The Justice, November 26, 2013

ARTS Page 19

SPORTS Cross-country finishes 22nd at NCAAs 16

EMOTIONAL RIDE

FORUM Include computer science in curriculum 12 The Independent Student Newspaper

the

of

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 LXVI, Number 13

www.thejustice.org

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

administration

IN-DEPTH REPORT

Bard and Syracuse differ on Al-Quds

Trustees of donated academic funds allege University misuse ■ The Safier-Jolles Fund

supports the History of Ideas program, which has declined since its inception.

■ Bard College, unlike its peers, chose not to alter its relationship with the Palestinian university.

By SAM MINTZ JUSTICE EDITOR

When the History of Ideas discipline first appeared at Brandeis in the 1950s, it boasted eminent professors who helped establish the University on the map academically in its early years. According to Prof. Jacob

By sara dejene JUSTICE editor

Since University President Frederick Lawrence’s decision to halt its academic partnership with AlQuds University in East Jerusalem, Al-Quds President Sari Nusseibeh has also been suspended from the International Advisory Board of Brandeis’ International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life while a report on the recent events at Al-Quds is currently being compiled by Brandeis faculty who visited Al-Quds last week. Meanwhile, Syracuse University announced it would also be suspending its partnership while Bard College decided it would not.

In a statement released this past Friday, Lawrence affirmed that he is committed to “keeping the lines of communication open” between Brandeis and Al-Quds.

Al-Quds reportedly had asked the University to reconsider its decision to suspend the relationship, according to a Nov. 20 article from the Associated Press. Nusseibeh later criticized Lawrence in a Nov. 22 article in the Times of Israel, saying that the University president had “gone overboard” in his decision to suspend the partnership.

Director of the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life Daniel Terris, along with Prof.

Susan Lanser (ENG) and Prof. Daniel Kryder (POL), had originally traveled to Al-Quds last week to explore ways to develop the partnership between the two schools.

According to a Nov. 21 post on Terris’ blog, Lawrence asked them to gather information after news of the events that took place on the AlQuds campus broke.

According to Lanser in an email to the Justice, they are currently writing the report and expect to release it sometime next week.

See AL-QUDS, 7 ☛

Cohen (AMST), as recently as the 1990s, it was “elite,” “respected” and “had prestige.” Today, it has been reduced greatly in size and importance, as a program that offers only a minor—one that no students have chosen to put on their diplomas since 2010, when only one did, according to data from the Office of the University Registrar.

Despite its current lack of student enrollment, the program is supported by a substantial endowment that was donated during the 1990s. If the program were discontinued, according to the donation agreement, the

University would be required to give up the funds in the endowment to the Cambridge Public Library. Two trustees of the funds, one of whom was also a faculty member and directed the program for eight years, contended in interviews with the Justice that some of those funds have been misused, having been directed to purposes outside the scope of the academic definition of the history of ideas.

History of the program

Over the course of its existence, the History of Ideas was first a gradu-

ate program, then became part of the Philosophy department, eventually became a major of its own and finally became a program with a minor, which it is today. According to the program’s website, the faculty have included distinguished scholars as Herbert Marcuse, Alasdair MacIntyre, Kurt Wolff and Lewis Coser and has also produced eminent alumni including Michael Sandel ’75, the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass professor of government at Harvard University, Michael Walzer ’56, professor emeritus in the School of

See FUNDS, 7 ☛

FRESH FACES AT THE ROSE

ASHLEY LAU/the Justice

BACK IN BUSINESS: Since its reopening in 2011, pictured above, the Rose Art Museum has made strides to promote its art and rework its organizational structure.

Rose rejuvenated with new image and structure ■ The Rose Art Museum

recently assembled a Board of Advisors, enhanced its staff with a number of new hires and is reworking its image with a new website.

By emily wishingrad JUSTICE editor

This year, the Rose Art Museum is moving forward with major changes to its administration, preservation standards and overall image on campus. With these changes, the Rose is well on its way to recovering its im-

age and status from its near-closure just four years ago.

In addition to hiring Chris Bedford as director in the summer of 2012, the Rose recently promoted Kristin Parker to deputy director, nearly doubled its staff and assembled a Board of Advisors who had their first meeting in September.

The restructuring of the Rose’s administration started in 2010 when there was an informal meeting of the Board of Overseers in which they discussed their hopes for the future of the museum, according to Kristin Parker in an interview with the Justice. Parker said, “getting a director

See ROSE, 5 ☛

Climate activism

Tough defeats

Reinharz reactions

Students fasted for the typhoon victims and climate change awareness.

 The women’s basketball team suffered a pair of losses in action versus New England foes.

 Members of the Brandeis community signed a “Petition for Executive Pay.”

FEATURES 8 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 13 ARTS SPORTS

17 16

EDITORIAL FEATURES

10 8

OPINION POLICE LOG

10 2

READER COMMENTARY 11

News 3 COPYRIGHT 2013 FREE AT BRANDEIS. Email managing@thejustice.org for home delivery.

2

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2013

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THE JUSTICE

NEWS SENATE LOG

Senate debates ‘smoke less’ initiative The Senate met on Sunday to vote on the recognition of several clubs and the amendment of one club’s constitution, as well as to determine their support for designating specific smoking areas on campus, among several other initiatives.

East Quad Senator Andrew Savage ’16 presented on the de-recognition and de-chartering of clubs that are defunct. The Senate voted unanimously to de-recognition of the Brandeis Aviation Club, which has not responded to email and has not been active on Facebook.

Next, the Deis Kernel Club approached the Senate for recognition. This club would be a computer science club aimed at providing a platform for talks by students, following the style of TED Talks. Its purpose would be to teach about the abstract side of computer science, which they argued was fundamentally different from the goal of the Brandeis Initiative for Technology Machine and Programming, the reincarnation of the Computer Operators Group. The other group seeks to explain how programs work; this group would aim to talk about academic computer science. Deis Kernel was recognized with 12 in favor, two abstentions and one dissent.

Next, the Chamber of Music Club approached the Senate, seeking recognition. The club plans to perform music at nearby locations, including nursing homes.

Senators were concerned that the club was run mostly by students from one class and would not continue in future semesters. However, senators arguing in favor noted that the club wanted recognition to have access to practice spaces. They also noted that the club had already held one successful event. Several senators were concerned that this club should initially place itself within Waltham Group so it could gain from their resources. Eventually the Senate came to a consensus that the club had the right to choose whether to be a part of Waltham Group, so they only suggested it as a resource to which the club could turn. The club was recognized with 14 in favor and one abstention.

Next, one student presented on behalf of the chartered African Dance Club to amend its constitution to allow for the incorporation of drumming. The amendment was passed with 14 in favor and one abstention.

The Senate then reconvened on an issue that had been tabled two weeks prior regarding its support for the demarcation of specific smoking areas on campus. Members of the Colleges Against Cancer group on campus sought support from the Senate for their initiative. The Senate chose not to support the initiative, recommending instead the demarcation of specific non-smoking areas. Several senators said they would support the initiative personally, but the Senate agreed that they could not support it as representatives, because they had constituents that disagreed with the initiative.

In her report, Executive Senator Annie Chen ’14 reminded senators that, yesterday, a rebranding meeting would be taking place. Chen reported that the meeting would cover how Brandeis represents itself, including a decision between being the “judges” or the “owls.”

Following these announcements, the Senate began executive senator nominations for the semester-long position that Chen currently holds. Chen, Senator-at-Large Daniel Schwab ’14 and Class of 2015 Senator Anna Bessendorf were all nominated and accepted. A vote will occur to fill the position during the Senate’s final meeting this semester on Dec. 8.

Senator-at-Large Naomi DePina ’16 said in the Social Justice and Diversity Committee report that Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel asked that the Senate help in his effort to improve the Brandeis website by gathering examples of successful websites from other colleges. DePina also reported that the committee decided to postpone the poetry slam to next semester, following issues booking a location this semester.

The Sustainability Committee reported that it was approved for a Brandeis Sustainability Fund grant to install 60 toilets with dual-flush capability. The committee is also working to have a sustainability coordinator hired to fill the vacant position, for which there is a salary allotted but no employee.

POLICE LOG Medical Emergency Nov. 18—A party reported that a student had accidentally ingested three times the prescribed dose of a prescription medication. University Police and BEMCo responded, and the student was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Nov. 18—A party reported that he or she was experiencing severe abdominal pain. BEMCo responded and the party was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Nov. 19—A student reported feeling dizzy. BEMCo responded and the party was treated onscene.

Nov. 19—A student reported that he or she was feeling weak.

BEMCo treated the student onscene and the student was transported the to Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Nov. 19—A University employee stepped on a screw and it penetrated his foot. BEMCo responded and treated the party on-scene.

Nov. 19—A party reported that he accidentally lacerated his finger with a knife. BEMCo

responded and treated the party on-scene.

Nov. 22—A party reported that another party was experiencing difficulty breathing, dizziness and blurred vision.

The party was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Nov. 23—A party reported that there was an intoxicated male student. BEMCo responded and the party was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Nov. 23—A community advisor reported an intoxicated student in the bathroom. University Police and BEMCo responded and the party was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Larceny

Nov. 18—A student reported that his iPhone was stolen from the library. University Police compiled a report.

Nov. 18—A student reported that the catalytic converter was stolen from his or her car. University Police compiled a report.

Nov. 21—The Archon reported that two Apple laptops were missing. University Police com-

piled a report and advised Library and Technology Services.

Disturbance

Nov. 19—A party reported that there was a drunk male “causing a scene.” University Police responded and determined that the suspect was not, in fact, intoxicated.

Nov. 20—A student reported that someone was knocking on her window. University Police checked the area surrounding the building and nearby parked cars with no results.

Nov. 22—A party reported loud music coming from a nearby apartment. University Police and the community development coordinator responded and advised the residents of the quiet hours policy.

Nov. 24—University Police encountered a combative male party in Usdan Student Center.

The party fled from the scene.

University Police reviewed CCTV footage, located the party and questioned him. University Police will file district court charges and University judicial charges against the party.

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS n The cover of the Arts section incorrectly stated that the review of ‘Stuff Happens’ was located on page 20. The review was printed on page 19. (Nov. 19, p. 17)

ABIGAIL ROTHSTEIN/the Justice

n A photograph in Arts was incorrectly credited.

Morgan Brill took the photograph, not Olivia Pobiel.

(Nov. 19, p. 18)

On Thursday, Sodexo catered a Thanksgiving feast in the Hassenfeld Conference Center featuring hand carved turkey breast, honey ginger glazed sweet potatoes, challah bread stuffing and various pies for dessert.

n An article in Arts should have identified Aditi Shah ’17 as a member of the Justice Features staff. (Nov. 19, p. 20)

ANNOUNCEMENTS

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The Justice is the independent student newspaper of Brandeis University. The Justice is published every Tuesday of the academic year with the exception of examination and vacation periods. Editor in chief office hours are held Mondays from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Justice office.

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The Justice Brandeis University Mailstop 214 P.O. Box 549110 Waltham, MA 02454-9110 Phone: (781) 736-3750

Student Union President Ricky Rosen ’14 will review the Student Union’s major achievements from the past semester and preview the spring semester. After Rosen’s address, there will be a Budget Transparency Town Hall event led by senior administrators to present information on Brandeis’ finances and answer any questions by students. Snacks and refreshments will be served.

Monday, Dec. 2 from 5 to 6:30 p.m.in Room 301 of the Shapiro Campus Center.

The BRAIN Initiative

The Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative, launched by President Barack Obama in April, is a bold new research effort that seeks to revolutionize our understanding of the human mind and uncover new ways to treat, prevent and cure brain disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, autism, epilepsy and traumatic brain injury.

Prof. Eve Marder ’69 (BIOL), one of 14

scholars who compose the initiative’s advisory board, will describe some of the exciting technological advances presaging a new era in brain science, in particular those that are helping scientists understand how behavior results from interactions among neurons.

In this presentation, Marder will describe some of the exciting advances in technology that presage a new era in brain science. The $10 admission for the event includes one drink.

Enjoy a 10 percent discount toward the price of dinner at the Elephant Walk.

Monday, Dec. 2 from 6 to 7 p.m. at The Elephant Walk in Waltham.

Germany in Europe 1913

Vandalism

Nov. 21—A party reported a past act of vandalism to his or her motor vehicle, which resulted in a cracked windshield.

Harassment

Nov. 20—A student filed a harassment complaint against another student.

University Police compiled a report and the reporting party was forwarded to the community development coordinator’s office for further action.

Nov. 23—A student reported contact with a suspicious person that had occurred four hours earlier. University Police compiled a report.

—compiled by Sam Mintz

Students suspended in connection to hate crime

n An article in News incorrectly identified NARAL Pro-Choice America by its former name, the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws. (Nov. 19, p. 2)

State of the Union

Nov. 23—A community advisor requested assistance from University Police with identifying possible marijuana use. There was tobacco, but no marijuana present at the scene.

University Police took no further action.

WIRE BRIEF

THANKSGIVING CELEBRATION

—Sarah Rontal

The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. Email editor@ thejustice.org.

Drugs

This panel brings together historical and artistic perspectives to discuss important questions surrounding the portrayal of war. There will be time for questions from the audience at the end of the discussion. All are welcome to attend.

Tuesday, Dec. 3 from 9:45 a.m. to noon in the Usdan Student Center International Lounge.

LOS ANGELES—A fourth San Jose State University student has been suspended in connection with an incident in which three others have been charged with a hate crime for allegedly bullying a black roommate, locking a bicycle chain around his neck and using racial slurs to demean him.

The 18-year-old male student from Los Angeles has not been identified because at the time of the alleged incidents he was a minor, according to university spokesman Pat Harris and Bay Area media reports. The student is also expected to be charged in the case.

The other students—identified as Logan Beaschler, 18, of Bakersfield, Calif., Joseph Bomgardner, 19, of Clovis, Calif., and Colin Warren, 18, of Woodacre, Calif.—are also accused of locking their roommate in his room, writing a derogatory slur on the living room board and hanging a Confederate flag and pictures of Adolf Hitler in their shared dormitory suite between August and mid-October, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

In addition to a misdemeanor hate crime, the students were also charged with misdemeanor battery. They face a maximum one-year jail sentence if convicted as charged.

The black student has only been identified as 18 years old at the behest of his parents, who said in a statement this week that they were “deeply disturbed by the horrific behaviors that have taken place against our son. Our immediate focus is his protection.”

“This is outrageous,” the Rev. Jethroe Moore II, president of the San Jose/Silicon Valley chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said, according to the Mercury News. “This form of bullying cannot be tolerated.”

University President Mohammed Qayoumi will appear on campus alongside Moore on Monday to discuss pending criminal charges against the students.

The campus plans to host a public forum during the first two weeks in December about racial tolerance at San Jose State University.

——McClatchy Newspapers

NOTE TO READERS The Justice is on hiatus for Thanksgiving. Our next issue will be published on Dec. 10.

Check our website, www.thejustice.org, for updates.

THE JUSTICE

student activism

Petition circulates after Reinharz pay publicized ■ Members of the Brandeis

community expressed strong concerns over his salary.

By TATE HERBERT JUSTICE EDITOR

In the week after the Boston Globe published its Nov. 17 article examining the “golden parachute” phenomenon in higher education, focusing on President Emeritus Jehuda Reinharz’s compensation, many members of the Brandeis community reacted with skepticism and even outrage. As of press time, a “Petition for Fair Executive Pay” at Brandeis on the website actionnetwork.org had attracted over 1,400 signatures from students, alumni, faculty, staff and others. The student representatives to the Board of Trustees also sent a letter to the chair of the board, Perry Traquina ’78, with student concerns, according to a member of the Student Union executive board.

On Friday, Traquina issued a statement via BrandeisNOW in response to the Globe article and the public reaction to it.

“As Board Chair, one of my highest priorities will be to ensure that all current and future executive pay packages at Brandeis are fair, motivational and consistent with best practices,” read the statement, in which Traquina also pledged to ensure that the Board’s actions were consistent with “our namesake, Justice Louis D. Brandeis.”

Jonathan Sussman ’11, who was involved with drafting and promoting the petition, said that he was glad to see this response from the Board, but still hoped to see more action taken.

“I’m glad that the Board of Trustees understand[s] that they need to address these issues, that there is a strong concern from the student body and from alumni,” he said in an interview with the Justice. “But until we see concrete change, I don’t think that there’s really going to be any satisfaction with those answers.”

The organizers of the petition will present it to Traquina and the Board of Trustees, according to Sahar Massachi ’11 MA ’12, one of the drafters.

The text of the petition, which was spearheaded by Massachi and Suss-

man along with Lev Hirschhorn ’11 and Mariel Gruszko ’10, stated that “Reinharz’s excessive compensation is part and parcel of a national trend of universities shifting resources away from the classroom and toward administration. Brandeis undermines its own values when it prioritizes donor relationships and institutional prestige over student access to scholarship and good stewardship of our communal resources.”

The petition also made two demands: that the Board of Trustees “[i]nstitute a policy of transparency” surrounding executive compensation, and that “[t]he complete annual compensation of the highest-paid employees of the University should be no more than fifteen times the complete annual compensation of the lowestpaid full-time employee of the University.”

In data Massachi collected from about 1,400 signatories, approximately 449 said they had donated to Brandeis in the past, 372 said they had volunteered for Brandeis in the past and 76 said they would help the creators of the petition “take [it] to the next level.”

“It’s an astounding number of signatures,” said Massachi. “Consider that the way this spread was ... posting a link to the petition on Facebook. And just from those humble beginnings, we got, I think 500 or 600 signers in the first day.”

On campus, Alina Pokhrel ’15 and Benjamin Hill ’14 are leading an effort to organize students, faculty and staff and “create a safe space” in which to share thoughts on the issues surrounding Reinharz’s compensation.

Whiler there are no concrete plans as of yet, they are planning to host an open forum on campus early next semester to address this issue and “foster trust” between the various parties, Pokhrel said in an interview with the Justice.

Of the signers of the petition, 310 were current undergraduate students and 15 were current graduate students. Seventeen signatories said they were faculty members, nine were staff, 34 were parents and a combined 98 had “other” or “blank” affiliation to the University.

Alumni, however, made up by far the largest group, with a combined total

of approximately 891 alumni of either graduate or undergraduate programs at Brandeis.

Massachi said that his statistics were rough because the method by which he gathered information left open the possibility of double counting people.

According to this self-reported information, 37 of the 449 who said they had donated to Brandeis graduated before 2000, with some graduating as early as 1958. Nine donors were still undergraduates, and 403 graduated between 2000 and 2013, according to the data.

Those who signed the petition were also given the option of writing a comment.

Many addressed the topic of rising tuition and considered the amount of financial aid for which Reinharz’s salary could be used, while others pointed out the disparity between Reinharz’s compensation and faculty and staff pay.

Still others simply quoted the University’s motto, “truth: even unto its innermost parts.” A few signatories wrote that “Justice Brandeis is rolling in his grave,” and pointed to the University’s mission of social justice as their motivation to sign.

Several commenters stated that they would not donate to the University after learning of Reinharz’s compensation package, or were discouraged from making a contribution.

When asked about the involvement of recent alumni in the petition, Massachi said that “people of that generation just saw it really clearly,” referring to the students who were here during the financial crisis. “Jehuda was the same guy who told us we had no choice but to, you know, admit a lot more students, be more cramped, have ... less professors and just change as a university.”

“We think this is really significant because ... if [Brandeis is] going to survive, it needs to have a strong base among students who have graduated very recently to contribute to the University both monetarily and just socially and culturally to keep the University alive,” said Sussman when asked about the involvement of young alumni. “So we think it shows a real crisis for the University that the most recent generation of alumni are very concerned about its direction.”

ADMINISTRATION

University to address deficit ■ The University plans to

save one million dollars in procurement in 2014.

By MARISSA DITKOWSKY JUSTICE EDITOR

As a part of efforts to reduce the University’s $6.5 million deficit, as announced at the last faculty meeting on Nov. 7 by faculty representative to the Board of Trustees Prof. Faith Smith (AAAS), the University plans to save one million dollars in procurement for fiscal year 2014.

According to Senior Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer Marianne Cwalina, the University has made some specific investments in fiscal year 2014 to improve academic and student services. “Historically, deficit spending has been the norm along with a greater draw on the endowment to support operations. The new senior leadership team has been working diligently to reduce and eventually eliminate the deficit,” she wrote in an email to the Justice.

