman ’10, president of the allfemale a cappella group Too Cheap For Instruments, said that TCFI could never serve food at events because it couldn’t afford the University’s mandatory $150 fee for a custodian.

“In the past, it’s been pretty upsetting … that a cappella groups, which serve as a vibrant source of social life on campus, weren’t getting funding from F-Board,” Sniderman said. S Sniderman added that all the campus a cappella groups might use the funds to compile an album and distribute it to students for free.

The opportunity to request funds from F-Board, Sniderman said, “will allow us to have the events that we want to on campus.”

CAMPUS SPEAKER

Philologist Geoff Nunberg speaks on the evolution of language ■ Geoff Nunberg spoke

about the dying art of philology and emphasized its ongoing importance.

By IRINA FINKEL JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Geoff Nunberg, Ph.D, a philologist at the School of Information at Berkeley in California, discussed the new technology surrounding how philologists work with words in order to confront the evolution of words throughout history in a speech last Friday.

Nunberg suggested that philology, the study of language as used in literature, is a dying art, taken over in the 1930s by a more psychological and individualist perspective.

As an archeological philologist, someone who studies words and their cultural significance, Nunberg focused on what one can learn about a culture by looking at its history with regard to its particular lexicon.

Nunberg asked the question, “[Are] there, in fact, things that can only by learn about a culture through its … lexicon?”

Throughout the lecture, he spoke about how shifts in the lexicon occurred throughout time, and he discussed their significance in shaping reality.

For example, the word illiterate has been around since the 1550s, but the word literary only appeared in the English lexicon in the 1880s. The emergence of the word was necessary because without a word for literacy, the society cannot appreciate the significance of the word.

Nunberg mainly spoke of furthering the field of philology through new databases that can, in theory, make researching a less monumental task.

When philologists try to prove speech patterns or hypothesize about where a word came from, they can

more easily confirm or disprove these hypotheses with the help of two databases: the Constructive Corpus and the Occurant Corpus.

He said the Constructive Corpus consists of databases created by linguists to investigate linguistic regularities, as well as to test hypotheses.

An example of this is the Brown Corpus, which has been a very important tool for linguistic research, according to Nunberg.

He further explained that these databases compile large libraries of books and literature and search them for specific words. The Occurant Corpus, he said, is not just for linguists but also for anyone doing research; JSTORE and Google, as well as other search engines, are examples of this category.

Nunberg explained that although these databases are helpful, they are far from perfect. Occurant Corpora are not designed for linguists, as the databases do not take into account the kinds of information that linguists are looking for, as they rarely trace words throughout history.

Nunberg explained Google hit counts are notorious for being inaccurate, yet the number of times a word comes up is a crucial piece of information for linguists.

He said that with both types of corpora, it is hard to know if the word is in the proper context because linguists and philologists are required to sift through every hit to make sure it is used in the context they are looking for.

Nunberg explained that this is difficult because words can have multiple definitions but linguists may be tracing a specific definition.

Also, word chronology is very important in philological studies. The Oxford English Dictionary states the earliest date of origin for a word, however, these dates are usually not accurate, according to Nunberg.

The OED does this often so that linguists actively try to find more recent “antedates” for words, Nunberg explained.

MAX BREITSTEIN MATZA/the Justice

BEYOND SEMANTICS: Geoff Nunberg, NPR contirbutor on linguistics, discusses technology’s impact on modern language.

When asked if he believed if these databases were helpful to philologists and linguists, Nunberg said that “for linguists, these databases help to test hypotheses,” but for literary and

historic linguists, these databases make it hard to obtain reliable information.

Because the databases are flawed it would be hard to gather good data,

he explained.

Carly Greenberg ’11, who attended the lecture, said, “Although a few parts were muddled ... it came together in a nice package.”

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2009

5

JBS: Faculty members pass JBS proposal ROSE:

Museum disputes persist

CONTINUED FROM 1 Friday, Jaffe explained that the JBS would be more expensive the more people participated, whether it was mandatory or optional, because of the expenses of mounting the programs and the losses that would occur because students are only paying three-quarters tuition rather than full tuition. “The cost of doing this is to some extent an opportunity cost,” he said.

The costs for the Business major will not come out of the Arts and Sciences faculty budget, Jaffe said.

However, “The costs of mounting the JBS will have to be covered within the existing [Arts and Sciences] budget, … which might involve not being able to teach other things,” Jaffe said. In terms of faculty compensation, he explained that faculty teaching the JBS might either receive extra pay if they teach JBS courses in addition to courses in the spring or fall or be paid the same and not teach other courses in the spring or fall. Prof. Tim Hickey (COSI) explained in some cases the idea would be “moving classes from the academic year to the summer.”

According to the motion for the JBS, students may enroll in a Justice Brandeis Semester any summer, fall or spring after they have completed their first spring term.

The motion states that the program “will consist of at least 12 credit hours (or the equivalent of three courses) in an approved program providing intensive, inquiry-based courses and real-world experiential opportunities.”

“We are suggesting an optional program initially, but we are seriously hoping that this will be so attractive that the majority of the students [will participate],” potentially leading to the existence of “a mandatory program in the long run,” Prof. Sacha Nelson (BIOL), cochair of the Subcommittee on the Summer Semester and Experiential Learning, said at the meeting.

Hickey explained that students could participate in the JBS through programs such as study abroad, participating in an Environmental Field Semester, completing a student teaching practicum, conducting extended scientific research or taking part in a Summer Arts Festival.

Many faculty expressed concerns during last week’s faculty meeting that the plans for the JBS were premature.

“I don’t think many of us know what we’re voting for,” Prof. Mary Baine Campbell (ENG) said during the discussion on the JBS. “Because

CONTINUED FROM 1

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

FACULTY APPROVAL: Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe leads the proposal discussion at last Thursday’s faculty meeting.

I have so many questions about individual programs, … I really would hope that the committee would talk to actual faculty in actual schools and come back with actual suggestions.”

Prof. Jonathan Sarna (NEJS) said that he supported the JBS proposal, stating that it was about “changing the name from 10 different things we already do to [the JBS];” noting an existing summer program in Hebrew.

The subcommittee’s co-chairs also explained how the JBS proposal would help increase the size of the student body while allowing the University to house students in the current dorms and avoid the issue of overcrowding on campus.

“Our goal is eventually to have most or all students doing [the JBS], we’re just not making it required at this point because we feel that until the program is better fleshed out, we can’t, in good conscience say that every student has to do it.” Jaffe told the Justice. He said that the point of the JBS “is to have an exciting program to make students want to apply to Brandeis.” He acknowledged that an optional program would increase the overcrowding issue. Jaffe explained that the initial plans for the JBS would involve students applying for the individual programs with limited capacity.

The motion for the Business major reads, “Beginning in the fall of 2010, an interdisciplinary major in Business will be offered.” The major will require 10 ½ courses, comprising 5 ½ required core courses and five electives, according to the agenda.

Jaffe explained at the meeting that CARS envisioned capping the number of Business majors at 100 to preserve the academic character of Brandeis and to make do with the University resources available, such as the number of course sections. Jaffe suggested that students would apply to become Business majors as sophomores and be accepted based on academic performance if capping became necessary. Jaffe told the Justice that the Business major would be cost-effective because it would function with larger classes. “The classes for the Business major at Brandeis would be smaller than at most business programs … but they would still be large by Brandeis standards.”

Prof. Thomas King (ENG) said after the meeting that he was pleased with the interdisciplinary focus of the Business program.

“What I would like to see happen is that a number of courses would be developed that would bring business together with the various disciplines. For example, I think [cours-

es] in arts management [and] managing a nonprofit … would be [big hits] at Brandeis.”

Before each vote, Student Union President Jason Gray ’10 presented to the faculty Union Senate Resolutions supporting the changes.

“It’s fair to say, while a small number of students have questions about the Business major, the overwhelming majority are excited about the option,” he said at the meeting.

“I’m incredibly excited about the Business proposal. I think it will allow us to appeal to a lot of students who wanted to look at Brandeis but, because we didn’t have a Business major, weren’t looking at us the way they should have been looking at us,” Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy said. She said the JBS gave her “a way to put [these activities] in some framework that I can talk about to entering students [in a way] they [can] understand.” Aside from attracting students with the Business major, she said, “There are other students who basically say, ‘Yes Brandeis is this great place, but tell me what’s different about Brandeis.’ Now I can tell them.”

—Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story was posted on the Justice Web site March 6.

UJ: Judiciary examines SDF funding for Ayers event CONTINUED FROM 1 always meant to be events with substantial Union involvement and that the Social Justice Committee now co-sponsoring the events proves that.

Alterman’s counsel was Massell Quad Senator Nipun Marwaha ’12 and Student Union Director of Communications Jamie Ansorge ’’09. The Union’s counsel was Cstle Senator Nathan Robinson ’11 and Ryan McElhaney ’10 from the Office of Community Advocacy.

Alterman argued in his opening statement to the court that there was no Student Union involvement in the planning of the Ayers and King visits in the time between Feb. 22 when the SMR was first presented to the Senate, and March 1, when the SMR was passed.

He also argued that since Hirschhorn and Melman hold positions on both the Senate and the Executive Board of Democracy for America, one of the co-sponsors of the Ayers anad King events, they have an unfair advantage in their ability to request funding that other clubs trying to bring speakers to campus do not have.

In Robinson’s opening arguments he made clear that the SMR did not grant money to a club but to a particular event sponsored by multiple clubs and departments on campus. He also argued that the Ayers and King events were always intended to be Union proj-

ects and therefore passing the SMR supporting it was in no way illegal. He also voiced his opinion that if this SMR was deemed illegal, it would limit future SMRs to projects initiated by the Union or senators only and would prevent senators from finding and supporting projects they felt could enrich the Brandeis community.

DFA campus coordinator Shanna Rifkin ’11, a witness for the petitioner, was asked by Ansorge to read the DFA club minutes from the meeting prior to the passing of the Senate Money Resolution. These minutes showed no mention of Union involvement in the Ayers event. In cross-examining by McElaney, Rifkin was asked, “Are DFA minutes reliable?” Rifkin testified, “No.” Ansorge questioned Student Union Director of Community Advocacy Andrew Hogan ’11 about a document Hirschhorn, DFA and Students for a Democratic Society submitted at a February Jump Start meeting, where clubs planning events met with Student Activities, the Student Union, Public Safety and Conference and Events.

Ansorge asked Hogan, who attended the meeting as a Union representative, whether the Union was listed on this document or if, in his opinion, the event was supposed to be a collaboration with the Union. Hogan responded, “No,” to both questions.

Student Union Treasurer Max Wallach ’09 had previously submitted a statement that was read at the March 1 Senate meeting expressing concerns about the SMR. The statement urged Hirschhorn and Melman to recuse themselves from the vote due to a conflict of interest, as well as for the entire Senate to evaluate if $900 of their declining budget should go to such a controversial project.

Executive Senator and Acting Vice President Andrew Brooks ’09 was questioned by both the petitioner and respondents on many Senate procedures, as well as the previous SMRs... “The previous SMRs may have violated the bylaws, but the past precedent is not in question. … This particular SMR is,” Brooks testified.

He was then asked by McElhaney if the Ayers-King SMR was granted for the speaker or for the clubs in question. “Technically the SMR is worded that way [to go to the speakers], but it actually goes to the clubs sponsoring the event,” Brooks responded.

The first witness for the respondents was Liza Behrendt ’11, organizer of the Ayers and King events. “We always anticipated the event being a campuswide collaboration. … The Union was not listed on the document for the Jump Start meeting because we didn’t have confirmed involvement; placing them on that would have been

presumptuous,” she testified.

Ansorge questioned her if the involvement DFA was seeking from the Union was monetary.

“Originally it was purely intellectual colloboration we were seeking; when we realized we would not be able to cover all the costs of the event, we sought out many other sponsors on campus,” she said.

A member of the UJ also asked Behrendt if DFA still would have sought the Union’s involvement had DFA aquired all the necessary funds itself.

“We were always hoping for their involvement, especially the Social Justice Committee, which [Hirschhorn] is the chair of, so yes we would have,” she replied.

Senator for the Class of 2012 Supreetha Gubbala and Meryl Shulman ’10, co-chair of the Social Justice Committee, both testified that there was talk of collaboration and co-sponsorship in the Union regarding the Ayers-King event as early as the Feb. 12.

Hirshhorn was the last witness for the case and testified that he was acting as chair of the Social Justice Committee, as well as an executive board member of DFA and a Senator for the Class of 2011 when he voted on the SMR. “When I was voting I was wearing many hats; I didn’t excuse myself because constituents asked me not to and [neither] did [Melman],” he said.

the amount of money the University puts into the Rose building has varied between about $200,000 and $300,000 annually during his tenure at Brandeis.

Joe Baerlein of Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications, Inc., the University’s temporary public relations firm, said, “I’d characterize this as … a gesture of goodwill, between both [Reinharz] and this donor, … knowing that the Rose gets support from the University for their overhead costs, and I don’t think it’s anything more than that. It’s unfortunate that the gesture both by the donor and by the president would be interpreted as anything less than that.”

Last week, Baerlein told the Justice that the anonymous donation was “a substantial, low-six-figure gift that is very generous.” He said that Reinharz suggested to the donor that the gift be put toward the Rose’s building expenses.

Reinharz said at last Thursday’s faculty meeting that the donation “was given to us because of the overhead [the Rose] was not able to meet.”

In response to a question regarding whether the University covers expenses for the Rose that it does not cover for any other building on campus, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Peter French wrote in an e-mail to the Justice, “The Rose benefits from its own revenue and is responsible for its own expenses, including the overhead costs associated with its operations. The Rose, however, has not been able to fully meet its overhead expenses, so the University has contributed financially each year to cover those costs.”

Lee said, “I am very skeptical of the genuine intent [of directing the donation toward the Rose]. It all feels like a ruse to me.” Lee added, “There is no case to be made that the Rose was draining money from the University,” and said, “I don’t know of another university that gives less support to its art museum than Brandeis.”

Rush also said, “This entire issue around the Rose has nothing to do with Rose finances. It all has to do with the Rose collection, and that has not changed from day one. The Rose was not financially in trouble.”

In response to a challenge from a faculty member at Thursday’s faculty meeting, Reinharz said that he is “not willing to say that the Rose is closing as a public museum” and repeated that “the initial press release inappropriately stated that the Rose was closing.”

In response to Reinharz’s statements, Lee said, “When he says the Rose is not closing, that’s because they’re turning the Rose into an art center, and he’s being very careful to use these words in a way that’s misleading.”

A faculty member also questioned the validity of the Faculty Committee to Review the Closing of the Rose, asking if Reinharz would admit “that the faculty has not, in fact, been involved in the decision to think about the future of the Rose,” given the impending closure of the museum despite committee recommendations.

Reinharz responded that the committee “can come back with any recommendations they want to make” and that “[the faculty] may give us a number of options.”

Baerlein said, “I think that [the] phrase [‘closing the Rose’] … respectfully should be left to the side, and let [the Faculty Committee to Review the Closing of the Rose] start to really go at the questions of what the function of the Rose is going to be going forward.”

“When you’re trying to intentionally confuse the difference between an art center and an art museum, that strikes me as playing with intellectual integrity here, and that’s not right,” Lee said.

6

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2009

just

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THE JUSTICE

features

VERBATIM | Elizabeth Taylor It is bad enough that people are dying of AIDS, but no one should die of ignorance.

ON THIS DAY...

FUN FACT

In 1903, in New York harbor, the disease-stricken ship Karmania was quarantined with six dead from cholera.

Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backward.

Putting an end to AIDS

PHOTO COURTESY OF BARBARA STRAUSS

FIGHTING FOR A CURE: Epidemiologist Brian Williams spoke at Brandeis on Feb. 11 in an address called “Fighting AIDS; Human Policy vs. Public Health.” While on campus he also held several other lectures.

Epidemiologist Brian Williams speaks about how to fight the AIDS/HIV epidemic

By GRETA MORAN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Pointing to a map of England’s Soho neighborhood in 1884, Brian Williams noted that the cases of cholera in the era’s epidemic were clustered around the same water pump. John Snow originally made this observation and concluded that cholera, a bacterial infection of the small intestine, must have spread through the water. Despite this strong evidence, people were reluctant to accept his explanation and clung to their belief that cholera was transmitted through the air.

Many preventable deaths later, Snow removed the handle from the pump in Soho and the cholera epidemic quickly petered out.

Williams, an epidemiologist at the World Health Organization, likened people’s reactions to the 1884 cholera epidemic to reactions to today’s HIV epidemic.

In a Feb. 11 address called “Fighting AIDS; Human Policy vs. Public Health,” Williams spoke with unusual optimism about grave health issues, including the reasons behind the widespread reluctance among national governments and international organizations to implement public measures against the spread of HIV/AIDS and what can be done to change that attitude. Williams, a distinguished visiting practitioner, held several lectures and other events between Feb. 9 and 13 at Brandeis.

A reluctance to accept and implement logical remedies to disease is typical of most governments’ reactions to epidemics, Williams said.

“All diseases can be managed. The problem is really one of political will. If all you have to do is the science, then the problem would be easy [to solve],” Williams said in an interview before the presentation.

Williams explained that much of governments’ and international organizations’ unwillingness to implement measures against the spread of HIV/AIDS comes from fears of in-

fringing upon individual rights.

“Everybody is terrified of imposing anything on anybody else,” he said in his address.

As a result, HIV/AIDS is treated as a personal issue rather than a societal burden.

Williams argued in the address that the HIV/AIDS epidemic needs to be redefined as a “public health and infection disease emergency,” even if it means that people must relinquish a few of their individual rights as a result.

“We need to balance the demands of public health with the imperatives of human rights.

Only in this way will we begin to manage the epidemic of AIDS effectively,” he said in the address.

Through large-scale testing of individuals in HIV/AIDS-infested areas once a year on average, Williams believes that ultimately, HIV will no longer be a global health threat.

“If we test people once a year on average we will cut transmission by 10 times and eliminate HIV,” Williams said in his address. Since every HIV-positive person infects on average “only” seven other people, Williams explained that “if we can cut transmission by a factor of more than eight, we will eliminate the infection.”

In addition to annual HIV testing in areas where HIV is most common, Williams proposed monitoring resistance to the treatment drugs and using second-line drugs when patients develop resistance to the medications.

He also suggested focusing on preventing residual transmission, when HIV is transmitted through blood contact such as sharing needles or blood transfusions. These measures will only be successful with compliance of people living in AIDS-infested areas and may sometimes conflict with the need to protect individual rights.

During the question-and-answer period following Williams’ talk, Prof. Maria Green (HELLER) offered an alternate take on the relationship between halting the spread of HIV

and respecting individual rights. She said that HIV/AIDS treatment is actually part of exercising a right to public health.

