ARTS Page 19
SPORTS Tennis drops tough decision 13
GET MOVING
FORUM Professor responds to strategic plan 11 The Independent Student Newspaper
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B r a n d e is U n i v e r sit y S i n c e 1 9 4 9
Justice
Volume LXV, Number 21
www.thejustice.org
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
student union
CLOSER TO THE FINISH LINE
New club structure proposed by panel ■ Under the proposed
plan, every club on campus would be placed into one of 12 new associations. By jeffrey boxer and sam mintz JUSTICE editors
The organization and funding of student-run clubs may be undergoing a significant overhaul in the near future. At last Sunday’s Student Union Senate meeting, a committee comprised of both student leaders and administration staff unveiled a proposal to reorganize clubs in an effort to make the workings of clubs and the allocation of Finance Board funding more efficient and to be able to accommodate the 275 current campus clubs. The panel that developed the proposal includes Student Union Presi-
dent Todd Kirkland ’13, Student Union Chief of Staff Jesse Manning ’13, Treasurer David Clements ’14, Senator at Large Charlotte Franco ’15 and F-Board Chair Nathan Israel ’14, as well as Director of Student Activities Stephanie Grimes and Director of Athletics Sheryl Sousa ’90. Under the proposal, each of the 275 clubs on campus would be divided into 12 associations with similar missions and interests, with each individual club still existing as a separate entity. According to Manning, clubs would not be able to opt out of the arrangement. A council of seven students would be elected to oversee each association. According to the proposal, the seven-member association councils would be responsible for “establishing and reviewing policies related to the operation of the Association, promoting collaboration among
See CLUBS, 5 ☛
BRIEF Sequestration affects research The $85 billion across-the-board federal spending cuts that took effect last month, known as sequestration, could significantly affect research funding at Brandeis as well as many research universities, according to University President Frederick Lawrence at last Thursday's faculty meeting. “I think the sequestration business coming out of Washington is just a good example of sometimes things are going to be out of your control, that can give us a pretty solid kick in the head,” said Lawrence. “That’s not just a Brandeis story, that’s research universities generally. I can tell you that my inbox is filled with correspondence from fellow presidents in the [Association of American Universities] about how are we going to deal with this. … None of us is in a situation to simply absorb that without taking pretty careful attention.” “About three-fifths, or $40.8 billion, of all university research funding in Fiscal Year 2011 came from the federal government,” according to a Huffington Post report on the recent National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics survey. Brandeis’ peer research institutions are facing similar cuts to
research funding. Stanford University, for example, is planning for reductions of about $51 million of its $685 federal research revenues, reported the Stanford Daily. According to the Harvard Crimson, Harvard University received $650 million from the federal government during the last fiscal year, meaning that “researchers across the University will have to cope with the impact of sharply constricted federal funding in the form of both decreased availability and reduced size of federal research grants.” Harvard President Drew Faust traveled to Washington earlier this month to urge government officials to avoid cutting research funds. Boston University receives $300 million in federal funds “mainly from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation,” which “goes to federally funded research expenditures in grants,” according to the Daily Free Press. The University did not respond to requests to provide information about the federal funds that Brandeis receives by press time. —Andrew Wingens
OLIVIA POBIEL/the Justice
MAKING PROGRESS: Provost Steve Goldstein ’78 led a feedback discussion after the release of a draft of the strategic plan.
Draft of plan unveiled ■ Feedback on the plan will
continue this month, with the draft to be discussed by the Board at its next meeting. By andrew wingens JUSTICE editor
The first detailed draft of the strategic plan—a centerpiece of University President Frederick Lawrence’s administration since its start—was released last week, and it drew criticism for what some perceived as its focus on the sciences and graduate schools, while ignoring the humanities and social sciences. The draft—which administrators have stressed is a “work in progress,” requiring more feedback—focuses on the academy and ways to improve education in areas such as the sciences, graduate schools and research, and indicates a desire to invest in hiring new, young faculty.
The draft frames Brandeis as “a small university, bringing together the virtues of a liberal arts college and a research institution.” In this way, the draft states, Brandeis is distinctive among its peers. Embedded in the draft is the tension between all that the University seeks to achieve and its finite financial means. It states, “we cannot afford to invest equally in every field, and so we must make strategic judgments about where we are able to attain and sustain national prominence.” Among its concrete initiatives, the draft promises to quadruple the budget for renewal of campus facilities to $10 million and create an updated campus master plan, two areas particularly relevant to student life on campus. But the focus of the draft is the educational experience. It calls for the University to “grow and nurture key academic programs” and “strengthen selected departments,” although
it does not specify which departments or programs will benefit from these “strategic investments.” At the faculty meeting last Thursday, some faculty expressed general approval and appreciation for the development of the plan, but also addressed concerns about the draft’s coherence and focus on graduate schools and sciences. Prof. Peter Conrad (SOC) said at the faculty meeting that there was little mention of the humanities and social sciences in the draft and that, “this volume, as it’s written now, attaches the future of Brandeis to the two professional schools and the sciences.” “I think we need to rethink, do we
See STRATEGIC, 9 ☛
For more specifics on each of the six strategic goals in the draft, see the Justice’s description of each category on pages 8-9.
Festival finalist
Clutch performances
Upgrades to LATTE
A short movie by one sophmore is a candidate for a Boston film award.
Four fencers have good chances to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
The University’s online learning system will get new features and a new look.
FEATURES 6 For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org
Waltham, Mass.
Let your voice be heard! Submit letters to the editor online at www.thejustice.org
INDEX
SPORTS 16 ARTS SPORTS
17 16
EDITORIAL FEATURES
10 6
OPINION POLICE LOG
10 2
News 3 COPYRIGHT 2013 FREE AT BRANDEIS. Email managing@thejustice.org for home delivery.
2
TUESDAY, mARCH 12, 2013
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THE JUSTICE
NEWS SENATE LOG
POLICE LOG
Senate considers important proposals
Medical Emergency
Several important proposals involving new structures for the Student Union Senate and for clubs on campus were put forward on Sunday at a wellattended Senate meeting that lasted more than two and a half hours. The first presented by Student Union President Todd Kirkland ’13, Chief of Staff Jesse Manning ’13, Treasurer David Clements ’14 and Senator at Large Charlotte Franco ’15, was a proposal for a massive overhaul of the way that clubs are organized. This proposed new system would sort clubs into 12 different associations based on clubs’ types and purposes. Each association would then elect a council of seven members to govern the clubs within that group on matters of allocation and resources. This proposal will be considered by the Senate over coming weeks. For more information on the proposed changes, see News, page 1. Next, Ways and Means Committee Chairs David Fisch ’13 and Annie Chen ’14 submitted two bylaw amendment proposals for the Senate to vote on and one constitutional amendment for the Senate to consider. The first bylaw amendment added language to clarify the requirements for a club to be a recognized organization. It added that clubs “may not contain a discriminatory provision against any persons;” must show that they are geared toward a particular “interest, initiative, theme or activity” and must be organized, efficient and beneficial to the student body. This amendment was passed with 16 votes in favor, none opposed and one abstention. The second proposed bylaw amendment called for a comprehensive restructuring of the Senate. This amendment would have changed the Senate membership to include three class senators for each class, four on-campus senators (with one coming from each class), one Senator at Large, one off-campus senator, one Transitional Year Program senator and one racial minority senator, reducing the total number of Senate members to 20. The proposal also included a restructuring of the committee system: combining the Services Committee with the Outreach Committee and the Diversity Committee with the Social Justice Committee, thereby reducing the total number of committees to five. While Fisch argued that changes like this one are within the jurisdiction of the Senate, other senators disagreed, requesting that the student body be surveyed about the change. When it came to a vote, the Senate initially voted to accept the proposal, with eight students voting for, five opposed and five abstentions. However, following confusion about the necessary quorum and about proxy votes for several senators who had departed the meeting early, the Senate leadership called for a revote. When the Senate voted again, the decision was reversed and the proposal was rejected, with eight senators voting for, 10 against and one abstention. Finally, Fisch and Chen presented a constitutional amendment that they plan to send to the student body to vote on. The amendment would dictate that only students who had served on the Student Union for a minimum of one academic year would be eligible to run for Student Union president. Similarly, the election of vice president would be first open to current and former Senate members, senate committee members or Executive Board members. If no candidates come from these areas, than the election will be open to all members of the student body. In addition to these proposals, the Senate voted to recognize and charter the Metalworking Club, which will “provide opportunities for the Brandeis community to learn, practice and exhibit the art of metalworking,” according to the club’s constitution.
March 4—University Police received a call that a student in the Charles River Apartments injured her ankle, and BEMCo and University Police responded. The party was treated onscene by BEMCo with a signed refusal for further care. March 5—A party in the Shapiro Campus Center reported having sawdust in their eye. University Police and BEMCo responded, and the party was given a ride to the NewtonWellesley Hospital emergency room for further care.
Drugs
March 4—The community development coordinator in the Charles River Apartments reported finding a community member smoking a class D substance inside a stairwell. The contraband was confiscated by University Police, and a police report was compiled. The CDC will file University judicial charges.
Harassment
March 4—A graduate student reported receiving harassing text messages. University Police compiled a report, and an investigation will follow. March 4—A student in the Castle reported being threatened by a former roommate. University Police compiled a report, and a no contact order was issued for both parties involved.
Larceny
March 5—A party at the Village Gym reported that their iPod was stolen while left unattended. University Police compiled a report on the theft. March 8—A party in Cholmondeley’s reported that her key and wallet were stolen. March 9—A party in Ziv 129 stated that his ID was stolen and returned to his suite’s common area in February with a loss of $8. He also stated that his card was used to purchase goods from the Village Provi-
sions on Demand Market. University Police compiled a report and reviewed CCTV footage of the incident but was unable to identify the suspect.
Disturbance
March 8—A party in Cholmondeley’s reported loud music coming from the coffeehouse. University Police dispersed the group without incident. March 8—University Police received a report of parties sledding outside and making noise. They checked the area and were unable to locate the sledding parties upon arrival. March 10—A party in the Charles River Apartments reported that her neighbor was making noise and disturbing her and that this had been an ongoing issue. University Police attempted to make contact with the resident reportedly making the noise but were unable to do so. No further action was taken at this time.
n A correction in last week’s issue misspelled the name of a student from a photo caption in Features. The student is Felice Oltuski ’16, not Felice Oituski. (News, p. 2)
The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. Email editor@ thejustice.org.
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Cardinals prepare to vote
CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS
n An article in Arts originally implied that the playwright, George C. Wolfe, is not black. The article also initially misrepresented the race of a character in the scene “Symbiosis.” (Arts, p. 20)
March 5—University Police received a report of a male party sleeping on the couch in the lobby of Rosenthal South using his coat as a blanket. He is a Brandeis student and reports that he does not have a place to live so he sleeps in the dorm common areas. The party was advised and planned a meeting with the Department of Community Living in an attempt to solve his problem. No further action was taken by the police. March 9—The manager at the Sherman Dining Hall stated that a male party, probably a student, had climbed the fire escape. The manager stated that the party had since gotten off the fire escape and was walking around the Massell Pond. The suspect was described as an Asian male in a gray sweater and jeans. University Police checked the area and was unable to locate the individual.
WIRE BRIEF
—Sam Mintz
n An article in sports misquoted tennis player Matthew Zuckerman ’14 as saying that the tennis team has been practicing at 7 a.m. in addition to their normal practices. The tennis team held captain’s practices at 7 a.m. before the season started but are not currently holding such additional practices. (Sports, p. 13)
Miscellaneous
ANNIE KIM/the Justice
Raising awareness Jeremy Perlman ’14 creates a T-shirt as part of the Clothesline Project, an interactive art display that addresses gendered violence, which was sponsored by the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, as part of last week’s Sexual Violence Awareness Week.
Final preparations were under way Saturday in the Sistine Chapel for the conclave of prelates who will elect a new pope to head the Roman Catholic Church. Journalists were given a look inside the famed chapel where the cardinals will begin their secret proceedings today to try to settle on a new leader from within their ranks. At the back of the frescoed interior sat the pair of stoves that will be the 115 cardinals’ only form of communication with the outside world. Ballots will be burned in one stove and special coloring chemicals in the other, their fumes mixing in to create black smoke to signal an inconclusive vote and white puffs to declare when a pope has been elected. The chimney was installed by firefighters Saturday morning. The tiny smokestack on the roof is visible to tourists and pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square. The second stove was added only during the last conclave in 2005, when now-retired Pope Benedict XVI was elected, to help eager spectators avoid confusion over the color of the smoke. As added confirmation when a pope is chosen, the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica will ring. Tourists had been banned from the chapel, and workers are sweeping the interior for any devices that would compromise the oath of secrecy. On Saturday, the cardinals held another in their series of pre-conclave meetings to discuss issues facing the church, and to size up potential candidates to succeed Benedict. This morning, the cardinals should have begun moving into accommodations on the Vatican grounds before attending Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. They are set to convene their conclave and cast their first vote this afternoon. In preparation for a new occupant of the throne of St. Peter, Vatican officials have now defaced the ring worn by Benedict so that it can no longer be used as an official seal, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said. —MCT
ANNOUNCEMENTS The Politics of Victimhood
Ilana Szobel, assistant professor of modern Hebrew literature at Brandeis, will give a talk drawing on her recent book, A Poetics of Trauma: The Work of Dahlia Ravikovitch. In her work, Ravikovitch, Israeli writer and Israel Prize Laureate, raises questions about gender, trauma and nationalism. Szobel analyzes Ravikovitch’s work as a depiction of the emotional structure of trauma survivors. Today from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the Schusterman Conference Room in the Mandel Center for the Humanities.
Citizens of Nowhere
There are approximately 60,000 unauthorized migrants in Israel today who have fled violence and persecution in Sudan and Eritrea. Efforts to offer shelter and protection to these migrants have recently been met with protests and even violence. Join a discussion on the controversy about the response of the Jewish state to the issue of asylum seekers. Today at 5:45 p.m. in the Mandel Center for the Humanities Atrium.
Our America/Nuestra America
Peter Kornbluh ’78, director of the National Security Archive’s Chile Documentation Project and of the Cuba Documentation Project; Frances Hagopian ’75, Lemann Visiting Associate Professor for Brazil Studies at Harvard University and Jeff Arak ’07, an up-and-coming documentary filmmaker, will speak on a panel to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Latin American and Latino Studies program. Tomorrow from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the Shapiro Admissions Center Presentation Room.
DeisTalks
The Department of Experiential Learning and Teaching, Library and Technology Services and the Brandeis Pluralism Alliance invite the Brandeis community to experience TED-like talks by the Brandeis Community, for the Brandeis Community. Tickets are free, but advance pick-up from the Shapiro Campus Center ticket booth is recommended. Thursday from 5 to 7:30 p.m. in Shapiro Admissions Center Presentation Room.
Spring Bingo
Come celebrate spring during our traditional game of BINGO. This is a great time to gather your hallmates, roommates or friends to take a break and win some fun prizes. Thursday at 10 p.m. to Friday at 1 a.m. in The Stein Restaurant.
Gideon at 50
Join the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life for its 50th anniversary of the historic Gideon v. Wainwright decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that guarantees those accused of criminal offenses in state courts the right to representation by an attorney. Panelists will discuss the progress that has been made and the unmet challenges of providing legal representation to those who can afford it least. This event is cosponsored by the Legal Studies Program and the Ethics Center. Monday from 4 to 6 p.m. in Rapaporte Treasure Hall.
THE JUSTICE
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TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2013
3
Technology
LATTE system to be upgraded by LTS ■ The new LATTE will be
available for faculty in November 2013 and for students in January 2014. By ILANA KRUGER Justice Editorial Assistant
Library and Technology Services announced on Tuesday that it is upgrading the University’s online learning tool, LATTE. The LATTE system is used by faculty and students to organize course syllabi, notes and assignments, as well as forums for course discussions. LATTE was established in 2007 using the software Moodle, and still runs on the same version of the software that “is starting to get up in age,” said LTS Associate Director
for Academic Services Adam Lipkin in an interview with the Justice. “We want to bring LATTE up to date.” The new LATTE will be upgraded from Moodle 1.9 to the latest version, 2.4. LATTE is actively used in 75 percent of courses, and there are an estimated 40,000 log-ins per week, according to Lipkin. The new LATTE is scheduled to be available for faculty by November 2013, and for students in January 2014. The LATTE team is in the process of development testing, and will be conducting beta testing with students and faculty later in the spring. The announcement of the plan for LATTE was released during the same week as the the long-awaited draft of the University-wide strategic plan. “With the strategic plan emerging
on campus and strategic directions becoming clear, we’ll be launching updated LATTE in time to help support those new initiatives in appropriate ways,” said Joshua Wilson, LTS director for academic support and user services. “A lot of elements in the strategic plan are actually well-positioned for LATTE use,” Lipkin added, including the second-year course initiative, increased flexibility in education and creating new models of intensive educational options. “A robust and flexible online system is one of the core pieces of technology that can help for a lot of those things,” said Lipkin. LATTE is used by many members of the Brandeis community, and the new LATTE will be geared toward everyone’s needs. “One of the things we are trying to do in this project
is to get as much community input as we can, so we’ve been consulting with an oversight group that’s composed of faculty, students and staff, all who have a key stake in the future of LATTE,” said Wilson. The oversight group has been asked questions pertaining to the availability of course material and syllabi, among other issues. One change that has already been implemented is the option for faculty to make syllabi publicly available beyond LATTE. This is “a preview of coming attractions,” according to Wilson. “It is the kind of thing we want to put into the updated LATTE when it emerges in 2014.” Additions include more compatibility with mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets, as more students are using these devices to access LATTE on the go. The system
PANEL
RACE TO THE TOP
Experts discuss Arab Spring, state of Islam ■ During the discussion,
each panelist represented one of the important countries in the Middle East. By ALLYSON CARTTER JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER
OLIVIA POBIEL/the Justice
ENGAGED AND EMPOWERED: A captive audience was addressed by a panel of three women leaders on Tuesday.