Cwalina wrote that the strategic procurement staff has been reorganized under a new director and is currently working to identify preferred vendors that will cost the University less in supplies, services and contracts. All costs are currently under review and prices for services are being assessed in order to achieve more than one million dollars in procurement savings, she wrote. According to Cwalina, the University plans to save

about five million dollars in procurement over the next few years, in areas including utilities, facilities services and supplies. Cwalina wrote that a majority of the savings would be seen in waste management, print, travel, facilities services and lab services, among other areas.

Cwalina wrote that the science departments could see further reductions in spending for lab supplies and services but only relative to lower cost negotiated with vendors. She also wrote that facilities will see budget reductions, again, relative to negotiated contracts for snow removal, waste management and other facility services.

According to Dean of Arts and Sciences Susan Birren in an email to the Justice, “[s]trategic procurement is just having agreements with vendors that leverage the buying power of the [U]niversity to get better prices for the items we purchase anyway.”

Therefore, Birren wrote, students should not see any difference in the supplies used in courses or available to them, “as we will be purchasing the same supplies and equipment but saving money through strategic procurement agreements.” Birren wrote that these agreements actually “have the potential to help faculty in the sciences manage their grants and increase money available for their research, including research involving undergraduates.”

The savings and decreases in spending, according to Cwalina, will not be across-the-board, but will rather come “as we pinpoint vendor

savings in specific departments as procurement identifies better rates and services.”

According to Director of Strategic Procurement John Storti in an email to the Justice, the strategic sourcing model is “based upon demand management and creating strategic partnerships with key suppliers in order to leverage the University’s spend[ing] as a whole as opposed to decentralized spending.”

“As the Procurement staff continues to bid out services, we anticipate seeing continued annual savings to help defray the deficit. Supplies that affect all departments will see reductions in their budgets,” Cwalina wrote.

When asked if procurement savings would affect employment or administrative, faculty or facilities services salaries, Cwalina wrote that “the University is currently examining our business processes to see where we can adopt best practices that bring us in line with the higher education community.

“Like other universities and colleges, our competitors, we are looking at their administrative practices. In reviewing our own, we want to implement practices that will not only get the job done but will also permit us to conserve resources for our strategic goals,” Cwalina wrote.

Storti could not comment on specific areas for which the University has established savings by press time.

Senior Vice President for Administration Mark Collins could not be reached for comment by press time.

●

TUESDAY, November 26, 2013

3

JUSTICE FOR ALL

MORGAN BRILL/the Justice

ADVOCACY: Jonathan Miller discussed his role at the office of the attorney general.

Miller speaks about his work at Q&A session ■ Jonathan Miller visited the

University to discuss his role in the civil rights division of the attorney general’s office.

By JAY FEINSTEIN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Last Tuesday, the Queer Policy Alliance sponsored a questionand-answer session with Jonathan Miller, the head of the civil rights division of the office of the attorney general of Massachusetts. Prof. Michael Willrich (HIST) moderated the session. Miller spoke about his role in advancing equality in the state for low-income families, racial minorities, people with disabilities and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer populations.

Miller said his office fights cases of discrimination wherever they appear. For example, he spoke about how his office has fought housing discrimination for children who are legally entitled to a lead-free environment, loan discrimination for minorities who were given lower rates than they deserved and websites inaccessible to the blind. He said his office also tries to fight for equal rights for transgender individuals. “We look at how to make Massachusetts as tolerant as possible,” Miller said. “It’s meaningful to try to level the playing field to remove barriers and make opportunities for people.”

In addition to fighting discrimination, Miller’s office played a key role in the U.S. Supreme Court’s striking down Section Three of the Defense of Marriage Act, a law that prohibited the federal government

from recognizing same-sex marriages.

According to Miller, his office and the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, a legal rights organization, filed a case in 2009 in order to add the voice of a state to the issue. The Massachusetts court declared section three of the law was unconstitutional.

Before this section of the law was struck down, members of a same-sex union could be married in Massachusetts but federally categorized as single, and therefore qualify for certain benefits but not others, he said.

“DOMA added a weird legal fiction that just didn’t make sense,” Miller said. “We were forced to treat some married couples differently than others.”

Miller said marriage should be up to the states as long as it is constitutional, but he said he thinks there will be a national marriage equality ruling within 10 years. “Loving v. Virginia in 1967, a sweeping decision that legalized interracial marriage, is the most comparable case,” he said. “Maybe 10 years is too bold, but I don’t think so because there is an incredible race to legalize it right now.”

Queer Policy Alliance member Alex Thomson ’15, who helped plan the event, said in an interview with the Justice that the purpose of the event was to have a conversation with the Brandeis community on marriage equality. “Massachusetts has always been a leader in the marriage equality fight, and it’s important to learn about that,” he said. “For me personally as a member of the LGBT community, and someone interested in politics and law, the issue is close to my heart.”

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THE JUSTICE

MOTHER QUOTA IN QUESTION

OLIVIA POBIEL/the Justice

Scholar advocates for quota in parliament

■ Dr. Hilke Brockmann

of Harvard University’s Center of European Studies discussed a mother quota.

By RACHEL UEMOTO JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Last Tuesday, Dr. Hilke Brockmann, who is working at Harvard University’s Center of European Studies and is a professor of sociology at Jacobs University in Germany, gave an open lecture for the students of Prof. Jill Greenlee’s (POL) class “Women in American Politics.”

Brockmann analyzed the effectiveness of the female quota in increasing the number of mothers working in Germany’s Parliament and proposed a mother quota to address the lack of mothers in positions of power.

German political parties previously adopted a voluntary female quota in order to increase women’s participation in politics. The specific goal was to increase female representation in the German Parliament.

According to Brockmann’s research, justification for quotas comes from the fact that a severe discrepancy remains between male and female representation in European government positions. She referenced the European Union Gender Equality database for 2013, which noted that 67 percent of the European Parliament consists of men. The quota, which was only implemented in Germany, has produced little impact on increasing women’s roles across Europe as a whole, according to Brockmann.

“There are a few women who reach out for the highest positions, but basically, in most of the country this is a small minority,” said Brockmann during her presentation.

Brockmann noted that there is underrepresentation of mothers specifically in Germany due to decreased fertility of German women.

Brockmann presented a chart from the Organization for Economic CoOperation and Development, which exhibited a drop in German women’s fertility rate from about two children per woman in 1970 to 1.49 in 2013. “[The] majority of women are mothers,” explained Brockmann.

“But what I wanted to point out is that there is a relatively large fraction of women, particularly in the higher educational sector of women, who remain childless.”

According to Brockmann, fertility in Germany decreased in part due to the significant financial burden of having a child.

“For every child, you lose on average up to 18 percent of your income,” Brockmann said. “As you age, the motherhood penalty kicks in. This after a long work trajectory adds to enormous gaps at pension between men and women,” she continued.

Brockmann stated that men have nearly 40 percent more pension than women in general, and “women with children have much lower pensions

than those without.” According to Brockmann, pensions in Germany depend on the income of the individual while they participated in the work force. Mothers, due to the reduced income with every child, subsequently receive significantly lower pensions than men and women without children.

According to Brockmann, since the introduction of the female quota the gap between fathers and mothers in legislature has increased. The quota therefore indicates that there are more women involved in politics, but not many of those women are mothers. Brockmann raised the question of whether or not the quota is selective, or if it promotes all women— with or without children—equally.

“I see hints of selectivity,” said Brockmann. “A quota helps; it promotes women, but it doesn’t promote every woman at the same time.

What’s overlooked is motherhood.”

As a result of the inefficiency of the female quota in integrating mothers into the German Parliament, Brockmann proposed the idea of a motherhood quota in order to target a specific subset of women and reduce the homogeneous composition of the German legislature.

Brockmann said she believes that some of the benefits of a motherhood quota include decreased discrimination against mothers and a diverse parliament that will produce better policies.

However, she said she recognizes that a motherhood quota would be imperfect because it would still leave a somewhat homogeneous parliament. A motherhood quota does not make distinctions between single mothers and mothers with partners to aid in child care.

Also ignored is the number of children that a mother has, as the number of children contributes to the motherhood penalty financially and in terms of work experience. Mothers with more children, according to Brockmann, are out of the work force for a greater period of time. Additionally, Brockmann referenced a study conducted by Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers in 2009 that indicates that mothers are not any happier in full-time jobs leadership positions than they would be in non-leadership and part-time jobs.

“Through an American perspective, ideally the motherhood quota sounds great,” wrote Gilberto Calderin ’17, an attendee at the lecture, in an email to the Justice. “I just think it will not be successful. I think another way to target this problem is by designing institutions in a way that allows mothers to participate in the system rather than forcing them in and hoping for the best.”

Despite the concerns raised regarding the idea of a motherhood quota, Brockmann said she believes in the intent of the plan in integrating mothers into high-level political positions.

“Motherhood representation is an issue. It always has been,” said Brockmann.

TUESDAY, november 26, 2013

5

ROSE: Museum will see changes by fall of 2014 CONTINUED FROM 1

GERMAN PARLIAMENT: Dr. Hilke Brockmann spoke about her research and thoughts regarding a mother quota for the German Parliament last Thursday afternoon.

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was one of those big hopes.”

This year is the first time that the Rose has had a Board of Advisors since the scandal in 2009 during the financial crisis, in which the University attempted to sell the Rose’s collection. The Board of Advisers has replaced the Board of Overseers to provide both “financial” and “intellectual” support for the Rose, Parker said. The Board has fiscal responsibilities and members who are also knowledgeable about art, especially modern art, so that they can assist in decisions regarding the exhibits.

According to Parker, the Board is also looking to rewrite the mission statement for the museum. Parker noted that this revitalization of the Board of Advisors came with Bedford’s directorship. “We needed a visionary [to] come up with the next steps,” Parker said. “Bedford provided them with that direction.

Bedford said in an email to the Justice that the rewrite of the mission statement will be a “collaboration between various stakeholders including the Rose Board, Rose staff, university administration and students.”

This year, the Rose has also doubled its staff. Parker said that despite the fact that the museum is still not up to capacity, it is not looking for any new staffers at present while most of the key op-

erational areas including security, conservation and directorship are being covered.

One important new hire is Jennifer Yee, who was hired as patron services coordinator, a position that had not existed at the Rose until this year. Her job includes assisting with security, helping coordinate events such as the annual SCRAM Jam and training student gallery guards. In an interview with the Justice for the Nov. 19 JustArts weekly interview column, Yee mentioned that she had had guards come up to her and say that they have “never had this kind of direction before.”

Parker herself has also made some key changes to the Rose since she was hired last year. With a background in conservation and preservation, she has been working to improve on the Rose’s preservation standards. Parker said that when she came, the Rose was in need of what she called a “TLC” treatment. Parker’s “TLC” treatment includes preventative maintenance, which she herself does, and bringing in conservators that she knows from her days at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum as well as some conservators from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

Parker mentioned that through some preservation work, the Rose realized that an Al Loving collage in storage was actually hanging upside down on an acidic baking

board. Not only are the preservation projects helping to maintain the pieces, but they also made sure that a piece of artwork wouldn’t be displayed upside down.

The Rose itself also seems to be undergoing a “TLC” treatment. According to Parker, the museum is being “rebranded,” along with the rebranding of Brandeis. Bedford commented that changes will be well underway by fall 2014. This rebranding includes a redesign of the website, a task with which Library and Technology Services is assisting.

Parker said that the Rose is looking to publish lectures given at the museum as well as a collection database online. She noted that although they have been working on the collection database for two years, it is still in the works due to the enormous size of the project and the fact that the museum has only dedicated one person to the task.

Bedford described his vision for the Rose; he said, “I’d like the faculty and students to feel that the Rose, it exhibitions, programs and superb collection all belong to them, that the museum is central to their lives as members of the campus community, and that it’s as much a classroom as a place to meet each other, have fun, and be social. I think art should be integral to daily life and [the Rose is] a site on campus where that’s possible.”

CAMPUS CLUBS

TransBrandeis and ICC lead awareness effort on campus

■ The national Trans

Awareness Week was celebrated on campus with a series of events.

By ZACHARY REID JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

This past week, Brandeis celebrated Trans Awareness Week with a variety of events aimed at educating the student body about the needs of the transgender community, as well as the challenges it faces. The week was co-sponsored by TransBrandeis and the Intercultural Center.

Trans Awareness Week is a nationally celebrated week that promotes awareness of the transgender community. According to the website of Fenway Focus, a group dedicated to serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community of Boston’s Fenway neighborhood, Trans Awareness Week was first started by the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition to advocate for the transgender community. This year, the week was celebrated nationally from Nov. 11 to Nov. 17. It was recognized and celebrated at Brandeis between Nov. 18 and 24; this marks the third time Brandeis has celebrated the week.

The dates differed for Brandeis, according to Sara Brande ’15, the coordinator of TransBrandeis, because it was believed that having them cover an entire academic week would be a more effective way of reaching out to the community.

TransBrandeis is a branch of Triskelion, Brandeis’s umbrella LGBTQ group, which focuses on the transgender community at Brandeis.

Brande said in an interview with the Justice that the week had seen a great showing from the community, and that the events had been “very well received.”

Jessica Pedrick, the program coordinator for sexual and gender diversity at the Intercultural Center, said in an interview with the Justice that the week was a strong success.

“There seems to be a large interest in trans awareness on campus,” she said.

Pedrick said she mainly served in an advisory capacity for the week, meeting with representatives for each event to finalize details and ensure the proper resources were available and “supporting them any way they needed.”

On Monday, Nov. 19, the Queer Resource Center handed out cookies and informational pamphlets outside of the Usdan Student Center in an effort to promote Trans Awareness Week itself and general information about the transgender community to students.

The event on Tuesday, Nov. 20 was the Trans Awareness Week Coffeehouse, which occurred in the ICC Swig Lounge. The coffeehouse received a “strong showing of support from the community,” Brande said, and featured performances including a cappella groups, sketch comedy and individual acts.

The ICC hosted an “Allies Brown Bag Lunch” on Wednesday in the Swig Lounge, which featured a discussion about the variations in gender identity and expression. The event was very successful, according to Pedrick, as a diverse group of individuals attended, including undergraduate and graduate students, and various staff members from the Interfaith Chaplaincy and the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life, among others.

The brown bag lunch also “promoted the ICC,” Brande said. “People don’t always visit the ICC, and events like this help expose them to what it can offer,” she added.

On Thursday, the Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil took place in the Trisk Lounge. There, the names of some of the victims of transphobic murders were read aloud in a memorial service for the 238 reported victims of the past year.

Brande said that this event was particularly difficult, as the number of victims “is 238 too many.”

On Friday afternoon, Trans Awareness week joined the Peace

Vigil at the Peace Circle for a ceremony promoting peace among all people.

The final event of the week, Queer Swim, occurred on Sunday at the pool in the Joseph M. Linsey Sports Center. From 2:15 to 4:15 p.m., any person was able to use the male, female and handicapped locker rooms and pool entrances in an effort to promote gender inclusivity.

“Basically, anyone [could] use whichever entrance they prefer to identify with,” said Brande. “It is a great way to make the space more gender inclusive.”

Yesterday, a follow-up event called “Allies Topic Training: Coming Out” was held from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Swig Lounge.

This discussion centered on how an individual can be a supportive ally, specifically with the challenges that follow when an individual considers whether to “come out” and disclose their sexual orientation, sexual preference or gender identity.

Trans Awareness Week is not the only focus of TransBrandeis, however. A major initiative the group has focused on for two years has been implementing gender inclusive bathrooms in public buildings.

“There are already gender inclusive bathrooms in many of the residence halls, which is great” said Brande.

“The next step is pushing for more [gender inclusive bathrooms] in public buildings around campus.”

According to Brande, there are only four gender inclusive bathrooms in public spaces: one in the Intercultural Center, one in the Shapiro Campus Center and two in the Heller School for Social Policy and Management.

Pedrick told the Justice that this initiative was “well under way,” and that “the majority of the legwork has been done, and now we have to compile the information into a report.”

She estimated that a motion would be submitted to the administration sometime during this academic year.

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Comment on articles at thejustice.org or email Glen Chesir at forum@ thejustice.org.

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TUESDAY, November 26, 2013

FUNDS: Heavily financed program has no minors CONTINUED FROM 1 Social Sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study and Evelyn Fox Keller ’57, professor emerita in the history and philosophy of science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In recent years, the program had been led by Prof. Emeritus Silvan Schweber (PHYS), a physicist who studies the history of science and Dr. Amelie Rorty, a philosopher who is currently a visiting professor of philosophy at Tufts University. Rorty was the director of the program from 1995 until 2003, when her contract expired and she left to pursue a research opportunity at Yale University. Since that time, the directorship of the program has been held by multiple faculty members, including Profs. Michael Randall (ROMS), Bernard Yack (POL) and Eugene Sheppard (NEJS).

Since Rorty left the directorship, the History of Ideas program has changed substantially. Rorty offered several courses specifically tailored to the program, such as the core course “HOID 127A: Seminar: History of Ideas,” and other electives. The program also organized a History of Ideas Student Forum, which “provide[d] the opportunity to present a problem or issue for discussion,” according to the Registrar’s University Bulletin from the 1999 to 2000 academic year. The bulletin goes on to explain that students worked either individually or in groups to select a discussion topic and an accompanying list of readings. In the past 10 years since Rorty’s departure, the History of Ideas program has not offered any of its own courses; it has cross-listed courses that are hosted by other departments. The last time the core course was taught by Richard Koret Professor of the History of Ideas Mark Hulliung (HIST) in spring 2003, the only time he taught it.

On April 25, 1995, the Hannah Oberman Trust donated one million dollars to be used by the University for the History of Ideas program. On December 29, 1999, the Trust again donated to the University, this time a gift of $500,000 in “marketable securities” to establish the Safier-Jolles Fund in order to “provide funding for the program” and to be used “exclusively … in support of the History of Ideas Program.” The agreement also required the University to provide a semi-annual report on the investment and expenditures from the fund. According to an estimate from Senior Vice President for Communications Ellen de Graffenreid, the current market value of the fund is approximately $800,000.

The agreement dictated that if the History of Ideas Program is discontinued or terminated, all remaining funds would be distributed to the Cambridge Public Library.

Alleged violations of gift agreement

Rorty, who became a trustee of the Hannah Oberman Trust in 2006, provided several documents related to the donated funds to the Justice during an interview, alleging multiple violations of the original gift agreement.

Most of the violations involve courses or events paid for by the fund which do not fall within the scope of the field of history of ideas. David Lyons, another trustee of the fund and a professor of law and philosophy at Boston University, agreed in an interview with the Justice that there were activities paid for which did not relate to the academic scope of the program.

Rorty wrote in a June 4, 2012 email to Dean of Arts and Sciences Susan Birren and Provost Steve Goldstein ’78 that “there is solid and substantial evidence that HOID is not a viable independent program; and there is ample documentation that the University has misappropriated SafierJolles Funds.”

One of the alleged violations was that the fund paid for the development of the HOID core course offered in fall 2011, “PHIL 109b: Ethics and Emotions.” According to letters sent to Rorty from two external philosophy professors, Calvin G. Normore of University of California, Los Angeles and Daniel Garber of Princeton University, who each reviewed the course’s syllabus, it should not have been considered a core course in a History of Ideas program of study, though it is a strong

course in philosophy. Garber wrote that he was “extremely skeptical that it should count as a course in the History of Ideas” and Normore said that he did not see how it “[could] possibly serve as anything like a central course in a History of Ideas program.”

Rorty also expressed concern in an April 2012 email to University Treasurer Chris O’Brien that the Fund was being used to pay for a conference in 2004 on “Civil Liberties in an Age of Surveillance,” which she said “bears no serious connection to the history of ideas.”

Since then, there have been several other events sponsored by the program, which are only of questionable relation to the history of ideas, according to Rorty. One, which took place on Nov. 4, was titled “The Female and Her Body in Pakistani Contemporary Art.” Prof. David Engerman (HIST), the acting director of the program, said in an interview with the Justice that the event explored “contemporary art but [placed] it in historical perspective. … The title [of the lecture] may not have reflected that fully.”

Another, which occurred on Nov. 12, was titled “The Great LOL of China—What’s Funny in the Middle Kingdom.” The speaker, Jesse Appell ’12, discussed and performed xiangsheng, a form of Chinese comedy. The sponsorship was announced in the opening remarks of the lecture.

When Rorty became trustee of the fund in 2006, she began an email correspondence with then- Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe and Senior Vice President and University Counsel Judith Sizer, during which Sizer wrote, “Do you think the donors would be at all amenable to some modest changes in the language of the gift agreement?

