The Justice - April 7, 2009 by The Justice

ARTS PAGE 20

SPORTS Baseball team’s blunders 16

‘PROSPECT II’

FORUM Not exactly need-blind 11 THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER

the

BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY SINCE 1949

Justice www.theJusticeOnline.com

Volume LX, Number 26

Waltham, Mass.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

ATHLETICS

ADMISSIONS

Golf team raises funds to continue program

Acceptance rate up 8 percent

■ The golf team raised

nearly $22,000, which should keep the program at a varsity level next year.

■ Forty percent of ﬁrst-year

applicants were accepted despite a 13-percent decline in applications. By MIRANDA NEUBAUER JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

The University accepted 40 percent of its first-year applicants for the Class of 2013, an 8-percent increase over its 32-percent acceptance rate for the Class of 2012, while facing a 13-percent decline in the number of applications, Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy said at last Thursday’s faculty meeting. The University is aiming for a Class of 2013 of 825, Dean of Admissions Gil Villanueva said in an interview. Eddy explained at the meeting that the University

has increased its target enrollment by 75 students to make up for enrollment shortfalls this past year. Brandeis received 6,687 applications this year, down from 7,724 last year, Eddy said. Eddy attributed the decline in applications to the financial crisis, referring to other smaller liberal arts institutions with smaller endowments that have faced declines ranging from 2 to 20 percent. At the same time, Eddy said that there has been an increase in the number of applications at public universities and at universities with larger endowments, as they are able to offer generous financial aid. Eddy said she expected applications to achieve previous years’ acceptance levels again once the economy recovers. “I think students [this year] are going to look for where they think they can have

their best opportunity to be at a price that the family feels is affordable to them,” she said. According to Villaneuva, “Given the economic uncertainties and press coverage of Brandeis, our ability to yield our class is somewhat unpredictable.” “Admitted Students Day is the single biggest yield activity that we have,” Eddy said, adding that more than 1,300 students and their families have registered for today’s Accepted Student’s Day. About two-thirds of students who come usually decide to enroll, she said. Villanueva said that he did not believe the admission rate would factor into university rankings because an institution’s reputation is also taken into consideration. Eddy said at the meeting that the University had decreased its offers of merit aid and focused instead on

offering need-based aid. Villanueva explained that this decision was made after perceiving an increased need by students and families. Eddy said that the academic quality of the applicant pool and the accepted students in general has improved in terms of SAT scores and other indicators. University offices had fielded many questions about Brandeis’ financial health from prospective students, Villanueva said. “We have been very, very clear: [The University is] not going anywhere,” he said. With regard to concerns about the closing of the Rose Art Museum, he said that Admissions staff explained to prospective students that the proposal was made in order to “[conserve] the integrity of academic enterprise here at Brandeis” and

See ADMISSIONS, 7 ☛

By IAN CUTLER JUSTICE EDITOR

The varsity golf program will continue for at least one more season after members of the golf team raised close to $22,000 in donations to cover its costs, according to three members of the team. The University has not yet officially announced the return of the team for next year, but it hopes to do so after the April break, according to Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer. Captains Aaron Hattenbach ’09 and Alex Podell ’09, as well as Aaron Cusato ’12, told the Justice that the team would return next season. “I think [the Athletics Department] wanted to allow [Hattenbach] to make the announcement himself and have some kind of press conference,” Sawyer said, adding that “I can’t say they’re definitely coming back next year.” However, Hattenbach said, “For now, I can tell you now we’re going to have a team next year, and the [Department of Athletics] wants to make it official after April break.” The team has raised $21,115 from about 80 donors, Hattenbach wrote in an e-mail to the Justice. He also said there are “two more $500 pending pledges that are not included in [the $21,115] figure.” The cost of running the golf program is $22,000, according to Director of Athletics Sheryl Sousa ’90. “Things are looking good but we are still waiting to record a few more deposits before we can confirm that all the money needed has been raised,” Sousa wrote in an e-mail to the Justice. “These funds will hopefully be collected over the next week or so and we should be prepared to issue an announcement when students return from break.” “We’re going have a team next year, but nothing has been confirmed,”

See ATHLETICS, 13 ☛

CAMPUS EVENT

CELEBRATING DIVERSITY

Ayers to visit campus April 30, organizers say ■ The professor and former

Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan told the Justice, “I believe that [DFA member and Senator for the Class of 2011 Lev Hirschhorn] reached out to a wide variety of organizations to fund the event, and I think that we all worked together to support this event and help this student organize this event.” Berhendt explained in an interview with the Justice that, “the largest hurdle was the original security costs, which were far beyond what we [the coordinators] could afford to grant the event.” She added that there have been several small holdups, including the [March 7] overturning of the [$900 Senate Money Resolution] by the [Union Judiciary].” When asked about the specific security cost figures, she said, “I am not allowed to disclose those numbers due to requests by campus security, but I can tell you that we spent $2,200 on Ayers’ booking fee, which included his transportation.” Callahan said, “I can tell you that we are going to use a variety of public safety that we use at a lot of events. We are going to have several officers on duty [and] utilize a metal detector, which is consistent with other locations that have hosted [Ayers].” Callahan added that the security measures that will be taken will be similar to those taken at events that have been hosted in

Weather Underground member will speak in the Carl J. Shapiro Theater. By DESTINY AQUINO JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Bill Ayers, co-founder of the Weather Underground and professor in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, will speak in the Carl J. Shapiro Theater April 30 after several weeks of negotiations and discussion, according to a Democracy for America and Students for a Democratic Society press release yesterday. “Tickets will go on sale after spring break, the price will be $5 and will be available on a first come, first serve basis with a Brandeis ID. 230 tickets will be available for sale. This event is limited to members of the Brandeis Community only,” wrote Democracy For America member and event coordinator Liza Behrendt in the press release. The press release was endorsed by Democracy for America, Students for a Democratic Society, the Social Justice Committee and four academic programs—Peace, Conflict and Coexistence studies, History, Education and the Social Justice and Social Policy.

HSIAO CHI PANG/the Justice

Culture X: Rise Up Salseros, a Salsa club at Brandeis, performed at Culture X last Saturday. Each year Culture X unites different culture groups in a celebration of diversity.

See AYERS, 7 ☛

Moral business

Vaillette’s no-hitter

Elections results

■ Linda Rottenberg, the CEO and co-founder of Endeavor, spoke about entrepreneurship.

■ Softball pitcher Emily Vaillette ’10 threw Brandeis’ first no-hitter since 2006 last Thursday.

■ Andy Hogan ’11 is the new Student Union President after defeating Philips Loh ’11.

FEATURES 8 For tips or info call Let your voice be heard! Submit letters to the editor online (781) 736-6397 at www.thejusticeonline.com

INDEX

SPORTS 16 ARTS

EDITORIAL FEATURES

10 8

OPINION POLICE LOG

11 2

SPORTS COMMENTARY

NEWS 3 16 11

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

NEWS POLICE LOG

BRIEFS Administration and CFRR agree on modified CARS proposals process Senior administrators and the Committee on Faculty Rights and Responsibilities agreed on a modified process for the consideration of proposals by the Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering committee, which will be released later this month, Provost Marty Krauss announced in a campuswide e-mail sent April 2 and at the faculty meeting last Thursday. The new process will have Krauss presenting an initial report of the CARS recommendations to the community May 4 and presenting a final report at the May 14 faculty meeting. The May 4 announcement was originally the final report. CARS recommendations will be released April 20, according to Krauss. The CFRR “wanted to be sure … that if people wanted to have a comment on [the May 4 report], that wouldn’t be considered the final report,” Krauss said. The final report would be binding on the issues that she is authorized to make decisions about, she said. Chair of the CFRR Prof. Aida Wong (FA) said that the committee had been concerned about the transparency of the deliberation process of the CARS proposals. She said that with the timeline change, “the faculty meeting will still be a forum for discussing [the proposals] … rather than having the deliberative process [for the CARS proposals be] independent of the regular governing procedure.” CFRR had also asked for an enumeration of the criteria for the restructuring so that faculty members could “have a common ground to assess the merits of the forthcoming recommendations.” Wong said. According to the April 2 campuswide e-mail, Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe stated at the meeting that CARS had considered eight criteria, including a program’s contribution to the University’s multiple missions, its contribution to the undergraduate experience, its excellence compared to similar programs at other schools, the extent to which it is required, its distinctiveness regarding the Brandeis profile and the extent to which it contributes to other programs.

Medical Emergency Apr. 1—A student in OlinSang reported an anxiety attack. University Police and BEMCo responded, and University Police escorted the student to Health Services. Apr. 1—A party reported that a person fell off a bicycle on the commuter rail tracks that cross South Street and was unable to get off the tracks. The Waltham Police Department and Waltham Fire Department responded, and the party was transported by ambulance to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Apr. 1—A caller reported that a party in Ziv Quad had fainted but was now alert but dizzy. An ambulance responded and reported that the patient was a 20-year-old female with flu-like symptoms as well as head and neck pain. Apr. 4—A student on a campus-bound shuttle bus called University Police to request

BEMCo for another student complaining of a possible concussion resulting from a punch to the head while in Boston. The caller also reported that the victim had been drinking. BEMCo evaluated the patient upon the shuttle’s return to campus, and the patient was transported by ambulance to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Larceny A party came to the Stoneman Public Safety building to report a past larceny of a laptop computer from Usen Hall.

Disturbance Apr. 2—A party in Rosenthal Quad reported that his roommate would not allow him to leave the dorm. He will meet with the Department of Residence Life because this has been an ongoing problem. The community development coordinator was notified and re-

sponded. ResLife will handle the situation. Apr. 3—Ziv Quad residents complained of loud singing coming from the Theater Lot area. University Police found a small group of students playing soccer and being loud. They were told to quiet down and depart, and they complied. Apr. 4—A community advisor in Ridgewood Quad reported an “out-of-control” party that the CAs did not feel comfortable breaking up themselves. University Police assisted the CAs in breaking up the party. Apr. 5—A caller in the Charles River Apartments reported a loud party occurring. The group was dispersed. Apr. 5—A party reported a loud group of people between two buildings of the Charles River Apartments. University Police responded and dispersed the group.

The University has received a $1 million gift to be used for scholarships and endowment investment, University President Jehuda Reinharz and Senior Vice President of Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy announced at last week’s faculty meeting. Half the gift will be used for scholarships awarded to both current and future students who show an interest in the fine arts and humanities departments, according to Senior Vice President of Institutional Advancement Nancy Winship. The other $500,000 will be added to the endowment and accrue 5-percent interest annually. Winship said that the gift will not be used until the fall semester and will be placed in the endowment over the summer. It will be used for both current and future students, she said. The gift will be used under the names of existing scholarships and financial aid programs. Winship explained that she and the anonymous donor “decided together after a series of meetings that the University’s biggest priority was scholarship and financial aid for [Brandeis] students. ... Half of the gift will be available for current use scholarships; it may be students that are already here; it may be students that are coming. ... The other half [of the gift] will go into the endowment where it will spin off five percent a year, and that will continue to be used for financial aid,” Winship said. The first portion of the gift will be available for use by June 30, according to Winship. Winship added that the divisions of disbursement are still unclear.

—Destiny Aquino

HSIAO CHI PANG/the Justice

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS

theJustice The Justice is the independent student newspaper of Brandeis University. The Justice is published every Tuesday of the academic year with the exception of examination and vacation periods. Editor in Chief office hours are held every Thursday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Justice office. Main Line News Forum Features Sports Arts Ads Photos Managing

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Traffic Apr. 3—The Waltham Police Department was notified of a two-car accident on South Street near Squire Bridge. The Waltham Police Department will compile a report. Apr. 4—University Police compiled a report on a past hitand-run outside the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center. —Compiled by Brian Fromm

Senate votes against bylaw about political favors

University receives $1M gift to be used for existing scholarships

The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. E-mail jsw5@brandeis.edu.

Apr. 1—University Police investigated a past incident of vandalism in the subbasement of the Usdan Student Center. University Police found a large amount of vandalism but reported that most of it appeared to be old. The entrance door was repaired, and a report was compiled.

SENATE LOG

—Miranda Neubauer

An article in News last week incorrectly stated the name of the university at which Bill Ayers teaches. Ayers teaches at the University of Illinois at Chicago, not the University of Chicago. (Mar. 31, p. 1). An article in News last week incorrectly stated Ezra Fishman’s class year. It is 2010, not 2009. (Mar. 31, p. 5). A byline in Arts last week incorrectly spelled the first name of the contributing writer. Her name is Sara Chun, not Sarah Chun. (Mar. 31, p. 21).

Vandalism

Bronstein bid Marcos Sandler ’12 poses for a bid at the Bronstein date auction event called Crave an Affair. The event, co-sponsored by the Student Global AIDS Campain, was held last Thursday in Sherman Function Hall.

Director of Student Development and Conduct Erika Lamarre spoke to the Senate about the yearly changes to the Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook; she answered questions by senators regarding several different potential situations. The Senate voted against a bylaw amendment that would prevent candidates running for Union elected office from promising favors in exchange for political gain. Senators discussed what would be considered a favor, situations in which election winners appoint former rivals and the importance of picking the qualified individual for an appointed position. Director of Executive Affairs Jess Blumberg ’09 spoke in her executive report about her recent meeting with Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan during which they discussed a new schedule for the Crystal Shuttle to Boston. In his executive report, Student Union President Jason Gray ’10 said that the Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering committee will have its recommendations released on return from Passover break. The Senate voted 9 to 6 to censure Senator for Racial Minority Students Kamarin Lee ’11 for having two unexcused absences at Senate meetings. The resolution was automatically added to the agenda according to a Union bylaw. The Senate voted against a bylaw change that would require funds from Senate Money Resolutions to go to items delineated in the SMR. Senators argued that this would be constricting given recent moves by the Finance Board to provide general grants with flexibility. The Midnight Buffet SMR was passed. The Senate awarded $3,750 to this SMR. This is approximately $1,200 less than the original $5,000 budget for the event. Senator for the Class of 2010 Amanda Hecker reported the Deis 5K Run had raised $250. Executive Senator Andrew Brooks ’09 reported that the Ways and Means committee was considering a nondiscrimination clause for recognized clubs that does not currently exist, incorporating University Committees more into Senate oversight and adding an amendment to the upcoming election cycle in support of a midyear senator. —Destiny Aquino and Miranda Neubauer

ANNOUNCEMENTS How to Promote Your Work

15th Anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide

Students who want to publicize their own books, compositions or artwork can attend this interactive session to learn more about the process. Panelists who will be there to offer their expertise will include: Ruth Nemzoff, Karin Rosenthal and Anne Gottlieb. Today from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in the Women’s Studies Research Center Lecture Hall. For more information, e-mail taormina@brandeis.edu.

Listen to Associate Research Professor of Humanitarian Studies at Tufts University Marc Sommers speak about the role of the international community on conflict resolution in light of the Rwandan Genocide. The genocide began in 1994 when nearly a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were systematically murdered. Sommers will discuss the united effort that is necessary to sustain the memory and the lessons of the Rwandan Genocide so that history does not repeat itself. Today from 6 to 9:15 p.m. in the Zinner Forum.

Study Abroad Application Workshop Students who are applying to study abroad in spring 2010 can attend this workshop to understand the application process. The workshop will focus on how to get into desired programs. Today from 4 to 5 p.m. in the International Lounge. For more information, e-mail abroad@brandeis.edu.

From ‘The Unpredictability of Light’ Listen to Marguerite Bouvard discuss her poems that combine the everyday world with the ineffable. Bouvard writes of loss and its aftermath in ways that surprise and heal. Wednesday from 12:30 to 2

p.m. in the WSRC Lecture Hall. For more information, e-mail taormina@brandeis.edu.

Holocaust Remembrance Day Speaker A Holocaust survivor will come to share her story in commemoration of Holocaust Remembrance Day. Monday April 20 from 7 to 8 p.m. in Hassenfeld Conference Center. For more information, e-mail goose29@brandeis.edu.

The Bagel and the Pita Join BaRuCH for a debate over the pros and cons of not only these two foods but also to hear about the Israeli- and American-Jewish lifestyles that come with them. Monday April 20 from 8 to 10:10 p.m. For more information, e-mail zabarr@brandeis.edu.

THE JUSTICE

ACADEMICS

●

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2009

STUDENT UNION

Thanksgiving Hogan wins Union presidency break extended ■ Andy Hogan ’11 and

■ Classes will not be held

the Wednesday before Thanksgiving on a trial basis. By SHANA D. LEBOWITZ JUSTICE EDITOR

The University will cancel classes on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving “on an experimental basis” during the 2010 to 2011 and 2011 to 2012 academic years in response to consistently low attendance rates, according to University President Jehuda Reinharz. Reinharz made the decision to change the schedule at last week’s faculty meeting. The Faculty Senate Task Force spearheaded the initiative. The University will only cancel classes on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving on an experimental basis for the next two academic years because it is possible to make the schedule change without losing any teaching days, Reinharz said in an interview with the Justice. After [2010 and 2011], we will probably have to bring [the idea of canceling classes on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving] back to the faculty and ask them what choices … they want to make in terms of the teaching schedule,” Reinharz said. Professors will “try [canceling classes on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving] and evaluate the impact of the decision,” Provost Marty Krauss said in an interview. At a faculty meeting in December, Herzfeld presented her analysis of the academic calendars for the next 12 years, and demonstrated that it would only be difficult to make the Wednes-

day before Thanksgiving a holiday in 2012 and 2018. However, Prof. Judith Herzfeld (CHEM), a member of the task force, said in an interview that“if what happens instead is that Tuesday becomes difficult [and students miss class], this experiment will be over in the blink of an eye,” Herzfeld said the schedule change is also variable. Although the University intends to compensate for canceling classes on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving by adding one day to the beginning or end of the fall semester in 2010 and 2011, adding one extra day to make up for the lost Wednesday would not be sufficient in 2012 and 2018. In those years, the University already plans on canceling five to six days of classes for Jewish holidays, she said. A potential solutions to scheduling conflicts in 2012 and 2018 would entail starting fall semester earlier, Herzfeld said. Without canceling classes on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving in 2012, the fall semester ends on Dec. 20 or 21, according to University Registrar Mark Hewitt. With the extra day off, the semester would not end until Dec. 23.“That is quite late, and it puts a burden on students who have exams [and are] trying to travel before Christmas,” Hewitt said. Although he says he always teaches class on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Prof. Timothy Hickey (COSI) said that over 50 percent of students are typically absent. “I always have to make it some kind of an optional class,” Hickey said. “I skip class because I have to get home [to New Jersey] in time,” Esther Yi ’11 said.

Amanda Hecker ’11 won the positions of Union president and vice president last week. By MICHAEL NEWBORN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Andy Hogan ’11 will serve as the Student Union president during the 2009 to 2010 academic year, as he defeated his opponent Philips Loh ’11 in the first round of Student Union elections last Thursday. Hogan garnered 678 votes, while Loh received 301. Hogan said he and Vice President-elect Amanda Hecker ’11 are already working to formulate a concrete vision for the 2009 to 2010 academic year. Hogan declined to elaborate on the specifics of his vision, saying they will be fleshed out during his first Executive Board meeting in the coming weeks and will be disclosed to the public shortly thereafter. Hogan has already met with current Student Union president Jason Gray to facilitate the transition process of entering the office as the new Union president. “We’ve started contact, and we will be meeting on and off for the next few weeks. We want to make sure the transition process is done correctly so we can build off the work [Gray] has done and move forward from there,” Hogan said. According to Hogan, they have already discussed the budgetary issues that Brandeis has faced this year as well as the budget challenges for the coming year. “I’m really happy that Brandeis had so much faith in me, and I hope to work as hard as I can to earn Brandeis’ respect and trust and be

a great president,” Hogan said. Hecker will serve alongside Hogan after beating her opponent, Nathan Robinson ’11, by 168 votes in the first round of elections. During her campaign Hecker said that she wanted to establish a Union blog through which students would be able to contact their Union representatives immediately if they needed assistance. “I’m really happy and thankful for the support I received, and I am committed to maintaining this blog that I promised in my campaign, which will really open up the Union to student ideas, more creativity and more student involvement and input,” Hecker said. Robinson congratulated Hecker on her victory, saying “I think she will be a fantastic vice president, and I wish her all the best for her upcoming term.” Robinson, the current Castle Senator, said he will not run in the second round of elections for senator. He explained, “As vice president, who oversees Senate meetings, I wanted to radically restructure the way in which Senate meetings operate, and without the ability to change the bureaucracy and stagnation in the Union, I don’t think I would want to be a senator and continue to participate in that system.” Daniel Acheampong ’11, the only candidate officially on the ballot for the position of Treasurer, won with a grand total of 924 votes. “I really appreciate all the support from the Brandeis community,” Acheampong said. Acheampong added, “I and my assistant treasurers look forward to participating in more events and activities to see firsthand how money is being used and also to provide resources for club leaders who need it.” Diana Aronin ’11 was elected as the Union secretary, having re-

ceived 7 percent more votes than her opponent Esther Yi ’11. “I’m really glad I won, and I’m excited to start. I want to start getting everything organized before the new Executive Board meets for the first time, and we will take it from there,” Aronin said. In descending order of votes received, Akash Vadalia ’12, Julia Cohen ‘10, Makensley Lordeus ’11, and Gabriel Weingrod Nemzow ’12 were elected as the new members of the Finance Board. Lisa Qi ’11 won the position of racial minority member of FBoard, for which she ran unopposed. Nicole Coredero ’11 was elected as the Junior Representative to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee with 704 votes. Two elections reached a second round last Sunday because no candidate received a majority after the first round. In the final round of elections for the junior representative to the Board of Trustees, Heddy Ben-Atar ’11 reined in 274 votes to defeat Sahar Massachi ’11 by just seven votes. Ben-Atar led Massachi 392 to 384 votes after the first round of elections, with Philip Lu ’12 trailing behind with only 129 votes. “I’m really excited for this opportunity. It was tough getting here and I faced a tough opponent, but I’m really excited to work with the trustees,” Ben-Atar said. Samuel Fuchs ’11 beat Jourdan Cohen ’11 170 votes to 152 votes in the final round of the elections for the Junior Representative to the Alumni Association last Sunday. In the first round of elections, 301 voters abstained, 240 voted for Cohen, 238 voted for Fuchs and 209 voted for Jordan Kert ’11. “I am excited to begin working to create stronger connections between the alumni and current Brandeis students,” Fuchs said after winning the elections.

