The Justice, October 27, 2009

FEATURES PAGE 8

SPORTS Swim teams open season 16

IRAQI JOURNALIST

FORUM Pros and cons of three-year degrees 12 THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER

the

OF

BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY SINCE 1949

Justice www.theJusticeOnline.com

Volume LXII, Number 8

Waltham, Mass.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

ADMINISTRATION

CONSTRUCTION

Student advisers to presidential committee selected

Mandel committee to advise provost

GAZA REPORT

■ Provost Marty Krauss may

decide to move the Environmental Studies program to the new building.

■ The student advisory

committee will hold town hall-style meetings to encourage student input.

By MIRANDA NEUBAUER JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

By NASHRAH RAHMAN JUSTICE EDITOR

Members of the Student Advisory Committee, which will provide input to the presidential search committee, were selected yesterday.

The Advisory Committee is compromised of nine members, including three committee chairs, Student Union President Andy Hogan ’11 said.

Three outreach coordinators have also been selected, according to Hogan.

The Student Advisory Committee was created in light of the Sept. 24 campuswide e-mail sent by University President Jehuda Reinharz announcing his intention to resign.

Reinharz will remain president until a new president has been selected or until June 30, 2011, according to a Sept. 24 University press release.

Board of Trustee members and faculty will be on the presidential search committee, Chairman of the Board of Trustees Malcolm Sherman told the Justice on Oct. 6. No students will be on the search committee, Hogan said.

Hogan, Union Junior Representative to the Board of Trustees Heddy Ben-Atar ’11 and Union Senior Representative to the Board of Trustees Jonathan Kane ’10 are the committee chairs of the Student Advisory Committee.

The other members of the committee are: Yuki Hasegawa (GRAD), Rachel Markman ’10, Nicholas Hornstein ’11, Rebecca Bachman ’13, Marla Merchut ’12 and Julian Olidort ’11.

Andrew Gluck ’11, Union Vice President Amanda Hecker ’10, Megan Breslin-Jewer ’11 and Jamie Fleischman ’11 are the outreach coordinators.

The other six Advisory Committee members were selected after an interview last week with Hogan, Ben-Atar and Kane.

Outreach coordinators were selected by Hogan, Ben-Atar and Kane based on the same interview process, Gluck said.

“In selecting members for the com-

COURTESY OF DAVID WEINSTEIN

WAR CRIMES: Richard Goldstone will speak at the University next month about his report on the Gaza conflict.

Goldstone to discuss report with Dore Gold ■ For the first time the

controversial report will be publicly discussed with an Israeli figure.

By MIRANDA NEUBAUER JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

Justice Richard Goldstone, author of the United Nations report that found evidence of war crimes committed by Israel and Hamas during last winter’s Gaza conflict, will speak at Brandeis on Nov. 5, the Office of Communications announced in a University press release last Wednesday.

Goldstone, who is also the chair of the advisory board of the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life at Brandeis, will engage in discussion with Dore Gold, former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations and current President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. The event will be cosponsored by the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies and the International Center for Ethics,

Justice and Public Life.

This will be first time that Goldstone discusses the Gaza report publicly with a senior Israeli figure, according to the press release. There will a question-and-answer session after the two speeches, Ethics Center Director Dan Terris said.

The President of the United Nations Human Rights Council established the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict in April “to investigate all violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law that might have been committed at any time in the context of the military operations that were conducted in Gaza,” according to the report.

The Israeli government declined to cooperate with the mission because it considered the mandate biased against Israel.

The report, released Sept. 15, details evidence of war crimes committed by both Israel and Hamas. The U.N. Human Rights Council endorsed the report on Oct. 16. The report recommends

that the U.N. Security Council refer the issue to the International Criminal Court in the Hague if either side fails to establish domestic investigations of the allegations.

The event will take place at 5 p.m in the Levin Ballroom, Global Communications and Operations Director Charles Radin said.

Radin added that he anticipated that off-campus visitors would be able to attend but that the University is also exploring the use of live-streaming. Organizers are also leaning toward limiting the questions to Brandeis students, he said.

“There are groups at both extremes off campus, and they sometimes put aside civility,” Radin said. “Something that I’m really confident of … is that if this is limited to Brandeis students, the questions will be pointed. They’ll be sharp and they’ll be civil.”

“As a democracy, we respect open debate and we respect the job of a university to conduct

See GAZA, 7 ☛

See COMMITTEE, 7 ☛

The steering committee for the Mandel Center for the Humanities will advise Provost Marty Krauss on the allocation of space inside the new Mandel Center building, Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe wrote in an e-mail to faculty last Monday.

The e-mail also stated that Krauss has “tentatively decided” to move the Environmental Studies Program, the Center for German and European Studies, the Ethics Center, the African and AfroAmerican Studies department and the Classical Studies department into the building. According to the e-mail, if these groups move in, there would still be 10 to 15 offices to be assigned in the Center, which is scheduled to be completed fall 2010.

According to both the e-mail and an interview with Krauss, these decisions are not final and the steering committee will play a role in the final decision making process.

Originally, the main purpose of the committee was to plan the programming for the Center. In addition to committee chair Prof. Ramie Targoff (ENG), who is overseas on sabbatical, the members of the committee are Profs. Stephen Dowden (GRALL), Eugene Sheppard (NEJS), Bernard Yack (POL), Michael Willrich (HIST), Sarah Lamb (ANTH) and Jonathan Unglaub (FA).

Dowden, chair of the Humanities Council and the steering committee, explained that Jaffe and Krauss decided to charge the committee with the extra responsibility after meeting with the chairs of the humanities departments on Oct. 14.

The final decision still rests with the provost. “I for one am very happy about this; now we have a process,” Dowden said.

“I’ll listen very carefully to what their recommendations are; I already have been,” Krauss said.

When asked why occupancy was not originally part of the commit-

See MANDEL, 7 ☛

The Rose reopens

Judges snap losing skid

Anti-hazing policy

■ The museum’s expansive exhibit of works from the permanent collection opens tomorrow.

■ The men’s soccer team snapped a four-game losing streak with a 3-1 win at Springfield College last Wednesday.

■ Forty-five student organizations have not signed the mandatory Anti-Hazing Form.

ARTS 20 For tips or info call Let your voice be heard!

Submit letters to the editor online (781) 736-6397 at www.thejusticeonline.com

INDEX

SPORTS 16 ARTS SPORTS

17 16

EDITORIAL FEATURES

10 8

OPINION POLICE LOG

11 2

NEWS 3 COPYRIGHT 2009 FREE AT BRANDEIS. Call for home delivery.

2

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

NEWS AP BRIEFS

POLICE LOG

Obama declares the swine flu outbreak a national emergency

Medical Emergency

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency and empowered his health secretary to suspend federal requirements and speed treatment for thousands of infected people.

The declaration that Obama signed late Friday authorized Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to bypass federal rules so health officials can respond more quickly to the outbreak, which has killed more than 1,000 people in the United States.

The goal is to remove bureaucratic roadblocks and make it easier for sick people to seek treatment and medical providers to provide it immediately. That could mean fewer hurdles involving governmentfunded health insurance programs for the poor and elderly or health privacy regulations.

“As a nation, we have prepared at all levels of government, and as individuals and communities, taking unprecedented steps to counter the emerging pandemic,” Obama wrote in the declaration, which the White House announced Saturday.

He said the pandemic keeps evolving, the rates of illness are rising rapidly in many areas and there’s a potential “to overburden health care resources.”

Because of vaccine production delays, the government has backed off initial, optimistic estimates that as many as 120 million doses would be available by mid-October. As of Wednesday, only 11 million doses had been shipped to health departments, doctor’s offices and other providers, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The government now hopes to have about 50 million doses of swine flu vaccine out by mid-November and 150 million in December.

The flu virus has to be grown in chicken eggs, and the yield hasn’t been as high as was initially hoped, officials explained.

Swine flu is more widespread now than it’s ever been. Health authorities say almost 100 children have died from the flu, known as H1N1, and 46 states now have widespread flu activity.

Worldwide, more than 5,000 people have reportedly died from swine flu since it emerged this year and developed into a global epidemic, the World Health Organization said Friday. Since most countries have stopped counting individual swine flu cases, the figure is considered an underestimate.

Oct. 20—University Police received a call from the Waltham Police Department stating that it had received a call about a student in Rosenthal Quad who had attempted to hurt herself and then fled from her dorm. The community development coordinator on call was notified. University Police located the student, and the party was transported to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Oct. 20—University Police received a call from a student in East Quad who had a high fever.

University Police transported the student to the NewtonWellesley Hospital.

Oct. 21—A party in Massell Quad reported stomach pain.

University Police and BEMCo responded. The party was treated on-scene with a signed refusal for further care.

Oct. 24—BEMCo reported that a male student at the Gosman

Sports and Convocation Center had chest injuries. The student was transported to the NewtonWellesley Hospital.

Oct. 24—BEMCo reported a male party with a shoulder injury at the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center. The party was transported to the NewtonWellesley Hospital.

Larceny Oct. 23—The staff of Lab 517 in the Rosenstiel Research Center reported a past larceny incident.

University Police compiled a report on the theft.

Oct. 24—A party in the Schneider Building reported that someone had stolen her wallet on Friday. University Police compiled a report on the theft.

Disturbance Oct. 21—University Police received a call about a former student who was acting hostilely on the fourth floor of the Rosenstiel

Research Center. The person no longer had any connection with Brandeis. University Police responded and escorted the party off campus. The party received a trespass warning. University Police compiled an incident report.

Oct. 23—The acting manager of Aramark reported a disruptive employee at the Faculty Center. The party stated that the employee refused to leave when asked by management. The employee was loud and disorderly.

University Police responded.

The suspect departed campus with no further incident. University Police compiled a report.

Miscellaneous Oct. 21—Brandeis custodial staff reported vandalism to restrooms in the main lobby of the Usdan Student Center. University Police compiled a report on the vandalism.

Oct. 21—University Police re-

Union presentation will address overcrowding

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—President Barack Obama says passage of comprehensive energy legislation is key to America’s future success and that those opposing it are using “cynical claims” to stop it.

In a speech Friday at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Obama said, “The closer we get, the harder the opposition will fight.”

But Obama says he believes a consensus is growing.

He says the nation’s economic future is tied to its environmental promise and describes innovation as key to righting a flagging economy.

Using familiar refrains from his campaign, the speech was designed as a nudge to lawmakers to act onone of the President’s top priorities.

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS

An article in News last week was incorrectly attributed. Reina Gurrero wrote the article titled “Professor discovers only known vegetarian spider,” not Aaron Sadowsky. (Oct. 20, p. 5)

An article in Arts last week misstated the graduation year of a student. Dan Katz is a member of the Class of 2012, not 2013. (Oct. 20, p. 19) The Fun Fact last week was incorrect. Former Monkee Mike Nesmith’s mother invented Liquid Paper, not Wite-Out. (Oct. 20, p. 9) The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. E-mail justeditor@ brandeis.edu.

theJustice The Justice is the independent student newspaper of Brandeis University. The Justice is published every Tuesday of the academic year with the exception of examination and vacation periods. Editor in chief office hours will be held Friday from 10 a.m. to noon in the Justice office this week. Editor in chief office hours are usually held every Wednesday from 1 to 2 p.m.

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SENATE LOG

President calls energy legislation “key” during speech at MIT

An article in Arts last week misstated the name of the director of the American Repertory Theatre’s Sleep No More. The directors are Felix Barrett and Maxine Doyle, not Diane Paulus. (Oct. 20, p. 21)

ceived two calls about a skunk in the Mandel Quad. University Police contacted Facilities Services about the animal.

Oct. 23—A party reported a suspicious male inside the Shapiro Campus Center. University Police checked the area and were unable to locate the person in question.

Oct. 23—University Police received a call reporting a car parked in Admissions Lot with its engine on and no one inside.

University Police checked the area, but the car was gone upon arrival.

Oct. 24—University Police received a call about a car striking a pedestrian near the administration complex. University Police and BEMCo responded. The party was treated on-scene with a signed refusal for further care.

University Police compiled a report on the incident.

ASHER KRELL/the Justice

Making Brandeis green Students, including Student Union President Andy Hogan ’11, continued to work on the new Brandeis Patchwork Garden located behind Massell Quad this weekend. The garden is part of a class project.

Student Union President Andy Hogan ’11 reported that the Union will be giving a presentation about overcrowding on campus to faculty and possibly Board members at the Board of Trustees meeting this week.

Hogan said that the presentation would focus on issues of dining, housing and parking.

Hogan also said that the Union is working to choose representatives for the Constitutional Review Committee and the Committee on Endowment Ethics and Responsibility.

Union Treasurer Daniel Acheampong ’11 reported that the Union Management System is nearing completion. The system will contain the entire financial structure of the Union and will serve to make the Office of the Treasurer more efficient and transparent. Acheampong said that the goal is to finish the system by the end of this semester.

The Senate entered executive session to choose a representative for the Constitutional Review Committee. After the session, the Senate announced its selection of Ryan Fanning ‘11, the Senator for Ziv Quad, as the representative.

Senator for the Class of 2013 Jonah Cohen reported that he is working with the Executive Task Force to dim lights in dorms during quiet hours.

Senator for the Class of 2012 Nipun Marwaha reported that he is working on a project aimed at putting a wind turbine in the Sachar woods to provide energy for the Brandeis campus.

Leigh Nusbaum ’11, senator for Village Quad, said that she is planning to meet with Director of the Department of Student Rights and Community Standards Life Dean Gendron in order to create an honor code and an honor council at Brandeis.

Andrea Ortega ’13, senator for North Quad, and Jenna Rubin, senator for the Class of 2011, said that they are working to bring Capt. Paul Watson, star of the Animal Planet show Whale Wars, to speak on campus. Rubin said that she is working on getting a number of campus clubs to co-sponsor the event.

Boris Osipob ’13 was confirmed as the non-Senate chair of the Social Justice Committee.

— Harry Shipps

ANNOUNCEMENTS Blasphemy, Censorship, and Scholarship Profs. Jytte Klausen (POL), Joseph E.B. Lumbard (NEJS) and Eileen McNamara (JOUR) will speak at an event on Klausen’s investigation of rioting in the Muslim world protesting publication in the West of editorial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

The event will also focus on Yale University Press’ subsequent censorship of images from Klausen’s book The Cartoons that Shook the World. Today from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the International Lounge. For more information, call Charles Radin at (781) 736-4210.

Study Abroad Info Session: Israel Focus This information session is designed to give students an overview of the off-campus study process at Brandeis, including tips for researching programs and destinations, the application process, getting credit for work off campus and financial aid. Although this session will focus on Israel, all sessions will

cover the information necessary to get students started with the study abroad process.

Attending a general information session is mandatory for students wishing to study off campus for the semester or academic year.

Thursday from 4 to 5 p.m. in Usdan 122. For more information, call the Office of Study Abroad at (781) 736-3483.

“What’s an Orthodox Jew supposed to think about the evolutionary theory?”

Come hear a presentation by Dr. Arnold Slyper on the influence of Aristotle, Newton and Darwin on the workings of the universe; Jewish philosophical ideas on the nature of chance; and possible scientific explanations for theistic and channeled evolution. Thursday from 10:20 to 11 p.m. in Shapiro Residence Hall Beit Midrash.

Halloween for the Hungry Students can participate in Halloween for

the Hungry by donating canned goods to a local food bank. Food items will be brought to the Shapiro Residence Hall lounge for storage until they can be picked up. Saturday from 4 to 9 p.m. in Shapiro Residence Hall Lounge. For more information, e-mail agmandel@brandeis.edu.

Global Brandeis Symposium Featuring Keynote Speaker Dr Kris Olds The Office of Global Affairs will present a symposium titled “New Knowledge Spaces and Places” on Nov. 2 and 3. The symposium will feature Dr. Kris Olds, a professor of human geography at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with expertise in global cities, urban planning and knowledge industries... Olds will present a keynote address titled “Cross-Border Higher Education, Authoritarianism, and the Global Governance of Academic Freedom.” Monday, Nov. 2 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in Rapaporte Treasure Hall.

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2009

ACADEMICS

STUDENT UNION

Summer ’10 programs approved by committee

Several Brandeis clubs in violation of Massachusetts law

■ The budgets and

logistics of nine Justice Brandeis Semester programs are being reviewed by Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe.