“International human rights law actually includes a right to public health, which means that governments have a human rights obligation to take public health measures, including sometimes measures that limit personal freedoms,” Green wrote in an e-mail to the Justice.

Still, she acknowledged the inherent difficulties of balancing public health and human rights.

“This is not at all to argue with Professor Williams’ core point, which is that we need to find ways to navigate the tensions between effective public health protections on the one hand and the claims of individual autonomy on the other,” she wrote.

Williams dismissed in his address several

“

All diseases can be managed. The problem is really one of political will.

BRIAN WILLIAMS

typical explanations for the lack of large-scale global measures against HIV/AIDS. He said that the absence of sufficient treatment is not a matter of money; until 2007, the United States contributed $35 billion to AIDS treatment, and is expected to increase this amount to $45 billion in the next five years. He also rejected a lack of political will as the sole cause for the unsubstantial response. Williams cited numerous international organizations, national organizations, philanthropists, acitvists and scientists that address the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Williams also discussed the need for largescale treatment measures to centralize political efforts to fight AIDS. “A major problem in the world of public health is that there are so many players. No one works together,” he said in his address.

Williams believes one of the reasons behind the failure to turn HIV/AIDS into a public policy issue is the stigma attached to the disease.

He explained that HIV/AIDS is often associated with gay men, Haitians, drug addicts, hemophiliacs, Africans, sex workers and migrant workers.

Williams quoted in his address “Shadow on the Continent,” an article by by Kevin De Cock, the director of the World Health Organization’s Department of HIV/AIDS. “Paradoxically, treating HIV/AIDS as being different from other infectious diseases probably enhances stigma rather that reduces it,” De Cock said. “The emphasis … on anonymity [might] have been counterproductive. Anonymity is impossible to maintain as immune deficiency progresses.”

In addition to the failure to treat HIV/AIDS as a public emergency, Williams explained that many organizations attempting to combat HIV/AIDS don’t fully understand the factors that determine the spread of the epidemic. The weapons most typically employed to fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS are condoms, the treatment of curable sexually transmitted infections, behavior changes, vaccines and vaginal microbicides. Yet Williams explained that all of these measures have proven ineffective.

Instead, he argues, people should focus on drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission, male circumcision and anti-retroviral therapy, which have all proven to be extremely successful in the treatment of AIDS. This change in method came as a shock to Hannah Janoowall ’10, who educated drug users and sex workers on HIV prevention initiatives this summer in Mumbai, India. She said William’s presentation “made me rethink my whole perspective [on HIV prevention.]”

“It’s one of the best talks I’ve been to,” she added. “I was expecting something very conventional, but everything he said was new. It was so informative and relevant to something I want to do for the rest of my life.”

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2009

7

Progressive priesthood

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

A SPIRITUAL LEADER: Catholic chaplain and coordinator of the Interfaith Chaplaincy at Brandeis the Rev. Dr. Walter Cuenin, sits in his office. Cuenin spoke March 3 at the latest installment of “Tuesdays with...”

The Rev. Walter Cuenin talks about modernizing religion

By HARRY SHIPPS JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

The audience was silent as Marci McPhee, the associate director of the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life, walked up to the podium in the Shapiro Art Gallery to describe the Rev. Dr. Walter Cuenin at the most recent installment of the “Tuesdays with...” series March 3.

“This is not your ordinary Catholic priest,” she said.

Cuenin is the Catholic chaplain and coordinator of the Interfaith Chaplaincy at Brandeis University and was the speaker at Tuesday’s event.

The “Tuesdays with...” series is a joint venture between the Ethics Center and the Brandeis Religious Pluralism and Spirituality Group. In the spirit of Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie, the series brings together distinguished Brandeis professors and other notable individuals in the community to discuss lessons they have learned throughout life.

As he talked, his countenance took on a look that was distinctly jovial, tinged with the appearance of reflection. His voice had the tone of someone who has thought a great deal about his place in the world, his relationship with people and ideas around him and the questions he has found to be integral in his experiences. Still, while he projected a quiet recollection, Cuenin also displayed a great enthusiasm and sense of expectation for what is happening and what is to come.

As he spoke of his transformation from a traditional to a “progressive” Catholic, his acceptance

of religions beside his own and his work to make the Catholic Church’s practices more modern and inclusive, Cuenin certainly bore out McPhee’s words.

Cuenin was born in Virginia. His father was an officer in the Marine Corps, and according to Cuenin, the Cuenin family lived in “every place.”

Cuenin credits his high school years in Paris with “beginning to transform me a little bit, to be open to see that, while I loved my own country, ... the world is exciting. There’s a lot to see and do.”

After high school, Cuenin initially decided to go to Georgetown University. However, during the summer he changed his mind, because he saw himself as having been called to the priesthood and decided to go to St. John’s Seminary in Boston. Cuenin attended the seminary in the 1960s, and during this time he felt the influence of the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War. “As things began to happen, civil rights and the war, I began to be involved in some of those protests, and I also began to realize that these great authorities, like my country, weren’t necessarily always so good, they didn’t have the truth, or in fact, sometimes they lied to us. So, it began my questioning even about the church,” said Cuenin.

After his four years in the seminary, Cuenin traveled to Rome to attend Gregorian University, a time he called “the most transformative of my life because … it was people from all over the world, it wasn’t just Boston boys studying to be priests, but people from Africa and South America, it was a mind-boggling experience,” he said.

Four years later, Cuenin returned to Massachusetts and worked in the Catholic parish in North Andover before returning to Rome and obtaining his doctorate in sacred theology. Later, he returned again to the United States and worked throughout the Boston Archdiocese in several parishes, also teaching at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology and Boston College, before coming to Brandeis University.

At one point, Cuenin asked the audience last Tuesday,“How do you stay faithful to the Catholic Church and its tradition and its rich spiritual heritage but at the same time make it relevant to people in the 20th or 21st century?” Inclusion and modernization were cornerstones of Cuenin’s message to the students gathered in the Shapiro Campus Center as he raised questions about the Church’s traditional dealings with marriage.

Cuenin spoke about his work in the Marriage Tribunal, an official court of the Catholic Church that annuls marriages.

“It began a sensitivity to me … about where life doesn’t work out so smoothly. Half the Catholic marriages today, in the United States, end in divorce, and how do we find a way to welcome these people into the life of the Catholic Church? … So I began to work with couples, … helping them find a way to come back even though the Church couldn’t officially recognize their marriage,” Cuenin said.

He also brought up the issue of homosexuality and religion. According to Cuenin’s biography, which Marci McPhee read aloud at the talk, Cuenin “has been an outspoken leader calling for

the full inclusion of women in the life of the Catholic Church and for the welcoming of the GLBT community.”

“We had always dealt with gay people in the Catholic Church, but you’re in a church that does not permit any sexual activity except in the context of a marriage of a male and a female. How do you work with Catholics who are very committed to their faith but who are gay, who find themselves to be gay?” asked Cuenin.

This message of bringing the Church into the current century and including all people of Catholic faith certainly resonated with the students present.

Interfaith Youth Corps Fellow Remz Pokorny ’09 said that he was active in many interfaith aspects of the Brandeis University campus, including the Baha’i Association which brings together students from diverse backgrounds. He said: “I know Father Cuenin pretty well, I’ve worked with him a lot, and I’m always very impressed by his views and enlightened by his perspectives.” Pokorny continued, “I mean, I think that faith is very important to me, though it needs to adapt to modern conditions; it can’t stay stagnant and fundamentalist. It needs to take into account all people and views.”

In the spirit of Tuesdays With Morrie, Cuenin left the students with one key message.

“For all of us, in life, to be able to change the way you think and the way you are is a great thing, and not only just to do it once in a lifetime, but to be able to keep doing it as you go throughout your life.”

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TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

the Justice Established 1949

Brandeis University

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

Too many flaws in JBS With the coming increase in student population, Brandeis University will have to implement some measure or measures to stagger student presence on an already packed campus. Last Thursday, the faculty approved a proposal for a Justice Brandeis Semester, an experiential learning semester during which students would pay reduced tuition and obtain reduced credit. The JBS is optional as approved but may become mandatory in coming years.

Despite the need to remove some students from campus to accommodate a larger student body, the faculty should not have approved the JBS. As it stands, the plans for the JBS are too rife with ambiguities to be approved.

On-campus JBS programs proposed at last Thursday’s faculty meeting include a Brandeis Summer Arts Festival and a Brandeis Immersive Summer Language Institute.

Professors would also submit proposals for departmental or interdepartmental JBS programs. Unfortunately, given the large financial and time investment that will be necessary for these projects, there are too many unresolved questions. Will professors, many of whom participate in research projects, study abroad or arts festivals over the summer, be able and willing to put in the work necessary to make these programs successful? Have all funding issues been resolved? How many programs will we need for all students wanting an on-campus JBS? While it was mentioned at the meeting that some aspects of this program will have to be “taken on good faith,” there are too many unresolved details for us to take on contingency.

Aside from the above unresolved problems, there is the issue of off-campus internship availability and quality control. With companies and organizations cutting down on even unpaid positions, students’ ability to find satisfactory research or volunteer positions off campus will be hampered in the coming years. Additionally, these positions will have to be vetted for rigorousness and applicability to the cri-

Plans vague and incomplete teria presented at last Thursday’s faculty meeting. Finally, while the tuition for an off-campus JBS will be reduced, the fact remains that students will still have to support themselves during their JBS. This places unnecessary pressure on students to arrange their living situations in an unstable economic environment.

The success of the JBS program relies too much on assumptions made about student preference.

For instance, while we appreciate that the proposal gives students the choice between pursuing an on-campus JBS over the summer or an away program during the year, we are concerned that students will favor the former option.

This would tax the program’s summer resources and place extra strain on students to obtain room and board in Waltham over the summer. Other lingering questions that drive our opposition to this measure include complications for those whose off-campus programs fall through at the last minute or do not, in the end, meet necessary criteria; whether potential applicants will be put off by the JBS; and issues for those who already pursued JBSlike projects during a gap year or summer prior to Brandeis and would not want to participate, especially if the program is made mandatory.

While the idea of instituting a summer semester in order to stagger the presence of a larger student body on campus still makes some of the above assumptions, it would have been a preferable option. The summer semester plan had key flaws, but it presented a situation more firmly under Brandeis’ control; quality control of classes would be much less of an issue, and there is sufficient programming in place for an easier transition to the summer semester schedule.

We know that Brandeis’ bleak financial outlook may force us to pick from a slew of distasteful options. But the JBS, riddled with uncertainties, was not the best of these options.

Union violates constituion The Union Senate recently voted to spend $900 of Union money to bring controversial guest speakers Bill Ayers and Robert H. King to campus.

Although the nature of the speakers doesn’t bother us, we maintain that the Senate should not have spent Union money on these speakers. We also feel that two senators involved in bringing the speakers to campus should not have voted on the Union resolution to fund this cause.

Senator for the Class of 2009 Eric Alterman brought suit against the Union for this last Saturday. The Union’s constitution states: “All Senate Money Resolutions must be used for Student Union Government projects and/or operation.”

As Mr. Alterman points out, this practice raises the risk of the Union becoming its own independent Finance Board, giving money for causes and events that should just have been brought before the actual FBoard. We expect Union money to be allocated to its designated govern-

Faults in funding Ayers visit ment-related affairs.

It’s true that the Union has given money to non-Union operations before.

For instance, the Union recently gave $1,500 to the hopeFound event, which raised money to fight homelessness.

But however noble these causes are, the Union shouldn’t violate its constitution to serve them. As Mr. Alterman said in the trial, once a precedent is set for discreet rule-bending, it becomes easier and easier for future rules to be stretched if the right situation arises.

We also take issue with the fact that Senators for the Class of 2011 Lev Hirschhorn and Alex Melman voted on the resolution even though they are members of Democracy for America, one of the organizations sponsored by the Senate’s $900. This is a conflict of interest, and the senators should have recused themselves.

In the interest of good principles and open practice, the Union should avoid creating future similar situations.

ELI TUKACHINSKY/the Justice

No matter the source, Brandeis needs the cash

By DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK JUSTICE EDITOR

It might be time for Brandeis University to look into corporate sponsorship, however despicable it may sound.

Brandeis prides itself on delivering Ivy League-quality education and preparing its students for the top graduate schools. Since the University is on the brink of becoming flat broke, the administration has had to re-evaluate its mission and make its operations more cost-effective.

Editorials of this newspaper have recently questioned the Brandeis administration’s response to the school’s economic crisis. The addition of the Justice Brandeis Semester and the Business major takes us farther away from the school’s original mission: a commitment to social justice through a liberal arts education. Instead, the University has changed the nature of our education. It is time to face up to the reality and economics and consider alternative, less savory sources of income.

I begin with two precepts: One, all money is dirty, and two, all money has strings attached. Based on these precepts, I know that the thought of corporate sponsorship immediately causes many Brandeis students to grab the nearest poster board and march to the administrative complex. I would be among the first to join them, but I have come to accept that desperate times call for desperate measures. Closing the Rose Art Museum—or not closing it, depending on how you interpret President Jehuda Reinharz’s rhetoric—is abhorrent, but I imagine it is just the first in a long list of cuts that will require more serious action. Passengers on a sinking ship sometimes have to throw everything they hold dear overboard to stay afloat.

So what’s the difference to me if I have my politics class in Golding 103 or Coca-Cola 103? Does it really matter to me where the money comes from? It has not mattered to me in the past whether Carl Shapiro or the Goldings paid for my classroom.

What is important to me is that I am getting a quality education, but even this seems to be in serious jeopardy.

Students might be worried that the University would have to please the corporate donors by taking some unsavory action.

Does anyone remember why Jehuda closed the Palestinian art exhibit that had some very negative images of the State of Israel? Could it possibly have had something to do with the pro-Israeli donors were displeased with the content of the exhibit? All money comes with strings attached. Why are we are willing to accept money with pro-Israeli strings, but not pro-soft drink strings?

Other students might complain that some corporations get money though seedy business practices or that they made their money destroying rainforests, draining natural resources and burning enough petroleum each day to fill the Grand Canyon.

I am not suggesting impropriety on the part of Carl Shapiro, but some of the money that he gave to Brandeis may have passed through the Madoff fund. If we demand all money to be squeaky clean and morally obtained, can we keep that money? How far back do we have to follow the money to make sure it’s as clean as we like, or is it ok if we just put it through the wash? Should we run background checks on all our donors? Should we turn down donations from a CEO of a tobacco company or gun manufacturer simply because we don’t feel comfortable with how they made their money? If we did, our endowment would never grow past $600 million. We have to face facts that an honest buck is hard to come by, but dirty dollars are a dime a dozen.

To those who would argue that this is a slippery slope, I suggest that we already have corporate sponsors. A walk into the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center reveals a large scoreboard with “Coca-Cola” plastered across the top; why can’t we have that in other buildings?

But what if the only companies that want to advertise with us are companies whose principles we disagree with? Does this mean that we must agree with everything Carl Shapiro does before we walk into the green monstrosity that we call our campus center and get our flavorless Einstein Bros Bagels coffee?

What this comes down to is that beggars cannot be choosers. When the economy turns around, we can have the luxury of principles, but since we have already sold our soul, we should at least get a good price for it.

OP-BOX Quote of the Week “For all of us, in life, to be able to change the way you think and the way you are is a great thing, and not only just to do it once in a lifetime but to be able to keep doing it as you go throughout your life.”

—Father Walter Cuenin, Catholic chaplain and coordinator of Brandeis’ Interfaith Chaplaincy, at the most recent installment of the “Tuesdays with...” series last week. (See Features, page 7)

Brandeis Talks Back What do you think about Bill Ayers coming to campus?

MICHELLE KAWAS ’12 “I think the student body will really benefit from him coming.”

NADIR DAUDI ’10 “I don’t know who Bill Ayers is.”

HANNAH KATCOFF ’12 “I don’t know who that is.”

JENNA RUBIN ’11 “I think it’s important to appeal to diverse groups on campus.”

THE JUSTICE

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Continue working to pass UPMIFA To the Editor: In response to “Univ joins effort to adopt UPMIFA law” (News, Feb. 24 issue): I enjoyed reading the article in the Justice about the Uniform Management of Institutional Funds Act and commend both the Justice and Brandeis students for their interest in this act.

UPMIFA was enacted last week in Arkansas, meaning 27 states and the District of Columbia have enacted it since its inception in 2007. Massachusetts and 14 other states are currently considering enactment. Interest in the act has certainly grown dramatically over the last year as a troubling economy has created havoc regarding the spending plans and abilities of most nonprofit institutions.

In a cruel twist of irony, the older UMIFA law, still in effect in Massachusetts, allows spending from growth in endowment value to continue without much difficulty for the oldest and wealthiest nonprofits while severly handicapping needed spending at the newer and smaller institutions whose endowment funds have not yet achieved a sufficient margin of growth.

The passage of UPMIFA legislation would remove this artificial legal barrier that restricts needed spending and would replace it with the more nuanced and balanced tests of prudent spending articulated in UPMIFA. Spending plans would still need to be legally required to be prudent under UPMIFA, and the first of UPMIFA’s seven articulated standards of prudence is the long term viability of the endowment fund—making sure that it will still be available to help meet the needs of the institution in 10 or 100 years.

Accordingly both the possible immediate and short-term benefits of UPMIFA may be exaggerated in the comments quoted in the Justice article, but also overstated is the longer-term threat to the integrity and future availability of the fund for future Brandeis students.

The truth is somewhere in the middle—UPMIFA will allow for more immediate but prudent spending as indicated by the continuation of a prudent spending policy, and to that degree it will help in the next few years.

But prudence also requires that the trustees pay attention to future restoration of the funds and preserve their ability to respond to future needs.

In short, UPMIFA allows what an informed donor would presumably want: a continuation of needed spending at a prudent level and, when economic patterns allow, a continued prudent spending pattern that will continue to meet urgent needs but would restore principal to the fund to meet future economic cycles. The UPMIFA legislation contains helpful tools to allow Brandeis and many other institutions better weather this down cycle and I urge students and the administration to continue their effforts towards enactment of this important legislation.

—Barry C. Hawkins The writer is the Chairman of the UPMIFA Drafting Committee and Uniform Laws Commissioner of the State of Connecticut.

Show Ayers your opinion counts, too To the Editor: In response to “Bill Ayers to visit campus” (News, March 3 issue): “Truth even into its innermost parts” always manages to expose raw nerves. I do not like Bill Ayers; I condemn his alleged violent revolutionary acts against the United States and am bothered that he is getting a paid platform at the school I graduated from. However, the fact that he is to make his appearance also gives the Brandeis community an opportunity to confront him.