ROSE ART MUSEUM

Alumni panel discusses impact of the Rose on undergrads ■ Prominent alumni in the

Faculty sign Rose letter

art world reﬂected upon their undergraduate experiences with the Rose. By ALANA ABRAMSON JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

A panel consisting of prominent alumni in the art field took place at the Rose Art Museum yesterday in an effort to reflect on the rich heritage of the Rose and the influence the museum has had on the students who have studied there, Prof. Nancy Scott (FA), who introduced the panelists, explained at the event. Gary Tinterow ’76, Kim Rorschach ’78, Reva Wolf ’78, Andrea Aronson Morgan ’80 and Karen Chernick ’06 discussed the impact of the Rose on their educational experiences and careers at the panel discussion titled “Education Matters in the Museum,” which took place yesterday and was held at the Rose. The event was co-sponsored by the Rose and the Fine Arts department; it was organized by a student committee consisting of Andrea Fineman ’10, Nera Lerner ’12, Stella Liberman ’09, Maarit Ostrow ’11, Julia Sferlazzo ’09 and Aly Young ’09. Michael Rush, the director of the Rose, said in his opening remarks preceding the panel that this event showed “that the Rose is still very much alive.” He encouraged the audience members to hold out hope that the museum will remain open. “It’s not over until it’s over,” he said. Rush condemned the administration for its lack of communication with the museum staff. “I’ve learned a lot about what leadership is and what it isn’t,” he said, adding that “[University President Jehuda Reinharz] has not been to the museum since Jan. 26. That is not leadership. That is hiding.” Tinterow, now the Engelhard chairman of the department of the 19th Century, Modern and Contemporary Art at the Metropolitan Museum, said during the panel discussion that it breaks his heart to think the museum might close,

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

PERSONAL ART HISTORY: Karen Chernick ’06 speaks about her time as a Brandeis undergraduate and STARR intern at the Rose. and that working at the museum while he attended Brandeis played a formative role in his career choice. “It was the very nature of the Rose’s collection that attracted me as a student and inspired me to study art,” he said. Rorschach, the Mary D.B.T and James H. Semans director of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, said, “the Rose Art Museum made me who I am today. I would not have had the career I have without the Rose.” She emphasized that the Rose is vital to Brandeis’ reputation, explaining that “the Rose Art Museum is core to the brand of Brandeis University in the broader world in the sense that many people associate the University with the museum,” and called on the University for greater transparency in regards to the University’s financial state. Wolf, now a professor of art history at State University of New York at New Paltz, spoke about how her teaching style today is rooted in her hands-on experience at the Rose, explaining that

she ensures her students have extensive interactions with museum exhibits. Wolf also said that she began to cry when she read the headline in The New York Times Jan. 27 that Brandeis was planning to close the Rose. “The Rose was at the center of my undergraduate education. I took for granted how special the museum is until Jan. 26,” she said. Morgan, the associate director of Institutional Giving at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, said she was attracted to Brandeis both because of the University’s emphasis on social justice and its valuable art collection. She said that she believes art ensures civic engagement and that she sincerely hopes the museum can remain open to the public. Like Wolf, Morgan said that she also became very emotional after the University’s announcement to close the museum, explaining that “the idea that a student would come to Brandeis without experiencing the Rose was a chill-

ing thought.” The final panelist to present, Chernick spoke about her experiences working at the Rose as a student at Brandeis. Chernick was a recipient of the STARR internship, an endowed internship at the Rose that is currently underwater like many endowments. Chernick is currently a Ph.D. student at the insititute of Fine Arts at New York University. Scott said prior to Chernick’s presentation that she wanted her to be a member of the panel because she “most closely represents the oppurtunities our students have enjoyed over the years and the possibilities of future students.” Chernick said in an interview with the Justice after the panel that she encouraged students to take advantage of the Rose’s collection. —Hannah Kirsch contributed reporting Editor’s Note: Andrea Fineman is the managing editor for the Justice.

Sixty-four signatures have now been collected for an open letter for the faculty to sign proposing a moratorium for all decisions on the Rose Art Museum. The letter, posted by Profs. Ellen Schattschneider (NEJS) and Bernadette Brooten (NEJS) last Wednesday to the faculty was addressed to both University President Jehuda Reinharz and Provost Marty Krauss. The letter urges that the University “keep the Rose Art Museum open as a public art museum, with professional staffing, continuing exhibitions and active educational programs, until at least June 30, 2010.” Prof. Mark Auslander (ANTH), wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that the letter was supposed to been delivered to both Provost Marty Krauss and President Reinharz yesterday. While Krauss declined to say whether the administration had discussed the letter, she said in an interview with the Justice that “the letter is an expression of feelings and desires, but its recommendation is not one that I think the administration will take in advance of the committees report.” —Alana Abramson

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

CAMPUS EVENT

FACULTY

Jews and Muslims talk at JAM

University professors receive teaching awards

■ Religious differences were

discussed at the Jews and Muslims Session: Homies in Harmony III last Thursday. By DESTINY AQUINO JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Four preselected panelists spoke about their experiences on campus either as Jews or as Muslims and what they thought the other panelists’ daily lives were like in the Brandeis environment at an event titled Jews and Muslims Session: Homies in Harmony III last Thursday. Brandeis Hillel, the Brandeis Muslim Student Association, The International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life and The Brandeis Pluralism Alliance co-sponsored the event. In an interview with the Justice, event coordinators Neda Eid ’11 and Jess Kent ’09 hoped the event would “expand the relationships [between both religious groups] through a respectful but challenging conversation.” The event was based on a similar event, Homies in Harmony, that took place in the past two years. Homies in Harmony was meant to foster positive relationships between the Muslim and Jewish communities at Brandeis through music, food, and friendship and “take it to a deeper level” said Kent, who also helped coordinate Homies in Harmony. Kent explained, “[JAM] was advertised through the event calendar, the Ethics Center and the Brandeis Pluralism Alliance, but certain students were invited to the discussion group who would be opinionated in their beliefs but open-minded enough to discuss them.” The panelists consisted of one observant and one liberal member of

each religious group. The event began with a Torah reading by Elisha Fredman ’10 and a Quran reading by Yunus Karahan (GRAD) to highlight the differences and similarities between the two religions. A round-table-type discussion followed the exercise as the other 30 to 40 participants told stories of their religious experiences at Brandeis and followed up those stories with questions or opinions. The discussion was minimally mediated or guided by the coordinators and allowed for, as Eid said, “comfortable honesty.” “As a Muslim observer, I noticed that the Jewish-Jewish relations is an issue on campus as well. The same can be said about the MuslimMuslim relations on campus. This is something that [Kent] and I knew would reveal itself during the Jewish-Muslim dialogue,” Eid wrote in an e-mail to the Justice. “I pushed myself to do this event because of the power of ‘awareness.’ I knew that if a Muslim student heard a Jewish student criticizing Israel or the Jewish faith it would create a better awareness of the diverse opinions Jews have about certain parts of their identities. The same can be said about a Jewish student hearing an honest account of the difficulties a Muslim has had on the Brandeis campus,” Eid wrote. Eid wrote that she wanted to create awareness about preconceived notions regarding the Jews and Muslims present at the event. Andrew Gluck ’11, president of the Brandeis Orthodox Organization and an invited participant, said in an interview with the Justice, “At times, I felt uncomfortable—which is often the mark of honest and open interfaith dialogue. I enjoyed that it was a smaller event and therefore people felt comfortable sharing their true feelings. Also, people remained respectful of others’ traditions and influences yet felt open enough to

ask questions that would otherwise be deemed invasive.” He added, “My favorite part of the evening was when panelists were asked to guess what it must feel like to be a different panelist.” Judah Marans ’11, from the Student Union Judiciary who was an invited guest at the event, said, “There were times when it was actually difficult for me. It’s difficult to be confronted head-on with people of different backgrounds with completely different views from yours, particularly when you are raised in an environment where there’s often a hostility towards the other religion.” He added that he thinks it is crucial to be exposed to people of different cultures, as everyone has something unique to offer. “Often, promoted dialogue can feel forced, and to the credit of those who created the JAM session, the event did not feel stilted, as if there were things to say that people were afraid to say. … Particularly since it wasn’t very public, [the participants] were able to be ourselves and not worry about having to be politically correct per se, and we were actually able to learn and share honestly with each other,” Marans said. With regards to planning similar events in the future, Gluck said, “I feel that this event could be used as a potential kickoff for a think tank that could meet once or twice a month to discuss, in an honest and open fashion, problems and issues facing Jewish-Muslim relations. “If I hope for anything, I hope that I helped create an opportunity for the Muslim students at the event to develop a close relationship with a Jewish student [or Jewish] students that they met,” Eid wrote. She also wrote, “ I truly believe that it is these relationships that make Brandeis a special place and enrich the experiences we have here.”

■ Three professors were

selected for awards based on recommendations from nomination committees. By REBECCA KLEIN JUSTICE EDITOR

Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe presented Prof. Peter Kalb (FA) with the Michael L. Walzer ’56 Award for Teaching and Prof. David Rakowski (MUS) with the LermanNeubauer ’69 Prize for Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring at last Thursday’s faculty meeting. Prof. Bruce Foxman (CHEM) also won the Brandeis Prize for Excellence in Teaching. While Foxman’s award was announced at the faculty meeting, it was not presented because he was unable to attend due to a previous professional commitment off campus, according to Jaffe. However, he will be presented with the award at the May 14 faculty meeting, Jaffe wrote in an e-mail to the Justice. Jaffe explained in an e-mail to the Justice that he selects the recipients of the awards based on recommendations from nomination committees. The Michael L. Walzer Award is given every year to a tenure-track faculty member who “combines superlative scholarship with inspired teaching,” Jaffe said at the faculty meeting. At the faculty meeting, Jaffe delivered a small speech to the professors being honored and read comments submitted by students who nominated them to be considered for teaching awards. During his time at the University, Kalb has taught a variety of courses on Modern, Postwar and Contemporary Art and Culture, as well as the

History of Photography. “It’s great,” Kalb said. “I like teaching, and it’s very flattering to hear that I’ve got students who like taking my classes.” One of the students whose testimony Jaffe anonymously read aloud at the faculty meeting said, “Professor Kalb cares about his students as people, acting as a mentor and a friend to any student who walks through his door. ” Amanda DiSanto ’09, an art history major who nominated Kalb for a teaching award, said he “has a lot of passion for the subject. He’s just a really brilliant professor.” The Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer ’69 and Joseph Neubauer Prize for Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring Prize was created by Trustee Jeanette Lerman. Rakowski currently teaches Graduate Composition, Graduate Analysis, Orchestration, Fundamentals of Music, Music Theory and Independent Studies. “I try to get students to understand things the way a composer understands things,” Rakowski said. Andrew Litwin ’11, who has been Rakowski’s student for four semesters and is his advisee for the music major, said that Rakowski “manages to make class just a really enjoyable place to be.” Foxman could not be reached for comment about his award by press time. Laura Aducci ’09, who is one of Foxman’s students said that he is “ There’s nothing more important to him than sitting with students and answering their questions to make sure they fully understand what he’s teaching them.”

—Shana D. Lebowitz, Hannah Kirsch and Jillian Wagner contributed reporting.

THE JUSTICE

JOINT AGREEMENT

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TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2009

PUBLIC RELATIONS

PR firm term at an end ■ Rasky Baerlein Strategic

Communications, Inc. will continue to work on a special project until its completion. By JILLIAN WAGNER JUSTICE EDITOR

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

PROCESS DELIBERATIONS: Prof. William Flesch (ENG), chair of the Faculty Senate, speaks to professors and administrators during last Thursday’s faculty meeting.

FACULTY

CFRR will resume hearing grievances ■ The Committee on Faculty

Rights and Responsibilities agreed on a joint statement with the Faculty Senate. By NASHRAH RAHMAN JUSTICE EDITOR

The Committee on Faculty Rights and Responsibilities will start hearing faculty grievances again after endorsing a joint statement with the Faculty Senate and the University administration at last Thursday’s faculty meeting, according to CFRR member Aida Wong (FA). The statement elaborates upon the roles of the CFRR, the dean and the provost with regard to the Faculty Handbook. According to the statement, “If the Academic Dean rejects a specific judgment of the CFRR, he or she must give a substantive reason for the rejection, fully and fairly addressing the arguments made by the CFRR in support of its opinion.” Grounds for rejecting an opinion of the CFRR cannot be cited as precedent in future cases, according to the statement. The statement also said that “the CFRR interprets the Handbook on behalf of the faculty, and faculty have a right to rely on CFRR's interpretations of Handbook

rules and procedures as being the interpretation of the faculty.” “There are going to be some difficult faculty discussions around the [Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering committee] recommendations, and we did not want this unresolved issue between CFRR and the administration to hang over those discussions,” Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe wrote in an e-mail to the Justice. Provost Marty Krauss added that it is important “to have a functioning mechanism for resolving [disputes regarding CARS recommendations] or at least processing them.” The resolution comes two years after a dispute arose between the respective parties over penalties placed on Prof. Donald Hindley (POL) for allegedly making racist remarks. A monitor was placed in Hindley’s classroom, and he was also ordered to attend anti-discrimination training. The CFRR deemed the penalties were excessive and should be withdrawn, but Krauss did not follow the CFRR’s ruling and said in March 2008 that the CFRR was an “advisory committee, as it says in the [Faculty] Handbook.” The CFRR decided to defer hearing faculty grievances untill its role regarding the Faculty Handbook had been clarified as a result of the confusion regarding the roles of the respective parties.

“It is only reasonable that, despite the disagreement, both sides may be correct; then, instead of saying that the administration is always the more correct party, we agreed that in fact the opinion of the administration [would not be the basis for judging] future cases in these extraordinary circumstances where they disagree with CFRR,” Wong said. “The key point to the joint statement is that, essentially, if disagreement happens, the interpretation of the CFRR will still stand and it will still represent the opinion of the faculty,” she explained. Previously, there was some confusion regarding whether the decision of the committee reflected the opinions of its members or the faculty as a whole. Although the final decision on how to resolve a dispute still lies with the provost, Wong said that now “no matter what the provost decides to do, that the process we undergo to hear grievances would result in an opinion that represents the faculty’s opinion.” According to the statement, “To resolve differences of opinion, the Dean shall work prospectively with the CFRR and the Senate to clarify or change the Handbook.” In an email to the Justice, Jaffe explained, “If the Handbook is producing a re-

sult that is not in the best interests of the university, we would want to change it. Changing it requires a vote of the faculty and approval by the Board of Trustees.” Jaffe also wrote, “It has always been our practice to consult with the CFRR and get their views. We will continue to do so.” The released statement will not be included in the Faculty Handbook because “it is a statement of practice under the Handbook, not a part of the Handbook itself,” Jaffe wrote. “[The statement] is an elaboration and clarification of the positions and a pledge from all parties to respect the handbook. It’s not equivalent to the handbook, but it’s a pledge to the spirit of the handbook,” Wong said. Wong said that “[the statement] is an elaboration of the Handbook, which is a contract for faculty, ...something that faculty agreed upon when they join[ed] the University [and is binding as long as they maintain their status as faculty].” However, Krauss said, “I don’t know if [the statement] has legal standing—it represents a consensus statement between the administration and the faculty.” “I’m very pleased that we came to a resolution. It was difficult to have this unresolved for so long; it’s good for the University to have this resolved,” Krauss said.

ALUMNI

Alumni nominated to serve in Obama administration ■ Peter H. Appel ’85 and

Martha J. Kanter ’70 have been tapped for posts in U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration. By HARRY SHIPPS JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Two Brandeis alumni, Peter H. Appel ’85 and Martha J. Kanter ’70, have been nominated for positions in President Barack Obama’s current U.S. administration, according to a White House press release April 2. Appel has been appointed to the post of administrator, Research and Innovative Technology Administration within the Department of Transportation, while Kanter has been nominated for under secretary of education by Obama. According to the RITA Web site,

“RITA brings together important data, research and technology transfer assets of the Department of Transportation. The website further writes that “RITA also provides strategic direction and oversight of U.S. DOT’s Intelligent Transportation Systems Program.” “RITA coordinates the US DOT’s research programs and is charged with advancing the depoloyment of cross cutting technologies to improve our Nation’s transportation system,” according to the Web site. “The Under Secretary oversees policies, programs, and activities related to postsecondary education, vocational and adult education, and federal student aid,” according to the U.S. Department of Education Web site. According to a White House press release, “Appel earned his bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University in Economics and Computer Science with Highest Honors,

and received his Master of Science in Transportation from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.” He has worked extensively within the transportation and infrastructure fields, including a position as Special Assistant to the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, and as Assistant Director for Pricing and Yield Management at Amtrak. Currently, Appel is a principal with the global management consulting firm of A.T. Kearney, Inc. Kanter, who has been tapped for the second-highest post in the Department of Education, received a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Brandeis before doing her graduate studies at Harvard University and the University of San Francisco, according to her biography on the Foothill De Anza Community College District Web site. She has served as director of the district, one of the largest in the country, since 2003, before which she was

president of De Anza College for 10 years, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. Kanter is currently a director at the Foothill De Anza Community College District. Appel and Kanter could not be reached for comment by press time. Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe said, “[Brandeis] has a lot of alumni out there who are very interested in the public sphere, so it doesn’t surprise me that some are landing in government, particularly in an administration that has the kind of activist orientation of the Obama administration.” When asked what it was about Brandeis that prepared graduates for these kind of careers, Jaffe said “I think it’s two things: … We teach our students how to think, and that’s really important. Separate from that, we do have an orientation as the connected University. … Our students tend to be very engaged in the world.”

Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications, Inc., the University’s temporary public relations firm that was hired Feb. 2, will no longer serve in a day-to-day spokesperson role but will fulfill an assignment that it began prior to the completion of its contract, according to Senior Vice President for Communications Lorna Miles. In an e-mail to the Justice, Miles wrote, “The Rasky Baerlein contract was for a two month duration and most of Rasky Baerlein’s work was completed at the end of last week. Rasky Baerlein will no longer be serving in a day-to-day spokesperson role for the University with regard to the Rose [Art] Museum.” However, Miles also wrote, “They will be completing some assignments currently in progress that are part of their contract regarding working with some media outlets on stories near completion. It is expected that these assignments will conclude by the first week in May.” Miles explained in a phone interview that the contract was not extended, but “implicit in the contract was that any projects that had been started prior to the completion of the contract date would be completed.” President of Rasky Baerlein Joe Baerlein declined to comment. “All calls have to be forwarded through [Miles],” he said. Miles also responded on behalf of the rest of the senior administration. Rasky Baerlein, which was hired Feb. 2, was paid for by 10-percent salary cuts taken by both University President Jehuda Reinharz and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Peter French. In a phone interview with the Justice, Miles explained that Rasky Baerlein’s assignment in progress is a story that involves the Rose that a Boston Globe reporter was working on but has not completed. “I think that [Rasky Baerlein] had worked on one story involving the Globe that has not seen the light of day. So it’s a story that someone is working on that they arranged some interviews for. … I don’t know where in the process it is, but I suspect that’s the kind of project that we’re talking about here,” she said. Miles said that Rasky Baerlein will be available in the future if the story “needs to be taken care of.” She said that she didn’t know if the story would ever be completed. She added that this is the only story that Rasky Baerlein is working on that she is aware of. According to her e-mail to the Justice, Miles wrote that Rasky Baerlein was hired “in large part to deal with an avalanche of national and international media inquiries concerning the Rose Art Museum.” In a Feb. e-mail to the faculty listserv, University President Jehuda Reinharz wrote, “[Rasky Baerlein is] charged with helping the University present a fuller picture of the varied efforts now underway to seize the economic challenges we, and all other institutions of higher education, are facing in proactive, inspired, and creative ways.” In early February, Baerlein told the Justice, “This is a limited assignment, and again, most of the work we do in these times of what you call ‘crisis assignments’ are of limited duration, of pretty high intensity, and so we see this as no more than a two-month assignment.” However, in an e-mail sent to the Justice yesterday, Miles wrote that it is possible that similar communications services could be needed past this academic year. “I think that if circumstances were such that we had a high volume of inquiries about a particular topic, if we were looking for help, we would turn to a firm that has expertise in that particular area,” she said.