Successful women lead panel ■ This event, as a part of
Leadership Week, featured three women, including the mayor of Waltham. By Allyson cartter Justice Senior Writer
Last Tuesday, Waltham Mayor Jeannette McCarthy, pediatric oncologist Jessica Sachs and Prof. Sylvia Barack Fishman (NEJS) spoke about their professional journeys on a panel called “Desserts & Dialogue: Women in Leadership.” The event was a part of the Brandeis Leadership Week sponsored by the Department of Community Living and the Department of Student Events. The three women spoke to a packed audience in Levine-Ross in the Hassenfeld Conference Center, and began by presenting narrations of their career paths. McCarthy was born and raised in Waltham. After receiving an undergraduate degree in biology from Boston College, she worked in a factory for four years, attended night school to receive a law degree from Suffolk University and attended graduate school at Northeastern University. Later, she volunteered for the Waltham community and ran for the school committee, a position that she held from 1986 to 1991, according to her website. Ultimately, McCarthy decided to get involved with politics in order to “give back.” She worked first in the City of Waltham law department for seven years, and in 2004, became the mayor. She was the first woman to hold the position in the town’s history, beating opponents that included an incumbent and a former mayor’s son, she said. “I’ve been fortunate to be the mayor of my hometown,” McCarthy said during the panel, citing Waltham’s diverse population and “two beautiful universities” among the town’s assets. McCarthy added that her legal and science training have helped her in her career path. Of additional aspects to her approach as mayor she said, “I try to be honest and tell the people, ‘I
can do this, I can’t do that.’” Sachs, who works at Massachusetts General Hospital and Millennium Pharmaceutical Company, called herself a “transplant to the area,” having moved to Newton, Mass. from Maryland in high school. In her career path, Sachs said that she was initially sure of four things in which she was later proven wrong. As an undergraduate biology student at Duke University, Sachs said she was first sure that she wanted to be a scientist and had no interest in medicine. After then choosing a Doctor of Medicine program for financial reasons, she said that she thought she was sure that she wanted to do research rather than working with patients. However, after working in a clinic and enjoying working with patients more than she anticipated, the third thing she said she thought she knew was that she did not want to work in pediatrics “because I found children very frustrating,” she said. Sachs said that she was ultimately drawn to pediatrics, in part because children are generally healthy. “It was very empowering, to be able to fix someone, … knowing that they could go on to lead perfectly normal lives,” she said. Then, while at what is now Tufts Medical Center, Sachs said that the fourth thing she initially thought was that she wasn’t interested in oncology. However, during her residency, she said that she discovered that pediatric oncology was indeed the right route for her and went on to an oncology fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital, which was both the worst year of her life and “definitely also one of the best things I’ve ever done.” “Every one of those children I’ve cared for is part of who I am, part of my identity,” Sachs said. Fishman, the department chair of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, was born in Wisconsin. “I always loved to read, and I loved to read things that weren’t true,” she said. She eventually went on to study English at Washington University in St. Louis. Despite beginning her career in what she called “the bad old days,” in which she, as a married woman with
will also be integrated with GoogleDrive and GoogleDocs, which will make it easier for professors to upload both course material, readings and other assignments. LATTE will also have “a new look and feel,” Lipkin said, which does not affect the functionality, but “comes to affect the way people approach these systems.” A survey was sent out for students and faculty to vote on what the new LATTE logo should represent, and it has already received a large response. Despite the changes to be implemented, Wilson and Lipkin guaranteed that the LATTE experience would be familiar to students and faculty. “LATTE has been a very well-accepted system at Brandeis, and we want people to have a consistent experience with what they are already used to,” Lipkin said.
children, was denied academic and professional opportunities, Fishman went on to teach English at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Fishman first began her time at Brandeis assisting with sociological research. Ultimately, she said, she was the first female in the NEJS department to be on the tenure track, and is also the first woman to act as chair of the department. Fishman observed the “shared motif of ‘winding paths’” in the three women’s journeys. She said that this quality has always been true of women’s career paths, but that it is now true for both men and women. Another motif that she noted was that of “people that throw their whole heart and soul into whatever part of the path they’re on.” In response to an audience question about women being cautioned against dressing femininely in the workplace, Fishman said, “I didn’t wear nail polish until I got tenure.” At the time that she was beginning her career, she said that dressing professionally but not calling too much attention to oneself as a woman was important. McCarthy added that because those in the political sphere “judge you upside, downside, every side” until they get to know you, a positive first impression is important. Her frequent response, however, is that “you didn’t pay me for dressing up; you pay be for my brain,” she continued. In response to an audience question about sexism in the field, McCarthy said that she keeps her mother’s advice in mind: “What you do reflects upon you, and what other people do reflects upon them, and just remember that.” She advised the audience to “very respectfully stand your ground” in such situations. Fishman similarly advised the audience to “stick up for yourself without being defensive” and to be “appropriately forceful in the way you present yourself.” As a final word of advice, McCarthy said, “you have got to have experience to know what you really want, [and] you have got to have courage to change what you want when you’re not happy.”
Four panelists convened yesterday in the Rapaporte Treasure Hall for an event titled “The New Middle East: Arab Spring or Islamic Winter?” to discuss the outcomes and futures of the 2011 Middle Eastern uprisings. Presenting as panelists were Prof. Eva Bellin (POL) and Ph.D. candidates Karim Elkady, who represented Egypt; Jonathan Snow, representing Israel; and Payam Mohseni, representing Iran. Prof. Naghmeh Sohrabi (HIST) served as moderator. Sohrabi began by asking whether the events of the Arab Spring can be characterized as a revolution or as a change in government and to what extent the classification matters. Bellin noted that social scientists “get really irritated” when the uprisings are referred to as a revolution because they do not fit the established definition of a “political mobilization that leads to a dual outcome,” meaning that there is change in both the political system and the distribution of power. Many countries did not experience a change in government, while those that did—namely Tunisia, Libya and Egypt—did not experience a change in the distribution of power and do not display all of the institutional markers of democracy, including free and fair elections and universal suffrage, she continued. With respect to Egypt, Elkady asserted that it is too soon to determine whether the country is experiencing either a revolution or a regime change as the country is in the “center of transition.” So far, he said, he has observed no structural changes in how the state is run at an institutional level, no clear group representing the Egyptian revolution and no comprehensive plan for the country’s future. “The people … want social justice and they want freedom,” he added, but that the people don’t know how to
reach those objectives. Snow said that Israel is taking a “wait-and-see approach” in determining whether to intervene, which is important for the country’s security. The primary concern is “looking at the effect on us from our neighbors,” Snow continued. Concerning Iran, Mohseni said that the country experienced many of the pressures and tensions of a mass social mobilization during its 2009 Green Movement protests. Iran is pleased with the recent uprisings, which it terms an Islamic Awakening, because Iranians believe that they have contributed to the gradual Islamization of the Arab region, want Islamic norms to come to the government level and hope to open up ties with Egypt, he said. In response to a question from Sohrabi about foreign parties arming Syrian insurgents, Bellin said that, while it is difficult not to identify with the struggles of the people, providing weapons is not a viable way to “achieve peace.” “Just because you’re moved to do something does not necessarily mean you have to power to do the right thing,” she said. The best course of action at the moment is to provide humanitarian aid to refugees, she said. In response to an audience question from Brandeis Israel Public Affairs Committee Co-president Alex Thomson ’15 about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmandinejad’s trip to Egypt last month, Mohseni said that, as a result of the visit, Iran hopes to gain a strong relationship with the country as a key ally against Israel and as a trade partner. In response to an audience question about U.S. intervention in the region, Bellin said that the country, exhausted from its time in Iraq and Afghanistan, would be most effective by “stay[ing] out and try[ing] to ‘finagle’ things from the outside.” In summation of the panel and the topic, Sohrabi said, “What we’ve learned today is ‘wait and see’ and ‘it depends who you ask.’” The event was sponsored by the Brandeis International Journal, BIPAC, the International and Global Studies Program, the Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Program and the Politics Department.
JOSH HOROWITZ/the Justice
PANEL OF EXPERTS: Payam Mohseni (right), a Ph.D. candidate, speaks at the event last night, sharing his expertise about Iran and its place in the Middle East.
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TUESDAY, march 12, 2013
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THE JUSTICE
CLUBS PROPOSAL
Proposal facts
12 ASSOCIATIONS OF CLUBS WIT GAN/the Justice
BIG CHANGES: Student Union President Todd Kirkland ’13 and Chief of Staff Jesse Manning ’13 present the plan to the Senate.
CLUBS: Student leaders show mixed responses to proposed structure
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its member clubs, evaluating and reviewing budget requests and allocating the Association discretionary fund.” In addition, a staff or faculty member who is an expert in the field that the association focuses on would be assigned to each group. “We know that there are staff and faculty members who are looking to get more involved somehow, so we think that this would be the perfect opportunity for that,” said Manning. It is still unclear how these advisors would be selected. According to members of the panel, the reorganization of clubs stems from five problems with the current system: a lack of collaboration between groups, inadequate organizational resources, poor professional guidance, no channels for networking and communication between clubs and a need for efficiency in the allocation processes. “The five main challenges to the system that we presented to the Senate and are in the proposal, those are all concerns from the club leaders,” said Clements. “The inputs that we have about the problems from the system are all directly from club leaders, and this is just our response to them.” According to Clements, “clubs will remain 100 percent autonomous.” Club financing requests would now go through the association council before heading to the Finance Board, with the council serving as a middleman in the process. After hearing all funding requests from clubs, the council would put together an “efficient budget” which combines all of these requests, and would then present it to the F-Board. Clubs would maintain their individual fundraiser and gift funds. Each club will have one vote for each member of the council. One seat on the council will be reserved for a secured club and one will be reserved for a recognized club, while all other seats are open to any club in the association. In an effort to gauge public reaction, the Justice spoke with nine club leaders from several of the 12 proposed clusters to get a broad range of perspectives on how the categorization would affect them. While all of them supported aspects of the proposal, several voiced concerns over specific parts and had suggestions for ways to further improve proposed structure. Ethan Stein ’15, the president of
the Brandeis Orthodox Organization, suggested further categorizing clubs into even smaller associations. “With regards to religious groups, it can get into some complexities,” he said. “If we are already breaking it up into subcommittees, why not have more? It’d be better to break things up into different religions.” According to Kirkland, clubs that do not fit into one of the associations would likely be grouped under “hobbies and interests.” But Alberto Lalo ’14 expressed concern about clubs that might fall under the purview of more than one association. Lalo, the vice president of the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting, said that his club has dual personalities. “Every time we have an event we usually email the economic society and cultural clubs,” he said. “We are both business and cultural, so which one of these associations would we fall under? I would be concerned that we would be getting less money because we are split.” Several club leaders were hopeful that the process would simplify their relationship with F-Board, as it might streamline the process of funding requests. “Anything that leads to a more efficient allocation of resources, I’m all for,” said Avi Snyder ’13, the president of the Mock Trial Association. But many students were concerned with the possibility that members of the council might favor their own clubs. For example, Brandeis a cappella groups are currently organized under the umbrella organization A Cappella Etc. Anna Barbaresi ’13, the president of the a cappella group Up the Octave, said that A Cappella Etc. has struggled to equally serve all of its members. “Members are always part of a cappella groups and so they’re always biased,” she said. “It’s really not a collaborative process, it is always run by those groups that have leadership positions.” Jason Sugarman ’13, the president of the a cappella group VoiceMale, expressed his agreement. “If you don’t have a representative there, then there’s no way they could be unbiased,” he said. “Not to say that F-Board currently is unbiased, but if you have people within your same spectrum judging how much money you should get, it’s easy for them to have a personal bias in their decision-making process.”
Manning said the Union anticipated that there might be some infighting within the associations. “We assume the worst—there’s going to be problems that arise,” he said in an interview with the Justice. “But we feel like we are putting resources in place that can deal with these kinds of things.” Manning said that the committee that organized the proposal was not worried about too many clubs having students that were interested in running for seats on the council. “Not everybody is going to have somebody that wants to run. It’s possible, but it’s very unlikely … it’s a big time commitment,” he said. However, every club leader interviewed by the Justice expressed a high level of interest in having a member of their club on the council, and said that they would be very likely to have somebody run. “I think that it would be extremely important [to have a member of our club on the council],” Stein said. “I would guarantee that we would nominate many people. Having our voice and opinion heard and having someone who understands the ins and outs of our organization is important.” “I would like for someone from our organization to be [on the council], I think every organization would like that,” added Ben Lasserre ’14, the financial coordinator for Student Sexuality Information Service. Several clubs were pleased with the idea of working with a staff or faculty member. Brittany Ritell ’15, the communications coordinator of the Adagio Dance Company, said that her club does not currently work with any staff or faculty members, but would be interested in doing so in the future. “I think it’s an interesting concept,” she said. “I think that having staff members could be a really useful resource.” Barbaresi added that a cappella groups have struggled to ensure that each group’s auditions and shows do not overlap, and that a staff member could help with scheduling issues. For now, there is no time-frame attached to the proposal, though the committee members did say that it would not be implemented until next fall at the earliest. Manning and Kirkland both said that the next step is to ask club leaders for their input, before bringing the proposal to the student body as a whole. —Tate Herbert contributed reporting.
• Academic/Pre-Professional • Club Sports • Competitive • Cultural • Health and Wellness • Hobbies and Interests • Performance • Political/Activist • Programming • Publications and Media • Service • Spiritual/Religious
A seven-member council will govern each association. Every club will have one vote in the election of council members. Each association would work with a designated staff or faculty advisor who is considered an expert in the field. GOAL: to maximize efficiency, organization and collaboration across clubs with similar interests.
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VERBATIM | ANNA QUINDLEN The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.
ON THIS DAY…
FUN FACT
In 1918, the city of Moscow was officially reinstated as the capital of Russia.
A ‘moment’ is a medieval time unit equal to 90 seconds.
Short film showdown
HIRING ACTORS: Actors played office employees working at the Merriam-Webster dictionary for the short.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF ETHAN STEIN
MOTION PICTURE PASSION: Ethan Stein ’15 was obsessed with movies and short films from a young age.
COINING A TERM: Quincent Smith, played by Mark Rapaport, is determined to get ‘kewt’ in the dictionary.
Ethan Stein ’15 produced a short film catching some big breaks By Jaime Kaiser JUSTICE editor
Film students dream of the day when one of their creations will be recognized by the art community and displayed on the big screen for the public to enjoy. For one student-producer, reaching this milestone is more than a farfetched goal: it’s a possibility that’s right around the corner. Ethan Stein ’15, a student in the Film, Television and Interactive media program and the producer of the short film “Wordsmith” is one of the 12 finalists of the second annual 2013 Boston Student Film Fest. The competition gives undergraduate and graduate films students the chance to win prizes and gain valuable critiques from industry professionals. In 2011 Mikey Gefland, Mark Rapaport and Rob Robbins, three college students who are Stein’s good friends from high school, formed the production company Rob Robbins Reels. They post humorous videos to their website on a biweekly basis. “I always encouraged them to pursue their talents.” Stein said. Stein spent a large portion of his summer in his native city of New York working on “WordSmith,” a short film which the company plans to release as part of a feature-length film in April. The feature film is about two friends whose rejected short movie leads to an “unthinkable series of events that culminates in the two characters getting arrested for robbing a convenience store,” Stein said. Stein is an American Studies major, with minors in Film and Computer Science. He never thought “WordSmith” would be successful as a short in its own right. “For our film we thought it would be a good idea to actually make the short film that doesn’t make it into any festivals. As the feature film production got postponed, we started spending more and more time on the short.” Although the short was a bust under the film premise, the BSFF, “appreciated our odd brand of humor and accepted it,” Stein said. “WordSmith” stars a character named Quincent Smith (Rapaport), a down-on-his-luck guy who is determined to leave his legacy with any hair-brained scheme he can come up with, his
latest attempt involving trying to get a word in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Even as a young kid, Stein had a passion for film. With all of New York City at his fingertips, he would often prefer to indulge in the world of movies. “I was the kind of kid you could mention the name of a movie to and I would know everything about it. I spent years of my life in front of the big screen and the small screen,” saiwd Stein. Most of the filming was done in a city apartment, as well as a park on the upper-east side of Manhattan. Coordinating the various actors and locations sometimes proved to be a challenging balancing act. “It was just new for us.” Stein said. “It was an actual film. We had to get spaces and permits. We hired professional actors and interviewed professional actors … It’s only a 13-minute film but the amount of time and sleep lost over this film was immense.” A large portion of the funds were raised through their “extremely successful” Kick-
starter campaign, a crowd-funding website that helps new start-up companies and projects raise money toward a certain monetary goal based on voluntary donations. After months of filming and planning, Stein explained how it felt to wrap up the project. “Seeing the first day of filming and the finished product was the light at the end of the tunnel,” Stein said. Now that the film is a Boston Finalist, Stein and his team will have the opportunity to win two prizes that will push them toward further recognition and fame. Between March 18 and March 30, all the contestant’s videos will be up on the festival website for viewers to visit and rate, and one video will receive the “Best of the Fest–Audience Pick.” Additionally, a panel of celebrity judges including film producer Kevin Tostado, film critic Tom Meek, NewEnglandFilm.com’s Michele Meek, Arlington International Film Festival Director Alberto Guzman, film critic and blog-
ger Garen Daley and Rhode Island International film director George Marshall will also be providing feedback and will declare the “Best of the Fest–Jury Pick.” The winners of these prizes will be screened at the Kendall Square Cinema in Cambridge on Thursday, April 11, with a celebratory reception to follow. They will also have the opportunity to enter their film in a film competition with shorts from across new England. Stein is currently making plans to screen both the short and the feature film at Brandeis, and is hoping to enter the film into more competitions. “People don’t realize how much time and effort that goes into slaving over the script and coming up with ideas and making corrections and say it in a way that other people besides you will get and think is funny,” Stein said. For Stein, film is a natural form of expression he is glad to have in his life. “I fell in love with the idea of inspiring and entertaining people with a 90 to 150 minute work of art and haven’t looked back since,” he said.
INTERNET COMEDY GOLD: Mark Rapaport and Mikey Gefland started a production company called Rob Robbin Reels in 2011, and make comedy skits for the web.
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PRESTIGIOUS PANELISTS: Mariko Chang, Srimati Basu and Thomas Shapiro came to speak at a panel about issues related to gender inequality and the wealth gap. JOSH SPIRO/the Justice
Working women and wealth
Speakers discussed gender and the widening the wealth gap By SOOJUNG Crystal wang JUSTICE contributing WRITER
Students, professors and other members of the Brandeis community gathered at the Faculty Club excitedly discussing social issues amongst themselves over dinner in anticipation of the guest speakers. Just as they finished their last bites of salmon and orzo salad and the waitresses came by to ask whether they would like some coffee, the room became quiet as the first speaker approached the podium. Three panelists spoke at the Faculty Club on Thursday, March 7 for an event sponsored by the Women and Gender Studies department, the 18th Tillie K. Lubin Symposium. The event was planned to correspond with National Women’s month, which celebrates women in history and raises awareness of women’s rights issues. The event was a dinner and symposium titled “Who Owns the World?: Gender, Wealth and Inequality.” This event was a panel discussion featuring experts Srimati Basu, Mariko Chang and Heller Prof. Thomas Shapiro. The panel was about the wealth gap between genders around the world and included specific data and facts about gender inequality. While the panel examined reasons for the gap, it also offered possible solutions to resolve this inequality. The first speaker, Mariko Chang, independent sociology consultant and author of the book Shortchanged, presented a powerpoint that helped establish a foundational understanding of wealth inequality for the audience. Chang claimed that we need to make a transition and “think beyond the wage gap” when thinking about wealth inequality. According to Chang, solving income inequality will not solve wealth inequality entirely. There are many reasons for income’s inability to bridge the wealth gap, according to Chang. The median wealth data made in 2010 showed that single women’s wealth, referring to never married and widowed women, is far lower than that of men. Women are less likely to have wealth because they are usually responsible for the custodial care of their families. Furthermore, most lack access to the “wealth escalator,” which refers to the fast translation of income into wealth. Since women lack access to the “wealth escalator,” in general, women are not guaranteed the same level of economic security as men are. For solutions, Chang urged that men should also take on more responsibility as caregivers. The second speaker, Thomas Shapiro, Pokross Professor of Law and Social Policy and director of the Institute on Assets and Social Policy at the Heller School, dis-
cussed why wealth and “toxic” inequality matter and explained how the wealth and poverty line are created. Shapiro explained that toxic inequality leads to “more people with diseases and an infrastructure that is crumbling.” “We talk about wealth not just as the data indicates poverty of disparity, but because wealth matters in our planning and calculations, and acting and moving our social mobility and human development of ourselves and within our community,” Shapiro said. Shapiro showed data on the racial wealth gap from 1984-2009 between Caucasian women and African American women. “High levels of inequality leads to inadequate schooling, housing, neighborhood conditions, and is destructive to well-being and our [American women’s] ability to compete globally,” he said. Shapiro further called attention to organizations that aim to close the racial wealth gap because by collaborating with experts of color, it will put more emphasis on “the sociocultural narratives in such an inequality of setting.” he said. The third speaker was Srimati Basu, professor of women’s and gender studies at the University of Kentucky. Basu examined global patterns of ownership, property and marriage. The main purpose of Basu’s presentation was to explain her research on property connected with marriage and women’s ownership. She showed data from the United Nations in 2010, numbers that demonstrate there is a gendered asset gap, especially in developing countries. Widowed or divorced women are more vulnerable. Furthermore, Basu explained that, “women not only earn less than men, but also tend to earn fewer assets, and have smaller salaries with less controlled household’s income ability to accumulate capital,” sending them below the poverty line along with their children. Basu also noted improvements made by non-governmental organizations, mobilizing communities and campaigns to pay attention to gendered ownership. Julia Dougherty ’15, a member of the audience, was fascinated with the panelist’s lectures because “highlighted the structures in our society that exist behind the national construction,” she said. Another attendee of the panel dinner, Hailey Magee ’15, was inspired by the event because it made her realize the interconnected issues of gender, race and wealth. “All the legal and cultural constructions keep women and other minorities from reaching a level that many white men have achieved…We have to stop oversimplifying the issue and really take a deeper look into how multifaceted the barriers to wealth equality are,” she said.