So now that the die is cast for his arrival on campus, I urge all available Brandeisians to come out and debate him.

The University and its members should celebrate this nation’s greatest power and significance, which my grandfather, a diminutive tailor from Lipovets, Ukraine, praised many times thus: “This is the greatest nation in the world because you can say what you think,” he said. “In Russia, you would be taken away and shot.”

Go tell Ayers what you think!

—Paul Trusten ’73

Assess speaker quality more fairly To the Editor: In response to “Bill Ayers to visit campus” (News, March 3 issue): I was shot down 4-3 from within Students United for Israel

Write to us

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TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2009

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CONFLICT IN THE SENATE when I proposed bringing Robert Spencer of JihadWatch.org to campus. I’m not sure how my senators for the Class of 2011 managed to get a majority of the Senate to sponsor just as extreme of a figure to come for their club.

—Gideon Klionsky ’11 The writer was the secretary of Students United for Israel at the time of the poll.

Ayers visit slights centrist students To the Editor: In response to “Bill Ayers to visit campus” (News, March 3 issue): I believe in peace, justice and democracy, but throughout and since my time at Brandeis, the sponsors of Bill Ayers’ visit have never appealed to me. If they truly seek to further their aims—a just society, peace and coexistence—then these groups need to find a way to temper their rhetoric and their activities. People like Bill Ayers and Robert King have a polarizing effect and will drive away the vast centrist majority within Brandeis among donors and alumni and in the general American populace.

Preaching to the choir won’t suffice; you need to reach beyond the far left if you want your voices heard. Otherwise, you’ll just be the liberal equivalent of Rush Limbaugh.

—Jonathan Abbett ’02

Business major will do no harm here To the Editor: In response to your editorial “Business challenges liberal arts” (March 3 issue): While I disagree with the notion that business is wholly incompatable with a liberal arts education in the first place, I believe the argument that a Business major will in any way harm Brandeis as an institution is simply ridiculous.

Does anyone really think that a prospective student is not going to apply to and/or matriculate at the University because it offers a Business major? Especially considering that we already offer a Business minor? Please.

A liberal arts college doesn’t get the “liberal arts” title because of the majors it offers but rather the overall program that students follow at the school.

To be precise, a liberal arts education consists of a “curriculum aimed at imparting general knowledge and developing general intellectual capacities,” according to Britannica Online Encyclopedia.

Considering that the Business major will only entail something in the realm of 10 courses (less than one-third of the courses a student will take during his or her time here), that leaves plenty of time for studying writing, language, art and all the other liberal arts courses that Brandeis REQUIRES that we take (as it ought to if it calls itself a liberal arts school).

And if the worry is that a Business major is too “pre-professional” for a liberal arts school, then why in the world do we broadcast our stellar acceptance rates to medical and law schools in every admissions pamphlet we’ve got?

The truth is that students don’t go to college solely to become more well-rounded scholars; students wish to gain the skills they need to succeed in the world—and that includes the skills required to survive being part of the workforce.

Brandeis already pulls off a careful balancing act between being a liberal arts college and a research university. I see no reason why a Business major will tilt the scales.

—Daniel Liebman ’12

Alumni take pride in ’Deis basketball To the Editor: In response to “Judges extend winning streak to five” (Sports, March 3): Members of the Class of ’61 had the pleasure of watching the Brandeis-New York University double header last Saturday.

The women looked very good and well coached, even though they blew a big lead and eventually lost. The men’s team played amazingly tough, tenacious team basketball with outstanding three-point shooting and aggressive defense. Both teams made those of us from ’61 extremely proud and confident that they are more than able to hold their own in the Division III championships.

Congratulations to both coaches and all team members!

—Martin Zelnik ’61

The Justice welcomes letters to the editor responding to published material. Please email letters to justletters@brandeis.edu, or through our Web site at www.thejustice online.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. Letters from off-campus sources should include location. The Justice does not print letters to the editor and oped submissions that have been submitted to other publications. Oped submissions of general interest to the University community—that do not respond explicitly to articles printed in the Justice—are also welcome and should be limited to 800 words.

All submissions are due Friday at 5 p.m.

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

PLAYING FAIR: Senator for the Class of 2012 Nipun Marwaha, right, stands before Senator for the Class of 2011 Alex Melman, left, Saturday in a discussion over use of Senate funds toward the Bill Ayers event.

Two funds, two purposes Hillel

BUECHLER AND SO ON

Doing something wrong over and over again doesn’t make it any more right.

And the fact that our senators repeatedly disregarded a certain clause in the Student Union bylaws didn’t make it any more constitutional. I hope the Union Judiciary realizes this when it makes its decision regarding Senator for the Class of 2009 Eric Alterman’s complaint against Senators for the Class of 2011 Lev Hirschhorn and Alex Melman.

But now it’s up to our senators to maintain that principle as they consider what to do next.

The main issue with the UJ case lay with the interpretation of a clause in Article IX, Section 1 of the Union bylaws: “All Senate Money Resolutions must be used for Student Union Government projects and/or operations.”

Government projects. Government operations. Not club projects, and not club operations.

Two chartered clubs, Democracy for America and Students for a Democratic Society, requested funds through the Finance Board for Bill Ayers and Robert King to come speak. If requesting money through F-Board doesn’t imply that something is a club event, then I don’t know what possibly could. Requesting additional money from the Senate discretionary fund through a Senate money resolution for this event wasn’t merely double dipping: It was unconstitutional.

But the overall problem was in no way limited to the latest student money resolution from the Senate. Don’t blame only Hirschhorn and Melman or even the eight other senators who voted for the resolution.

Most of the Senate has been guilty of such activity at some point.

The text of the court petition filed by Alterman for this current case even acknowledged that “The Senate has already passed money resolutions this year to support nongovernment projects.”

Alterman himself has even voted for a sketchy student money resolution. In the Oct. 12, 2008 Senate meeting, the 11 senators present that day, including Alterman, unanimously voted to support another nonstudent cause, the Prospect Hill Terrace community center.

But a common practice is not necessarily a correct practice, and in this case it is not cor-

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

The Justice is the independent student newspaper of Brandeis University. Operated, written, produced and published entirely by students, the Justice includes news, features, arts, opinion and sports articles of interest to approximately 3,000 undergraduates, 800 graduate students, 500 faculty and 1,000 administrative staff.

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Advertising deadlines: All insertion orders and advertising copy must be received by the Justice no later than 5 p.m. on the Thursday preceding the date of publication. All advertising copy is subject to approval of the editor in chief and the managing and advertising editors. A publication schedule and rate card is available upon request.

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Fine Print

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rect at all. Legislative precedent does not constitute legal precedent.

Many clubs are short on money this semester, and it’s absurd to give them the opportunity to expand their funding through Senate money resolutions.

If all clubs began requesting such resolutions on their respective behalves, the Senate would quickly become a second FBoard, as Alterman points out. That’s unacceptable.

The F-Board exists for a reason. Its objectivity is crucial to the success of our club financing system.

F-Board members cannot receive endorsements when running for office. They must recuse themselves from any votes on funding toward clubs in which they are involved, and their votes are secret to eliminate the individual accountability that could potentially taint the funding system.

On the other hand, the Senate is a fundamentally subjective body, as was pointed out on more than one occasion at Melman and Hirschhorn’s trial last weekend. Senators can and often do receive club endorsements.

They have specific constituencies. And the votes of our senators are available for all to see unless the Senate goes into executive session. Our student body is too mutually dependent to have anything even close to an ethical funding system if we allow our senators to distribute funds to club projects with such ease—or even at all.

If a club can’t afford an event on F-Board money alone, then it should seek the necessary funds through legal means or just not have the event at all.

The Senate must mind the line between what can receive a Senate money resolution and what cannot, as stated by the bylaws. In his closing statement at the trial, Melman asked whether something couldn’t be a Union project and a club project.But the answer is clear: There is already a fine line between Union projects and club projects.

And now the Union Judiciary has made it even clearer.

The UJ needs to supply a precise definition of what constitutes a Union government project and what does not. The current Ayers/King event is not a Union government project—it’s a club project. The Judiciary must affirm that in its decision and subsequently correct this trend of unconstitutional senatorial action.

The decision that the UJ will soon make only deals with one line of the bylaws. Were any potential amendment to this line be passed, the Senate must ensure that it reflects that distinction between club and Union government expenditures We need to value ethics—not expediency—in our funding processes.

Mermelstein, Doug Nevins, Eileen Smolyar, Naomi Spector Arts: Daniel Baron, Wei-Huan Chen, Sean Fabery, Laura Gamble, Caroline Hughes, Rachel Klein, Emily Leifer, Wei Sum Li, Daniel News: Nashrah Rahman Orkin, Alex Pagan, Shelley Shore, Ben Strassfeld, Brad Stern Photography: Rachel Corke, Rebecca Ney, Adina Paretzky, Michelle Strulovic STAFF Sports: Andrew Ng, Sean Petterson, Adam Rosen Senior Writers: Miranda Neubauer, Jeffrey Copy: Ariel Adams, Emily Kraus, Marissa Linzi, Danielle Myers Pickette, Melissa Siegel Illustrations: Lisa Frank, Gail Goldspiel, Eli Tukashinsky Senior Photographers: Sara Brandenburg, Layout: Kathryn Marable, Lee Marmor David Brown, Hsiao Chi Pang News/Features Staff: Alana Abramson, Destiny Aquino, Sam Datlof, Reina Guerrero, Michelle Liberman, Ruth Orbach, Greta Moran, Michael Newborn, Harry Shipps Forum: Richard Alterbaum, Hillel Buechler, Matt Lawrence, David Litvak, Ethan

EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS ARTS: Sarah Bayer

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THE JUSTICE

FORUM

Making the most of your iDeath sentence

By ETHAN MERMELSTEIN JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

When I received an iPhone as a high school graduation gift, I thought I knew what I was getting into. I thought I had just been handed a new, sexy piece of technology, a new best friend that would serve primarily as a bodyguard eternally shielding me from boredom. I never thought that this best friend would soon force me to contemplate my own mortality and consider the worth of my time spent not only on Earth but also in a liberal arts college that presents a wide range of options for my education.

This past Saturday, as I was riding the shuttle into Boston with some friends I found myself doing something that has become a frequent habit since I’ve acquired my new best friend: ignoring the friends I’m with and browsing the “free” section of the App Store. Generally, this compels me to download an addictive, time-wasting game that will give me a new excuse to ignore the people who care about me and entertain myself for weeks. This time, however, something different caught my eye—“iDie.” From its application description, I was lured into downloading what seemed to be a morbidly dark, tongue-in-cheek, superficial “life expectancy calendar.” All I had to do was type (or rather, touch) in my gender and birthday, and I’d be informed how long I had until my “deathday” according to “life expectancy estimates … generated from the United States Social Security Administration’s actuarial Life Table from 2004” according to Apple’s description of the App. I’m not a numbers person, and that’s most likely why it wasn’t until I actually saw the graph—a quarter filled—politely informing me, “Your life is 25.492716853% complete,” that my world was flipped upside-down.

It’s not every day that I contemplate my own mortality. The Brandeis shuttle to Boston isn’t necessarily the most cinematic place to assess the worth of one’s time spent on earth thus far, but I had no choice.

The decimal places in that long percentage I saw on the screen were increasing! The graph was filling up.

I was dying by the second and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Of course I never actually thought I would live forever, but actually watching with my own eyes as my life slowly moved to become more and more “complete,” I couldn’t help but think of what I could do to make it truly complete.

What should I be doing more?

LISA FRANK/the Justice

What should I be doing less? Should I spend my time filling my life with beautiful girls and meaningless physical contact or should I devote my efforts to finding a worthy lifemate? Should I exercise more and try to slow this clock, or should I waste less of my time exercising and savor my remaining moments with the people I love, doing things that I love to do? Who should I room with next year? Should I use my Brandeis education to take more practical, career-

oriented courses, which would ensure great wealth shortly after graduation? Or should I abandon the idea of school altogether, and venture out and see and experience new and exciting things in the world?

When I got off of the shuttle at Beacon and Massachusetts Avenue, I approached the clichéd “walk across the busy street with new perspective on life” that I’ve seen in movies too many times, but I couldn’t decide how to do so. Should I run across

even though cars have the right of way to get to my destination early and experience the most of my time left? Or should I wait cautiously, ensuring that I won’t be hit by a car, allowing for further opportunities for living the fullest possible experience? Once my friends and I were seated at the restaurant we’d chosen for dinner, I was noticeably flipping out, uncontrollably asking waiters and strangers if sitting and waiting for our food is really the optimal

usage of our remaining days. I excused myself to the bathroom, pulled my so-called BFF from my pocket and searched the App Store.

Maybe there would be an application to set me straight, to tell me how to react to this death sentence I’ve just downloaded. Why wasn’t there any application called “iLive?” I ended up downloading “iTV” (an app with which I could miraculously watch TV on my phone anytime and anywhere—within the 3G network, of course!), washing off my face, and returning to the table.

I’ve cooled down considerably since last Saturday night, but it would be entirely false if I were to tell you that my introspective tantrum has brought me any closer to understanding life and my personal time management. If there is any lesson to be learned from iDie, it is that my graph is constantly inching closer to becoming filled and there is nothing that I or anyone else can do about it.

It took a highly controversial Feb. 24 New York Times article titled, “In Tough Times, the Humanities Must Justify Their Worth” to help me come to terms with my current existence in college in the scheme of the 74.5 percent of my life that I have left.

Many consider the four years spent in college as separate from the real world—a transitory phase of life filled with hard work (for some), innumerable intoxicated evenings (for most) and casual sex (for what seems to be everybody except for me). Today, with a solid degree in a field like engineering, even if you think of college as empty time, one can be almost guaranteed a lucrative job shortly after graduation. What guarantees do we have coming out of Brandeis as English, Politics or Near Eastern and Judaic Studies majors?

As the money my parents have set aside for my education follows recent market trends, I’ve been receiving increasingly anxious phone calls from my father expressing this concern. What will I have to show for four years’ worth of tuition money invested in this period of time? By then, my life will be more than 30 percent complete!

It is impossible to claim that anybody knows the answer to this question, but even after less than one semester taking part in this liberal arts experiment, I feel the effects. I’m becoming instilled with the invaluable tools and skills necessary to impact the world as significantly as possible before I leave it.

And, having experienced 25.4929578183 percent of it so far, that is the best meaning of life I could come up with.

Students, speak out and pay attention: You can make the news Eileen

SMOLYAR YEAS AND NAYS

Big things are happening in Brandeis’ backyard. With the Rose Art Museum’s controversial closure and the Madoff scandal that crippled some of our donors, Brandeis has been hit hard by financial misfortune. As students pile on loans, it is natural for us to mumble under our breath as the burden becomes heavier. But it is necessary for all students at Brandeis, including prospective students and graduating seniors, to take the effects of this economic travesty into account. As Brandeis students, we should recognize the importance of these broader issues and how they affect us.

As we have already seen, budget cuts can lead to professor layoffs, the reduction and combination of majors and a rise in tuition or fees. The Faculty Senate recently approved major changes to Brandeis’ curriculum, including the Justice Brandeis Semester of experiential learning and the Business major. These are changes that directly affect us and give us great opportunities to speak

out about how we feel. We deserve to have a voice in these big decisions.

When the Rose Art Museum closed suddenly, many students quickly responded by petitioning, staging sitins and appearing at question-andanswer sessions with University President Jehuda Reinharz and other members of the administration. These actions reflected a genuine interest in the state of affairs on campus. Students should commend themselves on initiating these endeavors. Since the responses reached the national press, I’d like to think our collective efforts worked to get the attention this major event deserved.

Recently, about 70 students at New York University took action on several issues dear to them, disregarding the potential repercussions.

These students barricaded themselves in the school’s dining hall with 13 demands, including budget transparency at the University and financial support of the education of residents from Gaza. Although their conduct was inappropriately violent and resulted in scuffles, broken doors and an injured security officer, the students’ efforts to gain attention and bring change into the world were gallant. These students congregated on an issue and felt passionately enough to voice their concerns, and

GAIL GOLDSPIEL/the Justice

although several media sources mentioned the event only briefly, as Winston Churchill once said, “It is better to be making the news than taking it; to be an actor rather than a critic.”

On prime news chanels, the information that doesn’t pertain to the major headlines floats in tiny print across the bottom of the screen.

Valuable information is encrypted in these sentences, but it is only available to those who put in the effort required to simultaneously read and watch television. Although some of us are active enough to broadcast issues, write or sign petitions, and even ultimately protest, as college students we have our own personal loudspeaker to express our opinions

on these issues that matter to us. We as students don’t have to sit idly while the administrators make all of the decisions. Now is the time for us to attract attention. We do not have to remain behind, floating below the major news.

As we depart from the college lifestyle, we enter a busier, detached world. We focus on our salaries and conforming to the mold that society seems to demand of us, focusing more on our personal lives than on how world news will affect us. Maybe that’s cynical, but the errors of the generation before us get passed onto us. If we blink and let their mistakes pass from us to the next generation, they will have to deal with them next.

The late Kenneth Rexroth, a distinguished and self-educated American painter, essayist and orator who traveled during his youth in the West to organize and speak for unions, noticed that the spotlight is flashing on us during our years at University.

“When the newspapers have got nothing else to talk about, they cut loose on the young. The young are always news. If they are up to something, that’s news. If they aren’t, that’s news too,” he said. Thus, we have an inherent power in our hands to make news.

Otherwise, it will just keep passing on a screen as a floating blurb.

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12

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

SPORTS ROOKIES

Ethier and Kendrew seize the moment

By ADAM ROSEN

JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

With 6 minutes, 45 seconds left in last Friday’s first-round NCAA Tournament game against Western Connecticut State University, the women’s basketball team had just regained the lead for the first time since the opening minute of the second half after trailing by as many as 10 points. Needing to keep momentum in order to avoid losing during the NCAA Tournament’s first weekend for the fourth straight season, it was rookie Kelly Ethier ’12 who came up with the big play.

With the shot clock at one second, Ethier blocked Western Connecticut sophomore guard Heather Lee, causing a shot clock violation. The Judges would never trail after that play, coming out on top 62-49.

Ethier’s block also helped elevate her individual performance.

Exactly two minutes after the block, Ethier knocked down a 12foot jump shot off of a screen for her first two career NCAA Tournament points.

“You could just see something in her eyes [after the shot] that was like, ‘Ok, I can do this. This is why I’m here; this is why Coach recruited me,’ and I think that was probably her defining moment,” Judges’ coach Carol Simon told reporters.

Over the last part of the season, Ethier and fellow rookie Morgan Kendrew ’12 have made key contributions to the Judges. They continued to star in last Saturday’s second-round win against Mount Saint Mary College. Ethier notched a career-high 13 points on 4-7 shooting, including a perfect 2-2 from behind the arc, to go along with three rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal.