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

CRAVE BRONSTEIN

STUDENT UNION

Bill of Rights delayed due to wording issues ■ The Student Bill of Rights

will not be ﬁnalized by the end of this year due to additional concerns raised regarding the language of the document. By HARRY SHIPPS JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

RACHEL CORKE/the Justice

Bronstein kickoff Students were entertained by performers and given coffee and donuts outside the Usdan Student Center as part of Bronstein Week, an annual school spirit week.

STUDENT LIFE

Bottled water sales will be restricted ■ Starting next semester,

bottled water will no longer be sold in the Usdan Student Center’s dining halls. By SAM DATLOF JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Bottled water will no longer be sold in the Usdan Student Center Boulevard and Café in fall 2009 but will continue to be available at Einstein Bros. Bagels, the Provisions on Demand Market and other satellite food services around campus, according to Sustainable Development Representative Janna Cohen-Rosenthal ’03. The limited sales of bottled water on campus will be implemented at the beginning of the upcoming semester, Cohen-Rosenthal said. Bottled water will continue to be available at Einstein because it is not possible to place a sink there for people to refill their bottles, according to Cohen-Rosenthal. The elimination of bottled water from Usdan is the result of recommendations from the Water Bottle Committee, a temporary committee formed in the fall of 2008 to address the “feasible reduction of bottled water” on campus, President of Students for Environmental Action Matthew Schmidt ’11 said.“There was a big push campuswide to evaluate the options and to see if we could make a decision as a university to reduce our bottled water,” Schmidt said. He continued that cutting the sale of bottled water in Usdan is part of the result of this push. While originally the reduction of bottled water on campus was going to happen this semester, the financial crisis and conflicting obligations stalled those plans, CohenRosenthal said. She declined to go into further details about the conflicting obligations that were faced.

Last semester the committee asked the student body to participate in a survey to find out how students felt about the number of bottled water available on campus. With a 40-percent response rate, 80 percent of respondents stated their support for reduction in bottled water use. In the past SEA has also “worked on providing every student a reusable metal water bottle,” according to Schmidt, although not all students have claimed theirs. Offering free, reusable water bottles provides students with an alternative to bottled water. “SEA is working to support Recyclemania,” Schmidt said. Recyclemania, a campaign attempting to reward people for using reusable containers, has worked in conjunction with other similar efforts such as “Caught Green Handed” and the “Drink Responsibly Campaigns.” Sinks have been added at various locations on campus such as Usdan to make it easier for students to have access to drinking water. Cohen-Rosenthal said, “The element of looking and thinking about reducing consumption takes some time to think through, and we don’t make decisions rashly. There were a lot of things going on at the same time.” To further the cause of sustainability, the University will also create a mural in the name of sustainability. In an e-mail to the Justice, Director of Dining Services Michael Newmark said, “[The mural] will be located above the water station next to the Boulevard in Usdan. It showcases a Boston/Brandeis backdrop with a river/stream running into the water station.” The mural was designed by students in SEA with support from Prof. Laura Goldin (AMST). Educational programs are also being planned to spread awareness on how to make the campus more sustainable.

The Student Bill of Rights, a document seeking to clarify students’ rights in relation to the University that has been compiled by Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer and members of the Student Union, likely will not be finalized by the end of the year after University attorneys raised additional concerns with the document, according to Sawyer. The two problems with the bill are its language and the scope of the changes that it will implement in the University, Sawyer explained. Sawyer said that problems regarding the wording of the bill arose from his “misjudgment” about whether the new Bill of Rights was ready. “What I forgot, or what I didn’t think about, was that a Student Bill of Rights … has impact for the entire institution … many of the items in the draft that we had come to some finality around … had implications for other sectors of the University that hadn’t even occurred to me,” he said. In a previous interview with the Justice, Student Union President Jason Gray ’10, who initiated the Student Bill of Rights project last year, said “I expect that within the next few days, the Student Bill of Rights will be signed by the De-

partment of Student Life and the student government.” Sawyer, however, now said that he doubted if the bill would be finalized by the end of this year but added that he is committed to the project and will continue to work to create a Student Bill of Rights and get it approved. Gray originally proposed the Bill of Rights as an attempt to clarify student rights. He said that the University-produced Rights and

“

The Student Bill of Rights [affects] the entire institution. RICK SAWYER

Responsibilities Handbook was too long and “no one read it.” At the beginning of this year, Gray and Director of Student Rights and Advocacy Laura Cohen ‘09 entered into discussions with Sawyer and other members of the administration in order to produce a final and official Student Bill of Rights. Sawyer said that the problems with the bill fell into two main categories. First, he said, “The language and general tone of [the most recent draft of the] Student Bill of Rights is the language and tone for a bill of rights that you would find at a public institution.” Sawyer explained that since the relationship between a private institution such as Brandeis and its students is contractual, “as opposed to a public institution, where the relationship is a constitutional one, the language for a bill of rights

at a private school has to protect the essence and the personality of that private institution.” Furthermore, there are certain rights and privileges that a private university has in relation to its students that it does not want to give up, Sawyer said. The second problem, according to Sawyer, is that “Some of the items are far-reaching, beyond the judicial process and rights and responsibilities.” He explained that this is because the bill as it is currently drafted would affect many different groups on campus, not just those directly related to the judicial process. Sawyer added that there were some items in the current draft that would be inconsistent with current University policies and that he had not yet circulated the bill among various groups on campus so that they can review its implications. Sawyer said that he thought the spirit of the bill, however, was acceptable. Sawyer also said that the bill will be a Student Union document and that the Union will be able to put it on the Student Union Web site or any other medium controlled by the Union. Sawyer added that the University would work with the Student Union to bring the Bill of Rights to students. Gray said that the Student Union is currently negotiating with the administration to produce a final draft of the bill. He added that it was important to him that the Bill of Rights is passed as soon as possible. “Student rights can’t wait,” he said. Cohen who worked closely with Sawyer in drafting the bill, could not be reached for comment by press time.

CAMPUS EVENT

Univ hosts Dem convention ■ College Democrats

ofﬁcers, including a Brandeis student, were elected at the three-day convention at Brandeis. By HANNAH KIRSCH and IRINA FINKEL JUSTICE STAFF WRITERS

The College Democratic Convention, a three-day conference for College Democrats of Massachussetts, was hosted at Brandeis this past weekend after the University was selected in an application process, according to Brandeis Democrats President Jason Paul ’09. According to Paul, “The reason [the convention] has to happen is so officers can be elected” to the College Democrats of Massachusetts board. “The only way to do a fair election is to bring people together,” he said. The main speaker of the event, which drew students from 12 area colleges, was Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth Timothy P. Murray. Brandeis Democrats Vice President Amber Kornreich ’12 was elected to the position of communications director at the conference. Paul expressed excitement at Kornreich’s election and explained that Brandeis hadn’t had a student elected to the board in many years. Paul also said, “The second purpose [of the convention] is that at individual schools, it would be very difficult to sort of get statewide elected officials and members of Congress … interested in coming to speak to just Brandeis or just [College of the] Holy Cross or just Suffolk [University] or just [Boston University], … but if we can guarantee a critical mass of …

students, then it becomes much more in the interest of these people that gives them an opportunity. It’s also good socially, good networking.” In an e-mail to the Justice prior to the event, Paul explained that the 2009 convention would also include breakout sessions tackling “practical political issues such as how to find jobs in politics as well [as] parts of the craft such as field organizing, youth organizing and how to work within the Obama campaign’s continuing framework.” Paul offered the Jewish political perspective to a group of mostly Catholic peers in one of the sessions called “Faith and the Democratic Party.” “Catholics are obviously a really big swing voting bloc, and so I had to explain how Jews are not a big swing bloc and how that came to be and sort of what the differences are,” said Paul. Brandeis was chosen to host the convention through an application process to Programs Coordinator of the College Democrats of Massachusetts Jason Palitsch. Kornreich and Paul also had to attend meetings with Palitsch in order to prove that Brandeis had space to hold the convention, possessed the ability to cater the event and had demonstrated significant outreach to other College Democrats organizations. Kornreich explained that “Brandeis Democrats were really committed to hosting this convention in 2009 because, most importantly, we believed this convention would be good press for Brandeis University during our time of economic troubles.” The convention, Paul said, “also places [Brandeis] on the political map … [so it] can shine amongst the political world this weekend.”

Students from Suffolk University, Boston University, Boston College, Stonehill College, Northeastern University, College of the Holy Cross, Wellesley College, Worchester Polytechnic Institute, Harvard University and Wheaton College attended the convention. Delegates from Brandeis included Rachel Berman-Vaporis ’11, Jamie Ansorge ’09, Paul Norton ’11 and Student Union President Jason Gray ’10. In Murray’s featured speech, the lieutenant governor described the importance of local government, saying that although national government often gets the most attention, “local government is really what gets things done.” Murray advised students to get involved in local government and school boards, listing his own local government experience on a local library board and city council as examples of how beneficial it is for politicians to be take part in local government. “It’s a great way to learn about what’s happening in your local community. It’s a great way to give back,” he said. Wellesley College freshman Olivia Lenson called Murray’s speech “well-structured and wellthought-out.” She added that he could have done a better job tailoring his speech to the audience, which she said was composed entirely of college students. Kornreich said the overall event “was absolutely incredible. [It] truly exceeded our expectations.” She added that “this convention is evidence of the power and commitment of college students to our generational responsibility to give back to the community and the fight toward equality and opportunity for all.”

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2009

ADMISSIONS: Acceptance rate increases 8 percent

SCIENCE CENTER SHOWCASE

CONTINUED FROM 1

MAX BREITSTEIN MATZA/the Justice

that the possible addition of teaching space would benefit students. The New York Times reported March 31 that Brandeis has accepted 10 percent more international students and that the University also expected to accept more wait-listed students and transfer students, none of whom are admitted on a need-blind basis. Eddy said that the increase in international students was a result of a new initiative called the Gateway program, which aims to recruit an additional 10 or 20 international students compared to previous years. This program offers admission to students with scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language exam that Brandeis considers borderline with the requirement that they complete a special English class over the summer prior to their first semester. She also reported that applications had been down in all states except for California and a slight increase in Massachusetts. As a result, Eddy explained that the University had created an associate director of admissions position in San Diego in order to take better advantage of recruiting opportunities in the area. The director will visit college fairs and high schools in California as part of a program under which the University hopes to expand its recruiting efforts to other parts of the country. Another recent recruiting initiative by Admissions to recruit the class of 2013 by asking the top 500 applicants whether they would like a faculty member to get in touch with them was met with less success than expected. The success of that program manifested itself in the number of registrations for Spring Open House, she said.

Villaneuva explained that faculty and the Student Union recruited about 250 out of 1,200 students by reaching out to them by phone, e-mail or letter. Alumni and University President Jehuda Reinharz have also contacted students. James Simpkins, an accepted student from Rochester, N.Y. said he had recalled receiving a hardcopy letter from the chair of the Philosophy department. “It made me pause for a second and say, ‘Oh, that’s cool, Brandeis took the time to really recruit me, and none of my other colleges have actually done that.’” Simpkins said that ultimately financial concerns determined his final decision. “I received a large scholarship, $25,000 a year from Brandeis, but beyond that I didn’t get very much grant aid, and I got pretty big loans.” He eventually enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh, with a full scholarship. “I felt sort of sad that I didn’t get enough money to really give [Brandeis] a true consideration.” Faculty contact was a determining factor in college choice for Kim Bouchard-Chaimowiz ’13 from Boca Raton, Fla., who received an e-mail from an Anthropology professor. “None of the other institutions I've been accepted to have done anything like it,” she wrote in an e-mail to the Justice. “It was really the letters that confirmed to me that Brandeis was the place I wanted to be.” She wrote that she had received sufficient aid for Brandeis to be very affordable to her. “I responded to the e-mail and got a response back right away. It was pretty cool to look up a professors’ work and see how much he has contributed to the field and know … that he was just an e-mail away, and I don’t even have him for class yet,” Bouchard-Chaimowiz wrote.

OPEN HOUSE: Faculty, students and administrators mingle in the atrium of the newly completed Carl J. Shapiro Science Center.

Open house, tours held in new science center ■ Tours were held in the Carl

J. Shapiro Science Center, which will be formally dedicated in fall of 2009. By NATHAN GLASSMAN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

More than 50 students, faculty and University administrators gathered in the newly completed Carl J. Shapiro Science Center for an open house that began with a brief speech by University President Jehuda Reinharz followed by guided tours of the facilities last Friday. While the formal dedication of the building will not be held until the fall of 2009, the open house gave members of the Brandeis community a sneak peek at the new facility. Reinharz spoke about the firstclass facility and what it means for Brandeis. In addition to praising the new science center, he used his time to thank all of those involved with the process of building the center. Reinharz said the construction of the science center was only one phase of the two-phase Science Complex Renewal Project. He went on to state that Phase 1, the construction of the new science center, was on time and on budget. According to Reinharz, “The sec-

ond phase is that Kalman and Friedland will come down. Friedland will come down next summer of [2010] and Kalman sometime in the fall [of 2009]. But it may take longer than expected due to the economy.” In his speech, Reinharz said that the University needed to upgrade its science facility in order to attract and retain top science students and faculty. “We have first-rate scientists here who have been working in dilapidated science labs, Kalman and Friedland, and we would not be able to keep first-rate scientists without first-rate labs and first-rate teaching facilities, which we have,” he said. “It’s absolutely necessary if you want to be in the forefront of American higher education or world higher education. You need first-rate facilities; otherwise, no faculty will come, so I feel very good about all these great facilities,” Reinharz said. Reinharz added that in addition to the new science center, many other recent infrastructure improvements have been completed such as the Shapiro Campus Center, the new dorms and the new admissions building. Dean of Admissions Gil Villanueva said the feedback from the Brandeis community has been

overwhelmingly positive. “The science center will have a huge impact in terms of the number of students that apply to Brandeis as well as the quality. You already have the Brandeis name that stands for excellence, and now you have the kind of science facility that screams just that as well,” Villanueva said. Villanueva also went on to echo President Reinharz’s message that the new science center is a testimony to Brandeis’ commitment to academics. It is “so tremendous for the school given the economic downturn to be able to expand. To have a place like this is a testimony to the administration’s dedication to making sure that we preserve the academic integrity of the institution,” Villanueva said. Some students enjoyed the sneak preview of the new science facility. Siddhartha Narayanan ’12 said, “It’s a great addition to the science department, and I’m really looking forward to having classes there next year.” Raechel Banks ’12 commented, “The building and those involved with the building are very geared towards sustainability. I think it will look really great when all the phases are completed and the science complex is completed.” Banks added, “It’s really exciting. It makes me want to take a science class.”

AYERS: Speaking visit confirmed for April 30 CONTINUED FROM 1 the past. Berhendt also said, “[Vice President for Campus Operations Mark] Collins told us that he was forwarding the [Ayers event contract between the University and Evil Twin Booking] to [Senior Vice President for Student and Enrollment] Jean Eddy’s office about two weeks ago, but I’m unsure of what the holdup was. I was just aware of the fact that it was in her office and waiting for her signature to become official.” Eddy and Collins could not be reached for comment by press time. Berhendt told the Justice that while DFA knew for weeks that Ayers “would definitely be coming,” “[everyone involved] chose not to inform the press because the official contract had not been signed by both parties, and we shared the fear that [making an announcement] would cause the event to fall through.” According to the press release, “[Ayers] will be speaking about social justice, activism and his experiences in the Weather Underground. This will include a [question-and-answer] session afterwards. During the preceding week we will hold educational events about the speaker.” In a phone interview with the Justice, Ayers said, “I can’t wait to come speak to [Brandeis. Speaking at colleges is] one of those things that I do often but [is] still exciting.”

An event similar to one planned for Brandeis was canceled last week at Boston College due to protests and the college’s fears regarding the safety of the students and faculty. Ayers had already flown from Chicago to Boston before the event’s cancellation. Due to this there is logistical discussion regarding a clause in the contract that would address what would happen in a

“

Cancellations are part of the world we [speakers] live in. BILL AYERS

similar situation, Berhendt said. Regarding the Boston College cancellation and ones similar, Ayers said, “Cancellations are part of the world we [speakers] live in. There are those who wish to portray themselves as defenders of democracy and unfortunately try to deny certain scholars or speakers from sharing their views with other.” “DFA and SDS are so grateful to the University and everyone involved in creating this event,” Behrendt said.

—Nashrah Rahman contributed reporting

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

features

VERBATIM | Anatole France The average man, who does not know what to do with his life, wants another one which will last forever.

ON THIS DAY...

FUN FACT

In 1931, Little Orphan Annie debuted on the NBC Blue network.

A snail can sleep for three years.

Transforming industry By REBECCA KLEIN JUSTICE EDITOR

When Linda Rottenberg co-founded Endeavor, a nonprofit group that provides support for entrepreneurs, she had ambitions of transforming the private sector in emerging markets, identifying businesses that would employ thousands of workers and even putting an entirely new word in the dictionaries and minds of developing countries. Rottenberg sported a stylish pink suit and contagious smile as she talked to students and faculty at Lemberg Academic Center Monday, March 23 about handling businesses in times of financial crisis, global development and how the private sector can make a social impact. Additionally, Rottenberg described what inspired her to help put the word entrepreneur on the radar of developing countries. “It all started when I was riding in the back of a taxi in Buenos Aires, [Argentina years ago],” said Rottenberg, in a confident voice that reflected her magnetic presence. “I struck up a conversation with the cab driver, who told me he had an engineering degree. I asked him, ‘Why are you driving a cab? Shouldn’t you be an entrepreneur?’” Rottenberg continued with a focused tone that reflected involvement in her story and explained that the cab driver had no idea what the word entrepreneur meant. “I said, ‘An entrepreneur ... you know, someone who starts a business.’ He replied, ‘Oh, you mean an empresario,’ meaning the Spanish word for ‘big businessman’ which is associated with corruption and greed,” Rottenberg said. Rottenberg explained that in Argentina, as well as in countries such as Brazil, Turkey and Egypt, there was no word equivalent to the English term “entrepreneur.” “It was my simple discovery of this fact that led me down the path ... to establish a global framework for those emerging market entrepreneurs with high-gross, innovative businesses,” Rottenberg said. Rottenberg, recently named one of “America’s Best Leaders,” by US News & World Report, came to Brandeis to accept the 2009 Asper Award for Global Entrepreneurship presented by the International Business School. The Asper Award honors business leaders who have succeeded in markets through creative business strategies, created global connections across cultural and geographic borders and demonstrated commendable corporate citizenship. “The Asper Award for Global Entrepreneurship at Brandeis IBS was established by Leonard J. Asper ’86, president of Canada’s largest media conglomerate, to celebrate and honor outstanding global entrepreneurs,” said Prof. Benjamin Gomes-Casseres (IBS), director of the MBA program and director of the Asper Center in an e-mail to the Justice. “Ms. Rottenberg certainly fits this description: Her vision, leadership and tenacity not only started a successful global enterprise, but also encouraged other entrepreneurs to start new businesses in their home countries. And, on top of this, her organization targets entrepreneurs who will have a positive social impact on their societies.” Rottenberg, 40, attended Harvard University as an undergraduate and went to Yale Law School before beginning work with Ashoka, a nonprofit group that provides a network of support for idealistic entrepreneurs working toward social change. However, Rottenberg felt that while it was important to alleviate poverty through social change, it was also important to create jobs and provide the intense strategic and management support necessary for entrepreneurial growth. With this idea in mind, Rottenberg co-founded Endeavor in 1997. Rottenberg, Endeavor’s current CEO, explained that in developing countries the young entrepreneur had nowhere to go because large corporations and wealthy families dominated the market. “There was nowhere for him to seek advice or financing. There were no established mentor networks. There were no self-made role models. In fact, there wasn’t even a word for what they were doing,” Rottenberg said emphatically. “Our stated purpose was to establish high-impact entrepreneurship as the leading and most widely accepted force in global economic development. Our unstated purpose was to put the word entrepreneur in every Spanish and Portugese dictionary and eventually in every Arabic one, too,” Rottenberg joked.

and idiom

MAX BREITSTEIN MATZA/the Justice

BUSINESS WITH A CONSCIENCE: Linda Rottenberg, CEO and co-founder of Endeavor, spoke to an audience at Lemberg Academic Center on Monday, March 23.