JOSH SPIRO/the Justice
WEALTH ESCALATOR: Mariko Chang, the first of three speakers, discussed challenges women face in amassing as much wealth as their male counterparts.
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Strategic Goals The second strategic goal intends to support the University’s research community by encouraging more interdisciplinary collaborations, examining ways to provide more assistance to faculty researchers and postdoctoral fellows and publicizing advancements made at Brandeis. The first objective outlined aims to have the University become a “world class” institution “in a greater number of select fields.” Although these fields remain unidentified in the draft, the process will involve exploring cooperations within and across departments at Brandeis, as well as with Boston-area scholars. In addition, the University plans to invest more in resources that support research, such as the library and the Office of Technology Licensing, and examine ways to better connect researchers to sources of funding. “This is the first strategic plan among the last four to include serious recommendations for the library,” wrote Prof. Robin Feuer Miller, the Edytha Macy Gross Professor of Humanities, in an email to the Justice. “Many of us in the humanities, social sciences and the creative arts, and even some in the sciences, rely on the library in countless ways, with, for many of us, books being at the top of the list.” The strategic draft also focuses on fostering the work of postdoctoral fellows, providing them with more opportunities to teach funded seminars or “special courses,” as well as offering financial support and advising. In the fourth objective, the draft looks at “enhanc[ing] public relations resources” and building the University’s “national reputation.” To achieve this goal, the draft aims to emphasize the school’s “identity as a research university” and the contributions each of its professional schools. For example, the draft suggests that the Heller School for Social Policy and Management could employ “dissemination strategies” such as producing policy briefs and webinars in order to strengthen its reputation “as a source of unbiased policy information.” The draft also calls for increased publicity for research done at Brandeis directed at a more general audience, not just for other members of academia. The last objective intends to foster collaboration between departments by creating a committee to examine the activity and goals of each department, “engaging” faculty with the “whole of the institution,” and giving more support to interdisciplinary programs such as Health, Science, Society and Policy. The overall goal is to improve Brandeis’ role as a research institution by providing more opportunities to engage in research and by publicizing its role as a major contributor to key fields. —Sara Dejene
ROBYN SPECTOR/Justice File Photo
LEADING VOICE: The plan is a project largely associated with the beginning of University President Frederick Lawrence’s time in office.
The purpose behind the third strategic goal is to retain and attract diverse, top-tier faculty and staff that will promote a higher level of learning and student growth. While the draft suggests that Brandeis is not currently investing in faculty as much as other institutions, it also characterizes Brandeis as a liberal arts university committed to research and learning, a quality that professionals recognize and appreciate. The draft stresses the need to attract newer faculty members, especially since currently, 40 percent of the faculty is 60 years or older. With a large number of expected retirements on the horizon, investing in maintenance of the “faculty pipeline” by strategically hiring in sub-disciplinary fields, as well as maintaining a large amount of researchactive faculty in educational programs that the University is known for, will help maintain national distinction in a variety of academic areas. Another major goal cited in the draft was to increase the numbers of faculty in underrepresented groups. This will mainly be achieved through “cluster hires,” groups of academics that span multiple subject areas, and in searching for faculty in the earlier stages of their careers. In order to attract a more diverse postdoctoral group, additional two-year postdoctoral fellowships will be created. The draft stresses that though hiring newer and diverse faculty is a major goal, the tenure system will remain an integral part of the University’s mission. Newly hired full-time “masters-teachers” and professors of the practice will serve to inform the curriculum with up-to-date fieldwork without undermining the teaching of tenure faculty. A third long-term goal for faculty excellence involves finding better ways of balancing the demands on professor’s teaching time and research time. In order to ensure faculty time is well-allocated, flexible teaching schedules and lighter teaching loads will be implemented. Additionally, the draft stressed the need for increasing recognition of faculty through awards and other obvious forms of expressed appreciation that will promote faculty satisfaction. This will involve expanding the amount and availability of research funds and supporting nomination of faculty for official national and inter-campus awards, as well as keeping employee compensation and other benefits competitive. The draft outlines three main methods of sustaining staff excellence: Developing methods of improving the staff hiring process, maintaining retention through rewards and recognition and offering developmental opportunities for staff. The staff hiring process will be improved through examining fluency in technology due to the University’s increased interest in using technologies that improve efficiency, as well as through conducting exit interviews that give the University a better sense of how to improve staff retention. Through the use of both informal and formal rewards, the University hopes staff will be better recognized for their work. Improved developmental opportunities for staff will come in the form of increased communication between various staff support systems such as Library and Technology Services and human resources, as well as opportunities for career development by way of computer skills training and management and leadership training. —Jaime Kaiser
OLIVE POBIEL/the Justice
LONG DISCUSSION: The plan has been developed through several cycles of writing and feedback.
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STRATEGIC: Univ releases detailed draft of plan
1 2 3 The first strategic goal, which is intended to augment “Focus on Transformative Learning Experiences and Educational Foundations,” includes a number of proposals that would challenge and engage students. As the description of the first strategic goal states, “Brandeis students will have an intense educational experience that matches their passion for learning and engagement. This education will be flexible and individualized to enable students to realize their personal and professional aspirations, address complex problems, and act with moral courage in the service of social justice.” The strategic draft lists proposals to increase the number of Justice Brandeis Seminars; First-Year Seminars and seminars for advanced students; internship opportunities and the development of “signature courses,” large classes that would include faculty from Creative Arts, Humanities, Science and Social Science to “engage students in considering ideas and problems organized around broad core topics or problems.” “Opportunities like JBS allow students to take what they are learning in the classroom and apply it to the real-world, which helps them to … explore what working in a particular field might actually be like so they can make informed decisions about their academic and career paths,” wrote Program Manager of Brandeis-Led Study Programs Amber Thacher in an email to the Justice. “This type of learning and engagement enriches a student’s academic career and truly embodies the mission of Brandeis. Expanding these opportunities will enhance the overall Brandeis curriculum and will allow more students and faculty to participate in this type of important learning and teaching,” she continued. The draft also includes a proposition to expand opportunities for combined bachelor’s and master’s degrees. New combinations such as a bachelor’s degree in Health: Science, Society and Policy with a Master of Public Policy or a Master of Science in Medical and Health Informatics, as well as a Fine Arts Bachelor of Arts with a Master of Arts in Art and Museum Studies are proposed. In addition, the draft mentions strengthening graduate education in general. The proposal also includes plans to initiate an Office of Educational Innovation that “will offer instructional design, workshops on online pedagogy, and consulting for faculty, graduate students, and post-docs ... [and] facilitate and offer incentives for designing new courses and experimenting with innovative pedagogies on the classroom, in the field, and online.” The goal is to use technology to its greatest potential for educational use and research. —Marissa Ditkowsky
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JOSHUA LINTON/Justice File Photo
PROVOST PRESENCE: Provost Steve Goldstein ’78 speaks emphatically at a feedback session last year.
really mean it that we’re going to be led by the Heller School for Social Policy and Management and [International Business School] and the sciences and everybody else is subservient or tied to that, or do we have a larger vision?” Conrad said. Some faculty present at the meeting, including Chair of the Faculty Senate Prof. Eric Chasalow (MUS) seemed to agree that the document didn’t necessarily capture the social sciences. “I agree with what you’re saying here. In fact, it occurred to me also, meaning the part about the sciences, that we think of all the work we do here as changing the world and that that document doesn’t really capture that,” said Chasalow. Prof. Len Saxe (Heller) said, “The first transformation of fundamental scientific discovery, if I’m remembering correctly, could be transformative, but why limit it to—I’ll call it—the hard sciences, the biological sciences; how about the social sciences? The social sciences are more at Brandeis than global integration. Rebuilding the physical space of the social science quad is only part of the social science story at Brandeis.” Saxe added that the draft lacks coherence. “The way in which it forms the mosaic that we are and what we want to be didn’t come through to me, and I think the next step in the process is ‘how do we develop the coherence of the story?’” In an email to the Justice following the meeting, Lawrence said the University’s dedication to liberal arts and social sciences is sometimes taken as a given. “As we move forward toward the final stages of the planning process, it is important that these commitments do not go without saying; we should explicitly
state our commitment to the humanities and social sciences, which with the creative arts are the core of a liberal arts education,” wrote Lawrence. Alumni, and their potential to function as a base of fiscal support, also play a part in the draft. “Our alumni are essential to the future of Brandeis. We must look to them not only for reliable and robust financial support. We must also draw upon them as a vital resource for recruiting students, for providing entrée to internships and employment, for making connections between Brandeis and the worlds of business, government, and the professions – in short, for extending the reach of Brandeis, nationally and internationally,” states the draft. Another goal is to “strengthen graduate education at Brandeis” – a theme prevalent throughout the plan, with proposals in later pages to strengthen the postdoctoral programs, build an additional complex for the IBS, and continue sustenance and repositioning of the Heller School. The draft also wants to make Brandeis a firstchoice destination for students. Among the actions that would affect the admissions process is an effort to decrease the acceptance rate. “Gradually decrease admission rate while steadily increasing yield (number of students accepting offers of admission), raising students’ academic qualifications and expanding student diversity,” for example, is an action item. Student Union President Todd Kirkland ’13, who is on the Strategic Planning Steering Committee, said he thinks the draft is “very well done.” “In terms of student participation, I believe student input has been an essential component of this process from the start,” wrote Kirkland in an email to the Justice. “Although no students wrote the document, it is evident to me that administration under-
stands and plans to help relieve many issues facing the student body.” Executive Senator Ricky Rosen ’14 wrote in an email to the Justice, “I think that the Strategic Plan succeeds in outlining Brandeis’ transformation over the next decade into a world-class academic institution.” Provost Steve Goldstein ’78 said in an interview with the Justice following the faculty meeting that he welcomed the feedback. “I think the feedback is exciting. … I love the way they process, I love the way they analyze it because they’re such broad thinkers,” he said. This week, the administration planned three discussion sessions open to the entire community. One took place yesterday and the next two will be tomorrow from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the Rapaporte Treasure Hall and Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in Levin Ballroom. The planning process began in fall 2011, when Lawrence appointed Goldstein to head the Strategic Planning Steering Committee. The initial timetable was to have a plan framework announced by the end of the 2011-2012 academic year and a final draft of the plan distributed by December 2012, according to Lawrence at an October 2011 faculty meeting. The process was then delayed several times to allow more time for discussions to take place. Now, the draft of the plan will be discussed at the March Board of Trustees meeting and approved as a final version at the May Board meeting. Brandeis has retained Elaine C. Kuttner of Cambridge Concord Associates, a consulting firm, to help with the strategic plan. —Tate Herbert contributed reporting
Strategic Plan
4 5 6 Strategic goal four of the strategic draft, titled “Building the Engaged Lifelong Community,” focuses on strengthening the community of both current students and alumni. According to Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff David Bunis ’83, a member of the Alumni and Community Building task force, “We are extremely focused on current students and instilling a sense of Brandeis spirit and pride.” One of the goals is to extend this to alumni as well. “President Lawrence says it best: ‘You are a student for four years. You are an alum for the rest of your life,’” wrote Bunis in an email to the Justice. This goal also includes increased sustainability and healthy living, as well as disability services, increasing diversity in the student body and strengthening Brandeis’ roots in the American Jewish community. “The [U]niversity has outstanding programs in Judaic studies and in Tikkun Olam [a Jewish concept that means “repairing the world”]. For alumni who are interested in these topics, Brandeis is the place to provide lifelong learning and involvement with a group of like-minded peers,” Bunis said. Alumni will be involved in programs on campus, in addition to helping Brandeis financially. This includes “helping advocate for Brandeis with prospective students, providing input and leadership for alumni programs, returning to campus for special programs and events, and by providing financial support and opening doors for Brandeis with others who might be interested in supporting Brandeis students, faculty or programs through philanthropy,” Bunis said. The exact ways these goals will be accomplished are not explicitly stated in the draft, which according to Bunis is because “alumni, student and campus community will be involved in the implementation.” Although the alumni and students will have a say in how the community building will occur, some programs are already underway. One such program is a program for alumni who are lawyers, which “takes a group of lawyer alums to be sworn in together as members of the bar of the United States Supreme Court,” Bunis said. Existing programs will be improved upon as new ones are created. “The strategic plan seeks to build on the strengths of these programs and expand them, with the input of key audiences, to serve these constituencies in new, innovative ways,” Bunis said.
The fifth strategic goal within the draft of the strategic draft is for “Brandeis to ensure its financial strength into the future through stewardship that supports the University’s academic mission in a sustainable manner.” According to the draft, Brandeis must be “vigilant … in committing resources” due to the University’s comparatively modest endowment and young age. “We are stewards of this university, inheriting an institution built by our predecessors and bequeathing it to those who will come after us,” the draft states. “The prudent handling of our resources—our finances and our facilities—is an obligation as well as a necessity,” it continues. Within this goal, the more specific objectives are to “support the academic mission,” “promote a culture of academic entrepreneurship” and maintain “campus spaces and facilities that enable and inspire.” This goal states that the University plans to integrate financial planning with consideration of academic and structural factors. The draft says that “budgets should reflect the University’s long-range priorities” and that “in assessing new and existing programs, financial criteria must be considered.” One of the action items under this fifth strategic goal is to increase transparency “so that everyone knows the rules and can access the information they need” by raising accountability, equity and predictability. Another related goal is to “generate clear and explicit reporting documents for senior leadership and trustees.” Additionally, this fifth strategic goal emphasizes an increased investment in the physical infrastructure of campus including facilities, buildings and outdoor spaces. This investment will take the shape of approximately $10 million per year (four times the $2.5 million that is currently spent on renovating and renewing buildings) according to the draft, and will “remove barriers to student, faculty, and staff satisfaction” by, among other things, “making our topographically inspiring, but challenging campus as accessible as possible for all.” “In light of the goals and priorities emerging from this strategic plan,” the draft said, “we must develop an updated campus master plan.”
In order to effectively improve the quality of research, education and innovation at the University, the sixth and final strategic goal outlines a new system of gathering and evaluating initiatives submitted to Provost Steve Goldstein ’78 by faculty members. The process, described in the strategic draft, begins with the provost, who will establish a set of criteria that will be used to review proposals. Criteria used for evaluation will include the impact the initiative will have on the University, how the initiative will “tap into existing faculty, programs, scholarships, and student interest,” the initiative’s innovation, how it will enrich the curriculum and if it will bring together multiple departments or produce collaborations with external groups and institutions. Twice a year, faculty will have the opportunity to submit proposals. The proposals will require a number of components, including a “summary of the idea,” the motivation behind the initiative, a specific plan and timetable, criteria to determine the success or failure of the project and financial information such as cost, revenue and a budget. The provost, along with a subcommittee of the University Advisory Committee, will examine the submitted initiatives and select a few to fund or evaluate further. The proposals may call for the “creation of interdisciplinary programs, departments, centers, institutes or schools,” according to the draft. Appendix B of the draft lists several previously submitted proposals that have not been evaluated as examples of potential initiatives. The initiatives include the creation of a school of informatics, an engineering program, an Entrepreneurship Center and many other projects. The provost plans to make an official call for proposals before any initiatives are examined. The draft states that the purpose of the proposal process is to “identify and promote promising areas of growth for the [U]niversity.” “Brandeis must develop a process for identifying initiatives that bring together different parts of the [U]niversity in ways that build areas of strength greater than their parts,” states the draft. “Brandeis is ideally suited to such a project because of its size and structure, as well as its unique ability to sustain both a liberal arts education and professional schools,” the draft continues.
—Ilana Kruger
—Sam Mintz
—Sara Dejene
PHOTO BY OLIVIA POBIEL/the Justice and DESIGN BY RACHEL BURKHOFF/the Justice
10 TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2013 ● THE JUSTICE
Justice Justice
the the
Established 1949, Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Established 1949
Andrew Wingens, Editor in Chief Marielle Temkin, Managing Editor Jeffrey Boxer, Tate Herbert and Robyn Spector, Deputy Editors Celine Hacobian, Joshua Linton, Nan Pang, Adam Rabinowitz, Yosef Schaffel and Tali Smookler, Associate Editors Sam Mintz, News Editor Jaime Kaiser, Acting Features Editor Glen Chagi Chesir, Forum Editor Henry Loughlin, Sports Editor Jessie Miller, Arts Editor Josh Horowitz and Olivia Pobiel, Acting Photography Editors Rachel Burkhoff, Layout Editor Sara Dejene, Online Editor Maya Riser-Kositsky, Copy Editor
Club proposal concerns A common complaint among both student club leaders and the Student Union is the inefficient use of Finance Board-allocated funds by clubs. This past Sunday, the executive board of the union, with the help of some senators and administrators, proposed a plan that they feel would reduce inefficient spending, decrease the amount of allocated money and foster collaboration between clubs. The plan proposes grouping all clubs into one of 12 association groups. Each association would have a board comprised of seven elected students, as well as a faculty advisor who would assist the cluster. Instead of clubs pitching their budgets directly to F-Board, as is current procedure, bids for money would be made to the council. If the council approves of the financial request, then it would pitch it to the F-Board, which would still officially allocate all funds. This board is excited to see the Student Union realize one of its major flaws, the waste of allocated money by clubs, and attempt to rectify it. However, although the potential of the proposed plan is clear, we have reservations about the plan as it currently stands. First and foremost, it is unclear as to how this plan actually remedies the current situation. Clubs can still ask for the same allocations as they did previously. If the council deems these requests illegitimate, the club, according to the plan, can still go directly to the F-Board and request the funds they seek. In theory, all that is being accomplished is adding an extra layer of decision-making and approval seeking. Moreover, this board is concerned with the potential issue of clubs being pitted against one another. Each member of the association board of seven is coming from his or her own club with his or her club’s
Address questions pre-vote
agenda at heart. If one club is granted something, say a trip to another state to compete in their respective field, then every other club now has that as a “bargaining chip” of sorts. To avoid this, the proposed plan calls for any member of the cluster to remove himself when a decision about his or her club is being discussed. However, if the representative for a certain club is not present when that club is being discussed then who is really representing the club in the discussions? Additionally, we are concerned as to how clubs would be grouped together. The Brandeis community is proud to have an exceptionally wide array of clubs, with more than 270 in total. Grouping them within 12 categories is simply not feasible. Consider clubs that have broad scopes such as TAMID: Israel Investment Group. It would be difficult to decide to which association this club would belong. It could also be challenging for the club to explain to its council its other needs. This board also has some reservations with the faculty advisor section of the proposal. The advisor position is a significant undertaking and time commitment. Will there be interested staff and faculty for each association, and will they receive the pay increase that should accompany such an undertaking? If more money is being spent, it could potentially offset the money saved. Moreover, the advisor must not threaten the independence of the clubs. The Union must be sure that all of these integral questions are answered and delineated within the writing of plan before it is put up to vote. Only once all of these reservations are addressed can we truly support it.
