The Justice- Feb. 3, 2009

ROSE REACTIONS THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER

the

OF

FORUM SPECIAL SECTION, PAGE 25

BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY SINCE 1949

Justice www.theJusticeOnline.com

Volume LXII, Number 18

Waltham, Mass.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

BUDGET

SAVE OUR SOUL

Univ endowment figures released ■ The endowment is down

by 25 percent, from $712 million to $549 million.

By MIRANDA NEUBAUER JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

Brandeis has experienced a 25percent drop in its endowment from $712 million at the end of June 2008 to $549 million at the end of December 2008 and is projecting annual operating deficits ranging from $4 million in fiscal 2009 to $23 million in fiscal 2014, according to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Peter French.

French gave a presentation to students explaining the University’s financial situation during an open forum last Wednesday at which he and other senior administrators addressed the student body and answered students’ questions. The forum was organized by the Student Union, and it featured a questionand-answer session with students, University President Jehuda Reinharz and Provost Marty Krauss.

French explained in the forum that the financial standing of the University is compounded by a long-standing structural deficit that has established itself as Brandeis has drawn too many funds out of the endowment, over-

DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/the Justice

SIGNS OF PROTEST: Students and other protestors hung signs on the doors of the Rose Art Museum after last Thursday’s sit-in, which was held to protest the University’s decision to close the museum and sell its artwork. Some signs read “R.I.P. Rose Art Museum, 1961-2009, Beloved by the Brandeis Community” and “Art is not a price tag.” See pages 8 and 9 for more coverage.

ROSE ART

University may not sell full Rose Art collection ■ The University must

receive approval from the Mass. attorney general’s office to sell any of the art.

By HANNAH KIRSCH JUSTICE EDITOR

New developments in the aftermath of the University Board of Trustees’ decision to close the Rose Art Museum have raised questions about if and when the museum’s collection will actually be sold.

During last Wednesday’s open forum with students, University President Jehuda Reinharz said the University may not sell any or all of the art in the Rose’s collection. The original statement released following the announcement of the museum’s closing stated that “after necessary legal approvals,” Brandeis would

“publicly sell the art collection.” The press release also said, “Proceeds from the sale will be reinvested in the University to combat the farreaching effects of the economic crisis, and fortify the University’s position for the future.”

In response to a student’s question during the forum, Reinharz noted that “we are not mandated by the board to sell any particular number of artworks of any given time,” and that if “the economy turns around and the stock market is up by 45 percent, nothing impels me, nothing impels us to do anything.”

The University is currently seeking the necessary legal approval from the Massachusetts attorney general’s office in order to try to sell works from the Rose’s collection.

Before selling a piece of art, the University must determine whether that work was donated with restric-

See ROSE, 8 ☛

relied on gifts and failed to spend enough money to keep up the maintenance of its facilities throughout its history.

“Historically we have taken too much out of the endowment,” he said.

Because of the drop in Brandeis’ endowment, the University’s young age and its endowment draws in the past, French said at the forum that “we are going to have to go into our savings account.” The University can draw on $85 million in reserves for this year and next, “and then our savings account is, in essence, gone,” French explained in the forum.

During the forum, French explained that many other schools that have existed for longer than Brandeis have a larger alumni base and a much bigger endowment. Those two factors have “resulted in a greater vulnerability of the University to economic downturns because we haven’t had enough in our endowment to support our operations,” he said at the forum.

The University cannot access endowment funds that have decreased beneath their original value because a Massachusetts law only allows institutions to spend money from the appreciation or rise in value of their endowment funds. Twenty-six other states

See BUDGET, 6 ☛

FUNDING

Univ not affected by stop of Shapiro grants

INSIDE

■ The Shapiro Foundation

will suspend grants in 2009, but the Univ was not expecting to receive any.

By ALANA ABRAMSON

HSIAO-CHI PANG/the Justice

JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

■ Reaction of the art

Brandeis will not be affected by the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family Foundation’s decision to suspend grants in 2009 as a result of their monetary losses in the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme because the University did not expect to receive any donations from the Shapiro family even before the Foundation’s decision, according

world, p. 8.

■ Faculty committee to

reconsider closing, p. 8.

■ Students speak out

against decision, p. 9.

to Senior Vice President of Institutional Advancement Nancy Winship.

The Shapiro Foundation announced last Friday that it will provide neither grants nor capital pledges in 2009 to any organizations to which they had previously donated, according to an article in the Boston Globe.

According to the statement on the Foundation’s Web site, “The Foundation made this difficult decision as a result of losing a significant portion of its assets due to the fraudulent actions of Bernard Madoff,” and that suspending grants for a year will hopefully “ensure the long-term health and

See SHAPIRO, 6 ☛

News for free

Futureman

Golf program cut

■ Peter Osnos ’64 discussed technology’s effect on journalism.

■ JustArts interviewed the artistic director of the Black Mozart Ensemble.

■ The varsity golf program will be suspended after the spring season.

FEATURES 7

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 21

ARTS

17

EDITORIAL FEATURES

10 7

OPINION POLICE LOG

10 2

SPORTS LETTERS

16 11

COPYRIGHT 2008 FREE AT BRANDEIS. Call for home delivery.

2

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

NEWS POLICE LOG

BRIEF Two grants will be awarded to promote social justice issues The Program in Social Justice and Social Policy, a program in coordination with the Heller School for Social Policy and Management that serves to foster critical and creative thinking about social problems, will be awarding two Brenda Meehan Social Justice-inAction Grants, each with a $1,500 stipend, to students who submit event proposals that promote social justice issues, according to Prof. David Cunningham (SOC), the SJSP chair.

Cunningham said the funding for the awards will come from the endowment for the SJSP program, which is in the name of Brenda Meehan. This fund was donated by Brenda Meehan’s daughter, Diana, and her husband, Gary David Goldberg ’66, a spokesperson for the Office of Development and Alumni Relations said.

Cunningham, along with Prof. Melissa Stimell (LGLS), started this initiative in a collaborative effort to reform the SJSP minor. “We are trying to broaden the ways the [SJSP] program can relate to the broader issues of social justice on campus,” Cunningham said.

“We see the program as a bridge between academic work and activist work, and the events, which bridge that gap, are designed to fulfill that objective,” he added. Students will organize these events, Cunningham said.

A committee will be formed to review the grant applications, which must be submitted by Feb. 6, Cunningham said. Cunningham and Stimell are currently the only definite members of the committee, but Cunningham said he intends to have one student on it.

The committee will “favor” proposals that “incorporate both academic and activist social justice perspectives in meaningful ways, include significant participation by Brandeis students, faculty, and/or staff as well as by one or more invited off-campus guests, value collaboration between student organizations and/or between undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff and inform and/or link to ongoing initiatives that enable the proposed event to contribute to an enduring social justice impact on campus or in broader communities,” according to an email announcement about the grant opportunity.

Cunningham noted, “We would like to see an event that incorporates broad participation from Brandeis faculty, students, and staff, and that the event has the potential to have a broader impact relating to the specific issue. For example, if it leads to the emergence of a partnership,” he said.

“We want to get more students involved and be a better resource for the students in terms of helping them achieve social justice,” Stimell said.

“We are not trying to dictate the agenda of the students, as we are interested in the issue of social justice at large,” said Cunningham.

Stimell added, “We wanted something that was completely student-driven and [that] enabled students to conceive their own projects from start to finish but that related to the issue of social justice at large.”

Cunningham said he hopes to announce the recipients of the grants as quickly as possible as soon as the committee makes its decisions.

“Hopefully, the grants will be announced before students leave for the February break,” Cunningham said.

“I think it is such a wonderful opportunity, especially in this time of economic crisis, that we can give students an opportunity to create a program of their choice,” Stimell said.

Medical Emergency Jan. 28—A staff manager in Usdan Student Center reported than an employee had suffered a severe finger laceration and was unable to stop the bleeding.

BEMCo and University Police responded and treated the party on-scene. The employee was transported via ambulance to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Jan. 29—University Police responded to a report of an individual who fell on the ice behind Epstein. The party was transported to the NewtonWellesley Hospital.

Jan. 30—BEMCo and University Police responded to a report that a male broke his leg in Gosman Sports and Convocation Center. The male was transported via ambulance to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Jan. 31—University Police responded to a report at the Main Gate that a taxi arrived with an intoxicated female who would

not pay the driver. The intoxicated female was transported via ambulance to the NewtonWellesley Hospital.

Feb. 1—A male student in Massell Quad was intoxicated.

BEMCo and University Police responded, and the student was transported via ambulance to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Feb. 1—A student in East Quad reported that he woke up and felt pain in his stomach.

BEMCo responded. The student was transported via ambulance to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Larceny Jan. 29—A student reported that two credit cards were stolen from his wallet, which he left inside an unsecured locker in Gosman Sports and Convocation Center. University Police compiled a report on the theft.

Jan. 29—University Police

compiled a report on a phone hacker making unauthorized toll calls at the Brandeis University Alumni House in New York City. An investigation will follow.

Traffic Jan. 31—A party reported that she parked her vehicle in Gosman lot and noticed the next morning that the left side of her rear bumper had been struck. University Police compiled a report.

Miscellaneous Jan. 27—University Police responded to a report of an act of vandalism to the Rose Art Museum sign. Although University Police removed a portion of the chalk that covered the sign, the Physical Plant Department was also contacted for help. No permanent damage was done to the sign. A report is being compiled on the vandalism.

Dean Godsoe and Provost Krauss speak to Senate

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS

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

E-mail jsw5@brandeis.edu.

SARA BRANDENBURG/the Justice

Raising funds Bishop Bryant Robinson Jr. speaks to students about what it was like to see his church get burned down. A fundraiser dinner was held last Saturday to raise money to help rebuild the church. See story, p. 5.

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 Wednesday from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Justice office. Readers concerned with the newspaper’s journalistic integrity should contact the ombudsman at farrelly@brandeis.edu.

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Dean of Academic Services Kim Godsoe spoke to the Senate about study abroad policy changes and other options administrators considered. She also explained that the decision was kept private in fear that a leak would discourage potential applicants for the Class of 2013. The application deadline was Jan. 15; the announcement about the study abroad policy changes was made on Jan. 16.

Union President Jason Gray ’10, reported that the committee assigned to revisit the study abroad policy changes will hopefully make an announcement concerning its decision on Friday.

Provost Marty Krauss answered questions about the decision-making process that took place regarding the closing of the Rose Art Museum. She brought to the Senate’s attention the fact that the Board simply gave the administration the authorization to sell the art and that it was later that the administration decided to close the museum.

Krauss also discussed the faculty cuts, which will be near ten percent over the next five years. These cuts will come from retirement or contracted faculty leaving for other positions. Ten percent will amount to approximately 35 faculty members and cause the student faculty ratio to rise to 10:1 from the current 8:1.

Union Director of Community Advocacy Andrew Hogan ’11 reported that this weekend the Union raised $2,000 in their efforts to rebuild the Macedonia Church of God in Christ in Springfield, Mass.

The Senate confirmed 10 student nominees to the four Academic Restructuring Committees. The appointees were interviewed by Gray, Hogan and Adam Ross ’09, chair of the provost’s advisory committee.

The Senate granted permanent charter to the Brandeis Gastronomical Society and the Brandeis Brewing Club.

The Senate tabled a bylaw change that would forbid candidates running in Union elections to solicit votes by laptop per Senate procedure and the Senate tabled a bylaw change that would require senators to receive permission in order to miss Senate meetings.

—Destiny Aquino

ANNOUNCEMENTS Collective Guilt

theJustice

—Compiled by Nashrah Rahman

SENATE LOG

—Alana Abramson

An article in Forum last week incorrectly stated that the contributing writer was a blogger for Innermost Parts. The writer does not write for Innermost Parts.

(Jan. 27, p. 11).

A photo caption in Arts last week incorrectly identified the medium of “Forget It! Forget Me.” It is a painting, not an installation. (Jan. 27, p. 24).

The name of an organization was incorrectly capitalized in the Senate Log last week. The organization is called hopeFound, not Hopefound. (Jan. 27, p. 2).

An article in News incorrectly referred to Ingrid Schorr as a professor in the Peace, Conflict and Coexistence Department. She is the Office of the Arts Program Administrator. (Jan. 27, p. 7).

Jan. 27—A party reported that a male was fighting with a female student at 567 South St. University Police placed the male under arrest for domestic violence and transported him to the Waltham Police Department.

Jan. 29—University Police compiled a report on e-mail harassment at Irving.

Jan. 30—A community advisor reported possible marijuana usage in Rosenthal Quad.

University Police and a community development coordinator responded but were unable to locate the source.

Jan. 30—University Police issued a no-contact order to a student who complained of harassment in East Quad. A community development coordinator served as a witness to the signing of the document.

Students can join best-selling German author Bernhard Schlink as he reads from his novel The Reader, which has now been adapted into a movie. Schlink was originally trained as a lawyer and served as a judge at the Constitutional Court of the German state Nordheim-Westfalen. He now teaches law at Humboldt University in Berlin. His legal background is reflected in many of his works, especially The Reader, which is partly an autobiographical novel. Tuesday from 3 to 5: p.m. in Rapaporte Treasure Hall.

National Climate Change Solutions Day At the beginning of the first 100 days of the new Obama administration, Brandeis will participate in a national event that will engage over a million Americans in solution-driven dialogue. Students can learn about what kind of change is needed and the solutions that have worked in our campus. Wednesday from noon

to 3 p.m. in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium.

solving problems. Thursday at 5:00 p.m. in Levin Ballroom.

University of Melbourne Study Abroad Funeral for the Rose

Students can learn about opportunities to spend a semester or a year in Melbourne. The University of Melbourne is a dynamic research-driven community that offers a wealth of opportunities for social interaction, leadership and personal development. Thursday from noon to 1 p.m. in Usdan 122. For more information, e-mail abroad@brandeis.edu.

A funeral procession will start at the Rabb Steps and end at the Rose Art Museum to honor the loss of an key member of the Brandeis community. Students are encouraged to wear black, bring signs and instruments and share their feelings about the museum. Thursday from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Rabb Steps.

Second Student Forum with Reinharz

“You Can’t Be a Lesbian, You’re Jewish”

Student Union President Jason Gray ’10 has arranged another open forum for students who were unable to attend the forum last week.

University President Jehuda Reinharz, Executive Vice President Peter French and Provost Marty Krauss will be present to answer students’ questions on the budget situation Brandeis is facing. Gray will host another meeting after the forum to discuss the Union’s role in

Join Leslea Newman, poet laureate of Northampton, Mass., for a night of literature and learning. She will be reading from her works as well as leading a discussion on the intersection of Jewish and lesbian activites. Sunday at 5 p.m. in the Intercultural Center Lounge.

For more information, e-mail ejaeger@brandeis.edu.

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2009

DINING SERVICES

STUDENT LIFE

Increasing thefts reported

Forum held to foster dialogue ■ Students asked

administrators about the closing of the Rose Art Museum and the budget.

By HANNAH KIRSCH

■ Many students were caught

JUSTICE EDITOR

stealing from the Provisions on Demand Market last week.

Senior administrators, including University President Jehuda Reinharz, Provost Marty Krauss and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Peter French discussed University finances and answered student questions regarding the Rose Art Museum’s closure and other possible emergency measures to narrow the school’s budget gap at an open forum for students last Wednesday.

The forum was organized by Student Union President Jason Gray ’10.

Reinharz said that students would “have [a] voice in the deliberations” about measures to solve the University’s budget crisis but that they will “need to think ... what it is you could live without” and “be as creative as the faculty” in their involvement with resolving the University’s budget issues.

In his opening slideshow presentation on Brandeis’ financial history and current issues, French said the “structural deficit” of the University has resulted from its small base and endowment as compared to similar institutions of its quality. According to French, the University has also “historically relied on gifts ... more than other institutions, and when you get a recession like this, you tend to get fewer gifts, so it makes us vulnerable.” French said that Brandeis has taken too much out of its endowment historically and that dipping into the endowment for funds is “not something that you want to do on a sustained basis because you’re going to end up with no endowment.”

Reinharz and Krauss also addressed student concerns regarding the lack of prior notification by the administration surrounding the decision to close the museum. Both Krauss and Reinharz defended the University’s decision not to inform students or Rose staff that the University was considering closing the museum.

“The board decided to keep this under wraps because they did not ... want the discussion of the closing of the Rose to take place in the newspapers,” Reinharz explained to students. The choice not to tell Rose director Michael Rush was “to protect [him],” Reinharz added. Krauss later said, “If you try to have this discussion in public, it would completely destabilize the Rose.”

French said of the final decision to close the museum that “the conclusion that we have come to and that the trustees have come to after looking at all those options we’re doing the right thing.”

Reinharz said in response to a student question that the process of selling the art from the museum “may take months; it may take years.” He also stressed that the administration “[does] not plan to violate donor in-

By NASHRAH RAHMAN JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Approximately eight students who have been referred to the Office of Student Development and Conduct for stealing items from the Provisions on Demand Market as of Jan. 28 will face sanctions that may include restrictions from the store for an extended period of time, suspensions from campus buildings or parent notification, according to Director of Student Development and Conduct Erika Lamarre.

The significant number of thefts that took place last week has caused Aramark to become concerned, Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan said, adding that students were caught stealing products such as sushi and bottled water. Director of Dining Services Mike Newmark and Director of Operations Aaron Bennos did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Callahan explained that students were caught because “management sees [students] putting [items] in their pockets” and because the P.O.D. Market has security cameras.

Although students could be arrested for shoplifting, Aramark follows judicial referrals through the Department of Student Life, Callahan said.

“The [student] conduct process is the same for each type of violation that is reported,” Lamarre said. “The sanctions vary, but they’re relatively consistent when we’re talking about theft violations,” she added.

Lamarre explained that students are notified when documented at the time of the incident and are then sent e-mails asking them to come to the office. “I allow students to read the report [filed on them and] I let them tell me whatever information I need in order to make some decisions on how to proceed, and then students are given the decision on how we’re going to put closure on the [incident],” she said.

The sanction implemented for any given judicial offense is based on the student’s behavior during the incident, the student’s past conduct history and the nature of the incident, Lamarre explained.

In the past, students who have been caught shoplifting have been restricted from entering the store and parents have also been notified, according to Lamarre. However, she said that in her more than three years as director, no student has been suspended from entering certain campus buildings or the University itself for theft violations.

Lamarre said that students who are banned from the store for a limited period will be monitored by the P.O.D. Market staff through observation in order to ensure that they cannot enter the store. “Using credit cards, your ID or swiping your card would also be an indicator.”

3

RACHEL CORKE/the Justice

POSING QUESTIONS: Murat Kemahlioglu ’10 was one of many students who asked senior administrators about the budget. tent” in selling the works of art and that “there will be a discussion” with living donors on the sales of individual artworks.

Krauss and Reinharz also emphasized that Brandeis is not the only university combating financial difficulties. Reinharz told students that “Brandeis is not alone in the kinds of decisions we had to make,” and said that other institutions are considering drastic actions to combat budget crises.

“We are the talk of the town right now, but I would really predict that we will see other universities making very tough decisions,” Krauss said.

Assistant Vice President for Students and Enrollment Frank Urso addressed the future of athletics programs in light of the budget crisis.

He mentioned that the administra-

tion has considered “converting [teams] to club sports as opposed to being varsity programs” and said that the swim team is set to “operate for at least one more year” despite the closing of the Linsey pool.

Student Union President Jason Gray ’10, who proposed the forum to Reinharz, said the meeting was “a very strong first step.” Gray said, “I think what was awesome is [the forum] showed how engaged the student body wants to be and deserves to be.”

Alex Melman ’11, a writer for the blog Innermost Parts, called the meeting “very productive” despite the fact that “some of [the student questions] didn’t get as specific answers as we would have liked.” He added that “if we’d have done this earlier we would have avoided a lot of student demonstrations.”

Senator for the Class of 2009 Eric Alterman said that the forum was “largely what I expected,” and added that he hoped the administration would follow up the forum by “bringing students into the [decision-making] process at all levels.” Alterman also added that he wished the “contradictions” between different sources of information about the Rose’s closing “had been addressed.”

He later said that initially the announcement of the Rose’s closing implied that the Board of Trustees had “mandated the complete sale of all the artwork,” but that at the forum “it became clear that there were a lot of ambiguities to the process.” Altman later told the Justice that “over the past week or so, ... [the contradictions have] been resolved in the sense that [the administration has] kind of told their story.”

STUDENT LIFE

Wiki Web site launched to share opinions on campus concerns ■ The Brandeis community

can discuss University issues on a wiki Web site designed

by Prof. Tim Hickey (COSI).

By REINA GUERRERO JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Prof. Tim Hickey (COSI) has launched a wiki Web site that enables students, faculty, staff and other members of the Brandeis community to voice their opinions, concerns and ideas regarding the University’s budget cut discussions.

According to the Web site, its main page has been viewed over 900 times since its creation.

Hickey explained that the wiki page is a place where the Brandeis community can discuss “how Brandeis can

work to be more efficient.” The Web site allows anyone at Brandeis to add information or edit information that is already on the Web site. “It would be nice to have one place where all those ideas could get organized and analyzed, and that was my hope with this wiki page,” Hickey said.

The Web site “is only accessible on campus,” Hickey said. “We want to have a discussion within the Brandeis community; we don’t necessarily want third parties coming in and telling us about where Brandeis should go.”

Hickey also explained that people can post anonymously on the site.

According to the Web site, its goal is to allow the Brandeis community to collaborate on creating “new plans for improving the quality of the Brandeis experience (undergraduate, grad, faculty, staff), while increasing revenues, decreasing costs and contributing more fully to society.”

“I wanted a way that [Brandeis] as a community could share information and ideas, and the wiki is one way in which we can get many people working together to build something,” Hickey said.