Linda Rottenberg, co-founder and CEO of Endeavor, speaks about entrepreneurship In 1998, Rottenberg brought Endeavor to Argentina and Chile with its co-founder, Peter Kellner. However, just as Endeavor began its journey in the South American private sector, the world economy was hit hard by the Asian financial crisis as the Thai Baht collapsed, creating fear of a worldwide economic meltdown. “I was told it was destined to fail. I wanted to prove an emerging market crisis was the best time to launch Endeavor. ... I knew during a crisis is when the best entrepreneurs always emerge. ... [It is an] opportunity to beat out competitors and hire better workers,” Rottenberg said. Rottenberg’s perseverance in times of crisis paid off, and by 2005 Argentina was ranked 12th in the world in entrepreneurial activity by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. Rottenberg had confidence in Endeavor’s unique model, and Endeavor expanded to Brazil in 2000. Over the next 10 years, Endeavor screened nearly

18,000 companies in 11 countries, including Turkey, South Africa, India, Colombia, Egypt and Mexico. Additionally, more than 330 entrepreneurs have been selected for support, creating about 90,000 jobs that generally pay at least 10 times the minimum wage. Endeavor supported entrepreneurs made $2.5 billion in revenue in 2007. Rottenberg also explained that when Endeavor goes into countries, it does not search for just any entrepreneur but rather a high-impact entrepreneur. When asked by a member of the audience what differentiates an entrepreneur from a high-impact entrepreneur, Rottenberg responded, “[A high-impact entrepreneur is] someone with big ideas and ambitious plans with the potential to generate tons of jobs and millions of dollars in revenue in wages [as well as] a story that inspires others.” Rottenberg reflected on her success by way of

making entrepreneurship the norm in developing countries. The new word emprendedor, which means “entrepreneur” in Spanish, has recently been installed in the lexicon of several Latin American countries. “Today throughout Latin America you can hear about young people speaking about becoming an emprendedor,” Rottenberg said. Throughout the presentation, Rottenberg gave off an infectious sense of optimism. She ended her presentation on an idealistic note and with a piece of advice to the students in the audience. “Now, for those of you who are students in the room, I encourage you to look around and start asking questions: Where is the need? The gap? What’s currently being overlooked by both government and the private sector? Where is the opportunity to bridge the gap? Today, looking back on my own entrepreneurial ‘aha’ moment riding in that cab in Buenos Aires, … I have to smile.”

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2009

Unity in diversity COMMUNITY CLEAN UP: Participants in the Boston area day of interfaith youthservice cleanup around the Roxbury Mosque in downtown Roxbury, Mass.

PHOTOS CORURTESY OF DRISS BAHRAOUI

DIVERSE DISCUSSION: In the Roxbury Mosque, speakers came to talk to participants about the aims of the Boston area day of interfaith youth service.

The Boston Area Day of Interfaith Youth Service brings together students from dissimilar religious backgrounds By NATHAN GLASSMAN JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Roxbury Mosque in downtown Roxbury, Mass. stands as a tall, proud, red brick building with a black, domed roof. It sharply contrasts with the surrounding urban neighborhood and the recreational park across the road. Upon first glance, the mosque almost looks out of place, but upon further inspection, it becomes clear that it is this diverse nature that makes the mosque so beautiful. Because of its distinctiveness, the Roxbury Mosque served as the perfect setting for Greater Boston’s third annual Day of Interfaith Youth Service Sunday, March 29, when over 100 people gathered for a day of discussion about religion and various community service projects. During the DIYS, Jews, Catholics, Muslims and members of other religious faiths participated in open discussions about what religion means to them and meaningful projects they have participated in. The format encouraged individuals to talk about their own experiences and share with other members of the community. Additionally, participants of DIYS worked side-by-side on community service projects at Community Boating Center Inc., Haley House and Chestnut Hill Reservation. They also had a cleanup in the area surrounding the mosque. According to Alex Levering Kern, the Protestant chaplain for the University, plan-

ning of the DIYS “was a collaborative effort by the Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries, Brandeis University Interfaith Leadership Development and groups on a bunch of other campuses,” such as Tufts University, Harvard University and Wellesley College. DIYS is inspired by an internationally recognized organization based in Chicago called the Interfaith Youth Core. The IFYC is run by Dr. Eboo Patel, who was just recently named to President Barack Obama’s White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Each year the IFYC chooses Department of Homeland Security-funded fellows and trains them to promote peaceful dialogue and start a group to promote a DIYS. Remz Pokorny ’09, who was chosen to be a fellow through an application process, explained that “a fellow is supposed to assess the interfaith on campus, [participate in] monthly conference calls, blog, organize a day of interfaith youth service [and] also write reports to the Chicago agency.” Pokorny was involved in planning and implementing this year’s DIYS. Upon entering Roxbury mosque, the Brandeis students who were participating in the DIYS were greeted by black marble steps leading up to a large main lobby. Once past the lobby, the students proceeded to a conference room where they engaged in informal talk with other members of the DIYS from throughout the greater Boston area who were

already seated at tables. Once the rooms filled up, several speakers, such as Pokorny and Kern, explained the itinerary and what they hoped to accomplish for the day. DIYS may have idealistic aims, but its organizers realize that speaking about religion openly can be intimidating. DIYS community service projects, in addition to helping the local community, can serve to foster a sense of camaraderie and build trust so that interfaith dialogue can happen. “When people are sitting at a table and are asked to talk about their religious identities they tend to be reserved,” Josh Pernick ’10 said. “[If] it’s too formal, it doesn’t promote dialogue. Breaking up into work groups creates a relaxed environment; you’re already working together for the common good, [so] people will be more willing to open up about themselves.” The first of the four community service groups volunteered at the Haley House Bakery. At the Haley House Bakery, DIYS participants of the DIYS worked to provide training opportunities for the homeless or those with low income. Haley House offers baking internships, provides a community gathering space for culture and according to Kern, “advances the ideals of justice and peace.” The second group volunteered to clean up the Chestnut Hill reserve. During the cleanup, volunteers found knives, sleeping bags, beer bottles and heroin needles. They discov-

ered the signs of poverty and depression and clear signs of a homeless community even within an affluent community. “Chestnut Hill—it made us more aware of the plights in the Greater Boston Community,” Pokorny said. “A homeless man came at the end and talked about his experiences and about [how] he was moved [by the] coalition of different faiths helping. That sparked more dialogue [about] what we can do to help the community.” Pernick also explained that the items found at Chestnut Hill prompted discussion about what the different religions say about reaching out to those who need help. The third group worked at the Community Boating Inc. in Boston. There, volunteers worked to provide sailing programs for lowincome youth and recreational opportunities regardless of economic need. The last group worked to clean up the local neighborhood around the mosque in Roxbury. In the past, Roxbury was known for being a violent and drug-ridden area. More recently, however, grassroots efforts by residents have helped revitalize the community. The DIYS has grown significantly since the first time it was held, and Kern does not see the trend abating any time soon. According to Kern, “Each person who hears about the program is a light in their social group. I see DIYS as a springboard for expanded dialogue and activism across our communities and across our congregations.”

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 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 NASHRAH RAHMAN and JILLIAN WAGNER, News Editors REBECCA KLEIN, Features Editor REBECCA B LADY, Forum Editor IAN CUTLER, Sports Editor JUSTINE ROOT, Arts Editor JULIAN AGIN -LIEBES and MAX B REITSTEIN MATZA, Photography Editors B RIAN B LUMENTHAL, Layout Editor B RIAN FROMM, Copy Editor C OURTNEY B REEN and SARA ROBINSON, Advertising Editors

Univ schedule too restrictive According to the regulation behind federal Title IV funds governing financial aid, Brandeis needs to hold classes for 15 weeks to qualify the school to receive federal funding, according to University Registrar Mark Hewitt. Brandeis toes that line, staying open for 65 days per semester divided evenly among days of the week—hence our “Brandeis Thursday” after break—in addition to the final exam period, which is only a week long but technically spans two academic weeks. The Office of the Registrar, which is in charge of writing up the academic calendar, must carefully guard these 65 days. This locks up the academic calendar and limits scheduling options. Case in point: our Passover break this year, which causes us to essentially lose two scheduled days of class because they inconvenience students hoping to have a coherent break schedule. We think it’s time Brandeis started giving us more than just the barest minimum of class days. This will grant us more flexibility in scheduling our academic calendar. This year, our Passover break ends on a Thursday, giving us a single Friday of classes wedged between a weeklong break and a weekend. It’s a safe bet that classes that day won’t be especially well-attended. Also, the Passover holiday begins the night of the Wednesday before break. Observant Jews and nonobservant spring-breakers alike will be needing that Wednesday for travel time, especially if they plan on arriving before sundown, when the holiday begins. That amounts to a waste of two days because the University was unwilling to take a Wednesday or Friday from its tightly packed academic calendar. Our suggestion is simply to hold more days of classes. We can’t just tack another full week of classes onto the beginning or end of semesters because the University needs this time for sum-

Break schedule inconvenient mer sessions and to prep dormitories for incoming students—but a few days at the beginning or in the middle of the semester would make a world of difference. For instance we could glean a few days by shortening the winter or February breaks. We realize that there are logistics to be worked through, but the necessity of the change merits the reworking. If the academic year were to end be extended, then the University would have the plasticity to give us off the days that ought to be off anyway, like the Wednesday and Friday that bracket this semester’s Passover vacation. Mr. Hewitt points out that adding these classes will stretch out the length of our semesters if the University is to accommodate Jewish holidays into the schedule. But other schools have commencement on the same day and still have significantly more school days. For instance, Tufts University and Wellesley College both hold classes for comfortably more than 70 days per semester, which better approximates the industry standard. For Brandeis to skimp by on 65 seems stingy. An alternate solution for the particular case of next week’s Passover break is simply to reorganize the days we do have. Under Title IV regulations, 14 full weeks and a fragment of a 15th are enough to qualify for federal funding, according to Mr. Hewitt. If so, there’s no reason to hold classes on days that will be underattended. It’s a waste of our professors’ time and energy to deliver lectures and conduct discussion to half-full classrooms, and it’s also unreasonable to hold students responsible for class on these days. In short, fitting more days of classes into our academic calendar would offer our schedule the flexibility it needs and our students the education they deserve.

Springfest planning wise Traditionally, Student Events has brought one major musical artist to Brandeis per semester, with a smattering of smaller names reserved for Springfest at the end of the year. However, this semester, Student Events has opted to reformat its concert agenda to better incorporate students’ musical tastes and, more importantly, save them a substantial amount of money, demonstrating that it is still possible to put on great events in these turbulent times. There were a few problems with the previous approach that left some people unsatisfied and some coffers unfilled. For one, spending so much on one artist left little money for other, smaller acts throughout the semester. In addition, big-name artists like Nas, who performed last semester, are a double-edged sword. It’s true that well-known artists will immediately garner more enthusiasm and perhaps put our University’s name on the radar as a possible venue for other artists, but such an event runs the risk of alienating students who feel like their tastes aren’t being respected or satisfied. In the past, we’ve felt the

Combined event saves funds approach was simply a contest to get the biggest name available rather than finding an artist students would actually enjoy. Student Events’ approach to Springfest this semester shows a sound handling of both these issues. For starters, instead of having a separate spring concert, Student Events condensed all funds and efforts into Springfest, a financially efficient solution. This approach also allowed for a more diverse selection of artists, ranging from indie rock (the Decembrists) to modern hip hop (Asher Roth). These artists were also the result of a vote organized by Student Events, allowing for the greatest number of happy customers. These measures show a sound appreciation not only for the tastes of the student body but for the need to remain fiscally wise. In a time when everyone is cutting costs, we applaud Student Events for taking the initiative, as one of the leading student organizations, to reduce their spending while still serving the community.

ELI TUKACHINSKY/the Justice

A change of attitude will make a difference By ZACHARY MATUSHESKI JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

After President Barack Obama’s gaffe on The Tonight Show making fun of the Special Olympics, there has been a considerable buzz in the tabloid world about disabled people. A few students, led by Democracy for America, tabled in Usdan Student Center Tuesday to promote a day to Spread the Word to End the Word, a National Awareness Day to stop using the R word—retard. Students at the table signed a pledge to do so. Sometimes, activist groups may think that eliminating a word from our everyday lingo will destroy the hate behind it. Rather than staging a protest against the “R” word, the whole community should commit itself to ending the assumptions behind the word. Eliminating a word won’t destroy its negative ideas. At most, it creates a lethal sense of comfort. Words have little meaning beyond the ideas we put behind them. There is a great hero in recent history known in many quarters but rarely mentioned in any college class room. His name is Dr. Richard Pimentel. He was central to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. He works vigorously to get those who have suffered injury or are disabled in other ways to get jobs. Raised on welfare, Pimentel’s classmates and teachers thought he was a lesser person and made him feel so dumb that he pretended to be mute. In his commencement speech at Portland State University, Pimentel reflected on how he’d been called retarded as a child. A teacher told him that he wasn’t retarded. Pimentel said, “Yes I am.” The teacher responded, “You’re smarter than all the other kids in class.” He responded by saying, “They’re retarded.” The teacher responded, “You’re smarter than many of the teachers in school.” He said, “That doesn’t mean I’m not retarded.” The teacher said, “That was irony; retarded people don’t use irony.” Pimenthal said, “We do; you just don’t understand it.” This vignette shows a truth: “retard” is just a word. What Pimenthal’s detractors were really saying was that he was inferior. Taking on the denial of the humanity of the disabled is much more difficult than standing and protesting a word. It may seem like progress, but the far more important and difficult mission is to ask yourself whether the nasty ideas behind the word “retard” have slid into your unconsciousness and shaped your approach to those who are different than you. Committing yourself to self-reform is far more difficult and important than removing a word from your lexicon. Waging war against words is not only ineffective but also dangerous. Fighting the R word creates a sense of complacency. Instead of feeling accomplished because you’ve pledged against the word retard and stand by your word, all university students should take on the burden of fighting discrimination: first in their own actions and then in the actions of others. The best way to test whether or not you have taken this challenge is to monitor how you treat those who are physically different from you after the anti-R word campaign. Will you cross a room and sit down and have lunch with a disabled person if he or she is alone? Would you think of inviting a mentally disabled person to a party? If you can’t honestly answer yes to those questions, you haven’t really reformed yourself; your efforts contain little substance. There have been similar moves made by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In 2007, the NAACP held a mock funeral for the N word. Despite the funeral for this word, racial discrimination still exists. Chris Rock parodied the NAACP’s funeral for the N word in his recent HBO special, Don’t Kill the Messenger. Rock also satirizes the segregated suburb he lives in. Rock said to a fan on the HBO promotional Web site that he continues to suffer many indignities. For example, a real estate agent even refused to show him a house. His race trumped his celebrity. The N word might be buried, but the assumptions that make it offensive still live in people’s hearts and minds. Not enough people have performed the self-examination that I am advocating here in relation to the R word. It is ghastly to use the N word in public, but it’s less of a faux pas to mentally single out a person for his race when he enters a store or gets on a plane. Careers can be damaged by the use of the N word, but the action of discrimination in policing and housing is less lethal at the outset. Campaigns against the R word and the N word share the danger that focusing on a hurtful word does not go far enough. To initiate real change, one must face one’s own prejudices and then challenge others. The fight against the inhumanity of calling someone “retarded” doesn’t start at a pledging table. It starts in the hearts and minds of all members of the University and larger community.

OP-BOX Quote of the Week “It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster from when they told us we weren’t going to have a team to all the efforts we’ve spent contacting people and trying to raise the money, so it’s nice to see all of our efforts pay off.” —-Aaron Cusato ’12 on restarting the golf team. (See News, page 1)

Brandeis Talks Back What excites you most about coming to Brandeis as a prospective student?

SCOTT MISHAN “I’m looking forward to being independent and meeting new people.”

DANIELLE MORROW “I like the community atmosphere, and I love the campus.”

DEBBY BRODSKY “The Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies major.”

JIAJIE SU “Its location in a suburban area. I can go to the city easily, but I can also stay on campus if I want to.”

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2009

NOT QUITE NEED-BLIND

READER COMMENTARY Origins of SAF money misconstrued In response to your article “Student Activities Fee to be uncapped next year” (March 31 issue): This is a factual correction: The SAF is not “1 percent of each student’s tuition” as this article, and previous Justice articles, incorrectly state. It is an amount equal to 1 percent of tuition—tuition plus the SAF equals 101 percent of tuition. The reason this is significant is twofold: one, this is an additional fee that students are paying, not a reallocation of tuition dollars they’re already required to pay; two, Union-funded programming is not coming at the expense of academic and other University programs. —Michael Schakow ’01

No words of wisdom given by Peretz In response to your article “A slightly different kind of liberal” (March 31 issue): I have never forgotten Martin Peretz’s words when I graduated from Brandeis in 1982, because they were a complete bummer and dead wrong. He did not speak at graduation itself, but he did give a talk to a smaller group. He said we would be the first generation in United States. history to experience “downward mobility.” I remember thinking that he was insane. This is our graduation. You don’t have to be Pollyanna, but you also don’t need to make drastic predictions about which no one, not even you, can be certain. The prediction was wrong. Most members of my generation that I know have done better or kept par financially than their parents. Things may look bleak now in 2009, but in the decades since 1982, we have not seen the endless downward spiral that Peretz predicted. —Aaron Adler ’82

More faculty should help the Rose In response to your article “Faculty ask to put off closing Rose Art Museum for a year” (March 31 issue): Hallelujah! A tendril of common sense crosses the stage! Pity a few more faculty didn't sign on. —Roger Kizik The writer is a former preparator at the Rose Art Museum.

Wilson’s was not a “train car diner” In response to your article “Busy Wilson’s derails meal” (March 31 issue): Just to set the record straight, yes, the diner was built by the Worcester Lunch Car Company, but no, it was never a “train car diner.” The Worcester Lunch Car Company built prefabricated restaurants, (the basic definition of a “diner”). The only relationship to trains is the basic shape and general styling. —Larry Cultrera Saugus, Mass. The writer is a historian on the subject of diners.

LISA FRANK/the Justice

Need-blind claim not accurate Hillel

BUECHLER AND SO ON

Brandeis might consider appending its admissions policy label of “need-blind” to “sort of need-blind.” As Dean of Admissions Gil Villanueva told The New York Times last week, the University already accepted 10 percent more international students and expects to increase the number of students accepted through the wait list and transfer applications this year. According to current admissions policy, the University accepts students without prior knowledge of their financial needs and then meets whatever financial needs the accepted students may have. But this is only true for students who reside in the United States who are accepted through early and regular decision admission processes. It doesn’t hold true for international students and students that are initially wait-listed. By increasing the number of students who enter the University through the non-need-blind methods, the University is toying with the very policies that allow it to maintain the “needblind” label in order to bring in additional tuition money. I don’t question whether this is acceptable action by any legal standards or even the University’s own official policies. Fudging with the current policy doesn’t officially violate anything at all.

The question here regards the ethics behind the redistribution of spots in future classes so that those who can afford to pay fuller tuitions have increasingly higher chances of acceptance at this university. And any ethical issue is only exacerbated by the continued use of the term “need-blind.” When, in a New York Times article about how some colleges are creatively circumventing the requirements of their “need-blind” statuses, our University’s dean of admissions is cited as saying that the University will be accepting more international students, it’s quite clear to me that this is not being done to simply increase campus diversity. It’s for the tuition money. And when in that same context, we read that the University anticipates accepting more transfer and wait-listed students, an even more problematic situation materializes. The University has already accepted its regular and early admission students. While the number of spots available to transfer students likely depends on the retention rate of the current first-year class, the only issue that should affect how many students get off the wait list is the number of already accepted students that ultimately decide to matriculate here, not the tuition money that the University will potentially receive. When universities admit students, they have a fairly decent idea of how many students will end up deciding to enroll. Of course, this isn’t an exact science. But the anticipation of accepting more wait-listed students implies (in a rather straightforward fashion) that the percentage of initially wait-listed students in the incoming class will be higher than in past years. This means that the University at least tried to skew

the numbers in such away that would allow it to accept more students off the wait list—thus permitting the University to quietly toss aside its need-blind policy to a greater extent than in past years. This apparent manipulation of the system undermines the concept of a need-blind admissions process. If the University is setting aside more slots per class for wait-listed students, then it is intentionally increasing the pool of students for whom wealth may be prioritized over merit. The wait list should be used as a “Plan B” to ensure that the University fills each class to the intended capacity. It’s deceptive and unprincipled to use the wait list to deliberately create an entirely separate category of applicants for whom a need-blind policy need not apply. In a February interview with the Boston Globe, President Jehuda Reinharz referred to our need-blind admission policy as a “cardinal principle” of this University. He said, “Many of our peers play tricks. They say, ‘We are needaware.’ Well, need-aware means you peek, and you see can this kid pay or not pay? We don’t peek.” Unfortunately, it’s now apparent that this University is peeking more and more purposefully. The Department of Undergraduate Admissions may be using the wait list as a cover, but the true meaning of its action is nonetheless unacceptable. Maintaining a “need-blind” status is a point of pride for any university, especially during difficult economic times. If this university cannot afford to carry on with such a practice, then the “need-blind” label should be removed—not manipulated.