TZIPORAH THOMPSON/the Justice
Views the News on
In his recent State of the Union address, President Obama cited the up-and-coming project of mapping the human brain as an example of how the government should “invest in the best ideas.” The President compared it to the mapping of the human genome project, which returned $140 for every one dollar invested. What do you think about the potential of mapping the brain?
Prof. Paul Miller (BIO) As a computational neuroscientist, I would love to explore a human brain map—or connectome as it is dubbed—but I have to wonder if this is the best use of resources. Our brains have about 80 million neurons with a trillion connections so uncovering a human connectome is an immense undertaking. Yet, we know that for the simplest possible networks of two or three neurons, the connectivity is both insufficient to explain or predict function and different connectomes can produce the same function. Moreover, the brain is the centerpiece of a dynamic feedback loop between our sensations and actions, which alter our environment to produce new sensations. Each of our connectomes is not only uniquely established by our genetic makeup but also by our individual lifetime of experience. One snapshot of the connectome, without knowledge of the experiences which produced it, is insufficient to disentangle causes from consequences of any medical condition—the highly altered connectome of a blind person is beneficial, heightening acuity in other senses, and far removed from any cause of the blindness. Perhaps, moving beyond direct tangible benefits, could revealing a human connectome, like landing on the moon, inspire a new generation of scientists? My worry is that if the hype is greater than the payoff it could as easily deter some from an exciting and fruitful field of study. Paul Miller is an Assistant Professor of Biology with an expertise in computational Nueroscience.
Denny Poliferno ’13 Creating a working map of the brain would be a very useful endeavor. Billions of dollars are spent on care for patients with neurological diseases, and the number of people who will develop the “elderly” neurological diseases (Alzheimer’s, etc) is projected to grow as the average lifespan increases. If scientists can determine what neurons or pathways are involved in these diseases, then effective drug or behavioral treatments could be produced and the cost of care would decrease. In addition, people who have lost limbs could get bionic limbs attached that are hooked up to and controlled by the brain, increasing their quality of life and their ability to be independent. The possibility of mapping the brain is a complex process that could take years or even decades to achieve, but then again, mapping the human genome used to be a similarly futile idea.
Liberal arts missing The draft of the strategic plan released this past week details the administration’s vision for Brandeis for the next decade. The draft contains encouraging mentions of infrastructure renovations and increased attention paid to the sciences, the International Business School and the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. Yet the plan lacks significant detail about the liberal arts. Moreover, the plan shows virtually no concern for the cost of attendance for students. This board appreciates the practicality of prioritizing some areas over others with the handicap of scarce funds. However, that does not mean the University should completely neglect certain areas in order to improve others. The floor of the University should not be lowered; the ceiling should be raised. We believe that in order for the University as a whole to be seen as a world-class institution, the liberal arts departments must continuously be improved and further developed. The plan states, “The founders of Brandeis conceived a distinctive model: a small university, bringing together the virtues of a liberal arts college and a research institution.” However, the draft focuses on the specific improvements for the science and research aspects of Brandeis rather than the humanities and social sciences. If the liberal arts are not constantly evaluated and improved, we worry they may fall behind the standard that we have come to expect. In an email to the Justice, University
Devoid of Liberal Arts President Frederick Lawrence addressed the concerns regarding the future of the liberal arts at Brandeis. He stressed that the University’s dedication to the liberal arts goes without saying. He added, though, that the lack of humanities within the plan would be addressed. Another point of concern stems from the affordability of the University for students. The University has raised tuition each of the past two years by at least four percent, despite the University already being the second most expensive school in Massachusetts before this year. Although the strategic plan mentions the need to offer “sufficient financial aid to enable admitted students to attend,” it does not directly address the increasingly expensive cost of attendance. The cost of attendance must be considered when the University allocates money to all of the various projects that the plan calls for. Affordability is a key aspect in attracting students and the escalated price is something that the University must stabilize to remain a top-tier University. The strategic plan is labeled on the cover as a “work in progress.” With an addition relaying the University’s continued dedication to the liberal arts, as well as a course of action in response to the lack of affordability for students, this “work-inprogress” plan can become a plan the entire Brandeis community can be proud of.
Denny Poliferno ’13 is a Neuroscience major and a staff member of the Justice.
Bridgette Tran ’14 If the government chooses to invest in this project, this research could potentially change the field of neuroscience and psychology by exploring the functions and structure of specific areas in the brain. This project could then prompt private investors to invest in research facilities that explore the biological causes of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and more. However, though mapping the brain could provide clues about human behavior and neurodegenerative diseases, there are many limitations to studying the brain. Even with a map of the specific areas of the brain, we must account for the fact that human behavior and disease is complex and is a result of the interaction between multiple areas of the brain. It’s plausible that this project will only provide neuroscientists and psychologists with a stepping stone in which they must build upon. Bridgette Tran ’14 is a Undergraduate Departmental Representative for the Psychology department.
Justin Lesser ’14 I am both skeptical and extremely excited about the prospect of a project to map the human brain. On one hand, creating a brain map would potentially be extremely important in understanding the causes behind many disorders, and the push to fund a product gives me great hope about the future of the field. However, the brain is much more complicated than that; almost the entire brain is involved somehow in everything we do. I have some doubts whether such a feat can actually be done. Regardless, it is refreshing to know that the future is bright for the field I am involved in. Justin Lesser ’14 is a Neuroscience major and a member of Brandeis Mens ultimate.
THE JUSTICE
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STRATEGIC PLAN ASSESSMENT
Spirit of Brandeis must remain strong By PROF. SABINE VON MERING SPECIAL TO THE JUSTICE
Fire and ice—that’s what the words brand and eis mean in German. That’s why to me Brandeis is the most exciting place to be—a place of radically high aspirations that embraces difference and transformation. We don’t shy away from tackling questions others may deem too big, or too small, or too controversial. Brandeis students are made of that same stuff—they thrive in an environment that allows them to seek “the truth even unto its innermost parts” without giving a hoot about whether it is considered appropriate or fashionable by the rest of the world. Brandeis is different from other universities in that everyone in this community shares in these aspirations. We’re not naïve. We truly believe that we can make a big difference. And our students go out into the world and do just that. If we know so well who we are and what we want to accomplish, why do we need a strategic plan? This plan is a pragmatic document for the president. It aims to streamline fundraising efforts and direct attention to areas that need expansion. It is not a “rallying cry” or a call to action on our part. It does not say “we’ve gone astray and need to refocus our attention.” It does not try to reinvent us. We know who we are, and we know we’re good at what we do. The strategic plan just presents our portrait to those who don’t know us yet so they, too, will fall in love with us and be inspired to join our community. The plan is more like Brandeis’ Match.com profile. Which is why we need to get our profile right and not try to ‘retouch’ it beyond recognition or avoid saying things about our-
selves that people may not like. There are a few places where the current profile could still be improved. As it is currently written, the plan does not do justice to the very foundation of our academy—the liberal arts. The humanities and the social sciences are the bedrock on which a liberal arts education thrives. Our largest school may be called the College of Arts and Sciences, but its foundation is not only in arts and sciences, but also in the classical and modern languages, philosophy, history and literature. And it is in the social sciences (from economics to psychology) where most students choose their major. The plan also proudly tells the story of how the Jewish community’s gift to U.S. higher education has become this gem among the top research universities in the country, and how Albert Einstein dared us to achieve the name Brandeis. But that includes embracing our history, not just our future. Brandeis, after all, was not only a Supreme Court Justice, but also a Zionist. The controversies that come with this are part of what makes Brandeis unique. If we want others to recognize us in this document, we have to own it. We can check ‘nonsectarian’ and still acknowledge our Jewish family background. Overall, students should be very happy with this plan. It puts their experience first, not faculty research ambitions or lofty goals for a fancier campus. Many objectives outlined in the plan will lead to more smallclass experiences for all students, to even closer contact with faculty from first-year seminars to capstones for seniors. Students will have more flexibility to complete their degrees and more options to pursue their multi-dimensional interests.When our alumni talk about Brandeis they don’t
typically talk about their major. What they often remember most about Brandeis is a class they dared take that lay far outside their chosen path, a class that challenged them to think differently. If funded, many initiatives in this plan will make more such experiences possible.
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We have expertise in all schools to tackle the many open questions that are crying for answers, from chemistry, to economics, to sustainable development... The plan’s most important goal is its embrace of diversity, especially of diversifying the faculty. This is an ambition truly worthy of Brandeis, and one that’s long overdue. Just last Thursday Prof. Tom Shapiro from the Heller School for Social policy and Management’s Institute of Assets and Social Policy spoke at the Women’s and Gender Studies’ annual Lubin Symposium about the devastatingly increasing wealth gap between whites and minorities in the United States. By embracing and expanding the work of the Posse Foundation, and by training and promoting new leaders with diverse backgrounds, Brandeis shows its commitment to walking the talk. All our students
stand to benefit from this initiative. My personal favorite, an emphasis on sustainability, still needs elaboration in the plan. It’s not just a “domestic” issue about health and student retention, but one that aims to tackle the fires and loss of ice our whole world is facing. Our very name urges us to become leaders in the fight against climate change. We have expertise in all schools to tackle the many open questions that are crying for answers, from chemistry, to economics, to sustainable development, to philosophy. Here is a perfect opportunity to align our commitment to cutting-edge science and research across the disciplines with our mission to protect and heal our world, tikkun olam. All our prospective students know that their future depends on the knowledge we produce in this area. We owe this commitment to them. Ultimately, the best part of this strategic planning exercise will not be the document that forms its conclusion. It’s the very Brandeisian process that’s getting us there. The many meetings, discussions and drafts meant many in our community had to learn more about the University as a whole and grapple with each other’s different opinions. Everyone who participated understands Brandeis a little bit better as a result. Which is why this plan will ultimately strengthen us as a community, no matter how many well-heeled new lovers it attracts. We will continue to be hot and cool… (and that’s not just meant as a pun on the HVAC system in Shiffman…) Professor von Mering is an associate professor of German and the Director of the Center for German and European Studies. She also served as the chair of the faculty senate in 2009-2010.
Strategic plan becomes clear with fiscal lens Glen
CHESIR CHAGI’S CHOP
“What can—and should—Brandeis University be? What will this institution look like a decade from now, when we celebrate our 75th anniversary?” These are the questions that the recently released “work in progress” draft of the strategic plan starts with. The answer that the plan produces, however, is not a forecast of the coming years, but rather how we can follow the path that has already been laid out for us by the very founders of the University. In order to fully appreciate the strategic plan for what it accomplishes—and it accomplishes plenty—we must first define the goals of the strategic plan. In his email to the Brandeis community upon the release of the original framework, the first step of the strategic planning process, Provost Steve Goldstein ’78 stated “The framework seeks to ensure that Brandeis University remains a clear first choice for exceptional students, faculty, and staff committed to making a difference in the world.” The focus of the entire strategic planning process is to further the model of the University that makes Brandeis so attractive. The goal is to “remain a clear first choice,” not become one. Therefore, excessive and costly maneuvers such as creating a Brandeis law or medical school were never in the cards. The mission of Brandeis was never vocational; rather the mission was always to facilitate students and professors to positively influence the world, something commonly
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referred to in both Jewish liturgy and the strategic plan as “Tikkun Olam.” So how does Brandeis fulfill that mission? Or, a better question to ask is, why does Brandeis need a strategic plan to accomplish that mission? Why can’t we simply continue on the course that we have been navigating since 1948? What changed that forced the administration to re-evaluate everything from the physical aesthetics of buildings to decreasing the admission rate of students? Only once we answer these fundamental questions can we then in fact see what exactly the strategic plan achieves.
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The fact remains that Brandeis needs new donors. We need funds to allow Brandeis to remain a top-tier research University with a focus in the liberal arts. The answer lies in an interview conducted by New York Magazine with now infamous ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff, published on Feb. 27, 2011. Madoff states the following about his “friend” Carl Shapiro: “Let’s put it this way: Shapiro probably built more hospitals in Boston and put more buildings in Brandeis University than you can imagine” with money Madoff says he earned. According to both Business Insider and the Boston Globe, the Carl and Ruth Shapiro family foundation lost 145 million dollars in
Fine Print
The opinions stated in the editorial(s) under the masthead on the opposing page represent the opinion of a majority of the voting members of the editorial board; all other articles, columns, comics and advertisements do not necessarily. For the Brandeis Talks Back feature on the last page of the newspaper, staff interview four randomly selected students each week and print only those four answers. The Justice is the independent student newspaper of Brandeis University. Operated, written, produced and published entirely by students, the Justice includes news, features, arts, opinion and sports articles of interest to approximately 3,500 undergraduates, 800 graduate students, 500 faculty and 1,000 administrative staff. In addition, the Justice is mailed weekly to paid subscribers and distributed throughout Waltham, Mass. The Justice is published every Tuesday of the academic year with the exception of examination and vacation periods. Advertising deadlines: All insertion orders and advertising copy must be received by the Justice no later than 5 p.m. on the Thursday preceding the date of publication. All advertising copy is subject to approval of the editor in chief and the managing and advertising editors. A publication schedule and rate card is available upon request. Subscription rate: $35 per semester, $55 per year.
the ponzi scheme. Who knows how much money Brandeis’ largest and most famous donor lost from his own wallet. The financial hit to both the Shapiros and many other donors to the school left the University in a financial pickle with then President Jehuda Reinharz stating in an email to the Brandeis community in 2009, “Brandeis is feeling the effects of the global financial downturn. The value of our endowment has fallen, the forecast for fundraising is unclear, and student financial-aid needs have grown.” He goes on to say “the Brandeis endowment is down about 25 percent from its peak of more than $700 million.” Obviously, all of these quotes and numbers are from 2009, the heart of the economic recession. However, according to a recent article published by the Justice, the endowment is currently around 700 million. Only now are we financially back to where we were pre- Madoff, pre- 2009, pre- changeover in the presidency of the University. The fact remains that Brandeis needs new donors. We need funds to allow Brandeis to “remain” a top-tier research University with a focus in the liberal arts. And that is precisely what the goal of the strategic plan is, a pitch to donors. The institution of Brandeis needed to quantify in writing for what the potential donor’s funds would be used. The University needed to give potential donors a reason to sign on the bottom line. With that lens, the entire strategic plan becomes clear. Why were so many pages devoted to recounting the history of Brandeis? Simple: we must sell the mission statement of Brandeis to the greater world. The morals, ethics and social justice agendas of the University are precisely what are ingrained in this campus and that is what we so desperately want to continue to accomplish in the future. Social justice and impacting the
The Staff
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world are precisely why Brandeis must continue to be a flourishing University. These are goals that potential donors can get behind. However there still must be content; something concrete that donors know their money is going toward. Why were some of the few things quantified in budget amounts the continued remodeling and extending of buildings including the Heller School and the International Business School? Simple. Those are dollar amounts that can easily be pitched. We, Brandeis University, need money to accomplish this and that (whatever this and that may be). Quantifiable objects are a much easier sell, with a higher success rate, than simply asking for blank checks. Look at professor’s salaries. The strategic plan states: “Brandeis must also compete for faculty—and this will become increasingly important as a large proportion of our faculty approaches and reaches traditional retirement age.” A professor or student might wonder why this seemingly obvious point needs to be included in the plan. To a donor, hiring new faculty to replace those retiring is a concrete aspect of university operations that requires funds. In layman’s terms, “we need your money to hire top tier faculty.” Is the plan perfect? Far from it. Why virtually no mention of the social sciences or humanities, including pillar departments like Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, exists is beyond me. The social sciences are just as integral to Brandeis as is the call for social justice, and hopefully those are concerns that will be raised and addressed in the feedback sessions. However, the success of the strategic plan will always be dependent on the strength of the endowment and the increase in donations in the years to come. As the saying goes, “money talks.”
Editorial Assistants Arts: Rachel Hughes News: Marissa Ditkowsky, Ilana Kruger Layout: Rebecca Lantner Ads: Schuyler Brass Copy: Brittany Joyce Staff Senior Writers: Josh Asen, Allyson Cartter, Jacob Moskowitz Senior Photographer: Jon Edelstein, Alex Margolis, Jane Zitomer News: Shani Abramowitz, Ariel Glickman, Danielle Gross, Luke Hayslip, Raquel Kallas, Suzanne Schatz Features: Alexa Ball, Selene Campion, Rachel Miller Forum: Michael Abrams, Jennie Bromberg, Aaron Fried, Noah M. Horwitz, Liz Posner, Leah Smith, Avi Snyder, Naomi Volk Sports: Ben Freudman, Avi Gold, Jonah Price
Arts: Aliza Vigderman, Aaron Berke, Erica Cooperberg, Alex DeSilva, Aliza Gans, Arielle Gordon, Eli Kaminsky, Olivia Leiter, Zachary Marlin, Adelina Simpson, Emily Wishingrad Photography: Wendy Choi, Wit Gan, Annie Kim, Abby Knecht, Bri Mussman, Josh Spiro, Karina Wagenpfeil, Xiaoyu Yang Copy: Aliza Braverman, Jennie Bromberg, Hilary Cheney, Patricia Greene, Andrew Hayes, Max Holzman, Brittany Joyce, Eunice Ko, Kinza Kukhari, Megan Paris, Christine Phan, Mailinh Phan-Nguyen, Leah Rogers, Amanda Winn Layout: Elana Horowitz, Jassen Lu, Denny Poliferno Illustrations: Hannah Kober, Mara Sassoon, Arielle Shorr, Tziporah Thompson
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THE JUSTICE
FORUM
Two-state solution is vital to both sides of conflict By DANIEL KOAS JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
I was born in Israel to an Israeli father and an American-born mother who moved there after college. When I was five years old, my family and I left Israel. While I admit that most of what I recall from my years in Israel deals with the monkey bars at the local playground rather than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there are nonetheless a few distinct memories that have stuck with me. I remember the sealed “safe room” in our apartment that we would have to enter if a bomb siren sounded. I remember the heated political discussions that broke out whenever family came over. I remember singing songs about peace at my kindergarten graduation. Sadly, in the nearly fifteen years that have passed since I left Israel, not much has changed in regards to the conflict. The cycle of violence is ongoing, there is no lasting peace, and both sides are as frustrated as ever. Too many people, both in Israel and in the United States, seem to have accepted the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a fact of life. The truth of the matter is that now is the time for both sides to sit down, compromise and work towards a two-state solution before it is too late. The idea of having two states for two peoples is older than the State of Israel itself. The Peel Commission of 1937 and the United Nations Partition Plan of 1947 both came to the conclusion that the land in question be divided between Jews and Arabs. In the decades since then, every legitimate peace talk has operated on that principle as well. It is clear that this is the only solution that maintains Israel’s Jewish and democratic nature; any of the so-called one-state solutions are just ploys to either eradicate the Jewish state or even prevent the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination. For as long as this two-state solution remains a viable option, it should continue to be pursued as the only reasonable solution. While the fulfillment of this vision—that of a strong Israel living side-byside with a thriving, independent Palestinian state—has eluded the region for decades, both sides must continue to have faith in its future success. With that in mind, the first step in the peace process must be direct conversation and negotiation. This has happened at many points in the past, most recently in September 2010 when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met in Washington, D.C., and is the only way valid way to work towards true peace. Although peace talks have been stalled since the recent escalation in the Gaza Strip, and the leaders are refusing to budge, the vast majority of people on both sides want peace. In fact, according to a 2010 poll by Fafo, a Norwegian-based international research foundation, 73 percent of Palestinians in both the West Bank and Gaza were in favor of peace negotiations with Israel, but stressed that a settlement freeze should be a precondition to talks. Likewise, two 2012 Israeli polls revealed that over two thirds of Israeli Jews support a
HANNAH KOBER/the Justice
peace agreement establishing a demilitarized Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, Israel’s retention of major settlement blocs, and a division of Jerusalem. There is no lack of ideas regarding solutions to different parts of this conflict, but there is a noticeable lack of leadership. Whether this is for political reasons or their own personal beliefs, these leaders must be willing to come to the negotiating table without any preconditions. This has been done in the past including at the Oslo Accords of the mid-1990s and the Camp David Summit in 2000, and it is clear that meeting face to face leads to a greater understanding of the other side’s position and allows leaders to work together. I sincerely hope that when President Obama visits the region later this month, he can serve as an impetus to reignite peace talks. The president has expressed his firm support for the two-state solution, and if he chooses to use his influence wisely, he could have an incredible impact on bringing the Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table. United States involvement has been
critical in almost every negotiation in Israel’s history, and now that the president does not need to focus on his re-election campaign, he can dedicate more time and energy to this cause. The president, like so many others, recognizes that the demographics on the ground are changing. As he said to thousands of proIsrael Americans at the 2011 American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Conference, “We can’t afford to wait another decade, or another two decades, or another three decades to achieve peace … the world is moving too fast.” While I am not so naïve as to believe that negotiations will resume the moment President Obama lands in Israel, or even that his visit will manage to have any depolarizing effect, I hope that President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry dedicate serious time and commitment to work towards peace. After all, only once negotiations begin, a rapport is built between the parties, and a general outline concerning the borders of both states is agreed upon, can they go on to discuss more
complex issues such as the West Bank settlements, security arrangements and the future status of Jerusalem. The road to a two-state solution is not simple. It will take years of dedication, building upon the decades of work and thought already invested in it. Even if a solution is reached, the transition can be tedious, agreements can be broken, and Israel’s security can be threatened. Each side must understand that neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians are going to receive precisely what they want; that is the nature of compromise, but the beauty of it is that by working together, these two nations can build a brighter future for themselves and each other. When I moved away from Israel there was no peace. Now, there is still no peace. But I hope and pray that when my children visit Israel, and hopefully a peaceful, cooperative Palestine, they will be visiting countries of prosperity, security and peace. Daniel Koas is an executive board member of the Brandeis Israel Public Affairs committee.