“I definitely think I was playing off of everyone else around,” Ethier said. “When everyone else is play-

ing well around you, it comes a lot easier.”

Kendrew dropped 12 points, also on 4-7 shooting, which consisted of three three-pointers on four attempts in a career-high 29 minutes. She also grabbed three rebounds, dished out three assists and had one block and three steals in her ninth start since point guard Lauren Rashford ’10 suffered a season-ending knee injury in a Feb. 3 practice.

The two players have been able to transition into college basketball just as the Judges began their 6-1 late-season run. They say a closeknit locker room and strong team chemistry has helped made that transition easier.

“Our whole team is really tight,” Kendrew said. “Especially the five freshmen, we’re all really close, and it definitely helps because we’re all friendly to each other and we like each other, so it helps playing on the court.”

But they also relied on each other. When asked about their friendship, Ethier shot a grin at Kendrew, who was standing nearby.

“Me and [Kendrew] get along great,” she said. “We have an understanding of what each other’s abilities are, and we play really well with each other, and I think we support each other really well, so it makes it so easy for both of us to play really well together.”

As the Judges continue on to the third round and beyond, they will continue to rely on the two rookies to continue to contribute beyond their years. “[Coach Simon] is always telling them to not play like freshmen because they’re not freshmen anymore, and I think they are definitely ready to pick it up,” forward Amanda Wells ’09 told reporters after the win over Mount Saint Mary College. “They don’t play like they’re freshmen anymore.”

New faces give Judges a boost

DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/the Justice

CLIMBING THE LADDER: Guard Morgan Kendrew ’12 scores against Western Connecticut State University last Friday.

Kendrew has stepped into a starting role for the Judges.

DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/the Justice

MAKING AN IMPACT: Guard Kelly Ethier ’12 drives toward the basket against Mount Saint Mary College in the Judges’ second-round NCAA Tournament victory last Saturday.

COMMENTARY: A burden is lifted CONTINUED FROM 16 proof of a squad that was unable to take that next step. Each year, they were good enough to make the NCAA Tournament but never good enough to become a serious contender for the Final Four. With their wins last weekend, this year’s team has finally taken that next step.

“Usually, in this meeting, you see a lot of tears,” Simon told reporters in the postgame press conference.

“Now, you’re seeing a lot of smiles.”

Prior to the start of this season, it seemed this year’s squad would take a step back rather than a step forward. Forward Jaime Capra ’08, last year’s co-University Athletic Association Player of the Year, graduated, leaving the Judges without a marquee star for the first time in six years. Like most years, the Judges raced through their New England nonconference competition undefeated, but after nine UAA games, the Judges were just 3-6 and in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament altogether. Worse, starting point guard Lauren Rashford ’10 suffered a season-ending knee injury, forcing the Judges to play without one of their key performers as they made a push towards the postseason.

But the Judges rallied as they had played all season—with several performers stepping up to the task.

Rookie guard Morgan Kendrew ’12 entered the starting lineup and averaged 8.2 points, 4 rebounds and 2.4 assists in the team’s last nine games. Fellow rookie guard Kelly Ethier ’12 emerged in the postseason as the team’s top substitute. Guard Jessica Chapin ’10, already the team’s most dangerous offensive threat, took on much of the point guard duties, a major burden that she bore well, even as she played nearly every minute in both tournament games.

Then, there were Orlando, Dadaos

DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/the Justice

SWEET RELIEF: Forwards Cassidy Dadaos ’09, left, and Amanda Wells ’09, right, embrace after the Judges’ second-round NCAA Tournament victory last Saturday. and Wells, the three senior inside players.

When the Judges fell 10 points behind Western Connecticut in the second half last Friday, it was Orlando and her 15 second-half points that led the Judges back. One day later, with the Judges already running away from Mount Saint Mary just four minutes into the game, it was Wells who asserted Brandeis’ interior dominance when she swatted junior forward Shannon Sangster’s shot back into her face.

Dadaos, beyond her on-court play, was the emotional leader, running to find a teammate to pump up after each play and standing to applaud her club’s effort while on the bench.

“If for some reason, you think you can’t do it or you can’t practice, you better look into those seniors’ eyes and tell them you can’t do it,” Simon said after the second-round win. “When you’re a senior, you have a different sense of urgency left, and I think that was really [what made the difference]. They gave great leadership throughout

the whole season.”

Orlando, Dadaos, Wells and guard Lauren Goyette ’09 were members of the program throughout its resurgence. When asked what made this year’s team different from the previous three, they all responded with the same answer.

“There’s not one big gun out there this year,” Wells said, “Everyone is getting a chance; it seems like we’re more of a balanced team.”

So it’s on to uncharted territory for the Judges, as they will face Muhlenberg College in an attempt to take another couple steps forward.

Despite the program’s nonexistent history past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, it’s a moment Simon has long kept in mind. Her office is adorned with several decorations, but the large wall to the left of the entrance remains empty, even though she said several of her former players have asked for her to fill it with pictures.

Simon calls it her “Final Four wall.” The Judges are just two more steps away from beginning to fill it.

WBBALL: Sweet 16-bound CONTINUED FROM 16 in their college career, as the Judges lost to Bowdoin College in 2006, Emmanuel College in 2007 and Kean University last season.

“It’s a really surreal feeling; it’s really exciting,” Wells told reporters after the game. “It almost doesn’t feel real. We’re winning, we’re up by 20, [and I thought,] ‘Is this really happening?’”

“We’ve had our hearts broken before,” Orlando added.

After coming from behind in their last two NCAA Tournament wins—against Western Connecticut State last Friday and against the University of Southern Maine in a 74-71 first-round win last season— Brandeis built up a 39-23 lead at halftime by shooting 53.6 percent from the field against Mount Saint Mary, who entered the game holding opponents to the lowest field goal percentage in all of Division III. For the game, the Judges shot 55.3 percent while holding the Blue Knights to just 34.5-percent shooting, including a mere 3-of-22 from the three-point line.

“We know we played a fairly weak conference,” Mount Sait Mary coach J. Randall Ognibene told reporters after the game. “We’re not the best defensive team in the nation, no matter what the stats say, and we knew that going in. …

We were outgunned physically, and Brandeis had a hell of a hot night, so that combination makes me want the 40 minutes to go quickly.”

Brandeis also dominated the boards, grabbing 26 defensive rebounds and outrebounding the Knights 37-29. Mt. St. Mary’s was outrebounding opponents by 10.9 rebounds per game prior to the game, fifth-best in Division III. Guard Jessica Chapin ’09 led all scorers with 18 points and seven assists, while guard Kelly Ethier ’12 scored a career-high 13 points off the bench. Fellow rookie guard

Morgan Kendrew ’12 was the third Judges player to score in double-figures, tallying 12 point, hitting three of her four three-point field goal attempts. Reserve forward Amber Strodthoff ’11 had a game-high eight rebounds, including four offensive boards. Strodthoff and Ethier helped lead a Brandeis bench attack that outscored the Blue Knights’ bench 25-10.

Last Friday night the Judges fell behind 40-30 with 13:09 left in their first-round game against Western Connecticut. The Judges slowly chipped away at Western Connecticut’s lead, tying the game on a layup by guard Diana Cincotta ’11 with 9:05 left to play. They later took the lead for good on a Cincotta jumper with 7:21 left. Orlando scored all 15 of her points in the second half to help spark the comeback.

Coach Carol Simon said the Judges’ comeback was also aided by keeping Western Connectict off the free throw line. Of Western Connecticut’s 46 shots, 30 came from beyond the three-point line.

“In the first half, out of 22 [Western Connecticut] points, 12 of those were on the free-throw line,” Simon told reporters after the game.

“Some of those were us just being a little overaggressive. That’s when we had to say kind of just amp yourself down a little bit.”

Next up, the Judges will travel to Amherst College for a third-round matchup with No. 18 Muhlenberg College Friday night. The Mules, who are 26-3, went undefeated in the Centennial Conference tournament to secure an automatic NCAA Tournament bid. They upset Bowdoin College 58-57 on Bowdoin’s home court in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last Saturday. Muhlenberg is also strong defensively, allowing opponents to shoot just 25.6 percent from three-point range and 35.9 percent overall.

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2009

13

SPORTS SECOND ROUND DEFEAT

Coaches, players explain Judges’ final possession An inside look at the last play of the game

By JEFFREY PICKTETE JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

LANCASTER, Pa.—Down by as many as 20 points, 57-37, midway through the second half in its secondround NCAA Tournament against Franklin & Marshall College last Saturday, the men’s basketball team was attempting to cap an improbable comeback to propel the team to its second consecutive appearance in the Sweet 16.

The Judges eventually cut the lead to 65-63 with 27 seconds left. Forward Rich Magee ’10 fought for a rebound off a missed free-throw attempt by Diplomats rookie Georgio Milligan.

With Magee battling to maintain possession, Brandeis used its final timeout with 24.8 seconds left, setting up one final chance for the team to either send the game into overtime or win the game outright in regulation.

“We all just looked at each other coming out of that huddle, and we knew all we had to do was stop them to win the game,” Franklin & Marshall junior guard Clay Scovill told reporters after the game.

Guard Andre Roberson ’10 took the inbound pass for Brandeis and slowly dribbled the ball up-court, pausing near the top of the three-point line before making his move inside.

“We were just trying to set that high screen that became successful late in the game for us,” head coach Brian

Meehan told reporters. “[We wanted to] give [Roberson] the opportunity to turn the corner and get to the rim.”

“We felt that [Franklin & Marshall would] probably drop way off of him because he was turning the corner quite a bit and give him the jump shot, or if he turned the corner and they came off trying to stop the penetration, he might be able to hit someone for three on the perimeter,” Meehan continued.

Franklin & Marshall head coach Glenn Robinson, who has more wins than any coach in Division III men’s basketball history, told reporters that he noticed the Judges’ tendency to set screens throughout the course of the game. However, he suggested that his team had done a good job guarding the Judges’ screens near the top of the key. “[Our] people playing the screens hedged and helped, and so when it looked like a man was open, there was always someone stepping out,” he told reporters after the game. “As soon as [the Brandeis player] stepped back, [our] man guarding him was there.”

With time ticking away, Roberson, now positioned off to the side of the free-throw line closer to the Brandeis bench, put up a jump shot with under five seconds to play but missed the attempt as the ball bounced off the back of the rim.

“I thought I had a good look at it,” Roberson told reporters. “I think I could have got my feet set a little bit

HSIAO CHI PANG/the Justice

ONE CHANCE: Guard Andre Roberson ’10 sets up for the last play of the game in the Judges’ second-round defeat last Saturday. more, but I knew I didn’t have much time.”

Forward Steve DeLuca (GRAD) got the rebound off Roberson’s miss and, with less than two seconds left, put up a fadeaway shot that grazed the front

Three earn bids to go to Nationals ■ Adam Austin ’11, Will

Friedman ’09 and Anna Hanley ’11 made the NCAA National Championships.

By ANDREW NG JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

HSIAO CHI PANG/the Justice

IN THE PAINT: Forward Steve DeLuca (GRAD) lands near the hoop last Saturday.

MBBALL: Team falls just short gave the Judges a 37-31 lead at the half.

Brandeis twice extended its lead to as many as 18 points before cruising to a 14-point win. Small had 19 points, with DeLuca adding 16 and Hollins scoring 14 off the bench.

DeLuca, a three-time first-team all-UAA performer, ended his career as the program’s fifth-all time leading scorer with 1,595 points, while Olson shot 58.9 percent from threepoint range this season, the sixthhighest percentage in Division III history. “[DeLuca and Olson] took advantage of all the opportunities Brandeis offers academically and athletically and that’s what you hope for in players,” Meehan told

game, Franklin and Marshall turned the ball over seven times, hit just one of five shots and converted only six of 13 free throw attempts. But Brandeis’ misses at the end of the game allowed Franklin & Marshall to get the win.

FENCING

KNOCKED OUT

CONTINUED FROM 16

of the rim as time expired.

DeLuca said he thought his shot attempt was off when he released it.

“I thought it was going [wide] right and it went right.”

In their last 19 possessions of the

reporters. “They love to play the game and they get better and better because they work hard at improving themselves.”

The Judges dropped their first three games this season, and their place in the NCAA Tournament was not secured until they won their final five UAA games.

“We had a good run at the end [of the season], and we really came together and started playing a lot better,” Meehan told reporters.

“Your whole season matters; that’s the point we try to make to the guys.”

“You end up … seven hours away from home [in the tournament] because you blow three games early in the year because you didn’t prepare well in the preseason,” he added.

As a borderline qualifier for the upcoming NCAA National Collegiate Fencing Championships, saber Adam Austin ’11 needed to finish in at least sixth place at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships last Sunday to secure his first career bid to the NCAA Championships. After losing his first two bouts in the final round of pool play, Austin faced the reining NCAA champion, Columbia University junior Jeff Spear, and won 5-4, sparking his run to finish in fifth place on the day and eventually qualify for the NCAA Championships.

“In past meets, I felt like I could beat [Spear] every time,” Austin said. “It seemed like I was screwing up more than he was beating me, so I walked in and said that I was finally going to do it. I got a first good touch, and it gave me the confidence to compete through the final round.”

Captain and foil Will Friedman ‘09 and saber Anna Hanley ’11 will join Austin at the NCAA Championships starting March 19 at Penn State University after Friedman finished in eighth place while Hanley finished 13th.

The NCAA holds four regional tournaments throughout the country.

Qualification for the NCAA National Championships is based on regularseason success, strength of schedule and regional tournament finish. The regional consists of two pool rounds and a final 12-person, round-robin tournament.

Austin started the day ranked 13th of 27 fencers, but finished 3-3 in the first round to advance to the semifinals, where he would finish 2-2 to qualify for the 12th and final spot in the final round.

“I felt like I scraped through by the skin of my teeth until the end, when I went into an autopilot mode and fenced really well,” Austin said.

“Austin fenced the best he had ever fenced in his life. He parried a lot, which is a key to him fencing at a high level,” coach Bill Shipman said.

“Throughout the day, he was able to control his emotions, which he had trouble with last year. He got it all together at the right time and got into NCAA Nationals.”

Friedman will be returning to the NCAA National Championships for the fourth consecutive year after earning the ninth and final bid to compete.

Last season, Friedman finished seventh in the foil division.

“It’s very unusual that a Division III fencer qualifies for NCAA Nationals four consecutive years,” Shipman said. “It’s an accomplishment in and of itself.”

Friedman’s bid to the NCAA Championships was secured by victories against Columbia University juniors Kurt Getz and Issac Kim in the final round. Friedman defeated last year’s NCAA Championships thirdplace finisher Getz for the first time in his career, winning 5-4. He also won 50 against Kim, whom he had lost to last week in the International Fencing Association Championships held at Brandeis and in an earlier round of pool play last Sunday.

“My performance varied on the day, but I was very patient and tried to figure out my opponents a lot more than simply reacting,” Friedman said. “I knew that if I made it to the final round, I would wind up fencing 21 bouts on the day, so I kept in mind that if I won or lost one bout, it would have no effect on the next bout.”

After almost reaching the NCAA National Championships last season, Hanley entered the regional competition determined to secure her first bid to the NCAA Championships despite her challenging first pool of competitors, including a former teammate and personal rival of hers at Sacred Heart University, from which Hanley transferred this season.

“I started off the day very discouraged because I was competing against [Sacred Heart junior] Krista Bacci; I had [Massachusetts Institute of Technology rookie] Robin Shin, who I had lost to in the last two meets; I also competed against [Columbia

University sophomore] Jackie Jacobson, whose two older sisters [Emily and Sada] both competed in the Olympics,” Hanley said.

Realizing that she needed to win three bouts to advance to the semifinals, Hanley tried to shake her initial nerves but fell to Bacci 5-1. However, Hanley regained her composure and defeated Shin 5-1 and Jacobson 5-3.

“I remember watching Robin Shin warm-up and seeing that she was getting all of her touches the same way,” Hanley said. “Taking advantage of that, I won the bout by using my feet and using strong parry-repost combinations.”

Hanley finished in 13th place and secured the 10th and final qualifying spot to compete in her first NCAA National Championships due to her 490 regular season record against Northeast Conference fencers and the strength of her competition. She was also recently named Northeast Conference Women’s Fencer of the Year for the second consecutive season.

Other Judges fell just short of the qualifying for the NCAA Championships. Épée Caitlin Kozel’s ’09 13th place finish caused her to miss a third trip to the NCAA Championships after she had qualified the previous two seasons.

“In this tournament you have to be on, especially fencing épée,” Shipman said. “She wasn’t fencing her best, and she didn’t make up for it in the opening round. She wasn’t defending or counterattacking as well as she had been in past meets.” Épée Will Bedor ’10 and foil Jessica Newhall ’09 also failed to qualify for NCAA Nationals with 11th and 13th place finishes on the day, respectively.

With the high level of competition at the NCAA National Championships, Shipman said he only hopes that Friedman, Austin and Hanley fence to their potential.

“None of them will be favored to win,” Shipman said. “[Friedman] was seventh last year. He or [Austin] on a good day can get into that range.

[Hanley] has that ability too. If she gains some confidence and puts it all together, she can finish in the top half, if not higher.”

14

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

INDOOR TRACK

SOFTBALL

Two get bids for NCAAs

Judges open season with two straight losses

■ Anat Ben Nun ’09 and Ali

Sax ’09 will go to the NCAAs after the women’s team placed fourth at the UAA Championships March 7.

The men’s team placed last.

By SEAN PETTERSON JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Throughout the women’s indoor track season, the team had high finishes in jumping events, and at its biggest meet of the season at the University Athletic Association Championships last Saturday, jumpers Ali Sax ’09, Anat Ben Nun ’09, and Suzanne Bernier ’10 continued that trend.

The trio combined to tally 31 out of the team’s 68 points, finishing in the top three in the long jump, triple jump, high jump and 55-meter hurdles in leading the women’s team to a fourth place finish out of seven conference teams. Washington University in St. Louis won the meet on the women’s side with 138 points. The men’s team also competed and finished seventh out of seven teams with 17 points.

Emory University won the meet with 106 points.

Ben Nun and Sax both qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championships in the triple jump with their performances.

Bernier’s previous UAA Championships ended with her coming short of victory in the high jump, but she bucked that trend this year, finishing first with a jump of 1.62 meters. “[Bernier] was great,” coach Mark Reytblat said. “She had been finishing second and third and this was the first time she won the high jump [at the UAAs].”