Univ should adopt fixed-rate tuition plan to ease expenses By ETHAN MERMELSTEIN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

I’m pretty sure that the band R.E.M. wasn’t thinking about the economy when it sang its hit single “Everybody Hurts,” but those two words perfectly capture the effects of the current recession. R.E.M. sang about how everybody hurts sometimes. These days, the hurting seems to be affecting almost everybody at the same time. With investments and endowments following similar trajectories, universities and families—particularly those families sending their children to universities—across the country are experiencing parallel uncertainty. Universities—especially those whose core mission involves social justice and equality, such as our own—should be mindful of this when considering ways to increase much needed revenue. Filling Brandeis’ burgeoning budget gap may necessitate an increase in tuition, but if the school is to continue to tout its core values to its prospective students, it should seriously consider a four-year, fixed-rate tuition plan like that of

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George Washington University. The inevitable tuition increase is nothing new or unreasonable. According to a March 21 article in The New York Times, just 30 years ago the average cost of a semester of a private school university education was $4,200. Compare that to today’s average of $29,900. (Both figures include room and board.) With rising inflation and operational budgets, gradual increases are expected. Fine and fair. Today, as Brandeis finds its endowment in a free fall, the tuition increase of 3.9 percent seems to make sense. Even considering how most families are as anxious—or perhaps even more anxious than the Board of Trustees—the tuition increase is somewhat reasonable because, presumably, these families know how profoundly paying for tuition will affect their budgets. However, it is unfair and misleading when these increases affect the tuition of students already enrolled at Brandeis, as there is no way to figure out and prepare for exactly how much the bottom line of our education will cost. The cost of a Brandeis education ranks among the most expensive colleges in the United States.

The Justice welcomes letters to the editor responding to published material. Please submit letters through our Web site at www.thejusticeonline.com. Anonymous submissions cannot be accepted. Letters should not exceed 300 words, and may be edited for space, style, grammar, spelling, libel and clarity, and must relate to material published in the Justice. Letters from off-campus sources should include location. The Justice does not print letters to the editor and op-ed submissions that have been submitted to other publications. Op-ed submissions of general interest to the University community—that do not respond explicitly to articles printed in the Justice—are also welcome and should be limited to 800 words. All submissions are due Friday at 5 p.m.

As one of many students whose family’s economic bracket is found in between the financial aid system’s cracks (too high to qualify for aid but low enough that paying for college has a significant effect on economic comfort and lifestyle choices), saving for this fee began shortly after my exit from the womb. I, like many other students here, chose the exceptional, but expensive, liberal arts education offered at Brandeis over many other public institutions and schools that offered me nice merit-based scholarships. Families that aren’t of excessive means need to plan how to foot the bill for schools like Brandeis. Now Brandeis does seem to offer a way of helping families guarantee that the consistency of tuition, but it is bizarre and seemingly unpublicized. The Brandeis University Tuition Stabilization Plan allows families to pay from a minimum of two years of tuition ($72,244, according to the BTSP 2008-2009 fact sheet) to a maximum of four years ($144,488) up-front to avoid having to deal with increases. Because most of the families that would benefit from this plan don’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars at their disposal, the BTSP is relatively ineffective.

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. In addition, the Justice is mailed weekly to paid subscribers and distributed throughout Waltham, Mass. The Justice is published every Tuesday of the academic year with the exception of examination and vacation periods. Advertising deadlines: All insertion orders and advertising copy must be received by the Justice no later than 5 p.m. on the Thursday preceding the date of publication. All advertising copy is subject to approval of the editor in chief and the managing and advertising editors. A publication schedule and rate card is available upon request. Subscription rate: $35 per semester, $50 per year.

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GW, which is ranked as the most expensive university in the country—but costs only $2,709 more than Brandeis including room and board, according to information posted on the College Board Web site—understands this fact and promises students and their families that their tuition rate will stay constant for the duration of their four years at the school. GW’s policy, or a policy that closely resembles it, is the only way for a school to justify such an enormous price tag. Despite the fact that Brandeis is only wearing darkly tinted sunglasses when considering need for financial aid (it is not need-blind for wait-listed and international students, as a recent New York Times article has pointed out), 48 percent of the school is on some sort of financial package, and many of these packages are quite substantial. This percentage reflects the school’s core values and is something to be proud of. In order to maintain its integrity in these trying times, Brandeis must employ equally honorable practices in its policies towards full-tuition-paying students. It can start by making sure that the total amount spent on college doesn’t come as a surprise by the time families have paid tuition costs in full.

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TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2009

SPORTS

ATHLETICS: Golf team raises nearly $22K CONTINUED FROM 1 Custato added. The team previously learned that the University planned to terminate golf as a varsity sport at the completion of this spring season in a meeting with Sousa Jan. 26. At the meeting, she told the team that an estimated$22,000 was needed to support the team for one more season by the time the annual budget was approved at the Board of Trustees meeting March 25. But despite not having the exact amount needed by the time the Board of Trustees met, Sawyer said the Board had no problem approving the team’s status for next season. “Leading up to that meeting, they were so close [to raising the money]

that nobody here was going to be slicing the cheese that thin with them,” he said. “It was clear that they were as good as done.” He added, “It’s just a matter of crossing the Ts and dotting the Is, but it certainly appears that they’ve been successful.” Several players said Hattenbach took the initiative to lead the fundraising efforts. Hattenbach and his teammates contacted friends, family, alumni and a professional fundraising agency—My Sports Dreams—to gather the necessary funds while also working with the Department of Athletics. “We’ve got money coming in through each player’s mailbox, Development, Athletics, [coach Bill

SOFTBALL: Squad wins fifth in a row

Shipman’s] office, so it’s [been] difficult to keep track of it all,” Hattenbach said. “[Sousa and I have] been trying to touch base and add up what both of us have and compare numbers and make sure all the pledges and donations are in.” Hattenbach noted that a $7,500 matching gift from the family of a Brandeis golf alumnus pledged Feb. 13 propelled the fundraising effort. “Once we reached $7,500 and got that matching $7,500 gift and went up to $15,000, my feeling was—and what I was told by several people— that if we had the majority of the money in [by the time of the Board of Trustees meeting], we’d have the team,” Hattenbach said. Sawyer praised Hattenbach’s efforts for taking the lead in

fundraising efforts. “[Hattenbach has] done an incredible job,” he said. “I don’t know what his transcript looks like this semester, but I know that he’s put every waking hour into this, and for a senior to do this for his team is just extraordinary.” Several team members say they hope to endow the program so they can compete beyond next season. Hattenbach said he was told that it would require around $300,000 to support the team for 10 more years and believed it was necessary to “cement relationships” with donors to complete that task. “We’re going to keep on raising [money] to have enough for at least 10 years,” Podell said. “We reached [our original] goal and want it to go

on as long as possible.” However, Sawyer said, “The University wouldn’t be involved in an endowment itself. They would accept to hold an endowment and manage it, but these days to have an endowment with the amount of money to support them [would be] a stretch.” “It’s been a bit of a roller coaster from when they told us we weren’t going to have a team to all the efforts we’ve spent contacting people and trying to raise the money, so it’s nice to see all of our efforts pay off,” Cusato said. “We’re excited for [Hattenbach] and excited for the team, and we’re happy that the rising seniors at least will be able to compete at Brandeis as a varsity team,” Sawyer said.

IN THE FIELD

CONTINUED FROM 16 going,” she said. Offensively, catcher Erin Ross ’10 led the way by going 2-for-4 with three RBIs. In the second game of a doubleheader against Bowdoin last Sunday, the Judges trailed 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning after Bowdoin had just taken the lead in the top half of the extra frame. Second baseman Melisa Cagar ’11 hit a single that advanced center fielder Carly Schmand ’11 to third base after Schmand had been placed at second base to start the inning. In an attempt to tie the game, coach Jessica Johnson called for the next batter, shortstop Chelsea Korp ’10, to attempt a suicide squeeze bunt, in which a runner on third base begins to steal home immediately before the bunt is put in play, The Judges executed the play successfully, as Korp’s bunt scored Schmand, but Bowdoin senior pitcher Karen Reni threw the ball wide of senior catcher Alison Coleman trying to throw Schmand out. The error allowed Cagar to score the game-winning run from second base to seal the 5-4 victory. “That was a fun play,” Cagar said. … “When I was running to third I saw that they had overthrown the ball past the catcher, so my first instinct was to score; so that’s what I did.” While Vaillette started this game for Brandeis as well, she did not get the win, as coach Jessica Johnson replaced her with pitcher Caroline Miller ’12 in the top of the seventh inning. “We had taken a look at who was coming up [for Bowdoin], and their seven, eight and nine hitters did not face [Miller] in the first game, and they actually were the only ones from Bowdoin who were doing anything off of [Vaillette], for the most part, so we decided that we would throw [Miller] because they were new for her and vice versa,” Johnson said. The Judges took the first game against Bowdoin 7-4. Brandeis got out to a 2-0 lead on RBIs from designated hitter Brittany Grimm ’12 and Cagar. The Judges then added four more runs in the fourth inning thanks to three walks and another Bowdoin error. The Polar Bears then scored four runs of their own in the top of the fifth, but Miller was able to hold on for the win. The Judges next play today in a home doubleheader against Suffolk University at 4 p.m.

DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/the Justice

PICK-OFF PLAY: Shortstop Tony Deshler ’11 sneaks behind a runner from Clark University during last Saturday’s doubleheader at home. The Judges took one of two games.

BASEBALL: Judges’ defense struggles CONTINUED FROM 16 “[Deshler is] very talented and can play anywhere on the field,” Lambert said. “He’s been able to fill in at outfield, shortstop, third base while being one of the best hitters in the lineup, so that versatility has definitely helped [the lineup].” Last Saturday’s doubleheader against Clark University saw the Judges take one of two games despite recording 20 runs in the two games. After returning full time from a hip injury he suffered last fall, cap-

tain second baseman John O’Brion ’10 paced the Judges in the first game, going 2-for-3 with a home run to finish with four RBIs. Deshler, playing shortstop, went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Pitcher Drew Brzozowski ’10 started for Brandeis and picked up the win to improve to 3-1, lasting 6 1/3 innings, giving up six runs, five earned, while striking out four and walking two. In the second game, the Cougars jumped out to an early lead, converting a two-out Brandeis error into five unearned runs via two-run and

three-run home runs. The Judges fought back in the bottom of the fourth, capitalizing on a Cougar error and wild pitch. With the score tied at seven in the sixth inning, left-handed pitcher Justin Duncombe ’11 entered the game and exited four batters and one-third of an inning later with the loss. After Duncombe gave up a double, Clark freshman Mitchell DeLorenzo hit a two-run homerun to centerfield that gave the Cougars the lead. They added one more insurance run to win 10-7.

In the team’s previous games against MIT and Fitchburg State, the Judges surrendered six unearned runs due to errors, combining to give up 17 runs overall. “Errors are obviously never good, but they’ve been coming back to kill us consistently,” Deshler said. “We’re swinging the bat better, but it seems like half of the runs that we give up are unearned, and we need to get better.” The team will next play today at home against Tufts University at 3 p.m.

GOLF: Brandeis’ slow start turns into 13th place finish CONTINUED FROM 16 toward the clubhouse, and they play a lot longer than they do in the scorecard,” Harary said. Harary shot five over par at 77 and double bogeyed the 18th hole. “The wind was a huge factor this weekend. If you hit the ball high or slice it in the same direction as the wind, it would push the ball into

the woods. But it affected every team—that’s why the scores were fairly high,” Shipman said. The Judges also competed without Lee Bloom ’10, who did not qualify for the Babson Invitational during team practices this week. Bloom’s fall season included two individual tournament victories, including the first-ever win by a Brandeis player in the Bowdoin

Invitational. “Bloom started off [last Saturday] hitting the ball solidly, but not up to his normal standard, [which resulted in him not qualifying],” said Shipman. “When he’s playing well he can shoot 75 or better, and I would never expect him to score over 80.” Harary said he expects Bloom to return next week with a strong per-

formance after the long layoff between the fall and spring seasons. “Not having [Bloom] was tough. We could have used him this weekend. He might just need some times to get back into the swing of things after the layoff,” he said. The Judges will next compete tomorrow in the Lou Flumere Invitational at the Stow Acres Country Club in Stow, Mass.

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

OUTDOOR TRACK

TENNIS

Sax leads women’s squad to eighth place; men 12th

Men’s team loses seventh straight match in sweep

JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

The season was different, but the results were the same for jumper Ali Sax ’09 at last Saturday’s Skyhawk Invitational at Stonehill College. After making it to the NCAA Championships for the first time in her career during the indoor track and field season, Sax placed in four different events in the outdoor track and field team’s season opener, earning the women’s team 19 of its 26 points in the meet. The women’s team finished eighth out of 15 teams in a meet that featured Division I and II teams. The University of Rhode Island won the women’s meet with 190 points. The men’s team also competed last Saturday, finishing 12th out of 13 teams with 12 points. Stonehill won the meet with 158 points. Sax, who finished 10th in the Division III NCAA Championships in the triple jump March 14, placed second in the triple jump last Saturday, earning her team eight points. Sax jumped 11.24 meters, finishing behind rookie Mickey Jusme of Wheaton College. “[Sax is] tremendous; she has moved to a different level this year,” coach Mark Reytblat said.

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■ Ali Sax ’09 placed in four events at last Saturday’s Skyhawk Invitational to earn the women’s outdoor track team an eighth-place ﬁnish out of 15 teams.

“She did a [personal best] in the long jump, and she did extremely well in the triple jump.” Sax also placed in two different sprint events. She finished fifth in the 100-meter hurdles, running in 16.20 seconds, earning the Judges four points. Sax also aided on the Judges’ 4by-100-meter relay squad, which finished seventh with a time of 51.20 seconds. The Judges’ relay team consisted of Jessica Marsh ’12, Kate Henry ’09 and Lily Parenteau ’12. “I was really happy with [the relay],” Sax said. “We were running against the wind, and the handoffs we were very nervous about, [but] we have been practicing for two weeks on it, and we knew each other well enough to adjust.” Sax also took fourth in the long jump with a leap of 5.33 meters, a personal record that earned the Judges five points. Lucia Capano ’12 started her season on a positive note as well, finishing fourth in the women’s triple jump with a leap of 11.06 meters, earning the Judges five points. “[Capano] did well; she was steady,” Reytblat said. “She’s getting better and better and more consistent than she used to be. She is huge for the team.” Suzanne Bernier ’10 completed the field scoring for the Judges, finishing in a three-way tie for fifth place in the high jump at 1.52 meters, good for one point. Beth Pisarik ’10 rounded out the scoring for the women in the 1,500meter run, finishing with a time of 4:47.94, earning one point. The men’s team finished with 12

points last Saturday, led by an emerging group of sprinters. After struggling in the sprinting events during the indoor season, the Judges’ 4-by-100-meter sprint relay team finished sixth. The quartet of Charlie Pino ’12, Mingkai Lin ’12, Pat Gregoire ’10 and Stanley Xuelin ’12 finished in 46.37 seconds, earning three points for the Judges. After not running last semester, Aaron Udel ’10 finished fifth in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:03.72, earning four points. Another sprinter, Xuelin, finished sixth in the 100-meter sprint with a time of 11.93 seconds good for three points. Reytblat said he recognizes the potential in Xuelin and hopes he will blossom in the spring season. “[Xuelin] is our fastest sprinter; we just have to wait for better weather and conditions, and hopefully he will run faster,” Reytblat said. Chris Brown ’12 rounded out the scoring for the men’s team, finishing seventh in the 1,500-meter race to earn the Judges two points. Brown ran in 4:07.54, seven seconds behind sophomore Andrew MacIsaac of Boston College, the race’s winner. Reytblat thought the team performed decently for its first meet of the season, saying the performance was “not bad for the first meet in hard conditions. Overall it was OK.” The men’s and women’s teams will compete at the George Davis Invitational next Saturday in Lowell, Mass. They will then compete at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology co-ed Invitational April 18.

■ The men’s tennis team

lost 9-0 against Amherst College last Saturday. By ADAM ROSEN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

The only thing different about the men’s tennis team’s 9-0 road loss to No. 7 Amherst College last Saturday from its previous six matches was the opponent. The reeling Judges have now lost seven matches in a row and are 5-9 on the season, having been swept in three of their last four competitions. Their last win came in Orlando, Fla. Feb. 23 against Capital University. In doubles, the No. 1 team of captain Scott Schulman ’09 and Simon Miller ’11 proved to be the most competitive, but they lost to Amherst senior captain Zack Lerner and sophomore Moritz Koenig 8-4. The No. 2 doubles pairing of Mayur Kasetty ’11 and Seth Rogers ’10 was knocked off 8-1 by Amherst sophomore Priit Gross and rookie Austin Chafetz, while No. 3 partners Craig Elman ’12 and Josh Bookman ’12 also lost 8-1 to Amherst rookies Wes Waterman and Andrew Jung. The Judges have not won any of their doubles matches during the course of their sevenmatch losing streak. “The guys just don’t have enough confidence on the doubles court against those top teams,” coach Ben Lamanna said. Singles play did not prove to be any more fruitful for the Judges. Though No. 2 singles player Schulman was able to force a second-set tiebreaker against Amherst freshman Julian Camacho, he ended up losing both sets, 6-4, 7-6 (5). The remaining five singles players combined to win just eight games overall, as each Brandeis player was swept in at least one of his two sets.

Miller was defeated at No. 1 singles to rookie Surain Asokaraj 6-2, 6-0; Rogers was knocked off at No. 3 singles by sophomore Sean Doerfler 6-0, 6-1; Kasetty was handled at No. 4 singles by junior Dan Kim; Bookman fell at No. 5 singles to Robby Sorrel 6-4, 60; and Elman lost at No. 6 singles by sophomore Tony Sheng 6-0, 6-1. Despite the one-sided scores, Lamanna said he felt his team was competitive. He said Rogers’ 6-0, 6-1 loss was an example of a match in which the score would indicate a blowout but in reality was one in which Rogers was “in every single game,” forcing deuce in many of the points. “It’s a really lopsided score, but there’s a lot of positive things going on out there,” Lamanna said. “We’re just not able to put together those big points well.” Five of the seven teams the Judges have lost to during their seven-match losing streak—Amherst, Middlebury College, Trinity College, Bates College and Tufts University—are ranked in the top 30 nationally according to collegetennisonline.com as of March 17. The Judges have also played the last four matches without regular top singles player Steven Nieman ’11, who has mononucleosis, and have not played a single match this spring with Mike Tatarsky ’12, who has a herniated disc in his back. “Obviously we’re not going to make nationals or anything this year but every time you play a match, especially against these good teams, it should be a good opportunity to get better,” Schulman said. “That’s how you get better—by playing strong opponents.” The Judges will next compete today at home against Boston College at 3 p.m. A match against Babson College at home yesterday ended too late for this edition.

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THE JUSTICE

■ The pitcher threw a no-hitter while only allowing one base runner last Thursday.

events at the Skyhill Invitational at Stonehill College in which Ali Sax ’09 placed. Sax led the women’s outdoor track team to an eighth place finish out of 15 teams last Saturday.

home runs last week for second baseman John O’Brion ’10. O’Brion hit his first home run of the season last Thursday in a 97 loss to Fitchburg State College and his second home run in a 13-6 win over Clark University last Saturday.

base runner allowed by softball pitcher Emily Vaillette ’10 in her no-hitter against Framingham State last Thursday. Vaillette walked one batter in the sixth inning and was otherwise perfect from the mound.

consecutive losses for the men’s tennis team after being swept by No. 7 Amherst College 9-0 last Saturday. The team’s last win came over Capital University Feb. 23 in Orlando, Fla.

RBIs for the first four batters in the softball team’s lineup in a doubleheader sweep of Framingham State College last Thursday in the Judges’ home openers.

combined runs by the baseball team in a doubleheader split with Clark University last Saturday. The team won the first game 13-6 but lost the second 10-7.