Euphemisms are causing the English language to erode Noah M.
HORWITZ CIVIL AFFAIRS
A euphemism is defined as a non-harmful phrase or word used to substitute another word or phrase that is seen as, in some way, unpleasant. These words and phrases, though created with the best possible intentions, are slowly causing the English language to decay. For example, penitentiaries used to be led by a warden. In an effort to seem politically correct, penitentiaries, prisons and jails have been renamed to the, allegedly less controversial, title of “correctional facility” or “detention facility.” The wardens, as the leaders, are now referred to as the “correctional facility supervisor” or “detention facility supervisor.” With these new euphemisms, the words “penitentiary” and “warden,” which had no other use besides describing an actual prison or its leader, have been replaced. These old words are slowly disappearing from the English language, being replaced by softer phrases. The allegedly harsh words have been written out of the language, for fear of being
offensive. It is one thing to replace an allegedly offensive or harsh word with another word meaning the same thing, but these euphemisms are simply removing the words from our lexicons and replacing them with presumably innocuous phrases. It is true that the English language, specifically in the United States, differs greatly from some other languages in that, here in the United States, the government does not directly control the words; their creation is simply spontaneous. However, the language is controlled by the oligarchy of the nation, essentially the top one percent who own companies which may write the dictionaries. There are hundreds of other examples of this phenomenon, many of which are highlighted in a famous George Carlin comedy routine, representing a quite troubling phenomenon. In George Orwell’s famous book 1984, depicting a totalitarian, dystopian future in the British Isles, the English language has been abandoned in favor of a new tongue, known as “Newspeak.” In Newspeak, the number of words was greatly diminished to a point where concepts disliked by the rulers were removed from the language. The idea was that if you removed the words for negative occurrences or actions, the actual occurrences or actions somehow disappear. Similarly, even though the rough words of penitentiary and
warden have been removed, the roughness and harshness of prisons still remain. For, even though a “correctional facility” sounds nicer than a “prison,” it isn’t. An inmate at Guantanamo Bay could be described as undergoing “enhanced interrogation” rather than torture, but he is still being tortured. If a woman is described as “sexually assaulted,” she has still been raped, even though many states, including my home of Texas, will use the former term in its penal code. In this crusade for euphemisms, the most egregious assault at the integrity of our language is in the sphere of disabled people, with an example known as a “people-first language.” In these examples, euphemistic advocates have argued that instead of labeling a disabled individual with a preceding adjective, which has been allegedly perceived as dehumanizing, any conditions should come after the acknowledgement of the person’s humanity. For example, instead of “blind person,” it would be “person with visual impairment.” Such a concept is wrong for two reasons. First, the syntax of the English language places adjectives before nouns, as a general rule. Thus, grammar rules could become the second casualty in euphemism’s crusade. Second, most organizations representing the interests of different disabled people reject this concept of people-first language, explain-
ing it is not necessary. In 1993, for example, the American National Federation for the Blind condemned the concept at their national conference, explaining that they strongly disagreed with the use of such euphemisms. Additionally, organizations representing the deaf community have strongly condemned this concept. Notable autistic individuals, including a man named Jim Sinclair who wrote a strongly worded 2011 New York Times oped on the topic, have also voiced disapproval of such a concept. Again, there remains an idea that, as George Carlin put in his famous monologue on the subject, that “if you change the name of the condition, somehow you will change the condition.” Referring to the blind as “persons with visual impairment” may seem to mitigate the severity of the condition, but it does not. It is a common theme in the media to say the uneducated youth, or other delinquent urbanites, are polluting or helping to dismantle the English language through the use of slang or neologisms. However, throughout much of history, terms first coined as slang quickly become accepted nomenclature. It is the wellto-do, educated elite who are dismantling the language, through their use of euphemisms that mitigate the diversity of the vocabulary, providing needless exceptions to grammatical syntax rules.
THE JUSTICE
SOFTBALL
it difficult to hit against Haverford College freshman pitcher Sara Tauriello. By JEFFREY MASER JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The women’s softball team, after an early-season surge in New York over the February break, encountered mixed results this weekend at the National Softball Training Center in Claremont, Fla. On Saturday, the women took down the Salve Regina University Seahawks by a score of 8-4 before losing their first game of the season to the Haverford College Fords 8-2 on Sunday. The Judges suffered a tough loss at the hands of Haverford, primarily due to some strong pitching from Fords freshman pitcher Sara Tauriello. Tauriello recorded 15 strikeouts, while only allowing five hits and two runs. “She (Tauriello) was definitely decent,” said head coach Jessica Johnson in an interview with the Justice. “She was making adjustments are we weren’t. We had a couple of lapses and they took advantage of them.” On the Judges’ side, pitcher Nikki Cote ’15 had a difficult time handling Haverford’s offense, allowing seven hits and eight runs. Pitcher Melissa Nolan ’14 relieved Cote midway through the game and finished out the game in strong fashion for Brandeis, allowing only two hits and no runs during her time on the mound. The scoring began early in the game, with a two-run homer coming from Haverford junior third basemen Jen DiCandilo in the first inning. An inning later, the Judges tied the game at two runs apiece, as catcher Cori Coleman ’15 and right fielder Amanda Genovese ’15 drilled two consecutive RBI singles. The scoring did not resume until the top of the fourth inning, when the Fords combined for six runs. The Brandeis defense did not have their best inning, proceeding to commit two errors and concede a triple to sophomore first baseman Dayle Comerford as well as a home run to sophomore second baseman Jill Schnall. That would prove to be the end of the scoring in the game, as neither Tauriello or Schnall would allow the opposing team another run. Saturday, however, was an entirely different story for Brandeis,
as the Judges were the ones to come out on top, defeating the Salve Regina Seahawks 8-4. Salve Regina opened up the scoring in the bottom of the third, as senior shortstop Ali Muehlbronner hit a sacrifice fly that advanced senior pitcher Jen Cruver to the plate. Brandeis then responded with their next opportunity, as Coleman brought in Anya Kamber ’15 from second base. In the bottom of the fourth, Cote turned in a solid pitching performance, allowing only one runner to reach base and failing to allow any runs. Salve Regina counterpart Cruver then proceeded to one-up Cote in the ensuing half inning, turning in a one-two-three performance. However, Cote then responded definitively with a one-two- three half inning of her own. Attempting to repeat her fifth inning feat, Cruver started off the top of the sixth by striking out Brandeis’ Nolan. However, it all went downhill from there for the Seahawks as a slew of walks, singles and steals allowed the Judges to send five runners to the plate in the inning. It seemed as if the Seahawks might rally to take the game back from the Judges after scoring three runs in the bottom of that same inning, yet a two-run triple from designated hitter Casey Ducinski ’13 in the top of the seventh gave the Judges a four-run lead that the Seahawks were unable to overcome. “We have a lot of natural talent in terms of our hitting,” said Johnson. “We try to couple that with taking good approaches, taking it pitch by pitch. We focus on being intelligently aggressive. I think that it has been paying off for us so far this season.” With the UAA Championships slated to start today, Johnson is well aware of the toll that the week is taking on her athletes. “It's a tough week for everyone,” she said. “But we as coaches and returners know what to expect and we try to help the first-years as much as we can.” After the weekend, the Judges’ record now stands at 4-1. Brandeis plays next on Tuesday, March 12, when they take on the Emory University Eagles, followed by Washington University in St. Louis at the UAA Tournament, which will be held at the Seminole County Softball Complex in Altamonte Springs, Fla. — Henry Loughlin contributed reporting
BASEBALL: Judges look to gain wins CONTINUED FROM 16 According to Ferro, the Judges have all the major components of their game together—they just need to work on minor details. “We have to do the little things before we can win games like that. We missed a couple of bunts in big spots. The locker room was tough, but we have a strong senior class that keeps our team up and makes sure that we stay positive." For Brenner, the reason the Judges lost the game came down to the little things. “We had a few rallies behind big hitting by O’Connor and Ferro. We just gotta play small ball and get ahead. We have been in every game, we just need to break out,” Brenner said. The Judges will have plenty of opportunities to do just that, as they continue to play in the UAA Tournament down in Florida, which gives them the chance to make improvements against tough competition before returning home
for their first home tilt against Wentworth Institute of Technology on March 20. While Sunday’s game was disappointing for the Judges both in terms of the nature of the result as well as the actual result itself, the Judges were able to gain a measure of consolation Monday afternoon by downing the University of Rochester YellowJackets 5-3 in a tight game Monday. In that encounter, the Judges rode solid pitching from left-hander Mike Swerdloff ’13, who tossed seven innings, allowing five hits and three runs before being relieved by Elio Fernandez ’15. The Judges’ bats were also working well, as O’Connor hit two RBIs, while Gad, Brenner and infielder Tommy McCarthy ’15 each forced in one run. For his part, McCarthy also hit a double. With eight games scheduled in a span of seven days, including a rematch against WashU Wednesday, Brandeis will look to establish itself as a contender in the UAA.
TUESDAY, March 12, 2013
13
SERVING IT UP
Judges endure mixed results ■ The softball team found
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LESLIE KAMEL/Justice File Photo
HARD HITTING: Mitch Krems ’16 serves a ball while playing singles in the Judges’ home match against Vassar College on March 2.
Panthers beat tennis teams ■ Both Middlebury squads
showed why they are nationally-ranked in downing the Judges on Saturday. By HENRY LOUGHLIN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER
When looking to improve, a team needs to learn from high-quality opponents in order to develop its skills in the long run. The men’s and women’s tennis teams did just that on Saturday against New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) foe Middlebury College. The Judges fell 8-1 to the No. 14 Panthers, while the No. 22 women dropped an identical 8-1 decision against their No. 6 Panther counterparts. Following the loss on Saturday, the men are 3-4, while the women are 2-4. Incidentally, both teams have suffered all four of their losses at the hands of nationally ranked opponents. “I like to challenge my teams, both men and women,” said head coach Ben Lamanna of his team’s tough competition in the early stages of the season. “I owe it to my kids; they work hard. I want them playing the best players in Division III. The focus is on improving and competing well. The wins might not be coming, and it’s tough to gain confidence after these matches, but we always talk about our players being task-oriented rather than
ego-oriented.” The Judges’ lone success on the men’s side came in the No.1 doubles match. Josh Jordan ’13 and Steven Milo ’13 downed Middlebury junior Alex Johnston and senior Spencer Lunghino 8-6. That score-line would prove to haunt the Judges, however, as Mitch Krems ’16 and Alec Siegel ’15 lost by an 8-6 margin to Panthers juniors Teddy Fitzgibbons and Andrew Lebovitz. Danny Lubarsky ’16 and Michael Secular ’15 fell to Middlebury junior Brantner Jones and freshman Palmer Campbell 8-2 at third doubles. Johnston would get his revenge on Milo for the Panthers’ lone setback of the day, beating him 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 at first singles. Jordan fell to Jones at second singles 6-4, 6-4. The struggles continuted for the Judges, as Krems was downed by Campbell 6-1, 6-4. David Yovanoff ’13 fell to Lunghino at fourth singles 6-2, 6-3. Secular then fell at fifth singles to Fitzgibbons 6-0, 6-1, while Middlebury junior Zach Bruchmiller defeated Secular at sixth singles 6-2, 6-3. Identical to the men, the women’s lone win of the day came at first doubles, where Faith Broderick ’13 and Carley Cooke ’15 defeated Panthers seniors Brittney Faber and Leah Kepping 8-5. Again, that would prove to be the only success for the squad, however, as Maya Vasser ’16 and Roberta Bergstein ’14 dropped a tough 8-1 decision at second doubles to freshman Ria Gerber and sophomore Lok-Sze
Leung. Third doubles were decided in similar fashion, as the Paradies sisters—junior Dorrie Paradies and sophomore Katie Paradies— downed Simone Vandroff ’14 and Dylan Schlesinger ’15 8-2. Leung would down Cook at first singles, 6-4, 6-1 while Gerger then proceeded to defeat Broderick by an identical scoreline. Allyson Bernstein ’14 dropped a 6-1, 6-4 decision at third singles to Kepping, while Dorrie Paradies defeated Vandroff 6-2, 6-1. The last two singles were decided in straight sets, as Middlebury freshman Margot Marchese downed Bergstein at fifth singles and Katie Paradies defeated Alexa Katz ’14 at sixth singles. Despite the heavy nature of the defeat, each team must quickly rebound. The responsibility of that is largely on the seniors. “It’s really about the seniors, Jordan and Milo, and Faith for the women,” said Lamanna. They lead by example. At their level, it’s really about improving the little things. The margins of improvement get smaller and smaller. There’s fewer ways to get better and the attention to the detail needs to be there. Seniors get how to compete; they don’t beat themselves. They let it all ride out.” The Judges will host NESCAC opponents Bates College this weekend. The men’s squad will compete on Friday at 4 p.m., while the women’s team will take on the Bobcats on Saturday at 1 p.m.
TRACK: Athlete competes in mile CONTINUED FROM 16 400 in that mile. But at Nationals, everyone can run that fast for the last stretch.” Kramer is the second Brandeis runner in two years to compete in the men’s mile at Nationals. Chris Brown ’12—who holds the school record for that particular event in 4:05.98—secured the Judges’ first All-American indoor mile selection since 2005 last season. While running at the Champion-
ships was certainly a time to savor, given it was his first individual qualification in a track and field race, he will look to bounce back and qualify outdoors in the 1500-meter run, generally considered to be the outdoor track equivalent of the one-mile run. Despite falling short of his goal of earning All-American honors, which he had expressed desire to achieve in a March 4 interview with the Justice, Kramer will look to bounce back and qualify outdoors
in the 1500-meter run, generally considered to be the outdoor track equivalent of the one-mile run. With some added experience gained from running in his first NCAA Championships, it is quite possible that Kramer could improve upon his showing at the recent race with a better showing at the biggest meet of the outdoor season. Kramer and the Judges will compete in the season’s first outdoor meet on March 30 at the Tufts Snowflake Classic.
THE JUSTICE
jUDGES BY THE NUMBERS
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TUESDAY, MARCH 12, 2013
15
INTRAMURAL SPORT
baseball TEAM STATS
UAA STANDINGS
Runs Batted In
UAA Conference W L Case 2 0 Wash 2 0 JUDGES 1 1 Rochester 1 2 Chicago 0 0 Emory 0 0
Chris Ferro ’13 leads the team with eight RBIs. Overall Player RBI L Pct. 8 0 1.000 Chris Ferro Kyle Brenner 5 3 .750 5 5 .625 Liam O’Connor 3 2 .286 Dan Gad 0 .000 Strikeouts 8 .462 Mike Swerdloff ’13 lead with
W 1 6 3 1 0 6
nine strikeouts. Player Ks Mike Swerdloff 9 Kyle Brenner 6 Colin Markel 5 Dylan Britton 4
UPCOMING GAMES: Today vs. URochester Today vs. Case Western Tomorrow vs. WashU
SOFTBALL TEAM STATS
UAA STANDINGS
Runs Batted In UAA Conference Emory WashU JUDGES Case Chicago Rochester
W 0 0 0 0 0 0
L 0 0 0 0 0 0
Overall W 24 12 4 3 0 0
L 1 2 1 9 0 4
Pct. .960 .857 .800 .571 .000 .000
UPCOMING GAMES: Today vs. Emory Today vs. WashU Tomorrow vs. URochester
Madison Gagnon ’16 leads the squad with five RBIs. Player RBI Madison Gagnon 5 Danielle Novotny 4 Anya Kamber 3 Amanda Genovese 3
Strikeouts Nikki Cote ’15 leads all pitchers with 21 strikeouts. Player Ks Nikki Cote 21 Melissa Nolan 5 Casey Ducinski 1 JON EDELSTEIN/the Justice
AIRING IT OUT: Toby Taniguchi ’12 MA ’13 drives to the hoop for Team Madness during last Wednesday’s IM basketball final.
FENCING Overall Results from the fencing squads this season.
TOP PERFORMERS (Men’s)
TOP PERFORMERS (Women’s)
SABER Adam Mandel
RECORD 45-9
SABER Zoe Messinger
RECORD 56-17
ÉPÉE Noah Berman
RECORD 26-20
ÉPÉE Gwen Mowell
RECORD 28-22
FOIL Julian Cardillo
RECORD 21-9
FOIL Caroline Mattos
RECORD 63-12
EDITOR’S NOTE: Qualifiers for the NCAA National Championships will be announced today.
Intramural campaigns decided dramatically ■ The Patchworkers and The
Quitters were able to sew together victories against familiar foes in their finals. By JACOB MOSKOWITZ
TENNIS
JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER
Results from matches vs. Middlebury College on March 9.
TOP PERFORMERS (Men’s)
TOP PERFORMERS (Women’s)
MEN’S SINGLES Mitch Krems
RECORD 5-3
WOMEN’S SINGLES Carley Cooke
RECORD 4-3
MEN’S DOUBLES Jordan/Milo
RECORD 7-6
WOMEN’S DOUBLES Cooke/Broderick
RECORD 3-4
UPCOMING MEET: The men’s tennis team will host Bates College Friday at 4 p.m., while the women’s squad faces off against Bates this Saturday at 3 p.m.