By HARRY SHIPPS JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Nine Justice Brandeis Semester programs for the summer of 2010 have been conditionally approved by the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee pending the approval of the curriculum committee in its specific department or program, Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe wrote in an e-mail to the Justice.

In his e-mail, Jaffe wrote that he is in the process of reviewing the programs with a focus on budget and logistics and that he hopes to complete this review by the end of the week.

JBS Manager Alyssa Grinberg wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that students in the JBS programs will “explore a thematic topic through inquiry-based courses linked to real-world experiential opportunities such as internships, field-based research, creative work or community-engaged learning.”

Prof. Timothy Hickey (COSI), who proposed the “Web Services, Mobile Apps, and Cloud Computing” JBS, said that the three new courses which are a part of his JBS proposal were still pending approval by the Computer Science curriculum committee and the Sci-

ence Council.

He said that the Computer Science department has three categories of electives and that the curriculum committee still needs to figure out what categories the three new courses fall into and what implications this has for other courses within the department.

Both Hickey and Prof. Laura Goldin (ENVS), who is spearheading the “Environmental Health and Justice” JBS program, said that they have already spoken to students who were interested in the JBS programs they had proposed.

According to Jaffe, the other conditionally approved programs are “Beacon Hill Summer,” proposed

by Profs. Eileen McNamara (JOUR) and Maura Jane Farrelly (AMST); “Collaborative Theater and the Theatrical Essay,” proposed by Prof. Adrianne Krstansky (THA); “Conflict Resolution and Ethics in the Real World,” proposed by Prof.

Richard Gaskins (LGLS) and Student Union President Andy Hogan ’11; “Ethnographic Fieldwork,” proposed by Prof. Elizabeth Ferry (ANTH); “Health and Society Field Semester,” proposed by Prof. Peter Conrad (SOC); “Pathologies of Criminal Law: Restoring Justice,” proposed by Profs. Richard Gaskins (AMST) and Melissa Stimell (LGLS); and “Understanding the American Jewish Community” proposed by Prof. Len Saxe (Heller).

Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences Elaine Wong previously stated that the JBS committee would run a JBS program with as few as eight students but that some programs could accommodate as

many as 25 students.

Grinberg said that the deadlines for student applications to the summer 2010 JBS programs would be Jan. 29 for early decision and March 15 for regular decision.

Grinberg said that she expects the application for the JBS programs to be similar to that of the Study Abroad program at Brandeis.

In an e-mail to the Justice, Grinberg wrote that “[the JBS committee] is currently compiling answers to frequently asked questions addressing topics such as financial aid, housing, and academic credit.

In the coming months the JBS website will be frequently updated so students should keep checking back to learn more.”

Grinberg said that her experience working at the International Honors Program, a program that gives student the opportunity to “examine a thematic topic in multiple countries in the semester or academic year, exploring how people in different countries create varied solutions to the common problems they face,” according to its Web site, had prepared her for the position of JBS manager because, while she was employed at IHP, she had created new systems for the program during an internal review.

“For instance, we developed a new admissions process and changed the way we administered billing and academic credit in consultation with IHP’s new affiliate, World Learning and SIT Study Abroad,” she wrote in her e-mail.

— Nashrah Rahman contributed reporting

■ A representative from any

student organization must sign the Anti-Hazing Policy form in order for the organization to be recognized by the Student Union.

By LIZ POSNER JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

The Student Union and Department of Student Activities require all student organizations to sign an Anti-Hazing Policy form, as dictated

by Massachusetts law. But as of Oct. 16, only 115 out of 160 clubs listed on the myBrandeis Web site had signed the form, according to Director of Student Activities Stephanie Grimes.

Student Activities states on its Web site that “one representative from each club and organization must sign this form on behalf of the organization in order to achieve proper recognition from the Student Union.”

If club leaders fail to sign the form, the Union Senate may choose to decharter their organizations.

Though the Senate can vote to decharter a club, any club can apply to be rechartered, according to Union Executive Senator Jenna Rubin ’11.

Dechartered clubs “are no longer allowed to reserve space, receive funding or market themselves,” said Grimes.

A complete list of student groups that have and have not yet signed the form will be available on the Student Activities Web site this week, according to Grimes.

Massachusetts law defines hazing as “any conduct or method of initiation into any student organization, whether on public or private property, which willfully or recklessly endangers the physical or mental health of any student or other person.”

3

The Massachusetts Act Prohibiting the Practice of Hazing (Chapter 269 of General Laws) requires all Massachusetts public and private universities and colleges to distribute copies of the law to all student organizations and teams and to adopt a disciplinary policy to enforce anti-hazing regulations, according to the 2009 to 2010 Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook.

“I am working with the recognized, chartered and securely funded groups, [and Club Sports Coordinator] Ben White is working with club sports teams,” said Grimes.

Both White and Student Activities are educating student groups about the state law and are asking students to sign forms in order to indicate that they have read and are aware of the regulations, according to Grimes.

Grimes did not know why 45 recognized clubs had not yet signed the anti-hazing policy agreement.

“Other than club leaders not knowing that they need to complete the form, I don’t know why they wouldn’t complete the form,” said Grimes.

Rubin supports the University’s insistence on requiring all organizations to sign the Anti-Hazing Policy form.

“It just makes sense,” she said.

“Often we think that hazing only applies to fraternities and sororities, but that’s not correct. Any club or group is capable of hazing, and that’s why every club has to sign this form,” said Rubin Though Brandeis is required to enforce anti-hazing policy in accordance with Massachusetts law, the University does not have a significant history of hazing practices.

“I have not heard of a problem with hazing related to a club [at Brandeis], although that doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened,” said Rubin.

“This is definitely a preventative measure,” she said.

ROSE ART MUSEUM

Univ drafts stipulation as part of Rose Museum suit ■ The stipulation is a

response to the judge’s decision to issue a limited preliminary injunction in the Rose Art Museum lawsuit.

By ALANA ABRAMSON JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

MAX BREITSTEIN MATZA/the Justice

Forging Peace Janet Johnson Bryant, left, a Liberian journalist, spoke after the screening of Pray the Devil Back to Hell. The film, which was shown last Wednesday, focused on a group of women in Liberia who were instrumental in bringing peace to their war-torn country.

The University is drafting a stipulation for the Rose Art Museum lawsuit, an agreement between attorneys that simplifies or shortens the lawsuit, according to Thomas Reilly, the University’s lawyer for the lawsuit.

Reilly said that the stipulation reflects what occurred at that hearing, explaining that as a result of the judge’s decision to impose a limited preliminary injunction, the case is now limited to the plaintiffs’ ability to control their own donations or those of their ancestors to the Rose.

“The court ruled that the plaintiffs have no right and standing to represent any donors other than themselves or their ancestors, and that is all that’s left now for the plaintiffs,” he said.

Reilly said he is currently drafting the stipulation, which ultimately will be reviewed by the council, but would not comment further. He could not be reached for further clarification by press time.

The lawsuit, which seeks to pre-

serve the Rose collection intact, was filed by Jonathan Lee, Meryl Rose and Lois Foster on July 27.

The first hearing for the lawsuit took place Oct. 13 at the Suffolk Probate Court, during which Judge Stahlin ruled that the plaintiffs had standing to continue the case and imposed a limited injunction prohibiting Brandeis from selling any artwork provided by the plaintiffs.

Edward T. Dangel, the lawyer for the plaintiffs, was unwilling to be interviewed for the article, saying that he did not have a comment at this time.

Lee said he was currently unaware of the stipulation and consequently could not comment.

“Brandeis never had any intention of selling any artwork donated by any of the plaintiffs or the estates that they represent, specifically the paintings donated by Mildred Lee or any artwork donated by the Fosters.

Brandeis never had any intention of selling any of that: There is no point in arguing about that,” said Reilly.

Judith Sizer, the University’s legal council, wrote in an Oct. 19 email to the Justice that Rose and Lee have donated $45,000 and $43,880, respectively, to the museum.

Lois Foster and her late husband, Henry, made numerous gifts, including pieces of art to the museum and to the University, Sizer wrote in the e-mail. Lee and Rose have not donated artwork, she wrote.

THE JUSTICE

●

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2009

FACULTY

STUDENT LIFE

Prof awarded for behavioral work

Heating system fixed in dorms

■ Prof. Derek Isaacowitz

(PSYC) conducts research on how human behavior changes with aging.

By EMILY KRAUS JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Prof. Derek Isaacowitz (PSYC) received the Margret M. and Paul B. Baltes Foundation Award in Behavioral and Social Gerontology for his work exploring emotion regulation in older people, according to an Oct. 15 University press release.

The Baltes Award is given to recognize early-career achievements in the field of gerontology and will be awarded at the Gerontological Society of America’s 62nd Annual Meeting from Nov. 18 to 22.

The award is given by the Gerontological Society of America—“the oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to research, education, and practice in the field of aging,” as described on its Web site.

A recipient must have held a Ph.D. for less than 10 years to be eligible for the award, states the

award’s Web site.

“Of course it’s really nice to have the work that I’ve done so far acknowledged,” said Isaacowitz in an interview with the Justice.

He also said that the award has special significance for him because it is named after two people who helped him to develop as a psychologist. “[The award is] named after Paul and Margret Baltes, who are two of the real founders of the field of adult development and aging in psychology. … It’s especially meaningful for me because both of them, particularly Paul Baltes, played some role in mentoring me when I was a grad student in particular and also when I started at Brandeis,” Isaacowitz said.

“Derek has been a treasure to our Department and to Brandeis, and I believe he will continue to be so,” said Prof. Malcom Watson (PSYC), the chair of the Psychology department, in an e-mail to the Justice.

“His research is valuable because he has developed new methodologies to study how we regulate our emotional well being, especially as we get older. Now his work is influencing many other researchers in the field,” he wrote.

“And on top of all this, he is such a nice guy,” Watson wrote.

Jonah Cohen ’10, who works in Isaacowitz’s Emotion Laboratory and is currently doing Isaacowitz research for his thesis there, praised his professor in an e-mail to the Justice. “[Isaacowitz] … genuinely cares about each of his students on an individual level. The opportunity to pursue my own work under the supervision and guidance of Professor Isaacowitz has, so far, been one of the most rewarding and challenging academic experiences at my time at Brandeis,” Cohen wrote.

Jesse Hershman ’10, another thesis student, expressed similar feelings in an e-mail to the Justice.

“Professor Isaacowitz is a great leader. … He’s incredibly bright, motivated, and his work ethic is really admirable,” he wrote.

Hershman also described Isaacowitz’s course, “Social Psychol-

ogy,” as “one of the best courses I’ve had at Brandeis.”

Isaacowitz said that the research he conducts “has to do with understanding how people of different ages regulate their emotions and in particular how older people regulate how they feel in trying to maintain good moods in the face of all the changes that happen to them as they get older.”

He went on to describe the important role of eye tracking, which determines where a person directs his gaze while taking in an image, in much of the research that he conducts.

Isaacowitz explained that eye tracking gives valuable information regarding how people of different ages engage visually with different types of emotional visual stimuli.

Isaacowitz is currently researching whether it is possible to predict mood changes in real time using the types of eye tracking methods he described to the Justice.

He is also working on determining the different ways that information should be presented to people of varying ages in order to provide them with the best education about their health.

REVOLUTION IN BURMA

ASHER KRELL/the Justice

MONKS IN EXILE: The speakers at the event recollected how peaceful marches turned violent when the military intervened during the Saffron Revolution in 2007.

Burmese monks address human rights abuses ■ The three monks recalled

their experiences during the Saffron Revolution in 2007 at an event last Wednesday.

By ERIN DONIGER JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Three Burmese monks with refugee status in Utica, N.Y., shared their personal stories from the 2007 Saffron Revolution and commented on the human rights crisis in Burma last Wednesday.

The event was hosted by the Brandeis chapter of Amnesty International and co-sponsored by the Southeast Asia Club and the Brandeis International Relations Council.

Monks U Agga, U Gawsita and U Pyinya Zawta spoke in particular about their involvement in the Saffron Revolution, a series of antigovernment protests spurred by the ruling military’s sudden removal of fuel subsidies.

These peaceful protests against the Burmese ruling military junta were led by thousands of Burmese monks and caused police and

troops to fire on protesters, raid and shut down Buddhist monasteries, cut Internet traffic and imprison protestors in attempt to curb the events from traveling the globe.

The monks said that human necessities were nearly impossible to afford during this time.

With the assistance of a translator, U Gawasita emphasized that “if the international community speaks with one voice, ... Burma will change.”

U Pyinya Zawta was imprisoned and tortured for nine years in Burma before fleeing to the United States.

He is a founding member and executive director in exile of the All Burma Monks’ Alliance and said that as refugees, they now have three main objectives.

“Firstly, we support the monks who have been arrested and are now in prisons. Secondly, we support who are working for Burma’s democracy such as monks, students and activists inside Burma.

Finally, we support the monks who were able to flee Burma and … who are now staying in Thailand, India and refugee camps.”

U Agga, the youngest of the

three, made it clear that the monks still send “loving kindess” to the oppresive military regime.

“We don’t have hatred; we are not angry,” he said.

In a slideshow, Gawasita presented photographs depicting a peaceful march that he led and the cruel response it received from the military.

“

I realized I couldn’t die in a prison, and I would rather leave ...

U GAWSITA

The photographs showed thousands of monks and students running from attacking soldiers and a Japanese journalist being killed point-blank. Gawasita recalled that after the march he was followed and beaten on the head.

“I realized that I couldn’t die in a prison, and I would rather leave Burma and continue the struggle for Burma [in the U.S.],” Gawasita

said.

The monks now travel to universities as a part of a tour organized

by Amnesty International USA’s Group 113 based in Somerville, Mass., to share their inspirational stories of a peaceful effort to gain democracy in their home country.

At the end of the event, students and faculty were asked to sign a petition addressed to leaders of the Burmese government to free Burma.

The petition asked Dictator Senior General Than Shwe, in particular, the Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who is currently placed under detention by the militia.

Amnesty International Brandeis chapter co-president Chris Lau ’12 said that he was very happy with the event turnout. “[The event] was a great chance for Amnesty International to gain visibilty on campus,” he said.

Attendee Matthew Zunitch ’13 said in an interview, “I might be a little biased because I am in the ‘War and Possibilities of Peace class’ and have seen a lot of similar events recently, … but I thought their individual testimonies were really moving.”

5

■ Residents of Usen Castle

and Scheffres Hall did not have access to hot water due to a faulty heating system.

By ALANA ABRAMSON JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

The hot water in the Castle was intermittently turned off for several days because of issues with the heating system, Jeremy Leiferman, the director of Community Living, told the Justice.

There was an unexpected problem with the heating system in the Castle, and the heating was unable to be turned on as quickly as expected, Leiferman said. As the hot water and the heating system are interconnected, when Facilities Services ran into an unexpected problem with the heat, the hot water was subsequently affected, Leiferman explained.

The hot water in the Castle was turned off Oct. 13 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Oct. 14 from 9:30 a.m. until the afternoon, said Michael Perloff ’12, a resident and community advisor in the Castle. Perloff added that there was also no hot water from 10 a.m. until the afternoon on Oct. 15. Hot water has been working since Oct.15, Perloff said.

Leiferman stressed, however, that he did not know specifics about the heating issue in the Castle and that he was merely notified by Facilities about the problem.

Although Leiferman said he was only told of this issue in the Castle, there were complaints of similar problems in Scheffres Hall Oct. 18, where no hot water was available for the day.

CA Jordan Hinahara ’12 advised residents in an Oct. 18 e-mail to contact Facilties.

Peter Baker, the director of Facilities, wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that the department has been working with the DCL to ensure proper heating in the dormitories. He wrote that he met with facility supervisors and was informed the conversion is now complete. He did not respond to further e-mails by press time.

“We will continue to respond to any local concerns through the work order system and any systemic issues will be communicated to the office of the Department of Community Living,” Baker wrote.

Baker explained that this time of year is known as the “shoulder period” because the transition between seasons and the ambiguous weather makes it difficult to discern an appropriate time to turn on the heat.

“We can experience cool nights and warm days so it can sometimes be a challenge for the building systems to ‘keep-up’ with the changes,” he wrote.

Leiferman said he was unaware of any correlation between the lack of heating and Brandeis’ budgetary problems.