Ben Nun and Sax also had top finishes, taking first and third place, respectively. Ben Nun jumped 11.72 meters, beating second-place finisher, rookie Lauren Attiah of Emory, by .14 meters. It was Ben Nun’s third UAA triple jump championship in four years.

“[Being a UAA champion] feels wonderful,” Ben Nun said. “Finishing my four years with a win was the best thing I could hope for.”

Sax displayed her versatility, as she took seventh in the long jump, third in the triple jump and fourth in the 55meter hurdles, earning 10 points alone for the Judges.

“I’ve been working hard with things like endurance because it is difficult to go from one event to another,” she said. “It’s just being able to withhold the [same] level of performance over two days of competing.”

In addition to the jumpers, Brandeis had top-four finishes in the long distance events.

The women’s distance medley quartet of Marie Lemay ’11, Michelle Gellman ‘11, Beth Pisarik ’10 and Erin Bisceglia ’12 finished eight seconds ahead of second-place New York University to win the race in 12 minutes, 21.40 seconds.

Individually, Pisarik took second in the one-mile run with a time of 5:16.00, earning the Judges’ eight points, while Lemay was fourth in the same event.

Katie Warwick ’12 finished her rookie indoor season with a sixth place finish in the 3,000- and 5,000-meter runs.

Gellman and Julia Alpaio ’10 rounded out the Judges scorers. Gellman finished second in the 400-meter sprint, running it in 59.65 seconds to earn eight points. Alpaio placed fourth in the 800-meter run, less than 3 seconds behind the first-place finish of Emory senior Rebecca Willett.

“I’m really proud of all of us,” Sax said of the women’s team. “I think this is the strongest team we have ever had [in my four years,].”

The men’s team, as they have all season long, faced a disadvantage in sprint and field events because of the lack of runners it had to compete in such events. The squad’s distance runners scored all of the Judges points.

Paul Norton ’11 took second-place in the 5,000-meter run, concluding a season that saw him get several high finishes after a minor Achilles injury sidelined him earlier this season.

Norton finished in 14:50.75, earning the Judges eight points.

The men’s distance medley also

took second place, finishing only behind Carnegie Mellon University with a time of 10:10.19. The foursome of Matt Jennings ’09, Mingkai Lin ’12, Marc Boutin ’12 and Devon Holgate ‘11 also earned eight points for the team.

Holgate rounded out the scoring for the men’s team, earning one point for his sixth-place finish in the one-mile run in 4:17.90. “[Our performance] was alright,” Holgate said. “We did the best we could have hoped for, [considering] we don’t really have jumpers or anything to help us out.”

Reytblat also commented on the team’s lack of field athletes.

“The guys, it’s very hard competition right now,” he said. “Hopefully I'm having a good recruiting year and we will have a much better year on the men's side.”

The UAA Championships conclude the team-season for both the men’s and women’s indoor track squads. On the women’s side, the year was highlighted by the performance of the team’s jumpers and distance runners, who most noticeably carried the team Jan. 24 at the Reggie Poyau Memorial Invitational. The women’s team took second of 10 teams at the meet, lead by a sweep of the top three spots in the one-mile run and an NCAA qualifying leap by Ben Nun in the triple jump.

The men’s team did not record many high team finishes but did feature rookies Myles Tryer-Vassell ’12 and Marc Boutin ’12 emerging in sprints and distance, respectively.

Though team play is over, Ben Nun and Sax will travel to Terre Haute, Ind. on Friday for the NCAA Championships.

“I think both [Sax] and I are in shape by now, and Nationals are only a few days away, so we’ll just work on a few little things. Mostly just stretch, stretch and prepare psychologically,” Ben Nun said. “It's going to be really rough, the competition is way harder than it has been over the past four years, right now I believe I’m like eighth or ninth so that doesn’t give me a very good chance, but it’s going to be about character and I think I have the character; when I need to I do my best.

It’s going to be rough, but I hope I do very well.”

■ The softball team lost to

Ithaca College and Penn State University at ErieBehrend College last Sunday in Clermont, Fla.

By ELI HARRINGTON JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

In the opening game of a doubleheader against two different teams to open up its season last Sunday, the softball team was on the verge of beating one of the top-ranked teams in the country.

The Judges trailed No. 18 Ithaca College, which last season finished as the No. 4 team in the nation, 2-1 going into the top half of the sixth inning. Brandeis rallied to score two runs to take the lead at 3-2, but the Bombers put together a threerun rally in the bottom half of the inning to go ahead 5-3 and eventually win 6-3 after adding an insurance run later in the game.

“They just jumped on us, and we didn’t [and] weren’t able to answer back,” said shortstop Chelsea Korp ’10 about the late rally.

The Judges followed up the close loss with a lopsided one to Penn State University at Erie-Behrend College, 13-0, putting Brandeis at 02 to start the season as they prepare for the first two games of the annual University Athletic Association Softball championship round-robin in Florida that begins today.

Against Ithaca, pitcher Emily Vaillette ’10 started the game for the Judges, tallying five strikeouts and three walks through 5 2/3 innings.

“It was a tough game. We didn’t really make the offensive adjustments until later on in the game, and we never put them away,” Vaillette said. “They turned it on, and we made some errors.”

Ithaca later followed the victory with a win over another UAA

squad, beating No. 15 Washington University in St. Louis 8-2 to improve to 2-0 on the season.

In the Judges’ second game, Penn State Behrend, the defending champions of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference, handled Brandeis in a one-sided affair.

Pitcher Allie Mussen ’11 started the game for the Judges, but was knocked out of the contest after 1 1/3 innings, having surrendered four walks and hit one batter.

“Overall it was a group mess,” Mussen said. “But we gave up a lot of walks and that hurt us throughout.”.

Pitcher Erin Thorn ’11 came in to try and stop the Lions but also struggled with control, walking three Lion batters in 3 2/3 innings before rookie Caroline Miller ’12 took the mound for the final inning in a game that was stopped short in the fifth inning because of the unbalanced score.

Looking ahead, the Judges will kick off the 2009 UAA Softball Championship Tournament in Altamonte Springs, Fla. with a double-header today against Emory at 10 a.m. and then against Carnegie Mellon University at 12:30 p.m.

The Judges hope their tough competition early will help prepare them to face an Emory team that is already 13-1 on the season and has dominated the Judges in the past, going 8-0 and winning by an average margin of almost 10-1 since 2005. “[Emory is] a team that we’ve always struggled with but if we play up to our potential, anything can happen,” Karp said. “We’re definitely looking forward to competing.”

Despite the challenges ahead, Vaillette said the Judges are glad to be done with a winless day and can focus on the future.

“We had a rough day,” Vaillette said. “But we can’t wait to get into UAA action.”

NCAA Women’s Division III Basketball Tournament Bracket 2009 First Round March 4-6 on campus

Second Round March 7 on campus

Sectionals March 13-14 on campus

Semifinals March 20 at Holland, Mich.

Final March 21 at Holland, Mich.

Semifinals March 20 at Holland, Mich.

Sectionals March 13-14 on campus

Second Round March 7 on campus

First Round March 6 on campus

Ill. Wesleyan (27-0) George Fox (27-0)

Ill. Wesleyan Ohio Wesleyan (17-11) George Fox

Ill. Wesleyan

Chapman (19-8)

Wis.-Eau Claire (23-5) Chapman

Wis.-Eau Claire

Occidental (22-5)

DePauw (22-5)

Oglethorpe (25-3)

Wis.-Stevens Point (24-3) Oglethorpe

Wis.-Stevens Point

Maryville (Tenn.) (19-8)

Maryville (Mo.) (22-5) Oglethorpe

Wis.-Stevens Point

Greensboro (26-2)

Concordia-Mhead. (19-8) Greensboro

Concordia (Wis.)

Mississippi Col. (22-4)

at Thomas More Crestview Heights, Ky.

Messiah (22-4)

Concordia (Wis.) (22-5)

at Illinois Wesleyan Bloomington, Ill.

St. Benedict (24-3)

Messiah

St. Benedict

Eastern Conn. St. (25-3)

Ripon (17-8) Thomas More

St. Benedict

Thomas More (26-2)

Wis.-Whitewater (22-4) Thomas More

Wis.-Whitewater

Randolph-Macon (23-5)

Simpson (24-3)

Hope (25-1)

Washington-St. Louis (21-4) Hope

Washington-St. Louis

Wash. & Jeff. (24-4)

Capital (22-5) Hope

Washington-St. Louis

Baldwin-Wallace (21-7)

Transylvania (22-5) Baldwin-Wallace

Transylvania

Pitt.-Greensburg (24-2)

Howard Payne (23-5)

Scranton (23-4)

Amherst (25-2) Scranton

Amherst

Keuka (17-7)

NATIONAL CHAMPION

Scranton St. Lawrence (19-7)

Babson (20-8) Amherst Southern Me. (22-6)

Cortland St.

Emmanuel (Mass.)

Cortland St. (23-4)

Emmanuel (Mass.) (21-7)

1 p.m. ET, Holland, Mich.

CBS CSN Live

York (Pa.) (25-2)

New York U. (21-4)

York (Pa.)

New York U. ) Salve Regina (20-8)

Chris. Newport (22-6) York (Pa.)

New York U.

Cabrini (23-4)

Mary Washington (23-5) Baruch

Stevens Institute

Baruch (23-5)

Stevens Institute (22-5) at University of Rochester Rochester, N.Y.

Moravian (21-6)

at Amherst Amherst, Mass.

BRANDEIS

Tufts Tufts (21-4) TCNJ Third Place March 21

TCNJ (23-4) TCNJ

BRANDEIS

Mt. St. Mary (N.Y.) (23-4) Mt. St. Mary (N.Y.)

DeSales (23-4)

Brockport (19-9)

Rochester (22-3)

Bowdoin (24-4) Rochester

Bowdoin

Widener (18-9)

Castleton (17-11) Rochester

Muhlenberg

Kean (21-7)

Muhlenberg (24-3) Kean

Marymount (Va.) (20-6)

BRANDEIS (17-7) Western Conn. St. (21-5)

10 a.m. ET

Muhlenberg Westfield St. (22-4) COMPILED BY BRIAN BLUMENTHAL WITH DATA FROM D3HOOPS.COM

THE JUSTICE

■ The women’s basketball guard had 18 points in the team’s 79-52 second-round victory over Mount Saint Mary College last Saturday.

1

appearance in school history by the women’s basketball team in the Sweet 16. The Judges won their first- and second-round games of the NCAA Tournament last weekend to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history.

21

points for men’s basketball forward Steve DeLuca (GRAD) in his final collegiate game. DeLuca led the Judges in scoring in their second-round loss in the NCAA Tournament last Saturday at Franklin & Marshall College.

3

Brandeis fencers—Will Friedman ’09, Adam Austin ’11 and Anna Hanley ’11—who qualified for the NCAA National Championships starting March 19.

25

combined points for women’s basketball rookie guards Kelly Ethier ’12 and Morgan Kendrew ’12 in the Judges’ win over Mount Saint Mary College last Saturday.

4

th-place finish out of seven teams for the women’s indoor track team at the University Athletic Association Championships at New York University last weekend.

The men’s team was seventh of seven teams.

15

points for women’s basketball forward Lauren Orlando ’09 in last Friday’s first-round 62-49 win over Western Connecticut State University.

Orlando scored all her points in the second half.

15

Eder receives bid to Nationals while Chui named first alternate

Jessica Chapin ’10

Judging numbers

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2009

VARSITY BRIEF

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

With 8 minutes, 34 seconds left in the women’s basketball team’s 79-52 win over Mount Saint Mary’s College in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, guard Jessica Chapin ’10 was substituted out of the game for the first time all night. It was a rare rest for Chapin, who was a few seconds shy of playing the entire 40 minutes of last Friday’s first-round game against Western Connecticut State University.

“I love basketball, and I want the ball in my hands,” Chapin said. “If [coach Carol Simon] needs me to play 40 minutes a game, I’ll do that. Whatever our team needs I’m willing to do.”

Chapin’s efforts helped the women’s basketball team advance to the third round of the tournament for the first time in school history. She had 18 points in last Saturday’s game and 12 points last Friday.

This season, Chapin leads the team in points, rebounds, assists and steals and also averages a team-high 32.3 minutes per contest.

Chapin has taken a bigger offensive role this season with the departure of forward Jaime Capra ’08, last year’s leading scorer.

Then, since starting point guard Lauren Rashford ’10 suffered a season-ending knee injury during a Feb. 3 practice, Chapin has taken on more of the point guard duties.

“I have the responsibility of getting our teammates the ball now a little more and focusing on getting all my teammates involved and not so much looking to score,” she said.

●

DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/the Justice

UP THE COURT: Guard Jessica Chapin ’10 looks to pass during last Saturday’s home win.

Chapin was also named a team captain at the start of the season.

“A team needs to looks toward people sometimes, and we get down, and we’re not playing well,” she said. “My role is to pick everybody up and be like, ‘We can do

this; we’re still in this,’” she said. “We rely on each other a lot as captains to put this team on our back and hold each other together to get through the season.”

—Melissa Siegel

NCAA TOURNAMENT SCORES Women’s Basketball Second Round Away Mt. St. Mary UW-Eau Claire Baldwin-Wallace Chapman Concordia (Wis.) Greensboro Transylvania Thomas More

52 63 53 40 58 40 57 57

Home JUDGES 79 Illinois Wes. 80 Hope 69 George Fox 83 Stevens Point 78 Oglethorpe 67 WashU 83 Messiah 50

Away Stevens Tufts Muhlenberg Cortland State Kean UW-Whitewater Emmanuel Baruch

57 55 58 45 59 59 37 73

Home New York College of N.J. Bowdoin Scranton Rochester St. Benedict Amherst York (Pa.)

71 57 57 51 66 67 76 90

63 54 70 81 74 69 70 50

Second Round Away Home Whitworth 72 F&M 65 Bridgewater St. 78 Trinity (Texas) 70 MIT 61 Capital 72 SUNYIT 80 Guilford 91 Gwynedd-Mercy 88 John Carroll 76 Salem State 69 Wheaton (Ill.) 74 UMass-Dartmouth 81 WashU 73 DeSales 77 St. Thomas 53

Home Puget Sound Middleburry Farmingdale St. Lawrence Richard Stock.

Widener WPI Ithaca

84 76 67 90 95 67 68 71

TEAM LEADERS WBball (points per game)

WBball (rebounds per game)

Guard Jessica Chapin ’10 leads the team with an average of 14.2 points per game.

Guard Jessica Chapin ’10 leads the Judges with an average of 6.7 rebounds per game.

Player Jessica Chapin Lauren Orlando Lauren Rashford Dianna Cincotta Cassidy Dadaos

Player Jessica Chapin Cassidy Dadaos Lauren Orlando Lauren Rashford Amanda Wells

PPG 14.2 9.7 8.1 6.8 6.5

RPG 6.7 5.2 4.7 4.2 3.7

UPCOMING GAME OF THE WEEK Women’s Basketball vs. Muhlenberg College The Judges play Muhlenberg College in the Sweet 16 Friday at Amherst College.

After being knocked out of the NCAA Tournament in the second round for three consecutive seasons, the women’s basketball team finally reached the Sweet 16 after hosting and winning the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the first time last weekend.

The No. 25 Judges will now travel to Amherst College to take on No. 18 Muhlenberg College. The winner will then take on the winner of the game between No. 14 New York University

—Ian Cutler

AP BRIEF Pitt beats UConn at home in Big East regular-season finale

Men’s Basketball Away JUDGES Texas-Dallas Wooster Averett Carnegie UW-Platteville UW-Whitewater Stevens Point

Men’s swimmer Marc Eder ’12 was selected to compete at the NCAA Division III Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships at the University of Minnesota starting March 18 after recording B-cut qualifying times in three events throughout the season.

Eder will compete in the 200-yard breaststroke, the 100yard breaststroke and the 200-yard individual medley at the meet. Eder will be the first Brandeis men’s swimmer to compete in the NCAA Championships since Matt Christian ’05 in 2005.

“Over the summer, I thought I could do this, and then actually getting in the pool and swimming at the start of this season, I was a little wary,” Eder said yesterday. “I didn’t think I could do it early this season, but I’m happy I did.”

Women’s swimmer Angela Chui ’12 was selected as the first alternate to the NCAA Championships after recording NCAA B-cut qualifying times in multiple events while also breaking 11 school records this season.

Eder’s best performance this season came at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships March 1, where he beat Christian’s school record in the 200-yard breaststroke by three seconds with a time of 2 minutes, 4.79 seconds, finishing 12th in the event.

Eder is ranked as the No. 20 swimmer in the 200-yard breaststroke in Division III on the men’s side and Chui is No. 21 in the 400-yard individual medley on the women’s side. This season, the NCAA selected the top 22 men’s swimmers in the 200-yard breaststroke and the top 20 women’s swimmers in the 400-yard individual medley to compete at this year’s NCAA Championships, putting Chui one spot shy of qualifying outright. “[Chui] made her first cut back in October [and has done so again in] many other events,” head coach Jim Zotz said. “If she does [compete], she will do well. She’ll train with us, and we’ll keep our fingers crossed.”

According to Zotz, Chui is the first alternate to the NCAA Championships and will only compete if another competitor is forced to drop out of the meet due to injury or roster limitation guidelines set forth by the NCAA. Zotz said each school is only allowed to send 18 participants to the NCAA Championships. If a school had more than 18 particpants qualify, the NCAA would only allow up to 18 to participate. However, Zotz said that any open spots woul likely be filled by a competitor already at the NCAA Championships competing in a different event instead of an alternate such as Chui.

“There’s nothing we can predict, but we’re hoping,” Zotz said.

Eder said he thought he had the best chance to succeed in the 200-yard backstroke.

“The 200-yard breaststroke is my best event,” Eder said. “I’m seeded 20th, and the top 16 [swimmers] make the finals. I’d like to swim [in the finals], so I’m hoping to drop a little time.”

Zotz said that both swimmers have had successful rookie seasons.

“They’re ranked 20th and 21st in the country. That’s huge,” Zotz said. “They’ve both represented themselves and the school well.”

and host school No. 11 Amherst in the Round of 8. Brandeis is coming off two home wins over Western Connecticut State University and Mount Saint Mary College in the first and second rounds, respectively.

The Mules beat Westfield State and host school Bowdoin College to advance to the Sweet 16 last weekend. They are now 26-3 overall after the two tournament wins. The Mules were undefeated in the Centennial Conference, posting an 18-0 record. The game will be at 5 p.m.

PITTSBURGH—Two games, two University of Connecticut losses, two big performances by University of Pittsburgh’s Sam Young. By now, UConn could be excused for not wanting to see the Panthers again, yet the Huskies can’t wait for the next matchup. Or maybe the next two.