As I review the matter, it seems to me that a clarifying tweak or two might be helpful.”

De Graffenreid said that the retroactive tweaking of gift agreements “is not uncommon” in a university setting. Sizer added (in an email forwarded through de Graffenreid) that “gift agreements may legally be amended by written agreement between the University and the donor(s), and this happens at Brandeis from time to time.”

However, Lyons said in an interview with the Justice that such action is improper. “It’s asking for a legitimation of wrongs that have already been done,” he said. Rorty expressed a similar sentiment, saying that “originally the donors, and now the trustees, believe that in making this suggestion, the University implicitly acknowledges that something has gone wrong.”

According to an email from Director of Development Communications David Nathan, the University’s gift policy states that if gifts are restricted, as the History of Ideas funds are, they should “use language that permits the University to apply the gift to a related purpose in the event that the designated purpose is no longer necessary or able to be performed.”

Throughout her time as trustee of the fund, Rorty alleges that the University was uncommunicative and unhelpful. In 2011, Rorty and Lyons requested a meeting with University President Frederick Lawrence, which was postponed and replaced by a meeting with Birren, which was then postponed twice, according to Rorty.

Upon finally meeting with Birren and Provost Goldstein, Rorty said that the two “deflected specific questions about the Program with vague and non-committal replies.”

In April 2012, Rorty and Lyons wrote again to Lawrence and O’Brien, appending a list of specific violations of the terms of the agreement, and received no reply or acknowledgement, according to Rorty.

They wrote again to Lawrence, Goldstein and Birren in May 2012 and again received no reply, according to Rorty. In June, Lyons and Rorty again requested a meeting with Birren and Goldstein to discuss plans for remediation of the violations of the fund and set a meeting for June 8. On June 7, Birren canceled the meeting, writing that they should "[provide] Dr. Sheppard with this time to develop his ideas" for the program, according to an email provided by Rorty.

Sizer, who manages the legal partic-

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THE JUSTICE

7

ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

ulars of the Safier-Jolles Fund according to de Graffenreid, has a limited ability to respond to press inquiries, and “can’t speculate about questions or give opinions” because of her role as the University’s attorney.

Sizer said in an email sent from de Graffenreid that “oversight of the university’s gift funds is the responsibility of the Office of Financial Affairs and Treasury Services and the Office of Development and Alumni Affairs, with assistance when needed from the Office of the General Counsel.”

Future of the program

Engerman, who is currently serving as acting director while Sheppard is on sabbatical, said in an interview with the Justice that the program has undertaken “the usual recruiting work through academic services,” including participation at academic fairs, and the program maintains “a mailing list of 50 [to] 60” people.

Cohen said that if the program were to be revived to anything near its former state, he believed that there would be two things needed: student initiative, and “there has to be one person: a professor.”

In an email to the Justice, Birren did not comment on the specifics of Rorty’s allegations, but said that she does see value in the program.

“The History of Ideas program provides an important intellectual framework for both students and faculty for engagement in thinking about the historical context of ideas and values,” she wrote. “The program has broad value for undergraduates and across the disciplines that is seen in the co-sponsorship of lectures, the availability of grants for students (in any major) completing Senior theses with relevance to the history of ideas and the thesis prize for exemplary undergraduate research relating to the history of ideas.”

She also added that she sees an exciting future ahead for the History of Ideas at Brandeis: “We are continuing to build the program and are working to increase the participation of undergraduates in the minor by creating compelling new programming and courses,” she wrote.

Specifically, she cited an upcoming lecture in the spring by philosopher Hilary Putnam and the upcoming hiring of a new assistant professor of Politics, Jeffrey Lenowitz, who will contribute to teaching in the History of Ideas program.

According to the original donation agreement, the University is required to continue to support the program from its general funds.

When asked what her expectations were for the program that she formerly directed, Rorty said in an email to the Justice that she would like to see higher standards upheld.

“It would be good to have the director of the program be someone whose work has been—and will continue to be—in the History of Ideas. There are serious scholars in the field,” she wrote. “It would take considerable reorganization to transform the program as it now exists—as virtually nothing but window dressing—into a respectable and thriving program that does honor to Brandeis’ once distinguished program in the History of Ideas."

She also offered a more realistic option for the revival of the program.

“Second best would be to have somebody who’s really in the history of ideas at Brandeis [direct the program]—and there are a lot of people like that … People who don’t just do token history—a little bit of Kant, a little bit of Plato in every course. And have a thriving program really devoted to the history of ideas. To make the transition between what exists now, which is virtually nothing, and that, would require some very serious thinking.”

However, she said, “if it turns out that nothing really viable can be done, then I would think it would be better to scrap it than to have some false thing that does harm to the idea of the history of ideas.”

Former program directors Yack and Sheppard did not respond to emails requesting comment.

—Tate Herbert and Andrew Wingens contributed reporting.

ZACH ANZISKA/the Justice

The Women’s and Gender Studies department held an event last Tuesday, featuring Prof. Joyce Antler (AMST), to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the program.

AL-QUDS: Admin decision attracts praise, criticism CONTINUED FROM 1 “The issues on the ground at AlQuds University are much more complex than has been reported on blogs and in the press,” Terris wrote on his blog. “These issues deserve careful consideration and conversation.”

Terris wrote later in the post that “at this point … nothing that we have learned during this period has changed our conviction ... that Sari Nusseibeh and the Al-Quds University leadership are genuinely committed to peace and mutual respect.”

Syracuse decided to suspend the relationship between Al-Quds and its Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism three days after Brandeis’ decision, according to a Nov. 22 article from the Jerusalem Post, which reported Nov. 24 that Bard would continue its relationship.

In an email to the Justice, Prof.

Jytte Klausen (POL) expressed criticism of the decision. “My concern is that by withdrawing we have given the extremists what they wanted, and allowed then [sic] to cut off moderate Palestinians from participating in exchanges with the outside world,” she wrote. “I wish President Lawrence had waited to make a decision until the faculty fact-finding group returned and provided a rapport.”

The academic partnership was halted in response to what Brandeis called an “unacceptable and inflammatory” statement released by Nusseibeh regarding controversial demonstrations that took place on Al-Quds’ campus earlier this month, where participants donning “black military gear” and “fake automatic weapons ... marched while waving flags and raising the traditional Nazi salute,” according to a Nov. 18 BrandeisNOW press release.

In the Nov. 22 Times of Israel article, Nusseibeh explained that he had originally condemned the demonstrations on the campus in a statement “saying such manifestations of militarism are unacceptable” and called for an investigation into the incident.

According to Nusseibeh, Lawrence had then contacted him “expressing anger, and calling for a condemnation of Nazi-style militarism.”

Though Nusseibeh agreed to wait for a draft statement from Lawrence, he said that he felt it “expressed more [Lawrence’s] immediate needs than my needs as a university president having to handle a culture rather than a one-time event” and chose to write his own statement addressing the “matter,” “limits” and “values” of free speech.

Brandeis’ Nov. 18 press release stated that “While Brandeis has an unwavering commitment to open dialogue on difficult issues, we are also obliged to recognize intolerance when we see it, and we cannot—and will not—turn a blind eye to intolerance.”

The statement released by Al-Quds opened by saying that the “university is often subjected to vilification campaigns by Jewish extremists” and that it had been misrepresented as “promoting inhumane, anti-Semitic, fascist and Nazi ideologies.”

While the BrandeisNOW press release described the demonstrators as “raising the traditional Nazi salute,” a spokesman for the political branch of Islamic Jihad quoted by the Associated Press explained that the symbol represents a “desire to reach holy Jerusalem, currently under Israeli control.”

Lawrence addressed Nusseibeh’s comments in his Nov. 22 statement.

“Al-Quds University President Sari Nusseibeh has made a number of remarks and serious accusations to the media that have not been conveyed to me personally or through my staff,” Lawrence wrote. “I am reaching out to President Nusseibeh today and hope that he will be open to that discussion.”

Lawrence concluded the press release by stating that he “will not respond to specific issues raised in the public media.”

—Jessie Miller contributed reporting.

8

features

TUESDAY, novembER 26, 2013

just

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THE JUSTICE

VERBATIM | ANNA LAPPE Every time you spend money, you’re casting a vote for the kind of world you want.

ON THIS DAY…

FUN FACT

In 1778, Captain James Cook becomes the first European to visit the Hawaiian island of Maui.

Snoopy has been in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade longer than any other balloon.

FOODLESS FEAST: The fasters participated in “no eating meals” while they chatted with students in dining halls about their mission.

Ravenous for action

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MATT SMETANA

Students fasted for climate change victims in the Philippines

By JAIME KAISER JUSTICE EDITOR

On Nov. 8, Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in Eastern Samar, Philippines, leaving 230,501 injured and a death toll of 5,235 and climbing, according to a Nov. 22 CNN report. On Thursday Nov. 14, a small group of students from the organization Students for a Just and Stable Future packed into a car bound for Tufts University for an emergency meeting about organizing a student fast—a fast to spread awareness about the superstorm’s devastation and turn the conversation more broadly toward the urgency of the climate crisis.

Since that conversation, students from 75 colleges across the country, including 18 Brandeis students, have united in solidarity with lead climate negotiator for the Philippines Naderev “Yeb” Saño. Saño is fasting at the 19th Conference of the Parties, a United Nations climate change conference in Warsaw, Poland, until the UN comes out of its final round of talks with meaningful progress toward fighting climate change.

At Brandeis, the official fasting period began on Nov. 18 and ended on Nov. 22, while Saño broke his fast on Nov. 24.

The students participating in the fast were inspired by Saño’s speech at the conference. “What my country is going through as a result of this extreme climate event is madness,” Saño said.

As they were driving to Tufts, some

students expressed doubts about whether a fast was the right approach to raising awareness, but were curious to hear what the Tufts activists had to say.

The Tufts and Brandeis students at the meeting decided to create a Facebook group titled “Stop The Madness: Solidarity Fast for Emergency Climate Action” to organize their efforts. “It blew up very quickly,” said Abbie Goldberg ’16. “We were expecting it to be 50 people at best. [It has] over 1,200 people at the moment.”

Matt Smetana ’17, another SJSF member, said he convinced one of his friends to fast. “He was really opposed to the idea but then I showed him the Facebook page and he wanted to be part of the movement,” he said in an interview with the Justice.

The people fasting in solitary with Saño in Warsaw did so for two weeks, but the Brandeis students from SJSF decided to organize the fast on a rotating basis, with at least one student fasting at any given point in the week. “We wanted to have people fasting the whole time but that is kind of a lot to ask. We are busy college students,” said Goldberg.

Although many students chose to fast for one day, some students made the decision to fast for longer. Martin Hamilton ’16, for example, fasted on Monday through Friday except for Tuesday, and Goldberg went without food for the entire 5-day period.

“It struck me how many people were worried about me, … but if I passed out [some-

one could] get food for me. It would be so easy and for so many people, it is not that easy. We need to be worrying about them,” Goldberg said.

In addition to the fast, the students of SJSF organized a vigil on Wednesday night in the Shapiro Campus Center for victims of the typhoon. Some of the SJSF members, as well as activists from the greater Boston area, also attended a similar vigil in Harvard Square on the Monday the students began fasting.

Besides the vigils, Hamilton explained the group has also been active on campus.

“We have been doing ‘fasting meals’ in the dining halls … sitting there with empty plates and talking to people about what we’re doing. We definitely recruited some people [to fast] that way,” he said.

With sustained winds of 195 miles per hour and gusts reaching 235 miles per hour, a Nov. 8 CNN report stated that the storm “may be the strongest tropical cyclone to hit land anywhere in recorded history.”

The fasting students believe that the storm is the product of climate change instigated by the increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as a result of carbon emissions. “You can’t say that typhoon Haiyan was solely caused by climate, but [typhoons] are all part of this escalating pattern of extreme weather events,” Hamilton said.

Goldberg also emphasized the role of the United States in the crisis. “The U.S. is

CLIMATE CRISIS: Students committed to fasting for at least one day in solidarity with Filipino climate activist Naderev “Yeb” Saño.

among the primary perpetrators of the climate crisis; we are the ones emitting carbon … the people in the Philippines, that is not them,” she said.

“We don’t have time to keep debating whether climate change is real or not when people in the Philippines are dying,” Hamilton said.

The solidarity fast is just one event SJSF has organized. Their main initiative is divestment, a movement on many college campuses to get universities to divest from fossil fuel corporations. Hamilton noted that at this point, “divestment and SJSF have become almost synonymous.”

Additionally, SJSF members have participated in other events both off and on campus, advocating for a safer and more sustainable planet.

Such events include attending a youth climate activism conference on Pittsburgh and canvassing in Maine to pass a South Portland ordinance to prevent the construction of a tar sands pipeline.

The group never imagined their solidarity campaign would be as successful as it has been. Goldberg called the response “a very powerful display of the networking we have within SJSF and in this area, and the ability to call on each other in the climate justice movement.”

Hamilton agreed that their efforts were not in vain.

“We did not end up being just a bunch of sad, hungry college students.”

TAKING A STAND: The phrase “We stand with you” refers to Saño’s campaign for meaningful climate talks at the UN climate conference in Poland.

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TUESDAY, november 26, 2013

9

Crafting polar poetry

Poet-in-residence and naturalist presents her arctic-inspired work

By HEE JU KANG JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Specific locations often evoke sensibilities within us and inspire poetry.

For poetic inspiration, you might envision a lush meadow, the Grand Canyon, a snowy mountain or even the bustling streets of Boston. The Arctic may be one of these places.

On Tuesday, Nov. 19, the Women in Science Initiative, sponsored by the Brandeis Women’s and Gender Studies Program, hosted an event titled “Arctic Inspired: Science and Poetry from the Far North.”

The event featured Prof. Elizabeth Bradfield (ENG), a naturalist and the Jacob Ziskind Visiting Poet-in-Residence. The event was held in the Epstein Building.

Bradfield began the session by explaining the naturalist qualities in her poetry and how her poems based on the Arctic slightly differ from her other works. “My poetry often intersects with the natural world,” she said. “But rarely have I [created pieces with] a deliberte bridge to show the connections between the two.”

Bradfield then recited the prelude to Approaching Ice, her poetry collection published in 2010, before she displayed various photographs of the Arctic. The subjects of the photographs varied, ranging from lush landscapes of the Arctic to its flora and fauna.

“It is so rich up there. The number of species isn’t vast, but [the Arctic] teems with life. It’s phenomenally rich,” Bradfield said.

The presentation also focused on the microscopic life of the Arctic: plankton. According to Bradfield, 235

plankton species are shared between the North and South poles, due to a process called thermohaline circulation—a part of the large-scale ocean circulation. In relation to this, she presented another poem, “Arctos/Antarkticos.”

A part of the poem is as follows, “Back before the myths were spoken/ all land was lumped/on one side of the globe/like an aching tooth, there was ocean/over both poles. Then the slow spread/of earth’s humors: Asia, India/Australia,/all the soft-voweled continents drifting.”

The next topic was about introduced exotics—species that do not originate from the region—such as the king crab. “It does so well that it pushes out other stuff,” Bradfield said. As a contrast, she also noted noninvasive species, such as the taraxacum brachyceras, or as we call them, dandelions.

A poem followed, titled “Nonnative Invasive.” A quote from the poem is, “A swell of roadside by my house/yellows with them now, excessive petals/ turning to excessive seed.”

Bradfield then moved on to a topic that dealt with ice itself and the communities beneath the ice. “As ice grows older, it gets fresher,” Bradfield said. “The salt gets pushed out, [creating] hyper-concentrated channels of brine.” Worms, bacteria and little crustaceans live in the channels, and nutrients enter the water system.

“The garden of the Arctic is under the sea ice,” she added before reciting a selection from “Notes on Ice in Bowditch.”

Continuing on the note of small Arctic creatures, Bradfield moved on to discuss copepods—three milim-

eter long organisms high in calories.

Whales feed on the copepods, and she addressed her observations of the whale-feeding with the poem, “Historic Numbers of Right Whales Skim Feeding off Cape Cod.” Part of the poem goes, “Poor plankton, adrift/in flailing clouds, poor blushing copepods/with delicate antennae, watermelon scent—/you don’t stand a chance.”

The next topic was birds. Bradfield started by mentioning Psyjunaetur, an Icelandic festival in which children would capture confused, lost puffins and release them to the sea; the puffins will forage, they’ll feed, travel and eventually return to breed. The poem corresponding with this topic was, fittingly, “Psyjunaetur.”

The last six lines of the poem are “They ruffle and launch from rock cleft toward/what glow they see, the streetlamps, where children wait/ with outstretched boxes, catching them, nesting/them, carrying their slight palanquins to the sought shore,/learning from this tenderness, years later, when the birds/return, how delicious are the things we’ve freed.”

Next, she touched on the subject of Eider ducks’ eggs and nests, reciting the poem, “Midwinter: The Poet Imagines MacMillan Eating Frozen Eider Eggs in Labrador.”

“In spring, what treasure to find eggs snug in breast-down laid for them on tundra. I filled/my dory to the gunwales, couldn’t move for eggs, rowing like a woman stiff/in her joints, ginger with her bones. And now, November, my hatchet/through the hard, specked elliptical, my appetite for this land/that ate my father and so, cold

ABIGAIL ROTHSTEIN/the Justice

ARCTIC ARTFORM: At a Women In Science Initiative event, Prof. Bradfield presented her poetry, which is inspired by her research as a naturalist in the Arctic region. seasons later, my mother,” ended the poem.

For the closing topic, Bradfield played a recording of two Inuit women playing a throat singing game. The game consists of two women—men do not play this game—holding each other by the elbows and singing with back-and-forth exchanges, and the women to laugh first loses. According to Bradfield, the singing sounds “almost inhuman.”

Then Bradfield recited her last poem, “Southern Music” before answering questions from the audience.

Bradfield has always been interested in natural history and poetry.

“Over the years, my passion for both [natural history and poetry] has developed into a public conversation— working as a naturalist, publishing poems,” she wrote in an email to the Justice. At Brandeis, Bradfield finds that she can pursue both interests.

She said, “I came to Brandeis because of the wonderful opportunity to teach poetry here and still maintain a tie to my life as a naturalist.”

In fact, she looks forward to spending more time at Brandeis.

“I just had my poet-in-residence contract extended,” she noted. “I’ll be at Brandeis next year, too, which I’m thrilled about!”

Leaders travel in history’s trail

Eli J. Segal fellows attended a retreat in the city of Little Rock By casey pearlman JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Home to former President Bill Clinton as well as nine AfricanAmerican students who would break racial barriers, Little Rock, Ark. is a historic place. Six Brandeis students had the opportunity to visit Little Rock as fellows of the Eli J. Segal Citizen Leadership Program.

From Oct. 25 through Oct. 27, Segal Fellows Leah Igdalsky ’14, Paul Vancea ’14, Manoo Sabety-Javid ’14, Lys Joseph ’14 and two Heller graduate students, Rachael Weiker and Aaron Chalek, had the opportunity to explore the history of Little Rock on a program retreat.

The Segal Leadership Program was founded in 2007 at the Univer-

sity. “[The program] was founded by the friends and family of Eli Segal ’64 in order to commemorate his legacy and advance his passion for citizen engagement,” according to its website.

Segal’s accomplishments range from being the CEO of the Corporation of National and Community Service to serving as Bill Clinton’s chief of staff. In addition to the Brandeis students, the fellowship also draws from programs such as City Year, Corporation for National Community Service and Americorps. The program consists of 63 fellows from 15 different states, including three who are currently abroad.

The application involves essays, recommendations, transcripts, references and interviews with people

in the network. For Brandeis, between five and nine students, both undergraduate and master’s students, are selected each year to be fellows.

Brandeis fellows have “a summer internship that [the fellowship program] helps support you through, [as well as] a Segal coach. Then you become a Segal fellow for life,” Igdalsky said.

The Segal coach is “a founder of the program that fellows have to talk [to] about their career and personal aspirations,” according to Tam Emerson, program manager and Segal management fellow. The program helps the fellows find their summer internship and gives undergraduates $3,500 and graduate students $5,000 for the summer. Some past in-

PHOTO COURTESY OF TAM EMERSON

SEGAL FELLOWS SERVE: Segal fellows Stephanie Johnson ’13 (left) & Leah Igdalsky ’14 (right) with a City Year Corps Member participated in a “day of service” at a local middle school in Little Rock.

ternships encompass a broad range of areas including national service, youth development and education, business and the environment.