The Web site is divided into nine different categories. One category, called “Hot Topics,” discusses the issues that are most discussed on campus right now. Currently, the first topic in that section is a discussion about the Rose Art Museum. Another category is called “Undergraduate Academics,” which proposes alternatives to help the University cut costs and raise revenue. One topic under this section is the Fischer/Lamb Plan.

The Fischer/Lamb Plan was an idea created by Profs. David Fischer (HIST) and Sarah Lamb (ANTH). The plan suggests that departments should look internally for ways to “operate more efficiently,” Lamb said. She explained

that each department was asked to look for ways to reduce spending without “harming the quality of the program.” The plan proposes that some smaller programs merge and that other departments change requirements in order to reduce cost.

Lamb explained that the Wiki page summarized the main points of the Fischer/Lamb Plan.

Lamb explained that the wiki page “is a way for students, faculty, [administrators] and staff to get involved from the beginning [of the decisionmaking process] to share their ideas, which is more rewarding for us all.

Hopefully we will generate more ideas— [the wiki page] is a better way to build community spirit.”

Another suggestion in the “Undergraduate Academics” category is titled “Minimizing Major Requirements.” The idea states, “Departments could examine their curric-

ula and determine which requirements are truly fundamental for all majors and which could be strongly suggested for certain types of majors (e.g. premed) but not required. This would increase student choice but require more advising.”

An additional category, called “Admissions,” has a subtopic that suggests the possibility of no longer requiring the SATs for admission to Brandeis.

Dev Singer ’11 said, “I think that it is a good way for students and anyone to put out their ideas and critique other people’s ideas in a way that will be visible because you’re not replying to a thread, you’re adding pros and cons—that’s what the wiki is for: having an idea and people compiling a list together of these ideas,” she said.

Prof. Hickey said, “I would encourage more people to visit [the Web site] and put in ideas.”

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THE JUSTICE

●

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2009

5

DISCUSSING DIVERSITY

ADINA PARETZKY/the Justice

EXPERIENCE IDENTITY: Mateo Aceves ’11, Shirah Moses ’11 and Daniel Acheampong ’11 spoke about their experiences with diversity and what diversity means to them at the “Night of Identity” event last Thursday.

Night of Identity brings two communities closer ■ The event featured student

performances, a student panel and a speech by Prof.

Peniel Joseph (AAAS).

By DESTINY AQUINO JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Brandeis Orthodox Organization, along with Brandeis Black Student Organization, hosted an event called “Night of Identity,” which was aimed at bridging the connection between the Orthodox and the black communities on campus, according to BOO Education Coordinator Zahvi Glasenberg ’11.

“The BOO-BBSO event has a history at Brandeis as an opportunity to bridge between two very different groups in the Brandeis community

who wouldn’t normally have so much interaction,” Glasenberg said. “The event is meant to educate, entertain and encourage students to be exposed to new cultures and to learn more about their peers,” she added.

The event included musical performances by The Mighty Glucks and Jermyn Addy ’11, the reading of a creative writing piece by Yoanna Freedman ’11, a speech given by Prof. Peniel Joseph (AAAS) and a student panel, which consisted of three students who spoke about their experiences with diversity and what diversity means to them.

Shirah Moses ’11, who spoke about her experiences growing up and attending an Orthodox day school in Teaneck, N.J., said, “I remember looking at statistics of my school in 11th grade, and they were something like out of 610 students, 603 were classified as being white, five were classified as

being Hispanic, and two, being my sister and myself, were classified as being African American or black,” she said.

Daniel Acheampong ’11, an immigrant from Ghana, spoke about his most difficult memories concerning diversity and identity at his elementary school in Brooklyn, N.Y. “I remember before I got like a lot of friends in school, they would be like, ‘I never saw a dark guy like you before,’ and I’m like, ‘Woah, are you kidding? My brother is darker then me,”’ he said.

The third panelist, Mateo Aceves ’11 from Berkeley, Calif., shared his feelings about being one of the only Orthodox students in his public high school. “In my high school of 3,200 students, there were only two of us that wore a yarmulke, and I remember walking around in junior and senior year of high school and feeling what an alienating experience that could be,” he said.

“The student panel was one of the best things I’ve ever heard at Brandeis,” BOO President Andrew Gluck ’11 said. “Just hearing other students’ experiences and considering how well spoken they all were and how honest and forthcoming they were about their identities is really quite moving,” he said.

“I really identified with [the panelists], and I feel like even someone who wasn’t African American or Jewish could feel that too,” Amber Jackson ’11 said.

“Students spoke very insightfully about things I’d never thought about,” Jacob Chatinover ’12 said.

The topic of Joseph’s speech was “Black and Jewish political alliances in the twentieth century: from National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and labor and Communist organizations to Civil Rights era to the present.” He spoke

about how President Barack Obama can be considered a president that fights for Jews, women and blacks. He also spoke about Obama’s cabinet and how many think that it may be too diverse. He concluded his speech by saying, “This is a time to really find common ground even while talking very frankly about political differences. I agree with Obama that we can disagree without being disagreeable.”

In an interview following his speech, Joseph said, “It’s great to have these kinds of programs that attempt to start some dialogue between African Americans and Jews.”

“I think it’s nice when people bring their own perspective to an event like this; it really makes it personal,” Ellie Klausner ’09 said.

“I was impressed, shocked and extremely pleasantly surprised [by] the turnout,” Gluck said.

STUDENT UNION

STUDENT LIFE

Students raise $2,000 to help rebuild church

Student Union and Waltham Group team up to launch new community service initiative

■ The Student Union raised

money to help rebuild a Mass. church that was burned on election day.

By ALANA ABRAMSON JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

The Student Union raised $2,000 to help rebuild the Macedonia Church of God in Christ, a predominantly black membered church in Springfield, Mass., after it was burned down on Election Day in what was thought to be an act of racism, Union Director of Campus Advocacy Andrew Hogan ’11, who coordinated the effort, said.

The Student Union tabled in the Usdan Student Center and in Sherman for two weeks and also held a fundraising dinner last Saturday night. Hogan said approximately 170 students attended the dinner, which raised about $1,700 on its own. Hogan said he plans on sending the check this week to Morrison Mahoney LLP, the law firm that is handling the church’s rebuilding efforts.

Bryant Robinson Jr., the bishop of the Macedonia Church, attended the dinner and spoke to students about his experience watching the church burn down. “The bishop gave a very moving speech about what it was like to experience [one’s] place of worship burn down in flames,” Hogan said, adding that he was “grateful” for the bishop’s attendance. “[Robinson] added a personal aspect to the event. The students at the dinner could see where their

money was going and how it was being used to help people,” Hogan said.

The all-you-can-eat buffet was catered by various Waltham restaurants such as Cappy’s Pizza & Subs, the Chateau, New Mother India, Baan Thai, Margaritas, the Tuscan Grill, Taqueria Mexico, Angelo’s House of Pizza, Café Angelina’s and Waltham Pizza. The restaurants donated the food, enabling the Student Union to give all the money raised to the rebuilding efforts. “It is nice to help other people; we donated the food because we knew it was going to a good cause,” said Cappy’s manager Paul Migos.

The student a cappella groups VoiceMale and Starving Artists performed at the dinner, as did the So Unique step team and the musical group Mochila.

Students who attended the dinner were very enthusiastic about the Student Union’s fundraising efforts. “I think this was a really good idea, and the money raised will definitely help make a difference,” Amber Jackson ’11 said.

“I think that with all of the struggles and decisions that are going on at Brandeis, this event really shows why Brandeis is special,” Hogan wrote in an e-mail to the Justice. “After a hate crime like this, Brandeis University is overflowing with students who want to help. The fact that we exceeded expectations for this event does not suprise me,” he explained after saying last week that he expected to raise $1,000 at the dinner. “That’s the way the Brandeis community is,” he wrote.

■ Clubs in Service, the new

program, encourages campus clubs to get more involved in the community.

By RUTH ORBACH JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

A new Student Union initiative called Clubs in Service will work with the Waltham Group to get student clubs involved with community service projects and events in the Waltham community and the greater Boston area, according to Jessica Gottsegen ’09, a Clubs in Service and Waltham Group coordinator.

Clubs in Service is working to get every chartered and non chartered club involved in a variety of activities that will allow the student body to forge a relationship with the community and make a positive impact, according to Akash Vadalia, senator for the class of 2012 and representative for the project.

The idea for Clubs in Service was inspired by President Barack Obama’s call throughout his campaign for members of the public to become involved in their communities and help people. Obama’s message struck a chord with Student Union members, who then contacted the Waltham Group, Vadalia said.

The Waltham Group is responsible for organizing the community service efforts while the Student Union is advertising the initiative, Vadalia explained.

Clubs will be given the freedom to come up with their own ideas for projects, and the Waltham Group will also provide opportunities for one-time events such as food banks, volunteering with organizations such as Perkins School for the Blind and The Community Farms, the local farm in Waltham, Gottsegen said.

Clubs were recognized as the perfect mechanism to encourage the University student body to interact with the greater community in a

“

We want to get students involved in opportunities that are win-win.

AKASH VADALIA ’12

positive way, according to Vadalia.

The structure already in place within the club system would facilitate organizational ease, Vadalia said. This is a “campuswide thing.

We want to get students involved in opportunities that are win-win,” Vadalia said.

The initiative would also have a positive effect on the clubs themselves, according to Gottsegen. Community service is “a really great way to bring your club together,”she said. Clubs currently involved include Brandeis Emergency Medical

Corps, Student Global AIDS Campaign and South Asian Student Association. It is projected that up to 15 clubs will attend the information session and that a further 20 clubs will be involved by the end of the year, said Vadalia.

The Student Union and the Waltham Group were building on a foundation that had already been established by clubs in previous years, according to Gottsegen. “Before the initiative started there [were] clubs that [were] involved in community service,” Gottsegen said. “It’s kind of always been going on, on a very small scale,” she added.

The initiative was furthered when leaders planned out its structure over winter break. Four to seven options were put together and e-mailed to club leaders to get them involved.

These include one-time events such as volunteering at a shelter for a day, collecting canned goods for a day and bringing club skills to kids’ clubs on campus.

Other options include a new project called Junior Brandeis Achievers, which involves clubs that work with a group of children at local schools in the Waltham area and which will begin in the fall of 2009 as a weekly program. The program will allow clubs to “teach skills while forming relations with the kids,” Gottsegen explained.

Events will begin in late February and early March. It is important that it is “in every club’s mindset that we are not just a part of Brandeis University but the outside community,” Vadalia said.

6

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2009

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BUDGET

Students to offer ideas for budget ■ There will be student and

faculty represenatives on the sub-committees to address the budget situation.

By MIRANDA NEUBAUER JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

Student Union President Jason Gray ’10 and Ph. D. Jane Harries will sit as non voting student representatives on the Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering Committee, according to information sent out by e-mail from the Undergraduate Student Union and the Graduate Student Association.

Provost Marty Krauss announced Tuesday her appointment of Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe and Profs. Steven Burg (POL) and Ilan Troen (NEJS) to the committee. The Faculty Senate appointed Profs.

Sabine von Mering (GRALL), Sacha Nelson (BIOL) and Sarah Lamb (ANTH). Krauss and the Faculty Senate jointly appointed Profs.

Susan Dibble (THA), Timothy Hickey (COSI) and Robin Feuer Miller (GRALL).

“We were trying to make sure that we had people who know universities well and had strong experience in curricular and administrative functions,” Krauss said.

“A number of the faculty at the meeting … said it was important to involve students, [and Gray] made it clear that he thought there should be representatives of the Student Union on the committees, and [faculty] agreed,” Jaffe said in an interview.

Jaffe explained the students were non voting members on the committee because “ultimately the curriculum at Brandeis is the responsibility of the faculty,” but added that it was not certain whether the Steering Committee would conduct votes.

Last Sunday, the Student Union Senate confirmed 10 student representatives out of 30 applicants to four sub committees; the students were chosen by Gray, Union Director of Academic Affairs Anum Khan ’10 and Chair of the Provost’s Advisory Committee Adam Ross ’09.

Lydia Flier ’11 and Senator for the Class of 2011 Lev Hirschhorn will serve on the Third Semester committee; Matthew Shear ’11, Ron Kendler ’09 and former Union Director of Community Development Ryan McElhaney ’10 will serve on the Degree Requirements committee; Mariel Gruszko ’10, Jamie Fleishman ’11 and Senator-at-Large Justin Sulsky ’09 will serve on the Admissions Committee and Murat Kemahlioglu ’10 and Matthew Wright ’09 will serve on the Business Major committee.

The admissions committee will focus on how to “figure out ways to better communicate what we already do” to prospective students, Jaffe said at the Faculty Meeting.

The Third Semester Committee will examine the ways in which a summer program would relate to the spring and the fall semesters. The Degree Requirements committee will consider “how we think about the liberal arts,” Jaffe said.

“I think it’s an impressive group of students who are across a range of class years, majors, minors [and] experiences … and have a desire to solicit additional student involvement, as much as possible,” Gray said.

Jaffe explained that in the last week of February, the School Council and the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee will review any proposals for academic changes from the subcommittees, with final decisions on the proposals projected for release the first week of March, before the Board of Trustees meeting.

THE JUSTICE

BUDGET: Endowment dropped by 25 percent CONTINUED FROM 1 have adopted a 2006 successor to that law that removed this limitation. French said at the forum that there has been lobbying to change the Massachusetts law, but “there has been absolutely no enthusiasm on the part of the state legislature” for any change. He also cautioned that having access to endowment funds that have decreased beneath their original value could be risky in the long term because “you would have no basis [upon which to sustain the endowment].”

“I feel very strongly that the University should consider looking at some way to get some type of waiver [on the law],” said Daniel Millenson ’09, who attended the forum and is on the Student Union’s Committee for Endowment Ethics and Responsibility. “All the [Massachusetts] universities are financially hurting. They will also have an interest in the temporary suspension of this law.”

At the end of this fiscal year, Brandeis will have universally cut its staff by about 5.6 percent, or 70 positions, from last July, French wrote in an e-mail to the Justice.

Cost-cutting measures to close the gap in fiscal 2009 and 2010 will amount to gains of $15.5 million, he wrote, achieved through $4.7 million in one-time revenues, $9.2 million in cost reductions and $1.6 million in new sustainable revenues.

“We are experiencing expenditures that are exceeding revenues in this fiscal year, in fiscal year 2010 and the years beyond,” French said in the forum. He said that the University had set plans in motion to respond to a projected $10 million deficit for fiscal 2010, which could grow due to possible reductions in gifts, and to respond to a projected

GRAPH DESIGNED BY KATHRYN MARABLE/the Justice

$8 million deficit in fiscal 2009.

Brandeis has already taken steps toward “belt tightening,” French wrote in an e-mail to the Justice.

The University has saved $10.8 million in fiscal 2009 and 2010 through reductions in faculty travel, consulting contracts, training and operating expense budgets and also has access to one-time resources of $4.7 million in fiscal 2009, he wrote.

French said in the forum that, while at other institutions gifts make up about two to three percent

of gross revenue, at Brandeis they amount to five percent.

Both French and Reinharz emphasized that the endowment had been seeing large gains before the unforeseeable financial downturn. The endowment had grown from $190 million when Reinharz became president in 1994 to $715 million through many gains and gifts, French said. “[In June] we had six years’ worth of endowment draw in the endowment between the accumulat-

ed gains and the reserves,” French said. “Who could have imagined on June 30, 2008 that we’d be looking at a drop of 25 percent of the market value of that endowment?”

—Mike Prada contributed reporting Editor’s note: This article was originally published on the Justice’s Web site Thursday, Jan. 29.

GRAPHS COURTESY OF PETER FRENCH

SHAPIRO: Foundation to suspend grants in 2009 CONTINUED FROM 1 stability of the Foundation.”

Despite this decision, the Foundation maintained its promise to “honor its current grant commitments for both capital projects and multi-year grants.”

The Foundation announced last month that it lost 40 percent of its wealth in Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.

Diana Pisciotta, the executive vice president of the Shapiro Foundation, confirmed the report in the Boston Globe.

Winship said that Brandeis won’t be affected because the University had no intention of asking the foundation for a pledge in 2009.

Winship said that the Shapiro Foundation was committed to fulfilling its pledges to Brandeis for

the $25 million Carl J. Shapiro Science Center, the $14 million Carl and Ruth Shapiro Admissions Center and the $3.5 million Rhonda S. and Michael J. Zinner Forum in the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. “Mr. Shapiro has repeatedly said he will honor all existing pledges,” Winship said.

“The Shapiros have done an amazing amount for Brandeis and have helped transform the institution. We never considered asking for new grants this year and did not think of going to Shapiro when it was apparent the University’s endowment was shrinking because he has already done so much,” Winship said.

The Foundation has also historically given much of its gifts in the form of building grants rather than gifts to the endowment.

Fundraising focus is currently on the latter, and Winship said the University has received gifts in that area from other donors.

“We have been heartened by the overwhelming response from alumni and friends to help Brandeis students—our most precious resource—at this critical time,” she said, adding that “Brandeis supporters are making an immediate difference in the lives of students by making Annual Fund gifts now to support student scholarships.”

The Shapiro Foundation sent a letter to over 80 non profit organizations in the Boston area stating their decision not to give any grants in the coming year.

However, since the Shapiro Foundation’s donations to Brandeis have previously been

composed of capital pledges, Brandeis did not receive a letter.

Pisciotta said that capital pledges are often in more in-depth contact with the Foundation and received phone calls.

The letter, written by Jean Whitney, the executive director of the Foundation, informed the organizations, “We are apprising you of this situation as early as possible to allow you to either seek alternate sources of funding or to adjust your plans for this year.”

The letter also expressed the Foundation’s desire to maintain support for the organizations despite the financial situation, stating, “Members of our team will be reaching out to a sample of our grant recipients to assess how we can support you in non-financial ways.”

THE JUSTICE

just

features

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2009

7

VERBATIM | Emerson Pugh If the human mind was simple enough to understand, we’d be too simple to understand it.

ON THIS DAY...

FUN FACT

U.S. President Bill Clinton introduced the first balanced budget in 30 years.

Houseflies have a lifespan of two weeks.

Facing the Future

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

SHARING HIS PERSPECTIVE: Peter Osnos ’64, talks at the “How Technology and Commerce Are Changing Journalism” event. Profs. Maura Jane Farrelly (AMST) and Eileen McNamara (AMST) also spoke.

By EMILY DUNNING JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

When Peter Osnos ’64 asked a roomful of Brandeis students how many read daily newspapers, almost everyone raised their hand. But after a student prompted Osnos to exclude digital news from his question, almost every hand went down.

“Every one of you in this room is the editor in chief of your own information system,” Osnos said. “It’s a huge responsibility that people haven’t yet completely absorbed.”

Osnos, who co-founded the publishing house Public Affairs Books 12 years ago after a long career as a national and foreign correspondent at the Washington Post. He was a guest speaker at the “How Technology and Commerce Are Changing Journalism” talk on Thursday, Jan. 29. Profs. Maura Jane Farrelly (AMST) and Eileen McNamara (AMST) also spoke at the event, which was co-sponsored by the Journalism Program and the Hiatt Career Center.

Osnos spoke of technology’s effect on journalism and why he thinks the industry will survive even though it

suffers financially.

Osnos launched his journalistic career writing for the Justice while he was a Brandeis student. After graduating from the Columbia School of Journalism, he worked for the Washington Post for 18 years, where he covered the Vietnam War and the Cold War. Osnos’ background in journalism led him to discover his interest in publishing, and he served as a senior editor of Random House publishing after leaving the Washington Post “People ask me, ‘Why the hell did you do that?’” Osnos said of his decision to leave the Post for Random House. “Answer is, I don’t know.”

Currently a senior editor at Public Affairs Books, Osnos said that the publishing company is neither big nor lavish butit is effective. In particular, working in the publishing business has taught him about the economics of journalism.

He discussed the impact of digital media on consumer behavior and subsequent cash flow, particularly the reality that journalists aren’t the sole gatekeepers to news information anymore.

“Information wants to be free,”

Peter Osnos ’64 talks about how technology has changed journalism Osnos said. He added that today’s consumers expect increasing amounts of free media as digital material becomes more accessible. Most journalists, however, know little about the financial complexities of their industry since advertising often interferes with editorial freedom, he said.

Yet Osnos said the utility of free information obscures the reality that producing news always costs money: reporters must be paid and newspapers must be printed and delivered.

He said journalists could benefit from understanding the business side of their industry although he admitted that he had minimal interaction with the advertising department while he worked for the Post.

As a means of bolstering the journalism industry in light of the increasing availability of free information, Osnos suggested that

the national government should tax consumers and distribute the revenue among important news organizations. A student in the audience said that Americans would never accept a new tax so easily.

Osnos also referenced nonprofit news organizations such as National Public Radio, which he said was “some of the best news out there.” He suggested that an evolved nonprofit model might be effective in a digital news environment.

McNamara and Farrelly recommended that newsmakers analyze the writing style of their most emailed stories in order to gauge what kinds of articles sell best. McNamara explained that most emailed articles are read all the way through, meaning that consumers see the advertisements on every page.

“Sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll,”

Osnos interjected, as McNamara began to describe the kind of stories that get most e-mailed.

Ultimately, Osnos didn’t predict that the demise of contemporary journalism was in the near future.

He noted that despite the commonly held belief that no one reads books anymore, hundreds of millions of people read books—and suggested Harry Potter as a perfect example.

The same is true, he argued, with journalism. Osnos predicted that in 25 years, most major newspaper brands will still exist.

“The urge to find information is very strong; that will not go away,” Osnos said, citing the 10 million people who visited The New York Times’ Web site the day of the economic downturn.

Osnos left students on an optimistic note. “Journalism,” he said, “is essential.”

8

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

FACULTY

IN HONOR OF THE ROSE

Committee created to contest Rose decision ■ Faculty voted to form a

committee to oversee all future decisions to be made about the Rose.