“The University has an obligation to provide heat to their students. The administration is not looking at that as a money-saving measure,” he said.

Some students expressed their frustration at the abrupt lack of hot water.

“It was really ridiculous that for a whole weekend there was no hot water in the showers on any of the three floors,” said Scheffres resident Rachita Mehrotra ’13.

“It was mostly frustrating because my room has tile floors, so it was really cold and I didn’t want to go back to my room. It was really frustrating. I am glad it was fixed,” Castle resident Erica Lubitz ’12 said.

“The lack of hot water for the day really wasn’t that big of a deal since it got fixed pretty quickly,” said another Scheffres resident, Zoe Li ’13.

— Liz Posner contributed reporting

THE JUSTICE

CONTINUED FROM 1

REBECCA NEY/the Justice

Admissions advice Richard Montauk, author of How to Get into the Top Law Schools, explained the law school admissions process to students last Thursday. The event, titled “Getting into Law School: An Expert’s Perspective,” was sponsored by the Brandeis Pre-Law Society.

MANDEL: Committee will advise about space allocation tee’s responsibility, she said that it probably should have been.

“Obviously it became clear that they wanted to have a role in recommending who should move in to the building based on the programming that they’re intending to develop,” Krauss said.

Dowden said he expects to call meetings to gather input from junior faculty in particular, as well as graduate and undergraduate students. “I think [Krauss] will listen to the committee,” he said.

Dowden added that he had asked all humanities chairs to go back and discuss the issue in their departments.

Floor plans for the Mandel Center are now posted on the University’s capital projects Web site and in the lobby of the Olin-Sang American Civilization Center. Krauss said that the ground floor will house classrooms, while the first and second floors will house faculty offices and each have a conference room, a kitchenette, space for student workers and two large areas for administrative staff, she added.

The third level will have a roof garden and a reading room while the remaining offices on that floor will be occupied by the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies.

Dowden had previously said that the humanities chairs “are really strongly interested that [the center] have only humanities, but humanities in the broadest sense,” which he characterized as the “humanities

and the humanistic social sciences.”

In a previous interview he said he did not think Environmental Studies met that description.

Environmental Studies is located in the Friedland Life Sciences Building, which will be torn down this semester. The Center for German and European Studies is located in an office in Olin-Sang, and the Ethics Center is located in the Abraham Shapiro Academic Complex, while AAAS and Classics are located in the Rabb Graduate Center.

“

If they renovate here I would stay here.

PROF. WELLINGTON NYANGONI (AAAS)

Jaffe states in his e-mail that “each of those entities is inherently interdisciplinary and naturally connected to the activities of the center.”

Krauss said those were the groups that expressed interest in moving in her initial conversations about the issue. She also said that limited money impacted the University’s ability to renovate existing buildings.

“Environmental Studies is homeless,” she said. “Right now they’re being housed in [the] Bassine [Science Building], but that was

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2009

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GAZA: Goldstone, Gold to discuss

LEGAL SUCCESS

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temporary, so I need to find a more permanent home for them.” She went on to say that there are different options. “This was one. I explored that with them. I know there are other options.”

AAAS chair Prof. Wellington Nyangoni said his department expressed interest because it provides better facilities.

He said that the offices were not well maintained, that there had been no repairs and that there were leaks.

“If they moved me upstairs and the facilities are better than this, I’ll move,” he said. “If they renovate here I would stay here.”

Director of Environmental Studies Prof. Brian Donahue (AMST) said that the program did seek a more permanent location, “so we were interested in any place where we could be together and the Mandel Center seemed like one good possibility, so we were willing to consider it.”

He added that it seemed like “some aspects of what we do could fit there pretty well because we’re very interdisciplinary, … but on the other hand we’re interdisciplinary between science and social science and less the humanities, so it may not be a perfect fit.”

Ethics Center Director Dan Terris said that the center had no complaints about its current location and would be satisfied with either staying or moving.

He said that all the centers in the building have been growing, “so it’s natural that we’re all bumping up against each other a little bit.”

conversations on issues, even the most passionate issues, so I have no problem with Brandeis,” Israeli Consul General to New England Nadav Tamir said in an interview.

“But I’m very concerned about the lack of understanding of how dangerous this report is to the ability of democracies to face asymmetric threats by terrorists and also for the prospects of peace in the Middle East,” he said.

Tamir said that he hoped somebody like Goldstone “would actually invest more time, and maybe at Brandeis it will be a good opportunity to think about what alternatives do democracies like Israel have when our citizens are being attacked by people who use their own civilians as human shields. What does he suggest that we do?”

University faculty and administration also discussed with the Justice their feelings about the upcoming visit.

“I think Brandeis is honored to be able to host this event,” Provost Marty Krauss said.

“It’s useful to have Mr. Goldstone present his remarks on the report and to have another voice that may not have read the report the same way,” she added.

“What we’re trying to create here is the paradigm for how an institution such as Brandeis conducts itself. Thus we have two differing views and students will be able to ask questions without the [speakers] preparing themselves for the questions,” Director of the Israel Studies Center Prof. Ilan Troen (NEJS) said.

“This is not a debate, there will be no vote taken of who won or who lost, and we don’t know if anyone’s mind will change, but [what] we’re really hoping for is to clarify issues on a topic that’s not only important for the Arab-Israeli conflict, but it’s an issue of ethics and warfare. These are also American issues,” he said.

The Israeli Studies Center did not seek to invite an Israeli government official to the event on purpose, Troen said.

“Government representatives have to speak an official line; we wanted people who had decided viewpoints, an Israeli who was experienced in the conduct of foreign policy, … but we wanted that individual to be free to speak for himself or herself. … We wanted this to be a propaganda-free environment,” he said.

Troen added that “we did not want to have both an Israeli or a Palestinian because that would have distracted and could have turned the event into another incident of Arabs and Israelis arguing about points we already know a great deal about.”

Prof. Gordon Fellman (SOC), who

teaches “Sociology of the IsraeliPalestinian Confrontation,” said that he did not think it was necessary for an Israeli representative to be part of the event.

Fellman added that a recent event featuring Deputy Israeli Prime Minister Dan Meridor did not feature another speaker.

“Whenever somebody making the case for Israel uncritically and ignoring the reality of the occupation [comes],” he said, “there seems be no need for debate between speakers.”

He added, “It’s good Goldstone is coming; it’s sad that that format was set up—I think it’s a format that will detract from the power of the Goldstone report, from the fascinating dynamics of how that report has been received and brutalized, and it will distract massively from the reality of what Israel did in Gaza.”

Brandeis students in Middle East advocacy groups reacted positively to the visit, and expressed interest in how Goldstone views the reactions to the report.

“I think it’s going to be very interesting because I think there is going to be a lot of disagreement between Goldstone and Gold,” Heddy BenAtar ’11, president of the Brandeis Israel Public Affairs Committee, said.

“The report has good intentions, but it was executed incorrectly— with many factual errors and a clear bias,” she said. Ben-Atar said that having two speakers was positive because of the opportunity to listen “to people who don’t necessarily think exactly what you think. …

This kind of discussion is exactly what I think is missing in the Goldstone report.”

She said that BIPAC and the Brandeis Zionist Alliance would distribute flyers in the runup to the event and were working on organizing an event with Shai Feldman and Khalil Shikaki from the Crown Center for Middle East Studies.

“I’m excited to observe the Brandeis campus as they embrace him or don’t embrace him,” Lisa Hanania ’11, co-president of Brandeis Students for Justice in Palestine, said.

Given his credibility and the negative reaction to the report, she said she was interested in hearing Goldstone’s thoughts on the public’s reaction and the Palestinian rejection of the report.

Ideally, she said, if there is a representative of the Israeli perspective, a representative of the Palestinian point of view should also be present. However, Hanania said, this would be difficult because there are differences between views expressed by the Palestinian government and the Palestinian public.

COMMITTEE: Student search advisers selected CONTINUED FROM 1 mittee we tried to select members of the committee that would represent all facets of the University, of the student body and I think we did a very good job,” Hogan said. He added that all candidates who applied were qualified.

The committee may meet once a week and will initially hold townhall-style meetings at which students can express their opinions, Hogan said. The presidential search committee will be notified by the advisory committee of such student inputs, he said.

“There will probably be a lull where the search committee is working with the firm to find the next president and then toward the very end the committee will be working with the finalists to interview them,” Hogan explained.

“I worked on the town halls last semester to do outreach for them and I think it did a good job of getting students aware of what was going on and getting their input.

This committee can even take it up

a few notches and do it even better in terms of making the campus aware of the search process and making sure that everyone’s opinion is counted,” Fleischman said.

Horstein said, “I’ve worked at several universities doing research in the past few years. I feel like I’ve been privileged to see how other universities operate, how their presidential structures work.”

Regarding her expectations of a new president, Bachman said, “I hope for someone who is able to exemplify Brandeis’ motto.”

Faculty Senate Chair Prof. Sabine von Mering (GRALL) told the Justice last week that 20 faculty nominees out of 33 different candidates are willing to run for the two seats reserved for faculty on the Presidential Search Committee.

Von Mering also told the Justice last week that final faculty candidates for the search committee will be selected after negotiations with Sherman about increasing the number of faculty on the Committee are completed.

8

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2009

just

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THE JUSTICE

features

VERBATIM | Thomas Jones Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate.

ON THIS DAY...

FUN FACT

In 1955, The Village Voice was first published in New York City.

No only child has ever been president of the United States.

The other side of the war

By TALI SINGER

JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

During a time of war, said Haider Hamza, two industries survive: military and media. In 2003 when the United States invaded his home country, Iraq, Hamza chose the latter.

In a talk hosted by the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism on Oct. 20, Iraqi journalist Hamza spoke about the war in Iraq and about his experiences living through it. The event was part of Schuster’s Social Justice Leadership series, which is also sponsored by the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life. The proceeds of the event will help displaced Iraqi families. Hamza addressed an audience of around 150 Brandeis students, faculty and other community members.

Before the war started, Hamza’s father was a diplomat, and he himself worked as a teenage representative for the Ministry of Information in Iraq. Hamza, who has a warm, gap-toothed smile, was only 19 when he started working as a translator for foreign media organizations. He then worked his way up as a cameraman, television producer and photographer. Several of his photographs have featured on the front page of The New York Times.

Currently, Hamza is studying for his doctorate in security studies at Columbia University.

Even though he feels that he is needed in Iraq to keep his family safe and to help his country, Hamza said he feels safer in the United States.

His eventual goal is to relocate his family to a safer area. He said he realizes that it is “more important to live for a cause than die for one.”

In the United States, living for a cause has come to mean engaging Americans in a dialogue about the war between the two countries.

Hamza was featured on the television version of the radio show This American Life when he took a road trip to talk to people throughout the country. Hamza argues that as American citizens, all Americans are complicit in the war, whether they support it or not. In this sense, Americans have an obligation to be informed and engaged.

While working as a journalist, Hamza never knew where he would go or what he would cover each day. He did know, however, that he would follow a cycle of death. He and his colleagues would hear a bang, search for smoke and go to the site of the bombing to cover it. Then they would go the hospital to which the victims were being transported. The next day, they would go to the cemetery to cover the funerals.

Hamza never became numb to death, but he said he almost grew to expect it. Children marked the one exception. No matter what, seeing killed or injured children always felt wrong.

Each time he saw a child who was killed or injured was like the first time.

Children, however, are the group that Hamza said has become numb to war. Hamza shared a photograph of a nine-year-old who joined a militia group after several of his family members had been killed. Hamza spoke with the child and tried to convince him not to join the group, but by the end of the conversation, Hamza wrote in an e-mail, he realized that he “wasn’t quite sure if I had the right to judge or tell him what he should do or how he should react. None of us can tell what we would have really done in that position.”

Back in 2003, Hamza said, Iraqis were opti-

THE COLLIDING OF CULTURES: Hamza, shown here posing with a group of students, feels that it is important to create dialogue about the war in Iraq between American and Iraqi citizens.

An Iraqi journalist discusses the war in Iraq

HAMZA SPEAKS OUT: Haider Hamza, an Iraqi journalist who is currently studying for his doctorate at Columbia University, spoke Oct. 20 about the War in Iraq. mistic about the war. They expected the Americans to come in “with a magic stick” and fix everything. But things went wrong in several ways. For one thing, Hamza wrote in an e-mail to the Justice, “While [the American soldiers] were very highly trained and well equipped, they didn’t have a good understanding of the country’s culture, history, geography, language, religions and traditions.” During his talk, Hamza pointed out that many people have the notion that “We are the same.” While this idea is true biologically, he said, there are still huge differences between Iraqis and Americans.

Americans also came in, Hamza said, with ideas about the superiority of a democratic system of government, but he argues that what matters more than what kind of government a country has is how that system is implemented.

“Here in the US,” he wrote, “people tend to give the title of ‘democracy’ a round of applause regardless to the definition it carries, the imple-

mentation of it or people’s understanding to the responsibilities it holds.” What Americans intended to be a democracy has manifested itself as complete chaos in Iraq.

Hamza compared the differing concepts of freedom and democracy to ordering from a restaurant menu. When you go to a restaurant, you are free to order anything you want—within the menu. That kind of freedom, he said, is like American freedom. People have many choices about how to conduct their lives, but there are still rules of law and order. Hamza said that Iraqis have been presented with a completely blank menu. As a result, chaos has ensued.

“Freedom was presented to Iraq without law and order,” Hamza wrote, “which meant that anyone could do anything they want.” This kind of freedom also means that people could kill whomever they wanted.

Hamza presented a photo to illustrate the extent of the chaos in Iraq. The photo featured a

mix of Iraqi policemen and militant forces.

When Hamza approached the policeman and asked him, “Why not stop the terrorists?” the policeman jokingly replied, “It’s a democracy.”

Jake Yarmus ’10, who works at the Schuster Institute, wrote in an e-mail to the Justice, “I thought that his presentation was very moving, especially considering how inundated we are with material from Iraq and the rest of the Middle East.”

Hamza discussed the way his work as a journalist mediates his frustration with the situation in Iraq. “Every day you feel anger,” he said after the presentation. But “every time you snap a shot, part of that anger goes away because you feel you’ve done something.”

He added in an e-mail to the Justice, “Working as a journalist and covering these stories everyday was a way or [sic] releasing energy and feeling like I’m doing something about the violence tearing the country apart.”

FOSTERING DIALOGUE: Before the event, Hamza spent time talking to students and answering their questions about his work as an Iraqi journalist.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF LINDSAY MARKEL

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2009

HELLER SCHOOL ANNIVERSARY

JAXSON DERMER/the Justice

PASSION FOR MAKING PROGRESS: Over 100 guests, alumni, students and professors attended the Heller School for Social Policy and Management’s 50th anniversary weekend from Oct. 16 through Oct. 18.

50 years of social change The Heller School recently celebrated its 50th birthday

By JULIE ZONG JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

When the Heller School for Social Policy and Management opened in 1959, the building was not Wi-Fi enabled. It did not have a Dell computer system sitting in every classroom nor a projector that would slowly unroll with the touch of a button. It did not have elevators for all three floors of the building. What it did have were professors, its first three graduate students and a vision of social justice.

“While we have physically gotten larger, the basis of the vision has really stayed the same,” said Dean of the Heller School Lisa M. Lynch, who opened the ceremony for the Heller School’s 50th Anniversary. As a testament to the Heller School’s progress over the last half century, Lynch mentioned the school’s 2,300 alumni and the current class of 500 students from 59 different countries.

On a breezy evening at the Irving Schneider and Family Building last Friday, over a hundred guests, alumni, students and professors gathered at the Zinner Forum to celebrate the Heller School’s 50th anniversary. Many of the attendees were retired, but the desire for social improvement was still alive in them 40 years after graduating from the school.

The Heller School was founded in 1959 as Brandeis’ first professional school with the aid of philanthropist Florence G. Heller. The School’s founders were committed to the field of social policy as well as health and human services management. The Heller School offers degrees that range from doctorates in social policy to master’s degrees in business administration and social policy and began offering a joint degree in Women’s and Gender Studies this year.

At the weekend-long event, Brandeis alumni who graduated in the 1960s alongside current students attended lectures and workshops.

Most of the events were panels of speakers who presented social and community policy issues such as “Transforming the Practice of Development” and “Philanthropy, Social Justice and the Recession.” All panels were relevant to recent political changes, such as Barack Obama’s health reform.