Joseph described the fellowship as a lifelong commitment. “After you’re done with your internship, it’s about how you are going to give back to the program, how you are going to help cultivate the world,” Joseph said. After your internship is complete, you are then placed on a committee within the overall program, continuing the fellow’s involvement after their internship is complete.

Each year the fellows, as well as its founding members, go on the retreat. The retreats are “an opportunity to build the community of fellows and bring them all together in one place,” Emerson said. Because all of these fellows are so “likeminded and interested in the idea of social entrepreneurism, when you bring them together the idea is to start to build and help sustain our network on the larger end,” she added.

While on the retreat, “the fellows come together and reflect on leadership service, what they’ve learned and what they still want to work on, as well as getting to know each other,” Igdalsky said.

This is the furthest the fellows have traveled to their retreat location. In past years, they have gone to Maryland and other locations in Massachusetts.

“Little Rock was this year’s location because Eli Segal was the chief of staff for President Clinton during his presidential campaign, and they were housed there,” Emerson said.

“So there was quite a bit of history there connected to our program … [as well as the] larger social justice civil rights movement history that happened there.”

The fellows had the opportunity to meet current and former governors of Arkansas; Sandy Berger, Clinton’s national security adviser; Crystal Mercer whose father, Christopher Mercer, worked in

the NAACP during the time of the integration in Little Rock; as well as two members of the Little Rock Nine, Carlotta Walls LaNier and Minnijean Brown.

Igdalsky said that on their first night in Little Rock, the fellows went to a dinner reception at the old state house where Clinton made his victory speech after the 1992 presidential election.

While at the dinner, the fellows had the opportunity to hear Dean of the Clinton School of Public Service James L. Rutherford, moderate a conversation between Mac McCarthy, President Clinton’s former chief of staff and cofounder of the fellowship program and Sandy Berger, who was the national security adviser under President Clinton. Emerson added, “the beginning of the evening was more of a networking reception where you could talk to anyone including members of the Clinton administration and other founders.”

The fellows visited Central High School, where the integration of the Little Rock Nine took place. The fellows tour the school and met two of the Little Rock Nine, Brown and LaNier. The two were able to give “a great perspective of how to be a citizen leader,” Emerson said.

Igdalsky and Joseph agreed that the most meaningful part of their trip was the meeting the two members of the Little Rock Nine. The experience was “empowering, especially as an African-American student,” Joseph said.

The fellows also participated in a day of service at a local junior high school in Little Rock. While in the middle school, there were different projects the fellows had the opportunity to participate in, including painting murals.

“Our fellows are all citizen leaders in their own right,” Emerson said. “There is no formula for being a citizen leader; it is the idea that wherever you are you have the opportunity and the capability to be a leader.”

10 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2013 ● THE JUSTICE

Justice Justice

the the

Established 1949, Brandeis University

Brandeis University

Established 1949

Tate Herbert, Editor in Chief Andrew Wingens, Senior Editor Adam Rabinowitz, Managing Editor Sam Mintz, Production Editor Phil Gallagher, Deputy Editor Rachel Burkhoff, Sara Dejene, Shafaq Hasan, Joshua Linton and Jessie Miller Associate Editors Marissa Ditkowsky, News Editor Jaime Kaiser, Features Editor Glen Chagi Chesir, Forum Editor Avi Gold, Acting Sports Editor Rachel Hughes and Emily Wishingrad, Arts Editors Josh Horowitz and Olivia Pobiel, Photography Editors Rebecca Lantner, Layout Editor Celine Hacobian, Online Editor Brittany Joyce, Copy Editor Schuyler Brass, Advertising Editor

Restructure History of Ideas The History of Ideas used to be a respectable program boasting a faculty of intellectual giants such as Herbert Marcuse and Alasdair MacIntyre. For many years, the program offered a core seminar course, and the program’s director from 1995 until 2003, Dr. Amelie Rorty, commanded high enrollment in her History of Ideas classes. Today, however, the program is a shell of its former self. It has not graduated a minor since 2009, and it has not offered a single course of its own in the last decade.

At the same time, the program has an endowment worth approximately $800,000 as of June 30, according to Senior Vice President for Communications Ellen De Graffenreid. That money is not being used to support the program; rather, it funds seemingly random events across campus, often with only a dubious connection to the History of Ideas. For instance, the program co-sponsored a lecture titled “The Female and Her Body in Pakistani Contemporary Art” on Nov. 4. Contemporary art is hardly the history of ideas, which is intended to help students understand “the historical background of the issues and values that have shaped their interests,” according to the University’s website.

With no students and no courses, the History of Ideas program is defunct. In part, the decline of the History of Ideas may represent a broader academic shift in focus away from the humanities. However, given the substantial endowment dedicated specifically and exclusively to the History of Ideas, the program has barely touched upon its full potential.

Moreover, prolonged correspondence

Use endowment wisely between the University and the trustees of the endowed fund provided to the Justice indicates the University has largely ignored the requests of its donors.

In line with the purpose of the donation, the University should use the financial resources provided by the program’s endowment to bolster the program.

The University should use the fund to formulate a core course in the History of Ideas to be offered each semester with the HOID designation. Even a single HOID course would lend it legitimacy and attract minors. The course would also provide academic diversity to the institution.

It should not be difficult to teach at least one course designated as HOID. Brandeis already has an endowed professorship called the “Richard Koret Professor of the History of Ideas.” That professor has not taught a HOID course since 2003, though his courses may fulfill requirements for the minor.

The University’s apparent plan to this point—to sit on the endowment and only use it for occasional events loosely related to the History of Ideas—denies students the opportunity to explore a discipline and aggravates the donors of the funds.

Mismanaging funds that could be used to promote intellectual curiosity does a disservice to students and the academy.

The intent of the donation, which was to support the History of Ideas, has not been honored. The University must respect the wishes of its donors and, with minimal effort, set the History of Ideas back on a path toward respectability.

Continue positive reforms for Rose The Rose Art Museum has come a long way since Brandeis University announced plans to sell part of its art collection in 2009. That announcement brought a major controversy to the University, and although no artwork was sold, it left a blemish on the reputation of the museum. Since the Rose reopened following renovations in 2011, the University has taken steps—such as the hiring of a new director and the commissioning of a new permanent outdoor installation piece— to restore and strengthen the museum’s prominence within the art community.

This board supports these changes to the Rose, as a strong museum benefits the University’s community and bolsters both Brandeis’ image and its legitimacy as an artistic institution.

The most significant changes to the Rose have come from a renewed investment in human capital to run the institution. Since his hiring in 2012 as the director of the Rose, Christopher Bedford has put in place a team of new staff to revamp the museum. Kristin Parker, for instance, was promoted from collections manager to deputy director and registrar and Jennifer Yee was hired as the new patron services coordinator. A Board of Advisors, newly led by art collector and patron Lizbeth Krupp, will also lend financial support and expertise to the museum.

One goal of the Rose revitalization stated by Parker is to enhance the museum’s presence on campus. We encourage the University to continuously work to better integrate the Rose into the Brandeis community. The Student Committee for

Bolster public image the Rose Art Museum has successfully sponsored a wide array of events to help increase student traffic into the Rose, including SCRAM Jam, an evening mixer in the Rose.

Further events could build on the interdisciplinary lectures and classes already held at the Rose. Last year, for example, the Psychology department and the Rose co-sponsored a lecture on “The Art of Visual Cognition.” Partnerships with departments across the University serve to help incorporate art and the museum into all areas of the academy, a central goal of a liberal arts institution.

We encourage students to take advantage of the museum. The Rose’s collection includes world-renowned works of art by artists like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. The museum is a treasured resource for the University, which provides a cultural center for the community in its comprehensive collection of works.

Moreover, the Rose’s success contributes to the public image of the University.

A flourishing museum helps attract faculty, staff, students and others to Brandeis.

The Rose, in a positive first step, plans to update its website, which is a sorely needed improvement.

In the past, this board has anticipated a new chapter of the Rose’s history with the worst of the financial crisis behind us.

Following this series of staff changes, renovations and new acquisitions, it is safe to say the new chapter has arrived.

TZIPORAH THOMSON /the Justice

Views the News on

Last Monday, University President Frederick Lawrence formally suspended Brandeis’ partnership with Al-Quds University of East Jerusalem. The announcement came on the heels of a protest on the Al-Quds campus on Nov. 5, where students marched in military gear and raised Nazi salutes. Lawrence had requested that Al-Quds’ President Sari Nusseibeh issue a formal condemnation of the demonstration, but he found Nusseibeh’s response “unacceptable and inflammatory.” What do you think of Lawrence’s decision to suspend the relationship?

Chen Arad ’15

Considering how offensive the demonstration on Nov. 5 and the statement that followed were, I support President Lawrence’s decision to suspend the partnership with Al-Quds for the time being. At the same time, I also strongly support Lawrence’s dedication to keeping the lines of communication between the two institutions open. I believe the best way to battle the kind of violence demonstrated at the rally is through education and by strengthening the relationships between moderates and constructive actors. I hope that with time and if the right steps are taken, the partnership can be restored, to continue bringing students from both institutions together in constructive dialogue. I hope so not only as a Brandeis student, but also as an Israeli who believes the future of the Middle East depends on moderates from both sides finding ways to bridge the gaps between them and work together to diminish extremism.

Chen Arad ’15 is the co-founder and public relations and media director for Brandeis Visions for Israel in an Evolving World.

Aya Abdelaziz ’16 Brandeis’ Peace, Conflict and Coexistence program has long been shamed by its silence concerning the development of drones and other deadly weapons by its partner university Technion. In light of this silence, President Lawrence’s response to the egregious incident at Al-Quds University seems disproportionate. As Al-Quds’ President Sari Nusseibeh made clear in his letter to Al-Quds students, this demonstration is not representative of the university as a whole. As stated by Bard College President Leon Botstein, “the incident and the ensuing controversy demonstrate that it is more important than ever to maintain our educational partnership with Al-Quds.” The severance of Brandeis’ ties to its only Palestinian university affiliate is rooted more deeply in the pockets of conservative philanthropists than in academic vision. Fred Lawrence’s response is one that has been motivated by fear and not by Brandeis’ stated values of justice.

Aya Abdelaziz ’16 is an events coordinator of Brandeis Students for Justice in Palestine.

Catie Stewart ’16 The partnership between Brandeis and Al-Quds is important for several reasons: it allows us to engage with narratives different from our own, to work toward peace between Jews and Palestinians and means that in the face of extremism, we can hold one another accountable. While I strongly condemn the Islamic Jihad demonstration on the Al-Quds University campus and found aspects of President Nusseibeh’s statement to be troubling, the partnership remains important. I appreciate President Lawrence’s situation and understand why he felt he had to suspend the relationship. However, I also recognize that the demonstration was not university sanctioned and that President Nusseibeh immediately launched an investigation into the events. Moving forward, I would like to see a renewed and robust partnership, which encourages the exchange of students, faculty and ideas. This would ultimately benefit both campuses by empowering those who seek mutual understanding and a resolution to the conflict, rather than voices uninterested in peace and dialogue.

Catie Stewart ’16 is the co-president of J Street U Brandeis.

Daniel Koas ’16 By suspending our partnership with Al-Quds University, the Brandeis administration has made it clear that although Brandeis is committed to open dialogue, acts fueled by intolerance and hatred are unacceptable.

The Al-Quds administration had the chance to condemn the Nazi-style demonstrations that took place on their campus to their student body, but instead decided to release an inflammatory statement that referred to Brandeis’ request for a condemnation as part of “vilification campaigns

by Jewish extremists.” While it is upsetting to lose a partner university that Brandeis has such a long-standing relationship with, when the events of the past weeks are taken into account it becomes clear that the Brandeis administration had the best interests of the university at heart.

The wait-and-see approach that the university is employing is the most logical way to address this matter and ensures that Al-Quds understands Brandeis’ deep commitment to fostering understanding through productive and respectful conversation about real issues.

Daniel Koas ’16 is the president of the Brandeis Israel Public Affairs Committee.

THE JUSTICE

READER COMMENTARY Alumni demand wage transparency To the Editor: Learning that former President Jehuda Reinharz is still making millions from Brandeis feels quite frankly insulting. Students struggle financially to access the University. Academic and service workers work more but are less secure. Many in our community are sacrificing, but very few seem to be reaping most of the benefits.

In 2009, Jehuda’s administration forced drastic changes in the name of budgetary responsibility—increasing class sizes, laying off staff, thinning out departments and most infamously, trying to sell the treasures of the Rose Art Museum. Meanwhile, there are at least 17 officers on our payroll (including Jehuda) who made more than $200,000 last year.

Inequality is spreading throughout higher education. Many of our peer institutions face pressure to behave like corporations, and in doing so abandon their public mission.

Brandeis has the opportunity to lead in reversing these trends.

During the crisis, students and faculty rose up and demanded greater transparency and power over budgeting. That was inspiring, and partially successful. Students now have a seat at the table on certain committees. Recent events have shown that those limited victories were not enough. We have two simple demands to get us back on track: 1) The Board of Trustees must institute a policy of transparency regarding past, current and future executive compensation. We should not have to learn about this from the front page of The Boston Globe.

2) The Board of Trustees must cap salaries at 15 times the compensation of the least-paid full-time employee. The cap will put our financial priorities in order and save money. If the lowest-paid worker is paid a living wage, the cap can be as high as $350,000, and we can instantly save $1.1 million annually.

There is nothing earth-shattering or impossible about these proposals. They are in line with our stated principles and appeal to common sense. In the few days since putting forth these demands, over 1200 alumni, faculty, staff and current students have urged the university to adopt them.

You can see the full text of our demands, and sign on to them too, at http://j.mp/ brandeisPay. The Board of Trustees needs to act decisively, and the campus community must hold them accountable. Real transparency and a cap on compensation would preserve our integrity and move us forward.

—Jonathan Sussman ’11, Sahar Massachi ’11 M.A. ’12, Lev Hirschhorn ’11, Mariel Gruszko ’10

Reinharz accusations are unfounded To the Editor: The question is simple: is Jehuda Reinharz worth what we pay him? From the beginning of his presidency in 1994 to the end of his president emeritus status in 2014, Brandeis will have paid Dr. Reinharz somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 million. During this period, he had raised $1.2 billion. Much of that sum would have been raised regardless of who was at the helm. The unanswerable question is: what fraction of that $1.2 billion was given by those who would not have otherwise donated to Brandeis, or would have given less than they eventually did, if not for the efforts of Dr. Reinharz? If that fraction is greater than 0.83 percent, then he is worth his salary.

Some Brandeis faculty members have argued that Dr. Reinharz’s salary should be reduced, because it is unfair that he earns so much more than they do. That socialist argument has philosophical merit. Yet it would be foolhardy for Brandeis to cap the president’s pay, because we would be unable to attract and retain the best talent, who would prefer to work for our higher-paying peer institutions.

Questioning authority is both healthy and intrinsic to the Brandeis character. At the same time, we the students should place some degree of trust in the judgment of the Board of Trustees. The Board is composed of 42 of Brandeis’ most accomplished and respected alumni and donors—surely they possess more wisdom than we do and are best qualified to govern the University.

Finally, shame on The Boston Globe for lowering itself to the level of tawdry populist journalism. The article was ostensibly a news piece, not opinion, but was explicitly one-sided. Moreover, it consumed a tedious 2,018 words, but failed to muster any basic statistical calculations. Hopefully the next generation of journalists will be capable of doing math.

—Jonathan Epstein ’14

Write to us

The Justice welcomes letters to the editor responding to published material. Please submit letters through our Web site at www.thejustice.org. Anonymous submissions cannot be accepted.

Letters should not exceed 300 words, and may be edited for space, style, grammar, spelling, libel and clarity, and must relate to material published in the Justice. Letters from off-campus sources should include location. The Justice does not print letters to the editor and oped submissions that have been submitted to other publications.

Op-ed submissions of general interest to the University community­—that do not respond explicitly to articles printed in the Justice—are also welcome and should be limited to 800 words. All submissions are due Friday at 12 p.m.

●

TUESDAY, November 26, 2013

11

Obamacare’s high cost hurts Americans

By Mark Gimelstein JUSTICE contributing WRITER

Three years ago, President Barack Obama promised that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would give every American access to the medical care they deserve. Since its imple-mentation, the plan unfortunately has not delivered. The execution of the health care exchange’s website has been fraught with technological glitches. At the same time, people all over the country are losing access to their health plans despite Obama’s promise that “if you like your plan, you can keep it.” So why don’t more Americans demand answers from the politicians who passed “Obamacare?”

After years of debate, Democrats rushed Obamacare through the Senate in the middle of the night without letting Republicans adequately voice their objections. The government granted itself control over one sixth of the United States economy, and left us with a barely functioning website which still lacks 40 percent of its intended content, and provides no protection to users from online hackers, as reported by Reuters on Nov. 20, 2013. Premiums have already skyrocketed for institutions like Bowie State University, where student health insurance costs catapulted from $100 to $1,800 a year, according to FOX News. Similar stories have unfolded in New Jersey, with the state’s Association of State Colleges and Universities reporting that students at nine schools have seen health care costs triple.

And most unfortunate of all, Forbes reports that around five million people will lose their insurance effective Jan. 1, 2014 because their plans are no longer viable under the Obamacare mandates.

While politicians try to save face and spin the disastrous enactment of Obamacare to fit a blame-someone-else narrative, the ramifications of the Affordable Care Act will keep coming. Medical institutions across the country are preparing for the impending storm of exorbitant costs from caring for those on Obamacare’s federal exchanges. Many are choosing to not serve them. In an interview with Chris Wallace, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) noted that Texas Oncology, one of the best cancer centers in the state, recently announced that it will not participate in and offer services to those under Obamacare. If more health institutions decide to go down the same route as Texas Oncology, what will happen to President Obama’s promise that “if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor?” And what will happen when the one-year-delayed employer mandate, requiring employers with 50 or more full-time workers to provide health insurance for their employees, takes effect? In a country where more than 90 million Americans have employer-provided health insurance, could we see even

NATE BEELER/MCT Campus

more lost health coverage and immense consumer displeasure over high costs as employers drop employees from their healthcare plans onto the Obamacare exchanges? Only time will tell. But given the 57.2 percent average disapproval rate for the health care law, people are scared now.

The time is now for the United States to listen to conservatives who have offered alternative, free-market solutions to health care reform.

Many conservatives in Congress have supported and pushed for market-oriented options that address the real reason behind high insurance costs: third-party payments from insurance companies. Essentially, insurance companies take consum-ers’ money that is paid through premiums and distribute that money to providers of health care. This means that people often do not see or are not educated about costs dealing with medical care, which increases prices.

To remedy this problem, senators Cruz, Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) have advocated for expanding personal health savings accounts, which cover out-of-pocket medical costs. These accounts are tax-free and give buyers incentives to save more of their money for future uses concerning health care. These accounts have been popular among middle and lower-middle class Americans in the past, with eHealthInsurance.com detailing that 40 percent of health savings account enrollees made under $50,000 and 20 percent of enrollees made under $35,000 in 2004. With focused expansion, these percentages could be even higher.

The result of this policy is that more people will become aware of what they are paying during routine medical procedures, which means that their decisions about where to go for basic medical needs will be more prudent. As a result, costs decrease as competition in the market grows—a stark contrast from the exploding costs Americans are currently seeing under Obamacare.

These same politicians have also called for removing the restrictions imposed on buying insurance across state lines. To have an active, competitive market that is concerned about the pricing and quality of their services, we must have a 50-state marketplace for consumers to buy health insurance across state lines. In the internet age, there is no reason why a New Yorker shouldn’t be able to buy a plan from Utah.

Finally, Cruz has called for delinking health insurance from employment by reforming the federal tax code, allowing workers to keep their plan if they decide to leave one job for another.

That way, we can be certain that people can truly keep their health insurance.

All it takes to enact these fair, common-sense health care policies is bipartisanship from both Democrats and Republicans who oppose failed big-government policies dealing with health care. This approach has plagued both the current and previous presidential administrations. We can’t afford to meddle with our health care system by implementing a malfunctioning law that fundamentally does not work. The lives of Americans depend on it.

Fight sexual assault in military with new laws Catherine

Rosch Cynical idealist

Even in our world of hyper-partisan politics where “compromise” is seen as a dirty word, there is at least one issue that can unite Democrats and Republicans. Leaders on both sides of the aisle have stated that the current sexual assault epidemic in the military is a very serious problem, although even within the two parties, there is no consensus on how to deal with it.