Gary Sheffield to join the Mets

Emily Vaillette ’10

Judging numbers

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2009

AP BRIEFS

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

It was the sixth inning of the Brandeis softball team’s second game against Framingham State College last Thursday, and starting pitcher Emily Vaillette ’10 had just aggravated her groin muscle after first injuring it earlier the game. But with just an inning left until she could clinch the team’s first no-hitter since 2006, she knew there was no way she was leaving the game. “I wanted to finish that game more than anything,” Vaillette said. “I think I would have stayed in [despite the nohitter], but just the fact that I had a nohitter going for me really helped me finish the game.” Vaillette stayed in and got the final outs of the game to complete her first collegiate no-hitter and the Judges’ first seven-inning no-hitter in school history. Previous no-hitters have come in shortened six- or five-inning games. Vaillette said she realized about halfway through the game that she might be on the verge of history, but she tried not to let it affect her. “We want [Vaillette] in her zone, and she was there. [Catcher Erin Ross ’10] called a good game for her, and I think [Vaillette] just executed on her pitches,” coach Jessica Johnson said. “The defense came up big a couple of times, and they made all of the routine plays behind her.” Vaillette allowed just one walk and had six strikeouts in the game, three of which occurred in succession in the third inning. For the season she is 4-6 with a 2.70 ERA, allowing a team-low 1.10 walks per game. “I really worked on that throughout

●

HSIAO CHI PANG/the Justice

the years—the control. That’s probably my best aspect of pitching, is that I have really good control,” Vaillette said. Last Friday, she did not need anyone’s help, and by the time the no-hitter was completed she was just glad it

was all over. “[I felt] relief,” Vaillette said. “I was getting kind of nervous towards the end, because I didn’t want to blow it.”

—Melissa Siegel

UAA STANDINGS Baseball

Softball

Not including Monday’s games Overall W L 17 4 19 10 15 8 8 19 11 15 6 7

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

Not including Monday’s games Overall UAA W L W L Washington Univ. 7 1 15 8 Emory 5 3 25 8 Rochester 5 3 14 7 JUDGES 3 5 13 9 Chicago 0 0 10 4 Case Western 0 8 9 15

TEAM LEADERS Baseball (on-base percentage)

Baseball (runs batted in)

Second baseman Jon Chu ’12 leads Brandeis with a .500 on-base percentage.

Shortstop Sean O’Hare ’12 leads the Judges with 19 RBIs.

Player Jon Chu John O’Brion Nick Gallagher Mike Alfego Sean O’Hare

Player Sean O’Hare Drake Livada Tony Deshler Jon Chu Pat Nicholson

OBP .500 .482 .443 .400 .362

RBI 19 17 14 12 10

Softball (on-base percentage)

Softball (runs batted in)

Utility player Marianne Specker ’12 leads Brandeis with a .452 on-base percentage.

Catcher Erin Ross ’10 leads the Judges with 13 RBIs.

Player Marianne Specker Melisa Cagar Lara Hirschler Danielle Lavellee Brittany Grimm

Player Erin Ross Chelsea Korp Melisa Cagar Brittany Grimm Marianne Specker

OBP .452 .392 .351 .345 .339

RBI 13 12 8 8 7

UPCOMING GAME OF THE WEEK Baseball vs. Tufts University at HOME The Judges will play local rival Tufts University this afternoon at 3 p.m. The baseball team will host the Tufts University Jumbos today at 3 p.m. to try to build its record back toward .500. Coming into last Tuesday’s home game against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Judges had a 10-10 record. Brandeis lost to MIT 8-2, and continued to lose four of its next five games to fall to 11-14 on the year. Brandeis is most recently coming off a 17-8 home loss to Keene State College last Sunday after splitting a doubleheader with Clark University last Saturday

and falling to Fitchburg State College last Thursday. The Jumbos are third in the New England Small College Athletic Conference East Division with a 2-2 conference record and a 5-13 overall mark. Tufts is coming off three consecutive games at Trinity College, which sits atop the NESCAC East Division standings. Last Saturday, Trinity beat Tufts 7-1, holding the Jumbos to just six hits on the day. Last Sunday, Trinity swept Tufts in a doubleheader.

NEW YORK—Jimmy Rollins was recruiting Gary Sheffield. Dusty Baker, too. But when New York Mets star David Wright reached out to the nine-time All-Star, he apparently sealed the deal. Sheffield was introduced at Citi Field on Saturday, one day after reaching a contract agreement with the Mets and four days after he was released by the Detroit Tigers. “When you have the face of the franchise making a call to you, that means a lot,” Sheffield said, who’s one home run shy of 500. “You never want to tell other people you’re going the other way, but when he made that call I made my decision.” Sheffield said he was considering the division rival Philadelphia Phillies, where his good friend Rollins plays shortstop, and Baker’s up-and-coming Cincinnati Reds. The defending American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays were also among the teams in the mix. “I had the opportunity to exchange some text messages with him yesterday and he’s excited to be here, and I think these guys are very excited to have him,” Wright said Saturday. “From everything I hear, from the few encounters that I’ve had with him over the last few years, he has a presence about him, a swagger about him, and I think that kind of confidence will rub off on the clubhouse.” Along with the recruiting pitch from Wright, Sheffield said the allure of returning to New York—where he played for the Yankees from 2004 to 2006—was a big drawing card. His uncle, Dwight Gooden, was a star pitcher for the Mets in the 1980s and ’90s and encouraged him several times over the years to sign with the Mets. Sheffield nearly did on multiple occasions, but it never quite worked out that he would call Shea Stadium home. Now, with the old ballpark torn down, he’ll get a chance to play in the spiffy new Citi Field. “I never thought it would happen,” Sheffield said, “but when the opportunity came to be here with the Mets, I decided to fulfill my dream.” Slowed by shoulder injuries and other problems last season, Sheffield hit just .225 with 19 homers and 57 RBIs. He hit .178 with five homers in 45 spring training at-bats this year, but the Mets are taking a relatively low-cost gamble that he’ll revert to form. The Tigers will pay $13.6 million of his $14 million contract while the Mets get him for the major league minimum of $400,000. “I know I have a chance to win a championship here,” Sheffield said. Mets manager Jerry Manuel said there is plenty of time for Sheffield to get into playing shape, and although it’s possible he could pinch hit this week, he probably won’t play in the field until after a six-game road trip that begins the season. “It’s basically going to be like spring training-outfield work,” Manuel said. “Then we’ll get into the extra hitting and those types of things, the running.” “It doesn’t matter who you are and what you’ve done; you still have to do some things to show you’re ready.” Sheffield has spent most of the past two seasons in Detroit as the designated hitter but often played right field with the Yankees and Braves.

No more Wrigley? Cubs’ top pitcher asks for a new ballpark NEW YORK—Standing in the plush visitors’ clubhouse of Yankee Stadium, Carlos Zambrano made a plea for Chicago to replace Wrigley Field. “You come into a ballpark like this and you see great things,” the Cubs ace told The Associated Press on Saturday before his team’s 10-1 exhibition loss at the sparkling new ballpark in the Bronx. “You wish that Chicago [would] build a new stadium for the Cubs,” he said. Built in 1914 and home to the Cubs since 1916, Wrigley Field is the second-oldest major league stadium, trailing only Boston’s Fenway Park, built in 1912. Fans in Chicago still flock to see the ivy-covered walls and keep alive Harry Caray’s tradition of singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during every seventh-inning stretch. In 2008, their 100th season without a World Series title, the Cubs drew a Wrigley record of 3,300,200 fans, and thousands more peered into the field from rooftops near the neighborhood park. Zambrano wasn’t just being his unpredictable self Saturday. As a player he wants a relaxing environment to work in, and he understands Wrigley’s appeal for fans despite the lack of amenities. Who needs a martini bar, as there is in the new, $1.5 billion Yankee Stadium, when you can go loopy just trying to figure out the wind direction for that day’s game? “People are used to Wrigley Field,” he said. “As a fan it’s hard to think of a new ballpark.” Cubs manager Lou Piniella couldn’t agree less with his opening-day starter. The former Yankees outfielder and manager was enchanted by the new ballpark in the Bronx but can’t wait to return to Chicago for the first home game on April 13. “I don’t see why,” Piniella said when asked if the Cubs need a new stadium. “Wrigley’s got its own uniqueness. There’s no question the facilities need to be redone but that’s going to happen.” “My favorite time of year is when the ivy turns green. It’s really a great environment to play a ballgame,” he said. Planted in 1937, the ivy that clings to the outfield wall sometimes snares balls. But his favorite part of managing a team at Wrigley is checking the flags to see how the wind is blowing and then devising a lineup based on the directions. “It’s like playing the British Open over there,” he said. “You’ve got to adjust to the weather.” After two years as manager of the Cubs, Piniella has become well attuned to a ballpark’s wind. After just one game at the new stadium in New York, he said, “It seems like there’s a wind tunnel that shoots the ball to right-center.” Two of the Yankees’ four homers Saturday went to right-center.

just

Sports

Page 16

TENNIS WOES The men’s tennis team was swept 9-0 by No. 7 Amherst College last Saturday, p. 14

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Waltham, Mass.

SOFTBALL

BASEBALL

No-hitter highlights 5-1 week Judges’

bats not enough

■ Softball pitcher Emily

Vaillette ’10 threw a no-hitter last Thursday as part of the Judges’ ﬁvegame winning streak. By MELISSA SIEGEL JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

■ The baseball team

Normally, closing a week of six games with a walk-off victory in extra innings to sweep a doubleheader and extend a winning streak to five games would be the softball team’s highlight of the week. But last Thursday against Framingham State College, pitcher Emily Vaillette ’10 made history on the mound, tossing the Judges’ first no-hitter since 2006 to lead the team to a 6-0 victory in the second game of a doubleheader. The no-hitter was the third of five straight wins for the Judges, who closed the week going 5-1 to improve their record to 13-9 on the season. They opened the week by splitting a doubleheader at Worcester Polytechnic Institute last Wednesday but then swept consecutive doubleheaders against Framingham State last Thursday and Bowdoin College last Sunday. Vaillette’s no-hitter was the school’s first in a full seven-inning game and third overall since 2003. The team’s last no-hitter came in the season opener of the 2006 season, when Kaitlin Streilein ’08 no-hit Wheelock College in five innings. Briane Smith ’06 threw the team’s previous no-hitter against Newbury College in 2003. Last Thursday, Vaillette said she tried not to think about the greater accomplishment of pitching a no-hitter while she was on the mound. “I just kept pitching one pitch at a time, not thinking about the endpoint but just where I was at that moment,” she said. “[I was] just focusing on that batter.” Vaillette faced 22 batters and carried a perfect game into the sixth inning before walking a batter, allowing the Rams to reach base for the first and only time in the game. Vaillette said her continuous work on her endurance and mental game helped her get through the entire game with the no-hitter. “[The key] probably [was] just stamina and keeping [my] focus throughout the whole game, because it’s hard to keep concentrating when you have something like [a no-hitter]

See SOFTBALL, 13 ☛

increased its run output last week but dropped ﬁve of six games due to poor defense. By ELI HARRINGTON JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

HSIAO CHI PANG/the Justice

NEARLY PERFECT: Pitcher Emily Vaillette ’10 pitches during her no-hitter against Framingham State College last Thursday. Vaillette allowed just one walk in seven innings to lead the Judges to a 6-0 victory over the visiting Rams. The team is 13-9.

GOLF

Brandeis has disappointing season opener ■ The golf team placed

13th out of 14 teams at the Babson Invitational last Sunday in Plymouth, Mass. By ANDREW NG JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

After finishing the first day of the Babson Invitational in Plymouth, Mass. with a disappointing score of 95, 23 strokes over par, it was clear that Charles Sacks ’11 needed a stronger start on day two to shoot a better score, particularly after opening up the first day with a quadruple bogey. The second day yielded a stronger start and finish; Sacks shot two under par through the first seven holes and ended the round with a 77, just five shots over par.

However, the Judges finished with a team score of 348, putting them 60 strokes over par on the first day, and failed to gain any ground on the competition, finishing in 13th place out of 14 teams despite scoring a 329 on the final day of the tournament. “The team had a disappointing performance this weekend. This team is fairly experienced. I would hope that the team could have dealt with the wind a little better,” coach Bill Shipman said. “They didn’t save many shots that would have turned bogeys into pars or double pars into bogeys with good putting.” Sacks said he turned his performance around from being “the worst round since my sophomore year of high school” to the top score on the team. “The main difference between the two days was my mindset. I felt

like a golfer and was confident with my swing on the second day. On the first day, the combination of the bad weather and the negative mindset took a toll on my score,” he said. Even with his team-leading performance, Sacks struggled at the end of his first nine holes as he posted double bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes and barely escaped with a par on the 18th hole. “On the 18th hole, I had a terrible tee shot. I wound up 50 yards short of the green and ended up five feet short of the hole. It was a bunk hole, so I had a downhill breaking putt that broke about a foot and a half,” Sacks said. “Making that hole just gave me confidence on the rest of the day.” “[Sacks] stood out in both directions,” Shipman added. “He was unusually bad [Saturday], and then today he came up with a good

number that could have been even better if he didn’t falter at the end. He showed some fortitude by not feeling sorry for himself and returning with a strong performance.” Aaron Cusato ’12 contributed to the Judges’ better second day performance by improving his score by five strokes from day one to an 82, 10 stokes over par. “Cusato played better, but he couldn’t get the ball into the hole because he was putting poorly. He could have had a very strong score if he made a few more putts,” Shipman said. Captain Ralph Harary ’09 said the wind also played a prominent role in the team’s performance last weekend. “The ninth and 18th holes were the most difficult because they both come back into the wind,

See GOLF, 13 ☛

Last week’s action saw the baseball team’s bats catch fire as the Judges averaged 7.4 runs per game in five games with four players combined to hit six home runs. Unfortunately for Brandeis, the offensive success could not match that of its opponents as the Judges allowed 10 runs per game over the five-game stretch en route to a 1-4 week that put the team record at 1114 with 18 games left in the season. The Judges played all five games at home, opening with a loss to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 8-2 last Tuesday and then to Fitchburg State College 9-7 last Thursday. The team next split a doubleheader with Clark University last Saturday, taking the first game 13-6 and dropping the second 10-7 but closed out the week with a lopsided 17-8 defeat at the hands of Keene State College. “The worst part is that we’re scoring runs, then we’ll give up a walk and make an error,” assistant coach Brian Lambert ’97 said. “We’re scoring our runs by capitalizing on other teams’ mistakes, but we’re giving other teams those same opportunities, and they’re killing us.” Last Sunday’s 17-8 loss against Keene State featured six total home runs split evenly between the two teams. The Judges trailed by as few as two runs at 7-5 in the fifth inning but gave up three runs in the top of the sixth inning to fall behind 10-5. Keene State never looked back as the Owls continued to outscore the Judges 7-3 over the final three innings. Keene State’s outpouring of runs came with 20 total team hits, nine of which were for extra bases. The Owls scored in double digits for the 10th time in only 19 games this season as they lifted their team batting average to .370. Brandeis starting pitcher Kyle Ritchie ’10 took the brunt of the abuse and the eventual loss for the Judges, lasting 5 1/3 innings and surrendering 10 runs, seven of which were earned, to fall to 1-3 on the season. “[Ritchie] wasn’t necessarily making bad pitches and missing spots,” third baseman Tony Deshler ’11 said. “They were a really good hitting team. They’d hit balls out of the zone and then anything.” The Judges offense was paced by a 2-for-2 performance from first baseman Pat Nicholson ’11, who hit his first home run of the year and added a double to finish with two RBIs. Shortstop Sean O’Hare ’12 went 3-for4 with a walk, while designated hitter Drake Livada ’10 added an eighth inning pinch-hit home run to add the last two runs for the Judges. Deshler also hit well last Sunday, going 2-for-5 with a home run, his second in two days. The performance was the culmination of a week in which Deshler hit safely in all five games with two doubles and two home runs while starting games at center field, shortstop and third base.

See BASEBALL, 13 ☛

April 7, 2009

Brandeis Theater Company’s ‘Hecuba’ revisits Euripides’ tale of revenge p. 19

Photos and Design: David Sheppard-Brick/the Justice

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2009

●

THE JUSTICE

POP CULTURE

INSIDE ON CAMPUS

19-21

■ ‘Hecuba’ 19 Brandeis Theater Company closed its season with a hauntingly lovely Euripides tragedy. ■ “Selections from the Collection” 19 Rose administrators decided to put together one last show of works from the collection. ■ ‘Prospect II’ 20 Dreitzer Gallery hosted an exhibition of works by post-baccalaureate students.

21 ■ Week in Pictures Culture X and a panel at the Rose were this week’s notable events.

OFF CAMPUS

22-24

22 ■ ‘Serse’ Boston Conservatory Opera’s version of the Handel opera was well sung but poorly acted. 22 ■ ‘Trojan Barbie’ The unfocused update of a Euripides tragedy featured a few high-quality performances. ■ ‘Office’ Educates Audiences 23 Drastic changes at Dunder-Mifflin reflected the real-life economic situation, for a change.

23 ■ Pop Muse Brad Stern deemed Junior, the latest album from Norwegian electronic group Röyksopp, “perfection.” We asked him to elaborate. 23 ■ Made of Metal Daniel Snyder found that Wolves in the Throne Room’s melodious album improved on the band’s already excellent work.

CALENDAR

U-WIRE by Shelly Shore

Turns out the Hollywood baby boom isn’t over yet—Madonna has jumped back onto the adoption bandwagon. The 50-year-old singer, who has three children already (biological kids Lourdes, 12, and Rocco, 8, and adopted son David, 3) has returned to the African country of Malawi in the hopes of adopting a second child. Apparently undeterred by the controversy surrounding David’s adoption in 2006, a Malawi welfare department representative says Madonna filed adoption papers in the country March 26 and that her adoption case would go before the courts March 30. However, Madonna’s plans to adopt 14-monthold Mercy James were halted when Mercy’s grandmother Lucy Chekechiwa spoke out against the diva, saying, “Why doesn’t this singer pick other children? It is stealing. I want to go to court. I won’t let her go.” Mercy’s grandmother’s pleas came through, and on April 3, a Malawian court ruled against Madonna’s bid. “I must decline to grant the application to Madonna,” Judge Esmie Chondo said in a ruling following a closed-door hearing on Friday. According to reports, Madonna’s application was declined due to residency rules. Malawian adoption law states that prospective parents must reside there for 18 to 24 months to make the transition easier on the child. Madonna took another hit when Fug Girls magazine published an article questioning her motives for adoption. “For the last 25 years, all of Madonna's actions have elicited pearl-clutching and outrage from someone, somewhere—the woman is the queen of using shock value to stay relevant,” wrote the anonymous author. “Regularly exposing all facets (and we do mean all) of herself over the years essentially trained us to look for a publicity ploy or ulterior motive in every move she makes.” While I’m all for putting impoverished kids in

Debating TV’s obscenities ■ The United States Supreme Court will soon pass a ruling on the issue of swearing on broadcast television. By OWEN ROTH CORNELL DAILY SUN (CORNELL U.)

TSVANGIRAYI MUKWAZH/The Associated Press

MOTHER MADONNA: The artist’s adoption bid was shut down April 3 by a Malawian court. loving homes, I can’t help but agree a little bit. With celebrities, it’s always hard to tell whether they’re doing something out of the goodness of their own hearts or just to get a little more publicity. Whatever her motivation, Madonna plans to appeal the judge’s ruling. In court papers made public April 4, Madonna said the girl’s grandmother was unable to care for her. She promised to make Mercy a permanent part of her family and spare her the “hardship and emotional trauma” of life as an orphan. For the kid’s sake, Madge, let’s hope so.

What’s happening in Arts on and off campus

‘Reading of the Testimonies’ Members of the Brandeis community will come together to read testimonies from survivors of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The event, which is being held in conjunction with “Intended Consequences,” the photo exhibit currently on display at the Women’s Studies Research Center, will commemorate the 15th anniversary of the genocide. Tuesday at 4:45 p.m. in the WSRC.

‘The Unpredictability of Light’ Resident Women’s Studies Research Center Scholar Marguerite Bouvard, who has published 15 books and numerous articles, will read poetry from her collection The Unpredictability of Light. Rich in spiritual insight, Marguerite Guzman Bouvard's poems combine the everyday world with the ineffable. She writes of loss and its aftermath in ways that surprise and heal. Bouvard gently and insistently urges us to accept the challenge of being who we were meant to be. Wednesday from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in the WSRC Lecture Hall. JASPER JUINEN/the Associated Press

Musicology Student Performance Musicology graduate students, whose studies pertain to to the understanding of the nature, structural basis and historical development of music, will perform. April 18 from 7 to 9:30 p.m. in the Slosberg Recital Hall.