The commemoration was as much a celebration of the Heller School as a commemoration of the memories and friendships that it has created. Mary Laverne ’76, who arrived early, stood up to keep a careful watch of the stairs in

JAXSON DERMER/the Justice

CHOOSING CHANGE: Marian Wright Edelman was a keynote speaker during the weekend-long event. the hopes of spotting a friend of 30 years. After waiting 20 minutes with fixed eyes, she broke into a bright smile at the sight of her friend.

During the reception, Lynch spoke to the audience of alumni about the development of the Heller School’s mission.

“The original founders wanted to train new leaders to face challenges. Intellectual curiosity, flexibility, adaptability—these characteristics are included in the faculty,” Lynch said. She looked at the audience of alumni, students and faculty and ended with, “Welcome home.”

Lynch, an Economics professor, was appointed the Heller School’s fourth dean and first female dean, in 2008. Former deans include Charles Schottland, Arnold Gurin, Jack P. Shonkoff and the twice-appointed Stuart Altman. Altman was also involved in the 50th Anniversary Advisory Board.

Marian Wright Edelman, a public interest lawyer and activist, was the keynote speaker Friday evening. “I see so many old faces here tonight,” said Edelman. “I don’t mean ‘old’ faces,” she joked.

Edelman’s works have been used in social

policy classes and her advocacy symbolizes many of the Heller School’s aims. Originally from South Carolina, Edelman earned a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School and worked as a lawyer until she became connected with the civil rights movement in the 1960s. She founded the Children’s Defense Fund in 1973 and works closely with Congress to lobby causes for children’s education and development.

Edelman spoke quickly but with deep introspection: “No nation should allow their children to be born in poverty. There is something wrong with this picture. ... We [U.S.] love being number one, but we don’t mind being number 16 in lowest maternal mortality rates.”

She emphasized the necessary shift in American and international policy from politics and war to child development and education. “I would invest the trillions of resources for the poor, hungry children on our shared Earth …We know what to do but we must build a movement to make it happen. I submit the facts that I am about to share: the American social Achilles heel is that a child drops out of school every ten seconds,” she said.

Tom Glynn, Ph.D. ’77, chairman of the Heller School’s Board of Overseers, described Edelman as “the most effective advocate in every area.”

“Her cause, social justice for children and families, is our case and our mission. She never misses an opportunity to advocate her cause,” Glynn said in a speech. He paused briefly to show the audience Edelman’s sign-up sheets for the Children’s Defense Fund. The audience laughed warmly and applauded.

The speech was followed by a commemoration for Prof. David Gil (HELLER), a University of Pennsylvania graduate and Holocaust survivor. As a professor, he specialized in the dynamics of violence and oppression. He has fostered close relationships with Heller School students and staff and has taught courses such as “Work and Individual and Social Development,” as well as “Theories in Social Policy.”

While Gil sat quietly in the front row with his wife during the reception, the panel of speakers emphasized his international influence and his dedication over the years.

“He did not give grades; you had to grade yourself. The external reward forces you to go deeper [into the subject],” said Kathleen Kantzer ’88, who earned a master’s and doctorate in human services management from the Heller School. She currently teaches at Regis College in the Sociology department. Kantzer said of Gil’s unconventional grading style, “He was a fierce and eloquent advocate that I admire very much.”

For some of the younger attendees, Sunday was an opportunity to network and polish jobfinding skills. The event, “Career Networking and Career Building Session: Well Rounded in a Flat World: The Secret to Successful Career Development in the Global Economy,” was held Sunday morning for anyone who wanted to prepare themselves in a recession.

Stacyann Gabbidon, a first-year Heller School student from Jamaica pursuing a dual degree in Sustainable International Development and Coexistence and Conflict, said that the 50th anniversary provided a chance to begin career networking.

“I came to the Heller School event because I was interested in behavioral health and enhancing people’s capabilities for development.

The events are relevant whatever you study,” she said.

“I won’t necessarily find a job, but it is a good way of meeting people casually,” she said.

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

the Justice Established 1949

Brandeis University

HANNAH L. KIRSCH, Editor in Chief J OANNA SCHORR, Senior Editor ANDREA FINEMAN, Managing Editor ANYA B ERGMAN and SHANA D. LEBOWITZ, Associate Editors NASHRAH RAHMAN, News Editor REBECCA KLEIN, Features Editor REBECCA B LADY, Forum Editor IAN CUTLER, Sports Editor SARAH BAYER, Arts Editor JULIAN AGIN -LIEBES and MAX B REITSTEIN MATZA, Photography Editors B RIAN N. B LUMENTHAL, Layout Editor B RIAN FROMM, Copy Editor B RAD STERN, Advertising Editor

Take preregistration seriously Students have the opportunity from Oct. 26 to Nov. 2 to participate in preregistration for spring 2010 classes.

While this editorial board understands that at this early point during the fall semester students may not feel comfortable registering for a full slate of courses, we urge everyone to take preregistration seriously, for this period significantly affects the student body as a whole.

Last semester, the Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering committee was formed to discuss ways to reorganize academic departments in order to make the most of their resources and save money. Part of the mission of the CARS committee is to keep track of the number of students who enroll in each course during the preregistration period. For classes with fewer than eight students enrolled at the end of preregistration, the CARS committee recommends that departments cancel the course or provide an explanation to the dean as to why the course should not be canceled.

While the two-week shopping period at the beginning of the semester is an excellent way to determine which courses to take, we urge students not to rely solely upon this brief time to make their decisions regarding registration. If students do not take the time this week to browse the registrar’s Web site, research the professors who are offering courses, check the Student Union’s course evaluations, etc., they only serve to inconvenience themselves. By leaving enrollment until the start of next semester, students risk having fewer course options. Courses that could have drawn much interest but receive low enrollment numbers during preregistration will likely get canceled.

Because of the system’s prohibition

Some classes will get cut on enrolling in two classes that meet at the same time—something students might be interested in so they can shop the two classes come January—perhaps a module could be added in sage to allow students to “express interest” in classes along these lines. Thus, the pre-enrollment statistics will better reflect student interest in the classes offered.

Although students should bear in mind the consequences of neglecting the importance of preregistration, we similarly urge the registrar to recognize that students don’t always take into account the impact preregistration has on the following semester’s course offerings. Especially in light of the CARS committee’s recommendations to conserve academic resources as much as possible, the registrar should stress the greater role preregistration has in each department’s decision of what courses to offer and what courses to cancel.

Students should be informed well in advance of preregistration that classes have been posted on the registrar’s Web site and encouraged to begin perusing the list in order to make serious choices regarding enrollment at the end of October.

We hope students recognize the value of preregistration and enroll in their courses of interest this week.

Likewise, we encourage the registrar to more actively promote early registration and to educate students about its renewed ramifications on course offerings at the University. In this vein, students will have the opportunity to choose from the widest possible variety of classes, and academic departments will have a more realistic idea of student interest.

Heed Goldstone’s significance On Nov. 5, Richard Goldstone, a former judge in his native South Africa and the chair of the advisory board for the International Center for Ethics, will debate Dore Gold, a former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations.

This event is part of a forum regarding the merits and implications of the report produced by the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, which was headed by Goldstone.

A large part of the report’s significance lies in the fact that it criticized both Palestine and Israel for human rights violations, drawing approbation from some and praise from others.

While this board does not take any position regarding the report’s virtues, we recognize the incontestability of this report’s ramifications for the standards and processes of modern international justice and the subsequent importance of holding such a forum at this University.

Serious open discussion over contentious and politicized issues is a fundamental attribute of any university.

As students, we should pride ourselves in the fact that such discussion occurs within the bounds of our campus and at such distinguished levels.

With that in mind, we urge all members of the Brandeis community, irrespective of their stances or impassivi-

Prepare to challenge speaker ty on the report, to attend this significant event. This first opportunity to witness a debate between the author of the report and a major Israeli figure should serve as a stepping-stone for our own increased awareness and involvement in matters of international importance.

We encourage students not simply to attend this forum but to attend it with an open mind. Goldstone serves as the chair of the advisory board for the University’s International Center for Ethics and has worked toward achieving justice in numerous parts of the world over the course of his legal career. His words cannot be disregarded. Likewise, Gold has been a key diplomatic player on behalf of Israel, crafting foreign policy and negotiating peace. He cannot be ignored either. As students, it is our responsibility to give heed to all sides of this discussion and to be attentive to all arguments.

Students should be prepared to challenge both speakers with effective questions based on the content of the forum rather than loosely connected and divisive political motivations.

And to that end, we encourage those planning the forum to ensure a period for questions from the audience of a sufficient length.

A. ELI TUKACHINSKY/the Justice

Brandeis Jews offer valuable points of view

By LEAH SMITH JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Throughout American history, Jews have contributed a great deal to the nation. Polish immigrant Haym Solomon, for example, financed George Washington’s troops and was a loyal member of the Sons of Liberty. Yet due to the small number of Jews in the country, many Americans have never met a Jew. This situation, which still remains largely unchanged, generates a huge amount of ignorance about Judaism.

In high school, I witnessed the effects of ignorance about Judaism many times. Fellow students often asked about things like Jews’ supposed ruthlessness in business or putting blood in matzah, a ritual food eaten on the holiday of Passover.

None of these people were genuine anti-Semites, but their total ignorance led them to ask rather offensive questions.

Considering the above examples of ignorance, it is clear that a lack of knowledge about Jewish values can have rather negative results in society.

What makes Brandeis a remarkable place is its ability to promote an understanding of Jewish values that combats this ignorance. Although these values stem from Jewish teachings, it is hard not to see how morals such as charity, justice and equality can apply to all peoples. Furthermore, these Jewish values are at the core of the University’s principles, so students can still appreciate them even without any knowledge of the religion. In this way, Brandeis is able to fight ignorance by cultivating these values in its students, Jews and non-Jews alike.

Of course, most non-Jewish students at Brandeis would never even consider many of the stereotypes about Jews to be true. However, many students admit that a general lack of knowledge about Jewish values was commonplace before coming here. In an interview with the Justice, Brandeis alumnus Paul Regan ’73 said that before Brandeis, he didn’t know any Jews personally and “had no knowledge of Jewish practices.”

Although Regan had no particular opinion on Judaism before coming to Brandeis, his experience with Jews and Jewish values certainly informed his views on morality and justice. Referring to his time here, Regan said: “At Brandeis …

I was given a scholarship … by people who were not of my religion. I was particularly unqualified. I hadn’t even taken the SATs. But someone who was Jewish thought I had enough potential, and someone else who was also Jewish thought they should give me a chance. So I thought, based on my experience, that if I ever had the opportunity to help anyone like [me], I would.”

More importantly, Regan carried his experiences with him after graduation. He spoke of a time at a law firm when a woman hinted at a distaste for some fellow colleagues because they were Jewish. He reacted immediately, telling her “I’m basically an honorary Jew, and … the vast majority of the Jews I have dealt with have been extraordinarily kind and generous.” Regan’s experience at Brandeis did not only give him an enhanced sense of morality: It also enhanced his knowledge about Judaism, which allowed him to stand up to detrimental ignorance in the workplace.

Additionally, the Brandeis experience doesn’t provide an enhanced knowledge of Judaism exclusively for non-Jews.

Many less religious Jews at Brandeis benefit from the strong Jewish values as well. Coming from a more secular background myself, I have noticed that since arriving here, my sense of Jewish identity has increased tremendously. Being immersed in the culture of the University has exposed me to aspects of my own culture and religion that I have never experienced before, particularly the values and morals of the religion. I am starting to see that these values should govern the way I live not only because they are part of my religion, but because they are good values that can apply to everyone.

Of course, Regan’s experience is not representative of that of all non-Jewish students at Brandeis, past or present. But his experience is an important example of the way in which the Brandeis experience increases its students’ knowledge of Judaism. Brandeis’ ideals are Jewish ideals, so most non-Jews leave Brandeis with some knowledge of Jewish values. When non-Jewish students attend Brandeis, whether they have a knowledge of Judaism or not, they are exposed to the religion and the culture on a very comprehensive level. They come away with a better sense of Jewish values, and they are able to appreciate them and apply them in the world. Like Regan, these values allow Brandeis graduates to enhance their own lives as well as to counter the ignorance about Judaism that exists in American society.

OP-BOX Quote of the Week “Working as a journalist and covering these stories every day was a way or [sic] releasing energy and feeling like I’m doing something about the violence tearing the country apart.”

—Haider Hamza, an Iraqi journalist who spoke at the “Talk to an Iraqi” event last Tuesday (See Features, page 8).

Brandeis Talks Back How do you feel about Richard Goldstone coming to campus?

SIDDHARTHA NARAYANAN ’12 “Who is he? Why is he coming?”

DILLON GRUBER ’13 “The Goldstone Report is a very interesting document, and I think it would be very interesting to listen to the man who headed the report.”

JENNY OUCHVERIDZE ’13 “I think it’s fine that he comes, although I highly disagree with everything he wrote in the report.”

REBECCA SCHLANGEL ’10 “I’m really not looking forward to welcoming Goldstone onto our campus, but I’m happy that Gold has been invited to speak alongside him.”

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2009

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Rethink food prices in dining halls

By DEBBIE SALMON JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

You pulled yet another all-nighter. This constant college studying is getting tough, and the only thing that will get you through that dreaded morning class is that one glorious (and very much awaited) cup of coffee; nothing else is capable of uplifting your spirit and giving you energy to survive the rest of the day. Given that you live in Massell Quad, you run to the closest eating locality: Einstein Bros. Bagels. You buy that steaming hot cup of coffee and run to class.

Your friend, who lives in East Quad, pulls the same all-nighter, but instead of running to Einstein to buy that cup of coffee, she runs to the Provisions On Demand Market. The only difference is that you paid $1.99, and she paid $1.59 for that same cup of coffee. If you have the same morning class three times a week, in the course of only one month you will have spent approximately six more dollars on coffee than your friend.

It might sound ludicrous to hear that there is such a significant price discrepancy between two almost identical items bought on campus, but the truth is that it happens a lot.

Not only can we see it in items such as coffee but also in the two main dining halls, Sherman and Usdan. A meal’s worth in Sherman is unlimited, but in Usdan you better think twice when serving yourself every additional ounce, because it will cost you.

Even if you decide to use up your meal at the P.O.D. Market or Quiznos, you will have certain specific options regarding what you can buy with a meal, and ordering something insignificant like a Coke to go with your sandwich costs extra.

Not only are the prices inconsistent and expensive at different localities on campus, but there are also various limitations as what one can get. Why is it that at Quiznos you can buy some sandwiches but not others and at Einstein some salads and not others?

The answer I got at the Dining Services Forum last Thursday from Alex Schneider ’12, Dining Services committee representative, was that each firm establishes what is CMeal approved based on what is convenient for the individual firm.

However, from the student point of view, the options they give us are extremely illogical and unhealthy. For instance, for the equivalence of one meal at Einstein you can get up to six bagels, but you can’t get so much as a single fruit cup. The reason for this is that it costs the firm much more to make a fruit cup than to make a bagel or sell a piece of fruit.

STACY HANDLER/the Justice

Nonetheless, I think we can all agree that after eating six bagels for lunch, you should head directly to the gym and stay there for a good long while. But seriously speaking, with all the advertisements and information about eating right and staying healthy, these localities aren’t doing much of a job to help us.

Let’s face it, as college students, a) we’re broke and b) we have newfound liberty that allows us to do whatever we want.

Thus, as a form of rebellion, students will stop focusing on eating healthy meals and eat what is most convenient, or in other words, whatever is cheapest. In the long run, this

practice can bring about various health-related consequences that will certainly disturb our lives.

One of the most commonly heard of consequences of unhealthy eating in college is the freshman 15. This “myth” was recently proven to be more of a reality than you might expect. A study by Utah State University found that one in four freshmen gains an average of 10 pounds during the first semester of college. And as it appears, the dining options we have here at Brandeis are ideal to help make our population a perfect model of these statistics.

All in all, if Brandeis Dining Services were to standardize the price inconsistencies around campus and reconsider adding healthier options as part of meals, people would be much better off. To begin with, students and faculty would be able to buy products anywhere without having to commute to the other end of campus looking for more affordable prices. Secondly, if the meal plans enhanced their options, people in general would be healthier and lead more contented lives. Moreover this change would help those dreaded freshman 15 become only a “myth” here at Brandeis.