According to a 2011 issue of Newsweek, a female member of the military is more likely to be assaulted by a fellow soldier than killed or injured in combat. The United States Department of Defense estimates that there are just under 20,000 cases of sexual assault in the military per year. Pentagon statistics have found one in five women and one in 15 men who serve will be victims of attempted or successful sexual assault.

According to 2013 statistics from the Pentagon, only 1,000 troops formally requested an investigation into their assaults and just half of those requests were actually processed and looked into.

Of those processed cases, less than 100 cases went on to a military trial or court-martial, because victims either dropped charges or there was not enough evidence, much like in many of civilian cases. In some cases, according to The New York Times, the victims are punished more severely than the perpetrators, on charges of adultery and inappropriate fraternizing. The U.S. Department

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of Veteran Affairs facilities have reported than 15 percent of the female troops who come for various treatments also need counseling for military sexual trauma.

These are chilling statistics. Those who sacrifice so much to defend our country should not have to fear sexual violence or sexual assault, and yet they do. There seems to be little action within the military to make serious changes.

The New York Times published an article on Nov. 7 which stated that the number of sexual assault victims who come forward with their stories rose by nearly 50 percent this year. While it is promising that female troops feel safe enough to report what happened to them, this is only endemic of the greater problem. For every victim who reports, there are still those who are silenced and shamed for what happened.

I do applaud Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel for working to change policies for victims to get justice without having to jump through procedural hoops such as a complex process of reporting assaults, or discharges while the process is going on. It is also promising that two pieces of legislation, one sponsored by Missouri Democrat Claire McCaskill and the other by New York Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, are currently moving through the Senate with wide bipartisan support.

However, these two bills are currently in opposition to each other. Senator Gillibrand’s bill, the more progressive of the two, would completely change how the military deals with assault as it would remove sexual assault and violence cases from the chain of command and make them ruled on in civilian, not military courts. This proposal would effectively keep the military out of sexual assault trials. In contrast, Senator McCaskill’s proposal is significantly more modest, focused

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on reforming the system while working with the military by putting Secretary Hagel’s suggestions, which include better victim support and standardized and stricter punishments for perpetrators, into law. The Gillibrand bill is very popular with women’s groups and some senators. The Pentagon has stated that the McCaskill proposal is preferable and would be easier to implement.

However, my biggest fear is that these two bills will sink each other. After all, 50 senators have pledged they will support Gillibrand, but some of the most powerful players, like Carl Levin, the senior Democrat from Michigan and chair of the Armed Services Committee, back McCaskill. It is difficult enough to pass a piece of legislation in the Senate when an entire party supports it. With both parties split among themselves, the process becomes next to impossible.

Gillibrand’s plan for dealing with sexual assault in the military would give the military much needed reform; the current system is fundamentally flawed because it does not get victims justice and needs a complete overhaul. At the same time, her bill may be dead on arrival in the House of Representatives, and the McCaskill bill has the best chance of becoming law.

My hope is that these two women are able to reconcile their bills into one piece of legislation that can pass both the Senate and the House of Representatives. They surely will both have to compromise to do this, and the bill will not be perfect. I do not know if the two senators would be willing to reconcile bills that are so different, or if it is even possible. But the priority is getting a piece of legislation passed and on the president’s desk.

This is an issue that needs to be addressed, and our armed forces cannot afford for this to be pushed off any longer.

Editorial Assistants Photos: Morgan Brill Forum: Max Moran Staff Senior Writers: Jacob Moskowitz, Henry Loughlin News: Jay Feinstein, Danielle Gross, Luke Hayslip, Ilana Kruger, Sarah Rontal, Samantha Topper, Rachel Uemoto Features: Rebecca Heller, Hee Ju Kang, Casey Pearlman, Aditi Shah Forum: Jennie Bromberg, Daniel Koas, Aaron Fried, Noah M. Horwitz, Kahlil Oppenheimer, Catherine Rosch Sports: Elan Kane, Daniel Kanovich, Dan Rozel Arts: Aliza Gans, Kiran Gill, Arielle Gordon, Zachary Marlin, Alexandra Zelle Rettman, Mara Sassoon, Nate Shaffer, Aliza

Vigderman Photography: Zach Anziska, Jenny Cheng, Annie Fortnow, Wit Gan, Annie Kim, Abby Knecht, Bri Mussman, Leah Newman, Chelsea Polaniecki, Rafaella Schor, Adam Stern, Olivia Wang, Xiaoyu Yang Copy: Aliza Braverman, Kathryn Brody, Melanie Cytron, Eliza Kopelman, Mara Nussbaum Layout: Ashley Hebard, Elana Horowitz, Jassen Lu, Maya RiserKositsky, Lilah Zohar Illustrations: Hannah Kober, Marisa Rubel, Tziporah Thompson

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TUESDAY, November 26, 2013

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THE JUSTICE

FORUM

Teach computer science to students at younger ages

By Kahlil Oppenheimer JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

“Hello World.” I remember the immeasurable, heart-felt joy when my first computer program ran, displaying those two simple words. It was the 11th grade and I had decided that since my high school didn’t have any sort of computer science or programming class, I’d just read and teach myself. But why didn’t my school have any such class?

If we learn writing for communication, history for hindsight, math for logic and other sciences for understanding the natural world, then we should learn computer science to engage with the technology that dominates our current world. Many people believe that computer science requires advanced knowledge of math and highly developed theoretical thinking—but this is false. Computer science actually has very few prerequisites, just an open mind. In fact, computer science is so different from most things we learn in school that the lens it offers is unparalleled in today’s world.

Despite the common misconception, you do not need deep understandings of theoretical math or binary arithmetic to study computer science. There is definitely a place in computer science for higher math but its heart lies in something fundamentally simple—figuring out the best ways to solve problems given a set of constraints.

This is no euphemism or oversimplification.

I agree that this sounds far less exciting than the romanticized computer science of laptops with green-text windows hacking into defense mainframes within seconds, but this is what it’s actually all about. Computer science simply provides a new way to analyze familiar problems and is accessible to people of all ages, not just college students.

In computer science, seemingly intuitive problems can often have interesting solutions.

Contrary to popular belief, computers are actually really stupid, but they are really good at following instructions. With that fact in mind, solving problems takes an interesting twist.

Take the problem of searching for a particular item in a list of sorted items, like finding a word in a dictionary. It turns out that to find the word “rupture” you can’t simply tell the computer to “turn to the r section.” Telling the computer to search every entry from the beginning until it finds “rupture” could take a really long time.

Instead, think about how to answer when someone says, “Guess my number between one and 100.” We simply guess 50, and if they say larger, we guess 75, smaller and we guess 25. We keep cutting the possible ranges in half until we find the right number. That’s exactly what the solution to this problem is. We call it “binary search.” To find an entry in a dictionary with 1,000,000 entries using the first proposed method of starting from the beginning and searching until we find the right one would take 500,000 tries on average, but using binary search only takes about 20.

Another famous concept from computer science is recursion. Imagine you’re standing in a huge line to get into an amusement park and you want to figure out how many people are in

OLIVE POBIEL/the Justice

line. You could try counting it all yourself, but that would be pretty hard to do if the line were comprised of 100,000 people. We call that an “iterative solution.” The “recursive solution” is a bit savvier.

Instead, you just ask the person in front of you, “What position are you in?” Presumably that person doesn’t know either, so he asks the person in front him, who asks the person in front of her, and so forth. This goes until it gets to the front of the line, where the person there declares that he is in position one, then the woman behind him knows that she is in position two and so forth, all the way back to where you’re standing. Being able to think in

this way offers a lot of practical and interesting insight into other real-world problems.

Computer science can be taught at younger ages through programming languages developed specifically for learning. One such language is Scratch, developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In Scratch, you don’t even have to type any code or syntax. Instead, you just drag blocks together that each correspond to particular actions. You can create games, movies or whatever else you want.

Students are able to focus on key programming concepts and constructs without dealing with the seemingly complex machine grammar of a programming language.

If we expose younger children to this kind of thinking earlier on, imagine the possibilities.

Interdisciplinary connections can easily be drawn to countless other subjects. Linguistic morphology and syntax, for instance, represent underlying sound and phrase structure with tree structures that are nearly identical to how computers often represent data. Linear algebra defines vectors and matrices in such a way that begs a comparison to another way computers store data called “arrays.”

In this day and age, everyone can and should apply computer science to other aspects of their lives. We should all say “hello” to the world of computer science.

Suppressing free speech is Reinharz’s legacy, not fundraising

By Daniel Ortner Special to the Justice

A recent Boston Globe article has rightfully ignited a firestorm regarding the compensation of former University President Jehuda Reinharz. It is shocking that Reinharz received over $600,000 in 2011 for helping the University transition to a new president—even though Reinharz was on sabbatical throughout the year.

It is likewise baffling that despite increasing student tuition and debt by over $10,000 dollars since I started at Brandeis, Reinharz earned around $300,000 each year from 2012 to 2014 even though he is not required to teach classes, oversee graduate students or participate in department meetings. In The Globe article, Reinharz explained that his pay was justified as his reward for past achievements, including improvements to the University’s academic reputation.

Unfortunately, Reinharz ignores one of his more dubious accomplishments as president of the University—landing Brandeis University on the list of “Worst of the Worst” protectors of liberty on campus by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. In 2011 and 2012, students reading U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges and Universities issue and considering where to apply were faced with full page ads declaring that Brandeis had “displayed a severe and ongoing disregard for the fundamental rights of their students and professor,” and that students looking to apply to Brandeis should “[T]hink twice before applying.”

Brandeis undoubtedly merited its placement on the list due to its shameful treatment of Prof.

Donald Hindley (POL), deplorable treatment of its Faculty Senate and continued lack of remorse. Hindley was accused of racially harassing a student after he discussed and critiqued the origin of the term “wetback” as part of a “Latin American Politics” class. Rather than dismiss the complaints as unfounded, the University shamefully investigated and ultimately placed a monitor in Hindley’s class and ordered him to attend sensitivity training. Hindley was not given a written account of the charges or allowed to defend himself in violation of University policy. As a result of the uproar including a class walk out, protests in front of the administrative building, a scathing publicity claim and strong support by students and faculty, sanctions were not imposed on Hindley. However, the accusation and charge of racial harassment still remain on Hindley’s record.

Sadly, by placing prominently on FIRE’s list of the “Worst of the Worst” abusers of liberty, Brandeis University betrayed the legacy of its namesake. Along with Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Justice Louis Brandeis revolutionized freedom of speech in America. Together, they powerfully dissented from the majority and supported the speech rights of unpopular religious minorities, suspected communist sympathizers and other unpopular groups. In his powerful concurrence in Whitney v. California, Brandeis declared: “If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence.

Only an emergency can justify repression. Such must be the rule if authority is to be reconciled

with freedom. Such, in my opinion, is the command of the Constitution.”

Certainly, allowing for discussion and debunking of the origin of a term like “wetback” is what academic freedom exists to protect. A University committed to “Truth, Even Unto Its Innermost Parts” cannot expect such a searching inquiry to occur without occasional misunderstanding or even offense.

“

Only an emergency can justify repression. Such must be the rule if authority is to be reconciled with freedom.

Indeed, according to the Student Rights and Community Standards website, part of the mission statement of Brandeis is that “The university that carries the name of the justice who stood for the rights of individuals must be distinguished by academic excellence, by truth pursued wherever it may lead and by awareness of the power and responsibilities that come with knowledge.” By failing to protect the rights of Hindley, and even years later refusing to apologize, Brandeis under Reinharz’s administration revealed that its commitment to freedom of expression is limited to politically correct discourse. Reinharz’s actions twisted the academic

integrity of the University beyond recognition.

The Reinharz administration’s callous disregard during the Hindley affair well embodied many of the failures of his presidency including the removal of Palestinian artwork, efforts to discourage former President Jimmy Carter from coming to campus and shameful handling of the proposed closing of the Rose Art Museum.

During the Hindley incident as in each of these other events, President Reinharz never apologized or admitted he was at fault. Despite deteriorating relationships with students, alumni and the faculty over the handling of the Hindley affair—leading to a two-year shut down in the hearing of grievances by the Committee on Faculty Rights and Responsibilities—Reinharz refused to budge or to apologize.

Unfortunately, it is his arrogance and disregard for the opinions and rights of students and faculty, rather than achievements in fundraising, that will be Reinharz’s legacy. Whether or not he remains on Brandeis’ payroll, the University can still right its wrongs towards Hindley and get off FIRE’s “Red Alert” list. All it has to do is apologize to Hindley, or even simply declare that a violation of the rights of one of its professors will in the future not occur without due process. These are not extreme demands, but simply what decency and ethics demand. After all, a university named after Justice Brandeis should do everything in its power to be a friend of liberty and freedom of speech.

—Daniel Ortner ’10 is a former Forum editor of the Justice and was a summer intern at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education in 2009.

THE JUSTICE

XC: Squad runs to strong finish in season finale CONTINUED FROM 16 first time Brandeis had appeared in the poll since the fourth edition of the 2010 season.

The team responded well to their spot in the national ranking, taking home a third-place finish at the UAA Championships. The team finished behind New York University, ranked sixth nationally at the time, and the University of Chicago, the 17th-ranked squad that week.

Meanwhile, the Judges finished four points ahead of WashU— ranked second nationally at the time of the UAA Championships.

The national rankings reflected the strong performance of the Judges, who then jumped 11 spots to 22nd in the Nov. 6 edition of the poll, the highest ranking Brandeis had achieved since their No. 20 ranking in 2010.

After the team finished in fifthplace out of 53 competing teams in New England Division III Regionals, the stage had been set. The Judges maintained their 22nd spot in the poll and earned a spot to the NCAA Championships.

At the championships, the Judges fought through a difficult course to earn a finish in line with their national ranking.

Sanford stressed the difficulty posed by both the weather and the course itself.

“It was a tough race, the coldest conditions we have ever run in,” she explained.

“It was very overwhelming to be competing at that level.”

Lundkvist started off the six-kilometer race in conservative fashion, covering the first third of the race in 7:24.

However, she was able to close hard over the next four kilometers and finished strong.

Maddie Dolins ’17 capped her first year of collegiate cross-country in style, cracking the top 100 with her 91st-place finish.

Dolins, an All-New England Honoree at the New England Division III Regional Championship, covered the undulating course in 22:35.2.

Kelsey Whitaker ’16 cracked the 23-minute barrier, running 22:58.1, good for 155th place.

Sanford, who along with Lundkvist and Dolins, was also an AllNew England Honoree, finished off her cross-country career with a

strong effort for 164th place, completing the course in 23:02.5.

Ashley Piccirillo ’17 completed her first year as the final scorer for Brandeis, timing in at 24:00.8.

Kate Farrell ’17 and Maggie Hensel ’16 also ran in the showpiece occasion for the Judges, finishing with times of 25:02.06 and 25:16.00, respectively.

Sanford maintained a positive outlook on the day, even while looking for room to improve.

“On a team level we didn't do as well as we had hoped,” she explained. “Runners are always looking to improve and it would have been nice to finish inside the top 20 [finishing teams].”

“I'm a little sad that we didn't crack the top 20, but the fact [that we did so well] is a huge accomplishment and I think it'll be a huge help moving forward.”

Lundkvist echoed her co-captain's enthusiasm about the race the Judges ran.

“We all got out really well, which was good,” she explained.

“I think people were a little disappointed with their races, but to compete at that caliber is an achievement in itself and I think they remembered that.

Considering it was everyone's first time at Nationals—and we had three freshmen—everyone was brave and we ran to expectation since we were 22nd,” she said.

While the losses of Lundkvist and Sanford to graduation will leave large shoes to fill, the Judges bring back ample talent and should compete in future years.

“Next year looks great,” Lundkvist said. “They're losing me and Vicky but we are so young.”

“We had a freshman in the top five and two sophomores and these girls are only going to get better.

I'm excited to see what they're going to do next.”

Sanford paralled her teammate's exceitment about the future of the cross-country team. “[The] squad only has two seniors, and the rest are [mostly] freshman,” she said. “The fact that we are only graduating two runners is a really good sign.”

On the heels of their surprising success this season, the Judges have every right to be optimistic moving forward into the spring season and beyond.

— Avi Gold contributed reporting

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November 26, 2013

13

FIGHTING FOR SPACE

MORGAN BRILL/the Justice

GAINING SEPARATION: Forward Michael Soboff ’15 tries to brush off a Williams College defender during the team’s 2-0 loss.

MSOCCER: Judges unable to overcome early goal in loss CONTINUED FROM 16 ing his close-range shot wide of the left post.

Shortly after, midfielder Tudor Livadaru ’14 sent a free-kick on goal.

However, the shot sailed straight to Morrell, who made the save.

Forward Tyler Savonen ’15 had a half chance to equalize, running in toward the Williams goal with Morrell out of position. However, instead of taking an ambitious early shot, he waited and the ball was cleared from danger.

With eight minutes to play, forward Zach Vieira ’17 sent a header over the bar, marking Brandeis’ last meaningful chance.

As the Judges continued to push for an equalizer, Rashid—who struggled to finish all afternoon— finally delivered the killer blow in the 83rd minute, curling an effort around Graffy that caromed off the right post and into the net.

The Judges had several chances to try to cut the deficit, but it ultimately was not to be—Williams ran out 2-0 winners.

Coven lamented the team’s failure to finish its shots.

“We played very well in the back third and middle third but I think

we had one too many touches, one too many passes in the attacking third of the field,” he said. “We were looking to just make that perfect shot, perfect pass and perfect dribble in the box. I tell them, ‘once you get the ball in the box, shoot it.’ We got behind their backs quite a bit but couldn’t finish.”

Though disappointed that his team was knocked out at the same stage of the season by the same foes, Coven admitted that—following successive losses to Carnegie Mellon University and Emory University on Oct. 18 and Oct. 20, respectively—he did not even think his team would make the NCAA Tournament this year.

“I remember sitting in the airport after the losses,” he said. “We had a four-hour wait and I was sitting there saying, ‘We’ll be an Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference team. Maybe we’ll win that tournament.’ Never did I think that we would turn it around and make the NCAA Tournament. But we did.

They showed a lot of character, they knew what they had to do and they did it well.”

While the team loses Applefield, midfielder Kyle Feather ’14, Livadaru and Ocel, as well as other valu-

able contributors such as defender Ethan Berceli ’14, midfielder Harold Salinas ’14, forward Steve Salazar ’14 and Matt Peabody ’13, the team has a solid foundation coming back.

“This year’s seniors are a special group,” he said. “I’ll miss them.

They set a wonderful example for the younger kids, in the classroom, on the field and off the field.

We lose some great players, but we lose great players every year,” Coven continued. “A good program loses good players every year, but you’re going to have other players coming up to replace them. If you can do that, then you’re going to traditionally be good program.”

And despite the stinging feeling of the loss, Coven was happy to look back on a successful campaign.

“It was a great season,” he said.

“We all feel bad right now and we all feel that we should be playing [in the next round]. But how many Division III schools in the country have soccer programs? Maybe 400?

And here we are in the final 16. You have to be happy with that.”

This year’s senior class, a core that advanced to two consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, leaves the team in a position to hopefully compete for years to come.

Women’s basketball

Team cannot maintain leads in defeats to regional opponents

■ The women could not

complete a comeback over Roger Williams University and lost to Tufts University.

By ELAN KANE JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

The women’s basketball team limped to two consecutive losses this week, falling Saturday to No. 9 Tufts University, 67-43, and last Tuesday to Roger Williams University, 65-53.

With the defeats, the squad drops to 1-3 on the year.

The Judges started off on the right note on Saturday.

Guard Kasey Dean ’14 and forward Nicolina Vitale ’14 combined to give Brandeis a 9-2 advantage. During their run over the first three and a half minutes, Dean and Vitale contributed all nine points, including a three-point jumper from Dean that pushed the Judges’ lead to five points.

The Jumbos responded with a scoring run of their own, though, scoring the next 13 straight points to open a 15-9 lead over the Judges with just un-

der 12 minutes remaining in the half.

The Judges would not be put away easily, clawing back to within four points of the Jumbos twice over the next two minutes. Guard Janelle Rodriguez ’14 drove to the basket for a key layup to pull Brandeis back into the game.

Tufts shot 46.7 percent from the field in the first half and made seven three-pointers on 14 shots, compared to 30.8 percent shooting from the field and just one three-pointer for the Judges. Vitale and Dean both topped the Judges with seven first-half points, but could not keep up with the Jumbos offense, as Tufts entered the locker room with a 35-20 halftime lead over Brandeis.