AREA EVENTS ‘Scene From A Parish’ Nine Boston-based Catholics face new obstacles in their search for fellowship and a connection with the community in this documentary by James Rutenback about ideals of faith within the cultural realities of a globalized country. See what happens when a working-class Catholic parish in Lawrence, Mass., is faced with a new demographic, as a traditionally Irish-American institution confronts the Latino city that surrounds it. Tickets are $8 for students and $10 for the general public. Wednesday from 6 to 7:25 p.m. in the Remis Auditorium at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.

WHAT’S ON?

ZANY ‘ZIDANE’: The story of Zinédine Zidane, who head-butted Marco Materazzi during the 2006 World Cup, is told in the sports document/conceptual art installation named for the aggressive soccer player. Goodbye, while the latter encourages audi‘Zidane: A Twenty-First Century Portrait’ A hybrid of sports documentary and conceptual art installation, Zidane includes a fulllength soccer game between Real Madrid and Villareal (April 23, 2005) filmed entirely from the perspective of soccer superstar Zinédine Zidane. Using 17 cameras, the filmmakers capture Zidane’s aggression and skill, rarely straying from anything other than Zidane’s body. “To see everything boiled down to one man’s stillness and movement is a transcendentalist high, a concentrated dose of poetry in motion” (David Fear, Time Out New York). Admission will be $8 for students and $10 for the general public. Wednesday from 8:15 to 9:48 p.m. in the Remis Auditorium at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.

JMP Live Presents At this 18+ show, Brothers Past and The Indobox will perform. The former blends electronic exploration with indie-rock anthems and has received national praise for its 2005 release This Feeling’s Called

ences “to stop analyzing the music and awkwardly contort you body in the pastime called dancing” upon hearing its combination of a drum machine and 30 effect pedals. Friday, doors open at 7:30 p.m., at the Middle East Downstairs in Boston.

‘Immigration: The Shadow of The Past’ During this symposium on the process of becoming an American, Margarita Alegria, psychologist, will discuss her research on immigrant stress and its impact on mental health, and award-winning photographer Abelardo Morell will talk about his family's flight from Cuba and how being an immigrant influences his art. Writer and visiting Brandeis professor Gish Jen (ENG) will also be at this event and will focus on her acculturation and her thoughts about living outside the dominant culture. Tickets are $35 for students and $40 for the general public. April 19 from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Remis Auditorium at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.

Later this year, the United States Supreme Court will announce a decision impacting the ability of the Federal Communications Commission to regulate single utterances of swear words on broadcast television. This case, Fox Television v. FCC, is ultimately a matter of administrative law, the body of law that provides a framework for the existence and operation of our federal agencies; consequently, the Court may well not need to reach the constitutional question lurking in the background. Under the Federal Communications Act, the FCC can regulate “obscene” and “indecent” broadcasts. In a landmark decision—FCC v. Pacifica—the Court held that broadcasts during peak listening hours, which contained streams of swearing, counted as obscene and did not need constitutional protection. Pacifica expressly left open the question of whether a single swear word could be treated the same way; today, the FCC argues that a single swear word can be treated the same way because it counts as indecent. On one hand, the arguments of Pacifica make sense: swearing is highly offensive to some. On the other hand, swear words can represent significant methods of expression and thus, should be protected in this limited form. This latter justification represents the real hardship that the FCC faces. If a swear word has some kind of importance to a speaker’s message beyond gratuitous shock value, it should not be banished beyond the peak viewing hour window; if it’s a matter of aging pop stars trying to be edgy, protection seems less justified. But beyond the easiest cases, how could anyone fairly draw the line? The FCC, trying to enforce this view, did not sanction an airing of Saving Private Ryan, but it did sanction an Martin Scorcese-directed documentary about American Blues legends. Say what you will about Pacific, its rule is fairly easy to apply. In contrast, culling legitimate singular swear words from illegitimate is impossible to do on a principled basis. This particular hardship is, to me, the reason that the Court might follow the FCC’s position. Swear words offend some, and the potential impact is at its highest in a national broadcast (as each of the swears giving rise to Fox Television were). Moreover, if Pacifica’s protection-oriented rationale is valid, broadcasting swear words once would seem to be just as problematic as broadcasting several. Given the inevitable arbitrariness in sorting “good” swear words from “bad” ones, the easiest lines to draw would be that single swear words are protected by default, or not at all. This take has the virtue of comfort; in this country, we take our taboos quite seriously, and a legal position that protects broadcast of swear words would force us to re-examine our view of them. I do not think the appropriate response is that swear words are “no big deal.” If I swear pointedly, I implicitly acknowledge the impact that swearing can have; if I swear casually, I am implying my rejection of the swearing taboo, a rejection that requires acknowledging that the taboo exists. The better question, I think, is why are are we so sensitive about swear words when we embrace violence and sex? Some have suggested that swear words are different because they draw their power from human acts that we regard as private. I think this is unavailing for two reasons: first, we don’t seem to have a problem with broadcasted demonstrations of intercourse, and second, nobody would think that sex or going to the bathroom is on my mind if, when I receive a failing grade on a test, I let out a swear word. Except when used in specific (and obvious) contexts then, swear words are largely disassociated from their original meaning. But, I cannot help but see the sense that a stricter, more conservative approach would make.

Top 10s for the week ending April 7

Box Office

WBRS

Billboard

Staff Playlist

1. Monsters vs. Aliens 2. The Haunting in Connecticut 3. Knowing 4. I Love You, Man 5. Duplicity 6. Race to Witch Mountain 7. 12 Rounds 8. Watchmen 9. Taken 10. The Last House on the Left

1. Ben Kweller – “Fight” 2. Asher Roth – “I Love College” 3. Various – “Hooking It” 4. His Mischief – “Limp Handshake” 5. Gay Witch Abortion – “My Own Militia” 6. The Futureheads – “Sleet” 7. Longwave – “No Direction” 8. Black Lips – “Short Fuse” 9. Shawn Pittman – “Edge of the World” 10. The Raconteurs – “Consoler of the Lonely”

1. Various Artists – NOW 30 2. Soundtrack – Hannah Montana: The Movie 3. Soundtrack – Twilight 4. Keri Hilson – In A Perfect World ... 5. Kelly Clarkson – All I Ever Wanted 6. U2 – No Line On The Horizon 7. Lady GaGa – The Fame 8. Papa Roach – Metamorphosis 9. Jim James – Pray IV Reign 10. Martina McBride – Shine

1. Gui Boratto – “Opus 17” 2. Passion Pit – “Sleepyhead” 3. Lindstrom – “Where You Go I Go Too” 4. Animal Collective – “My Girls” 5. Crystal Castles – “Air War” 6. Cut Copy – “Lights and Music” 7. Hercules and Love Affair – “Blinds” 8. Justice – “Phantom Pt. II” 9. Yeasayer – “2080” 10. Beck – “Gamma Ray”

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

—Julian Agin-Liebes

THE JUSTICE

●

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2009

ON CAMPUS ART

Rose plans fond farewell to favorite works ■ The museum will exhibit pieces from the permanent collection before it closes. By ANDREA FINEMAN JUSTICE EDITOR

Over the course of this semester, many questions have emerged and have been left unanswered regarding the Rose Art Museum. What’s going to happen to the current exhibitions? What’s going to go up when they leave? How can I lay eyes on the Rose’s permanent collection before it is shipped off to Christie’s? The staff at the Rose may have been pondering the latter as well. According to Emily Mello, education director at the Rose, an exhibition is being planned to open this upcoming weekend featuring some of the Rose’s hidden treasures. Mello says the Rose staff decided only in the past couple weeks to put together the show, which will go up in the Lee Gallery, where Prof. Joe Wardwell’s (FA) “Master of Reality” show ran until this past weekend. All three exhibitions currently up at the Rose—the other two are “Hans Hofmann: Circa 1950” and “Saints and Sinners,” which features some works from the permanent collection along with several loans—were supposed to end at the beginning of April. However, the Hofmann Trust and the home institutions of the other loaned works allowed

the Rose to extend the exhibitions through commencement. One of the paintings in “Master of Reality,” however, was scheduled to appear in a show in New York and couldn’t remain at the Rose. Said Mello, “The loans for all of the current exhibitions were slated to be returned after the shows were de-installed on April 5. We were granted permission to extend the exhibitions by nearly all of the lenders, but there were plans for some of the works in ‘Master of Reality’ to be exhibited in other shows in other venues. Since the show needed to be dismantled, rather than keeping the Lee Gallery empty for the rest of the semester, we thought, ‘Let's take the opportunity to pull some works from the vault.’” The lineup for this “best-of” show hasn’t been fully decided yet, although Ellsworth Kelly’s “Blue White,” a focal point of last year’s “Arp to Reinhardt: Rose Geometries,” and pieces by Adolph Gottleib and Larry Poons have been confirmed. “It’s not a curated show. Curated shows take time and consideration and research. You don’t just slap works of art up on the wall. We are considering what might be of interest to visitors from off and on campus and thinking about the richness of the collection you almost can’t go wrong ... because the Rose has so many great works,” Mello said. Because the museum does not have a gallery dedicated to the permanent collection, museumgoers must wait for works from the Rose’s vault to surface

in the several curated shows the museum has traditionally held each year. In putting together the lineup for the upcoming permanent collection show, Mello said, “We’ve actually shown a lot of these works in recent years.” This new show, unofficially titled “Selections from the Collection,” may incorporate some of the catalogues of those previous shows. “I was thinking about how whenever we have artists or critics or people who come in [for events], they’re really fascinated by our catalogs—they literally speak volumes about the first solo shows, [the] really important moments that have added to scholarship, that have been risk-taking and so … we’ve decided we’re going to find a way in the gallery to show a history through the catalogs because they create a timeline,” Mello said. “Everyone wants to learn more about [the Rose’s history]. Visitors say, ‘I didn’t know you had a Dana Schutz show. I didn’t know you had a Bruce Conner show,’” she said. “Actually the Rose had their first museum solo shows and many others.” Former Rose preparator Roger Kizik echoed Mello’s sentiment. “As [the situation] has unfolded over the last month I find myself recalling the first museum shows that we have given to artists from the ’60s through now, and there’s a terrific record we can stand on. … From day one they were sort of on the tip of the spear for the most talented art of its time,” he said, referring to the Rose’s historic collection of abstract expressionist masterpieces, as-

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

MASTERPIECE MANAGER: Roy Dawes, Assistant Director of Operations at the Rose, handles works in the museum’s vault, including “Blue White” by Ellsworth Kelly. sembled by director Sam Hunter in the early 1960s from artists like Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock. Many of the Rose’s most illustrious (and most potentially lucrative) works were bought for prices in the low thousands from the artists themselves, before those artists’ works could claim auction prices in the millions. (Pollock’s No. 5, 1948 and de Kooning’s Woman III

sold in 2006 to David Geffen for $140 million and $138 million, respectively.) Though no specific official announcements as to the future of the Rose as a public museum or as an education and studio space have been made, it is expected that the Rose will remain open to the public through commencement—this year, Sunday, May 17.

THEATER

Hill’s tragic ‘Hecuba’ tugs at audience’s heartstrings ■ A talented ensemble cast highlighted the timeliness of the classical Greek play. By WLLIAM-BERNARD REID-VARLEY JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

The final production of the Brandeis Theater Company’s 2008 to 2009 season, Hecuba, adapted by Prof. Eirene Visvardi (CLAS) and Eric Hill (THA) and directed by Hill, closes the year on a remarkably dark and depressing note. For some, theater is an escape from reality, a cloistered space within which you can briefly explore a world not your own; it is said that Marie Antoinette would enjoy afternoons of “playing peasant” in a cottage built especially for her. Like the late queen of France, some theatergoers find joy in a contrived fantasy without noticing its status as an imposter of reality through the blissfulness of their detached naiveté. For many of us, however, true theater must be an interrogation of the world and of the inhumanity of those who would call themselves human. It must respond to injustice and breached ethics, though doing so may be dark and depressing rather than carefree and uplifting. In his director’s note, Hill recounts his seemingly ill-timed productions of Greek tragedy. His adaptations of Helen, Orestes and Iphigenia at Taurus premiered during the first Gulf War and his production of The Trojan Women “came brutally hard on the heels of 9/11.” However, he admits that he can “only rue the timing up to a point simply because I revel in the resonances that have been built into doing any of Euripides’ plays.” In line with that sentiment, The Trojan Women “didn’t shy away from its coincidental scheduling.” Though 2,433 years old this year, Hecuba too is still as salient as ever to Western civilization and to America in particular, as its plot includes multiple imperialistic overseas wars. Set in Thrace (near Troy in Asia Minor) in the immediate aftermath of Troy’s destruction, Euripides’ Hecuba tells the tale of the title character’s (Prof. Elizabeth Terry [THA]) tragic turn of fate from a queen blessed with

PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE LOVETT

GROUP GRIEF: Characters gather around Hecuba (Prof. Elizabeth Terry [THA]) as she mourns the death of her son Polydorus (Equiano Mosieri) in BTC’s production of ‘Hecuba.’ many children to a dejected and childless slave of the victors of an arduous war. Sculpted in the most beautiful and brilliant ancient Greek verse, it is on the surface a funeral dirge for a woman locked in a living tomb. However, the true tragedy of the drama lies in war’s ability to thrust its “winners” and “losers” into a state of desperation and greed, blinding them to the suffering of those with whom they share sacred bonds. The play’s seamless choreography by Lorry May, the founding director of the Sokolow Dance Foundation, featured a combination of staid yet fluid motions, sharp, staccato full-body movements

and rapid—and unfortunately somewhat perplexing—hand motions reminiscent of BTC chair and professional choreographer Susan Dibble’s (THA) signature effects, which add a physical dimension to the emotional intensity of the drama. The clear and beautiful solo vocal segments by chorus singer McCaela Donovan (GRAD), carefully set at key points in the play, kept the story moving while providing time for the audience to breathe and recover from the almost ceaseless intensity of the action. So moving was the story and so powerfully was it conveyed by the actors that problems that normally would have dampened my enjoyment of the

play (i.e., awkward and artificial diction added by the adaptors of the drama, multiple line-stumblings by the chorus and notably the title character herself, and one chorus member whose accent and manner of speaking made it nearly impossible to understand her), became temporary annoyances that were quickly forgotten. Her tendency to stumble over lines notwithstanding, Terry’s performance was both riveting and emotionally exhausting. Perhaps the most memorable and awe-inspiring performance of the night, however, was that of Equiano Mosieri (GRAD) as Polymestor, the killer of Hecuba’s youngest son Polydorus. Though still a

first-year MFA student, his performance equaled, maybe even surpassed Terry’s. Overall, Hecuba was a resounding success whose haunting beauty will hold us over until BTC’s resumption in the fall. While some would have preferred a more uplifting end to the company’s season—especially in such a stressful time within and outside of the University—I would echo Hill in my dissent. As long as we “keep making the same mistakes as we move through the course of Western civilization,” Euripides’ Hecuba and Greek tragedy in general will continue to serve a vital role in our aesthetic and social lives.

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

PORTRAITS: Above, Jean-Jacques du Plessis’ ‘Donald in his End-of-the-World-Proff Palace.’ Below, a painting by Amanda Millis. Said Millis, “I’ve spent most of the year trying to think less with my head and more with the brush. For me, painting involves a different kind of thinking, and in those moments when I’m painting, well, I’d say it’s something like informed intuition.”

A REFLECTIVE MOMENT: Above, a painting by Youngsheen Jhe. Many of Jhe’s paintings in the exhibition feature the theme of reﬂected images. Said Jhe in her artist’s statement, “I have tried with various painting methods to depict the visual expression of waiting. I use innumerable small marks in each painting to express the various sentiments of sorrow, joy, despair, and hope. I challenged traditional visual modes to recreate a more emphatic painting method using a pallet knife and many brush strokes to depict the spiritual reverberation of people in need of searching and by utilizing delicate difference of light in a bright space without dramatic contrast.”

A second installment of art ‘Prospect II’ follows up on a first round of grad student art By ANDREA FINEMAN JUSTICE EDITOR

Brandeis’ post-baccalaureate art students are back with a second installment of art. The show, named after the Prospect Street art studio where Brandeis’ senior Studio Art majors and graduate students work, is the second show this spring of grad student art. (The first, Prospect I, closed March 28.) This month, the Spingold Dreitzer Gallery hosts the work of Kimberly Clark, Elizabeth Davenport, Shira Espo ’08, Youngsheen Jhe, Marta Kaemmer, Amanda Millis, Margaux Ogden, JeanJacques du Plessis and John Tronsor, all post-bac students in Studio Art here at Brandeis. In an interview posted on BrandeisNOW, Prof. Susan Lichtman (FA) said of the division of the post-bacc showcase into two separate shows, “We’ve always had a show for the post-bac students. We used to have one show, and we felt the students couldn’t fit enough work to show what they were doing.” The post-baccalaureate program provides an extra year (or more) of studio time and instruction for artists in different situ-

TEXT EFFECTS: A work by Shira Espo ’08. “Virtually all of the text I use comes from song lyrics that have intensely personal meaning to me,” Espo’s artist’s statement reads. PHOTOS BY JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES

ations. Said Espo, “Many students participate in the program for the express purpose of building a strong portfolio to submit to graduate schools. Others use the program as a jumping-off point for starting their own studio practice in the art world, while still others use it simply to grow and learn about and with their chosen medium.” “I chose to come to the Brandeis post-bac program because I knew that I needed more time to develop my paintings before graduate school. This program has afforded me the time and space I’ve needed to grow. The level of commitment from the students is inspiring; we push ourselves and each other,” Millis said. Prospect II certainly reflects diverse artistic goals: Traditional figurative painting hangs on the walls next to geometric abstraction. This year’s post-bac exhibitions didn’t include much sculpture, but John Tronsor’s contribution certainly stands out as a mixed media “environment” of sorts, featuring wall drawings, televisions and a hanging sculpture formed from red wax. The varied post-bac offerings will be onview in the Dreitzer Gallery in Spingold Theater Center until April 24.

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2009

THE WEEK IN PICTURES

HSIAO CHI PANG/the Justice

SALACIOUS SALSA: Patrick Gregoire ’09 and Spencer Ackerman ’09 dip their partners, Marisol Portillo ’09 and Yesenia Crespo ’09, during Salseros’ performance at Culture X last Saturday.

CULTURE X Students ‘Rise Up’ for diversity

HSIAO CHI PANG/the Justice

DAZZLING DUET: Ji Yun Lee ’11, left, and Darlene Zephyrine ’12 take the mic with the a cappella group Voices of Soul.

HSIAO CHI PANG/the Justice

CULTURE CLUBS: Above, South Asian Students Association and Hooked on Tap put on a combined performance. Left, students dance in Adagio’s performance. This year’s Culture X was part of the nationwide beneﬁt concert event Live Campus 2009.

‘Education Matters’ at the Rose, says a panel of notable alumni

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

ROSE REVIEW: From left: Rose director Michael Rush, Gary Tinterow ’76, Kim Rorschach ’78, Reva Wolf ’78 and Andrea Aronson-Morgan ’80.