Down 50-49 with two minutes left, Team Madness had one free throw coming and a chance to tie the men’s intramural basketball championship game. They missed, and without injured star guard Robinson Vilmont ’16, Team Madness would not score again the rest of the way, falling to the Patchworkers 52-49 on Wednesday night. The women’s game was not as close, as The Quitters defeated Thirteen, 46-32, directly after the men’s game. Former varsity players Rebecca Raffler ’14 and Jackie Morrissey ’14 were just too much for Thirteen. Assistant Athletic Trainer Jason Byrne, a player for the Patchwork-
ers, said that Vilmont’s injury was a turning point in the game. “In the second half, the game definitely changed when Robinson went out,” he said. “It changed their team dynamic, and we took advantage.” Terrell Hollins, an assistant coach for the varsity men’s basketball team, led the team with 31 points, although he said he had been averaging at least 40 in the playoffs. Vilmont scored 12 points before leaving the game with 15:06 to go in the second half. Hollins said the plan was to put former assistant soccer coach Ari Silver ’12 on him to try and slow him down, but the injury ultimately cost Team Madness the game. Even without Vilmont, though, Team Madness had a chance to steal the game from the Patchworkers. However, the staff team’s deliberate play and solid defense helped. “We did our best to not commit any dumb fouls,” said Byrne. “We didn’t make any stupid plays, because we didn’t want to extend the
game. We didn’t let them get into the paint.” Ernest Williams ’15 led Team Madness with 18 points. Associate Director of Admissions Jared Rivers contributed 14 for the Patchworkers. The women’s game became a blowout midway through the second half. With 15 minutes left, the Quitters held a 26-15 lead. At the 12:53 mark, the Quitters’ fourth straight fast break layup gave them a 34-15 lead and put the game out of reach. Thirteen made a push toward the end as they finished the game on a 17-12 run, but it was too little too late for the gritty runner-ups. “We won that game with teamwork, with those extra passes” Morrissey said. “Our man-to-man was really good, really aggressive.” Raffler led the Quitters with 16 points. Morrissey had 12 and Emily Belowich ’15 added seven. Sarah Johnson ’13 and Abigail Pearlman ’16 led Thirteen with nine points apiece.
BOSTON BRUINS BEAT Caron has instant impact in first game back as Bruins go two-for-two at home against quality foes The Boston Bruins squared off against the Philadelphia Flyers for the first time this season last Saturday afternoon, and the soldout crowd was not disappointed, as the Bruins dominated the Flyers for a 3-0 victory. The Bruins also won 4-2 against the Toronto Maple Leafs last Thursday. Against the Flyers, the Bruins scored the first goal of the game on the power play when left-wing Milan Lucic issued a pass to center Tyler Seguin, who ripped a wrist shot home on an open Philadelphia net. From there, the goals just kept coming for the Bruins. The home squad scored the game’s first three goals in two minutes, 18 seconds. The second goal came from center Chris Kelly, with the assists coming from forwards Jordan
Caron—who was called up from the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League—and Rich Peverley. Boston’s third goal came from left wing Daniel Paille after forwards Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton effectively worked together to take the puck away from Philadelphia. They then fed the puck to Paille, who finished the play by slotting the puck through the legs of Flyers’ goalie Ilya Bryzgalov’s five-hole. Bryzgalov was only able to turn away half of the shots from Boston in the first period, as the Bruins scored three times on their first six shots. However, Flyers Head Coach Peter Laviolette chose to keep him in the net. Bryzgalov shut the door for the rest of the game, saving the final 22 shots taken against him. When asked by reporters whether
the Flyers should be worried about their current situation, Bryzgalov gave a brief response that drove the point home. “I answered this question a long time ago. If you remembered my answer, yes it is.” With the win, the Bruins improve to 16-3-3, while the Flyers fall to 11-141 on the season. For the Bruins, a matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs marked a more nostalgic encounter. Even after a trade three years ago, to Toronto, right wing Phil Kessel made his presence known. The Bruins held Kessel to only two shots on goal in almost 18 minutes of ice time, receiving a pair of goals from Seguin, who was drafted with one of Toronto’s picks from the Kessel trade, to beat the Maple Leafs 4-2 on Thursday night. Late in the first period, Seguin
broke into the Toronto zone and ripped a shot on the Maple Leafs goalie Ben Scrivens. Scrivens made an acrobatic kick save but left the puck out in front of the net, leaving it for center Patrice Bergeron to fire it into a wide open net. Bergeron’s goal, his sixth of the season, gave the Bruins a 1-0 at the first intermission. After the Maple Leafs tied the game early in the second, it took the Bruins just three minutes to respond, as left wing Brad Marchand found Seguin wide open in front of the Toronto net. Seguin picked up the post and fired a rocket that Scrivens could not save, giving the Bruins’ a 2-1 lead that they would not relinquish. “Tonight, I think we did a good job,” said Seguin after the game. “It was a total line effort tonight.”
The Bruins added a third goal from center David Krejci late in the second period, but yet, Toronto stormed out of the gates in the third as center Jay McClement tipped home a rebound to pull the game within one goal. The score did not change until Seguin added an empty net goal with 15 seconds remaining to ice the game. Bergeron, who finished the night with a goal and two assists, was proud of the way his team persevered through the third period. “We needed the third to be our best, and even though they scored that second goal, we found a way. That’s the example of the character and I thought they did that tonight.” The Bruins will face the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight at 7:30 p.m. — Jeffrey Maser and Avi Gold
just
Sports
Page 16
TEAMS DROP TOUGH MATCHES The men’s and women’s tennis teams fell on a difficult road trip to Middlebury College, p. 13.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Waltham, Mass.
BASEBALL
LOOKING AHEAD
Judges drop close conference game ■ Despite rallying from an
early deficit, the Judges were unable to emerge with a win against a big rival. By ELAN KANE JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER
JAN VOLK/Sportspix
ALL BUT CERTAIN: Julian Cardillo ’14 has a great chance to earn a bid, which will be announced Tuesday, to the NCAA Championships.
Four fencers advance to NCAA qualifier finals ■ Two weeks after winning the men’s and women’s New England titles, the fencing squads shine once more. By JOSH ASEN JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER
Four Brandeis fencers are anticipating to add yet another chapter to the program’s distinguished history. After an unprecedented win at the New England Collegiate Fencing Championships last month, the Judges looked to make some noise at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Northeast Regional Fencing Championships this past Sunday at St. John’s University. They did. Men’s foilist Julian Cardillo ’14 and saberist Adam Mandel ’15 will likely receive qualifying bids to the NCAA Fencing Championships. Women’s foilist Caroline Mattos ’16 is also a likely pick. Men’s saberist Jess Ochs-Willard ’15, while fading in the final pool, still has high hopes of securing a fourth and final bid for the championship round, which is set to take place from March 21 to 24 in San Antonio. Cardillo emphasized that this was the toughest field at Regionals he has ever competed against, emphasizing the immensity of the Judges’ accomplishment. “I have never seen such a deep and competitive collection of fencers that all had the skill set to advance to the final round,” he said. “It comes down to the fact that four of our fencers made the finals in
three events. That’s pretty tough to do in such a deep field.” Each of these four fencers will discover their fate today, looking to etch their place into the Brandeis record books as the largest class of fencers to advance to NCAA’s. Cardillo, who is looking to make the championships for the third consecutive year, finished seventh out of 38 competitors on the day, and placed sixth in overall qualifying. He would be the first fencer to advance to three consecutive NCAA Championships for the Judges since Will Friedman ’09. Mattos placed seventh in the field of 45 fencers and also sixth in overall qualifying, establishing herself as a premier fencer in a highly competitive field. Mandel, who eventually finished ninth in overall qualifying, placed 10th out of 34 saberists in the regional championships, while OchsWillard placed 11th in regional and overall qualifying. After going 4-2 in the first round and 3-3 in the second round, Cardillo advanced to the final round of 12 fencers, where he went 5-6. Cardillo, though, made his point, defeating eventual regional champion from Harvard University, sophomore Brian Kanishige, in the final round. Mattos went 4-2 in the first round and 5-1 in the second round, followed by an impressive five wins in the final pool. Despite only securing three wins in the final round, meanwhile, Mandel may have done just enough to earn his ticket to San Antonio, securing a 7-4 record in the first and second pools. Ochs-Willard, who finished 5-1 in
the first round and 3-3 in the second round, defeated Mandel 5-4 in a final round match. Ochs-Willard eventually ended the final round with a 3-8 record, placing his NCAA status in question as the field is announced later today. Cardillo acknowledged that their goal is to continue to preserve focus and fortitude. “We just have to be physically and mentally ready,” he said. “There is going to be a lot of bouting and lessons from Coach Shipman, but ultimately, your mind just has to be in the right place for such a monumental event.” Eleven other Judges also made their mark in the regional championships. For the men’s squad, saberist Ben Loft ’15 finished 15th overall, while foilist Noah Berman ’15 placed 24th. Épéeists Tom Hearne ’16, Mike Zook ’13 and Harry Kaufer ’13 still succeeded on the big stage, finishing in 24th, 31st and 32nd, respectively. Women’s saberist Zoe Messinger ’13 came in 18th, falling just short of a perfect end to a memorable Judges career. Saberist Emmily Smith ’13 finished 34th while foilist Annette Kim ’16 placed 30th. Epéeists Sonya Glickman ’16, Kristin Ha ’14 and Alexis Gremillion ’16 finished in 20th, 31st and 42nd, respectively, to round out the team’s performances. The four fencers, meanwhile, who look to compete in the national championships, will look to perform in San Antonio later this month. - Adam Rabinowitz contributed reporting
The baseball team suffered its first University Athletic Association conference loss Sunday in Florida, falling to the Bears of Washington University in St. Louis 5-4 on a walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth. The defeat leaves the Judges with a 2-5 record overall and 0-1 record in UAA play heading into an eight games in seven days against UAA opponents. Following the cancellation of their game Saturday due to flight delays, Brandeis started off Sunday’s game slowly. The Bears struck first in the bottom of the second inning, taking advantage of a Brandeis fielding error to take the 1-0 lead. WashU added two more runs in the third inning off of a RBI single from sophomore third basemen Chris Lowery and a fielder’s choice hit by sophomore designated hitter Brian Cizek. The Judges responded, though, in the fifth with two runs of their own, each of them unearned. The inning was highlighted by a RBI double hit by center fielder Liam O’Connor ’16. O’Connor hit three
for five on the day with a RBI and two runs scored. Though WashU scored another insurance run in the sixth to increase their lead by two to a 4-2 margin, Brandeis rallied back in the seventh inning, scoring two more runs to tie the game. Catcher Chris Ferro’s ’13 RBI triple and designated hitter Dan Gad’s ’14 sac fly highlighted the inning, in which the Judges matched their total runs for the game up to that point. Ferro finished the day hitting two for three with one RBI and one run scored. Following a scoreless eighth inning for the Bears, the Judges had an opportunity to take the lead in the top of the ninth with runners at the corners, but were unable to capitalize, leaving the two men on base to end the inning. The near-miss would come back to haunt the Judges, as though Brandeis got the first out in the bottom half of the inning, WashU was able to string together three hits, including the walk-off single. Although the Judges scored four runs on the day, their bats struggled. Brandeis collectively struck out 10 times, had only six hits and left eight runners on base. Starting pitcher Kyle Brenner ’15 threw his fourth career complete game, throwing a total of 122 pitches in the losing effort to fall to 0-2 on the year. He faced 40 batters total, allowing 11 hits and four earned runs while striking out two.
See BASEBALL, 13 ☛
TRACK AND FIELD
Kramer caps season with 12th at NCAAs ■ Alex Kramer ’13 battled well in the one-mile run but wasn't able to surge at the end of the very tight race. By HENRY LOUGHLIN JUSTICE EDITOR
With 400 meters left in the preliminaries of the one-mile run at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday afternoon, Alex Kramer ’13 was sitting comfortably at the back of the pack of six runners that had formed behind Bates College junior Tully Hannan. Kramer, who had qualified for the season’s biggest race with a time of four minutes, 12.66 seconds at the Tufts University Last Chance Meet on March 2, seemed to be peaking at the right time. He gradually lowered his times throughout the season, and, given that he had cut back his mileage and intensity, looked to translate his efforts into a top-10 finish and an All-American selection. However, instead of being able to make a bid for the front of his seven-man heat, Kramer was boxed in by the other competitors as the race entered its final stages. Though three of his competitors caught Hannan—who faded in the final lap to finish fourth in the heat—Kramer ended up finishing sixth in his heat of seven runners, ultimately won by the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater Point junior Dan Sul-
livan. Sullivan won the finals of the event on Saturday, beating out Keene State College junior Ryan Widzgowski by 83 one-hundreths of a second, 4:07.03 to 4:07.86. “He (Hannan) was out (through the first quarter-mile of the race) in 61, and he went through the halfmile mark in 2:06,” said Kramer, implying that the Bates junior's opening pace was perhaps a bit quicker than his fellow competitors expected, especially in a preliminary race. “(Some runners in) the pack caught him in the end.” The second heat, featuring six competitors, looked to be travelling slower than the racers in the first heat, as the pack hit the halfmile mark in 2:09. However, a late charge by Bowdoin junior Coby Horowitz caused the speed of the pack to dramatically increased, which resulted in faster qualifying times than would have been anticipated. As a result, Kramer was edged out for the tenth and final qualifying spot—which went to Hannan— by a mere 0.32 seconds. While he has utilized his powerful finishing speed many times this season, Kramer was quick to point out that the increased difficulty of the competition makes for a more challenging racing environment in regards to planning tactics. “You fall in love with your kick,” he said of his penchant for gaining ground with a final surge late in the race. “And I (ran) a 56-second last
See TRACK, 13 ☛
JustArts
Volume LXV, Number 21
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Your weekly guide to arts, movies, music and everything cultural at Brandeis and beyond
Waltham, Mass.
‘Much Ado About Nothing’
Hold Thy Peace theater group’s Shakespearean play was a hilarious hit P. 21
In this issue:
Concert: Bob Nieske 4
APAHM Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Kickoff Show P. 23
Justin Bieber’s bad week P. 18
Brandeis Beats: Percussion Workshop P.19 This week’s PHOTO CONTEST:
‘Movement Project’ Dances depict heaven and hell, light and dark P. 19
Pop Culture:
P. 23
“Brandeisian”
18
justARTS
TUESDAY, march 12, 2013 | THE JUSTICE
CALENDAR
INTERVIEW
What’s happening in Arts on and off campus this week
ON-CAMPUS EVENTS
Filmmaker and critic Silvia Kolbowski
Acclaimed for her video-audio installations, Kolbowski is also the author of the books Proximity to Power, American Style and an inadequate history of conceptual art. Kolbowski’s works incorporate psychoanalysis, feminism, conceptualism, institutional critique, the ethics of spectatorship, war and memory and fate or afterlife. Part of the Art in Dialogue series, presented by the Department of Fine Arts and funded by the Brandeis Arts Council. Wednesday at 5 p.m. in the Wasserman Cinematheque of the International Business School.
Saz.E and David French Hip-hop artist and film director collaborate JOSH HOROWITZ/The Justice
This week, JustArts talked music with Osaze Akerejah ’14 (right), who is a hip-hop recording artist under the moniker Saz.E, and David French ’13 (left), an arts student who directed Saz.E’s forthcoming music video for the song “Matt Murdock.” JustArts: Would you each tell us a bit about your experience in the music industry? How do you guys work together? Osaze Akerejah: I’ve been recording since I was about 14. Through high school, I kept recording and kept building up myself and building up my name. Then I went off to college and started networking more, met more people in Boston who wanted to work with me, started making beats. And then I met David to work on the video for this big song I have called “Matt Murdock,” and I really wanted to have like a very, very interesting visual for it. I felt like he was going to be able to capture this cinematic-type feel to it. I didn’t want it to look like a regular music video. David French: So I grew up in Hickville, Nowhere, basically—like in the middle of Texas. So there wasn’t really a music industry. I very specifically came to Brandeis because it was near Boston. Since the beginning, I was involved in Punk Rock n’ Roll club and I started filming concerts and then this year, I decided I was going to make a short film, and to get ready for that, I decided to start with music videos, because you can just start with a visual concept and just go. JA: Very cool! Osa, the new video is coming out very soon. Would you tell us about the process of writing the song and creating the video concept? OA: I was listening to Florence + The Machine, and I hit up my producer from Chicago...So he took that, and he came back with “Matt Murdock,” which is this really pretty Florence sample with really heavy drums, and it sucks you into this beautiful, yet dark world at the same time. And then when I kept thinking “darkness,” I wanted to write something about my frustration with people not seeing artistic vision. Artists will have a vision for something, and the masses won’t see it, and you’re wondering, “why?” So “Matt Murdock” is kind of nerdy. It’s the alter ego of Daredevil, the superhero who’s blind. So I took that and I wrote the song, trying to weave metaphors of sight and blindness, into this record. JA: David,could you tell us about how you took this project from concept to film? DF: I met with Saz.E, and we talked about some stuff. He mentioned that “we should have a blind guitarist guy,” so I was just trying to get a visual concept of who we would cast or how we would handle that for the film. And I just hit “blind guitarist” into a Google search, and came up with pictures of Blind Willie Johnson, and then it snapped into place. There’s actually a surprising number of blind Blues musicians—the reason for going with that is that these guys were not appreciated in their time. That kind of sinks into the metaphor, A) about blindness, but also B) about people not appreciating great art or great talent. So it’s taking the idea—Saz.E’s idea—about desiring recognition, and it references it, but then it also folds it in on itself. JA: David, it sounds like you have your hands full with several film projects. Are you hoping to make this a career after graduating from Brandeis? DF: That’s a complicated question. I decided I don’t want to do film. Not like “typical” film. I’d be interested in doing independent projects, but if I actually go into an industry, I’m actually thinking about video games. Because there is a lot of weird, experimental stuff going on in that field, versus, still in film, you have to play the game. JA: Osa, what does the new video say about your current direction as an artist? OA: I think one of my biggest frustrations is, as a hiphop artist, people always try to put us in a box. And the problem is that a lot of us say, “Okay, that’s cool. I’ll just keep making stuff that’s in that box.” And I kind of feel like you should just make music for the sake of making music. I like sampling these weird Indie acts or these foreign folks...making visuals that are not run-of-the-mill. There’s no booty-shakin’ chicks in this video. We didn’t have the budget for it—but still. I probably wouldn’t put it in there anyway. I’m very inspired by the very forward, creative thinkers of the genre. Kanye West is my favorite. So it’s basically going to be about creativity and no rules—no rules but my own. JA: What do you hope that new fans will take away from it? OA: Stop being blind to new artists. Just because most of the radio hip-hop is really bad, don’t count out all these new guys. Some of these new guys might actually pop up and surprise you. —Rachel Hughes
Seussical: the Musical
The Hillel Theater Group presents the Dr. Seuss-inspired story of Horton, an elephant who discovers a speck of dust containing Whos. Although Horton faces ridicule, danger, kidnapping, and a trial, the intrepid Gertrude McFuzz never loses faith in him. Book by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. Music by Stephen Flaherty. Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Co-conceived by Eric Idle. Showing in the Shapiro Campus Center Theater on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Tickets $5 for students, seniors and the general public, and are available at the door, online or at the Brandeis Ticket Office.
Creating Musical Variation
This installment in the ongoing seminar in the “Art of Science” series will be led by Diana Dabby of Olin College, an electrical engineer and musician. In her doctoral research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dabby combined music and engineering by devising a chaotic mapping for musical variation. Light hors d’oeuvres will be served. Sponsored by the Women in Science Initiative. Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in the Women’s Studies Research Center. This event is open to the public and admission is free to all.
WTCP Open Mic Night
Brandeis’s arts and literary magazine, Where The Children Play, invites you to its semester event: an Open Mic Night. Bring original poetry, prose, slam poems, short stories, and musical pieces to share. There will be snacks. Wednesday from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. in Cholmondeley’s. Admission is free.