The Jumbos continued their run in the second half, opening with a 15-5 run, stretching their lead to 5025 over the Judges. The half started quickly for the Jumbos, as Tufts junior forward Hayley Kanner hit a three-pointer just 15 seconds into the second half. Tufts used balanced scoring—five members of the team scored during the 15 point run—to run away from the hosts and put the game out of reach.

Dean led the Judges yet again in the second half, scoring 10 points in the half, including eight of the final nine points registered by Brandeis.

Vitale contributed four points of her own in the second half for 11 on the day, adding one of her four rebounds for the contest during the second half.

Brandeis managed to shoot just 29.2 percent from the floor in the second half, and could only gather 16 rebounds, compared to 31.4 percent shooting and 28 rebounds for Tufts.

However, the individual performances were not enough for a comeback as Tufts went on to win their fourth game of the season.

Meanwhile, the Judges put up quite a fight against Roger Williams on Tuesday. Each team went on several scoring runs, trading punches throughout the game.

Though the Judges lost Tuesday’s game by a 12-point margin, the score did not reflect how close the game truly was.

In the first half, Brandeis out-rebounded Roger Williams, grabbing 20 total boards—including seven offensive rebounds—compared to 16 total

boards for the Hawks. After trailing 17-10, the Judges went on a 6-1 run to bring themselves to within two points. Yet, the Hawks responded, going on a 15-7 run of their own to take the 33-23 halftime lead. Vitale led the way for Brandeis in the first half, scoring six points.

However, the Judges came out firing to start the second half, going on a 13-1 run to take a two-point lead with just under 14 minutes remaining. Vitale explained that the run was simply a result of the team increasing its aggressiveness and intensity. “[In the] second half of [the] Roger Williams [game], we knew we had to come out more aggressive on both ends so we switched to a different press, which we are very comfortable in,” she said.

“All of our mistakes the first half were either because we didn’t communicate or we went away from the game plan. We just had to regroup and play our game.”

Though Brandeis held a 45-43 advantage with seven minutes, 54 seconds remaining, Roger Williams scored seven straight points to take the lead for good. Roger Williams se-

nior guard Kaitlyn Bovee scored 15 of her 32 points in the second half to lead the Hawks to victory.

Though the Judges forced 22 turnovers and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, it was not enough for the victory. Dean and Vitale scored 12 and 10 points, respectively, while center Angela Miller ’14 added eight points to go along with seven rebounds.

Vitale praised the team for its ability to adjust in the second half of games, but noted that for the squad to succeed moving forward, it needs to work on improving its defense.

“As a team, I think we were able to make half time adjustments very well. In both Colby [College] and Roger Williams we were able to come out in the second half and close 10 point leads in just a few minutes,” she said.

“When we stick to our game plan and focus on the little things we are a good team. To be a great team we have to play a full 40 minutes and not play catch up the second half.”

The Judges will continue their non-conference schedule tonight at 7 p.m. at Emmanuel College.

— Avi Gold contributed reporting

THE JUSTICE

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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

15

SWIMMING AND DIVING

jUDGES BY THE NUMBERS Men’s BASKETBALL UAA STANDINGS

TEAM STATS

Points Per Game

Not including Monday’s games UAA Conference Overall

W L W L Pct. WashU 0 0 4 0 .1000 NYU 0 0 3 0 .1000 Carnegie 0 0 2 0 .1000 JUDGES 0 0 3 1 .750 Case 0 0 2 1 .667 Emory 0 0 3 2 .600 Chicago 0 0 2 2 .500 Rochester 0 0 1 3 .250

UPCOMING GAMES: Tonight vs. Lasell College Dec. 3 vs. Becker College Dec. 7 vs. Babson College

Gabe Moton ’14 leads scorers with 18.5 points per game.

Player PPG Gabe Moton 18.5 Ben Bartoldus 14.2 Robinson Vilmont 11.5 Alex Stoyle 11.0

Rebounds Per Game Gabe Moton ’14 leads the team with 8.5 rebounds per game.

Player RPG Gabe Moton 8.5 Ben Bartoldus 4.8 Alex Stoyle 4.2 Robinson Vilmont 4.2

WOMen’s basketball UAA STANDINGS

TEAM STATS

Not including Monday’s games UAA Conference

W L W Carnegie 0 0 5 NYU 0 0 4 WashU 0 0 3 Emory 0 0 2 Chicago 0 0 3 Case 0 0 3 Rochester 0 0 2 JUDGES 0 0 1

Points Per Game

Overall L Pct. 0 .1000 0 .1000 0 .1000 0 .1000 1 .750 2 .600 2 .500 3 .250

UPCOMING GAMES: Tonight at Emmanuel College Dec. 3 vs. UMass-Dartmouth Dec. 7 vs. Johnson & Wales

Niki Laskaris ’16 leads the team with 21.0 points per game.

Player PPG Niki Laskaris 21.0 Nicolina Vitale 13.8 Kasey Dean 11.2 Paris Hodges 6.2

Rebounds Per Game Nicolina Vitale ’14 leads with 7.2 rebounds per game.

Player RPG Nicolina Vitale 7.2 Paris Hodges 5.8 Samantha Mancinelli 4.0 Angela Miller 4.0

FENCING Results from the Northeast Conference Meet #1 in Providence, R.I.

BRI MUSSMAN/Justice File Photo

FULL SPEED AHEAD: Max Fabian ’15 cuts through the water during a meet with Worcester Polytechnic Institute last January.

Judges fall to opponent in cross-town meeting

TOP PERFORMERS (Men’s)

TOP PERFORMERS (Women’s)

SABER Yi Liu

RECORD 9-0

SABER Ashley Jean

RECORD 14-2

ÉPÉE Tom Hearne

RECORD 7-5

ÉPÉE Sonya Glickman

RECORD 10-4

■ The teams traveled across Waltham to face Bentley University but could not come home with a victory.

FOIL Julian Cardillo

RECORD 10-2

FOIL Vikki Nunley

RECORD 10-1

Justice staff writer

UPCOMING MEET: The men’s and women’s teams will host the Brandeis Invitational on December 8th, held in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center

Cross Country Results from the UAA Cross Country Championships held on Nov. 2.

TOP FINISHERS (Men’s) RUNNER TIME Jarret Harrigan 26:53.5 Quinton Hoey 26:58.9 Grady Ward 27:19.1 Michael Rosenbach 27:30.0

TOP FINISHERS (Women’s) RUNNER TIME 22:02.5 Amelia Lundkvist Maddie Dolins 22:35.4 Victoria Sanford 22:43.0 Kelsey Whitaker 23:18.9

EDITOR’S NOTE: The women’s cross country team competed at the NCAA Division III Championships and Amelia Lundkvist ’14 earned All-American Honors

By Dan Rozel The Brandeis swimming and diving teams took on cross-town rival Bentley University on Friday, and although the teams swam well enough for individual wins, they could not defeat the Falcons.

The men’s team fell by a final score of 152-83, while the women suffered a 148-79 defeat. Although the Judges were simply outnumbered over the course of the meet, the leaders of both the men’s and women’s squads turned in impressive finishes.

While Bentley featured different swimmers for almost every race, the Judges all participated in multiple events once again and managed to hold their own through fatigue and adversity. Max Fabian ’15 had another productive day, taking home two individual victories in the 1000 and 500-yard freestyle events.

Fabian finished the 1000-meter with a final time of 10 minutes

and 12.04 seconds and added a Brandeis-Bentley meet recordbreaking mark in the 500-yard freestyle race. Fabian finished seven seconds ahead of the second-place competitor, completing the 500 in 4:58.07.

Fabian noted that his seamless execution in the technical aspects of his swimming carried him to victory in his races.

“For the 500 free this weekend I really focused on the beginning of the race as well as my turns,” he explained of the day.

As for the overall meet, Fabian commented on the challenge the Falcons posed as an opponent.

Fabain said that he “always just [enjoys] the opportunity to race and Bentley was a fun team to compete against.”

Fabian rounded out his day with a third place finish in the 200-yard butterfly. Bentley sophomore Alex Liulakis finished the race two seconds ahead of second place and a full four seconds ahead of Fabian, to take the event for the Falcons.

Brian Luk ’16 added some solid finishes of his own, winning the 100-yard butterfly, placing second in the 200 as well as 100-yard freestyle races, and rounding out his day on the podium once again with a third-place finish in the 50-yard

freestyle race.

Edan Zitelny ’17 placed third for the Judges in the 100-yard backstroke and the 100-yard individual medley. His strong finishes complemented a fourth place finish in the 200-yard backstroke.

On the women’s side, Joanna Murphy ’17 led the way for Brandeis with individual wins in the 200-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle, with times of 2:03.50 and 5:23.75 respectively.

Fabian said that he was impressed with Murphy’s strong showing on the day, stating that she performed well, especially under the conditions.

“I thought she did a very good job with all of her races, Friday night can be a tough time to have a meet and she was very good about maintaining her focus and getting done what she needed to get done in her races.”

Fallon Bushee ’16 added two runner-up finishes of her own in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard individual medley while Theresa Gaffney ’16 rounded out the day for the Judges with a third-place finish in the 1000-yard freestyle.

The teams will swim again in two weeks at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute Invitational, held on Dec. 7 and 8 in Worcester, Mass.

BOSTON Bruins BRIEF Bruins secure tight overtime victory against Carolina after dropping shootout loss to West leaders Last week, the Boston Bruins were twice taken to overtime in TD Garden but could only once find the late heroics to pull out the victory.

Only five days after dispatching the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 in Raleigh, N.C. on Monday night, the Bruins welcomed the Hurricanes to Boston on Saturday in a game in which Boston earned a 3-2 overtime victory.

Although the game started poorly for Boston, the Bruins battled back to maintain their spot atop the Eastern Conference standings.

Just five minutes into the first period, the Hurricanes secured the lead on a power-play opportunity. Defenseman Andrej Sekera sent a wrist shot through traffic in front of the net and past Bruins goalie Chad Johnson to give Carolina an early 1-0 lead.

Defenseman Zdeno Chara netted

his fourth goal of the season on a rebound from a shot by left-winger Milan Lucic to tie the game at 1-1 just 10 minutes later.

“We tied the game and it’s always nice to get a power-play goal,” Chara said. “It gives your team a little bit of momentum and jump.”

Boston used the momentum of the power-play goal to grab a lead in the second period.

Forward Riley Smith put home a rebound with just over six minutes left in the period. However, the Bruins could not maintain the lead, coughing up a shorthanded goal in the third period to tie the game at 2-2.

As the Bruins and Hurricanes headed to overtime, Boston coach Claude Julien knew he needed to mix up the lines to avoid a second consecutive trip to the shootout.

Julien then elected to send three forwards to the ice during the fouron-four overtime period.

“We haven’t been very lucky in shootouts or we haven’t gotten much out of our shootouts so I just thought it was important to maybe get a line out there,” Julien explained of his decision after the game.

His decision paid off almost immediately, as right winger Jarome Iginla fed the puck to center David Krejci near the Hurricanes blue line. Krejci split both Carolina defenders and deked to his right, slotting the puck past Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward for the 3-2 win.

However, the Bruins could not manufacture the same overtime luck on Thursday night when the St. Louis Blues came to town and left with a 3-2 shootout win over the Bruins.

At the end of an intense first period, the Bruins struck first. At the 18:20 mark, center Gregory Campbell netted his first goal of the year to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. The Blues responded just 30 seconds later, sending a shot past Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask to tie the game in the second period.

Julien said that he was impressed with the play of Campbell and his line to stand up to and grab the lead against a tough opponent. “[Campbell’s] been playing well the last little while—the last three games or so I really felt like he and his line have really been kind of turning the corner here a little bit and tonight, in my mind, they played like a top line,” he said.

The Blues grabbed the lead just over 16 minutes into the period. However, the Bruins tied the game three

minutes later with a goal by center Carl Soderberg. Neither team scored in the third period despite Boston’s 11 shots on goal.

The Blues had the best opportunity to put the game away in overtime.

However, Rask saved a breakaway attempt by center Derek Roy and, from there, the game headed to a shootout.

Though Rask kept the Bruins alive with saves from right wings T.J. Oshie and Chris Stewart, it was Roy who had the decider.

Roy’s shot in the fourth round of the shootout broke a 1-1 tie to give the visitors a 3-2 win.

The Bruins return to action tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. in a road match against the Detroit Red Wings.

— Avi Gold

just

Sports

Page 16

SWIMMERS CONTEND WITH FOES The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams both took on Wesleyan University in a meet on Friday afternoon, p. 15.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Waltham, Mass.

GAINING THE ADVANTAGE

Cross country

Women place in 22nd at NCAAs

men’s soccer

Team falls to Ephs in sectionals ■ The men could not solve

Williams College and lost in the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row.

By henry loughlin

■ The team was led by

JUSTICE Senior writer

Amelia Lundkvist ’14, who took home All-American honors with her 21st place finish on Saturday.

By HENRY LOUGHLIN JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

It would have been enough for the No. 22 women’s cross-country team to make it to the NCAA Division III Championships.

Not this team.

The squad, which began the year unranked and an afterthought on the national stage, capped a stellar season by gaining a bid to the NCAA Championships—held last Saturday in Hannover, Ind.—and finished in 22nd place out of 32 qualified teams.

Led by Amelia Lundkvist ’14, who finished 21st overall in 21 minutes, 50.3 seconds and earned All-American honors, the women’s squad scored 517 points, a score which left them just 18 points behind University Athletic Association rival No. 21 Washington University in St. Louis.

“I can't explain how it feels,” Lundkvist said of her honor.

“I've worked so hard for so long and to finally achieve something like this feels so good.

If someone told me this summer that I'd be 21st in the country, I definitely wouldn't have believed them.”

In the beginning of the year, the Judges were seen as nothing more than an average DIII team.

Although the UAA put five of its eight teams in the preseason top-35 national coaches’ poll, the Judges were one of the three UAA teams on the outside looking in.

Brandeis stormed out to a strong season opener in late August, defeating the University of Southern Maine 20-43. The Huskies, meanwhile, entered the meet as the 10th ranked team in the National Coaches’ Poll for the New England region.

Judges co-captain Victoria Sanford ’14 said their victory over the Huskies set the tone for this year’s season.

“It set us in the right mode,” she explained. “We weren't known before that [meet]. We were going out there to get experience but knowing they were 10th and then beating them was helpful. It was a really good way to get us off in the right direction.”

As the Judges rattled off impressive finishes in the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Shriner's Invitational, the Keene State Invitational—the team’s first multi-team meet victory since 2009—and the Connecticut College Invitational, they gradually began to gain national attention.

In the sixth edition of the National Coaches’ Poll, released on Oct. 23, the Judges finally saw their impressive efforts pay off with a spot in the top-35 rankings.

The Judges earned a 33rd-place ranking that week, marking the

See XC, 13 ☛

RAFAELLA SCHOR/the Justice

UP FOR GRABS: Alex Stoyle ’14 tries to win the opening tip-off against a Framingham State forward in Saturday’s 104-66 win.

Judges encounter mixed results after strong wins ■ The squad gathered a

pair of wins before falling to a last-second shot versus Rhode Island College.

By jacob moskowitz JUSTICE Senior WRITER

The men’s basketball team entered Saturday’s game against Rhode Island College at a critical crossroad.

The Judges staged a furious rally to edge University of Massachusetts Dartmouth by a 96-90 margin, and after that, recorded their second 100-point result over the Framingham State University Rams to improve to 3-0. However, Brandeis’ hopes were dashed after a last-second layup, falling to RIC 73-72.

RIC Senior guard Michael Palumbo was hit on a backdoor cut for a buzzerbeating, wide-open layup to propel the Anchormen to the win on Saturday.

When asked what happened on that final play against RIC, guard Ben Bartoldus ’14 responded in a few words. “[It was] a series of unfortunate events,” he said.

In that game on Saturday, the Judges were sloppy from the start.

They broke out to an early 11-7 lead, but Rhode Island College figured out the Judges’ press and used this knowledge to fuel their run. By the end of the first half, Brandeis gave up on the press and the Anchormen found themselves with a 42-33 lead heading into the break.

The second half proved to be much of the same for both teams. The squads traded baskets for the first 16 minutes of the half.

The Judges kept getting to the free throw line and the Anchormen con-

tinued to dictate the pace of the game offensively.

With 4:09 left, the Judges again resorted to the press. Bartoldus was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three free throws. After a failed RIC possession, Bartoldus came down and hit a three-pointer.

Brandeis’ press then forced two turnovers, resulting in a layup by Bartoldus and two free throws from guard Gabe Moton ’14 with just 3:03 left. The Judges managed to score 10 points in just over a minute.

“I think it was just a matter of momentum,” Bartoldus said. “The ball started coming our way and we took advantage of the opportunities.”

The Judges were down 71-70 with a minute left and without the ball. Great defense forced a shot-clock violation and the game suddenly seemed to be in the Judges’ hands. The crowd was on its feet as Bartoldus drove down the lane on the next possession. His shot was blocked but he got his own rebound underneath the basket. As Bartoldus fell out of bounds, coach Brian Meehan called a timeout with 8.6 seconds left.

Meehan drew up a perfect play.

Guard Colby Smith ’16 found forward Alex Stoyle ’14 wide open from just inside the free throw line, and the jumper led to an eruption from the crowd as the Judges took a 72-71 lead with 6.8 seconds left.

Unfortunately for the Judges, RIC came up with a great play of their own, resulting in the back-door layup

by Palumbo.

Bartoldus led the Judges with 19 points despite battling foul trouble in the first half. Moton added 16 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and four steals.

Guard Robinson Vilmont ’17 scored 13.

Bartoldus attributed the Judges’

great play thus far in the season to a new system and sound execution.

“Our new offensive structure has enabled us to push the tempo, which I think has been key,” he said. “Also, we have been looking for the extra pass as of late.”

On Thursday, though, the game was virtually over before it started. The Judges jumped out to an early 14-2 lead and never looked back. They took a 54-29 lead into halftime and kept the lead early in the second half, allowing Meehan to play the bench.

Sharpshooting guard Derek Retos ’14 led Brandeis with 17 points. Moton and Stoyle added 11, as all 15 players scored for the Judges—the second time they have managed that feat already this season.

Tuesday’s game against University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, though, was not as easy. The Corsairs led 30-16 with 7:22 to go in the first half. From there, Brandeis went on a tear with Moton leading the way. He scored 20 points from that 7:22 mark, including 15 in a row, leading to a 45-39 lead at the halftime break.

With 13:55 left in the game, the Judges held their largest lead, leading the Corsairs by a 64-49 score. The Corsairs would not go down easily though.

They cut the lead to four points twice, the last at 87-83 with 1:12 on the clock.

Free throws by Moton, Retos, and Bartoldus allowed the Judges to keep the lead, and from there the Judges won 96-90 over the Corsairs.

Moton scored a career-high 32 points while adding five rebounds and four assists. Bartoldus scored 17 points while Stoyle and Vilmont added 13 points for the Judges.

Brandeis plays tonight at home against Lasell College before earning a week-long break.

Soccer can sometimes be a very cruel game.

The No. 17 men’s soccer team learned that the hard way on Saturday in its Sweet 16 NCAA Division III Tournament match against Williams College.

Last year, after making the tournament for the first time in 27 years, the squad lost to Williams, 1-0, in the Sweet 16 round.

On Saturday, for the second straight year at Amherst,— against the same opponent and in the same round—the team fell 2-0.

This year, the Judges conceded an early goal and created a plethora of chances to tie the game but Williams delivered the coup de grace with seven minutes to play.

The team ends its season with a 16-5-1 mark.

Following the game, coach Michael Coven felt that his team deserved more from the match.

“This loss really hurts, because I think we were a much better team [than Williams],” he explained. “Last year’s game was a good match, I think we should have won, but we were the better team today.”

Yet, just a month before, this year’s team looked to miss the tournament after successive losses to Carnegie Mellon University and Emory University on Oct. 18 and Oct. 20, respectively, leaving its record at 11-4. However, Brandeis went 3-0-1 during the rest of the regular season, before beating Johnson & Wales University and Roger Williams University in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, to set up a chance at redemption.

After weathering defensive pressure from Brandeis, the Ephs took a corner kick just over three minutes into the game. While service was cleared, Williams leftback Chris Condor sent in a high, left-footed delivery that eluded goalkeeper Joe Graffy ’15 and sailed into the top corner for a 1-0 advantage just three minutes, 54 seconds into the game.

While the goal set the Judges back, they knew that they had plenty of time to respond.