By MIRANDA NEUBAUER JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

REBECCA NEY/the Justice

SPEAKING OUT: Director of the Rose Art Museum Michael Rush addressed students at a sit-in that took place last Thursday.

Art world expresses anger at decision to close museum ■ Rose Art Museum donors,

staff and board members are disappointed by the decision to close the Rose.

By NASHRAH RAHMAN JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Rose Art Museum donors, museum staff and the museum’s Board of Overseers have expressed disappointment with the University’s decision to close the Rose after last week’s unanimous vote cast by the Board of Trustees.

Chair of the Rose Board of Overseers Jonathan Lee explained that although the Board is concerned with the museum’s finances, the University has “ultimate responsibility for the finances.”

In a statement posted on the museum’s Web site, Director of the Rose Art Museum Michael Rush emphasized, “neither the Rose staff nor the Rose Board of Overseers had any knowledge of this decision. Indeed, we were never consulted at all. We were informed one hour before the press release went out.”

University President Jehuda Reinharz explained that the decision to close the museum was made public after the voting took place in order to “protect” Rush.

“It doesn’t sound like a very thought-out position on Jehuda’s part,” Lee said.

In his speech at a student sit-in against the closing of the museum that

took place last Thursday, Rush said, “as essential as [the Rose] is to Brandeis, it seems bigger than Brandeis, and this is what Brandeis may not quite understand, … that the Rose exists in a way that is so significant, that is so ancient.”

The University has sold art in the past. In 1974 a Monet painting originally donated by Harold Kaplan was sold to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The University was criticized in 1991 by the Association of Art Museum Directors for auctioning 12 paintings for $3.5 million at Christie’s International in New York in order to make the Rose Art Museum financially independent.

However, Rush said in an interview with the Justice, “[The members of the Board of Trustees] have never done this on this scale before, [and] the times are different.”

Lee said that the University’s past decisions were “very contentious,” as art should not be sold for operating purposes. “There are rules of ethics that just can’t be violated that easily,” he said.

Rush warned in his online statement, “No one will ever contribute funds, much less artwork, to this institution; no artwork will be lent to [Brandeis] from other institutions; no professional artist or curator will want to be associated with [Brandeis].”

Lois Foster, a long time benefactor of the museum whose husband founded the Lois Foster Wing of the Rose Art Museum in 2001, said she wanted to cry when Reinharz called her last Monday to inform her of the

decision to close the museum.

“I’m not happy with Brandeis at all,” Foster said. She added that “[the building] was given to house the collection, and I’ve learned from [the University’s decision to close the museum] to never to give anything unless I have all kinds of legal papers that go with it,” implying that the possession of legal papers would have placed a restriction on how her donations could be used.

Former Chair of the Rose Board of Overseers Jerry Fineberg, who donated up to 30 paintings to the museum as well as $2.5 million in support of a new wing that was never built, also received a phone call from Reinharz on Monday. Fineberg emphasized that he would be “very, very conscious about donating [in the future].” “Burn once, shame on you, but burn twice, shame on me,” he said.

Lee said he believes the University will not sell the art displayed in the museum. “It would be a stupendous blow to [the University’s] reputation.”

On the other hand, Fineberg thinks that the decision to close the museum will still be implemented.

Fineberg said, “I think [Reinharz] is like a deer whose eyes are set on the headlights. He sees the paintings and the value, and he is going to take that money and put it into the University.”

“I think it’s a huge mistake and history will judge this as a very, very sad day for Brandeis,” Rush said in an interview with the Justice.

The faculty voted to establish a committee of stakeholders to consider all options related to future decisions concerning the Rose Art Museum at a faculty meeting last Thursday, three days after the Board of Trustees announced its decision to close the museum and sell the art collection Jan. 26.

One hundred four faculty members voted in favor of the motion proposed by Profs. John Plotz (ENG) and Elizabeth Ferry (ANTH). Eleven members were opposed and 12 abstained.

Many faculty criticized the administration’s judgment in announcing the closure of the Rose Art Museum, the process by which the decision was made, how details of the decision were conveyed to faculty and the ensuing national media coverage.

One representative from each of the three campus media outlets, the Justice, The Hoot and Innermostparts.org, was let inside the meeting.

As of Monday, the committee comprises Profs. Jerry Samet (PHIL) and Prof. Nancy Scott (FA), with Prof. Eric Hill (THA) as the chair, according to Faculty Senate Chair Prof. William Flesch (ENG).

Provost Marty Krauss said she thought the creation of the committee was an excellent idea. She said the motion’s wording had a somewhat “vague scope, and so I think it needs to be clarified.”

At the meeting, University President Jehuda Reinharz said the Board of Trustees had foreseen the potential but not the extent of the public outcry over the decision.

“The board did realize that this is going to create a difficult [public relations] situation,” he said.

Later in the meeting, however, he said that “no one had anticipated that we could have that kind of reaction,” which he characterized as “an avalanche of such bad publicity,” a comment met with an audible stir in the room.

Referring to the “gasp that went up in this room” when Reinharz said that the Board had not anticipated the intense reaction, Prof.

Marc Brettler (NEJS) said at the meeting that “many of us are worried what kind of mechanisms will be put in place [so a further] public relations disaster does not occur.”

He went on to criticize the University for sending mixed messages, remarking that “in one official document everything will be sold, in one interview [only

some things will be sold], and then today maybe nothing will be sold.”

Burg said at the faculty meeting that the Board of Trustees thought debating the academic restructuring was more important than the Rose Art Museum. “In the minds of the Board ... the faculty is way more important to them than the Rose,” he said.

Burg said the source of the original proposal to close the Rose was unclear. “I don’t know where the actual resolution came from,” he said.

Asked why the decision “wasn’t discussed with the Department of Fine Arts,” Reinharz said the Administration had deviated from the Board’s instructions by informing the Faculty Senate Council confidentially prior to the decision, though not asking for their approval.

One member of the Senate Council, Prof. Catherine Mann (IBS) said the meeting had concerned “the closure of the Rose, period,” not the sale of artwork.

Hill disputed that claim. “I warned that if we tried to sell, it would be a disaster,” because of the depressed art market, he said.

He called into question the confidentiality of the Senate Council meeting. “Why ask us to remain confidential? [Then] why tell us in the first place? If we can’t do anything about it ... why tell us?” he asked.

“Why close it, and why is it not reversible?” Prof. Gordon Fellman (SOC) asked. “If the museum is not closed, we cannot sell the art,” Reinharz replied. “If museums sell art they have to use the proceeds to buy more art. That is not our intention right now, to buy more art.”

Profs. John Plotz (ENG) and Elizabeth Ferry (ANTH) then proceeded to make a motion that says the “decision was made to close the Rose … without the consultation of the relevant stakeholders in the University community,” and then “calls on the Senate to create a committee that includes representatives from the relevant stakeholders … to explore various actions that may be taken with regard to the Rose Art Museum.”

Prof. Jonathan Sarna (NEJS) advised against the motion, saying that given the financial crisis, “it’s very strange to devote our energies to a decision we already know perfectly well won’t be changed.”

Prof. Ramie Targoff (ENG) said that while perhaps the decision was made with the best intentions, “the process was absolutely egregious.” Given the international and national reaction, “perhaps [the Board] will see what an absolute disaster this has been,” she said.

“We do not rubbe-stamp positions made by a board. [The Rose] is not a dead corpse; this is some-

—Andrea Fineman and Hannah Kirsch contributed reporting.

ROSE: Univ may not sell full art collection CONTINUED FROM 1 that work was donated with restrictions on its use and sale, according to an e-mail to the Justice from Emily LaGrassa, a spokesperson for the office of the attorney general of Massachusetts. If there is a living donor, the University must ask the donor to release the restrictions; if there is no living donor or if the donor will not release the restrictions, LaGrassa wrote that, “the University must petition the Supreme Judicial Court for release from the restrictions before they can sell the donated items.”

In an interview with the Justice, LaGrassa said that the office of the attorney general does anticipate that

the process “will take some time.

We’re talking about 7,000 pieces of art, where we have to go through each one and determine if there is a living donor, is there a restriction.”

During the open forum, Reinharz said, “Each work of art, if it were to be sold, has to be looked at very carefully. ... We don’t plan to violate donor intent; if they are living donors, there will be a discussion with them.”

Chairman of the Rose Art Museum’s Board of Overseers Jonathan Lee said he plans to meet with members of the attorney general’s office to try to halt the closing of the museum and the sale of pieces from the collection. Lee said in an interview with the Justice that, in addition to donor

restrictions on specific works of art, “There are donor restrictions, perhaps, on the building itself ... that could be looked at. There are several endowments at the art museum that also pose an issue aside from the art,” including endowments for the museum director’s salary and for the acquisition of more art.

Lee also said that there is “a more general case to be made” that an art museum “will conduct itself as a steward for future generations of students and the public interest at large.” Lee said the argument was “not as ironclad a lawsuit” as actual donor restrictions, but said it was “worthy of trying to have a court review.”

MAX BREITSTEIN MATZA/the Justice

PROVIDING EXPLANATIONS: University President Jehuda Reinharz justified the Board of Trustees’ decision to close the Rose Art Museum to the faculty.

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2009

9

STUDENT ACTIVISM

Students protest against closure of Rose ■ Students orgranized a

sit-in last Thurday to show their solidarity toward the preservation of the museum.

By MIKE PRADA JUSTICE EDITOR

Amid television cameras and reporters from newspapers like the Boston Globe, Rose Art Museum Director Michael Rush grabbed a microphone, hoping to give a speech at last Thursday’s sit-in protest at the museum. But before he could begin, an eruption of thunderous applause filled the room, forcing Rush to pause until it died down before delivering his speech.

The noise came from a crowd of 200 students, faculty, donors and Waltham community members who gathered last Thursday to protest the Board of Trustees’ decision to close the Rose Art Museum. The event was organized by Rebeccah Ulm ’11 and Maarit Ostrow ’11 and was sponsored by the Brandeis Budget Cut Committee, a group created last semester to encourage student involvement in conversations about the University’s budget cuts.

The Board of Trustees voted unanimously Jan. 26 to close the Rose Art Museum and sell pieces of its collection in order to “mobilize for the future and initiate a strategy to replenish our financial assets,” according a Jan. 26 email sent by University President Jehuda Reinharz.

Students congregated on the museum’s upper level and the stairs leading to the lower level in order to listen to those who wished to speak about the closing. There was a table set up to the left of the microphone where attendees could sign a petition and help make posters to protest the decision, Ulm said. Several posters, such as ones that read, “Art is NOT a price tag!” and “UNWISE BRANDEIS,” were eventually displayed on the museum’s window.

Ulm explained that she wanted to do something to protest the decision as soon as she read Reinharz’s e-mail announcing the decision.

“I read the e-mail Monday night, right before the Brandeis Budget Coalition Meeting. During the meeting, I was like, ‘Hey, are we going to talk about this? Are we going to do something about this?’” Ulm said.

Ulm and Ostrow made opening remarks at the protest before Rush’s speech. Ulm stressed the importance of the Rose to the Brandeis community and said that the presence of the Rose was a major reason that she and many other students studying art came to Brandeis. Ostrow spoke about how the decision to close the museum changes the University’s spirit. “I feel they’re changing the definition of what sort of school Brandeis is,” Ostrow said in her speech.

Rush eventually took the microphone to say a few words. Calling the Rose a “jewel,” Rush said the museum is “bigger than Brandeis” and that the University’s decision to close the museum is “a big mistake with major historical ramifications.”

“Students are demanding more transparency when huge decisions like this are made,” Rush later said in an interview with the Justice. “That’s the biggest thing students can do.”

Office of the Arts Program Administrator Ingrid Schorr also spoke at the event. She stressed that the Office of the Arts was not in favor of closing the museum but said that the arts will remain important at Brandeis. “Maybe the fancy dining room is closing, but the kitchen is still open,” she told the crowd.

“There are so many creative solutions that the student body and faculty could have come up with if they had only been asked,” Ariella SilversteinTapp ’09 said in an interview with the Justice. “I think there was a real lack of faith that the administration had in us,” she said. “We go to Brandeis.

We’re creative. We’re innovative,” she added.

“We pride ourselves on being a liberal arts institution within this greater research university, and to get rid of something that has that symbolic presence seems to be changing the ideals of our University,” Julia Sferlazzo ’09 said in an interview with the Justice.

The open-microphone structure of the event was not limited to just students. Janet Shapiro, the president of the Artists West Association, an art

studio in Waltham, also spoke, lamenting that “art is always the first to go” when a University needs to save money.

“What could be closer to home?”

Shapiro said in an interview with the Justice when asked why she spoke at the protest. “This is in the very town my studio is in.”

Ilana Zieff ’10, who attended the protest, said she wrote a letter to Reinharz before the protest expressing displeasure with the decision.

“I think [Reinharz] is taking away creative thought,” Zieff said in an interview with the Justice. “Without creating thought there is no furthering in sciences, in math, in politics [or] in writing, and by taking away this creative institution, [Reinharz] is killing the art department,” she said.

“I’m really proud of how [the protest] turned out,” Ulm said. “I’m incredibly inspired by the amount of people that showed up.”

—Nashrah Rahman and Hannah Kirsch contributed reporting.

DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/the Justice

BITTER REFLECTIONS: Students displayed signs in protest of the University’s sudden decision to close the Rose Art Museum.

RACHEL CORKE/the Justice

UNITED IN OUTRAGE: Students gathered to share their thoughts and feelings about the University’s decision to close the Rose Art Museum at a sit-in protest last Thursday.

10

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3 , 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, DAVID SHEPPARD -B RICK and DANIEL D. SNYDER, Associate Editors JILLIAN WAGNER, News Editor SHANA D. LEBOWITZ, Features Editor REBECCA B LADY, Acting Forum Editor IAN CUTLER, Sports Editor JUSTINE ROOT, Arts Editor JULIAN AGIN -LIEBES and MAX B REITSTEIN MATZA Photography Editors KATHRYN MARABLE, Layout Editor B RIAN FROMM, Acting Copy Editor C OURTNEY B REEN and SARA ROBINSON, Advertising Editors

Rose cut was badly handled We are sure that University President Jehuda Reinharz and the Board of Trustees were opting for the best out of a host of unpalatable choices when they decided to retire the Rose Art Museum, but we think their decision was ill-considered.

At first, the administration made it seem in its press releases as if it was going to sell off all the art in the museum—“the university will publicly sell the art collection,” read the document.

Now the administration says it will only sell some works. Even though the University is being as unspecific as possible, it’s obvious that it wasn’t as clear on the exact nature of its plan as it should have been.

The president and Board of Trustees arrived at their decision without consulting Rose Director Michael Rush, the donors of the art or the wills of the deceased donors. Only now is the University reading over the donors’ various conditions and stipulations, some of which restrict what the University is legally allowed to do with these relinquished works of art. The University also failed to consult adequately with the Massachusetts attorney general’s office prior to its decision. This should have been taken care of before any decisions were made, not after. All of this resassessment and backpedaling hurts the school’s image.

President Reinharz reasoned that keeping the Rose considerations under wraps would avoid bad press. “[The Board of Trustees] did not … want the discussion of the closing of the Rose to take place in the newspapers,” he said at the open forum last Wednesday. But the sudden unveiling of these plans

Decision seemed rushed shocked the art world, students and the media alike. Instead of staving off bad press, he invited it.

The New York Times accurately described the reaction as an “outcry” in a headline, and the Boston Globe’s editorial on the subject said the University’s handling of the situation “showed all the grace of a trash can bumping down a flight of stairs.”

National Public Radio aired an interview with an incensed donor. The University doesn’t need this unflattering coverage, especially not when it’s hoping to recruit extra students to the Class of 2014.

The powers that be shouldn’t have let this happen. They should have told the Brandeis community what they had on the table and kept the museum director in the loop, if for no other reason than common courtesy for our budget as well as for the Rose. If the extent of our budget crisis had been publicly known, many community members would have been less shocked by the Rose shutdown. Says Rebeccah Ulm ’11, who organized last Thursday’s sit-in at the museum, “I would be less frustrated and angry [with the decision] because I would have been a part of the discussion beforehand instead of after the fact.”

The Rose decision was rushed, and a lot of its failings could have been cured with a little candor. This isn’t the first time this editorial board has called for transparency in recent times, but we hope that this debacle will make the University reconsider its closed-door approach to decision making.

Update Massachusetts law Massachusetts has an outdated law that needs to be changed. This law limits an institution’s access to funds from its endowment, allowing access only when endowment investments exceed their value at the time they were donated. Many local schools including Tufts, Harvard and Brandeis Universities face depreciating funds and decelerating donation flows. This law hinders the presumed role of endowments—to provide money to institutions when they need it most.

With a 25-percent drop in our endowment, frequent withdrawals from our rapidly depleting savings account and heavy reliance on gifts, Brandeis needs access to the remainder of its endowment funds.

Brandeis and other Massachusetts universities should collaborate to combat this law to stabilize themselves during this recession.

The current law is based on the Uniform Management of Institutional Funds Act, which Massachusetts adopted in 1975. UMIFA states that the governing board of an institution may not appropriate funds from its endowment exceeding the “historic dollar value” of the endowment. (Historic dollar value is defined as the total value of all contributions made to an endowment at the time each of the gifts that make up that fund was donated.)

An updated version of this act, the 2006 Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act, which has been enacted in 26 states, solves sever-

We need endowment access al problems raised by its predecessor.

In essence, UMIFA does not provide adequate guidance to an institution when the value of its endowment fund drops below historic dollar value. The act is designed for times of fiscal upswing but fails to recognize that the conditions of a favorable economy don’t apply in a time of crisis like this one. In unsteady economic times, the historic dollar value of the original gift deters Brandeis’ ability to access the funds it needs to stabilize itself.

Without the constraints of UMIFA, Brandeis would be less driven to take such drastic money-saving actions as liquefying the Rose Art Museum’s collection. In an e-mail to the Justice, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Peter French said that “UPMIFA ... establishes a sounder and more unified basis for management of charitable funds,” implying that such a change would aid the University. Mr. French added that ratifying UPMIFA would delete the language of historic dollar value from this law, allowing Brandeis to spend its inaccessible endowment funds.

We agree with Mr. French and strongly advise the Massachusetts legislature to consider replacing the obsolete UMIFA with UPMIFA. We urge Brandeis to cooperate with other Massachusetts schools to campaign for positive change in this policy.

ELI TUKACHINSKY/the Justice

United we stand

By ART GOLDSMITH SPECIAL TO THE JUSTICE

As the parent of a Brandeis junior, I am disturbed by the budgetary problems that Brandeis is facing. The administration should begin a more inclusive and more public conversation about the nature and magnitude of the budget difficulties.

All of the members of the Brandeis family—faculty, students, staff, alumni, parents and administrators—should be part of the conversation about how to save this wonderful institution, instead of having the administration adopt policies that may save Brandeis but will result in a different University—one that may be less enticing to the nation’s finest students.

Before Brandeis resorts to drastic measures, it seems to me that there should be more conversation and reflection from all involved. Some short-term solutions I have heard may not be in the best interests of the long-term reputation of Brandeis.

Each member of the Brandeis community should ask himself, “What am I prepared to do to help reduce costs or raise revenues?” The faculty might consider gathering to discuss bold ways they could lead the effort to save the institution.

Brandeis—like most universities—hires many adjunct faculty to cover its classes. What if the senior faculty offered to teach an additional course each term over the next two years with untenured faculty teaching an additional course each year over this period? This would allow the school to reduce spending dramatically on non-tenure-track faculty. The money that this would save needs to calculated and and the total made available to the community. This would be a major sacrifice on the part of the faculty and would affect their scholarship, but if they believe in the mission and approach to education at Brandeis, they may find this to be a rational course of action during this difficult period. In return, they could stipulate that the need for their sacrifice should be re-evaluated after three terms. Of course they would want to know that other stakeholders are partnering with them on the road to recovery.

Students should also actively participate in the solution. To do so, they could engage in dialogue about the many ways they can chip in and save Brandeis. They could take such measures as agreeing to shower for three minutes or less to save on the energy cost of hot water and lowering the thermostat in their dorms during the cold months. If students eliminated waste in dining halls by only taking food they will eat, there would be substantial savings. In addition, students could volunteer to perform many of the tasks around campus that are completed by hired labor. Brandeis students have been blessed with the opportunity to regularly be exposed to the thoughts of leading intellectuals from outside the ranks of the Brandeis faculty.

They could write to the many wonderful universities and colleges in the Boston area and ask their faculty to offer to give guest lectures free of charge over the next two years so that costs associated with visiting speakers are reduced while maintaining the excitement that comes from exposure to leading minds from outside the walls of the institution.

Administrators at Brandeis should consider matching in principle any sacrifices pledged by the faculty. For instance, if the faculty agrees to teach more for the same pay, administrators could offer to take less pay for the same responsibilities— and the wage sacrifice should be meaningful in magnitude. Of course, less-senior administrators might reasonably offer a smaller wage concession. Acts of this nature would signal the administration’s concern for the institution and would show solidarity with the students and faculty. Parents and alumni should be asked to contribute to an emergency fund aimed at helping Brandeis in its time of need, and all members of these constituencies should be encourage to contribute. The goal should be 100-percent participation; the symbolic nature of reaching this goal would not be lost on the academic world or the community at large. During these difficult times, many contributions will be modest—that is fine. The key element is for the community to signal that the existing Brandeis is simply too valued and loved to be allowed to either die or morph into something less than the world-class institution it is.

An open, transparent process in which each of the stakeholders in the success of Brandeis takes responsibility for doing what it can to help the institution address the budgetary challenges it faces offers the greatest hope that Brandeis will continue to be a leader in higher education. I have always been impressed by the high-quality education Brandeis students receive. Brandeis is known as a research-oriented private university where a large faculty of active, accomplished and creative scholars works directly with a talented study body. I look forward to the prospects of such a conversation taking place and to a day in the future when Brandeis emerges from these difficult times with a stronger community and a renewed commitment to the mission of this great University.