Young dominated one of this season’s biggest games with 31 points, and No. 3 Pittsburgh likely secured one of the top seeds in the NCAA Tournament, opening a 14point lead early in the second half before holding off topranked UConn 70-60 last Saturday.

Pitt (28-3, 15-3 Big East) had never beaten a No. 1ranked team in school history, only to accomplish it twice in less than a month, both times against UConn (273, 15-3), which still hasn’t figured out how to slow down Young.

Pitt becomes the seventh school to beat a top-ranked team twice in a season, the last being North Carolina over Duke in 1998.

“Every time I see those UConn jerseys, my eyes light up,” said Young, who scored 25 points in Pitt’s 76-68 win at Hartford on Feb. 16.

UConn coach Jim Calhoun used all the superlatives to describe Young—including “fantastic,” “magnificent” and “very special”—yet he and his players are eager to see the Panthers again, perhaps in next week’s Big East tournament. Or maybe beyond.

“I guarantee you we’re going to see them again, nine times out of 10 we’re going to see them in the Big East tournament, and we’re going to be ready for them,” said the Huskies’ Stanley Robinson, who had six points and 12 rebounds. “We could see them after that—in the NCAAs, semifinals or national championship or whatever.”

Calhoun called the Panthers a potential national championship team but still thinks he has the team to beat them.

“Do I think we can beat Pitt?” Calhoun asked. “Yes, but we are 0-2, and I don’t have any graphic evidence to support that.”

The Panthers finished 19-0 at home, the second time since the Petersen Events Center opened in 2002 that it swept every home game.

Pitt hadn’t swept UConn during the season—the teams haven’t always met twice in a season—since 1996 to 1997, when Pitt also beat the Huskies in the Big East tournament.

“We won both games, but we’re going to keep playing the same way, we’re not going to do anything different,” Blair said of a possible third UConn-Pitt game. “We’ll see them when we see them.”

just

Sports

Page 16

FENCERS QUALIFY Three fencers earned bids to compete at the NCAA National Championships last Sunday, p. 14

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Waltham, Mass.

HOW SWEET IT IS

Judges surge onward to the Sweet 16 ■ The women’s basketball

Getting the monkey off their backs

team made the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history last Saturday.

By MELISSA SIEGEL JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

It took a late rally for the women’s basketball team to even make it out of the first round of the NCAA Tournament last Friday. It did not take very long for the Judges to make it past the second round the next day.

The Judges capitalized on their home-court advantage, taking a 16-2 lead 5 minutes, 30 seconds into their second-round contest against Mount Saint Mary’s last Saturday, turning the hot start into a 79-52 win. The win came after the Judges rallied from a 10-point, second-half deficit to top Western Connecticut State University 62-49 last Friday.

The Judges will play in the third round for the first time in school history this Friday against No.18 Muhlenberg College at Amherst College.

“I think the great thing early [was] planting a lot of doubt in [Mount Saint Mary] and put a team that honestly hasn’t been in that position,” assistant coach Scott Foulis told reporters after the second-round game. “[Mount Saint Mary’s players] haven’t been in that situation in a long time so I think it was just a testament to how ready our kids were to play, and we were able to come out of the gate and really put pressure in every phase of the game, both ends of the floor early.”

The win was especially sweet for senior forwards Lauren Orlando, Cassidy Dadaos and Amanda Wells, as well as injured guard Lauren Goyette ’09. They had been a part of three straight second-round defeats

Mike

PRADA OPEN MIKE

The significance of the women’s basketball team’s second-round victory over Mount Saint Mary College didn’t register with captain forward Cassidy Dadaos ’09 right away.

It had escaped her mind even though she admitted she could not help but consider, prior to last weekend’s games, that each season in her collegiate career had ended with a loss in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

But at this moment, with the Judges well on their way to a third-round NCAA Tournament appearance, Dadaos was still on the court while fellow seniors Lauren Orlando ’09 and Amanda Wells ’09 were on the bench. The whistle blew, and Dadaos was substituted out. As she jogged to the bench, she took a hug from coach Carol Simon and finally remembered that a big weight could be lifted from the team’s shoulders.

“It didn’t hit me until I realized [Simon] never hugs me after I come out,” Dadaos joked.

Last Saturday’s 79-52 win over Mount Saint Mary put the Judges in the third round for the first time in school history, but for Simon and the team’s seniors, the monkey was larger than that. For the last three years, they were the living proof of the program’s most successful period in its history, but they were also living

See WBBALL 12 ☛

MORE BASKETBALL COVERAGE ■ Women’s basketball rookies make an impact, p. 12 ■ Breakdown of the final play of the men’s second-round game at Franklin & Marshall, p. 13 ■ Complete NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Tournament bracket, p. 14

DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/the Justice

MOVING ON: Guard Jessica Chapin ’10 glides in for a layup against Western Connecticut State Unviersity last Friday night.

See COMMENTARY, 12 ☛

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Team exits tournament in close second-round defeat ■ The men’s basketball

team’s rally from 20 points down in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Franklin & Marshall College fell short last Saturday.

By JEFFREY PICKETTE JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

LANCASTER, Pa..—With less than two seconds left in the men’s basketball team’s second-round NCAA Tournament game against Franklin & Marshall College, forward Steve DeLuca (GRAD) grabbed a rebound off point guard Andre Roberson’s ’10 missed jump shot near the free-throw line.

The Judges had rallied from a 57-37 deficit with 9 minutes, 23 seconds left

in the second half and now trailed by just two points, with one final chance left to complete an improbable rally.

But DeLuca’s fadeaway jump shot hit the front of the rim as time expired, cementing a 65-63 Diplomats victory that sent the Judges home from the NCAA Tournament two rounds earlier than they departed last season.

“If I knew I had a couple of seconds left, I would have turned and faced [the basket] instead of just shooting it,” DeLuca told reporters after the game.

In their third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, the Judges beat Scranton 74-60 last Friday in the opening round, before losing to Franklin & Marshall the following night. Brandeis finished the season at 18-9.

The Judges trailed by 13 at halftime and by 20 in the second half but nearly pulled off the improbable comeback, cutting the deficit to 64-63 with 90 seconds left.

On Franklin & Marshall’s next pos-

session, Roberson blocked a shot with one minute left, but DeLuca missed a jump shot on the other end of the court that would have given Brandeis the lead. After Franklin & Marshall hit one of two free throw shots, the Judges, trailing by two with 24.8 seconds left, received another opportunity to either tie or win the game.

Roberson slowly advanced the ball up the court before both he and DeLuca missed their last-second shot attempts.

“With all that we went through at the end of that game when we really needed it, we came up with two huge defensive stops,” Franklin & Marshall head coach Glenn Robinson told reporters after the game.

Franklin & Marshall built an early 11-1 lead in the first four minutes of play and went into the half up 37-24.

The Judges cut the lead to eight at 4234 with a three-pointer from guard Kevin Olson ’09 with 14:35 left, but the

Diplomats responded with a 15-3 run over the next five minutes to push their advantage to 20.

“For whatever reason, early in the game we just didn’t stick [with the game plan],” head coach Brian Meehan told reporters. “We got a little frustrated when shots weren’t falling; … [we] started breaking plays off, doing too much one-one-one standing around.”

Forwards Christian Yemga ’11 and Terrell Hollins ’10 both fouled out within a 15-second span in the 10th minute of the second half, leaving the Judges with a limited rotation.

Still, Brandeis started to chip away, going on a 13-1 run to cut Franklin & Marshall’s lead 58-50 with just over six minutes left. After Franklin & Marshall extended its lead to 64-52 with 3:17 to go, the Judges went on an 11-0 run, which included three consecutive three-pointers from Olson, guard Kenny Small ’10 and DeLuca.

Brandeis used a full-court press that helped limit Franklin & Marshall to just eight points in its final 19 possessions. Over this stretch, Franklin & Marshall had seven turnovers and one field goal and shot only six of 13 from the free-throw line.

Even so, Franklin & Marshall held on for the two-point win.

“We weren’t doing the things we needed to do on defense and handling their press well,” Franklin & Marshall junior guard Clay Scovill told reporters after the game. “I think we got our focus back and made the plays at the end of the game that we needed to.”

DeLuca and Olson led the way with 21 and 13 points, respectively, in their final collegiate games.

Against Scranton, there were 10 lead changes and four ties in the first half, but a Small three-pointer at the buzzer

See MBBALL, 13 ☛

March 10, 2009

Vagina Monologues educates audiences on sexuality, p. 20 Photos: David Sheppard-Brick/the Justice, Design: David Sheppard-Brick and Julian Agin-Liebes/the Justice

18

TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2009

●

THE JUSTICE

POP CULTURE

INSIDE ON CAMPUS

18-20

■ Christine Comes to Brandeis 19 The folk singer’s slogan was “I don’t make this stuff up; I just make it rhyme.”

■ Jazz at the Rose 19 Charlie Kohlhase was the guest performer at the Rose’s final Sunday jazz session.

■ Made of Metal 19 Speed band Hayaino Daisuki proves itself capable of wreaking metal carnage.

20 ■ ‘The Vagina Monologues’ The theatrical production taught guests about female empowerment.

20 ■ B’yachad Standing O! Several dance groups, including B’yachad and Hooked on Tap, performed at this event.

OFF CAMPUS

21-24

21 ■ The Black Lips The Atlanta-bred band, whose latest album is titled 200 Million Thousand, played at the Middle East in Boston.

21 ■ ‘Watchmen’ The adaptation of the classic comic book boasted a strong male cast.

23 ■ ‘12’ Nikita Mikhalkov’s latest film is based on the classic 12 Angry Men. ■ Chinatown Cuisine 23 The Asia Garden and the Eldo Cake House were both worthwhile locales.

CALENDAR

U-WIRE

by Shelly Shore

Domestic “Disturbia” is still going, kids.

Chris Brown and Rihanna made headlines back in February when TMZ reported that Brown had allegedly beaten Rihanna senseless and was being pursued by the police for assault charges. Over the course of the next few weeks, details were leaked slowly, including a blow-byblow of the fight itself, rumors about pregnancy and cheating, pictures of blood on the interior of Brown’s car and even a police photo of Rihanna’s battered face.

Well, we’re not done yet.

Rihanna shocked and appalled women’s rights fighters everywhere when she took Brown back this week, apparently forgiving him for his “mistake.” According to Star Magazine, she told a close friend: “It’s not his fault. When he hurts me, he’s a beast, but then he turns into my angel … He’ll cry like a little baby when he makes it up to me, and that’s the part I love.” Apparently, Rihanna hasn’t gotten the memo that abuse isn’t a one-time thing—if it happens once, chances are it’ll happen again.

On Friday, March 6, Chris Brown appeared in a Los Angeles court and was charged with two felonies: felony assault and making a criminal threat. Given there were visible injuries, the conviction of making criminal threats is punishable by up to nine years in prison. While Rihanna has expressed that she will testify against Brown if she is legally required to, fans are still disappointed with her. A user on the gossip site Oh No They Didn’t wrote, “I probably won’t ever look at her the same way again.”

Another fan on jezebel.com wrote, “Even though I understand the cycle of domestic violence … I am still angry and sad.”

Still, some fans are doing their best to be understanding. “So many women don’t have the strength to remove themselves from an abu-

“Whitest Kids” hits the road ■ Sketch comedy stars Zach

Cregger and Trevor Moore spoke about about their latest effort, a road trip comedy that pushes the boundaries of the genre.

By ALLISTAIR JOHNSON THE DAILY FREE PRESS (BOSTON UNIVERSITY)

BOB CHAMBERLIN/the Associated Press

BROWN BEHIND BARS?: Chris Brown faces up to nine years in prison for making a criminal threat. sive situation. That makes me incredibly sad.”

It is incredibly sad. What’s even sadder is the sheer number of people who will watch Rhianna’s example and follow it, remaining in dangerous abusive situations under the belief that it is not their significant other who is hurting them but some other part of them. The cycle of domestic abuse will continue. While it’s easy to understand Rihanna’s struggle and the difficulty of her decision, as a high-profile role model she has a responsibility to do what’s best for her followers—and herself.

What’s happening in Arts on and off campus

‘Slice N Deis’ Premiere A special, free event will be held in order to celebrate the premiere of the sixth and penultimate episode of the Brandeis Television comedy Slice N Deis. The show, which follows a group of friends as they handle typical “Brandeis” issues, can be seen on Channel 65 or online at http://btv.brandeis.edu/videos.

Tuesday from 9 to 10 p.m. in the Olin-Sang Auditorium.

WBRS Live Music: The Joint The Joint is Brandeis’ weekly music series and features live performances by artists from all musical genres. This week, Six Day Slide—a band that, after forming in 2003, has gone on to play at colleges and events across the Northeast, including at the charitable concert “Rock for a Cause”—will be playing on the Joint and can be heard on WBRS 100.1 F.M. as well as on live Web stream at www.wbrs.org.

Tuesday from 10 to 11:55 p.m. in the Shapiro Campus Center.

SARA BRANDENBURG/Justice File Photo

Lydian String Quartet Concert At Noon The Rose Art Museum invites students and faculty to visit for an afternoon of music provided by the Lydian String Quartet. The quartet is comprised of Judith Eissenberg (MUS), violin, Daniel Stepner (MUS), violin, Mary Ruth Ray (MUS), viola, and Joshua Gordan (MUS), cello. “The Lydians have concertized extensively throughout the United States at venues such as Lincoln Center, Weill Recital Hall, Jordan Hall, the Library of Congress and the Kennedy Center.

Internationally, they have performed in England, France, Italy, Canada, Germany, Switzerland and Russia.” (http://www.bran deis.edu/departments/music/lydian.html) Wednesday from 12 to 1 p.m. at the Rose Art Museum.

Meet the Curator: Laura Hoptman Laura Hoptman, Kraus Family Senior Curator at the New Museum, New York, will speak about the exhibition “Saints and Sinners” and two approaches stemming from modernism that continue into the 21st century: one that integrates art into the world that surrounds it and another that employs forms that appear in counter-distinction from those found in nature and culture. Galleries will

WHAT’S ON?

LILTING LYDIANS: The Lydian String Quartet, which is comprised of talented Brandeis music faculty, will play at the Rose Art Museum on Wednesday during a free concert at noon. reopen prior to the program at 5:30 p.m.

Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Rose Art Museum.

‘Emotions: The Play’ Emotions follows a rock star who, while on the brink of self-destruction, must come to terms with his past. Viewer discretion is advised due to occurences of profanity, illicit drug use, sexual content and partial nudity. Tickets are free, but seating is limited.

Those interested in attending should e-mail Liana Petruzzi ’09 at liana910@brandeis.edu or Sam Fuchs ’11 at sfuchs@brandeis.edu in order to reserve tickets.

Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Thursday at 9:30 p.m. in the Laurie Theatre.

‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’ The Diving Bell and the Butterfly tells the story of the editor-in-chief of the French Elle, who experiences a stroke and consequently is almost entirely paralyzed. “Based on the memoirs of Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric), it shows him waking in a hospital

to discover his fate and realising that he can only move one eye. Hostile and humorous in equal measure, he eventually agrees to communicate by blinking, and dictates an entire book this way. The result is a deeply affecting film. Director Julian Schnabel achieves a similar level of intensity as he did in Before Night Falls, mainly by sticking close to his protagonist at all times,” wrote Anna Smith of the BBC. Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. in Shiffman Room 219.

Voices of Praise Open Rehearsal Brandeis’ only gospel choir, Voices of Praise, will hold a rehearsal that is open to all newcomers. No auditions are required to sing with the group, which is led by Justin Newry, and all are welcome to join regardless of religious background, vocal talent, level of commitment, etc. For more information, e-mail Susan Landau at slandau@bran deis.edu or Benjy Cooper at bgcooper@bran deis.edu.

Monday from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in Harlan Chapel.

Playboy, best friends and a road trip: Miss March has all the elements to be hilarious, but could very easily venture into the realm of stupid parody comedy. The MUSE finds out what Trevor Moore and Zach Cregger, the directors and stars of the new comedy, have to say about making a movie that’s more than just grossout funny.

MUSE: What were the biggest challenges and differences in shifting from sketch comedy to a full-length movie?

Trevor Moore: The writing process was probably the most different. When you’re doing a sketch, you take a subject, jump in there with your best eight or nine jokes, and get out. You don’t have to segue; you don’t have to care about character development.

When you’re doing a movie, there’s a whole different dimension to think about, which is that the character has something that the audience can connect with and empathize with them. The character has to grow and learn something throughout the film and that each scene isn’t just a tangent in order to get a laugh, but it actually pushes the story or character development in some way. You’re trying to make each scene as funny as possible, but you’re also trying to advance the overall story.

Zach Cregger: It wasn’t that big of a jump in production. We had more means, so we could make more things happen that we wrote.

Doing a TV show is like organizing a mob, doing a movie is like running a business.

MUSE: How long did it take from script to screen?

ZC: Fox came to us with the script, which was written with us in mind, called Playboys.

They were like, “If you guys wanna rewrite this and direct it, you can do your thing.” We weren’t really into the idea at first. There are tons of road trip sex comedies out there. But then we talked for a bit and treated it as a writing exercise. We threw out everything, changed every line and every joke. It was about two years from our pen and paper until now. And in that two years, we shot season three [of Whitest Kids U Know], so it wasn’t a full two years.

MUSE: You got to meet Hugh [Hefner]. You got to party in the house. What was that like?

ZC: Well, we just got to fake party in the house.

TM: We originally did the movie without Playboy’s involvement, just because it’s always tough working with brands. We had Robert Wagner play Hugh. He’s the guy that played Number 2 in the Austin Powers movies. We shot that. When we were screening it though … it screened really well until the end when Wagner came on. Then people were just like, “What? That’s not Hugh.”

Everybody knows what Hugh looks like, and it just created a disconnect with the audience. So we somehow managed to get Hugh. He liked the script. Somebody told me that Hugh was actually nervous for filming. He was going over his lines over and over because it was the biggest speaking part he’s had in a movie.

MUSE: How would you describe this movie in two sentences?

ZC: I would say it’s kind of a dark comedy. It definitely has a point though. It’s really a dark comedy that pushes the limits disguised as a road trip movie.

TM: It’s a funny road trip comedy for people who are tired of road trip comedies.

MUSE: Since you guys have broken into the movie game, do you think there’s a Whitest Kids U Know movie in play?

ZC: Definitely, we’re finishing a script right now for a Whitest Kids movie. That’s the next goal.

Top 10s for the week ending March 10

Box Office

College Radio

Billboard

1. Watchmen 2. Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail 3. Taken 4. Slumdog Millionaire 5. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 6. He’s Just Not That Into You 7. Coraline 8. Confessions of a Shopaholic 9. Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience 10. Fired Up!

1. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion 2. Andrew Bird – Noble Beast 3. Matt and Kim – Grand 4. A.C. Newman – Get Guilty 5. Antony and the Johnsons – The Crying Light 6. Dan Auerbach – Keep it Hid 7. Loney, Dear – Dear John 8. Cotton Jones – Paranoid Cocoon 9. Vetiver – Tight Knit 10. Pains of Being Pure at Heart – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

1. Taylor Swift – Fearless 2. Lamb of God – Wrath 3. Jonas Brothers – The 3D Concert Experience (Soundtrack) 4. Soundtrack – Slumdog Millionaire 5. Nickelback – Dark Horse 6. Beyonce – I Am...Sasha Fierce 7. Lady GaGa – The Fame 8. The Fray – The Fray 9. Jamie Foxx – Intuition 10. Kanye West – 808s & Heartbreak

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

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2009

19

ON CAMPUS MUSIC

Lavin brings company to Slosberg ■ The seasoned folk singer played to a nearly sold-out audience of longtime fans.

By SARAH BAYER JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

The atmosphere at the knitting circle held before folk singer Christine Lavin’s concert on March 6 had all the familiarity of an extended family celebration. Middle-aged women sat on couches knitting, needlepointing or crocheting while young children ran around and played games. At the center of the action was Lavin herself, working a sparkly strand of yarn into an afghan and chatting with fans who approached her to introduce themselves.

Before she left to warm up for her concert, Lavin handed out CDs as prizes to her industrious companions.

“It’s okay to knit during the show, because that’s what I’d be doing if I didn’t have to play guitar,” Lavin told them.

At least one audience member took her up on that offer.

When she appeared on stage Lavin had changed out of the white cable-knit sweater she wore before the show into a black lacy top with long sleeves. She joked that the outfit made her look like an ex-nun but that since turning 50 she no longer felt self-conscious about her appearance. The audience laughed appreciatively—it seemed most of them could relate.

Lavin was quite congenial throughout the show, giggling at her own jokes and beaming when the audience shared her amusement. She also has a talent for the dramatic eye-roll and broadcasted her sarcasm to the back rows of Slosberg whenever she sang

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHAWNA KELLEY

MOTLEY CREW: Audience members and special guests joined Christine Lavin on stage to sing her song “Sensitive New Age Men.” about Republicans, such as in the song “What Was I Thinking?”

Lavin gave her listeners a friendly impression and made a point of including them in her performance. Several times she called for the house lights to be brought up so she could find out who in the audience was celebrating a birthday or how many people had seen her play before. For her song “Sometimes A Mother Really Does Know Best,” she incorporated the names of a real-life mother and daughter sitting in the audience and asked the audience to vote on how the song should end. Toward the end of the show, she invited men

from the audience onto the stage to doowop in the background while she sang about “Sensitive New Age Men.” Lavin has performed her original folk songs since the 1970s, and her audience on Friday night consisted mainly of loyal fans who were quite easy to entertain. She earned hysterical laughter for her song “Psychic Powers,” which did little more than set a familiar math trick to music. “H.L. Mencken” consisted of a list of quotes by the eponymous author punctuated by an occasional chorus.

A slogan on her poster reads, “I don’t make this stuff up, I just make it

rhyme.” Indeed, Lavin introduced many of her songs by citing an article she had read in some magazine, claiming, “This was a folk song waiting to be written.” The results of her news habit range from “Reader’s Digest,” the lighthearted opener about a poll that found New Yorkers to be the most polite people in the world, to the solemn “Hooked on Violence,” which cited the statistic that over one million Americans have been killed by guns since 1968.

Songs that didn’t showcase Lavin’s knowledge of the news generally veered toward the “don’t you hate it when …” variety. She sang about wear-

ing the wrong outfit, trying new things to please a man and writing songs she was unable to sing.

Lavin also introduced guest Jonathan Edwards, folk singer best known for his 1971 hit single “Sunshine.” Edwards played two of his lesser-known songs to enthusiastic applause before returning in the second act to play “Sunshine.”

The highlight of the evening came toward the end of the show, when Lavin called down Neil Elliott, whom she identified as “the oldest Cracker Jack seller at Fenway Park.” Elliott and a coworker, both attired in the yellow shirt and baseball cap typical of their profession, were joined onstage by a volunteer audience member, identified only as “Skip,” who claimed a strong knowledge of Red Sox trivia. Lavin then orchestrated a contest to determine who among the three could answer the most questions about the team’s history. Boston Globe journalist Alex Beam was on hand to read the questions, and Edwards returned to the stage to keep score. Skip won by a landslide.

“I’m wondering if you’ve even been in the stadium,” Beam joked to the vendors, who only managed to answer a couple questions.

“Ask me about peanuts,” replied one. The pair then proceeded with their own crowd-pleaser, tossing bags of peanuts to those who knew how much the snacks typically cost at Fenway and how many are sold on Opening Day. Unwilling to be upstaged, Lavin returned at the end, putting on an elaborate baton-twirling show that involved glow-in-the-dark batons that she tossed to the audience. For the audience of longtime listeners assembled in Slosberg, the freebies were well-received souvenirs of an unusual concert by the veteran performer.

MUSIC

METAL

Rose’s jazz arrives at coda

Japan wages heavy metal war of speed

■ Boston saxophonist Charlie Kohlhase led a quartet for the closing concert of the monthly Jazz at the Rose series.

By ALEX PAGAN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Well, it seems that it may be the end of an era. Without the Rose Art Museum functioning as a museum, Jazz at the Rose will be pushed forcibly into obsolescence. This somber fact hung over Sunday’s Jazz at the Rose, which featured an excellent quartet led by local saxophonist Charlie Kohlhase. Performing with Kohlhase that afternoon was guitarist Eric Hofbauer, who played at last month’s jazz feature; Berklee-educated drummer Mike Connors; and bassist Jef Charland. The performers that afternoon were a small subset of Kohlhase’s larger ensemble, the Explorers’ Club, and the afternoon’s music began with one of Kohlhase’s compositions from the ensemble’s most recent recording.

The composition was from the group’s “Superhero Suite,” and the movement was entitled “Jasper Jaguar: Deceptor.” The music was described as being a narrative about the song’s eponym as he “coils and springs.” The playing of the ensemble during the first song was initially linear: Each instrument played small segments of sound as the band tentatively gained momentum and crecendoed into a drum-heavy onslaught. In this piece, the drummer Connors was the focus, assuming RashiedAli-like multi-directionality and incredible intensity. The song terminated with a fantastic, unified iteration of the song’s melody as the

saxophone and guitar ascend from beneath the drums’ sonic blanket.

The following piece was called “Africanized Blues” and was notably more tonal than the previous work. The song rested upon a syncopated bass line and the djembelike rhythms on Connors’ snare drum. The melody was satisfyingly pentatonic, and Kohlhase came to prominence, coaxing guttural, overtone-rich tones from his tenor saxophone. At times he assumed shades of mid-period Coltrane and Pharaoh Sanders. Midway through the song, guitarist Eric Hofbauer offered a guitar solo, which was suitably muted and consummately West African in quality. The song was notable because of its shifting rhythms, slinking easily between 4/4 and 6/8 time. Kohlhase remarked after the song’s terminus that it was inspired by a Burundian recording of a man playing a one-stringed instrument. While the song’s melody evoked a simplicity befitting the song’s origins, the fullness of the ensemble made for a satisfying listening experience.

The third song was reportedly realized during a long car ride and last month reached its 20th “birthday.” The piece began soporifically, with Hofbauer playing harplike chords and Kohlhase sustaining high-register saxophone lines over the somnolent sonic foundation. Kohlhase’s alto saxophone solo in this piece was absolutely transcendent, utilizing modern intervals in a way that was both unique-sounding and tonal.

Following Kohlhase’s solo, Hofbauer and Connors began dual solos, Hofbauer playing at his avant-garde best, and Connors pulling everything out of his repertoire as sticks were abandoned in favor of bare-handed percussion and handclaps.

The next song was another excerpt from Kohlhase’s Superhero

Series and featured Hofbauer playing with his Altoid-tin slide and various realizations of the complex main melody on mallet percussion, bass and Kohlhase’s saxophone.

The music, as in the first Superhero piece, was extremely free during improvisatory segment, yet impeccably structured.

After the second installment of the Superhero Series , Kohlhase played a tune written by his contemporary John Tchicai. This song was characterized by a rhythmic funkiness that lapsed into reflection and then back into funkiness.

When funky, the song was not far off from electric Miles Davis, with Hofbauer offering jagged stabs on electric guitar and Connors driving the band insistently. In the latter portion of the song, Kohlhase sustained a melodic ostinato and Hofbauer broke free from the rest of the group and offered a burning, distinctive solo.

The following two songs were incongrously conventional. The former was a ballad, dubbed “The Greatest Song of all Time” by Kohlhase, and was characterized

by Hofbauer’s chord melodies and the surprising appropriateness of Kohlhase’s baritone sax in a traditional context. The latter song was, according to Kohlhase, also in the running for “Greatest Song of all Time,” and he deemed it too good to be written by himself. Because of this, the saxophonist insisted that he was a plagiarist, and dubbed the song “My Latest Plagiarism.” The song was burning hard bop and, as promised, was one of the most compelling songs of the evening.

The set ended with another segment of the “Superhero Suite” and the audience was left with a healthy mix of discordance and consonance in their collective aural memories as the final installment of Jazz at the Rose came to a close.

Daniel D.

SNYDER MADE OF METAL

Welcome back! Feast your eyes on Made of Metal’s new Hidden Gems edition. Under this banner, I shall bring to your attention anything my attention thinks your attention should be paying attention to. Be it band, book or movie, I shall do my best to persuade you. Boogie down.

Are you fan of speed? I’m a fan of speed. Speed is in this year, and no one has more speed than Hayaino Daisuki.

The super-metal trio’s debut EP, Headbanger’s Karaoke Club Dangerous Fire, straight up crackles in your hands, unfolding its fire-hot metal chicks laden multi-puzzly-sleevebox thing.

We’re not talking about Origin/Braindrill/Marduk-style speed here, the kind that sounds like rocks in a blender set to “puree.” We’re talking about speed with purpose; three grindthrashingblackpunk metalheads, Jon Chang (Discordance Axis, Gridlink), Matsubara (Mortalized) and Eric Schnee (dude, get a band), playing with enough urgent lunacy to outblast the world’s most metal drum machine, whether they’re actually kicking out 500 beats per minute or not.

The formula is fairly textbook: Chang screeches, Schnee hammersand Matsubara shreds. Lots of bands use this formula, but lots of bands don’t have Matsubara. It’s a shame, because this dude is really awesome at guitar.

He brings thrash, black metal and, dare I say it, pop into the mix to come up with some of the catchiest, uplifting, neck-wrecking riffs in the land. This pulp-anime hybrid is a metal scenester’s dream; it’s catchy to the point of being infectious but so vehemently

anti-mainstream there’s no risk of losing your sacred new discovery to the clutches of mass adoration and commercialization.

Chang’s vocals are an acquired taste (one of my favorites), remaining consistent in his high, high register shriek; extra points to Schnee though, for doing a lot with a little. His kit sounds as basic as they come (snare, two toms, two crash cymbals) but damn if he doesn’t squeeze everything he can out if it. Check out the opening strains of “Horobi Monogataro” or “Haiiro Ikotsu Gakidou” to see what I’m talking about. Also, in a refreshing turn of production, his kit sounds alive and breathing. (BEGONE YOU TRIGGERED, CLICKY, COMPRESSED AND SOULESS DRUMS!) In fact, the whole thing sounds like it was just taped live off the rehearsal room floor, raw like dead carcass. Sure, they teeter on the edge sometimes; the drums lose the beat for a moment or Matsubara misses one of the two million notes, but it all sounds so juicy. Juicy like dead carcass.

I don’t know why I love these guys so much. Maybe it’s because there’s so much love to go around with so little material. At 14 minutes long, HbKCDF ends just in time to deny the listener satisfaction, but maybe that’s what keeps me coming back for more. The pacing is expert. The EP rips forth with a shriek and the fist-pumping bassdrum thump “Into the Throat of Berserk” and closes with the epic soloing and intense Japanese spoken word of “Aka.” It’s the best short story you’ve heard this year.

Not much else needs to be said. Except, an apology to anyone who thought this was going to be an undercover report on Japan’s military resurgence.

The truth is that the band is only half Japanese; the other half lives in Hoboken, N. J. Did you know their name translates to “I love speed?” How awesome is that?

20

TUESDAY, MARCH 10 , 2009

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THE JUSTICE

MOVING MONOLOGUES

DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/the Justice

HEALTHY DIALOGUE: ‘Vagina Monologues’ director Ashley Sauerhof ’09 and head coordinator Amanda DiSanto ’09 deliver an introduction to the show as the cast of 30 actors, all female undergraduates, looks on.

‘Monologues’ a memorable experience ■ Vagina Club provided an educational performance as part of Vagina Week 2009.

By SHELLY SHORE JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

It’s the most wonderful time of the year again—the time when students gather together in laughter and tears to view an amazing show about something deep, mysterious and amazing: vaginas.

The Vagina Monologues, or “Vag Mons” as they are fondly called by some students, were performed this weekend by an amazing cast of women who shared stories based on a series of interviews by author Eve Ensler. The Monologues covered everything from pubic hair to forced prostitution, orgasms to rape. The audience laughed at Michelle Miller’s ’11 story about a workshop at which she discovered her vagina and cried at Hannah Richman ’10

and Asa Bhuiyan’s ’11 heartbreaking account of a girl who had the sanctuary of her vagina invaded in a brutal assault.

They reclaimed the word “c- - -” with Lexi Kriss ’11 and learned about the different moans a woman makes with Kaamila Mohamed ’11.

At Brandeis, the Monologues are more than a show; they’re a charity. Each year the Vagina Club donates 100 percent of the profit from the show to various causes: 45 percent goes to the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, 45 percent to REACH Beyond Domestic Violence and 10 percent to VDay, whose spotlight campaign in 2009 is “Women and Girls of the Congo.”

There is quite honestly nothing negative that can be said about any one of the 30 participants of this year’s Monologues. It takes a great deal of courage to step onstage and tell a story about something as dark and personal as sexual assault or as enlightening as a first orgasm, and while the stories the cast told were not their own, they represent the stories of women across the entire world. Under the coordination of

Amanda DiSanto ’09 and Ashley Sauerhof ’09, the women of the Monologues told a series of stories connected only by a common word—vagina—and wove it into a moving performance that won’t be forgotten.

The intention of the Monologues is to raise awareness about women’s issues.

“We forget our vaginas,” Ensler writes.

And it’s true. Until something happens to them, women often forget that their vaginas exist. And don’t even get started on men—they think about vaginas, all right, but they don’t think about vaginas. In truth, no one really thinks about vaginas.

But the Monologues do, reminding women and men alike that the word “vagina” is not a curse, a swear or an unpleasant infection. Vaginas, the Monologues remind us, are beautiful things. They are sources of life and pain, of beauty and confusion, of identity and triumph.

Also, for the record, the Monologues would like to remind you that the clitoris has twice the number of nerve endings as the penis. Just a little public service announcement.

DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/the Justice

DARING DELIVERY: Desiree Murphy ’10 performs the monologue “My Angry Vagina.”

DANCE

Troupes rise to the occasion with ‘Standing O!’ ■ Jewish Fella A Cappella joined three dance groups for the annual event.

By WEI-HUAN CHEN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

In Hebrew, “b’yachad” means “together.” Sometimes, a combination of diverse elements can evoke new meaning and emotion not achievable by taking separate parts individually. Last Saturday in Levin Ballroom, this phenomenon occurred at the Israeli folk dance troupe’s 12th annual dance showcase, Standing O! Performances by B’yachad, Adagio Dance Ensemble, Hooked on Tap and Jewish Fella A Cappella blended visual and aural expression to inspire sensations that went beyond the eyes and ears, giving the audience an enjoyable and magical experience.

B’yachad introduced the show

with “Kol Hakoach,” a well-rehearsed piece at a moderate tempo that did not dazzle the audience but rather put them into the subtle and relaxed feel of Israeli folk dance. Although I could not understand the lyrics of the song (the title of which translates to All the Strength), I could see in the dancers’ smiles and rolling motions that there is some underlying, inspiring message behind the music.

Adagio Dance Ensemble quickly followed with “Fast As You Can,” a piece that came much closer to stunning the audience with its combination of effective lighting and expert technique in the dancers. The Ensemble, which mostly consists of advanced upperclassmen, presented a fiery energy in their lyrical and jazz styles not found in traditional Israeli dance.

B’yachad returned to the stage for the next two dances, “Yashkef” and “Keren Or.” The latter had an impressively dark and mysterious vibe

accentuated by expertly timed lighting. For example, in a middle segment the lights suddenly turned an extremely dark purple that almost hurt viewers’ eyes. The dancers became silhouetted figures that merged in and out of the darkness. Then they picked up candles in each hand, giving the relieved eye something to focus on in the midst of the painful purple backdrop.

Now, for something completely different, Hooked on Tap followed, heating up the stage with their syncopated beats in the quirky “Swingset.” Instead of entrancing the viewer with colors, the tap dancers used energetic beats to drive the piece. The most striking part of Jenna Gondelman ’09 and Catherine Wagner’s ’09 choreography was the incorporation of the entire body in the dance rather than concentrating just on the feet.

The first half of the show was closed by two more B’yachad pieces, “Hidlakta Kochav” and “Adama

V’Shamayim” (“Earth and Sky”).

Both dances had optimistic and flowing elements, especially “Adama V’Shamayim,” which featured a quick, tribal beat.

After a somewhat unnecessary intermission and some technical difficulties, the show managed to regain its momentum with the graceful and solemn “Shuvi El Beiti.” The next piece, “Tikvah” (“Hope”), distinguished itself from the rest of the Israeli dances with its hip-hop style.

Shane Morris ’12 later explained to me that the rap addressed the problems and misery of people and how to overcome them with hope and love.

Jewish Fella A Cappella made an appearance, singing “Shalom Rav” and “Dayenu.” The a cappella group, which claimed to sing “anything that’s Jewish in some form or way,” gave the audience a comedic romp with their humorous facial expressions and silly choreography.

“K’Mo Shokolad,” like “Adama V’Shamayim,” featured festive and

tribal choreography. It was short and likeable, giving the audience one last glimpse of Israeli dance before the grand conclusion.

“Debka Medabeket” was a worthy grand finale and by far the best dance in the show. Incorportating the entire dance troupe, the piece combined smooth motions with high jumps, showing that Israeli folk dance can contain both spiritual, traditional elements and showy, crowdpleasing moves.