Toby Singer Coffeehosue by WBRS
WBRS presents folk-style singer/ songwriter Toby Singer to perform at Chum’s to promote his forthcoming album, Here Comes Saturn. Thursday from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Cholmondeley’s. Admission is free.
Bad Grammer: Mid-Semester Mayhem
Come see Bad Grammer, one of Brandeis’ comedy troupe’s, semester show “Crowd Control.” Friday from 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the Shapiro Campus Center Multipurpose Room. Admission is free.
Fiddle ’Deis
A cross-genre progression of the violin in performance, from medieval to traditional to electronic. All strings (violin, viola, cello, bass, viola da gamba, guitar, mandolin, etc.) are invited to take part in the workshops, master classes and jams on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Events held Friday through Sunday in Slosberg Music Center. For complete schedule, visit brandeis.edu. Tickets areavailable at the Brandeis Ticket Office: $20 general/$15 seniors/free to students with ID.
SKIN Fashion Show
The Brandeis Asian American Student Association’s annual fashion show will feature Brandeis students wearing high-end designs. This year’s show’s theme is “Fusion,” and will focus on societal integration. Saturday from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in Levin Ballroom. One free ticket per Brandeis ID at the Brandeis Ticket Office; $8 without ID, $10 at the door.
Pop Culture For the average Brandeisian pop culture-ite, this past week may have been stressful: midterms to take, papers to write and, of course, the icing on top of the cake—housing plans to finalize (yuck). But if you think March is giving you a run for your money, take a seat and listen to how bad Justin Bieber’s got it. The 19-year-old pop prince started things off rough with a nearly two-hour delay to a March 4 concert. The Biebs claimed that there were technical difficulties and the opening acts started too early, but regardless, he was welcomed to the stage with boos from the London crowd. Okay, it’s only one concert. But before he could get a chance to redeem himself, trouble hit: three days later, Justin passed out during another London performance. A video has since been posted of the incident (check out PerezHilton.com if you’re curious), and it’s genuinely alarming to watch the usually energetic and fan-loving singer come to a halt, stumble across stage and slowly try to walk off. Justin’s representative explained that the singer received oxygen from emergency medical personnel backstage and insisted on finishing the show despite his doctor’s advice (probably to avoid more high-pitched pre-teen booing). Regardless, JB’s condition was serious enough to send him to the hospital immediately after the show, where he … posted shirtless pics on Instagram? Yup. Looks like Bieber performed his own solo photo shoot, uploading a picture of himself lying in a hospital bed, rocking some headphones and a pretty coy smile… Okay, so Justin had a health scare during a performance (but you had those two midterms on Monday and then another one Tuesday!). Well, we’re not done yet. On Friday, the day after the Biebs was released from the hospital, he narrowly avoided a scuffle. Blame it on meds or anger or stress (or his yearning for ex-Selena Gomez), but Justin legit had to be held back from pouncing on a paparazzo.
Liquid Latex 2013
Brandeis’ Liquid Latex club presents its 2013 show: “PAINT Even Unto Its Innermost Parts.” The show will feature 10 different dance and runway perfomance pieces that encourage individuals to embrace their own bodies and push their limits. Tuesday, March 19 at 8 p.m. in Levin Ballroom. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Tickets issued for free at the Brandeis Ticket Office. $5 donation suggested.
Film Screening: “Girl Rising”
Brandeis Poverty Action Coalition presents a screening of Girl Rising to be followed by a student-led discussion and a free catered dinner. The film spotlights the strength of the human spirit and the power of education to change not only the lives of millions of girls, but also to change the world. Thursday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Olin-Sang Auditorium. This event is free and open to all.
OFF-CAMPUS EVENTS
Art Exhibit: “New Blue and White”
This selection of works from international designers and artists has been brought together to forge a collection based on the simplest of themes: blue and white. The selected pieces on view in this exhibition tackle diverse issues, ranging from public to personal to aesthetic problems. On view through July 14 in the Foster Gallery of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Tickets range from free up to $25. Museum admission is free with a student ID.
Music Festival: Boston Calling
With a killer lineup, Boston’s spring music festival is one weekend to be sure not to miss. Come see music groups such as fun., The Shins, Of Monsters and Men, Marina and the Diamonds, MS MR and others perform. Performances throughout the weekend of May 25 and 26. Tickets on sale now, ranging from $75 to $ 350, available online at www.bostoncalling.com.
By Erica Cooperberg
Charlotte Observer/MCT
TROUBLE IN STARDOM: Pop singer Justin Bieber’s recent antics have caused quite a stir. Allow me to explain: video shows Justin and two bodyguards hustling from a building to a car about six feet away. Naturally, these six feet are swamped with paparazzi. From the audio, it seems that JB pushed a photographer while making his way to the vehicle. Well, this was so not cool for the photog, who’s heard screaming multiple times, “That’s assault!” (Ironic, no?) One of the bodyguards explains, “But you’re in our way,” and calmly tries to shoo away the paparazzo… but obvs that doesn’t work. Cue the cursing! In the tamest remark, he screams at the car’s tinted windows, “F*** off back to America!”
Well, you didn’t think our boy (sorry, man?) Biebs could let that one go. He jumps out of the car (“The **** did you say?”) and makes moves toward the paparazzo, but with a swift push, one of Bieber’s bodyguards keeps the agitated teen in his car. PHEW. And the car drives away as the photog continues spewing curses. Classy. I’m not defending the war of words that passed, but hey, let’s cut Justin some slack. It’s definitely stressful living the college life, but I’d imagine having a hoard of paparazzi following your every move isn’t exactly a walk in the park, either.
ARTS COVER PHOTO: Olivia Pobiel, Abby Knecht/the Justice, From left: Xiaoyu Yang/the Justice, Mike Lovett, Joshua Linton/the Justice DESIGN: Josh Horowitz, Olivia Pobiel
ON CAMPUS
THE JUSTICE | TUESDAY, march 12, 2013
19
THEATER
Opposites attract at BTC’s dance show By RACHEL HUGHES justice EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Showcasing a wealth of student talent and ability in the performance arts, Brandeis Theater Company’s latest production, Movement Project: Heaven and Hell/Light and Dark, featured a variety of exceptional performances. The Movement Project was performed in the Spingold Theater Center’s Laurie Theater during Saturday and Sunday, March 9 and 10. Directed by Prof. Susan Dibble (THA), the project consisted of 12 dance pieces that were choreographed and performed by both members of Brandeis’ undergraduate students and the Masters of Fine Arts students. Each piece was inspired by an image that represented opposites, and sought to tell the story behind that image. The production’s program discussed the show’s inspiration in greater depth: “Each choreographer chose a painting that offers images of light and dark, heaven and hell, or other opposing themes. What we see in a work of art can spark and direct our imagination in many different ways. And these choreographic offerings can be viewed as moving paintings or visual narratives inspired by the chosen artists’ work.” The images that served as inspiration ranged from classic works by painter Pablo Picasso to the personal drawings of the MFA class, and the music that accompanied each piece ranged from an Alanis Morisette ballad to a resonant Chopin work. Each piece expressed a chilling range of emotions and told the sort of story one would imagine as the background for each respective image. A personal favorite, and, in my opinion, one of the stronger pieces, was the performance that opened up the show. Called “Decisions and Revisions Which a Minute Will Reverse,” the piece was choreographed by MFA student Sarah Bedard and inspired by Picasso’s painting “Mother and Child.” The painting shows a radiant mother holding her small child on her lap, looking lovingly at the child, who seems to be just tiring from a fuss. Bedard performed in this piece as the child herself, and even brought her own mother into the piece, having her play the mother from the painting. Four other female dancers, Aya
Abdelaziz ’16, Stephanie Ramos ’14, Meg Evans ’12, as well as Sara Schoch and Eddie Shields, Masters of Fine Arts students, acted out the story that Bedard imagined behind the painting. The choreography showed a passionate progression of emotions as the child grew away from her mother, fell deeply in love with a man, was taunted by the other girls, pushed away by her lover, who left the stage with one of the other dancers by the end of the piece and finally the child returned to her mother. The thoughtfully coordinated and emotionally aware movements of the dancers in this piece were striking, and made quite an impression as the show began. Not every piece was serious, however; the dynamic depictions of heaven and hell ranged from frightening to blissful to hilarious. “On A Break,” choreographed by MFA student Alex Jacobs showed the lighter side of the artists’ contemplation of the theme of opposites. Jacobs’ piece was inspired by the image “Smoking Angels” by artist Lynn Curlee, which shows three ivory-swathed angels sitting together and smoking cigarettes—and was used as album artwork for Black Sabbath’s 1980 album Heaven and Hell. The performance featured Jade Garisch ’15 dressed as a wedding-dress-white angel, halo headband and all, taunting Ben Lewin ’16, who wore hellish head-to-toe cherry red and matching red horns. By the end of the piece, Garisch had given a cigarette to Lewin, finished smoking her own, beaten him at strip poker and ran off stage, leaving him in a bright red undershirt and shorts. The piece communicated the theme of contrast, but did so with a level of hilarity that found the audience laughing throughout. The variety within this conglomeration of pieces provided an opportunity for an impressive number of dance parts in a way that many other slowerpaced shows cannot. The premise of the show provoked the choreographers and dancers to dig deep into their artistic schemas to pull off their performances with a level of emotion that kept the audience interested for the entire hour-long show. I hope to see more performances like the Movement Project at Brandeis in the future.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE LOVETT
LIGHT ME UP: Ben Lewin ’16 and Jade Garisch ’15 stole the show with their angel and devil characters, eliciting laughs from the audience as they smoked cigarettes and played poker during their performance.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MIKE LOVETT
POPPING BOTTLES: Students from the Masters of Fine Arts class performed a Beatles montage, including bottle-created music.
mUSIC
Drum circle celebrates percussion in community By ARIELLE GORDON justice Staff writer
I must confess I was rather unnerved when I first joined the drum circle during Thursday’s event “Music+Rhythm+Community.” Usually, an event review requires me to sit in the audience as I take notes on my iPhone about the actors in a theatrical production or the harmonies in a musical ensemble. At most, I stand up and applaud when I feel the performance warrants it. But I have never been asked to involve myself in the event. After all, those who can’t do so write, right? Wrong. My experience with Brandeis Beats’ event “Music+Rhythm+Community” wrested passivity straight from my uncoordinated hands. As I beat the Ghanaian drums, I found myself completely immersed in the rhythm of the circle. Building the beat from the bottom up, we were unified through the most unlikely of mediums. Cohesion required a certain restraint, a willingness to listen to the pulsating
conversation of percussion before we could add any commentary of our own—strengthening unity among us without a spoken word. This is precisely what Brandeis Beats endeavors to facilitate. Founded last semester by Aliza Gans ’15, the club fosters a creative space dedicated to bridging gaps within the Brandeis and larger Waltham communities. Led by Boston-based drummer Jeremy Cohen, professional percussionist and founder of ThisWorldMusic, the workshop taught valuable skills on how to facilitate and conduct successful drum circles in future outreach programs. Cohen stressed the importance of improvisation in making drumming accessible and creating a base from which to build a unique and cohesive sound. He encouraged students to step in the middle of the circle and conduct the various sections, and emphasizing inclusion and involvement within a medium where everyone might not feel completely comfortable. In the past, the club has visited the local elementary school in or-
der to expose students to the power of music and to cultivate a sense of such community. Their efforts were so successful that they even enticed ten-year-old Gabriel and his mother to join us in Thursday’s drum circle. Too shy to speak, Gabriel beat his drum with such intensity that he lost himself in the music. Gabriel’s involvement revealed the significance of Brandeis Beats’ mission, as well as the relevance of music in uniting different communities. By the end of the workshop, the rhythm in the room transitioned into a magic that transcended technicality. For a few moments I experienced what Gabriel had—I lost myself in the beat and forgot that I was drumming, entranced and mesmerized. The music was euphoric, funky, contagious, sensational and addictive, but the only word I can think to accurately describe my experience with is soullifting. I left the drum circle feeling invigorated, refreshed, impassioned and anxious to return the next week to immerse myself in the rhythm all over again.
ALIZA GANS/the Justice
DRUMMER BOY: Brandeis Beats’ workshop gave everyone a chance to learn to play.
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We, the Undersigned Student Leaders of Brandeis University, Endorse and Encourage the U.S.-Israel Relationship
Todd Kirkland President, Student Union
Gloria Park Vice President, Student Union
David Clements Treasurer, Student Union
Danny Novak Class of 2015 Senator, Student Union
Ricky Rosen Executive Senator, Student Union
Sneha Walia Class of 2015 Senator, Student Union
Charlotte Franco Senator at Large, Student Union
Sunny Aidasani Off Campus Senator, Student Union
Theodore Choi Senator at Large, Student Union
Jonathan Jacob Massell Quad Senator, Student Union
Jianquiang Yao Class of 2016 Senator, Student Union
Andrew Chang Class of 2016 Senator, Student Union
Ethan Levy East Quad Senator, Student Union
Allie Saran President, Hillel at Brandeis
David Fisch Class of 2013 Senator, Student Union
Daniel Marks Ziv Quad Senator, Student Union
Adi Fried President, FACE AIDS
Joseph Babeu Orientation Coordinator
Alana Pellerito Coordinator, English Language Learning Initiative
Amanda Dryer President, MLK & Friends President, Student Anti-Genocide Coalition
Rachel Nelson Executive Director, Student Events
Rohan Narayanan President, Brandeis Television Biana Gotlibovsky Rosenthal Quad Senator, Student Union Zev Hait Student Representative to Board of Trustees
Adam Rabinowitz President, Brandeis Democrats
Joshua Hoffman-Senn President, Business Club President, Economics Society
Michael Pizziferri President, Queer Policy Alliance
Cristal Hernandez President, Brandeis Immigration Education Initiative
Rachel Starr President, Brandeisians Against Animal Cruelty
Glen Chesir News Editor, WBRS Brandeis Radio
David Friedman President, Japanese Student Association
Dana Kandel President, TAMID Investment Club
Wing Shan Chung Co-President, Chinese Cultural Connection
Flora Wang Brandeis Sustainability Fund Representative
Morris Didia, President, Brandeis Libertarian Conservative Union
Joe Lanoie President, Brandeis Tea Party Nation
Karina Gaft President, Russian Club
Kate Cohen President, Poverty Action Coalition Jieming Chu President, Collegiate Masonic Society International Eve Herman President, Brandeis Zionist Alliance Viktoria Bedo President, J Street U Brandeis Adrian Hincapie President, AHORA! Felice Oltuski Vice President, Students for Environmental Action Celinna Ho President, Asian American Students Organization Rebekah Lee President, Korean Student Association Hailey Magee President, Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance
We, the Members of the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation, Stand United with the Brandeis University Student Leaders Supporting the U.S.-Israel Relationship Congressman Richard Neal • Congressman Edward Markey • Congressman Stephen Lynch District 1
District 5
*The signatures above represent the views of the individuals and not that of their clubs and organizations* Brandeis Israel Public Affairs Committee
District 8
THE JUSTICE | TUESDAY, march 12, 2013
21
Theater
COMEDIC COLLISION: Hold Thy Piece’s production of Much Ado About Nothing combined classic Shakespeare and 90s culture. OLIVIA POBIEL/the Justice
Shakespeare flashes forward to the ’90s By JESSIE MILLER justice EDITOR
My first introduction into the befuddling words of Shakespeare was Romeo and Juliet in my freshman year of high school; whether it was the teacher’s fault or the text’s, I was not entertained by the Shakespearean language, confusing plot twists and dramatic characters. So while finding my seat in the Carl J. Shapiro Theater, I nervously awaited the start of Much Ado About Nothing, the 25th production of Hold Thy Peace. Holding true to HTP tradition of remixing Shakespearean classics, the play was reinvented by directors Aaron Fischer ’15 and Ryan Kacani ’15 with a ’90s spin, featuring pop culture and music references that evoked fond memories of my childhood. After giving the usual spiel about turning off cell phones (and pagers) at the start of the show, the cast set the theme for the play by transforming the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song into a lip-
synched classically composed song. It was both funny and set the perfect tone for the rest of the upcoming ’90s references. The plot centers on a conflict between good and evil, with the play’s villain attempting to ruin the marriage of her enemy. In this modern adaptation, there are two basketball teams, who, after the “good guys” win the game, go over to Leonato’s (Ben Federlin ’14) home in Beverly Hills to celebrate the Y2K New Year. Led by Coach Don Pedro (Andrew Prentice ’13), the team of Benedick (Alex Davis ’15) and Claudio (Martin Hamilton ’16) beat Don John (Emily Duggan ’15), Pedro’s sister and her henchmen Conrade (Brian Dorfman ’16) and Borachio (Stephen Cadigan ’13). The sibling rivalry between Don Pedro and Don John, the princes of Aragon, is the chief catalyst of the plot when Don John decides to take revenge against Claudio, the star player. Upon arriving at Leonato’s house, they are introduced to his daughter,
Hero (Sari Holt ’15) and niece, Beatrice (Samantha LeVangie ’15), for whom Benedick is already said to have a taunting, unfulfilled love. Claudio soon falls for Hero, thus setting up the perfect way for Don John to take her revenge—tear the two lovers apart. Duggan is absolutely perfect in her role as a creepy, slightly disturbing villain who is constantly clutching a little stuffed kitten, stroking her beloved companion and even appearing to whisper in its ear. Cadigan is equally hilarious as a typical ’90s stoner character—think films such as Half Baked and Jay and Silent Bob—as he does the bidding of his boss, including eavesdropping, surveillance and a deceptive set-up to trick Claudio. As for the good guys, Davis’ performance was absolutely captivating; his animated expressions and embodiment of the bachelor-turned-lover Benedick were incredible. In every scene, as if the other characters were there to enhance his performance and their interactions made his character
stand out even more. During any moments while lounging on the couch or talking to other characters, he would gnaw on a Fruit Roll-up—a classic ’90s staple snack—or hiding behind a pillow while listening in on a conversation. Yet, these silly antics transitioned smoothly into his more romantic role with LeVangie, who was equally enchanting. As the headstrong and independent Beatrice, she is fierce yet relatable. She and Davis have the perfect chemistry as a couple that moves from a taunting, sarcastic flirtation into marriage. Every scene they were in together was, without question, a highlight of the play. Holt’s performance as Hero seemed unimpressive in the first few scenes, but once the set transitioned into Hero’s bedroom, she commanded the stage. I also particularly enjoyed the copious ’90s material pop culture throwbacks in her room, including a Furby toy, Star Wars and Backstreet Boys posters, Plank from the cartoon
Ed, Edd n Eddy and a lava lamp. Also, when she and Claudio were about to get married, a few lines of “Wonderwall” by Oasis were played, one of the many songs from the ’90s that was featured in the show. Butler Godfrey (Miriam Goldman ’14) sang a short, comedic rendition of Britney Spears’ “Hit Me Baby One More Time.” They also played various songs, including my personal favorites “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls and “She’s So High” by Tal Bachman, during set changes. Combining Much Ado About Nothing with ’90s pop culture, despite the nearly three hour run time, was a fantastic idea and HTP did an excellent job transforming the classic play into a more accessible and humorous production. As someone who has no taste for Shakespeare, I’ve gained more respect for the wit and timeless themes that the plays contain. Though unexpected, I thoroughly enjoyed spending my Saturday night in a time warp back to my childhood memories while also exploring a literary classic.
OLIVIA POBIEL/the Justice
MINIONS: Borachio (Stephen Cadigan ’13) entertains as Don John’s sly assistant.