In the 10th minute, midfielder Sam Ocel ’13 cracked an effort that Williams senior goalkeeper Peter Morrell tipped over the goal.

At the other end, Ephs sophomore forward Mohammed Rashid almost doubled his team’s lead.

After being set free in the box, Rashid attempted to curl a shot into the far corner, which Graffy adeptly deflected.

Despite threatening, the Judges were unable to chip away at the deficit and went into the half down by a goal.

Following the break, the Judges went on the attack. However, instead of finding the equalizer, the team spurned a few great chances.

In the 54th minute, midfielder Michael Soboff ’15—who scored some key goals for the Judges this season—was unable to direct a cross home from left-back Ben Applefield ’14 inside the box, slic-

See MSOCCER, 13 ☛

JustArts Volume LXVI, Number 13

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Your weekly guide to arts, movies, music and everything cultural at Brandeis and beyond

Waltham, Mass.

‘The Children’s Hour’ Play tackles themes of love and justice, P. 19

In this issue:

Interview Column

‘The Children’s Hour’ director talks about show, P. 18

Art on campus

Adagio Dancefest

Dance group presents talented collective, P. 20

‘Cabaret’

Brandeis Theater Company sets the bar high, P. 21

Richard Blanco

Inaugural poet comes to campus, P. 23

Installation pieces add to student life, P. 19

Music from China

Concert engages traditional instruments, P. 23

18

justARTS

TUESDAY, november 26, 2013 | THE JUSTICE

CALENDAR

INTERVIEW

$

What’s happening in Arts on and off campus this week

ON-CAMPUS EVENTS Art and Gender: Global Perspectives

“Shaping Female Beauty in East Asian Societies” is the third lecture of the 2013 to 2014 Art and Gender: Global Perspectives series. The lecture will be presented by Prof. Aida Yuen Wong (FA), launching Wong’s new book, Visualizing Beauty: Gender and Ideology in Modern East Asia.

Monday, Dec. 2 from 3:30 to 4:40 p.m. in the Barbara Mandel Auditorium, Room G03. This event is free and open to public.

Selections from ‘365 Days/365 Plays’

Pulitzer-Prize-winning writer Suzan Lori Parks took on an ambitious project when in 2002 she decided to write a play a day each day for a year. This production will feature a selection of plays from the set under the direction of Akiba Abaka.

Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Merrick Theater in Spingold. This event is free and open to the public.

Alison Thvedt ’15 Director of Hillel’s ‘The Children’s Hour’ JOSH HOROWITZ/the Justice

Alumni Careers in the Comic Book Industry

This week, JustArts talked with Alison Thvedt ’15, who directed Hillel Theater Group’s production of The Children’s Hour, which was performed this weekend.

In this interactive, hour-long webinar, Brandeis alumni A. David Lewis ’99 and Jonathan Lang ’98 will share information, advice and insights about their careers in the comic book industry. Learn how their experiences at Brandeis and beyond shaped their careers and led them to explore social and religious issues through the lens of graphic novels. The two will also discuss the current comic book publishing landscape and offer tips for those looking to break into the industry.

Tuesday, Dec. 3 from 7 to 8 p.m. This live webinar is provided through the Hiatt Career Center and is open to all Brandeis students. Register online at http://www3.gotomeeting.com/.

JustArts: Would you tell us about your previous theater experience at Brandeis?

Alison Thvedt: I am minoring in Theater Arts here. I have acted in shows before—I did the Vagina Monologues both years, freshman year and last year. I was in a senior thesis [play] about Rachel Carson, and I was also in Into the Woods last fall. I’ve just been acting before this semester in undergraduate theater.

JA: I understand that this was your first directorial effort.

What have you learned from the experience of directing that is different from acting in a production?

AT: I think the biggest thing is the amount of time that goes into it. I knew it would be a big time commitment, but it was even bigger than I thought it would be. You have to know the play really well. I like directing because I really got to go into each character and work with the actors on each character.

Because, in acting, you’re mainly focused on your own character and that character’s specific relationships with others, whereas I get to see all the relationships and how they intertwine and intermingle … I don’t get to personally go so deeply into each character.

JA: How did you select The Children’s Hour for performance?

AT: Well, I had to propose it. In the spring, there were proposals for each of the undergraduate theater groups. I actually acted in The Children’s Hour in high school, so I knew the play, and I took a directing class last spring and I really liked it—so I thought, “oh! I’ll propose this play, I’m familiar with it.” I proposed it to HTG because Lillian Hellman [the playwright] is Jewish, so, since I had that play in mind, I decided to propose it to HTG instead of other theater groups.

I really like The Children’s Hour because it’s a really femalecentric play. There are 12 female roles and two males, at least in my production. … And that’s getting more common, but it’s still not very common to have so many females versus males. Especially in undergraduate theater, and in theater in general, there’s an imbalance of women and men.

JA: There was some really heavy content in the play. Would you talk a bit about the themes at work and how the actors engaged with them?

AT: One thing I tried to do was I tried to have a few nights of rehearsal where we would forget about blocking, forget about just going through lines or going through moments and just focus on themes, and just forming connections between the actors, and not necessarily between the characters. One theme is love, regardless of whether it’s heterosexual or homosexual or familial, like between the grandmother or granddaughter.

I had them write love letters to a character, to someone else in the play, and I also had them write a hate letter. That was a really cool exercise, and I had them read them in small groups to each other, and getting into those was really awesome. I also discovered things about characters in the play that I wouldn’t have thought of. …We did bring up the themes of homosexuality, and also preadolescent and adolescent sexuality.

JA: What do you hope that audiences took home with them after watching?

AT: I chose to set the play in the present because I think, even though the specific events like someone being sued for spreading a rumor about someone being gay wouldn’t happen, I think, in our legal system today, but the general events—people’s lives being ruined through rumor, people acting in self-righteousness, people spreading rumors without even knowing if there’s any legitimacy behind the rumors —all of these things still happen.

People still commit suicide because they’re bullied, for being gay, for being queer, transgender, anything. That still happens. I’m sure there are communities that would still take their kids out of school if they found out their teachers were gay. … I think just remembering that things like this still happen, and recognizing that there’s truth in it.

—Rachel Hughes

‘Fired Up’ Opening Celebration

Get fired up for the opening reception for the Brandeis studio artists who ex-

hibit the semester’s accomplishments in painting, sculpture and printmaking. The exhibition will feature work

by Brandeis students and is sponsored by the Fine Arts department.

Wednesday, Dec. 4 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Dreitzer Gallery, Spingold Theater Center.

Errol Morris’ ‘The Unknown Known’

This special screening of Errol Morris’ documentary film The Unknown Known, will explore the career of Donald Rumsfeld, the former U.S. Secretary of Defense, through his own image and words. Morris, who is also the director of the Oscar-winning film The Fog of War will take questions following the sneak preview. This screening is sponsored by the Edie and Lew Wasserman Fund, the Program in Television, Film and Interactive Media and the History department.

Wednesday, Dec. 4 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Edie and Lew Wasserman Cinematheque. To reserve a seat, contact Dona DeLorenzo at dlorenz@brandeis.edu.

Student Events Film Series presents: ‘The Breakfast Club’

Come watch a classic movie as the Student Events’ Fall Film Series draws to a close. You don’t want to be that one person who has never seen The Breakfast Club. Breakfast food not included.

Friday, Dec. 6 and Saturday, Dec. 7 from 8 to 11 p.m. in Schwartz Audiorium, Schwartz Hall. This event is free and open to the Brandeis community.

Recital of works for piano and cello

Laura Shecter, PhD Candidate in Musicology, and Erin Jerome, Ph.D. ’11, will perform a program of pieces for cello and piano. The program features works by composers Pärt, Beethoven, Debussy and Chopin. The recital is sponsored by Library and Technology Services, and is free and open to the public.

Sunday, Dec. 8 from 2 to 4 p.m. in Rapaporte Treasure Hall, Goldfarb Library.

OFF-CAMPUS EVENTS Boston Symphony Orchestra Presents: Mozart, Prokofiev and Schumann

Greek-born violin virtuoso and conductor Leonidas Kavakos returns in that dual role for Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4. Kavakos then leads Serge Prokofiev’s delightful, Mozart and Haydn-inspired Classical Symphony. Closing the program is Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 2, composed in 1845 after a bout of deep depression, but ultimately, even miraculously, optimistic and affirmative in character.

Performances are ongoing at the Boston Symphony Hall. Tickets range from $37 to $126 and are available online at http://bso.org/.

P!NK at TD Garden

The Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and pop culture icon is touring North America for the first time in four years in support of her album, The Truth About Love. Her tour will come to Boston this winter.

Thursday, Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m. at TD Garden in Boston. Tickets range from $53 to $140 and are available online at http://ticketmaster.com/.

‘Fired Earth; Woven Bamboo’

During the last decade, the exciting shapes and technical finesse in Japanese contemporary ceramics and baskets have attracted new audiences among Western enthusiasts.

This exhibit celebrates contemporary Japanese decorative arts at the MFA, thanks to the recent gift from Stanley and Mary Ann Snider. Ceramics and baskets are complemented by contemporary Japanese quilts and fabric screens and an example of sophisticated paper sculpture, highlighting the revolution in these traditional media in creative abstraction.

On view at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston through Sept. 8, 2014. Admission ranges from $10 to $25, and is free with a Brandeis ID.

Pop Culture n

ww bizarre connections of TinselThe town never fail to surprise us.

Below are some of the odd pairings in the Hollywood world that this week’s pop culture headlines exposed.

Leighton Meester and Adam Brody: It’s a match made in teen drama television heaven. This Wednesday, People magazine confirmed that former Gossip Girl actress Leighton Meester and former The OC actor Adam Brody are engaged.

The two had been quietly dating since February. A connection between them is easy to see—the executive producer of The O.C., Josh Schwartz, also co-created the television adaptation of Gossip Girl.

Still, Meester, 27, and Brody, 33, really got to know each other when they collaborated on the 2011 film The Oranges together. Known for their discretion, the two stepped out separately the day after their engagement. So it was no surprise that Meester, who was at a promotional event in Shanghai, was sans ring, keeping the news under wraps.

Kendall Jenner and Harry Styles: After photographers snapped Kendall Jenner riding in the passenger seat of Harry Styles’ car in West Hollywood on Wednesday night, there was instant speculation that the two were dating. Jenner, 18, and the One Direction member, 19, reportedly had dinner together at hotspot restaurant Craig’s earlier in the evening. Styles was in town to promote One Direction’s newest album, Midnight Memories, by performing on The X Factor on Thursday and attending a “1D Day” event (a seven-hour live stream during which the band connected with fans, talked to celebrity guests and gave performances) on Saturday.

So far, there has been no confirmation that the two are dating; just last month, People reported that Kendall was dating rapper Young Jinsu, 21.

Styles on the other hand has been linked most recently to Rod Stewart’s daughter Kimberly, 33, and model

By Mara Sassoon

CREATIVE COMMONS

LOVE, ACTUALLY: Actress Leighton Meester just became engaged to The O.C.’s Adam Brody.

Cara Delevingne, 21.

Francesca Eastwood and Jordan Feldstein: While these two names might not be instantly recognizable, they present this week’s perhaps most bizarre Hollywood connection.

Francesca Eastwood, 20, daughter of Clint Eastwood, married Jordan Feldstein, 35, the music manager of Maroon 5. Except that’s not Feldstein’s only claim to fame. He’s also the brother of none other than actor Jonah Hill (his birth name is Jonah Hill Feldstein). Now that makes Clint Eastwood and Jonah Hill in-laws.

Mind blown.

The couple reportedly had been dating for a relatively short period

of time before they were married in a small ceremony in Las Vegas on Nov. 17. Besides working with Maroon 5, Feldstein also manages singer Robin Thicke. Eastwood was last year’s Miss Golden Globe and attended the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Golden Globe Kick-Off party on Thursday, which brings us to our final piece of pop culture news this week.

At the party, Eastwood introduced this year’s newly announced Miss Golden Globe, Sosie Bacon, the 21-year-old daughter of Kevin Bacon.

In a week dominated by unexpected celebrity pairings, the six degrees of Kevin Bacon has never been more any appropriate.

ARTS COVER PHOTOS: JOSHUA HOROWITZ, ZACH ANZISKA and LEAH NEWMAN/the Justice and Mike Lovett. DESIGN: OLIVIA POBIEL/the Justice.

ON CAMPUS

THE JUSTICE | TUESDAY, november 26, 2013

19

Theater

‘The Children’s Hour’ addresses adversity

By Rachel Hughes justice editor

This weekend, Hillel Theater Group presented The Children’s Hour directed by Alison Thvedt ’15, the final of the main stage productions for the University Theater Company Fall season. Written by American author Lillian Hellman in 1934, The Children’s Hour reflects Hellman’s markedly left-wing political beliefs for her day and yet maintains a cultural relevance and cautions today’s audiences. The play is an almost two-and-a-half hour-long drama following the destruction of rumors and intolerance at an all-girls school in the 1930s, through HTG’s modern staging of the play.

In her director’s note, Thvedt states that though the play “was written nearly 80 years ago,” it “is still, unfortunately, a play with events that could easily take place in the present.”

The plot follows two young women, Karen Wright (Brontë Velez ’16) and Martha Dobie (Grace Fosler ’14), who have worked for eight years to save up and start a boarding school for girls in a large house on a beautiful farm. Most of the girls enjoy their time at the school with Ms. Wright and Ms. Dobie, except for the unruly Mary Tilford, (Allison Kaminsky ’17), whose spoilt nature provokes her to throw endless tantrums at the expense of the patient women.

One by one, Mary bullies and blackmails the other girls at the school in order to make her own life easier and gain

control over them. Time after time, as soon as the adults leave the stage, Mary descends into a terrifying personality. In one scene, she even pulls a girl around by her ponytail and slaps another girl in the face.

But the breaking point of the play—and the catalyst for the dramatic plot—comes when Mary lies to her doting grandmother, Mrs. Tilford, in order to get some time off of school.

She accuses Ms. Wright, who is engaged to her long-time beau Joseph (Justy Kosek ’14), and Ms. Dobie of being lovers, telling her grandmother that she saw the women kiss and that she heard strange sounds coming from their rooms late at night.

Mary’s little lie to skip a day of school turns into something more volatile than anyone could imagine, leading ultimately to the complete downfall of both women. As Ms. Wright and Ms. Dobie face accusations by Mrs. Tilford (Rachel Liff ’15), parents quickly pull their children out of the school. Velez and Fosler engage on a deep emotional level with the adversity with which their characters are affronted and both women pulled off an absolutely incredible performance. The play’s emotional plot is driven largely by the tension from scene to scene between silence and noise.

The women—mainly Fosler’s character—execute an array of emotive noise, ranging from crying to shrieking, to whispering, to charged speech.

As Mary Tilford, though, Kaminsky delivers a large portion of her lines through yells and

screams, engaging the audience in a curious way. Though the audience was mostly silent through the emotional production, during a scene in which Mrs. Tilford silences Mary with a “Stop, you are annoying me so,” the audience erupted into laughter. I even heard some yells like “yeah!” and “it’s about time!” from the people sitting around me, affirming the incredibly convincing job the actors did in inhabiting their characters.

The final scenes of the play were certainly the most emotionally confrontational. Ms. Wright tells Joseph that she needs some space from him and their seemingly unbreakable relationship finally shatters. Just seconds later, Ms. Dobie confesses to Ms. Wright that the whole ordeal has caused her to confront her romantic feelings for her long time friend. Ms. Dobie kisses Ms. Wright on the forehead, walks out of the scene calmly and a loud shot sounds, leaving Ms. Wright in tears.

As the play ends, the audience has seen two true loves—Ms. Wright’s engagement with Joseph and Ms. Dobie’s silenced love for Ms. Wright—extinguished by rumors, intolerance and shame.

The Children’s Hour addresses, with honesty and openness, the great destruction that bullying can cause.

And as the play showed at the tail end of Transgender Awareness Week, it was an appropriate caution to treat others with love and acceptance— no matter what is believed or said about them.

JOSH HOROWITZ/the Justice

UNNECESSARY ROUGHNESS: The spoiled Mary (Allison Kaminsky ’17) pulls a classmate’s hair in order to get her way at school.

STUDENT ART

Public art pieces promote campus interactivity By phil gallagher justice editor

MORGAN BRILL/the Justice

BRANCHING OUT: The latest series of outdoor installation art by Sarah Bierman ’14 merges nature with furniture in a display that is as interactive as it is interesting.

The arrival of furniture merged with trees by Sarah Bierman ’14 on campus is a welcome addition to a lineage of public art by students that has been displayed over the past couple of years.

The most prominent examples of student artwork featured on campus are the interactive works of Maayan Bar-Yam ’12 and Sarah Bierman ’14, who have both contributed to the campus aesthetic.

In early 2012, Bar-Yam installed swings on tree branches around campus for people to enjoy at their leisure, according to a BrandeisNOW article from February 2012.

Bierman set up carved wooden bunny sculptures on the hill next to Goldfarb Library last year with the hope that students would take them home.

This year, she has installed chairs and sofas integrated into trees at different sites around the campus.

Both Bar-Yam’s swings and Bierman’s chairs are part of thesis projects in the Studio Art program.

Prof. Tory Fair (FA), the director of the Studio Art program, discussed student work in an interview with the Justice. “They participate in an intense year of senior studio where they’re developing a body of work that they basically both work with a professor and also a lot independently, and so the year is focused on really trying to bring out artistic growth ... in a body of work,” she explained.

“We’ll give critique in the beginning of January,” she added. Bierman commented on this process, saying that “when I’ll make something in the studio that has no intended place after the critique, it collects dust, and I don’t like that feeling. ... I want it to have a life after the critique, so when it’s out in nature and it’s not my responsibility anymore after I’ve documented it—I don’t know—I like that feeling a lot better.”

Explaining her philosophy regarding interactivity in her own artwork, Bierman said, “You should be able to touch it, you should be able to take pictures with it, and I really like that freedom given to art.”

The chairs that she installed, she said, are actually intended for people to sit on. Bar-Yam similarly encouraged interaction with his swings according to the BrandeisNOW article, and observed people frequently riding on the swings.

Fair also explained that many painting students display their work around campus. “We have, over the years, put student work all over campus.

“One year, I remember, we went into the Castle and we built walls and we had a little show of student work in the Castle. We’ve had shows in the [Shapiro Campus] Center. We’re always trying to bring the work out into the world,” said Fair.

On the whole, however, Fair expressed concern that the gallery space for the Studio Art program has been inadequate. “I think that

if our gallery was more visible, it would mean a lot to the students because people would wander through and there could be a lot more traffic and their artwork and the work in the studios would be a lot more visible,” she said.

To display sculptures outdoors, a student must work with “materials that can handle the weather,” explained Fair. One of the issues with displaying student work indoors is the lack of appropriate space.

“Unfortunately, our gallery is somewhat hidden, so there are a lot of other students doing great work that is less visible because it just gets displayed in the gallery where there’s much less traffic,” said Fair.

“We’ve also often overtaken the [Shapiro Campus] Center and had different installations of sculptures [there], but it’s such a highly competitive space.

It’s difficult because we can put a sculpture [in] but then we have to take it out very quickly.”

Fair emphasized the support of the Brandeis community when it comes to putting the artwork on display: “It’s still a very good experience for the students to get the work out of the studio and into a public realm, whether it’s inside or outside,” she said.

Bierman already has future plans for her sculpture work on-campus.

“Now I think I want to do some more of the building myself, building things from scratch, either using raw materials or repurposed materials to kind of have that same effect, but be a little more creatively satisfying,” she said.

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2013 | THE JUSTICE

dance

Adagio Dancefest presents creative performances By ilana kruger justice Staff writer

On Thursday night, friends and family crowded into Levin Ballroom for Adagio Dance Company’s “Dancefest 2013: It’s Your Turn.” Adagio, which is run by students, is Brandeis’ largest dance group and open to all who wish to participate. Students with varying levels of skill can join and the company will teach their participants and then perform different dance styles at Dancefest. The show was comprised of Adagio performances, as well as several other on-campus dance groups and a few from other schools.

The Adagio performances included ballet, lyrical, jazz and modern dance styles. The Adagio Executive Board, headed by co-presidents Natasia Sun ’14 and Gabriella Velonias ’15, put on an impressive show with a diverse line up.

The Adagio Dance Ensemble opened the show with an expressive modern jazz routine choreographed by Joleen Caraballo ’17 and Lori Shapiro ’17, set to Lady Gaga’s “Applause,” and it deserved just that. Because this number was upbeat, the dancers were visibly enjoying themselves and having fun with the music.