The writer is the Jackson T. Stephens professor of Economics at Washington and Lee University.

OP-BOX Quote of the Week “[The Rose Art Museum] is not a dead corpse; this is somebody that needs life support.”

—Prof. Ramie Targoff (ENG), refusing to give up on the Rose. (See News story, page 8)

Brandeis Talks Back How has the drop in Brandeis’ endowment affected your views of the school?

ELAINE CHAN ’09 “It’s really sad.”

MAYUR KASETTY ’11 “It hasn’t.”

SRIYA SRIKRISHNAN ’12 “It doesn’t change my view of the school because they have a problem.”

KENDRICK GORES ’12 “It’s not the drop in the endowment, more so their decisions on how to handle it.”

THE JUSTICE ● TUESDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2009

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

11

LONE VOICE

More ways to beat the budget crisis To the Editor: In response to “Committee will address curriculum” (Jan. 27): Brandeis can save millions of dollars each year by making a few changes in its curriculum. For example, Brandeis should have one history department with one chairman, and not an Asian studies department, a Middle Eastern studies department, etc. The same can be done with several other departments, such as having one foreign language department—rather than several individual language departments—with one chairman.

Brandeis can also save by increasing its instructor-student ratio, which is currently very small.

For example, if the current average ratio is one instructor to 10 students, Brandeis should make that one instructor to 20 students. Brandeis should also eliminate some of its unpopular elective courses that are not required for any major or minor. Brandeis might also eliminate two or three of its athletic sports teams to save money. Although these are not pleasant solutions for saving money—especially for faculty and staff that will be laid off—they must be implemented to counter America’s current economic slump and to allow Brandeis to continue to provide its students with an education that is second to none.

—George Patsourakos

Don’t shy away from tough decisions To the Editor: The Brandeis community’s outpouring of criticism toward the administration’s plans for the Rose Art Museum is completely understandable, as are the pointed questions that such critics are asking of the University’s officers and trustees. But there are other, equally important questions that these same critics have not posed: Given its deleterious financial condition, what are Brandeis’ other options? Which students will receive less financial aid next year as a result of the school’s undercapitalization? Which academic departments will shrink or vanish?

Which associate professors will be denied tenure? Which support staff will be fired?

In step with the inevitable chorus bemoaning President Reinharz’s salary during these harsh times, it is worth noting that his paycheck makes up an infinitesimally small amount of the University’s budget. That is not to defend his leadership—indeed, our president and his cohorts in the administration should be removed from office and permanently banished from the campus as punishment for allowing the school’s finances to deteriorate to their present condition. But even if such action were taken tomorrow, it would still do nothing to solve the present crisis.

One of the harshest facts of existence—which, unfortunately, colleges do not impart to their students—is that often life gives us not good and bad options, but simply options that are bad and worse. It’s lamentable that the Museum has to close, but something had to go. Our nation’s economy is in the worst shape that it’s been in for over 50 years, and many of our donors’ funds vanished in the wake of Bernie Madoff’s machinations. No one takes comfort in the University’s present condition, but refusing to face hard choices or constantly secondguessing them is both childish and churlish.

—Mike Feinberg ’99

MAX BREISTEIN MATZA/the Justice

QUESTION AUTHORITY: David Azer ’11 questions President Jehuda Reinharz about the fiscal crisis at the open forum Wednesday in Sherman Function Hall.

Reinharz fails to reassure student body

By DIEGO MEDRANO JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“Desperate times call for desperate measures.” This is the message that resonated throughout last Wednesday’s budget forum as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Peter French outlined the harsh realities of Brandeis’ economic situation. University President Jehuda Reinharz, for the most part, refuted the picture of the administration as heartless monsters. Yet the administration was unsuccessful in one of its most crucial goals— assuring the Brandeis community that we will prevail.

To his credit, Reinharz did succeed at addressing a key issue: the lack of transparency over the closing of the Rose Art Museum. Although he may not have won anyone over, at least he was honest in his statement that he “didn’t want the argument over the Rose Art Museum to occur in the papers” and that he could not trust the museum director to keep quiet about a decision that decides his job. For such an important decision, this may not seem like enough of a reason to shut out students and faculty, but Reinharz’s reasoning was at least understandable. As far as the total lack of transparency, Reinharz did

exactly what he needed to. He assured students that the administration is listening and that the meetings held regarding the budget will now be open to students and faculty.

But despite successfully addressing most questions, he did not inspire students at a time when he should have. Reinharz assured everyone that “Brandeis is not falling apart,” but French’s ominous presentation surely left the taste of uncertainty in the crowd’s mouth.

Reinharz said, “Brandeis is not alone,” and mentioned an Ivy League school that was going to make even more drastic decisions than Brandeis is. Yet he also stated that because Brandeis is so young, we do not have the same resources to cope with economic harship that some of our counterparts do. This makes it seem as if we are in a far worse situation than other universities and causes us to question just how much other universities can relate.

Reinharz said he is “certain that we will survive” and “certain that we will come out stronger,” but that the administration needs students’ help.

How does Reinharz say we can help? By figuring out our priorities as students, seeing the situation in context and trusting the administration in the difficult decisions it has to make, pre-

sumably like the closing of the Rose Art Museum.

Reinharz’s speech implied that we should support the administration because of its belief that closing the museum will allow us to continue to invest in academics, our first priority, and make it through this economic crisis. However, just a few minutes earlier, Reinharz expressed uncertainty that we could even sell the art in this economy and stated that the administration is not sure how much the collection is worth. It is hard to back up the administration when even it does seem certain in its decisions.

I understand that the administration cannot possibly have the answer to every question. I understand that these tough times will result in tough decisions. And I understand that not everyone will agree with every decision. But as a midyear who just arrived, at the very least, I need to feel that my future is in good hands and that the people who claim to have my best interests at heart actually do. And while I do not doubt where its priorities lie, I do have some doubts about its ability to guide us through this crisis. At Wednesday’s forum the administration failed to give this student any hope. And in desperate times, hope is the most effective medicine.

Admissions: Increasing enrollment will yield negative results Richard

ALTERBAUM THE SCOOP

I am concerned that Brandeis may have to lower its standards for accepting applicants into its student body. Why do I have this concern? Because I think that fewer people will be applying to Brandeis University.

Despite the fact that the University has had fewer applicants than it had in previous years, it has decided to increase enrollment for the Class of 2014 from 750 students to 825 students in order to gain a little more revenue. This decreases competition and increases the chance for less qualified students to be accepted into the University.

Write to us

We are already seeing fewer applications from students looking to join the Class of 2013. If there are fewer high school seniors that are interested in Brandeis, it is unlikely that the University’s plan to expand the Class of 2014 will be successful.

According to Dean of Admissions Gil Villanueva, Brandeis has received approximately 6,500 applications for the Class of 2014.

Villanueva’s numbers represent a 12.2-percent decrease from last year’s statistics at around this same time in the admissions process. One reason for this is that the faltering economy has provoked people to look to apply to less expensive colleges like state schools. With fewer applicants, Brandeis’ selectivity will inevitably decline, especially if Brandeis offers admission to even more students than usual.

I believe this decline can also be attributed to issues within the school itself. Our budget

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problems have left us in a particularly difficult financial condition. These economic hardships have forced us to make considerable sacrifices. The latest casualties of our monetary struggles include the Rose Art Museum, the Linsey pool and a potential loss of some academic departments and the golf team. The fewer features our school has to offer, the less appealing it will seem to all of the potential applicants. Not to mention all the alarming press we’ve been getting over the Rose closing.

Of course, I hope that every applicant succeeds no matter what his or her background be. I don’t wish to deny any prospective student the opportunities this school has granted me and the rest of the student body. But as more and more underqualified students matriculate, we’ll have to face the facts.

Ultimately, if my prediction that a consequence of Brandeis’ plan to increase enroll-

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

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ment will be a considerably less qualified student body is correct, I believe that there will be serious repercussions for our school.

Brandeis’ prestige and academic standing as an institution of education would start to flounder. I predict that fewer donors will readily contribute large sums of money to support the University. Moreover, fewer of Brandeis’ esteemed professors will experience the same satisfaction in teaching here if the general student population is less prepared for a Brandeis education. This, on top of all of our other problems, is definitely not something that we would like to happen.

I am concerned about what could happen in the long term if present trends in the economy and in school policy continue as they currently are. Hopefully, we will weather this storm and eventually come out of it alive and well without having to sacrifice or diminish our academic standing.

Newborn, Deborah Frisch Forum: Richard Alterbaum, Hillel Buechler, Matt Lawrence, David Litvak, Doug Nevins, Eileen Smolyar, Naomi Spector Features: Rebecca Klein Arts: Wei-Huan Chen, Marianna Faynshteyn, Laura Gamble, Rachel Klein, Emily Leifer, Wei Sum Li, Daniel Orkin, Alex Pagan, Layout: Brian Blumenthal Samantha Shokin, Ben Strassfeld, Brad Stern News: Nashrah Rahman Photography: Rachel Corke, Rebecca Ney, Adina Paretzky, Danielle Schivek Sports: Sean Petterson, Adam Rosen STAFF Senior Writers: Miranda Neubauer, Jeffrey Copy: Ariel Adams, Emily Kraus, Marissa Linzi, Danielle Myers Illustrations: Lisa Frank, Gail Goldspiel, Eli Tukashinsky Pickette, Melissa Siegel Senior Photographers: Sara Brandenburg, Layout: Lee Marmor David Brown, Hsiao-Chi Pang News/Features Staff: Alana Abramson, Sam Datlof, Reina Guerrero, Michelle Liberman, Ruth Orbach, Greta Moran, Michael

EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS ARTS: Sarah Bayer

BLOOD DRIVE Attention Sports Fanatics:

Brandeis University Blood Drive Tuesday, February 3 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Wednesday, February 4 noon to 6:00 p.m.

Hassenfeld Conference Center Sign Up Today!

Log onto www.givelife.org.

Use sponsor code 965 or visit us at our table in Usdan from 11-2 p.m. and in Sherman from 5-8 p.m.

American Red Cross Positive ID Required www.newenglandblood.org

the

Justice wants you to give the Brandeis community a play-by-play of campus sporting events.

E-mail Sports Editor Ian Cutler at ianc@brandeis.edu for more information.

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, FEBRURARY 3, 2009

13

GOLF: Team tries to raise the funds to continue next season CONTINUED FROM 16 around and budgets return to a more stable state.”

The decision comes after the golf team completed its strongest season in program history. Lee Bloom ’10 won the Bowdoin Invitational, becoming the first golfer in program history to do so. As a team, the Judges shot a school-best one-day total of 298 strokes on the second day of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament.

“That was the biggest disappointment for me,” said coach Bill Shipman, who will continue to coach the fencing team. “We put all this work into recruiting and raising the level, and then it all came to a screeching halt.”

Members of the team are attempting to raise enough money to keep the varsity program alive for the 2009 to 2010 season. According to team captain Aaron Hattenbach ’09, Sousa told the

team in a meeting Jan. 26 that it would cost $22,000 to keep the team operating at the varsity level for next season. He said the team has raised just over $7,500 from donations as of yesterday.

The squad must raise the money by an estimated deadline of mid-March, when the athletics budget is set to be proposed to University President Juhuda Reinharz, according to Shipman.

Hattenbach said he hoped the team could eventually raise enough money to endow the program past next season. He said he talked to alumni who work as investment bankers, and they guessed that it would cost “$300,000 to $400,000” to endow the program. “[Sousa] said the $22,000 would keep the team going for one more year but then the school would have 10 months to raise enough money to endow the program. There’s no concrete figure on that but if we can raise the $22,000 to keep it alive for now we can rely on the economy turning around and encour-

age alumni to contribute to our efforts,” Hattenbach said.

Sousa left open the option of continuing the program for one more year.

“I have explained to the team that should a large donation or two come forward that could support the program in 2009-2010, we may delay suspending varsity status until the end of next season, but we can not [sic] operate that way on a year-to-year basis and need to make long term decisions, as difficult as they may be,” she wrote.

Hattenbach and fellow captain Ralph Harary ’09 drafted a letter to family, friends and alumni encouraging them to donate. Hattenbach said it will be sent out later this week.

Hattenbach, Harary and Bloom met with Sousa and Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer last Friday to discuss the team’s fundraising plans and whether the University could help their efforts.

“We want the full cooperation of the administration, and we want them to see how much this team means to us

and how important it is to the school,” Bloom said.

Several golf alumni have also been involved in raising money for the program. Josh Levine ’06, Adam Green ’07 and David Milch ’08 have drafted a letter of their own that will be sent out to all former members of the Brandeis golf team since the program’s inception in 1962.

Milch, who along with Levine and Green has donated to the program, spent three years on the golf team when he was a student at Brandeis.

“I think [this] shows a tremendous amount of fortitude between Brandeis alums and golf team alums, that they care so much and have great passion for this program and tradition at Brandeis,” he said. “For the alum it’s a selfless act because they’re not getting anything out of this, they’re not playing anymore, but the fact that we want to contribute to Brandeis golf and could support the team ourselves when the University doesn’t have the

money to do so would be a great accomplishment.”

Hattenbach said the team hired John Goodman of My Sports Dreams, a company that specializes in raising money for athletic teams. According to the company’s Web site, the group has raised over 20 million dollars for over 11,000 teams at all levels, ranging from local youth teams to NCAA programs.

Even if the program remains for one more season, Shipman said he does not expect many recruits to join the program next year.

“I don’t have much hope that many serious golfers will come and, in all likelihood, be able to play only one year of varsity golf,” Shipman said. “I wouldn’t [come] if I was a serious golfer.”

“This is bigger than one individual,” Hattenbach said. “This is a 47-year program that needs to be continued and is on the verge of becoming a premier program in New England. I don’t want to see it go.”

MBBALL: Brandeis still second in conference after 1-1 weekend at home CONTINUED FROM 16 son, with the first coming against New York University Jan. 17. “[Kriskus’ dunk] was a mini one.

I’ve seen better in practice; that was just a sample,” assistant coach Eric McKoy joked.

In addition to Kriskus’ 15 points, DeLuca and Olson scored 14 and 11, respectively.

Forward Rich Magee ’10 was in the starting lineup against Chicago, filling in for forward Christian Yemga ’11, who was limited to nine minutes off the bench after injuring his ankle against WashU, according to McKoy. Magee made the most of the opportunity with six points and 10 rebounds.

“He did a great job rebounding the ball; he did a great job on the offensive board of following shots,” McKoy said. “He made some great moves today.”

Chicago, which is just 2-16 this season after being picked to finish in second place in the UAA in the preseason poll, shot just 27.3 percent from the field, including 3-for18 in the first half. The Maroons also had 19 turnovers, which lead to 22 Brandeis points.

“I think our zone [defense] really frustrated them,” DeLuca said.

“They weren’t really hitting shots either, so we were just trying to limit their second-chance shots.”

Against WashU, both teams shot over 50 percent from the field, but Brandeis still fell behind by double digits at four different points throughout the game. The Judges battled back each time to make it a one- or two-possession game, but they were never able to complete the comeback effort.

Trailing 74-70, forward Terrell Hollins ’10 hit one of two free-throw shots to cut the lead to three with 47 seconds left. Roberson then tried to draw an offensive charging foul against WashU senior guard Sean Wallis on the ensuing possession but was himself called for a defensive blocking foul that gave Wallis a chance to add to the lead from the free-throw line.

Wallis hit both free-throws, and DeLuca missed a three-pointer on the other end of the court. WashU hit its free-throws down the stretch to hold on for the 80-75 win.

Guard Kenny Small ’10, Roberson, Hollins and DeLuca all had double-digit point totals. Small led the Judges with 17 points, Roberson had 16, Hollins tallied 14, and DeLuca added 13. WashU, however, had five players score in double figures, led by sophomore guard Aaron Thompson, who scored 18 points.

“We learned a lot from [the WashU] game, especially defensively,” Olson said. “They ran everything they wanted to, and we don’t feel like we played that great of a game, and we lost by five points, so in that mindset, we know we can fix things and give them a good run.”

The game was delayed for nearly half an hour late in the second half when a fan injured his knee breakdancing on the floor during a timeout. He was treated and taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

Brandeis returns to action on the road this weekend against the same two teams. The Judges will play at Chicago Friday at 9 p.m. and at WashU Sunday at 1 p.m.

DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/the Justice

DRIVING INSIDE: Forward Steve DeLuca (GRAD) handles the ball and goes toward the basket during the Judges’ 67-36 home victory over the University of Chicago Feb. 1.

14

TUESDAY, FEBRURARY 3 , 2009

●

THE JUSTICE

FENCING

Teams fence well versus top programs ■ The men’s fencing team

went 2-4 while the women’s team went 3-3 at the Brandeis/MIT Invitational last Sunday afternoon.

By ANDREW NG JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

After miscalculating the score in the third round of the Brandeis/MIT Invitational last Sunday, Coach Bill Shipman believed that the women’s fencing team had lost against New York University and, with no chance at a comeback, prepared to play the substitutes for the final épée bouts.

However, captain and saber Jenny Press ’09 retallied the scores for the match and realized the Judges were down at just 13-12 and still had a chance to win.

The Judges tied the score at 13 and

épée Caitlin Kozel ’09 was unexpectedly called upon to compete in the deciding bout. She did so handily, winning 5-2 to lead the Judges to a 1413 victory.

“There was no pressure because no one had any idea what was going on,” Kozel said.

The women’s team finished the day 3-3 with wins against Yeshiva University (25-2) and Haverford College (18-9) and losses against Princeton University (10-17), Duke University (13-14) and the University of Pennsylvania (7-20). The men’s team finished 2-4, defeating Yeshiva (24-3) and Haverford (16-11) and losing to Princeton (7-20), Duke (9-18), NYU (12-15), and UPenn (7-20).

“The level of competition was a little higher than we are normally accustomed to,” Shipman said. “We needed to fence smarter than we had in our previous matches, but I think both teams performed well.”

The women’s team also defeated

Wellesley College 18-9 last Wednesday led by a 9-0 sweep by the saber squad.

In addition to competing in one of the longest meets of the year, players said the squad also struggled to maintain focus throughout the day after competing against Wellesley earlier in the week.

“Everyone was fencing for every touch. We had our lunch earlier, so we had a hard time refocusing and reenergizing ourselves after the break,” captain, foil and saber Jessica DavisHeim ’09 said. “We try to get into competitive bouts with each other before we compete against other teams, but today we were a bit sluggish after the break,” UPenn’s women’s team dominated the competition throughout the day, but Brandeis fared well against the Quakers’ foils, with foil Jessica Newhall ’09 leading the Judges in their three victories.

Still, Shipman said the foil team’s

Squads sit some starters and drop in final results track team was fourth, but the men were ninth at the Wheaton College Invitational Jan. 31.

By SEAN PETTERSON JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

The women’s indoor track team went into last Saturday’s Wheaton College Invitational shorthanded due to myriad injuries, graduate school exams and fatigue. Molly Shanley ’12 was therefore forced into a larger role and did not disappoint, placing first in the one-mile run to help lead the Judges to a fourthplace finish out of 12 teams with 41 points, falling short to Wheaton College, Worcester State College and Eastern Connecticut State University.

The men’s also competed at the meet and placed ninth of 12 teams.

Coach Mark Reytblat recognized the teams were without some of its top runners for various reasons, including Ali Sax ’09, Hannah Lindholm ’11, Beth Pisarik ’10, Anat Ben Nun ’09, Sam Donovan ’11 and Ben Bray ’11, all of whom were winners in the teams’ last meet at the Reggie Poyau Memorial Invitational Jan. 24 and did not think that the women’s team’s fourth place finish was a letdown after taking second place in their last meet. He said the decision to allow some of his top runners to rest was to give the rest of the team more opportunities to compete.

“We just decided we’re not going to bring everyone so some other people could compete,” he said. “That’s why the score didn’t look normal.”

Shanley had a very strong performance in the one-mile run, finishing in a time of 5 minutes, 28 seconds. She beat Wellesley College senior Jessica Weng, the second-place finisher, by four seconds.

Reytblat was proud of his rookie distance runner, saying “she was just the best runner who ran [last Saturday].”

The women’s team also had second- and third-place finishers in both the high jump and 800-meter events. In the high jump event, Suzanne Bernier ’10 and Lily Parenteau ’12 followed up firstand second-place finishes in the high jump event at the Reggie Poyau Memorial Invitational Jan.

our foils were more experienced and Duke had a lot of weaknesses that we didn’t take advantage of.”

The men’s team finished the day 24 and experienced the most difficulty against Duke, UPenn, and fellow University Athletic Association member NYU, a team that regularly competes at Brandeis’ level.

Despite the men’s team performance, captain and foil Will Friedman ’09 said he expects the team will regain momentum going into their next meet.

“We have two weeks off, so we’ll have some time to rest up and correct some of the mistakes we made today,” Friedman said. “The foil squad needs to come out with a better mindset and a stronger drive to win,” The women’s team next competes at the Stevens Invitational in Hoboken, N.J. Sunday. Both teams will then participate in the New England Championships in South Hadley, Mass. Feb. 22.

STARTING TO LOOK UP

INDOOR TRACK

■ The women’s indoor

performance was inconsistent throughout the day.

“They fenced well against Princeton and not so well against Duke, where we really needed them, but they looked better later in the day,” he said.

Princeton proved to be the most challenging team for the Judges, and the team said they did not expect much out of their bouts with the Tigers.

“We were excited every time we got a point against Princeton,” Kozel said. “None of their fencers are awkward beginners. They all know what strategies they’re going to use before the bout, as a team and individually,” Shipman said the women’s saber team should move along the entire fencing strip more and take more risks, but added that the épée team was too aggressive during the meet and could have defeated Duke with a better performance.