Despite flaws in programming, Eco-Reps benefit campus

By JARED STOEN JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The University introduced a new paying job last year to one student in each of the quads: an eco-rep. What exactly does an ecorep do, though? According to a job description sent out by Sustainability Coordinator Janna Cohen-Rosenthal ’03, the eco-rep program has “the goal to improve the climate change impact of the University through conserving energy and decreasing waste.”

In an e-mail to the Justice, eco-rep Jenna Brofsky ’10 said, “Eco-reps focus mainly on energy conservation and recycling efforts.

We do a lot of outreach including dorm raps, quad e-mails and some quad-wide programming.” This makes sense considering we are not the most sustainable university in the country. In discussions with my peers, we’ve constantly found that we could be doing more to be sustainable relative to other universities and their sustainability efforts. The concept of eco-reps is a great idea, but in all honesty, I have not seen much progress since this position has been instituted.

I have received one e-mail from my quad’s eco-rep all semester that told us what an ecorep does and how he can now certify our room as a “Green Room.” By going to the Campus Sustainability Web site and committing to 10 different eco-friendly activities,

Write to us

rooms and suites can get a sticker that denotes green room certification. I cannot speak on behalf of the students and how eager some of them may be to get a sticker signifying their green room, but considering how many flyers are posted on the sidewalk and other eco-unfriendly places, not every student will be complacent with the idea.

And hypothetically, even if everyone’s rooms were certified, it’s still just a dorm room. Energy conservation and sustainability are not the only components of macroscopic environmental sustainability. They’re a good start to University sustainability, but I don’t feel as though all of our focus should be on energy conservation.

Rather, we should start becoming more environmentally friendly by building up from multiple parts of environmental sustainability, such as waste removal, education and pollution control within the grasp of the students.

The Green Room initiative is enlightening for students, but it doesn’t motivate everybody because not everybody cares to be green as other people do. This, in turn, doesn’t inspire students to strive for a green room because not everyone is aware of the environmental problems. In order to get more students to be willing to participate in this Green Room campaign, they need to be aware of what it is really about and how it could

The Justice welcomes letters to the editor responding to published material. Please submit letters through our Web site at www.thejusticeonline.com. Anonymous submissions cannot be accepted. Letters should not exceed 300 words, and may be edited for space, style, grammar, spelling, libel and clarity, and must relate to material published in the Justice.

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affect them.

More time and energy should be spent by the eco-reps to provide education on practical matters like the green rooms to the students to make us more sustainable. Making a room “green certified” gives us the “how” we can be certified, but it does not give us the “why,” the fundamental reason any of us should even begin to care about the environment. There are events on campus such as having speakers come on behalf of Israel to talk about peace or having screenings on campus about documenting a particular life amid a war, but there are plenty of documentaries, films and speakers to bring to our campus to talk about how and why we should be more sustainable.

Having eco-reps is a great idea, and I am extremely happy that something like this was implemented, but I fear that there may be some lack of action. The purpose of having an eco-rep for each quad is so that the Office of Sustainability can focus more on the student body by amplifying the message of being more sustainable. If this is true, then each eco-rep should be doing an equal amount of effective work to push the message.

I have heard that some students love their eco-reps and that they are really pushing the message of sustainability, but from other quads, I hear complaints about the eco-rep because all they do is post a letter grade of waste management in their hall. There

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

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Fine Print

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EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS NEWS: Harry Shipps FORUM: Hillel Buechler SPORTS: Josh Asen PHOTOS: Asher Krell, Robyn Spector COPY: Emily Kraus

should be standards for the degree to which an eco-rep interacts with the quad and the community; getting paid $9.00 an hour to go through someone’s trash and attend meetings is slightly unfair, especially if it is in your job description to promote sustainability throughout the campus.

Collectively, eco-reps are doing an important job. Some eco-reps are more effective than others and reach out to the students directly, and those are the people who deserve pay. They plan campuswide events and competitions in order to push ideas of sustainability. Brofsky stated in her e-mail, “As eco-reps, we have different goals we want to complete each week and each month.

Example—This month we are focusing on the green rooms campaign.” Having a set list of goals is a good way to get anything done, and hopefully, as long as they stay with the goals and help create a more sustainable University as a whole, we can all be better off.

Hopefully, in the future, these goals can aim to equip students with the proper knowledge of why they should care about the reasons for being sustainable rather than doing a couple of projects on how to be sustainable.

Knowledge provides the key for new and innovative techniques to let us view environmental sustainability as a whole rather than making sure certain things go in the recycling bin.

STAFF Senior Writers: Miranda Neubauer, Melissa Siegel Senior Photographer: Rebecca Ney Senior Illustrator: A. Eli Tukachinsky News/Features Staff: Alana Abramson, Erin Doniger, Reina Guerrero, Ruth Orbach, Liz Posner Forum: David Litvak, Zachary Matusheski, Ethan Mermelstein Arts: Wei-Huan Chen, Marianna Faynshteyn, Amy Melser, Daniel Orkin, Alex Pagan, Bryan Prywes, Justine Root, Ben Serby, Shelly Shore Photography: Genevieve Armstrong, Maegan Bautista, Jaxson Dermer, Nathaniel Freedman, Paula Hoekstra, Shaefali Shandilya Sports: Jeffrey Boxer, Max Goldstein, Jonathan Steinberg Copy: Ariel Adams, Danielle Berger, Jacob Chatinover, Lauren Paris, Joyce Wang Illustrations: Rishika Assomull, Stacy Handler Layout: Debra Friedmann, Karen Hu, Kathryn Marable, Nan Pang

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

FORUM COLLEGE: A THREE-YEAR FEAT?

RISHIKA ASSOMULL/the Justice

IN FAVOR

Seven semesters of residency not necessary

By AVI SNYDER JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Several years ago, I was sitting at my computer doing homework when my mother yelled that I needed to come and see something on TV. She wanted me to watch a news report about David Banh, an 18-year-old who had just graduated from the University of Virginia—in one year. My mother joked that she wanted me to try to graduate from college in a year, or at least as quickly as possible. “It would save us a lot of money,” she told me.

Although I never thought it likely that I would ever finish college in a single year, when I decided to attend Brandeis, I realized that I was ruling out the possibility that I could graduate even in three years. You see, our University has a requirement that anyone who graduates must complete 112 out of the 128 credits needed to graduate at Brandeis University in either the fall or spring semester.

Any credits received in the summer semester or through the Justice Brandeis Semester program cannot count toward this requirement, and a maximum of 16 AP or IB credits may count toward the credits needed for graduation. This means that the earliest any student can graduate from Brandeis is after 3 1/2 years.

The explanation offered for this rather unique policy on the University’s Web site is that “Brandeis prides itself on the rigorous academic training that undergraduates receive.”

It seems rather strange to me that academic rigor is associated with a particular amount of time spent enrolled in the University. Other explanations for this policy include Brandeis’

“

Whatever Brandeis’ reasons for forcing its students to stay on campus for seven semesters are, it is at best silly and at worst a disincentive for many bright, goal-oriented students to come to Brandeis.

commitment to a broad-based liberal arts education. I think that whatever Brandeis’ reasons for forcing its students to stay on campus for seven semesters are, it is at best silly and at worst a disincentive for many bright, goal-oriented students to come to Brandeis.

The first reason Brandeis should drop the requirement to be enrolled for seven semesters is that there are some bright students out there who simply can’t afford to pay for four full years at a private university. When my mother made her tongue-in-cheek comment about wanting me to graduate college in one year, she brought up a serious concern for my family: We may not be able to afford four full years of college. If Brandeis allowed its students to graduate in three years or less, it would allow for students whose families cannot afford the financial pressure of four years of college tuition to work a bit harder than their classmates, graduate early and save a substantial amount of money.

Yes, the University is incredibly generous with financial aid (I myself am here on a large scholarship), but for many families, especially in times of economic hardship, college remains tremendously expensive even with aid. Just as students often work harder in high school in order to earn scholarships for college, some Brandeis students would work harder by tak-

ing more courses a semester to graduate early and save a great deal of money.

The second reason the University should allow its students to graduate in fewer than seven semesters is that despite the value Brandeis puts on a broad liberal arts education, some people simply don’t need time to explore different fields of study. For many students, myself included, the fact that I do not have to declare a major until halfway through my college career in incredibly liberating. It allows students like me to explore new fields of study and discover what we love.

But for many other students, this period of discovery is a waste of time. There are plenty of people who come to Brandeis knowing that they want to be doctors, and from the moment they arrive on campus they pursue the course of study that will get them to that goal. For such people, it may seem ridiculous that they be required to stay on campus for seven semesters so they can have time to discover what they love to study. They already know.

Furthermore, the University class requirements for graduating already ensure that students graduating from the University have a basic knowledge of a broad range of fields of study. Students who graduate early ought to be expected to fulfill these requirements just like any other student at the University.

The last and most important reason Brandeis should allow its students to graduate in fewer than seven semesters is that the University ought to trust us to make our own decisions about our academic life. We are adults, and we ought to be trusted to decide how we chart our courses of study in college.

The University can and ought to promote a broad liberal arts education for its students, but it cannot force its students to get such an education.

Some may say that students who do not have an interest in getting a good liberal arts education should simply not come to our University.

After all, there are other schools that allow their students the opportunity to graduate in three years or less. I believe that Brandeis shouldn’t exclude such students from experiencing what Brandeis has to offer. There is a plethora of reasons why someone may want to come to Brandeis, including our family-like community, the phenomenal extracurricular opportunities and the wonderful faculty members that actually care about undergraduates.

Perhaps there are many students out there who value these aspects of our University but for whatever reason want to get out of here a bit early. Why should we exclude bright minds who want to come here simply because we judge them to not share all of our values?

IN OPPOSITION

Four years guarantee best college experience

By HANNAH GOLDBERG JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

I am 19, a first-year in college, coming off a gap year in Israel. I spent the majority of last year exploring and experiencing a different set of cultural values, hiking through deserts and mountains and sharing and hearing life adventures with strangers on buses en route to unknown destinations in Israel. I consider my experiences from last year to be the epitome of “living life to the fullest.”

However, I received a great deal of criticism for my decision to postpone my entrance to college. Friends said to me, “Hannah, if you want to be a doctor, you are going to be in school for the rest of your life. Why would you want to put it off a whole extra year?”

Why? Because I don’t view time spent in school as a burden.

This week, an article in Newsweek by Lamar Alexander called “The Three Year Solution” reported that Hartwick College, a small liberal arts school in upstate New York, has begun to offer a track that allows students to graduate in three years.

Brandeis is a great place. I have been struck by how invested people are in their studies: Brandeis students participate in academic clubs, major in multiple disciplines, attend guest lecturers and much more. I find it satisfying to know that in a world where so much

“

Brandeis has certain policies in place that ensure that a Brandeis education remains focused on learning for learning’s sake rather than becoming a paper chase.

pressure exists to be the best and the emphasis is placed on the destination rather than the journey, there is this oasis where people take the time to absorb to the fullest the opportunities surrounding them.

Brandeis has certain policies in place that ensure that a Brandeis education remains focused on learning for learning’s sake rather than becoming a paper chase. For example, according to Brandeis’ residency requirement, students must remain on campus for at least 3 1/2 semesters. Additionally, Brandeis accepts only one semester’s worth of AP scores for University credit.

While on the surface this may seem like a frustrating rule for those who hold more than four AP credits or fulfill all of their requirements by the end of their junior year, the rule is ultimately to the benefit of students who feel rushed to accomplish themselves.

College should not be thought of as a financial investment but rather as a personal one.

College years offer so much opportunity. They allow for personal and intellectual growth, involvement in a community that offers

extracurricular activities to broaden horizons and, for those still caught up on their future and competition, prospects for networking.

However, some colleges are trying to accommodate students’ craze to reach the finish line of education by creating programs that allow students to graduate in three years.

Not only does this limit the potential of very bright students, but it also diminishes the value of education. A liberal arts degree is valuable because it encourages students to explore and to keep them from pigeonholing themselves into a career when they’re merely in the beginning of their life of serious academic pursuit. When a liberal arts university, which assumedly finds value in the pursuit of knowledge, legitimizes a fast track to the end of education, we begin to slide down a slippery slope.

Alexander suggests that as the depressing economy continues to affect those in college, four-year colleges will become obsolete. Why spend more money and time on a degree that you can get in less time for less money? Why? Because life is about the journey, not the des-

tination! Those who invest more time in their educations will ultimately be more satisfied with the diversity and quality of their knowledge. They will have increased perspective on the world throughout their adult lives due to classes that they would never have had the time to take if they were not required to occasionally stray from their major.

Education and experience are the fuel for an intellectual life. During my gap year, which some considered “wasted time,” I learned that I was interested not only in neuroscience (a notion I held throughout my formal schooling) but also in philosophy, journalism and Hebrew. I learned that I should not limit myself to the idea that I will live in the United States when I grow up, and I learned that the opportunity for education should never be rushed.

The fact that Brandeis requires students to study at Brandeis for a minimum of three and a half semesters is a valuable aspect of the school. The more time spent at Brandeis, the more students can contribute and receive from such a thriving intellectual community.

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2009

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SPORTS BASKETBALL

Both teams ranked to start season ■ The women’s basketball

team is ninth while the men are ranked 22nd in the first D3hoops.com Top 25 poll.

By IAN CUTLER JUSTICE EDITOR

After the men’s and women’s basketball teams made trips to the NCAA Tournament last season, both were ranked in the D3hoops.com preseason Top 25 poll when it was released last Thursday.

The men’s team is ranked 22nd while the women’s team is ranked ninth as both squads enter the season with hopes of advancing to the Final Four.

“I think it’s a nice honor that people respect our program, but [preseason rankings] have a lot to do with last year’s team, so it is what it is,” women’s head coach Carol Simon said. “To us, we look at it as everybody is 0-0 and we all start in the same place, but it is nice to be honored this way.”

Men’s head coach Brian Meehan expressed similar sentiments on the preseason rankings.

“It’s nice to be ranked because it means they respect your program and you’re a team that should always be watched,” he said. “As far as saying its an indication as how we’ll do [throughout the season], I’m not even sure what we can do this year.”

Last season, the women’s team advanced further in the NCAA Tournament than it had in any previous season by reaching the Round of 8 before losing to Amherst College 68-54 on March 14. The men’s team was eliminated in the second round of the NCAA Tournament by Franklin & Marshall University.

University Athletic Association opponent Washington University in

CONTINUED FROM 16

DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/Justice File Photo

HYPED UP: Guards Andre Roberson ’10, left, and Kenny Small ’10, right, cheer for their team in a Judges’ victory last season.

St. Louis sits atop both the men’s and women’s preseason polls after both its men’s and women’s teams reached the NCAA Division III National Championship last season. The men’s team won the title last season over Richard Stockton College while the women’s team lost to George Fox University.

On the men’s side, WashU and Brandeis are the only two UAA teams in the poll after as many as six UAA teams spent time in the top 25 last season, The Judges will play two other top-25 teams this season: No. 8 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Nov. 24 and No. 25 Amherst College on Feb. 9, 2010. Last

VOLLEYBALL

Brandeis continues to struggle at Smith ■ The volleyball team

finished sixth out of eight teams at the Hall of Fame Invitational last Saturday.

By JOSH ASEN JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

After going 0-4 in University Athletic Association play in the New York University round-robin tournament two weekends ago, the women’s volleyball team went 1-2 in the Hall of Fame Invitational at Smith College, finishing sixth out of eight teams.

While the Judges lost to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 3-2 in the opening round, they defeated host Smith College 3-0 before falling to Wellesley College 3-0 in the consolation bracket.

Captain and setter Abby Blasco ’11 was the sole player from the team to be named to the All-Tournament squad.

Despite defeating Wellesley College 3-1 on Sept. 8 in the Springfield Invitational, the fifth-seeded Judges were swept by the seventh-seeded Blue in the consolation bracket by a score of 25-11, 25-20, 25-23.

Coach Michelle Kim thought her team did not perform nearly as well as it did in its victory over the Blue.

“Wellesley played well against us, and we didn’t play them as well as we did earlier in the season,” Kim said in an e-mail to the Justice. “We’ve made more errors this time around, and we didn’t hit as efficiently or block as well as we did the first time we played them.”