The next dance was more somber, with a different group of Adagio dancers performing to Lana Del Rey’s melancholy “Young and Beautiful.” As with the first number, the dancers fit their movements to the music, conveying the emotion of the dance skillfully.

Dancefest provided an opportunity for groups from other schools to show Brandeis their skills as well. The first off-campus group to perform was Suffolk University’s (Mass.) Wicked!, a hiphop group that brought their talent and swag to the Brandeis stage, much to the audience’s delight. Dancing to a mashup of rhythm and blues and dance music, the dance crew shook the stage with their moves.

M.O.T.I.O.N., a step group from Curry College, gave a unique and creative performance, starting with a traditional step number using the popular Drake song “Started from the Bottom,” and then going off stage, grabbing chairs and performing a school-themed step routine. This involved one of the members teaching her pupils how to step,

and them showing her what they can do, at one point standing and stepping on the chairs. The routine ended with the “students” marching off the stage after refusing detention. The audience laughed along with the entertaining and unique performance.

After another Adagio performance, Brandeis’ So Unique step team did their standard step routine, which was almost the same as their performance at last week’s MELA, shaking things up at the end with some new moves. The Adagio hip hop dancers then showed their love for Justin Timberlake, performing a rhythm and blues-spiced routine to his hit songs “Mirrors” and “My Love”, to the audience’s delight.

B’yachad, Brandeis’ Israeli folk dance troupe performed a routine, choreographed by Lianne Gross ’16, in which the dancers moved around the stage gracefully to contemporary Israeli music, blending modernity with tradition.

Hooked on Tap, Brandeis’ tap dance group, gave an enthusiastic tap performance, although I do wish the taps of their shoes could have been heard a little better over the music.

Brandeis’ Belly Dance Ensemble shook their hips to a catchy Egyptian song. Their colorful, spangled costumes were the most eye-catching of the evening, and their movements were impeccably timed to the music. Kaos Kids gave an impressive performance as the only Brandeis-based hip-hop group of the night.

Adagio’s second to last dance, choreographed by Erica Mazzone ’15, to “Gravity” by Sara Bareilles, was emotionally charged and beautiful as the dancers spun and fell to the ground to the powerful song.

The dance ensemble closed off the show with a lighthearted routine, choreographed by Jess Urbach ’15, set to a unique song featuring a child’s voice telling a story over intriguing electronic music. Jumping around the stage, the dancers exuded youth and vibrancy, closing the show with skill and energy.

The audience seemed entertained by the evening’s performances, shouting out names of friends in the Brandeis performances and cheering just as enthusiastically for the off-campus groups. The Adagio performers were the stars of the night, and their hard work paid off.

STRETCH IT OUT: Sara Lodgen ’14, right and Rebecca Siegel ’16, left, dance in a colorful modern piece.

PHOTOS BY JOSH HOROWITZ/the Justice

SWOOPING IN: Allie Lawsky ’16 elegantly dances to Lana Del Rey’s “Young and Beautiful” in a slower piece.

STEP IT UP: Laine Meyer ’14 and So Unique step team performed a routine that they debuted at MELA last week.

RAISE THE BAR: Vanessa Alamo ’17, front, along with her fellow dancers in an ensemble close off the show to a piece choreographed by Jess Urbach ’15.

THE JUSTICE | TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2013

THEATER

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MIKE LOVETT

LIFE IS A CABARET, OLD CHUM: The cast of Cabaret enjoys a final note during one of their musical numbers.

‘Cabaret’ transports to 1930s Berlin LINED UP: The costumes worn by the cabaret girls reflect the political state during which the play is set as they adopt outfits indicative of the Nazi regime.

TAKE THE STAGE: Sally Bowles, played by Laura Jo Trexler M.F.A. ’14 (center) and the cabaret girls strike a pose during a sassy musical number in the Kit Kat.

By JESSIE MILLER JUSTICE EDITOR

Sexy, risqué and provocative are the three words I think of to describe Cabaret, a daring musical set in 1930s Berlin, Germany. The Brandeis Theater Company perfectly captured the seduction and tension of the musical during their production of it this weekend. Cabaret has a long performance history, dating back to its 1966 Broadway premiere in Manhattan, and is certainly an ambitious undertaking. The musical is arguably best known for actress Liza Minnelli’s 1972 portrayal of Sally Bowles in the film adaptation.

The entire premise of the musical is fraught with tension between the growing power of the Nazi party in German government and the carefree, playful atmosphere of the Kit Kat Klub, a seedy cabaret venue. At the club, Sally Bowles (Laura Jo Trexler MFA ’14) is the star singer accompanied by the outrageous Emcee (Eddie Shields MFA ’14) and their six cabaret “girls.”

The show opens with “Willkommen” featuring the Emcee who is joined by the ensemble. This number is a powerful and entertaining way to start the show, especially because it shows off Shields’ ability to pull off the bombastic character of the Emcee, who radiates sexuality and energy. Throughout the musical, Shields draws the audience’s eye in any scene he is in and his provocative antics tie together the entire musical. For the most part, Emcee is playful, making sexual gestures and innuendos and clearly enjoys himself as much as he enjoys performing for the cabaret audience. However, the song, “I Don’t Care Much,” is a break from this style and employs a more serious tone that jolts the audience out of its carefree state. Instead of the entertaining Kit Kat Klub, here, the Emcee shows true sorrow and pain, reflecting a shift in the mood of the musical as it transitions into the second act and the hold of the Nazis grows stronger.

Sara Schoch (MFA ’14) also gave a notable performance as the older Fräulein Schneider, who rents out rooms while also getting involved in the lives of her tenants. Her two solo numbers “So What” and “What Would You Do?” are highlights of the musical, spotlighting her acting performance as a woman caught between the choice of love or safety. Her beau, Herr Schultz (Jonathan Young MFA ’14), is Jew-

ish—bad news in the Nazi-dominated state. In one scene, Schultz gives Schneider a pineapple, launching into “It Couldn’t Please Me More.”

From the pineapple-themed flapper outfits of the cabaret girls to the perfect performances of Young and Schoch, this is one of the most memorable scenes in the musical.

As Sally, Trexler did not disappoint with her powerful vocals and acting ability. Sally only wants to enjoy life, not want anything serious tying her down, and Trexler perfectly embodies her blithe nature. While performing at the Kit Kat Klub, she is usually accompanied by the girls, as in “Don’t Tell Mama” and “Mein Herr,” which had very different tones—the former was playful and the latter more serious—but both were excellent. “Cabaret,” her final solo number, is another highlight of the show as she starts off exuberant and cheerful, but slowly devolves emotionally as she deals with the problems she encounters.

As for the cabaret girls, the six of them seemed to blend together throughout the show, but they all deliver exactly the performance the show requires. Their costumes, bland colored lingerie nightgowns, are perfect for their characters because the girls are, in a sense, provocative wallflowers that add diversity to the musical. During “If You Could See Her,” The Emcee laments the challenges of loving a girl who everyone disapproves of.

Frenchi (Victoria Dieck ’17), one of the cabaret girls, wears a realistic gorilla mask as Emcee and the other girls dance around her. It isn’t until the end of the number that the mask is taken off and her saddened, battered face is revealed while she stands motionless and silent. Tension and despair fills the stage and her silent performance captures the immensity of the moment and the dangers of a controlling society.

For its politicized themes and proactive entertainment, Cabaret is an ideal combination of intellectual and visual stimulation. By tackling such serious subject matter in a more relaxed fashion, the muscial results in a much deeper meaning that demands the careful analysis and consideration of the audience—especially considering it was originally released at the height of the Cold War in the aftermath of World War II. Brandeis Theater Company has once again proven their capability to produce a wide range of quality theater performances in a skilled manner.

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Contact Rachel Hughes and Emily Wishingrad at arts@thejustice.org

THE JUSTICE | TUESDAY, november 26, 2013

23

Poetry reading

Inaugural poet shares stories of identity By catherine Rosch justice Staff writer

On Friday, the Hispanic Studies program hosted a poetry reading and discussion with Richard Blanco, the inaugural poet at President Barack Obama’s second inauguration. Blanco was the first Hispanic, first openly gay and youngest inaugural poet in history. At the reading, Blanco debuted poetry from his newest collection, For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet’s Journey.

The presentation room of the Shapiro Admissions Center was packed with students, faculty and other guests, leaving no seat unfilled. Prof. James Mandrell (ROMS), one of the event organizers, told the Justice in an email that “[t]here was a good crowd … and people were clearly excited to have the opportunity to hear Richard Blanco read his poetry.” Before the event began, Blanco mingled with the crowd and offered to take photos. Blanco actually has a connection with the University; he is friends with Prof. Alfredo Gisholt (FA). However, according to Mandrell, “that had nothing to do with the invitation.” Rather, Mandrell was “able to work through Beacon [Press, Blanco’s Boston-based publisher] to bring Blanco to campus.”

Rather than give a traditional poetry reading, Blanco used the opportunity to share his life story, from a childhood in Miami to the struggles of finding his ethnic and cultural identity, to where he is today, a successful poet and a gay

man in a happy relationship. He offset these themes of belonging and identity with his struggle to write an inaugural poem about America and what the country means to him.

Blanco started off by introducing himself as a man “made in Cuba, assembled in Spain, and imported to the United States.” His family fled Cuba when his mother was pregnant; he was born in Spain and shortly after birth, the family resettled in Florida. As a child of Cuban immigrants in Miami, Blanco described “[growing] up in two imaginary worlds,” in the isolated Cuban-American community of his parents and in the wider world of the America he saw on television.

This struggle to find a place in these two worlds served as a theme in all the poems Blanco shared with the audience. In the first poem Blanco shared, “America,” the conflict between his American and his Cuban identity was reflected in the mix of English and Spanish in the poem and how the world he saw on television was not the reality of America. In “Looking for the Gulf Motel,” a tribute to childhood vacations and his late father, one line, “there should be nothing here I don’t remember” perfectly summarized the feeling of returning home and finding it to be completely different from one’s memory. Not all of the poems were quite so serious. “Havanasis” was a very clever play on the Biblical story of Genesis. “We’re Not Going to Malta” served as a more humor-

ous look at belonging to a certain culture and trying to find a homeland.

At the end of the event, Blanco shared the three poems he had written for the inauguration. Each of the poems took a different approach to Blanco’s love of America. Blanco explained that the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School took place shortly after he received the call from Obama to participate in the inaugural ceremonies, and he was determined to write the poems as tribute to the children who died.

“What We Know of Country,” one of the poems Blanco wrote as a contender for the inauguration, focused on the contrast between history as is taught in grade school and the reality. “Mother Country,” the second contender for the inauguration, was a tribute to Blanco’s mother and a focus on what the American dream really is. Blanco intertwined his mother’s story of being a Cuban immigrant with what it truly means to be American. The final line “it isn’t where you’re born that matters, it’s where/you choose to die—that’s your country” summed up the themes of searching for a home perfectly.

Blanco ended the event with his inaugural poem “One Today.”

Blanco closed his eyes while reading and his voice caught ever so slightly upon mentioning Sandy Hook. Following the poem that made him so famous, Blanco chatted with the audience and signed copies of his works.

LEAH NEWMAN/the Justice

AMERICAN DREAM: Richard Blanco, the poet at President Barack Obama’s second inauguration, read and spoke about his poetry this Friday.

concert

MORGAN BRILL/the Justice

RINGING TONES: This Friday evening Music UnitesUS held a concert entitled “Silk and Bamboo: Music from China.”

MusicUnitesUS presents traditional Chinese music By nate shaffer justice Staff writer

Friday evening in Slosberg Music Center, guest ensemble Music From China performed student compositions as part of the New Music Brandeis series. Music From China visited campus for four days in conjunction with MusicUnitesUS, a non-profit run by Prof. Judith Eissenberg (MUS) that seeks to further the understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures through music.

The music presented in this concert was very carefully considered, both by the composers and performers. There were several different compositional approaches put forth, and thankfully, a range of affects explored. The ensemble’s traditional Chinese instruments are rich in their sonic possibilities; there was a lot of room for innovation and freshness in applying these

delicate and novel timbres to the Western tradition.

Regardless of what one may have thought of these student composers, these amazing performers delicately and expertly rendered the music—it was certainly a treat to watch and hear their authoritative interpretations of these new works.

As for the works themselves, despite success in expressing interesting ideas, most of these pieces lacked the nearly absolute cohesion of truly great works.

That is not to say that creating simple, easily understood tunes is the optimal strategy—or that Beethoven’s paradigm-shattering symphonies never rambled on.

Rather, on the whole, the pieces themselves were a bit unwieldy; their perceivable logic left something to be desired.

More than once, I found myself preparing to clap as a piece reached a poignant silence or arrival which,

to my dismay, was actually somewhere in the middle of the piece.

Likewise, at endings, I didn’t always feel that the piece was really over. The concert felt a bit vague (not to be confused with artistic ambiguity) especially in trying to understand what the music was asking of me.

The pieces that stood out, in a positive way, didn’t present more or superior content; they simply felt more logical and, as a direct consequence, provided a more engaging and rewarding experience for the audience.

The concert began with “Es” by Richard Chowenhill. This piece began with rich melodic material, commented on by curious, interrogative percussive sounds.

It made beautiful use of the erhu, a two-stringed Chinese violin. As the texture thickened, it worked into a steady groove. Through the piece’s development, it did feel like

some promising material had been abandoned, though there were some well-earned moments and the ending tied the piece together nicely.

There were perhaps a few too many affects explored, though nearly all the ideas presented were compelling. I would like to listen to it again to see if I could get more out of it.

“Primordial and Proper,” by Emily Eng ’14, began strongly, with torrents of notes from the dulcimer-like yangqin and passionate outbursts from the erhu. Though it developed in pleasantly unpredictable ways while also incorporating moments of repose, at times it felt a little redundant. Impressively, Eng was the only undergraduate presenting work at this concert.

Her music was more intimately attached to tonality than the graduate students’, but in terms of craftsmanship, it didn’t stick out as being made by someone less experienced.

By far, my favorite piece was

“Chantre: et l’unique cordeau des trompettes marines,” a solo for erhu by Victoria Cheah (Ph.D.).

This piece lived, and thrived, in the space between silence and tone.

The light bowing of the erhu, which created scratchy notes high on the overtone series, sounded like a whispering wind.

The effect was something like a kettle on the brink of boiling. As the piece continued, this ethereal atmosphere was broken by assertions of solid tone. After more contemplative music, the piece ended rather poetically, correcting the downward gestures by an upward glissando toward silence.

The next New Music Brandeis concert will be held on the evening of Dec. 7. YiGuo Yan, M.F.A. will be presenting her thesis: Colors of Obsession. If you’re interested in New Music, or even just new music, you should definitely mark this event in your calendar.

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2013 | THE JUSTICE

TOPof the

ARTS ON VIEW

Brandeis TALKS

CHARTS Top 10s for the week ending November 24

Quote of the week “It would take considerable reorganization to transform the program as it now exists—as virtually nothing but window dressing—into a respectable and thriving program that does honor to Brandeis’ once distinguished program in the History of Ideas.”

BOX OFFICE

1. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire 2. The Best Man Holiday 3. Thor: The Dark World 3D 4. Delivery Man 5. Free Birds 6. Las Vegas 7. Jackass presents: Bad Grandpa 8. Gravity 9. 12 Years A Slave 10. Dallas Buyers Club

— Former History of Ideas Director Amelie Rorty (News, p. 1)

What is your favorite Thanksgiving tradition?

NYT BESTSELLERS

RACHEL BURKHOFF/the Justice

THE DEEP BLUE SEA: Justice Associate Editor Rachel Burkhoff ’14 took this picture of the ocean while standing on the shore of Saint Martin Island with her friends during her summer vacation in August.

THE JUSTICE WANTS TO SEE YOUR ORIGINAL ARTWORK! Mariella Tejada ’15 “Helping my mom in the kitchen.”

Abbie Goldberg ’16 “My family has a Thanksgiving talent show!”

Julia Blumenthal ’16 “Trying to get out of Thanksgiving. Sorry, I’m just not a Thanksgiving person.”

Carl Iknaian ’15 “I just like to eat. Eating a lot.

As much as possible and then passing out.”

Submit your photography or a photo of your original drawings, sculptures, paintings or works in other mediums to photos@thejustice.org to be featured in the next issue!

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Desktop offering an AppleCare warranty 5 Man of la casa 10 Chew 14 Wine lover’s destination 15 Micronesian nation once called Pleasant Island 16 San __, Italy 17 Tennis player’s meal request?

19 Announce assuredly 20 Ping-Pong player’s etiquette?

22 Worshipers of Quetzalcoatl 25 Fry’s former BBC comedy partner 26 Renaissance painter Uccello 27 Genuine article?

30 Close of “Albert Nobbs” 31 Coin first minted in 13th-century France 32 Movie trainer of Daniel-san 35 Clause joiners 36 Runner’s music choice?

39 Grammy winner Erykah 41 Corners 42 Producer of wall flowers 45 Area of activity 47 Old speedster 48 Bath-loving Muppet 50 Make even smoother 52 Span that can’t be shrunk 53 Golfer’s bank advance?

57 Ovid’s others 58 Football player’s map?

62 “Oh, criminy!”

63 Totally enjoy something, with “up” 64 Muddy up 65 Quest after 66 Event with buckjumpers 67 “__ said!”

DOWN 1 IRS concern 2 Familiar face in Tiananmen Square 3 Homer’s doughnut supplier 4 Trustbuster’s target 5 High-horse sorts 6 Rank above viscount 7 Feature of Manet’s “The Luncheon on the Grass” 8 Provo neighbor 9 Bucolic 10 Like table salt 11 Interminable 12 Language family spanning two continents 13 Declines 18 Washington city 21 Badger 22 Copycat

Nonfiction 1. Things that Matter—Charles Krauthammer 2. Killing Jesus—Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard 3. The Bully Pulpit—Doris Kearns Goodwin 4. David and Goliath—Malcolm Gladwell 5. I Am Malala— Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb

iTUNES

1. One Direction—”Strong” 2. Lorde—“Royals” 3. Pitbull (feat. Ke$ha)—“Timber” 4. One Direction—“Midnight” 5. One Republic—“Counting Stars”

BILLBOARD

1. Lady Gaga—ARTPOP 2. Eminem— The Marshall Mathers LP2 3. Various Artists— Now 48 4. The Robertsons— Duck the Halls: A Robertson Family Christmas 5. Katy Perry—Prism 6. Kelly Clarkson—Wrapped in Red 7. The Beatles—On Air: Live at the BBC Volume 2 8. Jhene Aiko—Sail Out 9. Drake—Nothing Was The Same 10. Lorde—Pure Heroine 23 Tween heartthrob Efron 24 Immediately 27 Little ones 28 Damages 29 Spew out 33 Freud’s I 34 Fifi’s here 37 Gamble 38 Small flash drive capacity 39 Where some commuters unwind 40 Biological rings 43 Flight connection word 44 “Sure thing!”

46 A or B on a test, maybe: Abbr.

49 E-filed document 51 Shelve 52 Increase 54 “Later!”

55 Like many snowbirds: Abbr.

56 Wiesel who wrote “The Night Trilogy” 59 Promising paper 60 Brief dissimilarity 61 Brownie, for one

Top of the Charts information provided

by Fandango, the New York Times, Billboard.com and Apple.com.

STAFF’S TOP TEN

Solution to last issue’s crossword Crossword Copyright 2012 MCT Campus, Inc.

Holiday treats

By EMILY WISHINGRAD JUSTICE EDITOR

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.

Casey Kim ’16 “Staying on campus!”

—Compiled by Morgan Brill and Joshua Linton/the Justice

Fiction 1. The First Phone Call from Heaven—Mitch Albom 2. Sycamore Row—John Grisham 3. Dust— Patricia Cornwell 4. White Fire— Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child 5. The Goldfish—Donna Tartt

Solution to last issue’s sudoku

Sudoku Copyright 2012 MCT Campus, Inc.

Come November, specialized holiday treats start to appear everywhere. These treats signal the holiday season and add to that unique, cozy feeling that comes with the winter and holidys. Here are some of my favorite holiday treats.

1. Latkes 2. Pumpkin Pie 3. Peppermint JoeJoes 4. Butternut Squash soup 5. Cornbread 6. Peppermint brownies 7. Pumpkin munchkins 8. Peppermint bark 9. Gelt 10. Pumpkin anything and everything