ABBY KNECHT/the Justice
MATRIMONY MADNESS: Hero and Claudio’s wedding was the victim of a villain’s plot.
ABBY KNECHT/the Justice
UNLIKELY LOVERS: Alex Davis ’15 and Samantha LeVangie ’15 portrayed the perfect amount of chemistry as Benedick and Beatrice.
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THE JUSTICE | TUESDAY, march 12, 2013
culture
Russian show honors women By brett gossett justice contributing writer
On Thursday, March 7, Brandeis’ Russian Club and the Russian Studies Program hosted a student variety and benefit concert in Rapaporte Treasure Hall. In honor of International Women’s Day, the variety show paid homage to women. International Women’s Day is now an official holiday in over 25 countries, including Russia, and on this day, it is traditional for men to honor the women in their lives with flowers and small gifts. Even Google changed its logo on March 8 (the official date of International Women’s Day) to spread awareness for the holiday. Although in this day and age, women have gained many rights, hold important executive positions, participate in politics and serve as role models in our society, the sad fact remains that women in the workplace are still paid less than men. This makes International Women’s Day even more important and a necessity in our country. In honor of this holiday, at the variety show, every woman present was given a rose. Throughout the show there were a few standout acts. Prof. Irina Dubinina (RUS) expertly played a Russian folk song called “Meadowlands” on the accordion. This piece was extremely moving and her prowess on the accordion was extraordinary—she filled the room with a piece of Russian culture and encouraged the audience to become engrossed in the music. Another outstanding act was a skit titled “The Iron Curtain,” performed by the Russian Club’s Politburo, in which stu-
BRI MUSSMAN/the Justice
CULTURE SHOCK: The Russian Club and Russian Studies department sponsored a celebratory culture week.
dents put on a parody of a Russian dating show. This skit was especially funny because the girls dressed up as boys and the boys dressed up as girls. A few of the students who performed in this skit included Joe Babeu ’15, Karina Gaft ’14, Alyssa Katzoff ’15, Luke Padovani ’15, Roman Bulgakov ’14 and Katy Dowling ’15. Also, throughout the program, students taking Russian classes at Brandeis performed Russian songs that they had learned together in class—this was an excellent way of getting everyone in the Russian Studies program involved in the show. One of the highlights of the night was a showing of the YouTube video “Greetings from Baba Fira,” made by the Russian YouTube sensation Baba Fira in which he did an exclusive parody video on Russian grandmothers for Brandeis. This video generated many laughs from the audience because of its relevance to the culture and its satirical humor. The benefit part of the show involved the Adamov Fund, a local, grassroots organization dedicated to helping talented blind young people in Russia. The fund raises money for purchases of muchneeded equipment, such as digital voice recorders to record lectures, sturdy canes, used computers and braille materials for blind children. Maria Alkhasova ’14 and Babeu hosted the event, which they tied together with humor and organization. The night was done extremely well and showcased the Russian Club’s talents at Brandeis. At the end of the night, I had a greater understanding of Russian culture and enjoyed their time at the event.
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Cello and piano create a harmonious pairing By emily wishingrad justice Staff writer
Sometimes you just need a relaxing Saturday night after a long week and what better way to relax than to sit back, take a deep breath and enjoy a beautiful concert. And that is exactly what I did this Saturday night. At 8 p.m. in the Slosberg Recital Hall, cellist Prof. Joshua Gordon (MUS) and pianist Randall Hodgkinson performed music by Frank Bridge, Paul Hindemith and Sergei Rachmaninoff in a beautiful performance titled “Times of Turbulence: Music for Cello and Piano, 1901-1919.” There was a large turnout—around 60 guests crowded the hall to listen to this fantastic duo. I assume that most of them were in the Brandeis Music department, as they all seemed to know each other and during intermission the people in front of me were discussing the composer Haydn. Gordon is a distinguished cello instructor at Brandeis who is also a member of Brandeis’ Lydian String Quartet. Hodgkinson, also a renowned musician, has made frequent appearances as a recitalist and soloist at major orchestras including those of Philadelphia, Boston and Atlanta. Gordon and Hodgkinson have worked together in the past and made an album together, Leo Ornstein Complete Works for Cello and Piano. As a cellist myself, I appreciate good technique and Gordon’s technique was impeccable. His fingers moved up and down the neck of the cello effortlessly; he had beautiful vibrato that adjusted for tempo; he was in tune; he had a good quality of sound. Gordon had perfect technique but he did more than just that—his music was emotionally moving. His tone was rich and there was a depth to his sound, the type that only a cello can produce. The slow parts of the pieces had a rich, melting quality, similar to the sensation of eating a warm chocolate cake—it was that delicious. During the faster parts, Gordon kept his quality of sound while moving toward an intense forte. Hodgkinson’s technique was equally impressive. His hands flew across the keyboard and barely grazed the keys during the slow parts.
The first piece, “Sonata for Cello and Piano” by Frank Bridge, was fabulous. The three movements complemented one another perfectly and Gordon and Hodgkinson played them to perfection. The Allegro ben moderato was beautiful—the clarity with which Gordon played his notes, even in the upper register, was sublime. When Gordon took the back stage and played lower notes on the C string, Hodgkinson showed off at the piano, playing a higher, contrasting and moving melody that went beautifully with the cello’s low drone. The “Sonata for Cello and Piano Op. 11 no. 3” by Paul Hindermith was much more intense than the Bridge sonata and really reflected the title of the concert: “Times of Turbulence.” Gordon’s bow flew across the cello as Hodgkinson pounded the keys and stomped on the pedals. The musicians’ body movements reflected this intensity. Gordon hunched his shoulders and moved his head to the vigor of the piece. Hodgkinson moved backward and forward at the piano in time with the music. The first movement started with a heavy piano part followed by an intense and dramatic cello entrance. The piece ended with a cello glissando and then came to a rapid, sudden end. The piece was also technically exquisite. Gordon displayed an extraordinary use of the bow—planning his bow lengths to reflect the tempo and loudness of the piece so that it flowed perfectly. In the second movement, the interplay between the pizzicato of the cello and the precision of the piano made the two instruments sound more alike than they normally do and as a result they seemed to have an intimate conversation. After the intermission, Gordon and Hodgkinson played “Phantasiestük in B major for Cello and Piano Op. 8 no. 2” by Hindemith and “Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor Op. 19” by Rachmaninoff. I especially enjoyed the Sonata, during which the cello and the piano would sometimes play intertwining, reoccurring and catchy melodies. The melodies were still playing in my head after the concert. Gordon and Hodgkinson, two extremely talented musicians, put on a fantastic concert on Saturday night. The crowd was ecstatic and the pair came out to bow for three rounds of applause.
THE JUSTICE | TUESDAY, march 12, 2013
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MUSIC
Professor’s quartet performs Jazz music By FELICIA kUPERWASER justice Staff writer
On Sunday afternoon, the Bob Nieske 4 played a full concert of original compositions and improvisations from their new CD One, Two, Free, Four! in the Slosberg Recital Hall. Performing were Dave Tronzo, guitar; Phil Grenadier, trumpet; Jon Hazilla, drums; and Prof. Bob Nieske (MUS), bass. They captivated the audience with works of varied character and genre, all of which fit seamlessly together into a creative and stimulating musical narrative. The group’s casual performance style created a more intimate atmosphere than one usually finds in a concert hall, allowing each person present to participate in this exploratory process of musical authenticity and of music’s inherent power. One of the most striking features of the performance was its exploration of musical expression; that is, the distinct musical character of each individual’s playing, the dialogue between the instruments and the ensemble’s combined sound. Through many different forms, they broke down standard musical ideas into their most basic elements, and reconstructed them into a sumptuous palette of rhythm, texture and harmony. Where a good musician usually uses his or her instrument to share a narrative using varied melodic and textural development, these expert musicians played as if deferring to their instruments’ own stories. In much of Western music, artists limit the endless musical possibilities of instruments in order to
JOSHUA LINTON/the Justice
THREE FOURTHS: Musicians, from the left, Prof. Bob Nieske (MUS), Phil Grenadier and Jon Hazilla performed original music. create a coherent story in music, so that one can find powerful, even if artificial, meaning. The Bob Nieske 4 opened themselves up to the authentic and inherent musical forces of each instrument and ensemble. Each musician explored his own instrument’s unique qualities, as well as each instrument’s relationship to the others, often expressing more with a single sustained note or even silence than is possible utilizing an instrument’s full capacity. When they played together, their sound had a robust, sonorous quality that filled
the hall with pure, powerful music. The quartet achieved true musical authenticity, whether in the improvisations or the more conventional selections, in the way that, regardless of melodic content, their music propelled itself by its own latent momentum and development. Whether this quality speaks to the nature of jazz improvisation or whether this genre simply exposes a quality of music that other styles obscure or mask is unclear, but either way the music is honest and accessible on many levels. In the absence of certain musical
landmarks that we naturally listen for to make sense of a piece, listeners are forced to accept the music at face value and appreciate each musical moment as its very own piece of artistic expression. Nelson’s “Contact,” a piece of “moment music,” most fully expressed the character of the performance. “Moment music,” as Nieske explained, challenges Western musical conventions that restrict musical combinations to those that are “pleasing to the ear.” Moment music dictates that any tones complement
each other because each expresses inherent beauty and because music exists at every point in aural and temporal space. More than a melodic narrative, “Contact” was more of a mosaic of tones and textures that showcased music’s latent beauty. Rather than simply underlie an artificial construct of melody or form, this powerful dimension of music was fully exposed for its own sake, which, in many ways, is the ultimate goal of art. Rather than being a representation, this music was simply an expression. Music exists for its simplest intended purpose, such as melody or variation, but also to transcend form and exists in absolute terms. Many of the improvisations adhered briefly to form simply in order to depart from it, and together the instruments created a beautiful landscape of varied qualities and modes. The listener could focus on both a fleeting melody or rhythmic gesture as well as the magnitude and complexity of the complete piece. These improvisational works recast even the more conventional jazz pieces in a new light, exposing the sophistication and depth latent in all music. Appropriately enough for Brandeis, this innovative and creative performance left the audience with promises of finding art and expression in new contexts, and even outside of the concert hall. Perhaps this provocative music is a metaphor after all because in the way that it extends beyond its normal limitations to inspire, so too can beauty exist beyond its conventional forms, so long as a person knows what to look for.
CULTURE
XIAOYU YANG/the Justice
ON POINT: The show kicked off Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with a variety of creative performances.
Performances cultivate pride for Asian culture By OLIVER LING
justice CONTRIBUTING writer
The Brandeis Asian American Student Association celebrated the beginning of the 41st Asian Pacific American Heritage Month last Friday. This year’s APAHM performance was markedly different from those in years past, creating an innovative show that entertained the audience while addressing social issues relevant to Asian Americans and reaching them on a personal level. “We wanted to create an APAHM that was more about social justice rather than just entertainment, but still have both components,” said Esther Lee ’15, one of the two event coordinators. APAHM has always been fun, and this year continued their tradition of bringing in YouTube celebrities and talented perform-
ers to the stage in the Levin Ballroom—but BAASA reached new ground this year with its theme, “Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling.” The theme refers to “the factors that limit Asian-Americans from achieving the same professional goals that more privileged groups can accomplish,” as written in the event’s program. However, the show sought to demonstrate the ways in which Asian Americans surmounted this barrier, rather than the disadvantages of the “bamboo ceiling” itself. Brandeis alumna and singersongwriter Sophia Moon ’02 was first on the stage, encouraging the audience that the best way to break the ceiling is “doing what they were passionate about.” She used herself as an example, stating that her musical performance was her way of fighting the stigmas she has faced. She performed three songs
from her first album Back at Me, including the single “Five Star Recovery,” which peaked at number 17 on the Boston Pop Charts after its 2009 release. Brandeis’ South East Asia Club also stepped up its game this year with a moving skit about Southeast Asian stereotypes, which featured Kaiwen Chen ’16 and Eddy Zheng ’16 as two best friends from Vietnam studying in an American high school. One rejected his culture and attempted to act “white,” while the other remained true to his background. In an endearing conclusion, the two friends reconciled their differences and realized together that the key to fitting in at an American high school did not require being ashamed of their culture, but rather embracing it, coming to accept it as part of who they are.
Kris Sun Liu, a beat boxer and neuroscience student at Harvard University, took the stage next. He performed an exciting freestyle piece that sampled Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble” and the Black Eyed Peas’ “Boom Boom Pow,” dropping heavy beats and high-speed rhythms. BAASA also hosted Project Plus One, a non-profit organization founded at Brandeis whose mission is to support the Bairo Pite Clinic in East Timor, represented by Leila May Pascual ’15. After explaining the mission of her group, Pascual performed a rousing rendition of Beyonce’s “Halo.” After the intermission, Calvin Wang ’16 and Emily Huang ’15 presented their documentary-style video titled “What Does It Really Mean to be Asian-American?” Professionally done, it addressed a sensitive topic involving identity and
race without heavy-handed directing, creating a discussion which “sought to dismantle stereotypes,” as stated by Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences Elaine Wong. The film’s concluding lines, lettered in white against black, stated “Don’t let the label ‘Asian-American’ define you.” Following the video, the Wellesley Aiko group, whose name means “Blue Drum,” performed a traditional musical art of Japanese culture, demonstrating “how an old art can be made new.” Eleven girls lined the stage, each with a large drum played in unison to an orchestrated, haunting beat. In traditional BAASA fashion, the ceremony concluded with two high-energy modern dance performances by members of the club. APAHM continues this Saturday with the SKIN Fashion Show, which will be held at 5:30 p.m. in Levin Ballroom.
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TUESDAY, march 12, 2013 | THE JUSTICE
Brandeis TALKS
TOPof the
ARTS ON VIEW: INSTAGRAM
CHARTS
Quote of the week
Top 10s for the week ending March 11
“In terms of student participation, I believe student input has been an essential component of this process from the start. Although no students wrote the document, it is evident to me that administration understands and plans to help relieve many issues facing the student body.” —Student Union President Todd Kirkland ’13 on the just-released strategic plan. (News, p. 7).
BOX OFFICE
1. Jack the Giant Slayer 2. Identity Thief 3. 21 and Over 4. Snitch 5. The Last Exorcism Part II 6. Escape from Planet Earth 7. Safe Haven 8. Silver Linings Playbook 9. A Good Day to Die Hard 10. Dark Skies
What do you think of housing?
NYT BESTSELLERS
PHOTO BY BRENDAN WEINTRAUB
STUCK IN PARADISE: Brendan Weintraub ’16 took this photograph last winter break while he was on vacation in San Pedro, Belize. His hotel faced out onto the sparkling blue water and picturesque palms.
Joe Lanoie ’15 “It causes stress, breaks friendships. I had seven plans fall through and they keep telling me to be optimistic, but they are all talking out of their asses.”
Kaitlin Hulce ’14
“It’s really stressful. Great if you get a good number but terrible if you’re an upperclassman and you find yourself homeless. We need space for more housing.”
Omri Nimni ’14
“My only word is stress.”
Ami Merker ’15 “Housing is good because we get to live in a Ridgewood.”
NEXT Issue’s PHOTO CONTEST THEME: brandeisian Submit your creative photo to photos@thejustice.org to be featured in the Justice!
CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Winter coaster 5 “Go __, Tigers!”: 1968 Detroit baseball theme song 10 Verb for thou 14 Vehicle at a stand 15 Martini garnish 16 Empty room phenomenon 17 Unattributed, as a quote: Abbr. 18 Show hosted by 23-Across 20 Uncommon, to Caesar 21 Taking care of the job 22 Muse for poets 23 Popular TV personality (11/20/19326/2/2012) 26 Syr. neighbor 27 Royal Navy letters 28 Brightness nos. 30 Put a match to 35 Vocal quality 39 18-Across list topper 42 Proboscis 43 Did, at some point 44 Fish-fowl connector 45 Syr. neighbor 47 Go toe-to-toe 49 With “the,” 23- Across’s nickname on 18Across 56 Healing plants 58 Lugosi of horror films 59 Flag Day month 60 23-Across’s catchphrase on 18-Across 62 Area behind a high altar 63 “Aha!” 64 Blue Cross competitor 65 Part of an agenda 66 Migratory herring 67 California berry farm founder 68 Used car sites DOWN 1 Percussionist from Liverpool 2 Hawaiian porch 3 Ritualistic evictions 4 Singers Washington and Shore 5 Cost 6 Spiral-horned antelope 7 Faint of heart 8 Madonna title role 9 B or C of the Spice Girls 10 Sits on the kitchen counter until dinner, say 11 Indian __ 12 Not even ajar 13 Chore list heading 19 Quaint country consent 24 Grammy winner India.__ 25 Bread choice 28 Place to overnight 29 Quid pro __
Nonfiction 1. Salt Sugar Fat — Michael Moss 2. No Easy Day — Mark Owen with Kevin Maurer 3. America the Beautiful — Ben C. Carson and Candy Carson 4. American Sniper — Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice 5. My Beloved World — Sonia Sotomayor
iTUNES
1. Bruno Mars — “When I Was Your Man” 2. Justin Timberlake — “Suit & Tie (feat. JAY Z)” 3. Baauer — “Harlem Shake” 4. P!nk — “Just Give Me a Reason (feat. Nate Ruess)” 5. Pitbull — “Feel This Moment (feat. Christina Aguilera)”
BILLBOARD
1. Bruno Mars — Unorthodox Jukebox 2. Atoms for Peace — Amok 3. Mumford & Sons — Babel 4. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis — The Heist 5. Hillsong United — Zion 6. Various Artists — NOW 45 7. The Lumineers — The Lumineers 8. Josh Groban — All That Echoes 9. Rihanna — Unapologetic 10. Adele — 21
31 Future beetles 32 Rejection on top of rejection 33 Opal finish? 34 Brother of Jack and Bobby 36 Admitted 37 Opposite of paleo38 Act inappropriately 40 Accepted 41 Bright star 46 Latin 101 word 48 Behind bars 49 Where to get Seoul food 50 “A Doll’s House” playwright 51 “That’s so cool!” 52 Quick flash 53 Needing practice in 54 Smaller map, often 55 Rains cats and dogs 56 Auction condition 57 One who rarely has low spirits 61 Hog the phone
Top of the Charts information provided by Fandango, the New York Times, Billboard.com and Apple.com.
STAFF’S TOP TEN
“BuzzFeed Top Ten” By MARISSA DITKOWSKY Justice editoRIAL ASSISTANT
Solution to last issue’s crossword Crossword Copyright 2012 MCT Campus, Inc.
SUDOKU INSTRUCTIONS: Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each small 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.
Yedidya Ben-Avie ’15 “I think it’s so much drama and it ruins friendships. I lost friends doing this.” —Compiled by Olivia Pobiel/the Justice
Fiction 1. Calculated in Death — J.D. Robb 2. The Storyteller — Jodi Picoult 3. Alex Cross, Run — James Patterson 4. Gone Girl — Gillian Flynn 5. A Week in Winter — Maeve Binchy
Solution to last issue’s sudoku
Sudoku Copyright 2012 MCT Campus, Inc.
This top 10 list is a compilation of Top 10 lists posted on BuzzFeed.com, a social news website that features content from users around the web. THE LIST 1. Best Pictures of Angelina Jolie’s Right Leg 2.Most Unforgivable Twitter Spelling Mistakes 3. Kristen Wiig Moments on SNL 4. Reasons Why You Should Follow Amanda Bynes on Twitter 5. BeyHive Reactions To Keri Hilson’s Moment Of Clarity 6. Reasons Being a Fat Guy is Awesome 7. Stefon’s 10 Best Moments from SNL 8. Cutest Sloths 9.Tweets from Condescending Willy Wonka 10. Funniest Siri Responses So Far