He said of the foils, “Against Duke,

24 with second- and third-place finishes in the same event last Saturday.

Bernier jumped at 1.56 meters whie Parenteau reached the 1.51meter mark. Lucia Capano ’11, finished fifth with a jump of 4.85 meters to add to the Judges’ point total.

In the 800-meter race, Erin Bisceglia ’12 and Julia Alpaio ’10 paced each other to second and third place finishes, running in 2:24.22 and 2:25.29.

The men’s team placed ninth out of 10 teams with three points.

Host school Wheaton College won the meet with 119 points.

Myles Tyrer-Vassell ’12 finished first in the preliminary heat of the 55-meter hurdles in 7.99 seconds to lead the men’s squad.

Tyrer-Vassell did not place in the finals, but he did earn the praise of his coach for his efforts in the preliminary race. “[Tyrer-Vassel’s times was] a personal best,” Reyblat said. “It was also one of the best times in New England right now.”

Tyrer-Vassell also finished fifth in the long jump, leaping 5.82 meters.

Ryan Cheng ’11 paced the distance runners, finishing in sixth place in the one-mile run with a time of 4:38.13. Cheng improved upon his 17th-place finish at the Reggie Poyau Memorial Invitational and lost out on fifth place by a mere 0.15 seconds.

Cheng’s improvement was bittersweet, however, as an old high school teammate, junior David Hunt of Eastern Connecticut State, bested him at the finish line.

“The fifth-place runner was one of my best friends, and I saw him in the middle of the race and said I need to at least give him a race,” he said. “He just had a little extra push at the end.”

Despite the ninth-place finish for the men’s team, Reytblat said the team still has plenty of time this season to improve and gear up for the more important meets later in the year.

“The full team and the best performance for our team won’t come until the New England and the [University Athletic Assoication] Championships.”

Both the men’s and women’s teams will be back in action Saturday, when they will travel to Tufts University to compete in the Tufts Invitational at noon. After that they will compete in the Valentine’s Day Classic at Boston University Feb. 14.

DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/the Justice

INSIDE POSITION: Forward Amber Strodthoff ’11 holds the ball in the paint in a win against the University of Chicago last Sunday.

WBBALL: Judges win against Chicago 63-53 CONTINUED FROM 16 we lose together,’ and we all live by that mentality.”

The Maroons would not go away, pulling within five again before Rashford’s three-pointer. From there the Judges led by as much as 12 before going on to win by 10.

Rashford’s three-pointer was part of her team-leading 18 points.

Chapin was the only other Brandeis player in double figures, scoring 12 while also grabbing eight rebounds.

Brandeis did well on the defensive end, holding the Maroons to 32 percent shooting, yet struggled in its own shooting, going just 5-17 from three-point range for the game

including 2-11 in the second half.

The Judges shot the ball far worse, however, in their six-point loss to WashU. They hit just one of their 23 three-point attempts, and the one converted three-pointer came in the final seconds with the game already decided, when Lauren Rashford ’10 banked in a desperation 30-foot shot from the middle of the court.

The Judges took an early lead, only to fall behind 24-23 with 2:01 left in the first half. The Judges then rallied to retake the lead 41-40 on a traditional three-point play by Chapin in which she scored a twopoint field goal, drew a foul and converted the ensuing free throw.

The lead was short-lived, however, as the Bears quickly went back on top on a layup by senior forward Jaimie McFarlin with 8:21 left.

WashU never trailed the rest of the way.

Simon said the team did not think they could have done anything differently in the game to change the outcome other than to convert on the opportunities they had.

“We had open shots we missed ,” she said. “There’s no magical answer for that.”

Brandeis next heads out on a four-game road trip starting with these same two teams. The Judges play at Chicago Friday at 6 p.m. and at WashU Sunday at 2 p.m.

THE JUSTICE

■ The guard tallied a career-high 18 points in the Judges’ win over No. 20 University of Chicago last Sunday.

250

career wins for men’s head basketball coach Brian Meehan after the Judges defeated the University of Chicago at home last Sunday.

1

event won by the women’s indoor track team at the Wheaton College Invitational last Sunday. Molly Shanley ’12 was the only Brandeis winner, taking the one-mile run in 5 minutes, 28.00 seconds.

3

games won by the men’s basketball team this season by at least 30 points after defeating the University of Chicago at home last Sunday 67-36. The Judges beat New York University 65-35 Jan. 17 and Curry College 84-50 Dec. 9.

18

points for guard Lauren Rashford ’10, a career high, in the women’s basketball team’s 63-53 victory over No. 20 University of Chicago at home last Sunday. Rashford led the team in scoring and hit three threepointers out of five attempts to lead Brandeis in that category as well.

17

points for guard Kenny Small ’10, a career high, in the men’s basketball team’s 80-75 home loss to No. 2 Washington University in St. Louis. Small shot 50 percent from the field and also added three rebounds and three steals.

DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/the Justice

ON THE RUN: Guard Lauren Rashford dribbles up the court in the Judges’ 63-53 victory over the University of Chicago last Sunday at home. She led the team with 18 points in the win.

“I’m just trying to be a leader out there whether or not I’m scoring,” she said. “I try to do everything else I can, like distributing the ball, rebounding and work-

ing on my defense, just trying to pressure the other point guards in the league.”

—Ian Cutler and Melissa Siegel

UAA STANDINGS Men’s Basketball

Women’s Basketball

Not including Monday’s games UAA Conference W L Washington 7 0 JUDGES 5 2 Carnegie 4 3 Rochester 4 3 Case 3 4 New York 2 5 Chicago 2 5 Emory 1 7

W 17 12 14 13 6 13 2 6

L 1 6 4 5 12 5 16 12

Overall Pct. .944 .667 .778 .722 .333 .722 .111 .333

Not including Monday’s games UAA Conference W L W L Rochester 6 1 17 1 Washington 6 1 14 4 New York 5 2 16 2 Chicago 4 3 13 5 JUDGES 3 4 13 4 Emory 2 5 11 7 Case 2 5 9 9 Carnegie 0 7 5 13

Overall Pct. .944 .778 .889 .722 .765 .611 .500 .278

TEAM LEADERS MBball (points per game)

MBball (rebounds per game)

Forward Steve DeLuca (GRAD) leads the Judges with an average of 15.9 points per game.

Forward Steve DeLuca (GRAD) leads the Judges with an average of 7.0 rebounds per game.

Player Steve DeLuca Kevin Olson Andre Roberson Kenny Small Terrell Hollins

Player Steve DeLuca Terrell Hollins Christian Yemga Kevin Olson Andre Roberson

PPG 15.9 10.9 10.7 10.1 9.6

RPG 7.0 6.8 3.4 2.9 2.8

WBball (points per game)

WBball (rebounds per game)

Guard Jessica Chapin ’10 leads the team with an average of 14.1 points per game.

Guard Jessica Chapin ’10 leads the Judges with an average of 5.8 rebounds per game.

Player Jessica Chapin Lauren Orlando Lauren Rashford Cassidy Dadaos Amber Strodthoff

Player Jessica Chapin Cassidy Dadaos Lauren Orlando Lauren Rashford Amber Strodthoff

PPG 14.1 10.2 8.1 7.1 6.5

RPG 5.8 5.3 4.5 4.2 3.3

UPCOMING GAME OF THE WEEK Women’s Tennis vs. Colgate University Brandeis will open its spring season 2-0 after winning both of its fall matches.

9

days until both swimming and diving teams compete in the University Athletic Association Championships at the University of Chicago.

15

Steelers fans enjoy their city’s sixth Super Bowl championship

Lauren Rashford ’10

Judging numbers

TUESDAY, FEBRURARY 3, 2009

AP BRIEFS

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

At the start of the second half of the women’s basketball team’s 63-53 win over University of Chicago last Sunday, guard Lauren Rashford ’10 committed turnovers on two consecutive possessions, leading to five Maroons points as they chipped away at what seemed like a comfortable 36-19 halftime lead for the Judges.

But when the game got close Rashford responded, hitting a key three-pointer from the right corner in front of the bleachers to extend the Judges’ lead to eight points with just over three minutes left in the game. Chicago would not come any closer for the rest of the game.

“It was a full-out great team effort,” Rashford said. “Our intensity was good through the whole 40 minutes, and we really took it to them. We knew what we needed to do, so it was good.”

The shot was part of a key all-around effort by Rashford, who led the team with a season-high 18 points. She was three-forfive from three-point range despite the entire team shooting just five-for-17 for the game. Rashford’s two three-pointers in the second half were the team’s only baskets from that range in the entire half.

“My shots were just falling,” Rashford said. “I didn’t know how many points I had until other people told me after the game.”

Rashford has a reputation for her dedication to defense as she is second on the team in both steals and defensive rebounds. She also said she has committed to taking on more of a leadership role this season.

●

The Women’s tennis team will resume action for the spring season this Saturday at 10 a.m. against Colgate University at home.

The team went 2-0 in the fall with two home victories over Bentley College Sept. 17 and Simmons College Oct. 14.

Against Bentley, the Judges edged out a 5-4 decision. Captain Gabrielle Helfgott

’09 and Mackenzie Gallegos ’11 each won their matches at second and third singles, respectively, and later teamed up at second doubles to defeat a Bentley team 8-4.

Brandeis beat Simmons College 6-3 and was led by Rachel Rosman ’11, who dropped just one game at first singles winning in straight sets 6-1, 6-0.

PITTSBURGH—Thousands of Steelers fans decked out in black and gold and waving Terrible Towels clogged South Side streets Sunday night, celebrating Pittsburgh's unprecedented sixth Super Bowl title.

Revelers streamed out of area bars moments after the Steelers sealed their 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Tampa, Fla. Some broke out in song, bellowing Queen’s “We are the Champions”' Yellow confetti swirled in the air and people released gold and black balloons. Almost immediately after the game, Super Bowl championship paraphernalia was being sold in the middle of the street.

Brittany Barcoay, 21, drove seven hours from Liberty University in Virginia just to be in her hometown for the Super Bowl and celebrated outside the Town Tavern, which sported a “Steeler Tavern” banner.

“I have never had so much pride in my city, ever,” said Barcoay, decked out in a Jerome Bettis jersey.

Bars were packed in the area popular with college students and the 20-something crowd, with music blaring.

Police in riot gear patrolled the area on bikes and in cars, letting the loud and rowdy—but orderly—celebration continue. More than an hour after the game, Pittsburgh police reported no major problems.

In the city’s Oakland section, there was a report of one couch set on fire outdoors and one car was overturned in the revelry.

One man carried a life-size cutout of President Barack Obama, with a Terrible Towel draped around the neck, while a one-man band played in the middle of a blockedoff street and photos of players were projected onto the side of buildings.

Dan Decriscio, 51, returned to Pittsburgh from Philadelphia and had the chance to celebrate yet another Super Bowl title.

“This is awesome,” Decriscio said. “I've been here for every Super Bowl. Every one is great. From the first one with Chuck Knoll to Mike Tomlin; this is Christmas in February.”

Big crowds also gathered in the city’s Oakland neighborhood, near the University of Pittsburgh.

Police had blocked off streets so that people could celebrate and not worry about cars. Some people tried to carry a couch onto Forbes Ave. in Oakland, but police took it away.

In one neighborhood south of Pittsburgh, people lit fireworks and ran outside and cheered after the game.

Crowds spilled out the doors of Primanti's Bros., Pittsburgh’s famous gut-busting sandwich shop.

Rocky Plassio, a 32-year-old high school teacher from the suburb of Washington, had his three-year-old son, Noah, perched on his shoulders. The elder Plassio made sure his son didn’t miss the celebration.

“The last time the Steelers won, he was an infant,” Rocky said. “If you’re from Pittsburgh, the Steelers are really part of your culture. It’s in your blood.”

When the Steelers last won the Super Bowl in 2006, thousands of drunken fans celebrated in the streets and several small fires were set.

Pittsburgh police hoped to deter potential mayhem by putting more than 400 officers on patrol, limiting parking and closing some streets to traffic at the start of the fourth quarter in areas with numerous bars and restaurants.

In the Strip District, another popular area with bars and restaurants, several streets were barricaded before the game began.

Pittsburgh schools delayed openings two hours Monday to allow for the celebration, but other schools were following suit after the victory. TV news stations were scrolling school delays for Monday as if it were a snow day.

Cleveland wins at Detroit to extend division lead over Pistons AUBURN HILLS, Mich.—LeBron James was a cheerleader when the Cleveland Cavaliers took over against the Detroit Pistons. Then, the superstar finished them off.

James scored 33 points and got some timely help from Mo Williams and Daniel Gibson in Cleveland’s 90-80 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.

“It’s been different this season because we have guys who can control the offense and control the defense,” James said. “There’s not been a time this season when I felt pressure to not come off the floor.”

With James resting, Williams and Gibson outscored Detroit by themselves in a 15-2 run to take a 73-68 lead early in the fourth quarter.

James shouted, “C’mon, Mo! C’mon, Mo!” from the scorer’s table during the final possession of the winning surge, then celebrated with Williams after his jumper led to Detroit calling a timeout.

The 24-year-old phenom sealed the victory on a driving layup, an assist, three-pointer and free throw to put the Cavs ahead by nine with 21-and-a-half minutes left.

The Central Division-leading Cavs have won six of their last seven and are 12 games ahead of Detroit.

The Pistons haven’t felt good in a while, losing four straight home games for the first time in eight years.

Allen Iverson scored 22 points for Detroit, which has lost nine of 12 and are 21-21 with him.

“I’m surprised, but I’ve seen the flashes of how good we can be,” Iverson said. “And, I see the reasons that we lose games.”

Detroit has wins against five of the NBA’s six division leaders, beating the Western Conference’s top teams on the road, but has lost to bad teams such as the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“Our whole thing is, it better be figured out by the time we get to the playoffs,” Iverson said. “Regardless of where we’re seeded, we need to be playing at a high level and that’s the only thing I’m concerned about.”

Rookie coach Michael Curry, though, has plenty to be worried about.

The Pistons are coming off their first losing month since February 2004, the month in which they acquired Rasheed Wallace and went on to win the NBA title.

just

Sports

Page 16

HOLDING THEIR OWN Both fencing teams faced top competitors at the Brandeis/MIT Invitational last Sunday, p. 14

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Waltham, Mass.

BUDGET

Golf program to terminate at season’s end ■ The varsity golf program

will be suspended after the spring season because of projected gaps in the Athletics budget next year.

By IAN CUTLER and MIKE PRADA JUSTICE EDITORS

The varsity golf program will be suspended at the end of this spring season in order to help fill in a projected $10 million gap in the University’s operating budget next year, but golf team

MEN’S BASKETBALL

members are trying to raise enough money to save the program for at least one more year, according to Director of Athletics Sheryl Sousa ’90.

“Difficult decisions were necessary in putting forth a budget reduction plan in Athletics for [fiscal 2010]. As part of that plan, golf will be suspended

as a varsity sport at the end of the current academic year, 2008-2009,” Sousa wrote in an e-mail to the Justice.

The team will play a full schedule this spring, Sousa wrote, but will be suspended after that.

Sousa wrote that the small size of the golf team ensured that “as unpleas-

ant as it is for those directly affected, the impact is to a small number of individuals.” She added that “Further, these same factors will make it relatively easy to reinstate golf on the varsity level once the economy turns

See GOLF, 13 ☛

SMALL STEP FORWARD

Brandeis bounces back after tight loss ■ The men’s basketball

team beat the University of Chicago last Sunday after losing to No. 2 Washington University last Friday.

By JEFFREY PICKETTE JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

With the men’s basketball team leading the University of Chicago 27-12 at halftime in last Sunday’s home game, forward Steve DeLuca (GRAD) said, that during the intermission, the team emphasized the need to “come out strong” in the first five minutes of the second half.

“We didn’t want to let [Chicago] back into the game,” DeLuca said.

“If we can contain them, then we pretty much got them.”

Brandeis built the lead to 19 points after five minutes of play in the second half, and with 12 minutes remaining in the game, the Judges held a 46-17 advantage with the help of three three-pointers from guard Kevin Olson ’09. They eventually coasted to a 67-36 conference win.

The win came on the heels of an 80-75 loss last Friday at home to No. 2 Washington University in St. Louis. Brandeis now stands at 12-6 on the season and 5-2 in conference play, alone in second place trailing only WashU in the University Athletic Association standings after the University of Rochester and Carnegie Mellon University both lost last Sunday.

“It was good that we bounced back after a tough loss [to WashU].

We needed this,” Olson said of the win over Chicago.

Brandeis had built an early 13-4 lead midway through the first half, as the Maroons managed only one field goal during this stretch.

Chicago cut the lead to 13-10 with 6 minutes, 31 seconds left before halftime, but Brandeis finished out the half with a 14-2 run capped by two three-pointers from DeLuca.

“We just established ourselves offensively and defensively [during the 14-2 run],” guard Andre Roberson ’10 said. “Our shots started to fall for us and on defense we got out there and we really attacked them.”

After Brandeis had built a 46-17 lead with 12 minutes to go, the coaching staff began to rest the starters. Rookie forward Vytas Kriskus ’12 led the team with 15 points in 18 minutes of play, including a one-handed dunk in the final minute that put an exclamation point on the Judges’ second 30point conference victory of the sea-

See MBBALL, 13 ☛

DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/the Justice

KEEPING CONTROL: Guard Carmela Breslin ’10 handles the ball for the Judges in the team’s 10-point win over the University of Chicago at home last Sunday afternoon.

Squad defeats Chicago to snap two-game skid ■ The women’s basketball

team played two ranked conference opponents last weekend and won once.

By MELISSA SIEGEL JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

The No. 19 women’s basketball team had seen its 36-19 halftime lead against University Athletic Association opponent No. 20 University of Chicago whittled to just five points with 3 minutes, 13 seconds left in last Sunday’s game. A Chicago comeback victory would have dropped the Judges to a lowly 2-5 in the UAA and significantly damaged their chances of returning to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth

straight year.

But at that moment, guard Lauren Rashford ’10 gave the Judges necessary breathing room as she caught a pass from forward Lauren Orlando ’09 and hit a three-pointer from the right corner to give the Judges a 55-47 lead.

“That was just great ball movement,” Rashford said. “It was just a great team play, a team effort. We were just swinging the ball around, and it hit me in the corner.”

The Maroons would not get any closer as the Judges rebounded for a 63-53 win after losing at home last Friday to No. 24 Washington University in St. Louis 61-55. The win improves the Judges to 13-4 on the season and 3-4 after the first half of the UAA schedule.

Chicago first began to chip away at

the Brandeis lead at the start of the second half. The Maroons took advantage of six Brandeis turnovers, three

by Rashford, to go on a 12-0 run to pull within five points at 36-31. For the game the Maroons scored 23 points off 23 Brandeis turnovers while the Judges scored just six points off 17 Chicago turnovers.

“We came back in the beginning of the second half; we just weren’t as aggressive defensively,” coach Carol Simon said. “We were very flat, we made some really bad decisions on offense, and that made us really have to work that much harder during the game.”

Guard Jessica Chapin ’10 then hit a jumper to stop the Chicago run, but two more Chicago field goals made the score 39-35 with 12:24 left.

Brandeis then found its rhythm

again, going on a 9-0 run to stretch its lead to 48-35 with just under 10 minutes remaining. Reserve forward Amanda Wells ’09, who had a seasonhigh eight points off the bench, scored six of the Judges’ points during the run. The rest of the Judges’ bench was strong as well, outscoring Chicago’s 21-16.

“One thing we really stress is that we are a team of 16, 17 girls; we’re not just five here, a couple there.

Everyone contributes; everyone is part of the team,” reserve forward Amber Strodthoff ’11 said. “Whether you play 20 minutes or five minutes or not at all, everyone’s still crucial, everyone’s still important, and I guess our saying is ‘We live together, we die together. … We win together,

See WBBALL, 14 ☛

February 3, 2009

just

Hooked on Tap Heats Up the Stage Photo: Adina Paretzky/ the Justice. Design: Max Breitstein Matza/ the Justice

18

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2009

●

THE JUSTICE

POP CULTURE

INSIDE ON CAMPUS

18, 20-21

■ BOMS Picks Poets 20 The ongoing open mic series culminated in a session during which the members of Brandeis’ first poetry slam team were selected.

21 ■ The Musings of Futureman JustArts questioned the artistic director on his creative endeavors, including the instruments he’s invented and his creation of the Black Mozart Ensemble.

OFF CAMPUS

19, 23-24

19 ■ Erawan of Siam The Thai restaurant, located on Moody Street, earned high marks for its elegant setting and excellent dishes.

19 ■ ‘The Seagull’ This adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s classic play was directed by János Szász and walked a fine line between excellence and egoistic.

23 ■ Speaking with the Stars One JustArts reporter participated in a conference call with two of the actors from the soon-to-be-released sci-fi film Push, Camilla Belle and Chris Evans.

23 ■ Andrew Bird Takes Flight The eclectic musical artist delivered on stage during his show at the Orpheum Theater as well as on his latest release, Noble Beast, the followup to his 2007 album Armchair Apocrypha.

CALENDAR

Q&A

by Rachel Klein

In what is quickly becoming one of the most intense debates in Hollywood, celebs are stating their support in THE important issue of the day.

No, it is not the Titanic-esque crash of our economy or even the waffling cease-fire in the Middle East. In fact, it is the apparent weight gain of pop star-turned-country crooner Jessica Simpson.

After appearing in the Kiss Country Chili Cookout in a pair of the world’s most unflattering jeans (Note to Jessica: Fire your stylist ASAP!), the media was in a frenzy over Jessica’s newfound pudge. As quickly as you can say “Daisy Dukes” Ms. Simpson was being slammed on all sides as “letting herself go” and being accused of eating too much over the holidays.