When you look at the B’yachad dancers’ black leotards and silk dresses, you may think their traditional garb is modest or impassionate. But upon seeing the dresses flow in the air and the dancers bend and leap with emotion, you realize that their dancing is anything but impassionate. The appropriately named B’yachad brought music, movement, color and mood together and into a divine package that clearly left audiences of Standing O! with a lasting impression.

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2009

21

OFF CAMPUS MUSIC

Southern rockers hit Middle East

■ The Black Lips, a punk rock quartet from Atlanta, brought their own brand of drunken volatility to the Cambridge hipster haven.

By DANIEL ORKIN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

The Atlanta-bred Black Lips are the sort of rag-tag Southern punks who like offending Northern sensibilities by voicing their support for global warming. Their lowbrow redneck personas and colossal booze intake lends a free-for-all sloppiness to their live shows, and with the utter drunkenness of the crowd at the Middle East on Saturday, club security was just a little on edge.

Though The Black Lips have found a new home on the front page of Pitchfork, they remain punks at heart. The sold-out show drew from a wide array of scenes, with the Cambridge hipsters perhaps a little underprepared for the onslaughts of volatile punk kids. While none of these participants were quite as drunk as the band themselves, the divide between the subdued observers and the mass of die-hards at the front of the club was clear.

But for all the drunken revelry, The Black Lips pulled off a rollicking good set of scuzzy, hick-fused garage rock. Between breaks of incoherent mumbling, the four members of the band wailed and cannonballed through an hour of danceable ditties, bringing together an entire club’s worth of disparate fans.

The band’s ability to pummel through their fuzzy tunes even in the face of such daunting drunkenness is a testament to their tightness. The four members alternate vocals and often join together in a tribal groupsing. They holler their catchy refrains for all they’re worth, and they always land exactly on point.

The rolling rhythms of bassist Jared Swilley and drummer Joe Bradley pound beneath the high-

PHOTO COURTESY OF VICE RECORDS

GARDEN VARIETY: The Black Lips display a rare down-home rowdiness that comes through most clearly in their live shows, such as the one at the Middle East last Saturday. pitch twangs of the guitars and give the band their definitive rock groove. Swilley seems to fill the role of “the cute one,” singing many of the lead parts and employing an appropriately McCartneyesque violin bass. Bradley, beyond his driving rhythms, sings supporting parts on almost every song and even as a drummer guides many of the music’s melodies.

The two guitarists, Ian Saint Pé and Cole Alexander, play slightly

out of tune, which gives their music a spooky Cramps vibe. Saint Pé’s twangy tones add a rockabilly touch, and his grill of glistening golden teeth adds some credibility to the redneck image.

Alexander, wearing a poncho and pilgrim hat, seems to be the musical center of the band, acting slightly less silly than the other members and singing lead on the most memorable songs. His anthemic “Buried Alive” builds like a cross between

The Monks and the theme from the Munsters with a chorus that’s as catchy as it is fuzzy. In almost every other song, a similar method is followed, allowing conventionally catchy tunes to guide the lo-fi skuzz and out-of-tune twang.

The Black Lips’ newest album, 200 Million Thousand¸ follows their trend of unique recording styles that tries to enhance their raw live appeal. The album is good, but for a band that rocks out as simply and ef-

fectively as The Black Lips, there is very little substitute for the live experience.

This is perhaps why their best recording to date is actually a live album from one debauched evening on the streets of Tijuana, complete with a competing mariachi band.

Most recently, the band claims to have been run out of India; given the spectacle in Cambridge on Saturday, this claim suddenly seems more believable.

FILM REVIEW

A long wait for ‘Watchmen’ is rewarded at last ■ The film brings the plight of its flawed heroes to the big screen with a talented ensemble cast and visually stunning fight scenes.

By SHELLY SHORE JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

If you listened very, very closely at about 12:01 a.m. on Friday, March 6, you would have heard a very distinct noise: the sound of comic fans around the country gasping in anticipation of the premiere of Watchmen , the much-anticipated movie adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ acclaimed graphic novel.

Seeing as how Watchmen has been called “peerless” by Rolling Stone and “the greatest piece of popular fiction ever produced” by Damon Lindelof, the co-creator of Lost, there was a lot of pressure on director Zack Snyder—the mastermind behind 300 and Dawn of the Dead —to make a movie that captured the depth and emotion of the graphic novel.

Watchmen is set in an alternate universe in 1985 in which the U.S.A. won the war in Vietnam and Nixon avoided the Watergate scandal by having his Democratic opponent assassinated. Presidential term limits have been removed, and Nixon is entering his fifth term. The Keene Act has outlawed costumed heroes, sending the Watchmen into forced retirement.

The film begins with the death of

the Comedian (not a spoiler, kids, you see it in the trailer) and then follows the rogue character Rorschach in his quest to identify the Comedian’s killer, revealing an intricate web of characters and plots in the process.

As a devoted fan of the graphic novel, I can say that I, for one, was not disappointed.

The dark mood of the comic is established from the opening shot of the film. The fight scene, graphic and bloody before the opening credits even roll, is shot in pure 300 esque fashion, but the exaggerated sound effects and slow motion give it a comic book feel. As the Comedian plummets 30 stories from a shattered apartment window to the sidewalk below, the darkness gives way to one of the most beautifully crafted opening credit sequences I’ve ever seen, set to Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’” and detailing the history of costumed heroes in America.

While the movie is visually stunning, the film’s strength lay in its casting, particularly in its male cast. Instead of pushing for big name recognition, the creators of the film chose a talented group of lesser-known actors, headlined by Jeffrey Dean Morgan of Grey’s Anatomy fame as the Comedian and Jackie Earl Haley as Rorschach.

Morgan embodies the Comedian’s cynicism and darkness to a T, and Haley’s Rorschach is as disgusted with humanity and yet undeniably human as the character in the graphic novel. As Dr. Manhattan, the only hero with actual superpowers—yes, non-comic fans, that’s

the naked blue guy—Billy Crudup demonstrates a gradual distancing from humanity as the character grapples with the struggle to remain attached to a world that he could destroy with a fingertip.

Patrick Wilson’s Nite Owl is presented as weary of pretending to be normal after a life of vigilante work, true to his novel characterization.

Perhaps the weakest aspect of the film was Malin Akerman as Silk Spectre II. While her struggle—living up to her mother’s heroic image—is a familiar one and Akerman is great to look at, her performance is hollow. On the positive side, boys, you do get to see her naked. Life could be worse.

A caveat to the die-hard graphic novel fans: The ending has been changed very slightly. However, the change is tasteful and necessary and brings a surprisingly believable connection to our own current state of world political affairs.

Despite the capes and costumes, Watchmen cannot truly be classified as a “superhero” movie; it is rather a movie about humanity.

Watchmen brings surprising conviction to its characters as flawed and minor gods—people who once existed to protect humanity but now have to grapple with their own mortality in a world that no longer wants them. While moviegoers unfamiliar with the novel may be somewhat confused by the myriad characters and constant flashback there is no denying that Watchmen is a stunning cinematic masterpiece that will inspire analysis and awe for years to come.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WARNER BROS.

LONE GUNMAN: Jeffrey Dean Morgan of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ plays the Comedian.

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THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2009

23

FILM

Viewers can count on Mikhalkov’s ‘12’ ■ The Russian version of ‘12 Angry Men’ is more intense and delves more deeply into social issues than its American counterpart.

By DANIEL BARON JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Nikita Mikhalkov’s 12 is a gripping adaptation of the classic 12 Angry Men. One difference between the two films lies in the penalty that would be incurred should the defendant be found guilty. In 12, it is life in prison with no possibility of appeal and no parole. In the original, it’s the death penalty. Another difference is the inclusion of a major social issue; 12 is about a young Chechen man accused of killing his stepfather, a Russian soldier. 12 Angry Men points out bias near the end; 12 brings it up right from the start.

Both movies involve juries that are one member shy of making their required unanimous decision in a matter of minutes; what they think will be a quick meeting turns into a drawn-out argument. And both movies are a bit ridiculous in that their juries are surprised when they have to cancel plans. In real life, people know they will be busy for jury duty ahead of time and don’t expect to be able to do other things. 12 Angry Men is a little guilty of this flaw, and 12 is very guilty of it—there is even one juror who is supposed to be performing on a tour and believes he will be able to do so without interruption until it becomes obvious that he will have to miss a performance.

Fortunately, 12’s dialogue redeems the screenplay’s faults. The words themselves were flowed together.

The need for such words in the first place, however, was dubious at times. For instance, here and there a scene seems redundant. Once in a while, it appears that a scene is only included to give a particular actor his moment to shine. In short, the length of this movie could have been cut without affecting its quality.

The biggest difference between 12 Angry Men and 12 is the remake’s intensity. I don’t mean the sanitized, choreographed intensity we find in America. I mean raw, horrific, cold Russian intensity. And, while the structure and plot were a bit weak and at times over-the-top, reminding me that I was staring at nothing more than a projected recording of a scripted, improbable series of events, the intensity gave 12 verisimilitude, paired with dialogue that made me forget I was just seeing a movie.

12 Angry Men exercised minds and hearts as though they were taken on

PHOTO COURTESY OF SONY CLASSICS

MIKHALKOV IN MOTION: Nikita Mikhalkov, in addition to playing the second juror in ‘12,’ is the film’s director. Mikhalkov’s other movies include ‘Burnt by the Sun.’ a stroll, with strong winds here and there; 12 has come along to bend and twist minds and to increase heart rates to the maximum. The former kept the human’s conscience in shape; the latter conditions its audience by forcing it to experience an increased level of stress and reality.

Where the classic left us with a positive message, this truer version leaves us with a bittersweet cocktail of relief and disturbance, one made up of the tender smoothness of Kahlua mixed in with the shock of vodka.

If you really liked 12 Angry Men,

then see 12, if for no other reason than that you’ll be interested, possibly fascinated, by what’s been changed and what hasn’t. If you are intrigued by law, the jury system or Russian sociology, then see this movie. If you like to watch foreign films, of course, this is an excellent

one for you. If you want to be taken to places that are dark but true to the human being, 12 should be at the top of your list. However, if you’d prefer a simple flick that doesn’t demand your attention and lasts fewer than two and a half hours, you’d better steer clear!

FOOD

Chinatown yields a “Garden” of delights ■ The Boston locale is home to an inexpensive, yet worthwhile bakery and a restaurant that served authentic Chinese cuisine.

By CAROLINE HUGHES JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

I have visited three cities in China, and often frequent Chinese food restaurants in the United States. So, I considered myself pretty comfortable with Chinese food and culture. But before last week, I had never stepped foot into Boston’s legendary Chinatown, a place of ethnic diversity and complex foods. Last Saturday, though, I attended a play at the Boston Opera House and was coaxed into entering the famed Chinatown region of the city, a short walk away from the Opera House. The lunch possibili-

ties were endless—dozens of Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese eateries lined streets and crossstreets. My mother, a friend and I wandered, intoxicated by the smells, unable to decide on a lunch restaurant. We passed a fruit stand piled high with papayas, guavas and one fruit unrecognizable even to me, a fervent fructophile.

After several blocks of aimless wandering amidst mutterings of “That place looks good,” “Maybe there?” and “Oh, not this one,” my mother stopped in her tracks and said, “We are going there.” She pointed to a restaurant that looked like all the others, with a big, bright sign in Chinese characters and in English, The Asia Garden.

I did not expect to be so impressed by our randomly selected restaurant. Upon entering, we were hurriedly ushered to a table and handed a steaming pot of tea. As I had experienced in China, the relationship between waiter and patron is quite different than in the United States;

waiters do not seem to worry about tips and work quickly and efficiently with few pleasantries. A large, chubby Buddha kept watch over our round table from a perch on the wall, surrounded by green plants and golden statues. Appropriately, the décor mixed modern and ancient, much as Chinese cities do today. Across the room from the brazen Buddha was a flat-screen TV showing a decorative digital image of a palm tree gently swaying on a tropical beach, bringing to mind Tahiti more than Taiwan. A large fish tank graced the adjoining wall.

The menu was unique and intriguing. It consisted of 10 pages in Chinese and English writing, including the typical staples like duck, pork and chicken. This menu, however, also included frog legs, shark’s fin soup and squab. On this visit, I opted for standard American-Chinese food: vegetable fried rice, lo mein noodles and General Tso’s chicken. The rice and noodles surprised me: rather than a thick

spaghetti noodle, my lo mein was more like Ramen or short pieces of angel hair pasta. They were thin and nearly impossible to eat with chopsticks but less heavy and much less oily than the normal kind. The rice, too, was smaller than normal grains of Chinese rice and less fried than the fried rice dishes I’m used to but had more flavor packed into each bite. The vegetables that accompanied the noodles were fresh and crispy, and although the chicken was common and a comforting accompaniment to the dishes, the rice and noodles were enough to set this restaurant apart.

The appetizers, too, stood out for their excellence. The scallion pancakes were crispy and satisfying— again, lacking the same oiliness often found in lo mein. All in all, the meal was lighter and fresher than American-Chinese food. When looking around, I noticed that all the patrons were Chinese families or businessmen who were chattering happily in Chinese. The waiters

greeted many of them with that hint of friendliness that develops between regulars and their servers.

This was authentic Chinese food.

The bill for three people came out to only $30, and I had enough leftovers to skip visiting Sherman for dinner for three nights.

To round out the lunch experience, we went next door to a Chinese bakery, notable for the purple “Phantom Gourmet” sticker on the door. The Eldo Cake House won an award for the favorite Chinese bakery due to its cakes, pastries and affordable prices. My mother bought an entire box of almond cookies for less than three dollars but their deliciousness merited a much higher price tag; puffy, lunch-sized chicken filled potpies sell for less than two dollars.

The Asia Garden is located at 25 Harrison Ave in Boston, a short walk away from the Chinatown MBTA station on the orange line.

The Eldo Cake House is two doors down at 36 Harrison Ave in Boston.

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TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) Your efforts on behalf of a colleague do not go unnoticed, let alone unappreciated. Meanwhile, arrange to spend more time investigating that troubling fact you recently uncovered.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Devoting a lot of time to a current career move means having less time for those in your private life. But once you explain the circumstances, they should understand and be supportive.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Organizing your many duties in order of importance should help you get through them pretty quickly. Additional information puts that still-to-be-made decision in a new light.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) Lingering bad feelings over a recent misunderstanding should fade as reconciliation efforts continue.

Meanwhile, vacation plans might need to be revised because of new developments.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) Love dominates the Lion’s heart this week, with Cupid shooting arrows at single Leos and Leonas looking for romance. Partnered pairs also enjoy strengthened relationships.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) “Getting To Know You” should be the single Virgo’s theme song as you and that special person discover more about one another. That workplace situation needs looking into.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) You might be upset at having your objectivity questioned in the handling of a dispute. But it would be wise to re-examine your feelings to make sure you’re being fair with both sides.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) A family dispute creates mixed feelings about how you hope it will be ultimately resolved. Best ACROSS 1. Young bloke 4. Lavatory sign 7. Go sightseeing 8. Fills the cargo hold 10. Cognizant 11. One 13. Joseph, Kevin and Nicholas 16. Donkey 17. Prognosticators 18. Dead heat 19. One of the 4-H Club’s H’s 20. Citi Field forerunner 21. Disdain 23. Bowlers’ milieu 25. Son of Odin 26. Poultry 27. Mess up 28. Where to find Augusta 30. Greek cross 33. Dianne, Peggy, Kathy and Janet 36. Affluence 37. Speechify 38. “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an' men gang aft —” 39. Church service 40. Method (Abbr.)

41. CBS logo DOWN 1. Bank transactions 2. Emanation 3. Bureau 4. Estate house 5. Tends texts 6. Benelux nation (Abbr.)

7. Pairs 8. Enticed 9. Boil slowly 10. “Mirrors” director

advice: Stay out of it and let the involved parties work it through by themselves.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) Making an effort to smooth over even the smallest obstacles now will go a long way to assuring that things run smoothly once you’re set to move on with your plans.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) A challenge to your authority can be upsetting, but your longtime supporters want you to defend your position so you can win over even your most adamant detractors.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) Being unable to get involved in a friend’s problem calls for an honest approach. Provide explanations, not excuses. Another friend might be able to offer support for your decision.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) You find yourself swimming in circles, looking for some way to get back on a straight course. But things get easier once you’re able to refocus your energies.

BORN THIS WEEK: You’re known for your charm and your wisdom, and there’s no one who wouldn’t want you to be part of his or her life.

BRANDEIS

Through the Lens

Solution to last issue’s crossword.

MAX BREITSTEIN MATZA/the Justice

Crossing Over A solitary figure braved Squire Bridge yesterday when Brandeis received a coat of snow after two days of tantalizing spring weather.

Sudoku

Alexandre 12. Desiccates 14. Noggin 15. Red or Black 19. Perp. to vert.

20. Mr. Bill’s home, briefly 21. Termagant 22. Part of 41-Across 23. Actress Anderson 24. “Radical, dude!”

25. Aviv lead-in 26. Arousing suspicion 28. Pitcher for the Yankees?

29. Initial stakes 30. Rib 31. Crafts’ mates 32. Work with 34. Kvetches 35. Salver

King Crossword Copyright 2007 King Features Synd., Inc.

■ It was politician, liberal commentator and former comedian Al Franken who gave the following sage advice: “When you encounter seemingly good advice that contradicts other seemingly good advice, ignore them both.”

■ Statistics show that for every 71,000 skydiving jumps made, there is only one fatality. That might not seem surprising until you put it in context: You have a one in 20,000 chance of dying from a regular fall right here on solid ground.

■ If someone were to ask you to name the sunniest spot on Earth, you might be tempted to answer “the Sahara Desert” or some other such exotic place. You would be wrong; though, that distinction belongs to a town right here in the United States. Out of the possible 4,456 daylight hours each year, the sun shines for an average of 4,050 in Yuma, Ariz. That means that there’s cloud cover or rain for only about 10 percent of the time there.

■ Floridians are, unfortunately, familiar with large cockroaches, sometimes called palmetto bugs down South. While the bugs may inspire disgust, we should be glad we don’t have to deal with their Paleozoic-era ancestors. Those who study such things say that cockroaches back then were the size of today’s house cats.

■ During the 19th century, first lady Lucy Hayes, wife of Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th president of the United States, was widely known as “Lemonade Lucy.” It seems she was an ardent supporter of temperance and therefore didn’t allow alcohol to be served in the White House during her husband’s four years in office.

Thought for the Day: “Whatever a man prays for, he prays for a miracle. Every prayer reduces itself to this: Great God, grant that twice two be not four.”—Ivan Turgenev

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

Sudoku Copyright 2007 King Features Synd., Inc.

The transition to spring has taken place in false starts this semester, veering between harsh conditions and fleeting periods of sunshine.