PEERING AT PAINT: A student examines a work from the Rose’s permanent collection as part of Prof. Peter Kalb’s (FA) Modern Art and Modern Culture class. JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

OFF CAMPUS TELEVISION

‘Office’ provides financial education ■ In tough times, the NBC sitcom has provided laughter and hope to its audience. By DANIEL D. SNYDER JUSTICE EDITOR

It’s been a few years since I’ve owned a TV. After my first year of college, I stowed it away and haven’t really bothered setting it up since. And why should I? Most of my favorite shows have been available via bootleg over the Internet for years and newer sites like hulu.com are only making it easier to watch what you want at your leisure with minimal commercial interference. Whenever I do get to flip around on one of those old boxes, I’m reminded why I don’t miss them at all: They fill me with a feeling of indescribable hatred. About 90 percent of this feeling can be ascribed to reality television, which seems to dominate my occasional bouts of channel-surfing. I hate this plague on American culture for many reasons, but if I had to pick one, it would be the genre’s failure to depict anything close to reality itself. The worst of these offenders have been shows like The Hills and The City (both spin-offs of the equally carcinogenic Laguna Beach), wherein we follow the lives of braindead socialites while they try to make it in the real world. These shows take place in Los Angeles and New York City, respectively, two of the most competitive and rigorous cities on the planet, and yet the socialites’ meticulously designed lives are utterly devoid of serious obstacles. Their time is spent buying anything that glitters and shouting really vapid stuff at each other in dimly lit clubs and restaurants. They’ve essentially boiled down the difficulties of modern urban living to a lecture on social etiquette. Even more callously, they have completely ignored the reality of life in today’s work environment, which is, as we all know, bleak. Something I would watch: an episode on how not to buy a

GUS RUELAS/The Associated Press

CUBICLE CULTURE: Employees of paper company Dunder Mifﬂin celebrate with their boss, Michael Scott, played by Steve Carell. $500 purse the size of my fist and the subtle art of eating lunch out of a dumpster. So, leave it to a lowly sitcom, The Office, to educate our nation’s youth about financial reality and the modern job market. It’s an odd rule, but parody often holds more truth than earnest attempts at the depiction of reality. In this respect, The Office is to reality television as The Daily Show is to cable network news. For most of its existence, The Office has operated in the realm of inconceivable professional behavior. When was the last time you and your male col-

leagues spent an entire afternoon inspecting the amenities of the women’s restroom? When was the last time your business sent its clients a product marked with images of bestiality and didn’t go under? It’s been a fun ride for the staff at the Scranton, Pa., branch of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, but the party is over and the realities of being an irresponsibly run small(er) business on the verge of technological irrelevance are knocking at the door. Currently in its fifth season, sobering references to economic reality are increasing. In one recent episode, Stanley

Hudson (Leslie David Baker), a slovenly, irritable fifty-something, describes his retirement plan in the wake of a minor heart attack but realizes that he doesn’t have enough to retire and is too old to start working somewhere else. He likens his job to working in his own casket. The branch manager, Michael Scott (Steve Carell), is a model product of the last two decades of decadent corporate culture in America. Comfortably paid, he is under qualified, devoid of intelligence and ability and responds to these shortcomings with bouts of selfish im-

maturity. Recently, Michael decided to quit Dunder-Mifflin after 15 years, a choice of which he learns the repercussions in the latest episode, “Two Weeks.” While serving his last two weeks as branch manager, Michael slowly pokes his head out of the office to discover an unforgiving world that he is no longer familiar with. In the reception area, a man eager to interview for Michael’s vacant position describes the job market as “brutal.” Shaken, Michael begins searching for jobs. One company he calls, Prince Paper, has gone out of business due to Michael’s actions in an earlier episode. Undeterred, Michael decides to start his own paper company and invites his soon-to-be-former coworkers along. Each one, in succession, turns him down and gives him another sobering reason not to continue, such as the decline of the industry or lack of a salary. Later, when Michael is lying on the floor panting in desperation, he tells his coworkers, “Hello. I am your future.” He asks them, “Who’s coming with me?” If you’re really into symbolism, it’s a heavy moment. Appropriately, Michael’s replacement, at least temporarily, is Charles Miner (Idris Elba), a no-nonsense corporate fascist trained to cut dead weight wherever he sees it. In his presence, heads are kept strictly down at the desk. But this is American television after all, and The Office has always had a sentimental streak (more like a full-on layer of paint), so we’re left with a glimmer of hope. The receptionist, Pam (Jenna Fischer, consider this my marriage proposal), leaves with Michael, and the two saunter off into an uncertain future. Now, anyone who’s ever read an article on global warming knows that the Chinese word for “crisis” stems from a combination of the words “danger” and “opportunity.” (Seriously, environmentalists love that fact). Perhaps that is what we have here. Perhaps the cast will leave with them. Perhaps they will begin anew. Perhaps they will learn from their mistakes and succeed. After all, isn’t this what we hope for our own world?

ALBUM REVIEW

EXTREME METAL

Röyksopp grows up on ‘Junior’

Wolves in the Throne Room raises the black metal bar

Brad

STERN POP MUSE

If I had my way, this review would be simple. In one word: perfection. Sadly, I’m sure the editors would have something snippy to say about that (fascists), so allow me to flesh this one out. The boys of Röyksopp have been hard at work over the past three years conjuring up their third major album, Junior. Like a Nordic creation of Frankenstein proportions (I’ll allow time to envision the monster as a blonde), the album operates as a complex series of mixed bits and pieces and pastes together the moody beats of Melody AM with the tenderest bits of pop-mindedness from The Understanding. To do so, the duo has enlisted a superstar cast of Swedish chanteuses, including Lykke Li, Robyn, Anneli Drecker and Karin Dreijer—a line-up indie-licious enough to make the pants of the Pitchfork crew grow even tighter at the waist. With a burst of giggles, Röyksopp bounces into Junior with the mindless gleefest that is its first single, “Happy Up Here.” Ironically, it’s also the album’s weakest moment—not quite an instrumental, not yet a full-fledged song. Sure, it’s got all the makings of a Röyksopp track (looped beats and breathy lyrics), but it’s mainly a teaser for things to come. That’s probably why “The Girl And The Robot” follows shortly

thereafter. Undoubtedly one of the coolest songs Robyn has recorded in recent time—though let’s face it, she hasn’t truly recorded anything new in the past five years—the track is a stomping, stuttering 21stcentury upgrade of a classic torch song: “Fell asleep again in front of MTV / God, I’m down at the bottom / No one’s singing songs for me / I’m in love with a robot.” Then again, has there ever been a song involving robot love that hasn’t proven itself entirely amazing? Doubt it. After that comes “Vision One,” a song I’m still holding responsible for no fewer than three slipped discs in my neck. Why? “Vision One” happens to be a cover of a track originally sung by a ridiculously underappreciated J-Pop artist named Eri Nobuchika that the group first remixed in 2005. Hearing those opening notes reimagined through bright piano melody and some lo-fi electronica for the very time, my head whipped forward faster than I could shriek “Oh my God, it’s ‘SING A SONG.’” As a result, I’m still healing. “Let evil ways caress our smile, the cities are dying / As we watch it fall into a modern state, a modern time,” Anneli Drecker goes on to declare as the world around her plummets into the depths of misery. Looking for a distraction from the crumbling economy? You’re probably listening to the wrong song. In fact, as delightfully “pop” as Röyksopp may claim this album may be, it’s sure depressing—if we’re not listening to Lykke Li sighing away memories of a lost love with “Miss It So Much,” we’ve got the boys themselves throwing

their hands up in a cry of resignation in the final moment of the album, “It’s What I Want”: “It’s what I want that’s easy / It’s getting it that’s complicated.” Still, everything’s not so dire. And by “not so dire,” I mean “vaguely homicidal.” Case in point: The album’s shining moment, the Anneli Drecker-led “You Don’t Have A Clue.” “We’re meant to be one, I know we are,” Drecker croons along with a lush set of stringed electronica and choir voices, “If I am the sky, then you are my star.” Sweet, right? Well, keep listening, and tell me this doesn’t go from loveydovey to stalker-friendly in a matter of minutes: “But you don’t have a clue / This party hasn’t ended yet / Not for me and you.” Yeah, I’d say we’ve got a creeper on our hands. And so the album trudges on, an eclectic helping of lyrical craft and well-produced beats ready to appeal to listeners of all genuses and genres—“Smart Pop,” as I like to refer to it. Junior is in many respects a musical triumph; an eclectic collection of breathy chanteuses and guttural vocalists all set to the tune of brooding synthesizers and geeky computer blips and bleeps. Presenting their most accessible, instant and engaging album yet, Röyksopp is one of the very few truly legitimate artists still standing on the front lines fighting in the name of all things pop. After all, it’s already released the best album of the first quarter, as well as a capable contender for the best of ’09. That is, until Junior’s companion piece, Senior, hits shelves later this fall.

Daniel D.

SNYDER MADE OF METAL

Some of you may remember that back in 2007, I gave Wolves in the Throne Room a rather favorable review, lauding the band for some seriously emotive modern black metal while giving it a stern talking-to about their penchant for filling its albums with ambient filler (roughly half the album was not exactly what you might call “songs”). There was a time, circa Diadem of 12 Stars, when Wolves was at the top of my list of black metal bands, until Finnish lo-fi necro warriors Horna pulled the rug out from under them. But, here we are in the year 2009, and the Wolves have decided to step back in the ring with their latest release, Black Cascade. The results: much improved. For those not in the know, which I suspect is most of you, Wolves in the Throne Room hails from the Pacific Northwest: Olympia, Wash. to be exact, a region whose breathtaking natural northern landscapes have a nasty habit of spurring some truly evocative metal brews that are sometimes brutal (Fall of the Bastards), sometimes ethereal (Agalloch), but always inspiring. They are day-walkers, if you will. They bear the marks of cold, traditional black metal: raw production (though it’s getting better), shrieking vocals and shimmering tremolo riffs. But they use these harsh elements to create much more melodic soundscapes than we’re used to hearing in the genre. It’s like getting a massage with a sandblaster.

The lyrical content is a breath of fresh air, as well (from what the band tells us anyhow; they don’t print lyrics, and I can’t really understand what they’re saying). Those of you getting a little tired of hokey blasphemy—and I suspect that after almost 20 years of black metal bible bashing you just might be—can take enjoy Wolves’ exploration of nature and shamanistic themes … via shrieks. At first glance, nothing has changed on Black Cascade. It’s still four songs, and they’re still really long, but this time the brothers Aaron and Nathan Weaver, along with guitarist Will Lindsay, have created some more immediately engaging material. I can actually remember, nay, have stuck in my head, the opening riffs of “Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog,” and I’ve only listened to the album 10 times! Beyond that, there isn’t much else new in the Wolves’ lair. They could still use a little more diversity tempo-wise. From the aforementioned “Wanderer … ,” the album flows with a rather wraithlike, sea-sickened rhythm into “Ahrimanic Trance,” “Ex Cathedra” and finally “Crystal Ammunition.” If you’re not careful, the whole album can blow by before you know it. Wolves catches a lot of flak from black metal purists for their refusal to adhere to the genre’s traditional aesthetics, as well as their rise in popularity within some non-metal circles. But, there are literally thousands of tr00 kvlt bands out there to satisfy your traditionalist cravings. Are you really going to let what other people are listening to ruin your day? From a writer’s perspective, it’s refreshing to absorb and review something that, if nothing else, at least stirs up a little bit of debate. Wolves in the Throne Room, I thank thee.

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2009

BOSTON CONSERVATORY’S ‘SERSE’

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BOSTON CONSERVATORY

SEDUCTIVE SOVEREIGN: King Serse (Beth Lytwynec) woos the beautiful maiden Romilda (Kristen Lassiter) during Boston Conservatory’s production of George Friedric Handel’s comic opera ‘Serse’ with an alternate cast.

‘Serse’ singers add to opera’s farce ■ The Boston Conservatory

Opera’s production of the comic opera had standout singing and poor acting. By RACHEL KLEIN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

On April 2, the students in the Boston Conservatory Opera performed Serse: A Baroque Comedy, and while the vocal talents of the performers were very impressive, the performance as a whole was a comedy in more ways than one. Serse is an Italian opera composed by Handel in 1737 and is one of his most

frequently performed operas. The work tells the story of King Serse and his brother Arsamene in the trials and tribulations in their searches for love. Serse and Arsamene are players and sleep with many women despite the fact that Serse is engaged to Amastre; however, Arsamene soon falls in love with Romilda. When Serse discovers this, he becomes jealous and demands that Romilda marry him instead. Much crying and fighting ensues. One of the most exciting parts of seeing an opera is having a story sung to you by a group of highly trained professionals. In this regard, the performers in the Boston Conservatory Opera excelled. The voices that emerged from the actors were out of this world. Sin Sim Tam, who played the part of

Romilda, particularly stood out, hitting ridiculously high notes in the final part of the opera. With my eyes closed, it would have been hard to tell the difference between these singers and a more professional group. However, there is more to performing opera than singing; the amount of talent and skill it takes to sing an aria is undeniable, but the ability to captivate an audience turns a mediocre performance into a great one. Here, the performers fell short. Acting lessons would have been extremely helpful to some, as well as additional time on stage rehearsing with the props. While it was humorous for the audience to see the performers trip over benches and bang into pillars, I doubt that my bemusement was the desired effect.

One of the unique aspects of a da capo aria is that the singer sings the same lines of text over and over. This requires the singer to vary how they express their lines or they run the risk of the audience falling asleep. Unfortunately, this variation did not happen and I found myself nodding off only to be jerked back to reality by a loud horn or very high note. Many of the actors also lacked stage presence, which made their time on stage tedious and uneventful. Some even looked bored. One actress who was particularly entertaining was Adrienne Blanks, who played Amastre. The role of the scorned lover who cross dresses to get revenge on her cheating fiancé is very rich, with much room for interpretation by the actress. However, Blanks

failed to convey much, and her face often had a peculiar expression which was, undoubtedly, unintentionally humorous. All was not terrible, though. Ariana Valdes, who played Atalanta, Romilda’s sister, stole the show. She filled the stage with energy every time she was present and her performances were the most enjoyable of the evening. Valdes alone seemed to understand the meaning of what she was singing and was able to play around with the words in a way that brought in the audience. Overall, Serse was probably most enjoyed by relatives and friends of the performers, who undoubtedly composed most of the audience. The performance was entertaining, though not in the way that an opera should be.

THEATER

‘Trojan Barbie’ lays siege to Euripides’ ‘Women’ ■ Cambridge’s American Repertory Theater staged an unfocused update of the Greek tragedy that featured high-quality performances. By BRYAN PRYWES JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The lights come up on a postapocalyptic barricade strewn with cinder blocks and oil barrels. In the corner lies a small gurney covered with pieces of toy figures and a doll waiting for repair. Confused? The worst is yet to come. Trojan Barbie , a play by Australian playwright Christine Evans, is a satirical adaptation of Euripides’ Trojan Women and centers around a British dollmaker, Lotte, who, looking for a relaxing vacation, travels to Troy. Shortly after arriving in Troy, she is abducted by the Greek army, dressed in SWAT gear and thrown into an internment camp. Upon her arrival, she meets the classic characters of Euripides’ play: Hecuba, Cassandra, Andromache and Helen, “just Helen.” It is unclear if these Euripidian characters in this “car crash adaptation” are remnants of their ancient past or if by entering the barricades Lotte is instantaneously

transported to a period of Trojan history. The script, which is weak at best, is composed more of small Law & Order -type vignettes, used more for shock value than to actually retell Euripides’ famous tale through a new lens. Fortunately, the performances by most of the cast under the direction of Carmel O’Reiley make up for what the script lacks. Notable performances include those by Karen MacDonald (Lotte) and Paula Langton (Hecuba). MacDonald, who narrates most of the performance, had perfect comedic timing that lightened up the heavier subjects addressed by the play. Langton imbued the part of Hecuba with a sense of regality even in the constraints of a detention camp and managed to carry over a perfect touch of Aristotelian stoicism that allowed her to create a character reminiscent of the Greek classic. The most standout performance of the evening, however, was that of Skye Nöel (Andromache), who commands the attention of her audience by fully expressing the sorrows of losing a son and witnessing the death of Hecuba’s youngest daughter, Polly X. She truly made the members of the audience feel her pain and brought the entire house to tears. An additional kudos goes to the male ensemble, which was made up of three men who managed with grace and fluidity to cover seven

characters, some of which entered just after the other exited. In fact, it was not until turning to my playbill after the performance that I realized the actors playing Talthybius and Max, two Greek soldiers, were actually one in the same—both played with gusto by Carl Foreman. The overall design of the show, though nothing elaborate, seemed to achieve both Evans’ and O’Reilly’s visions. David Reynoso’s costumes and set visually portrayed the postapocalyptic feel that somehow managed to fit the storyline. In collaboration with Reynoso’s set, the lighting design by Justin Townshend generally added to the postapocalyptic feel but at times seemed distracting and sometimes just blinded the audience. I offer a word of caution, however, to those who plan to attend: Be prepared for the somewhat random 1920s-style dance sequence in the last quarter of the show. For although it is meant to show the differences in fates between the classes, its purpose gets lost in translation and ultimately feels out of place. It seems more that the true meaning of the dance sequence is to make the rest of the show feel less random. Unfortunately, a wellchoreographed three-minute sequence was not nearly enough to make up for everything else the show lacked.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE AMERICAN REPERTORY THEATRE

MOTHER’S LOAD: Andromache (Skye Nöel) steals the spotlight with her child in hand during American Repertory Theater’s production of the satirical ‘Trojan Barbie.’

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) A suggestion from a colleague on how to work out a problem might not sit too well with you. But before you suspect his or her motives, why not just accept it as a friendly gesture? TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) An associate might seek your counsel on a workplace dispute with another co-worker. Listen to what she or he has to say, but withhold advice until you’ve heard the other side of the story. GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Use your Twin gifts for creativity and practicality to score points in landing an opportunity that could open doors to a new career. Someone returns after a long absence. CANCER (June 21 to July 22) Although things are pretty hectic through much of the week, some quiet time with loved ones helps restore balance. An unexpected visitor brings welcome news about a mutual friend. LEO (July 23 to August 22) Getting used to change isn’t always easy for the Big Cat. But make the adjustments gradually, and soon you’ll hardly remember when things were any different from how they are now. VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Continue to stay the course you’ve chosen and avoid distractions that could throw you off track. Some knowledgeable folks are happy to provide guidance if you need it. LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Although you earned plaudits from most co-workers for your recent stand on a workplace situation, you also raised the envy quotient among others. Tread carefully for now. SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) You feel more positive about that delayed project, and you’re ready to pick it up on a moment’s ACROSS 1. Junk in the inbox 5. Stir-fry pan 8. Greet the villain 12. Operatic showstopper 13. Rage 14. Reverberate 15. “Yellow” band 17. Horse of a different color? 18. Scoundrel 19. Cognac, e.g. 21. Lieu 24. Brat’s stocking stuffer 25. “— Fiction” 26. Make like a caught possum 30. Recede 31. 10 million rupees 32. Sticky stuff 33. Jerry Garcia fan 35. Lion’s pride? 36. Feeble 37. Autumnal quaff 38. Dramatist Molnar 41. Swindle 42. Satan’s field 43. Winter woe 48. Snitch 49. Mess up 50. Squared away 51. War god 52. Urban scurrier 53. Information DOWN 1. Pouch 2. Expert 3. Have 43-Across, maybe 4. Capricious and reckless 5. Untamed 6. Feast-famine link 7. PC requirement 8. Boston news-paper

notice. However, you might need to remotivate those who have since lost interest. SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) Some welcome news should be coming your way. In the meantime, use that Sagittarius charm to persuade some still-reluctant colleagues that your ideas have merit. CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Don’t wait for a misunderstanding to work itself out. Instead, ask for a chance to explain the circumstances before those bruised feelings lead to an irreversible break. AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) A physical problem should be checked out in order to avoid it going from just being a nuisance to something more serious. Your social life takes an unexpected but not unwelcome turn. PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Yours might be the wisest sign in the Zodiac. But you still could benefit from the wisdom of a close friend who has suggestions on how to handle a perplexing personal problem. BORN THIS WEEK: Your passion for doing the right thing inspires others to follow your well-trodden path toward justice.

BRANDEIS

Through the Lens

Solution to last issue’s crossword.

EMILY BERK/the Justice

Juggling Act Noah Fields ’12 shows off his circus-worthy capabilities at a juggling seminar that took place last Thursday. Soon, Fields may

Sudoku

9. Pic to click 10. Roe provider 11. PlayStation maker 16. Cushion 20. Bygone comic Martha 21. Raced 22. Toothpaste holder 23. Exile isle 24. Mantle 26. Pulpit VIP 27. “Zounds!” 28. Top-notch 29. Active person 31. “Big Brother” host Julie 34. Resides

35. Chopped finely 37. Cape — 38. Greek cheese 39. Always 40. Anger 41. Wagon 44. Historic time 45. Eggs 46. Allow 47. CSI evidence

■ It was author Michael Pollan who made the following sage observation: “A lawn is nature under totalitarian rule.” ■ It’s not clear exactly why, but the United States’ first first lady, Martha Washington, burned all the letters that President George Washington sent to her. And President Warren G. Harding’s widow, Florence Harding, burned nearly all of his papers after his death. ■ If you’re a runner—and a compulsive counter—you might already be aware of the fact that the average person’s feet hit the ground approximately 800 times per mile when running. ■ A man who worked as a blacksmith in a small Russian village found what he was told was a dummy cannon shell that had been used for training purposes, and he decided it would make a great anvil. Unfortunately, it turns out that the shell wasn’t a dummy after all; it exploded, killing the blacksmith—but not until after he’d been using it for 10 years.

■ You’re probably aware of the much-publicized fact that the Great Wall of China is one of the only human constructions that is visible from outer space. You might not know, however, that the extensive network of dikes that keeps the ocean out of the Netherlands is another such construction. ■ Those who study such things say that famed German composer Ludwig von Beethoven was a coffee drinker who was very picky about his java. Evidently, exactly 60 coffee beans had to be ground for each cup—and he would insist on having them counted out every time. ■ The next time you’re tempted to whip out the plastic to make a purchase, you might want to consider this little factoid: The average American spends 20 percent to 30 percent more when using a credit card than when paying with cash. Thought for the Day: “The trouble with weather forecasting is that it’s right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it.” —Patrick Young

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

be able to take his show outside; warmer weather is forthcoming and has begun to draw Brandeis students outdoors.