While Jessica has made some very public mistakes over the years (does “Chicken of the Sea” ring any bells?), she has kept herself consistently in the public light—no small feat for a 90s pop star. Ms. Simpson has constantly been reinventing herself: first as a virginal pop queen, then as an extremely ditzy blonde, after that to a blatant sex symbol in shorts and finally as a country singer. Perhaps this new weight gain is just another step in the Jessica Simpson reinvention wheel. But then again, if our partner looked like Tony Romo, we sure would not be spending all of our time at the gym either.

Just as it seemed Jessica would be forced to bear the brunt of the Hollywood fire by herself, stars started coming to her defense. The lineup includes ex-husband Nick Lachey, Kim Kardashian (why is she famous?) and brother-inlaw Pete Wentz. Her sister Ashlee SimpsonWentz slammed the media in her blog: “I am completely disgusted by the headlines concerning my sister’s weight. A week after the inauguration … I find it completely embarrassing and belittling to all women to read about a woman’s weight or figure as a headline on Fox News.”

Prof Anjaria on India and its literature ■ The English professor talks about the tools of her trade and endorses several South Asian novels.

This year, the South Asian Studies program debuted as part of the Office of Global Affairs’ Brandeis India Initiative. Prof. Ulka Anjaria spoke with the Justice about her field of study.

TAMMIE ARROYO/the Associated Press

“SUPERSIZED” SIMPSON?: Jessica Simpson’s weight was recently addressed by the media.

Who knew Ashlee Simpson-Wentz was smart?

While it would be easy to start a rant here on our culture’s obsession with thinness, the unrealistic expectations that we are supposed to uphold and the blatant discrimination that women face when it comes to their appearance, the truth of the matter is that all of this publicity has put Jessica Simpson back in the mouths and minds of the public. And when your career depends on people not forgetting you, that can never be a bad thing, right?

What’s happening in Arts on and off campus

Student Photo Sale The Photography Club, a Brandeis group dedicated to learning, teaching, practicing and exhibiting photographic art, will be holding a Student Photo Sale. All photography available for purchase will have been taken by students, and those who purchase art will be able to choose what size poster they would like their acquisition to be printed on.

Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium.

Bernard Schlink—“Collective Guilt?”

Bernard Schlink, currently a professor of law at Humboldt University in Berlin and at the Benjamin M. Cardozo School of Law in New York, published Der Vorleser ( The in 1995 and Heimkehr Reader ) (Homecoming) in 2006. Schlink will be visiting Brandeis to discuss the former, his most famous work, which is a partly autobiographical novel about a teenager who engages in an affair with an older woman who is later tried for war crimes.

Tuesday at 3 p.m. in the Rapaporte Treasure Hall.

“Painting Faces on War: Spirit and Witness in the Art of Southern Sudanese Refugees” The M.A. Program in Cultural Production invites students to the opening reception of an art exhibition organized by the Southern Sudanese artist Atem Aleu (GRAD). Since 2005, Aleu has led the artists of the African Refugee Artists Club in their powerful explorations of memory, loss and hope, chronicling diverse experiences of the Sudanese civil war and its aftermath. At this reception, Atem will give a gallery talk on the works and will discuss challenges faced by artists in southern Sudan and the wider Southern Sudanese diaspora.

Tuesday from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the Schwarz Gallery.

Meet the Author: Murray Greenberg ’77 Murray Greenberg ’77, a litigator turned author, will be on campus to discuss his new book, Passing Game: Benny Friedman and the Transformation of Football , which chronicles Friedman’s often-overlooked role in shaping pro football. The book, Murray’s first, has received many glowing reviews, including this comment in a recent edition of

WHAT’S ON?

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHAWNA KELLEY

OF THE ENSEMBLE: Todd Johnson, a singer and dancer, is one of the talented members of Futureman’s Black Mozart Ensemble. The group will be performing at Brandeis this Saturday.

Sports Illustrated: “Greenberg’s rich, wellresearched narrative chronicles the quarterback’s rise from bench warmer to AllAmerica at Michigan, his impact on the fledgling NFL and his journey from beloved Jewish icon to a forgotten star.”

Wednesday from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the Rapaporte Treasure Hall.

“Siddhartha: A Jungian Fantasy in Three Movements with Prelude” In this adaptation by Prof. Eric Hill (THA), Hesse himself tells the story of the young Siddhartha’s journey into manhood and enlightenment as he explores the world and discovers himself. With the help of Jung, Freud and three Hindu goddesses, Hesse finds parallels between himself and the man who would become a Buddha. Ticket prices vary per performance, and range in cost from $16 to $20. Purchase tickets in person, by phone at 781-736-3400 or online at http://go.brandeis.edu/BrandeisTickets.

There is a $2 per ticket handling fee for all telephone and Internet sales.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Feb. 12, Feb. 13 and Feb. 14 from 8 to 10 p.m. and Feb. 14 and Feb. 15 from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Laurie Theater.

Futureman and the Black Mozart Ensemble Roy “Futureman” Wooten, a Grammy-nominated artistic director who specializes in “hip hop woven in with classical from Nashville,” will be performing at Brandeis.

The show will feature Futureman’s most recent creative endeavor, the Black Mozart Ensemble, which celebrates the life and music of Joseph Boulogne de Saint Georges.

Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Slosberg Music Center.

A Tribute to Irving Fine In honor of Irving Fine, American composer and founder of the Brandeis Music Department, violinist Daniel Stepner (MUS) and pianist Sally Pinkas will perform music

by Fine, as well as Stravinsky, Harbison and Fauré.

Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Slosberg Music Center.

JustArts: It seems like the Office of Global Affairs’ focus on India this semester is in part the result of considerable student interest in Indian culture. Would you agree with that statement? Would you say that your India-related classes have started to gain more and more students in the past couple semesters?

Ulka Anjaria: I definitely notice a significant student interest in topics concerning India. I can’t identify precisely the reason for this, though I think it is part of the growing interest among Americans in general in Indian literature and film, which is in part related to— though not completely—the high profile of India’s fast-growing economy. I’ve noticed a recent shift in Western perspectives on India in general, spurred I think by the new generation, today’s college students, who are demanding another lens to view India besides the lens of otherness and ineluctable foreignness that for so long has affected how India is seen by the West. The film Slumdog Millionaire reflects that shift, I think: It’s not a perfect movie, but its representation of India avoids the pitying gaze that so many representations of slums have generated in the past, and I think that’s in part why it has been so successful here.

JA: How did you become interested in postcolonial literature and South Asian culture?

UA: I’ve always loved reading—all types of literature—and like most Americans my introduction to literature in English classes was mostly Western. As I began to be exposed to South Asian literature, I was fascinated by how Indian novels seem both so indebted to the Western novel and such a radical rethinking of it at the same time. Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things made a huge impact on me when I read it at the end of high school. It both resembled literature as I knew it and was so different from anything I had ever read: what she does with words, with sounds, the way she elicits such beauty from the English language and of course the powerful story. When I read that, I thought it was the first novel ever to do these things. As I read more, I realized that this kind of innovation appeared not only in Roy, or even in the Indian novel, but in post-colonial literature in general.

JA: I noticed that you published a critical essay about Zadie Smith. Do you have any suggestions of contemporary (or non-contemporary) literature for our readers?

UA: Zadie Smith’s White Teeth and On Beauty are wonderful, hilarious novels. As for South Asian literature, some fantastic new novels have recently come out of Pakistan, a society many Americans know very little about and one which perhaps has yet to emerge from the lens of Otherness I referred to earlier. Books which stand out are Mohammed Hanif’s A Case of Exploding Mangoes, Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist, and Kamila Shamsie’s Kartography. A beautiful recent novel set in Bangladesh that I highly recommend is Tahmima Anam’s A Golden Age. From Sri Lanka Shyam Selvadurai’s Funny Boy and Chandani Lokuge’s Turtle Nest are both wonderful. Indian literature gets the most press out of South Asian writing, and indeed there have been several really excellent recent releases: Amitav Ghosh’s A Sea of Poppies, set in the midst of the British opium trade in the 19th century; Arvind Adiga’s The White Tiger, which just won the Booker Prize this year and is a harsh look at the underside of globalization in urban India; and Indra Sinha’s Animal’s People, a really powerful book set in the aftermath of the Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal, India, which will especially interest all those concerned with social and environmental justice.

—Andrea Fineman

Top 10s for the week ending February 3

Box Office

College Radio

Billboard

WBRS

1. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans 3. Gran Torino 4. Hotel for Dogs 5. Slumdog Millionaire 6. My Bloody Valentine 7. Inkheart 8. Bride Wars 9. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 10. Notorious

1. David Byrne and Brian Eno – Everything That Happens Will Happen Today 2. Los Campesinos! – We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed 3. Of Montreal – Skeletal Lamping 4. I’m From Barcelona – Who Killed Harry Houdini?

5. Her Space Holiday – XOXO Panda, And The New Kid Revival 6. Dears – Missiles 7. Killers – Day And Age 8. Belle and Sebastian – The BBC Sessions 9. Ladyhawke – Ladyhawke 10. School of Seven Bells – Alpinisms

1. Taylor Swift – Fearless 2. Beyonce – I Am ... Sasha Fierce 3. Nickelback – Dark Horse 4. Kanye West – 808s & Heartbreak 5. Soundtrack – Twilight 6. Keyshia Cole – A Different Me 7. Britney Spears – Circus 8. Jamie Foxx – Intuition 9. Soundtrack – Notorious 10. Mariah Carey – The Ballads

1. Community Calendar – “Community Calendar” 2. PSA – “LIVE WX” 3. The Steak House Mints – “Out of the Sky” 4. Jorma Kaukonen – “Nashville Blues” 5. Sponsors – “Sponsors - Skaggs” 6. Pointer Sisters – “Fairtytale” 7. 3 Days Grace – “Never Too Late” 8. Book of Love – “Huney huney” 9. The Strokes – “when it started” 10. Tom Rush – “Lonely”

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

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OFF CAMPUS FOOD

Erawan exudes class and quality ■ The Thai restaurant, located on Moody Street, boasts a tasteful setting in addition to well-balanced, superior meals.

By ALEX GOLDMAN JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The list of restaurants on Moody Street less frequented by students includes purveyors of the unspectacular, places catering to an older or wealthier crowd and a few undiscovered gems. Erawan of Siam may seem like it belongs to the latter on account of its quality, but in reality, its quiet nature is not because Brandeis students aren’t aware of the restaurant.

Regardless, while the prices at Erawan are a bit steep for some (around $12 for an entrée), they are beyond merited. For Erawan boasts an incredibly relaxed and upscale atmosphere, swift service and, most importantly, excellent Thai food.

The atmosphere exudes “mountain palace.” Intricate wood carvings on the walls, ornate columns and exotic statues make the restaurant fit for Thai royalty from centuries past.

Lighting and fountains soften the setting, which has the quality of those in a $20-a-plate restaurant. For what is probably a family-run endeavor, Erawan hides its simple origins well, scoring high in class.

The sophisticated atmosphere was enhanced by our waiter, who was dressed in white with black slacks, and the presentation of our food, which came out on a wooden cart with a white tablecloth. Water glasses were never allowed to sit empty; some staff member was always waiting to swoop down and fill them up again, but then again I suppose it may just have been a slow night. I prefer a less active waiting staff, and I feel that incessant service interrupts an evening, though this is more a matter of preference and circumstance than a criticism of the service. Let’s leave it at “the wait staff was well-dressed, courteous, and prompt”; interpret that as you will.

I usually judge the quality of a Thai food restaurant by the merit of several dishes, those being pad thai, tom kar gai and basil chicken. Perfect pad thai has enough peanut to create sub-

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

SAMPLING SIAM: Erawan of Siam is decorated with multiple, intricate wood carvings, ornate columns and exotic statues, which give the restaurant an exotic ambiance. tle flavors while establishing harmony with the lime juice, spices, and native meat (usually chicken, shrimp, or both), while poor pad thai is either overly dominated by a peanut taste (and usually looks artificially orange) or is under spiced, oily and plain. Erawan struck the perfect balance; its pad thai possessed an alluring flavor with that signature pad thai sweet-

ness while still remaining simple, soft and earthy. The dish was more like a home-cooked meal than the pad thai one purchases from street vendors.

Tom kar gai, for those unfamiliar, is a chicken broth- and coconut milkbased soup with lemongrass and chilies and often with chicken and mushrooms. This minimal dish leaves little room for disguising qual-

ity with an overwhelming flavor.

Again, Erawan performed wonderfully, building a sensuous and delicious soup akin to grandma’s chicken noodle in the way it warmed the very heart of my being. The third dish, massaman curry, continued in the tradition of home-style, hearty, delicious dishes.

In summation, Erawan of Siam sur-

prised me; the outstanding dishes were prepared with a minimal yet exacting art and accurately exhibited a mastery of Thai food. A serene and palatial setting lifts the diner from winter Waltham into the mountains of Thailand. Dinner was made into an experience, and each dish was an apex on its own. Go there and see for yourself.

THEATER

Szász’s ‘Seagull’: artful adaptation or a study in self-indulgence?

■ The performance of Chekhov’s classic play evoked varying reactions from theater patrons.

By ALLISON VANOUSE JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

In its mission statement, the American Repertory Theatre describes itself as a “vital cultural resource” for its community. But, the role of any cultural resource, as Brandeis is beginning to understand, must be battled for, as it cannot merely be proclaimed. So ART’s mission, much like that of any public arts institution with ambitious scope, involves a constant struggle for relevance among the very community it hopes to serve. As the more traditional theatergoing community (wealthy, white and venerably aged) becomes busier and busier with kicking their own buckets, this has meant a deeper focus on the young, the trendy—and the typically-uninterested-in-plays.

It means, in other words, that they are marketing to us.

This newfound ploy is both unexpected and unavoidable upon entering ART’s Loeb Drama Center. The Brattle Street Theater maintains a veneer of cultured worldliness in leather and glass, but its publicity banners look like indie album covers. The staff is consciously hip and

wants to pointedly ask where you bought your skinny jeans. One is inundated with a newly printed scheme of posters, shouting in block text that this is “NOT YOUR PARENTS’ THEATER.” Which, indeed, it isn’t. The ART’s recent production of Anton Chekhov’s masterpiece The Seagull, will not be accused of pandering to anyone’s outdated mores nor of leaving any aging subscribers snoring —for one thing, the Guns ’n’ Roses music blared into the audience tends to ward off sleepiness. Director János Szász introduces his audiences to a Chekhov who rips himself free of the preciousness of historicized staging, eschewing samovars and high collars for a gritty and surreal David Lynch atmosphere. Here, crumbling, frescoed ceilings leak rain onto the stage, fading velour seats are swung out of their rows into crazy diagonals, and skinny girls careen in five-inch heels through standing water and cigarette smoke. Szász has exploded the bourgeois sitting rooms of classical Chekhov staging for his production, leaving both the stage and characters constantly exposed. “Sometimes,” Szász writes in his program notes, “Chekhov is like the Greeks— so much happens offstage and between the acts. We’re trying to make everything visible and immediate in this production. We're trying to put everything on the table—the lies, the affairs, the betrayals, the shame, the

compromises, the sex and the passion.”

And everything is visible. Szász is also a film director, notable as he builds his narrative into a series of haunting images: white feathered wings, enormous piles of luggage, real rainstorms, sex acts that are somehow architectural. One would be amiss, though, to call The Seagull filmic; the images have a depth and mobility in the space that can only be theatrical, as if an understanding of both media brings into focus the unique strengths of each. We wonder almost voyeuristically at the nature and immediacy of these strange people and the apocalyptic dreamscape in which they live. Karen MacDonald as Arkadina (the play’s paradigmatically monstrous mother figure), throws herself into unglamorous sexual theatrics that are almost embarrassing to watch. Nina Kassa’s Masha (who, according to the script, “always wears black”) sulks around the edges of the stage in full goth, clutching a bottle of Stolichnaya, smoking too much. And Jeremy Geidt as Sorin (perhaps the most likable character onstage; also the most senile and immobile) is often covered in crumbs of something and keeps falling asleep with his mouth open. With no real exits, the characters have to sit around, bored and waiting, without any real regard for an emergent plot. But, for this play, it works. The poetics of real exposure that were Chekhov’s concern

find an outlet in the constant visibility that Szász allows his actors. The treatment of the play pushes on naturalism and makes it daring again.

That notion of daring, though, is one that we have to acknowledge deeply when we talk about this play.

ART—again, perhaps eager to attract a young and tech-savvy audience base—has set up a blog on its Web site, where audiences can post and discuss thoughts on the production. The reactions, if not uniform, have been uniformly strong. The production is, for some, “phenomenal”; it “creates a communal space, a collective spirit that exists only once, a social body that is immediately created and destroyed in a climactic two hours but whose life will remain in the eternal space of memory.” For others, it is “like being in jail with waterboarding. So self-indulgent and nonengaging.”

And these reactions, to some extent, are both spot-on. Szász frames his production in the consciousness of Konstantin, a young writer with a tortured vision of the world who is eventually driven to suicide. The first act of The Seagull centers around a play he’s written—a bleakly symbolist musing that’s largely unintelligible. But Szász is fascinated by Konstantin and by the truth that comes through in his imperfect expression of the way he sees the world. “Konstantin’s play is not a perfect play, but it is an honest play,” he writes, “Everyone around

him has developed routines in order to survive. And those routines involve a lot of lies. Lies in their relationships with each other. Lies about their art. Lies to themselves. ...

They’ve all managed to survive by lying. But Konstantin can’t lie.”

Ought we, then, to accept opacity and self-indulgence for the sake of artistic truth? The boundary-pushing production seems to raise the question with every free-form saxophone sound cue. And Szász, though perhaps identifying with Konstantin’s plight, offers no answer. What he has offered in The Seagull is a space where that question can expand, and where we’re forced to deal with the opacity of experimentation in a very immediate way. Indeed, as audience members left the theater, their responses were oddly aligned with what had happened onstage: wives complaining to husbands about how loud the music was, college students in trendy glasses talking ecstatically about the artful subtleties of the concept, thirtysomethings who just wondered where the female lead’s shoes came from. The Seagull is, in some ways, a play about the strange relationship between art and life. And staged at ART this year, in an economic climate that makes us preoccupied with the relevance of art, among a community so necessarily concerned as its audience evaporates into the margins, that issue becomes deep—deep and awkwardly real.

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THE JUSTICE

ON CAMPUS SLAM POETRY

B.O.M.S. selects poets for new slam team ■ At the final face-off, poet April

Ranger opened with her original works before students performed.

By SAMANTHA SHOKIN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Almost three months ago, I attended the very first session of the Brandeis Open Mic Series (B.O.M.S.), held in the Castle Commons. The performers and attendees then were both eager and hesitant—no one really knew what to expect from the newfangled poetry slam fest, but the opportunity to both harness the freedom of spoken word and get the chance to be part of Brandeis’ very first poetry slam team had the audience curious and optimistic. The first session, which featured performances by Brandeis Associate Dean of Student Life Jamele “Harlym 125” Adams and participating student slammers, was captivating and impressive to say the least. Now, one semester and several B.O.M.S. sessions later, the final slam face-off has determined the members of the official team that will head off to nationals and compete against other colleges in an official slam-off.

A B.O.M.S. event always starts off with an open mic and then a featured artist, and finishes with a three-round slam with students performing original works on any topic of their choosing. Each slammer gets three minutes plus a 10-second grace period to read one poem, and if the poem goes over time, points are deducted from his or her total score. Judges are chosen from the audience to give an unbiased rating out of 10 for each individual poem. The lowest and highest scores are dropped and the remaining three are added, so each participant gets a total score of zero to 30.

Featured slammer April Ranger opened the night with several selections of original and compelling poetry. Her language was both powerful and artistic, infused with vivid imagery that was brought forth by wavering volumes in a very strong yet smooth, feminine voice.

Telling movements and fluid hand gestures kept the audience captivated and riled them up for the slammers performing next.

Each slammer had a unique style and the range of topics spoken about was very broad.

After an hour of slamming, the final decision was made, and out of six original competitors four were chosen to be part of the final team, plus one alternate. The team members are as follows, in order of scores from highest to lowest: Sara Kass Levy ’12 Of the five team members selected, Kass’ style is perhaps the most literary; two of the poems she performed were inspired by original versions of classic fairy tales and told in the first person. She crafts beautifully disturbing tales that all hint at deep and serious meanings, thereby making powerful statements through very imaginative characterization.

Usman Hameedi’12 Usman’s performance style is aggressive and infused with political commentary. Though one of his pieces was a love poem, the other two touched upon important issues of culture and identity. The poems are passionate and personal and draw in the audience on an intimate level.

Nicole Izbicky ’11 Nicole’s presence onstage is bubbly and upbeat. Her poetry incorporated several pop culture references and also a little bit of humor.

Her style is inspirational and seems that it would resound well among a young audience that appreciates a more fun-loving take on the art of slam.

Jason Henry Simon-Bierenbaum ’11 Perhaps the most experienced member of the team, Jason is also the host and founder of B.O.M.S. His performance style is particularly unique, with a very interesting, fluid manner of vocalization along with full-bodied motions to accompany his introspective, reality-inspired pieces.

David Wayne ’12 David’s style has a heavy rap influence, as he mentioned in one of his pieces which referred to Biggie Smalls. His poems were personal in that they provided autobiographical insight and also distinct political commentary. His poetry, following the style of rap, was all rhymed and rhythmic.

So there you have it, the monumental members of Brandeis’ first ever poetry slam team.

They are all unique and extremely talented in their own ways, making for a strong and immensely diverse group. It was a pleasure listening to the different ways they all exhibited profound skill at the art of spoken word. I urge all Brandeis students to take advantage of the opportunity to listen to these master crafters of verbal art by going to future B.O.M.S. sessions—it is surely something you won’t regret.

DROPPING “B.O.M.S.”: Students attend a meeting of the Brandeis Open Mic Series in order to see who will be selected for Brandeis’ first slam poetry team (top), while Associate Dean of Student Life Jamele Adams addresses the those in attendance (right). April Ranger (left), the featured slam poet, opened the event with several of her original poems.