In the losing effort, outside hitter Paige Blasco ’11 and captain/right setter Piera Carafagno ’10 had a teamleading 11 kills. Abby Blasco contributed with 10 digs and 25 assists of her own.

SWIM: Teams fall to Keene State in opener

Before its match against Wellesley, Brandeis defeated host and No. 8 Smith College by a score of 25-9, 25-12, 25-20.

The match was highlighted by the team’s defense, as the nine points allowed by the Judges tied the team’s total for fewest points allowed in a set this season.

In the match, Paige Blasco led the way for the Judges with 11 kills and a .300 hitting percentage, the fifth time in which she has registered a hitting percentage of .300 or better.

While Abby Blasco had 26 assists in the win, middle blocker Nicole Smith ’11 had a career-best five service aces.

In their match against No. 4 MIT, the Judges took the first two sets by a score of 25-21 and 26-24. However, they could not claim the third and final set, as MIT took the three remaining sets with a score of 25-17, 25-19, 15-9.

Kim recognized MIT’s strong play while stating that her team could not stop the Engineers’ momentum in the later sets.

“The loss against MIT was obviously disappointing for our team,” said Kim. “We weren’t able to use our momentum going into the third set against them, and instead we let them take the momentum away from us by letting them score consecutive points at the beginning of the third set. MIT picked up its play in the mid to later part of the match, and we weren’t able to counter it.”

Paige Blasco had a team-leading 19 kills, while she and her sister Abby led the team with 11 digs. Carfagno had 13 kills and a .265 hitting percentage in the loss.

The Judges continue their season with a match against Keene State College Friday, followed by games against SUNY Oneonta and the University of Maine-Machias in the Judges Classic at Brandeis Saturday.

season, the men’s team finished with the 11th-toughest schedule in the country.

Meehan said he was not surprised that other UAA teams were not ranked, saying that many teams lost its top players to graduation. He also praised WashU for its consistent success in the conference and the NCAA Tournament. “[WashU] play[s] the game hard and the right way,” he said. “They certainly earn it. They’re not arrogant and they’re a great representative of our league.”

Four of the women’s UAA teams are ranked in the top 25. Aside from Brandeis and WashU, the University

of Chicago is ranked 14th while New York University is ranked 19th. The Judges will play each UAA team twice but have no other games against ranked opponents after finishing last season with the secondtoughest schedule in the nation.

“We’re going to be challenged, but we look forward to that,” Simon said.

“To be the best, you have to play the best and have a strong schedule.

We’re ready for it, but it’s not going to be easy.”

The women’s team will open its season Nov. 15 at Worcester Polytechnic Institute while the men’s team will begin its season Nov. 17 against Lasell College.

Angela Chui ’12 in the 200-yard backstroke.

As a rookie, Chui had not lost a race in the 100-yard backstrokes.

After a good start, she found her self neck and neck with her Keene State opponent and fought hard to earn a tie, clocking in at an impressive 1:01.28. With a tie not constituting a loss, she remains unbeaten.

In the 100-yard breaststroke, the women missed out on first place but took second, third and fourth places, with Viray clocking in at only 0.65 seconds behind the leader.

While they know that this is the last season of varsity swimming, both squads, as well as Zotz, remain optimistic and steadfast.

“We’re not giving up,” said Liu. “We take it one season at a time, focusing on every race, every meet and every practice.”

The teams next play Saturday at Wheaton College at 1 p.m., in a meet that will also feature Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

MSOCCER: Judges snap losing streak CONTINUED FROM 16 “I was just in the right place at the right time,” Farr said. “The ball bounced around in the block, and it just happened to find my foot on the 4-yard line,” he added.

In the second half, midfielder Luke Teece ’12 put the Judges up 2-0 on a breakaway steal. Teece intercepted a pass in Pride territory in the 59th minute and placed his shot just inside the right post.

“We knew coming in that their backs liked to pass it around, so our game plan was to pressure them,” coach Mike Coven said.

For Teece, it was the first goal of his career after what looked to be a promising rookie season last year. Teece got off to a hot start last season, picking up two assists in the team’s 5-0 opening victory over Endicott College Aug. 28, 2008. He would slow down, however, recording only one assist and zero goals in the team’s remaining games, while also missing a game after suffering a mild concussion midway through the season.

Despite his struggles to get on the score sheet, Coven noted Teece’s special skill set that enabled him to register his first goal last Wednesday.

“They were passing it around and [Teece], with his terrific speed, broke it up and finished the play off nicely,” Coven added.

The Judges struck again 5 minutes later as Kyle Gross ’11 headed in a Corey Bradley ’10 cross. It was Gross’ first goal of the season.

In the 72nd minute, Springfield senior forward John Plourd bounced a shot past goalie Matt Lynch ’11 to cut the Brandeis lead down to two.

Springfield would draw no closer though, as Lynch saved the team’s other four shots on target.

Springfield dropped to 4-11-1 for the season.

In the game, the Judges outshot the Pride 17-13. Despite the win, Brandeis lost time of possession

NATHANIEL FREEDMAN/Justice File Photo

ESCAPING TRAFFIC: Midfielder Luke Teece ’12 tries to keep possession against Wheaton College Sept. 26. The Judges won their first game in four tries last Wed. battle to Springfield, and the team was caught offsides 11 times to the Pride’s zero.

Farr was impressed with how Springfield’s defense drew Brandeis offside over the course of the game.

“They set a high offside trap and did a great job of it,” said Farr.

Farr also felt that the team’s counterattack was what allowed the Judges to pull away.

“We were able to get the ball up the field quickly, which allowed us to break their trap and gave us some great opportunities,” he said.

The team concludes its season with four straight home games, starting tonight against Lasell College at 7 p.m.

They then play three straight University Athletic Association opponents in Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Chicago and New York University. The team will battle WashU Friday night at 5 p.m. and Chicago Sunday after-

noon at 1:30 p.m.

With four games remaining, the Judges will have to win at least three to be eligible for a postseason berth in the Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament, which requires a .500 record for eligibility.

Farr expressed a positive attitude about the team’s chances in reaching the postseason this year.

“Everyone on the team is pretty confident that we can win the next four games,” he said.

Last season, the Judges sat at .500 entering their season finale against NYU but lost 2-0 and missed the postseason.

This season, the Judges are 1-3 in conference games and have a home record of 2-3.

With the team’s struggles in recent history and thoughout this season, Coven recognized that a chance at postseason play would be a significant accomplishment.

“If we win those four [games], it will have been a very successful season,” Coven said.

Love going to the games?

Join theJustice Sports section, and give us the scoop on all the latest games and events.

For more information, e-mail Ian Cutler at ianc@brandeis.edu.

THE JUSTICE

8

first-place finishes for the men’s swimming and diving team in its opening meet against Keene State College last Saturday.

2

University Athletic Association schools, Brandeis and New York University, that have both its men’s and women’s cross country teams ranked in the top 30.

5

overtime games played by the women’s soccer team this season. The Judges are 0-2-3 in those games after losing 1-0 at Bowdoin College in doubleovertime last Thursday.

16

out of 27 volleyball matches this season in which one of the teams did not win a single set. The Judges have won 10 matches by a 3-0 count and have lost six matches by a 3-0 count.

11

offside penalties called against the men’s soccer team in a 3-1 win over Springfield College last Wednesday. Springfield committed no offside penalties in the Judges’ victory.

MAEGAN BAUTISTA /Justice File Photo

OFFENSE: Forward Alexander Farr ’12, right, leads the team with seven goals this season.

Farr is very excited about the team’s prospects for the rest of the season.

“Closing it out at home is going to be easier, and I really think we have the chance to close the season on a great

note,” he said.

He’ll get his next chance to prove it tonight against Lasell College.

—Jeffrey Boxer

UAA STANDINGS Men’s Soccer

Women’s Soccer

Not including Monday’s games

Not including Monday’s games

UAA Conference WL T Carnegie 4 0 0 Rochester 3 1 0 Chicago 3 1 0 Washington 2 2 0 Emory 1 2 1 JUDGES 1 3 0 New York 0 2 2 Case 0 3 1

UAA Conference W LT Washington 3 0 1 Rochester 3 10 Chicago 2 11 Case 2 20 Carnegie 1 12 JUDGES 1 21 Emory 0 22 New York 0 31

W 13 10 10 8 10 5 5 7

L 1 1 3 5 3 8 7 6

Overall T Pct. 0 .929 2 .846 2 .733 3 .594 1 .750 1 .393 2 .429 3 .531

W 11 10 12 8 6 7 4 9

L 2 2 2 5 5 5 4 5

T 1 2 1 2 2 3 5 1

Overall Pct. .821 .786 .833 .600 .538 .567 .500 .633

TEAM LEADERS MSoccer (points)

WSoccer (points)

Forward Alexander Farr ’12 leads the Judges with 14 points this season.

Forward Mimi Theodore ’12 leads the team with 20 points this year.

Player Alexander Farr Matt Peabody Corey Bradley Sam Ocel Luke Teece

Player Mimi Theodore Tiffany Pacheco Melissa Gorenkoff Sofia Vallone Two tied with...

Points 14 10 8 6 5

Points 20 18 12 9 5

Volleyball (kills)

Volleyball (digs)

Outside hitter Paige Blasco ’11 leads the Judges with 330 kills.

Outside hitter Paige Blasco ’11 leads the team with 276.

Player Paige Blasco Piera Carfagno Nicole Smith Bridget McAllister Becca Fischer

Player Paige Blasco Abby Blasco Bridget McAllister Anna Homitsky Piera Carfagno

Kills 330 216 170 151 110

Digs 276 256 254 254 231

UPCOMING GAME OF THE WEEK Cross Country at UAA Championships The men’s and women’s cross country teams will run Saturday at 10 a.m.

4

UAA men’s cross country teams and six UAA women’s cross country teams ranked in the top 35 nationally.

15

Yankees beat Angels in six games to win their 40th pennant

■ The men’s soccer forward scored one goal in the team’s 3-1 victory over Springfield College, giving him a teamleading seven goals on the year.

Judging numbers

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2009

AP BRIEF

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK Alexander Farr ’12

After a successful rookie season last year, forward Alexander Farr ’12 sat out the first two games of the 2009 season with an injured hip flexor. Now, he’s back to full health and is leading the team in goals.

Farr scored the first goal in the Judges’ 3-1 victory at Springfield College last Wednesday, his seventh of the season.

Although the injury plagued him for the beginning of the season, Farr believes that he is now at the top of his game.

“The early injury threw off my preparation for a bit, but I feel like I’m really coming into the part of the season where I am playing my best soccer,” Farr said.

Coach Mike Coven feels that Farr’s injury was one of the main reasons the team got off to a slow start this year, saying that Farr’s presence could have won them a few of the games that they lost early on.

“We lost some games early in the year that we probably would have won if he had played,” Coven said. “There was a game earlier this year [against Southern Maine University] that we lost 2-0. He would have scored a couple in that game.”

Farr has raised his level of play this year. After scoring four goals as a firstyear, he has transformed from the solid player who started half the games last year to a threat every time he touches the ball this year.

“As a freshman, he was very, very good, but I never saw that breakaway speed until this year,” Coven said. “He’s really shown a knack for being in the right place at the right time, and he’s very composed when he collects the ball.”

●

Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams are ranked in the national top 30 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll entering Saturday’s University Athletic Association Championships in Cleveland, Ohio, but among fellow UAA teams, such a mark is not uncommon.

The men’s team is ranked 23rd, while the women’s team is 26th, but three other UAA men’s teams and four other UAA women’s teams are also in the top 30.

On the women’s side, one school, Emory University, is ranked just outside the top 30 at No. 32, making the competition even more difficult.

NEW YORK—They dashed from the dugout and in from the outfield, swarming Alex Rodriguez in a sea of pinstripes only steps from his spot at third base.

“I couldn’t be more excited,” he said. “I feel like a 10year-old kid.”

The New York Yankees, baseball’s biggest spenders, finally cashed in with their first pennant in six years Sunday night, beating the Los Angeles Angels 5-2 in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series behind the savvy pitching of that old October pro, Andy Pettitte.

Next up, New York hosts defending champion Philadelphia in the World Series opener Wednesday night. Cliff Lee is expected to face ALCS MVP CC Sabathia in an enticing pitching matchup between former Cleveland teammates—and the past two AL Cy Young Award winners.

Ridiculed in the past for his October flops, the threetime MVP played a huge role in helping his team advance through the playoffs, batting .438 with five home runs and 12 RBIs. Thriving under late-inning pressure this time around, the slugger earned his first trip to the Fall Classic during a 16-year career in which he’s accomplished almost everything else.

“That’s what you play for,” Rodriguez said. “In order to win a World Series, you have to get there first.”

Cameras flashed in the stands throughout the ninth inning as the crowd roared louder and louder with each pitch.

After Mariano Rivera fanned pinch-hitter Gary Matthews Jr. for the final out at 1 minute past midnight, Mark Teixeira, Derek Jeter and most Yankees rushed to mob a jubilant Rodriguez near third base.

Rivera received a huge hug from catcher Jorge Posada in front of the mound. Then Rodriguez and the Yankees partied with beer and bubbly in their swanky, high-tech clubhouse.

“I feared that I wouldn’t be able to contribute, so I had a lot of limitations,” Rodriguez said about his previous playoff failures. “The whole year for me was about trusting my teammates and being one of the guys.”

Pettitte set a postseason record for wins, Johnny Damon hit a two-run single and Rivera closed it out in familiar fashion with a six-out save as the $201 million Yankees won their 40th American League crown by vanquishing the Angels, a longtime nemesis.

“It’s really not a surprise that we are here. I hate to sound like that,” said Sabathia, signed along with fellow free agents Teixeira and A.J. Burnett in a $423.5 million offseason spending spree.

Now the Yankees go for their record 27th title—when manager Joe Girardi was hired two years ago, he took jersey No. 27 with that in mind.

Not a bad way for Jeter, Posada and crew to finish up the first season at the team’s new $1.5 billion ballpark.

As Yankee Stadium grew dark, Sabathia’s and Girardi’s kids ran around the bases on an empty infield.

“We want to enjoy this tonight. We’ll worry about Philly tomorrow,” Jeter said. “Hopefully we can play one more great series.”

For manager Mike Scioscia and his sloppy Angels, it was their latest playoff failure during a decade of steady regular-season success. Since winning their only championship in 2002, the Angels are yet to return to the World Series despite five AL West titles in the past six years.

“At times we played good baseball. At times we shot ourselves in the foot,” Scioscia said.

After rain postponed Game 6 for a day, the clear weather and mild, 58-degree temperature at first pitch was a stark change from the first two games of the series, when the Angels froze up in the raw chill at Yankee Stadium.

Pettitte escaped a jam in the sixth, going to 3-0 on Kendry Morales before knocking down a comebacker with runners at second and third to preserve a 3-1 edge.

The left-hander pumped his fist then headed for the dugout.

With one on and one out in the seventh, Pettitte left to a standing ovation and tipped his cap to the sellout crowd of 50,173, the largest at the new ballpark. He earned his 16th postseason win, breaking a tie with John Smoltz, and his fifth to close out a postseason series—also a major league record.

“We’ve got a lot of confidence in Andy when he’s on the mound. He’s been a big-game pitcher for us for 14 years,” Jeter said.

Joba Chamberlain got two key outs and Girardi went to a well-rested Rivera in the eighth. He gave up a twoout RBI single to Vladimir Guerrero, making it 3-2, then retired Morales to end the inning.

A diving play by Teixeira at first base helped Rivera avoid further damage.

It was the first earned run allowed at home by the 39year-old Rivera in a postseason save situation. But the Yankees added two insurance runs in the eighth on a pair of Angels errors and Teixeira’s sacrifice fly.

Rivera finished up for his record 37th postseason save, and the Yankees had their elusive pennant.

“You bring him in, you feel like the game’s over. He’s the best,” Pettitte said.

Rodriguez reached base all five times up and drew a bases-loaded walk in the fourth that put New York ahead 3-1. Earlier in the inning, Damon gave the Yankees the lead with a single off 16-game winner Joe Saunders.

Including their unprecedented collapse against Boston in 2004, the Yankees had lost five straight times with a chance to close out an ALCS—and six in a row with an opportunity to end a playoff series.