ALL PHOTOS BY REBECCA NEY/the Justice

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2009

THE BLACK MOZART ENSEMBLE ALL TOGETHER NOW: At left, Lindy Donia is one of four violinists who play with the Black Mozart Ensemble. At right, vocalist Omar Alkalouti rocks out on the harmonica.The group also incorporates banjo and hiphop dancing into its performances.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHAWNA KELLEY

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHAWNA KELLEY

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHAWNA KELLEY PHOTO COURTESY OF SHAWNA KELLEY

HYBRID THEORY: Roy “Futureman” Wooten, the leader of the Black Mozart Ensemble, plays his Drumitar, which is a cross between a drum set and a guitar.

CLASSICAL GAS: Justin Saunders will appear on cello with the Black Mozart Ensemble when the group performs at Slosberg on Feb. 7.

Futureman draws from music of the past ■ Set to play at Slosberg

this week, the musician discussed the source of his group’s innovative sound.

Roy Wooten, known on stage as “Futureman,” will appear with the Black Mozart Ensemble at Brandeis on Feb. 7. The group blends classical, jazz and hip-hop influences in a performance about the life and times of the biracial classical composer Joseph Boulogne de SaintGeorges. Futureman also performs with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones and has invented three instruments: the Drumitar, the RoyEl and the Dorothy Graye. The Drumitar is a guitar-shaped instrument with a keyboard that generates the sound of a drum kit. The RoyEl and the Dorothy Graye are shaped like pianos but play notes that are absent from traditional Western music scales. He spoke with JustArts about musical evolution and his creative process.

JustArts: Why have you chosen to focus on the Black Mozart, Joseph Boulogne de Saint-Georges?

Futureman: His story is going to shed light on the times and the struggle that he had during the Classical age, also the struggle for race relations, at the height of the slave trade. To this day, Joseph Boulogne de Saint-Georges, the black Mozart, he’s a blind spot of history. There’s an area of classical music that you can breathe freshness into. They

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHAWNA KELLEY

MUSIC MAN: Tyler Andal plays five-string violin, contributing to the updated classical sound of the Black Mozart Ensemble. took you into the ballroom, but they never took you into the slave fields.

JA: Do you feel that some part of music comes about due to the time when it’s created, and that some part of it is timeless?

FM: Some parts of it are timeless.

Like improvisation, it’s timeless, but depending on the time, it’s [a question of] what it’s going to sound like. During that time of Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, all these great virtuosos, they were all improvisers, in the same spirit as Miles Davis. But improvisation is not part of classical music today. The improvisation of

classical music died, and the spirit of improvisation would wait a couple hundred years and rise again in the classical music of America called jazz. So there’s certain things that are timeless, certain flows, certain themes, and you can see them when you study history.

JA: And your music is about evolution and change, is that correct?

FM: I would say so, yes, really to understand that the seed of the future is always in history. A lot of my music will reflect that, even the most futuristic things I’m working on, from the Drumitar I’m playing

with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones to the piano inventions that I’ve created that have evolved out of my experiments. To develop the piano you have to understand something about the history of the old piano and the history of the drums.

JA: How do the instruments you’ve invented play into that natural progression, the looking forward and looking backward?

FM: The way I’m approaching [the Drumitar] is all based on history. It’s based off learning how to play the drums, knowing what they sound like, what their role is in

music. But I’m using my fingers, like, hand-drumming to paint that sound as if I’m playing sticks a whole different way. And because I’m using my fingers to do it, it connects to the piano, which is like a sophisticated drum set in a sense. Just from my vantage point I can see the similarity between the two approaches. Both histories are right under my fingertips because of technology.

JA: Does that allow you more freedom when you’re composing music?

FM: Yeah, particularly because in my compositions I actually invented the instrument. That creates for me a place for my intuition, or even a higher type of intelligence, popping through to create these compositions. It’s like a type of creativity that I don’t even understand is showing itself.

JA: Would you say there’s anything inherently religious or spiritual about music?

FM: Music and mathematics— there’s something inherently universal and eternal about both of them. Music encompasses mathematics, but it delivers its message emotionally. I think there’s an inherent essence to music and mathematics that does have a spiraling or spiritual nature to it. I’d go so far as to say the bass clef is a symbol of the golden ratio, same shape as your ear, same shape as the ocean wave, same shape as a shell, and I don’t think that’s by accident. There’s something about music that reaches up to the heavens.

—Sarah Bayer

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Q&A

‘Push’ touted as fun escapist fare ■ Chris Evans and Camilla Belle talked about making their forthcoming movie, in which they play imperiled psychic superheroes.

Mind control. Telekinesis. Spies. Secret government agencies. Push is a superhero thriller that involves anything a college student would want from a movie: evil organizations, explosions, a hot chick and people shooting guns with their minds.

The movie centers around Nick Gant (Chris Evans), a “mover,” someone with the ability to manipulate inanimate objects at will by identifying the object’s atomic frequency and alter the gravity waves around it. Following his father’s murder at the hands of Division—an evil agency that captures psychics—Nick escapes to Hong Kong to live in hiding. However, he soon meets another psychic, Cassie Holmes (Dakota Fanning), who, as a “watcher,” has the ability to see the future. Gant is forced out of hiding as he and Holmes search for Kira (Camilla Belle), who is the only person to escape from Division and who holds the power to defeat the organization. With her powers as a “pusher,” Kira can push certain thoughts into others, forcing them to act at her command. With Division on their tail, the three must find a way to stop the agency’s plan to build an unstoppable militia of psychics.

JustArts attended a conference call with Push’s Chris Evans and Camilla Belle, during which the actors gave insight into their experience with the movie.

Evans, a Boston local, has previously been in films such as Fantastic 4 and Sunshine.

Question: Tell us about your character, Nick Gant.

Chris Evans: I think there’s a lot that I can relate to, personally, to the character. He’s afraid and insecure. He’s hiding from the world and pain from the past. Unlike Johnny Storm in Fantastic 4, who loves the spotlight, Nick is a guy who’s on the run and would just as soon shed his powers.

Q: Speaking of Fantastic 4, do you worry about being typecast in movies with similar content?

CE: There’s always worry [about] being typecast. It’s something to be aware of, but if the pieces of the puzzle fit, you just go for the role. If a role looks really good, it would be hard to say no. You don’t want to be typecast, I suppose, but it’s really tricky sometimes. And I really don’t want to avoid a role because I’ve done a role similar to it.

Q: What about the process of getting roles in general?

CE: For me, it wasn’t that one role that would shoot me to stardom or

CHRIS PIZZELO/the Associated Press

BELLE OF THE BALL: Camilla Belle, far right, appears at an event promoting the film ‘Push,’ in which she plays a runaway psychic. something. It’s been a slow and steady pace since Not Another Teen Movie. I think one of the main things that apply is luck. You just keep on trying to work with the right people and keeping doing it. And I’m almost embarrassed to say it, but it’s strange that I’ve been sucked into sci-fi. My favorite genre of movies would have to be simple, human stories involving simple characters. You know, a father and a mother and a sister, and what can happen just in a family.

Q: How do you think the story of Push compares to others in the sci-fi genre?

CE: Well, for example, I liked that in X-Men mutation was a known thing.

But in Push, no one really knows the superpowers exist. The general public is completely unaware that it exists, and to me it just makes the stakes higher.

Q: So you’re from Boston. Do you come back a lot?

CE: I just love meeting people from Boston. In fact, I’m just back from Boston for three months. Three months is, like, unheard of, but I went back for

Halloween, and I thought, I might just stay back in the east coast. So I actually just got back to LA two days ago.

Q: Why do you think a college student from Boston, for example, should spend the $10 to see your movie, considering the current economic crisis?

CE: Well, I think movie tickets are still pretty cheap. You know, everything’s getting affected but fortunately movie tickets are still pretty much the same price and I think Push is just a fun movie that college students can relate to. There’s so much that’s enjoyable about it. Our director, Paul McGuigan, really tried to rely on skilled stuntmen and clever camerawork for the special effects, rather than the CGI. Q: How was the filming experience for Push, especially with the other actors?

CE: Well, Dakota and Camilla are both so amazing. Dakota always puts a smile on my face. And Camilla, I love to joke with her, but she hates my jokes.

She thinks I’m so unfunny. Actually, they both think I’m the lamest thing in the world. [Laughs] And it was tough to

get Camilla to come drink with us.

Q: Sounds like it was a good time.

What was the biggest challenge of filming in Hong Kong?

CE: The food. Hong Kong has a different cuisine [than] America. It’s just hard to find a nice piece of white chicken meat. It’s a different world, a different process. And the local workers there have such a good work ethic.

When they show up n the morning they’re ready to work. All the actors have to pick up the pace because back home we’re not used to that. You know, it was the first time I’ve been in Hong Kong. But overall, it was a really great experience.

Belle, who plays the role of Kira, was interviewed next. She is an L.A. local and recently starred in When a Stranger Calls and 10,000 B.C. Q: Tell us about your character.

Camilla Belle: Kira is really mysterious. I think my favorite thing about her is that you’re always guessing if she’s good or bad. The whole role, it’s very character-driven, and it stays true that

she always keeps you guessing.

Q: Tell us a little about you. As an actress, as someone college-aged.

CB: Well, my favorite acting inspirations are Kate Winslet, Liam Neeson and Cate Blanchett. Even though I’m acting instead of going to college, all my friends are in college. So I guess when I hang out, I’m hanging out with college kids and I act like a college kid. In a way, my friends bring the vibe to me, but I’ve never been a person to go out and party.

Q: Push is your first sci-fi film. What did you think of it?

CB: I think Push also has so many other aspects such as thriller and drama and some romance. I wasn’t used to powers and abilities, so I approached it more with a human approach. It was so much fun, you know, all the big fight scenes and shooting guns and running around Hong Kong.

Even the bruises and cuts I got from it, I wear with pride.

Q: Chris said that you like to make fun of him a lot. What was it like filming with him and Dakota?

CB: [Laughs] I didn’t know he’d say that. I think I make fun of him because he’s like this tough guy from Boston, and he’s really confident, but he’s actually really sweet at heart and gentle and will break into song and dance. I think we really connected because we both love musical theater. And I connected with Dakota too because we both grew up in the business. She’s also one of my favorite actresses. I had to remind myself that I was going to dinner with a 13year-old, she’s just too mature. We all got along really well. The cast was lucky because we all became part of a family.

Q: Did you have any new or different experiences while shooting?

CB: The number one thing was being in Hong Kong. I’ve never been to Asia before. Being able to go to Hong Kong opened so many doors to me. And we got a few days off so I got to go to Beijing and now I can say I’ve been there.

Reading the paper in Hong Kong, seeing the locals there was just such a new experience. Hong Kong’s also so different than mainland China. I’d go to temples and try to blend in as much as I could and experience all the Asian cultures there; it was amazing. And working with the cast, we are all different and Paul McGuigan is so much different than any other director I’ve worked with, he can just talk on hours and he’ll say, we have to work now, and we’ll get a little thrown off!

Q: Why do you think college students should see this movie?

CB: One reason is that Chris and I are the same age, and it really appeals to our age. Push is different and edgy.

It’s young, it’s fun, and more of an escape than anything else.

Push is rated PG-13 will be released in theaters Feb, 6, 2009.

-Wei-Huan Chen

MUSIC

Andrew Bird flies high on stage and on his album ‘Noble Beast’ ■ The whistling violinist

played songs from his latest release at an unpredictable but well-received concert in Boston last week.

By CHARLIE GANDELMAN JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Andrew Bird’s performance at the Orpheum Theater last Friday night was the scene of a mad scientist in his lab. The singer/songwriter from Chicago, evoking a twitchy chemist, romped across the stage in hot pink socks, furiously switching instruments while whistling perfectly in tune.

Bird thrives on these contradictions. It is through his restless, hectic histrionics that he interweaves whistling and violin, guitar and glockenspiel to create a whimsical, breathtaking sound that has defined his 13-year career. Promoting his newest album Noble Beast, the concert showcases Bird’s latest creation, which continues many ideas

and themes from 2007’s Armchair Apocrypha. But from a musician who built a reputation on sweeping, atmospheric creations, rhetorical gallivants and, of course, superhuman whistling, familiarity is a gift rather than a bore.

While Bird on stage opined that his live performances are a party compared to the restrained nature of his studio recordings, almost everyone in the audience disagreed with this assessment of his albums.

Noble Beast, released on Jan. 20, has not had the chance to sink into Bird fans’ consciousness, as evidenced by collective groans during the show for more old songs. But its songs will soon enter the canon of Bird classics, as Noble Beast is Bird’s most impressive effort yet.

The opening track of the Noble Beast, “Oh No,” might just be Bird’s strongest single to date, deftly integrating the unique elements that have made him a favorite both in and outside the indie community.

Beginning with a pleasant violin melody interspersed with acousticguitar fingerpicking, it builds until

Bird’s catchy whistling replaces the violin. He then launches into lyrics he could have stolen from a Scrabble game played by linguists: “In the salsify mains of what was thought but unsaid/All the calcified arythmatists were doing the math.”

The contradictions that enliven his live performances are no less prominent and enjoyable here. “Oh No”’s chorus suggests, as Bird himself helpfully explained in a New York Times blog-entry, that adulthood oppresses our emotions, rendering us all in a collective state of psychosis: “Oh arm in arm we are the harmless sociopaths/Arm in arm with all the harmless sociopaths/In the calcium mines buried deep in our chests.” This music of this verse, opposing the lyrics’ depressive sentiment, is pleasurable and upbeat, prone to hours of addictive humming.

Bird disagrees with himself again on “Fitz and Dizzyspells,” an exuberant and cheerful melody played over haunting and bleak lyrics.

Though the words suggest that our efforts are made in vain because “the

language is broken,” the music erupts with the optimism and indefatigable nature of the human spirit.

“Natural Disaster,” which Bird chose to open with at the Orpheum, is another beautifully crafted, eerie construction, with Bird’s soothing voice calmly, almost indifferently describing the tragic destruction of nature. Bird introduces the scene with an innocent, childlike melody reminiscent of an idyllic summer’s day at camp, but the story to follow is one of destruction and disorder.

Though Bird so skillfully combines his talents on Noble Beast, some songs struggle to find themselves. “Tenuousness” drags on, without a chorus to reference and with an unmemorable sound. The lyrics, though clever, are even more impenetrable than usual: “Tenuousness less seven comes to three/Them you us plus 11/Comes just shy of infinity/And that’s for those who live and die for numerology.”

“Anonanimal” completely shifts gears and improves itself, at the halfway point but makes us wish the entire song were as enjoyable.

Though Bird is not perfect on Noble Beast, he is at his frenzied best. The music and lyrics constantly bicker between happy and sad, hope and devastation, offering the joy of his whistling over the helpless weeping violin. Never static, always pondering and reflective, Noble Beast is his best, most nuanced album yet.

Just as Bird’s dichotomies on Noble Beast offer a realistic picture of our fickle, unstable nature, his stage performance reveals a man with incredible talents who is prone to gaffes, of which there were several. But his fans came to enjoy these miscues almost as much as his soaring ballads. It is his way of interacting and conversing with the audience, of personifying the themes his fans so easily relate to in his music.

The self-deprecating Bird might downplay his album in favor of the more organic live performance, but his abilities to convey his accessible sentiments are just as potent on the stage of the Orpheum as on the home stereo.

24

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) Seeing the silly side of some really ridiculous situations helps give the Lamb a new perspective on how to handle them. Some important contacts can be made this weekend.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Try to complete your outstanding tasks by midweek. This leaves you free to take advantage of new possibilities—both professional and personal—opening up by week’s end.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) With both your creative side and your energy levels rising this week, you should be able to tackle that too-longneglected project again. A family member might have important news.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) An explanation you requested seems to be more confusing than enlightening. You should insist on clarifications now, rather than deal with problems that might arise later.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) Your energy levels might be ebbing a bit. But that’s no excuse for taking catnaps when you could be working on those unfinished tasks. There’ll be time to curl up and relax by week’s end.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) It’s a good time to get those ideas out of your head and into a readable format if you hope to have them turned into something doable. A good friend is ready with worthwhile advice.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Careful—you might be stepping into dangerous territory if you decide to “exaggerate” the facts too much. Remember: The truth speaks for itself and needs no embellishment.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) Although your workplace successes have earned you many admirers, there are some colACROSS 1. Shock partner 4. Perjurers 9. “Mayday!”

12. That woman 13. Bother 14. Choose 15. Egocentric’s problem 17. Meadow 18. Vegas-based TV series 19. Receding 21. With face hidden 24. Kind 25. Yoko of music 26. Atl. state 28. Dog walker’s tether 31. Ridge raised by a heavyblow 33. Sinbad’s bird 35. Use a paper towel 36. Marble cake pattern 38. Tie up the phone 40. U.K. fliers 41. Pool hall supply 43. Powerful 45. Church VIP 47. Brazilian resort city 48. Deteriorate 49. “To be or not to be,” e.g.

54. Tokyo’s old name 55. Reserved or preserved 56. Swiss canton 57. Apiece 58. Actress Winona 59. Quaint stopover DOWN 1. Donkey 2. Personal question?

3. Moray 4. Expired, as a subscription 5. Loop member?

leagues who are not among them. Be careful how you proceed with your new project.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) You might have to go into great detail to explain why you’re currently reluctant to make changes to an already prepared plan. Be sure you have all the facts to back yourself up.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Travel plans might still be uncertain. But instead of getting upset about the delay, open yourself up to other possibilities, and begin checking out some alternative destinations.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) Changing conditions might require you to alter some of your plans. While you might be agreeable to this, be prepared with explanations for those who do not want changes made.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Although you might have to deal with some detractors who aren’t too kind in their critiques, you gain points when you're willing to stand up and defend your work.

BORN THIS WEEK: You have a gift for creating a warm and loving environment between yourself and others.

BRANDEIS

Through the Lens

Solution to last issue’s crossword.

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

Winter of Discontent On a campus smothered by a thick layer of snow, a sign advises drivers to conform to the flow of traffic on the ring road. Above it, a mirror

Sudoku 6. Blackbird 7. “— are red ...”

8. Logo 9. Card game for one 10. Admitting customers 11. Male deer 16. “Eewww!”

20. Make tea 21. Cuts the grass 22. From the beginning 23. Lawyer in London 27. Journal 29. Bridge 30. Weight 32. Verifiable 34. Whim

37. Landlord 39. Hot-water heater 42. Unemotional 44. Also 45. Get ready, for short 46. Took the bus 50. Cover 51. On the — vive 52. Samovar 53. Yang counterpart

King Crossword Copyright 2007 King Features Synd., Inc.

■ It is recorded in historical notes of the 19th century that the Reverend Francis Henry Egerton, Earl of Bridgewater, made a habit during the last years of his life of sitting down to a formal dinner every evening with a dozen guests. This might not seem odd until you learn that the guests were all canines, seated in armchairs and with napkins tied around their necks.

■ It was French military leader Napoleon Bonaparte who made the following sage observation: “In politics, absurdity is not a handicap.”

■ After his death in 2005, the ashes of Hunter S. Thompson, pioneer of gonzo journalism and author of the infamous novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, were fired spaceward from a giant cannon to the accompaniment of fireworks and the Bob Dylan song “Mr. Tambourine Man.” ■ It’s been reported that the average lifespan of a tree in the metropolis of New York City is only seven years.

■ Evidently, it’s not just humans who associate a deeper voice with maturity (and desirability) in males. It seems that male owls try to appear more macho and attract females by lowering the tone of their hoots.

■ Every year an organization known as the Diagram Group awards a prize to the person who submits the strangest title of an actual book that was published in that year. Here’s a sampling of previous winners: Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Nude Mice, The Theory of Lengthwise Rolling, HighPerformance Stiffened Structures, Living With Crazy Buttocks, Greek Rural Postmen and Their Cancellation Numbers and Butterworths Corporate Manslaughter Service.

■ Records show that in England in 1552, William Shakespeare’s father had to pay a fine for littering.

Thought for the Day: “Failure is not the only punishment for laziness; there is also the success of others.” —Jules Renard

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

Sudoku Copyright 2007 King Features Synd., Inc.

allows drivers a distorted view of the driveway outside the Usdan mailroom. Objects in mirror may be closer than they appear.

FEBRUARY 3, 2009

ROSE OPINION SPECIAL

■ Was the Rose closure in our best interest? page 26 ■ The rationale behind the Rose sale, page 26 ■ Museum’s past sheds light on true University values, page 27

■

Prospective student and Egan

Institute curator weigh in, page 28

Rose

REBECCA

NEY/the

Justice

ADDRESSING THE PUBLIC: Rose Art Museum Director Michael Rush, who was not made aware of the plans to close the museum, speaks to his supporters.

reactions Reflections on the Rose closure

REBECCA NEY/the Justice

Background photo: Rebecca Ney/the Justice. Design: Kathryn Marable/the Justice

SHOWING SUPPORT: Students gather in the Rose Art Museum to listen to appeals for its continued existence.

26

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3 , 2009

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THE JUSTICE

The Rose Art Museu Bad presentation sinks Rose cuts

By DANIEL D. SNYDER JUSTICE EDITOR

Unlike many of my peers, I’m not particularly ruffled about the decision to close the Rose Art Museum. I’m not going to pretend that I frequented the facility or that it was an essential part of my positive academic experience at Brandeis. What has me ruffled, however, is the manner in which the University has gone about implementing this unpopular decision and turned an understandable and potentially necessary financial measure into a public relations disaster.

It’s true that the University faces an impossible dilemma, torn between the school’s history and its financial reality. From the economic perspective, cutting the Rose and profiting from its assets makes sound, if unfortunate, sense. The facility doesn’t generate any profit for the University and only serves a small portion of the student body academically, making the museum a beacon for cost-cutting vultures.

The administration could have capitalized on these facts in their presentation. They could have been honest about the depth of our financial deficit, raising concerns about the museum’s viability and gathering sympathy. They could have emphasized that the Rose will remain open as an educational institute and exhibition gallery and that there is more than one way to profit from its assets. Instead they chose to present the cut in such a way as to make us appear panicked, illogical and desperate. In the midst of our country’s growing recession, national news outlets looking to capitalize on any story that illustrates the effects of the economic downturn have leapt on the Rose’s closing with shocking ferocity. Within a day of the announcement, prominent stories appeared in The New York Times and the Boston Globe,

INSIDE THE ROSE

both vigorously decrying the decision and painting our administrators as financial opportunists. Even if that’s not how things really are, that’s how they look—terrible.

Making matters worse is the historical significance of the collection. Acquired early in the University’s history for practically nothing, the high-profile collection was a point of pride for a young institution trying to compete with the rest of the academic scene. Since the onset of the national financial crisis, the market for such art works is quite small. That these paintings may be sold for a fraction of their potential value is a tragedy in itself. It’s these elements of the story that have characterized our public image and perhaps irreparably damaged our relationship with future donors—a historically essential part of our operating budget—and prospective students.

The approach to the cut has also ensured that nothing like the Rose will ever exist again should the school even survive the financial crisis. Any attempt to revive the Rose or create a similar institution will be met with extreme hesitancy by both art donors afraid of losing their works to liquidation and potential employees afraid of losing their jobs with little or no notice.

Any good politician, even an administrator, knows that any unpopular decision, however necessary, needs to be spun the right way if he’s going to minimize revolt and public relations damage. They should have brought Rose Director Michael Rush into the process instead of making him into a martyr for the museum. They should have checked with the attorney general about the donor wills. The administration chose to neglect these steps, and in the process of trying to make a short-term profit, it may have done more long term damage to the University than the budget crisis ever could.

Rose descision took great courage

By ETHAN MERMELSTEIN JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Ignoring the deplorable closed-door situation in which the decision was made and the public relations embarrassments incurred because of it, I’d go as far as to say that the closing of the Rose Art Museum is a courageous statement of Brandeis’ priorities. As Prof.

Mick Watson (PSYC) said in an e-mail to the Justice, “Brandeis University may go under if we do nothing, but it won’t go under because we will do something”; I believe this statement captures our school’s dire economic situation and the grave importance of the many decisions that are and will be made here.

Depending upon who is doing the calculating, the number of beautiful things located on this campus probably doesn’t require all 10 fingers to count. The Rose belongs on all such tallies. It is a point of pride for this University.

Its extensive and renowned collection was amassed in a remarkably short period of time.

The feeling of returning to one’s dorm after having just viewed paintings by Robert Rauschenberg, Pablo Picasso and Roy Lichtenstein is like no other. It is because all of this will be put on sale that I feel comfortable saying that everything will be OK here.

By deciding to sell the Rose’s art, Brandeis is stating that its primary concern is maintaining the school’s standing as a premiere liberal arts and research University. It is saying that it is willing to temporarily risk bad press in order to protect what truly makes the school great. It is clear that inaction would likely ensure Brandeis’ demise. Perhaps less apparent is the need for some radical change (or multi-million dollar donation—Brandeis lottery ticket fund, anyone?), but just turn to the front pages of this paper for that wake-up call.

When considering Brandeis’ operating expenses, “total faculty and staff salaries and benefits” takes the largest chunk of the pie. By deciding to sell the Rose before laying off more faculty, the school is making a strong statement about its values.

Prof. John Lisman (BIOL) and Natasha Lisman ’68 further explained the faculty issue.

“These are hard financial times for all universities, but the strongest have announced that they will continue to hire,” she said. “They point out that being able to hire at a time when most universities have hiring freezes will allow them to attract the best and the brightest to their university. Brandeis is not now in this group. Indeed, if something is not done about our financial situation we will not only stop hiring but also systematically shrink the faculty. The sale of the Rose collection may change that and allow Brandeis to join the top universities in getting the best talent.”

Letting go of the Rose is akin to letting go of an ancient family heirloom. As a midyear, I feel connected to the loss after only being here for a few weeks. This said, however, we must be wary of blowing the issue out of proportion.

Prof. Jerry Samet (PHIL) articulated to the Justice that the dangers of doing so via a recent e-mail: “If the outcry over the closing is a way of mourning what we will lose, I sympathize. But the outcry also fuels petition drives, Web sites and write-in campaigns, and these sorts of follow-up reactions may well amplify our public relations problems and make it harder for us to recover from this loss and move on.”

Although Brandeis has been hit particularly hard because many of its highest donors lost fortunes in the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme and the average endowment drop stands at around 23 percent, universities around the country are feeling the toll of the current financial crisis. I’d bet (and perhaps, as a way to raise funds, the school’s Board of Trustees should consider putting a wager on this as well) that in the coming months, we will see schools in similarly dire situations making similarly difficult decisions. By selling something that the entire Brandeis community holds dear, our school has set an example for other schools. When facing tough choices, think about the well-being of your students first.

HSIAO CHI

SPEAK UP : Leon Markovitz ’10 addresses an audience of faculty, students, administrators, press, and Waltham residen Rose Art Museum sit-in last Thursday. Many students espoused their opinions on the closing of the museum at other sim

One last lo at the Ro

REBECCA NEY/the Justice

REMINISCENCE AT THE ROSE: Above, visitors to the Rose Art Museum view the Hoffman exhibit. This is one of their final opportunities to take advantage of the Rose’s collection pending the sale of some of its works. Right, students and media observe a characteristically modern sculpture.

REBE

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2009

27

um in perspective Sale of artwork is in line with core school values Hillel

BUECHLER AND SO ON

The closure of the Rose Art Museum and the subsequent liquidation of pieces in its collection epitomize the University’s pillars of academic excellence and social justice. The faculty and students of this University are valued above its buildings and its property, especially those that are luxuries.

There was an utter lack of transparency on behalf of the Board of Trustees and the administration during this decision-making process, and for that both governing bodies deserve the harshest of criticism, but the ultimate decision was admirable. I did not hastily nor easily arrive at this conclusion. At first I was rather conflicted about it, but now I’m fully behind the dual decision to close the Rose and sell some art.

Closing the Rose is not, as one student suggested at the student-run sit-in at the museum this past Thursday, comparable to closing the University library.

And the University is not signaling abandonment of the fine arts, either. As Ingrid Schorr, program administrator to the Office of the Arts, wisely told students, “Maybe the fancy dining room is closing. But the kitchen is still open.”

The University thrived in its 13 maiden years without the Rose. It’s unreasonable to conclude that the University cannot continue to flourish independently of its Rose, as it once did.

To gain a more comprehensive perspective on the situation, it’s important to look back at this University in the year that the Rose project was completed and opened to the public for the first time.

The front cover of the Oct. 24, 1961 issue of the Justice features what I initially considered to be a shocking editorial. Its title, “A Question of Values,” lies just above a picture of the newly constructed Rose.

“This is the Rose Art Museum,” the editorial begins. “It was built upon receipt of a donation of $250,000 by Mr. and Mrs. Edward Rose of Boston. For the same price, Brandeis University could have had nine fully endowed perpetual tuition scholarships, … two hundred one-year full tuition scholarships, … twentyfive students could have received complete college educations, ... and for the same price Brandeis could have had one fully endowed professorial chair, or about twenty different visiting professors for a year apiece.”

That editorial acknowledges that the donation was given for that specific purpose alone.

It then concludes by questioning “the system of values” that says “that bigger and better buildings are more important than such considerations as faculty salaries, student scholarships, and additional professors.”

Former Justice editor in chief Stephen Slaner ’64 said in an interview with the Justice

that during his time at the University, some students “disparagingly referred to it as the ‘Rose Art Supermarket.’” And some considered then-University President Abram Sachar to have “an edifice complex.”

The following issue of the Justice, published Oct. 31, includes another, longer editorial, which expands upon that initial sentiment of misplaced priorities. The editorial board, in the second editorial, points out that the Rose “was a worthwhile addition to the University, and a facility which could be used to good advantage.” However, “there must be certain priorities when it comes to fundraising.”

Students staffing the Justice that year covered stories like the brutal assault by white men on Brandeis student Paul Potter and friend Tom Hayden, who were trying to register black citizens to vote in McComb, Miss. The editorial board took strong stances against topics such as the expansion of nuclear power. The editor in chief the year that the Rose was opened, Stephen Solarz ’62, went on to serve in the United States House of Representatives for 18 years. These people were true activists.

An additional issue for those students in 1961 regarding the Rose rested with Sachar’s inherent contradiction from 1953, when he stated that, “Once the ‘must’ buildings are up we will concentrate specifically on securing funds for scholarships and faculty salaries.”

The Rose was not a “must” building in 1961.

And it’s not a “must” building in 2009.

Today we are privileged to attend a University that grants full financial aid to those in need and provides its faculty with significantly

improved salaries from those of the 1960s. The exact issues that inspired students to criticize unneeded buildings on campus in 1961 have subsided. But the sentiment behind that criticism has not.

The editorial from Oct. 24, 1961 concludes by noting that “it is, after all, upon the quality of the people who are associated with the University that its worth is determined.” This has not changed.

Another former Justice editor in chief, Martin Wiener ‘62, who currently chairs the History department at Rice University, told the Justice that that “My own feeling as an alum is admiration for the guts of the Board [of Trustees] and president, who faced a tough situation and made the right decision, though all the art world may be up in arms.”

During a time when faculty salary quality, job security and student academic opportunity are threatened by a University financial crisis, we must not hesitate to part with our luxuries in order to save our fundamentals.

If the original donors consent and all proper legal procedures are followed, then the University should ignore the outcries from the art community and go ahead with the monetization of some of its art—even if the selling market isn’t ideal. The absence of an art museum and some of the artwork housed in this University is upsetting. But that will allow us to preserve the most integral parts of the University: its faculty and its students.

And if that is not in the best interest of social justice and academic excellence, then I cannot imagine what is.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Brandeis’ trustworthiness in doubt To the Editor: The bad news that keeps thundering out of Brandeis, especially the closing of the Rose Museum and the “need” to sell its unique contemporary collection, had ominous warnings when in 2007 a Childe Hassam Impressionist painting titled “Sunset at Sea,” a gift of Mr. and Mrs. Monroe Geller, was deaccessioned because it “didn’t fit the Rose’s objectives,” and sold at Christie's for $3.3 million.

The raison d'être at that time was to raise funds for new acquisitions.

May one ask what was purchased in its stead?

The University is now is willing to give up the Rose and its entire collection. Will the end justify the means? This begs the question, “Who at Brandeis is the keeper of our trust?”

—Eunice M. Lebowitz Cohen, former Slide Librarian, Brandeis Fine Arts dept.

Museum was an asset to education PANG/the Justice

nts at the milar events.

ook ose

ECCA NEY/the Justice

To the Editor: I am writing to you to express my deepest concern and displeasure with the situation regarding the plans to close the Rose Art Museum.

I am writing as a member of the Brandeis Class of 2007 as well as a member of the PostBaccalaureate Program in Fine Arts 2008, and as a past employee of the Rose Art Museum from 2004 to 2008. Some of you may be familiar with me from the painting that is hanging in your refurbished Admissions Suite or the two works on loan in the Slosberg Gallery.

As a young artist, I have nothing but the fondest memories and greatest appreciation for what Brandeis offered me, which was an education rich in tradition and an emphasis on learning through experience. I served as the Undergraduate Department Representative for both the Fine Arts and Art History departments for three of my four years of undergrad, so I can honestly say that the arts at Brandeis were my home for the last five years.

Having the ability to work at the Rose, like so many generations of students before me, was an integral part of that experience. It gave me the opportunity to not only grow and learn professionally from the staff of the museum but also stretch my wings and develop skills that I will use in pursuing my career in the arts. Due to the fact that each year approximately 30 to 40 students contribute to Rose as interns, guides, office assistants, and members of The Student Committee For the Rose Art Museum, not to mention the countless others who take advantages of the Rose's resources as part of class visits or their own free time, we are truly a teaching museum,

Brandeis Talks Back where participation is integral to the mission of the Rose. I do not need to remind you what a unique and privileged position Brandeis is in to have been the caretaker of this collection for the last 48 years, but I would like to call attention to the fact that this collection, now historic, if sold would never be able to be reassembled as it stands now, which is both a tragedy from an art historical and emotional standpoint.

Again, I am not in possession of the hard financial facts, but I am aware that simply selling pieces of the collection is not an option, nor would it send a dissimilar message from that of closing the museum altogether. I can only urge you to listen to the voices of thousands of students, alumni, parents, donors, and members of the art community who have expressed the same outrage I feel. I find myself personally invested in this matter more than some, but not in the sense that we all see this as a huge blow to the future of Brandeis University as a liberal arts institution. I would seriously consider the ramifications of alienating such a potentially large donor base by following through with this decision.

I would lastly like to call your attention to the last lines of the mission statement of the Rose Art Museum: “The Rose affirms the principle that knowledge of the past informs an understanding of the present and provides the critical foundation for shaping the future. It promotes learning and understanding of the evolving meanings, ideas, and forms of visual art relevant to contemporary society.”

If we seek to offer the best possible education for our students, then surely we cannot abandon this mission in a time of crisis.

The effects of this global recession are farreaching, but by utilizing the creativity and resourcefulness that Brandeis instills in its students, surely we can find an alternative solution to this problem.

—Jenna Weiss ’07 Museum of Fine Arts, Tyler School of Art

Brandeis is misguided in sale of art To the Editor: When I saw the e-mail this morning from the president of the University, I was surprised, then shocked at the language chosen.

To quote: “Choosing between and among important and valued university assets is terrible, but our priority in the face of hard choices will always be the University’s core teaching and research mission.”

President Reinharz and the Board: Since when has art not been part of Brandeis’ mission? And since when does a university allegedly of great stature not have an art museum?

Along with the loss of the collection will be a the loss of the sweep of historical arts events that took place in the Rose. These

have included premiere performances by John Cage, David Tudor and Alvin Lucier, exhibitions by Louise Nevelson, video work

by Nam Jun Paik and works of many other artists.

Did the University make poor investments? Did the Board approve these investments? If so, they should figure ways to meet the shortfall rather than deaccesioning this collection.

And, rather than having secret votes to make such a decision, the president and Board should be completely forthcoming and transparent. I for one feel they have not done so and they have diminished Brandeis with their actions and certainly adversely affected the quality of Arts students for the future.

—Richard Lerman ’66, M.F.A. ’70

How do you feel about the decision to close the Rose?

AMELIA REY ’12 “I feel like it’s as if we were selling a kidney.”

Rose Art decision was ill-advised To the Editor: Alas, according to the rules of the American Association of Museums and the generally agreed-upon ethics of the museum profession, artworks cannot be sold for any purpose other than the maintenance or expansion of the collection.

I have no idea whether this decision was made with this notion in mind, but under those provisions, the only way that artwork can be sold in order to support the University is by dissolving the museum. Selling the artwork in this current financial environment is guaranteed to bring far far less income than the value of the collection would be in better times.

The University is thus doing a disservice not only to the students, to the museum, to the donors of the artworks, but also to itself, as the income gained in this manner is not commensurate with the true value of the artworks. Similarly, should the University ever decide to begin collecting art again and reopening a gallery or museum, it will be facing prices far higher than what it is earning now by selling low.

Art is not a commodity to be bought and sold purely for its monetary value. An educational institution devoted to higher learning and the liberal arts should understand that.

—Travis Seiferman ’04

MARWA FARAG HELLER ’09 “Sad, but I understand that it’s survival.”

ALEXANDRO PIERRE ’11 “It is not really a good thing.

If they close the art museum, what about the art classes?”

Share your motives, administrators To the Editor: I was saddened to learn of the decision to close the Rose and sell off its contents. Further, I have not seen any estimate of what could be garnered by the sale.

I would urge the University to consider other specific cuts in a broader manner which would leave its reputation in better stead.

—David Cousins

LEXI KRISS ’11 “The students should have an active role, working together with the administration.”

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

OUTSIDE PERSPECTIVES

MAX BREITSTEIN MATZA/the Justice

NOT CLOSED YET: Despite the cold and snow, students flock to the Rose Art Museum for a final look inside and to advocate for the museum’s salvation.

Essence of art is in the human spirit, not money

By JAMES LANSING SPECIAL TO THE JUSTICE

The decision by the administrative powers at Brandeis to covertly decide to close the Rose Art Museum is a typical institutional reaction to tough economic times.

Educational leaders have never learned their lessons in regard to the connection between the arts and education: namely, that the impact of the arts can’t be measured, placed as a line item on a budget sheet or manipulated for economic gain. The first things educational institutions jettison are the arts, but “the arts” should always be the last thing.

When will these supposed educational leaders learn that the arts are not a luxury but a necessity for human experience; they are the human experience. Art speaks to individual souls in a different language. The arts give a haven for those who need to see and feel that others have shared the same emotions and have traversed the same issues. Art connects on a universal level; it does not have a bottom line.

Has anyone found a way to measure the impact of the arts on the human spirit? Why not just close the library? Why not just shut down the music program? To close the museum is not just wrong, it is dehumanizing. It places the blood and sweat of the human spirit up for sale. It is the typical lockstep educational reaction; however, it should not come as a surprise to anyone associated with education and the arts. This is a battle that many of us in the education and arts communities think we have won, but when as prestigious a university as Brandeis is willing to take this step, it is not only an example of how far we have fallen but of how low a level we have actually reached in the first place.

I do support the idea that Brandeis may need to sell certain

items to support educational needs in other areas.

Nevertheless, there must be a University accounting in this matter, and the gallery director needs to be a vocal member in these proceedings. The numbers need to be made public, and these discussions and decisions must include the staff and students of the Brandeis community.

The staff and students at Brandeis need to take immediate action in this matter. The University trustees do not own the museum and the works. This may be a private University, but the museum’s collection belongs to the community, and the art collection was donated with the understanding that it would be used to further goals associated with the University. Sure, the gift agreement may say that the University has final say over the works, but donors do not expect their gifts to be sold to pay bills. If that were the case, they would just sell them themselves. If a decision were made to close our museums and sell the works, the Nantucket community would revolt.

Like the trustees at Brandeis, I have been granted the opportunity and trust to guard Nantucket’s heritage and history as a curator.

The board of directors and I do not own the works in our collection. No steps would ever be taken without our community’s comment that would alter the fabric of the collection under our care. The Brandeis administration could have been open about the school’s finances, and they would have had the input of their community. Instead, they decided that they had the power to make this major, campus-altering decision on their own. They are wrong.

The writer is the curator of the Egan Maritime Institute in Nantucket, Mass.

MAX BREITSTEIN MATZA/the Justice

ART-SITTING: Carrie Mills ’12, right, voices objection to the University at last Thursday’s sit-in in the Rose Art Museum.

Rose shutdown taints love for Brandeis

By ELIZABETH STOKER SPECIAL TO THE JUSTICE

In September of 2008, I fell in love. I can remember the way the early autumn air smelled, the position of the afternoon sun, even the exact moment our tour group crossed over a section of old sidewalk situated in some foliage and I read the slogans of the 1960s beneath my feet. At that moment, Brandeis became a symbol to me of everything I wanted out of my future—success, freedom, diversity—and I was in love. My love, however, was mere months away from facing a very serious challenge.

In the hazy, enamored weeks that followed, I almost entirely neglected the other schools I had considered. What can I say?

Brandeis offered me not only a window out of my life here in Arlington, Texas but also a path into a future marked by progress and understanding. So I applied for early-decision round one without a single doubt or regret and waited eagerly for word.

In early December I turned 18, finished my last fall semester of public education and was accepted to Brandeis’ Class of 2013. I was ecstatic. Christmas brought Brandeis bumper stickers, sweatshirts, T-shirts and tote bags. My brother loaded me up on necessary reading: plenty

of Mitch Albom, Abbie Hoffman and even a beginner’s manual to understanding Hebrew and Jewish traditions. In the weeks that followed, I read obsessively and waited expectantly, counting down the days until August.

Perhaps it was unfair to maintain the expectations I did—that Brandeis would be entirely unaffected by the ailing economy and that things would be just as I had left them in September.

Still, even if I had allowed some room for the slump, I couldn’t have foreseen the death of the Rose Art Museum. Having read the reactions of Brandeis alumni and current students on the Justice Web site, I am sincerely shocked to find that the overwhelming response has been angry. Perhaps my distance has prevented me from forming the relationship with the Rose that others clearly have, but still, the Rose’s wilting has not inspired me to rage but rather to fear and grieve.

Seeing the museum go is certainly a shame, especially in the context of Brandeis’ own modern and expressive spirit.

However, my concern is less for the fate of art at Brandeis and more for what the Rose’s passing could mean for the University’s future. Watching Brandeis sell its collection is devastating. I cannot imagine the heartache this has caused for art students and professors,

but I know that their despair casts a much larger shadow. My concerns for the school multiply daily. The explanations of Brandeis’ financial problems have been vague. I realize that the school faces a possible $10 million shortfall, and I fear that the circumstances that created this deficit could continue to exacerbate themselves.

Far beyond losing the Rose and possibly gaining a mandatory summer session, another nightmare has figured itself into the equation: If Brandeis’ situation continues to deteriorate, will I even have a school to go to come August? If Brandeis were forced to close its doors, what would become of the Class of 2013? And what of the legacy of Brandeis and all it stands for?

These times are increasingly uncertain. I hesitate to predict the future of Brandeis and all those who have placed their own fates in its hands. The only promise that I can make with confidence is that as long as Brandeis has a single class to offer, I’ll be there. If it only has one building and no artwork to its name, I’ll be there. If tuition is increased and a summer session enforced, I will find a way to be there. I’m not giving up on Brandeis, though I cannot be sure exactly what that commitment entails.

The writer is a member of the incoming Class of 2013.