But this time, New York got it done with leadership from Jeter, Pettitte, Rivera and Posada, all part of the late 1990s dynasty under manager Joe Torre.

As for Rodriguez, his tumultuous year began with a tense news conference to admit steroids use from 2001 to 2003 with Texas, then hip surgery that sidelined him until May. It will end in the World Series.

just

Sports

Page 16

PRESEASON POLLS The men’s and women’s basketball teams are both ranked in the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll, p. 13.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Waltham, Mass.

SWIMMING & DIVING

LATE DEFEAT

Teams open season at home away from home ■ The men’s and women’s

swimming and diving teams began the season by losing to Keene State College last Saturday at Regis College.

By JONATHAN STEINBERG JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/Justice File Photo

SHUT OUT: Midfielder Sofia Vallone ’11 dribbles up field in a game against Nazareth College Sept. 6. Last Wednesday, the Judges were defeated at Bowdoin College 1-0.

Double overtime goal beats Judges ■ The women’s soccer team

lost 1-0 at Bowdoin College last Thursday and dropped its season record to 7-5-3.

By MELISSA SIEGEL JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

The women’s soccer team was just over 5 minutes away from earning its third tie of the season against Bowdoin College on Thursday.

However, in the 105th minute of play, Polar Bears junior defender Tiernan Cutler scored after a corner kick to give Brandeis its third overtime loss this season.

The loss drops the Judges to 7-5-3 on the season after a 5-1-2 start.

Brandeis also drops to 0-2-3 in extrasession games this season.

The game-winning goal came after a corner kick by Bowdoin sophomore midfielder/forward Celeste Swain. Brandeis keeper Hillary Rosenzweig ’10 was able to knock the initial attempt away, but the ball went right to Polar Bears rookie forward Stacie Sammott,

who tapped it to Cutler. Cutler then shot the ball into the open net for the winning goal.

“It was double overtime, so obviously by that point everyone’s really tired,” midfielder Mimi Theodore ’12 said. “They were just quicker to the rebound and quickly put a shot off. It was just a lot of confusion, ... and they were the first ones to jump on the rebound, and they put it away,” she added.

This match was the third straight game in which the Judges had given up a goal off of a corner kick.

Against Emory on Oct. 18, the Eagles tied the game in the 27th minute off a header after a corner kick. On Oct. 16 against Carnegie Mellon University, the Judges gave up a game-tying goal after a deflection of the corner kick in the box.

“Over the last couple games we’ve gotten scored on corners, so I think we definitely need to focus on working as hard as we can to get the ball out,” Theodore said. “I think that’s definitely been one of our obvious problems. ... We’ll get the ball initially off the corner but we don’t get it out of our end, and it comes right

back in, and that’s what’s killing us.”

Both teams had plenty of scoring chances in the game, especially during regulation when the Judges had 13 shots to the Polar Bears’ 12.

Overall, Brandeis outshot Bowdoin 18-14 in the game.

The Judges had a chance to score in the 74th minute when midfielder Sofia Vallone ’11 hit the crossbar on a shot. Not to be outdone, the Polar Bears got off four shots in the last 10 minutes of regulation, all of which were saved by Rosenzweig.

“I thought Hillary did a great job,” Theodore said. “It was wet out that day so the ball was hooking everywhere, but Hillary came up with some big saves. [Bowdoin is] a good team, they got shots off. … It was just unfortunate how it ended, because she worked really hard throughout the whole game.”

Brandeis had further opportunities to score in the first overtime session, when they outshot the Polar Bears 3-1. Mimi Theodore, who is the team’s leading scorer this year with eight goals, had one of those shots in the 99th minute,

but it sailed wide of the net. Her twin sister, midfielder/forward Ali Theodore ’12, also had a shot that went wide in the second minute of overtime.

The Judges had the shot advantage in the second overtime, getting off two shots early in the period.

The Polar Bears had only one shot in second overtime, but that was the game winner.

The Judges were not among the top 12 teams in the New England region in the NCAA’s regional rankings released last Wednesday.

Currently, Tufts University is ranked 12th, ahead of the Judges, even though Brandeis defeated Tufts 2-0 earlier this season.

The Judges also tied Springfield College, the No. 6 team in the rankings, and lost 1-0 to No. 5 Babson College.

Brandeis concludes its season with three straight University Athletic Association home games, starting this weekend. The Judges host Washington University in St. Louis Friday at 7:30 p.m. and University of Chicago Sunday morning at 11 a.m.

MEN’S SOCCER

Squad takes down Springfield for road win ■ The men’s soccer team

concluded its four-game road trip with a 1-3 record after defeating Springfield College 3-1 last Wednesday.

By JEFFREY BOXER JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

After a recent rough stretch in which the team lost four straight games, the men’s soccer team bounced back, defeating Springfield College last

Wednesday 3-1 to improve to 5-8-1 on the season.

For the Judges, it was their first and only win on their season-high four-game road trip.

The Judges struck first when forward Alexander Farr ’12 put in David McCoy’s ’12 shot.

Despite a sprawling save from senior goalie Chris Walton, Walton could not stop Farr’s pointblank shot.

Farr, who leads the team with seven goals, noted that the ball came to him at the ideal place.

See MSOCCER, 13 ☛

Last Saturday, the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams held their home opener against Keene State College, but as what will become the norm for the team entering its final season as a varsity program, competed at Regis College.

Since the closing of the Linsey pool and the decision to suspend the varsity program at the conclusion of this season, the teams have held practices and will host home meets at Regis College.

The men’s team lost 156 to 137, but earned first-place finishes in eight of the 16 swimming events.

The women’s squad also fell to Keene State by a score of 155.5 to 121.5.

In the men’s 200-yard medley relay, the team of Justin Wellins ’10, Marc Eder ’12, Daniel Danon ’13 and James Liu ’10 took first place, beating the Keene State team by only 0.22 seconds thanks to Liu’s strong performance as the anchor.

Liu also took first place in two other individual events and one relay, the 200-yard freestyle, the 50 yard freestyle and as a member of the 400-yard freestyle relay team.

Liu discussed his approach and reasons for his success.

“Before every race I tell myself to relax,” Liu said. “I just go out from start. I don’t take it easy; I go out fast, and I end it with everything I’ve got.”

The men’s team’s four other wins were earned in the 200-yard butterfly by Aaron Bennett ’11, the 200yard breaststroke by Eder, the 100yard butterfly by Danon and the 200-yard individual medley by Eder.

The Judges came close to a ninth first-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle. Bennett, who according to coach Jim Zotz put in a lot of extra conditioning during the offseason, swam a strong race, surging back after falling behind early only to lose by a mere 0.22 seconds.

“It was an awesome race,” Zotz said. “[Bennett] didn’t back down.

He had a great race.”

The men’s team was also able to earn points in a diving event, as Alex Cemaj ’10 took third for three points in the 1-meter dive. Last season, the men’s team did not have consistent divers to compete in the event and were usually forced to forfeit the 27 points earned in diving events.

On the women’s side, the squad took first-place finishes in one diving event and five swimming events, including a tie in the 100yard backstroke.

Hollis Viray ’10 earned two of the Judges’ victories. She placed first in the 1,000-yard freestyle and the 200-yard breaststroke, both by more than 4 seconds.

The women also took first in the 400-yard freestyle relay, beating Keene with the team of Ellen Abramowitz ’11, Dana Simms ’11, Dasha Hentoff ’10 and Lisa Rice ’10.

Simms also took first in the 1- meter diving event. The other win was by

See SWIM, 13 ☛

S T R A

just

October 27, 2009

‘Lot’s Daughters’ learn about love p. 19

Photos: Genevieve Armstrong and Bryan Prywes/the Justice. Design: Julian Agin-Liebes, Max Breitstein Matza and Asher Krell/the Justice.

18

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2009

●

THE JUSTICE

POP CULTURE

INSIDE ON CAMPUS

18-21

■ ‘Lot’s Daughters’ 19 Brandeis Players’ production of the tale of forbidden love was deeply moving.

■ Deis Comedians 19 Popular Boston comedians Myq Kaplan ’00 and Zach Sherwin ’02 were tapped to perform at the Boston Vegetarian Food Festival.

19 ■ NOH8 Students posed for photographs to express opposition to California’s Proposition 8.

20-21 ■ Rose opening The Rose Art Museum prepared to debut an exhibit of its most celebrated works to coincide with the release of its new catalog.

OFF CAMPUS

22-24

22 ■ Aalok International The friendly staff provided eyebrow threading, a time-tested beauty service, at a low price.

22 ■ ‘Glee’ Recent episodes of Fox’s hit comedy did not live up to the show’s reputation for diversity.

23 ■ ‘Dead Man’s Cell Phone’ Lyric Stage Company of Boston staged a play about a woman caught up in a stranger’s life.

23 ■ ‘Embryonic’ The Flaming Lips’ new album was innovative.

23 ■ David Bazan The Pedro the Lion singer-songwriter brought his intimate, thoughtful solo act to Boston.

CALENDAR

INTERVIEW

by Marianna Faynshteyn

All parents have high hopes for their children, dreaming that they reach faraway, hardto-reach goals and destinations. With a name like Falcon, it only makes sense that a child wants to take to the skies and realize the dreams his parents have for him. So the fact that Falcon Heene’s parents told him to stay grounded (in the attic) as part of a premeditated, malicious plot to garner media attention which put the whole country into a panic just seems hypocritical. Especially since a balloon contraption was sitting right outside in their backyard. You tempt and you tempt your child, and then what? You call 911? Well, that just seems silly.

Such is Richard and Mayumi Heene’s parenting style: balloons and exploitation. The story is old news by now—weird wannabe actors being taped for the staple of all things moral, Wife Swap, decide that they want the world to think their seven-year-old son has flown away in a balloon. It’s reminiscent of a biblical tale—the faux sacrifice of a son for publicity. Better yet, just think of it as the movie Up meets Roald Dahl’s novel Matilda.

It’s really just a tongue-in-cheek prank gone wrong. Except the joke veered off into a weird place when it was clear that the punch line would involve the F word—felony. And this F word could do more than just get the Heenes pulled from Lifetime (Wife Swap’s venerable network). Falcon’s wings may be clipped permanently under the supervision of child protective services as his parents get locked away, muttering under their breath that they should’ve spent more time prepping their son for the spotlight—oh, the pitfalls of method acting.

In the end, it seems even the most wacky and negligent parents can still manage to instill

St Laurence debuts as a director with ‘Daughters’ ■ In an e-mail interview with justArts, the seasoned student actor discussed his motivations for directing Rebecca Basham’s play ‘Lot’s Daughters,’ which was staged during Fall Fest weekend.

DAVID ZALUBOWSKI/The Associated Press

DADDY DEAREST: Richard Heene’s manipulation of his son Falcon took the spotlight last week. appropriate values into their children. The Heenes’ biggest misstep seems to be that they underestimated their child’s moral compass, which pointed in a direction away from their high hopes and lowly schemes. When asked about the affair, Falcon reacted in the way fairy tales dictate children do—he told the truth when shaken down by a wise old Wolf (Blitzer).

And then he proceeded to do what fairy tales never mention in stories of frightened children doing brave deeds: He vomited profusely upon further probing.

Robert St. Laurence ’11, a Theater Arts major, directed the play Lot’s Daughters, which is set in the foothills of Appalachian Kentucky during the 1940s and tells the story of two sisters-in-law who find themselves falling in love with each other despite the harsh disapproval of their community.

St. Laurence has previously acted in such student productions as City of Angels , Saturday Night, and last semester’s production Woman in the Background: Scenes from Pinter . The production of Lot’s Daughters was presented by the Brandeis Players, a student theater company that is part of the Undergraduate Theatre Collective. The show was staged in Ridgewood Commons from Oct. 22 to 25. For a review of the play, see p. 19.

JustArts: What was it like to be the director for Lot’s Daughters? How has it differed from your previous experiences with theater?

What’s happening in Arts on and off campus

Lydian String Quartet: Music at Noon Robert St. Laurence: As an actor, primarily, it was interesting to approach theatre from this different perspective. The process of shaping and instructing my actors ended up teaching me more about the art of theatre and craft of acting than any other experience I’ve had on this campus. Spending my entire life on the stage, I came to a point where I wanted to share the fruit of my experiences with a set of eager actors, and become the driving force behind the creation of great theatre.

In this concert, free and open to the public, the Lydian String Quartet will perform Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Quartet in E Flat, K. 428 and Bela Bartok’s Quartet No. 1, Op. 7.

Wednesday at noon in the Zinner Forum in the Schneider Building.

Rose opening The Rose Art Museum will debut its new exhibit, titled “The Rose at Brandeis: Works from the Collection.” The wide-ranging show, curated by Adelina Jedrzejczak and Roy Dawes, will include works by such influential artists as Willem de Kooning, Roy Liechtenstein, Andy Warhol, Robert Motherwell and Cindy Sherman, among many others. For more information, see the article on p. 20.

Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Rose Art Museum.

JA: What was your primary creative influence for the artistic value of the play?

RSL: In a way, the cast of Lot’s Daughters had the opportunity to experience a taste of each director I’ve encountered in my long career, as I attempted to strengthen their abilities using the same techniques that helped me. In envisioning and directing Lot’s Daughters , I tied every aspect to answering the need for honesty and intimacy in theatre.

Night of Israeli Dancing Brandeis University Conservative Organization and WBRS are co-sponsoring this Israeli dancing night, which begins with an hour of dance instruction by Brandeis students. The second hour of dancing will coincide with the Achla Muzika Israeli music show on WBRS. In the third and final hour attendees will be able to request dance music.

Wednesday from 7 to 10 p.m. in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium.

False Advertising’s Spooktacular

Third

Annual

Join Brandeis’ oldest long-form improv comedy group, False Advertising, for its special Halloween performance.

Wednesday from 10 p.m. to midnight in Cholmondeley’s.

“Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology” The creators of the first-ever graphic novel to feature exclusively Asian-American superheroes will discuss the origins of their book and explore the status of Asian-American media. They’ll also collaborate with the audience to create an original superhero on the spot. The book will be available for purchase and dinner will be served.

WHAT’S ON?

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/The Justice

WORKS IN WAITING: Artwork hung in the Rose Art Museum ahead of Wednesday’s opening of a new exhibit that was timed to coincide with the release of a catalog of the permanent collection. accompanied by John Zielinski on piano.

Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Lurias Conference Room.

Friday at 3 p.m. in the Slosberg Recital Hall.

‘To Be and To Have’

Pamela Wolfe recital

This award-winning 2002 documentary by Nicolas Filibert depicts the trials a teacher faces in educating four- to 11-year-olds in a one-room schoolhouse in rural France. The screening is the second installment of the French Film Series sponsored by the French department.

Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. in Lown 002.

Prof. Pamela Wolfe (MUS) will perform a recital of vocal works for soprano.

Saturday from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Slosberg Recital Hall.

“Boys’ Night Out” Brandeis Hillel sponsors an evening of action and sports movies geared towards guys.

Thursday from 8 to 11 p.m. in the Hillel Lounge.

Fridays@3 In the latest installment of the Friday Music Breaks series, students of Prof. Pamela Wolfe (MUS) will perform selections from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute,

New Music Brandeis This concert marks the world premiere of new compositions by Brandeis graduate students in the Music department.

Saturday from 8 to 10 p.m. in the Slosberg Recital Hall.

Boston Unhinged Chamber Players Concert Nicholas Brown ’10 directs a student ensemble in its performance of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cantata BWV 51 , Franz Haydn’s Symphony No. 90 and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Symphony No. 25.

Sunday from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Slosberg Recital Hall.

JA: What was the most challenging aspect of working on Lot’s Daughters?

RSL: The most challenging aspect of the directorial process was building a set of verbal tools with which I could effectively communicate my ideas to my cast, seeing as up until this point the ideas never needed to progress beyond conscious thought. The entire process of shaping a production and finding my directorial voice and style was a welcomed challenge.

JA: What do you think the audience will appreciate most about this play?

RSL: The show is designed to better feature its actors, so the high caliber of acting should be apparent. I treated my cast like professionals and worked them very hard throughout the production period, and they’ve responded very well, growing and stretching themselves beyond their various starting points.

—Sujin Shin

Top 10s for the week ending Oct. 27

Box Office

College Radio

Billboard

WBRS

1. Paranormal Activity 2. Saw VI 3. Where the Wild Things Are 4. Law Abiding Citizen 5. Couples Retreat 6. Astro Boy 7. The Stepfather 8. Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant 9. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 10. Zombieland

1. Monsters of Folk – Monsters of Folk 2. Yo La Tengo – Popular Songs 3. Arctic Monkey – Humbug 4. Raveonettes – In and Out of Control 5. Why? – Eskimo Snow 6. Compilation – Everything Goes Wrong 7. Sea Wolf – White Water, White Bloom 8. Islands – Vapours 9. Muse – The Resistance 10. Dodos – Time to Die

1. Michael Buble – Crazy Love 2. Soundtrack – The Twilight Saga: New Moon 3. Jay-Z – The Blueprint 3 4. Barbra Streisand – Love is the Answer 5. Miley Cyrus – The Time of Our Lives 6. The Black Eyed Peas – The E.N.D. 7. Taylor Swift – Fearless 8. The Flaming Lips – Embryonic 9. Mario – D.N.A. 10. Mariah Carey – Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel

1. La Roux – “Quicksand” 2. Air – “Do the Joy” 3. Sean Costello – “Double Trouble” 4. Debbie Davies – “Fishnet” 5. Tinsley Ellis – “Slip and Fall” 6. Gossip – “Heavy Cross” 7. John Hammond – “Stop and Listen” 8. Jay Reatard – “Man of Steel” 9. Coco Montoya – “You Think I’d Know Better by Now” 10. Maria Muldaur & Her Garden of Joy – “I Ain’t Gonna Marry”

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

THE JUSTICE

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ON CAMPUS COMEDY

THEATER

Vegetarian fest will host Brandeis comedy kings

‘Lot’ explores taboos

■ Popular local comedians

Myq Kaplan ’00 and Zach Sherwin ’02 will perform at the Boston Vegetarian Food Festival this weekend.

By HANNA SHANSKY JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Boston Vegetarian Society will make a comedic connection with Brandeis alumni Zach Sherwin ’02 and Myq Kaplan ’00 at the 14th Annual Vegetarian Food Festival this weekend. Both men are winners of the Boston Phoenix’s “Best Local Comedian” reader poll and will appear together as the festival’s Stand-Up Comedy Special.

Both Kaplan and Sherwin are vegan stand-up comics sporting glasses and good humor. The two have gone on from their time at Brandeis to become involved in indie events, shows and local competitions related to their passions for laughs.

While in a graduate program at Boston University, Kaplan won the school’s Funniest Student Competition. Sherwin (also known as MC Mr. Napkins) hosts weekly shows at the Comedy Studio in Cambridge. In addition to BVS, Zach Sherwin has created and become involved with another food-comedy hybrid with his show, Tofunny, produced for the 2009 Alternative Comedy Festival.

In a recent interview with the Justice, Kaplan spoke about his undergraduate experiences as a member of VoiceMale and a Linguistics minor at Brandeis. “My interest in linguistics came about because of my interest in language, learning about semantics, different meanings of words, phrases, … fun with syntax and sounds. And that’s basically where my comedy comes from as well.” As for the a cappella, he says, “The thing I like about singing is that I get to be myself, except with more singing than usual.”

Though Brandeis offers opportuni-

ties to get involved with sketch comedy, Kaplan found a greater passion in being a solo stand-up comic. “I sort of joined Boris’ Kitchen and performed in one of their shows as a freshman, though sketch comedy was never particularly my thing, probably because I didn’t really think of myself as an actor. The thing I like about stand-up is that I get to be myself. It’s a pretty easy part to play because I know all of my motivations.”

After graduating from Brandeis, while living in Boston as a resident adviser at Boston University, Kaplan spent most of his energy on his comedy career. He says that during this time, “I got discovered. By me, mostly. I was like, ‘You’ve got what it takes, kid. If you put in the work, you can really make something of yourself.’”

The Vegetarian Food Festival is a two-day annual expo held at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center in Boston, described as “indeed awesome” by Kaplan. In addition to offering free admission and free parking to all attendees, the event (primarily sponsored by Whole Foods Market) previews natural food providers, prominent chefs, cooking demonstrations, free food samples, speaker presentations, kids’ activities and accessible information regarding veganism and vegetarianism. This Boston Vegetarian Society is a nonprofit organization, and all festival organizers, staff and participants will donate their time to the event.

In addition to performing at the Vegetarian Festival, Kaplan may be found there scoping out burritos, Asian food or vegetable sushi. In the future, he hopes to “keep doing comedy, maybe get a job doing some comedy writing on TV or the Internet or whatever is invented after the Internet. … Whatever happens, happens.

I’m open to anything.”

More information for those wishing to attend the Vegetarian Food Festival can be found at http://bostonveg.org/foodfest/ index.html.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MYQ KAPLAN

QUIRKY COMEDIAN: Myq Kaplan ’00 appeared on the Comedy Central show ‘Live at Gotham’ in 2008. This year he was named winner of the New York Comedy Contest.

■ Brandeis Players staged

a poignant performance of ‘Lot’s Daughters,’ a play about two women in love.

By ELLY KALFUS JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Lot’s Daughters is a play about sexuality, gender, religion and oppression set in the 1940s. Sitting amid an attentive, intimate audience in South Campus Commons, one couldn’t help but feel transported to the locale of the play’s setting—rural Kentucky during World War II. The actors portrayed their characters brilliantly, depicting intense emotions and thoroughly embodying their roles throughout the production. Despite the small cast size (only nine actors), each actor did an amazing job of creating a sense of a small, Midwestern community while engaging the audience in the drama and leaving little wanting, as evidenced by the audience’s sniffling at the show’s completion.

Lot’s Daughters, by Rebecca Basham, is the story of two young women, Gertie and Susannah, growing up in a fanatically religious town where men have all the power and women struggle with their confined roles. References are made to the Old Testament story of Lot, and parallels between the biblical text and the girls’ situation are obvious throughout the show. The drama leaves viewers wondering about faith and pondering how people can twist and distort religion to meet their own means.

Gertie Cobb, powerfully played by Leah Carnow ’12, is the protagonist of this story as she questions her relationship with her brother Waincey’s (Yoni Bronstein ’13) new wife Susannah (Jessi Fixsen ’12).

Waincey and Susannah, having only met once, marry the night before Waincey must leave for war, leaving Gertie to take in and provide for her new sister-in-law. Gertie helps Susannah learn her own self-worth by showing her tenderness and affection, in great contrast with the treatment Susannah has received from the men in her life. However, as Gertie and Susannah grow closer, they are forced to question the nature of their relationship and whether it is a sin, both because of their romantic feelings for each other and because of Susannah’s legal ties to Waincey.

Carnow and Fixsen shine as they make a series of emotional discoveries throughout the story, in tears one moment and professing their love the next. The two actresses play off each other amazingly and seem to have real chemistry. Bronstein does a great job portraying Gertie’s clueless older brother, and although his character is away at war for most of the show, when he is present he pro-

BRYAN PRYWES/the Justice

WOMAN TO WOMAN: The irrepressible Gayla Faye (Erica Lubitz ’12, right) inspires Gertie (Leah Carnow ’12) to follow her heart in the play ‘Lot’s Daughters.’ vides some much-needed comic relief.

Added to a story already fraught with trouble is the presence of Brother and Sister Rankin, who are husband and wife and the town’s religious fanatics. Brother Rankin, as played by Hank Lin ’10, is a character of ambiguous morality until a confession from Susannah allows the reader some insight into the true dynamic of the town. Lin excels in his role, walking to the very front of the stage during his sermon and demanding who will confess before him, making audience members feel as though he is speaking directly to them. His ranting is accompanied perfectly by Rachael Barr’s ’10 disturbing portrayal of Sister Rankin, as she proceeds to speak in tongues and convulse in seizures on the floor of the church. A true testament to Barr’s skill is her ability to create sympathy for her character despite the way she treats Gertie and Susannah and the hate she propagates. The two create a dynamic team of villains.

The cast is rounded off by a crew of supporting characters, including Susannah’s abusive father, Harlan Hicks (Benjamin Witte ’11) and a young man looking for love, Junior Dobbs (Stephen Badras ’13). Although these male figures are on stage less than the female leads, they play influential roles all the same

and contribute to the audience’s understanding of the gender roles within the town. Another important character is that of Gayla Faye (Erica Lubitz ’12), a young woman suffering under circumstances similar to those of Gertie and Susannah. Gayla and Junior Dobbs are responsible for carrying the subplot of the show and do so commendably. Lubitz portrays a sympathetic Gayla, a flirtatious girl who has been forced into marriage to an older man but has not given up hope for a better future for herself. Perhaps the most touching moment of the show comes when Gayla speaks to Gertie about her happiness over her pregnancy. She explains to an innocent, confused Gertie that knowing she will create a new life gives her a sense of power and hope that she has not had before.

In the end, Gayla’s example offers Gertie an alternative to acceptance of her repressed life as she leaves town and starts a new life with Junior.

Perhaps the most amazing aspect of the show is the actors’ accents, which lent the whole production an air of authenticity. With a bare stage, few props and sparse scenery, the burden rested on the actors to get the story across, a feat they pulled off masterfully. Students and parents alike left the show puzzling over what the show had made them feel and think, evidence of a successful production.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Students’ photo effort joins national protest against Prop 8 ■ Democracy for America

coordinated a program in which students designed and posed for photographs that expressed their support for gay marriage rights.

By BRAD STERN JUSTICE EDITOR

When California’s Proposition 8 narrowly secured the majority vote in last November’s election, opponents of the bill cried out from across the country in a multitude of forms—from impassioned letterwriting campaigns to mass public demonstrations. For photographer Adam Bouska, the response came in the form of duct tape and red paint.

No, the photographer didn’t hold the California Supreme Court hostage. Instead Bouska developed a

pictorial series known as the “NOH8” campaign along with his partner Jeff Parshley as a way of protesting the ruling against samesex marriage.

Calling on celebrities, models, political figures and everyday American citizens, Bouska began photographing subjects with the words “NOH8” painted on their cheeks and a strip of duct tape across their mouths to protest the Prop 8 ruling and, as his Web site declares, symbolize “their voices not being heard.” According to the organization’s Web site, the photos will eventually be compiled and used in a billboard and magazine campaign.

To drive Bouska and Parshley’s message home at Brandeis, Katie Kaufman ’12, a member of Brandeis’ Democracy for America, decided to organize a “NOH8” photoshoot for the Brandeis community. “It was important to hold this event to remind people about what happened

in California last November with the passing of Prop 8 and to raise awareness about the other states like Maine and Washington, which have initiatives on the ballot this November to do the same thing that happened in California last year,” she explained of her decision to form the event.

Between 5 and 10 p.m. on Oct. 20 and 21 in the Shapiro Campus Center, dozens of Brandeis students lined up to take both individual and group photos with the famed “NOH8” slogan painted on their cheeks and a strip of duct tape placed across their mouths, photographed with the help of student photographer Max Shay ’11.

For those who were too camerashy to snap a photo of themselves, DFA provided a wealth of information to help further the GLBTQ equal rights cause, including a petition to end the military’s controversial “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

The club also provided ways for students to e-mail their congressmen and encourage them to sponsor the newly formed “Respect for Marriage Act,” which calls for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. “Everyone was really respectful, and a lot of people who did not know about the event just passed by and decided to participate,” says Kaufman. In fact, she estimates that approximately 160 Brandeis students showed up between the two days in order to get their voices heard— symbolically speaking, of course.

“It is a campaign that is bringing attention from mainstream culture to the queer civil rights movement,” said student Parker Fader ’10 of his decision to participate in the campaign on Tuesday night. “It was an incredibly empowering experience for me to help provide another face to queer movement.”

While some may question the efficacy of the “NOH8” initiative’s in-

fluence after the Californian voter’s decision landed in November of last year, Kaufman insists that the campaign is still crucial to the human rights cause: “There are still thousands of individuals living in the United States that don’t have the same rights as their fellow citizens.

This project causes people to start thinking about Prop 8 again and reminds us that we have to keep the conversation going and get voters out to the polls in order to defeat this hateful legislation.”

The photographs taken during this event will be made available for purchase on Nov. 3 at the DFA coffeehouse at Cholmondeley’s.

“Everyone who participated was great, and they got to show off a little bit of their individuality while coming together to fight a common cause,” Kaufman explained. It is a movement that the namesake of this very university would no doubt smile upon.

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

THE SPIRIT OF THE ’60s: Handlers hang ‘Rodado’ by James Brooks (1961) beside Robert Rauschenberg’s ‘Second Time Painting’ (1961). The Rose acquired these works in 1962 with money from the Gevirtz-Mnuchin Fund.

Rose will welcom Show is perhaps most extensive ever

By ANDREA FINEMAN JUSTICE EDITOR

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

SUN GOING UP: A Rose worker prepares to hang ‘Rising’ by Adolph Gottlieb, which was purchased by former Rose Art Museum director Sam Hunter.

Coinciding this month with the release of The Rose Art Museum at Brandeis, a catalog of the museum’s choicest holdings, Director Roy Dawes and former Rose Assistant Curator Adelina Jedrzejczak have put together a show of works from the museum’s permanent collection.

The exhibition marks the first time the museum has presented works solely from the museum’s own collection in all three of the museum’s galleries.

Usually, the museum hosts a fall, a spring and a summer exhibition each year. However, since the Board of Trustees’ controversial decision this January, the museum has been less able to organize exhibitions with artists and receive works on loan from other museums. The show, which opens tomorrow, will remain on view until May 23, 2010.

Dawes and Jedrzejcak chose works from the collection that would show the breadth and depth of the collection as well as provide an educational resource for students. “That’s something that we were very conscious of; ... doing a service for the stu-

dents and the general public to be able to see a lot of art ... and have the chance to come back and explore. Some of these pieces are some of them are the ones that [Profs.] Nancy Scott (FA) and Peter Kalb (FA) always asked to see in the vault, and now they have a chance to come out,” said Jedrzejczak. The show purports to have an unprecedented number of works on display this year. Said Dawes, “Adelina and I were thinking that it’s going to take folks to come by at least two to three visits to begin to absorb the amount of work [on display], which is a good thing, because it’s going to be up for the rest of the school year. Our last day will be commencement.”

Jedrzejczak continued, “I don’t think there’s ever been a time when so much artwork has been shown in this museum. ...

What Roy and I are doing ... is this sort of exuberant feeling of celebrating the collection and seeing what’s here and obviously considering the educational value of it but also the visual pleasure, and that’s something that I’m interested in as a curator—for the exhibition to look great.”

GEOMETRY: Ellsworth Kelly’s ‘Blue/White,’ (above left) featured promine Geometries,’ curated by Jedrzejczak as well. Pablo Picasso’s ‘Reclining ‘Saints and Sinners’ exhibit last year. Said Jedrzejczak, “There are defin not been seen.” In addition to Kelly and Picasso, the show will feature “ world’s best examples of art by those artists. But then there are other w Oscar Hjorn, who are not maybe as appreciated and they're amazing.”

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2009

21

The museum vault, opened wide

By ANDREA FINEMAN JUSTICE EDITOR

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

MIXED MEDIA: Above, ‘Stave’ by Jenny Holzer (2008) incorporates text from government documents. Said Jedrzejczak, “The Foster Gallery is Abstract Expressionism to start off and branches into pop art, photorealism, minimalism. ... We’re showing video work as well.” Below, ‘Stave’ is reflected in a mirror of ‘Double Red Bathroom’ by Jim Dine (1962).

e

Coinciding with tomorrow’s exhibition opening celebration is the recent release of The Rose Art Museum at Brandeis, a catalog of the museum’s most illustrious holdings in the permanent collection. The book, which became available on Oct. 1, is the result of a two-year process of reviewing the collection, writing original essays and short descriptions of the work and preparing it for press.

Ann Tanenbaum ’66, a member of the Rose Board of Overseers and a former employee of Abrams Books, the publishing company that handled the book’s release, helped bring the project from idea to fruition.

“The idea came to me because of my lifetime career in book publishing and in thinking about being an overseer of the Rose and how important the collection is. … It seemed like a perfect circle to talk to them about publishing a book [and] to talk to Harry Abrams about publishing a book on the collection of the museum,” said Tanenbaum. “I knew that this would be wonderful publicity for the museum and for Brandeis and would also spread the word of the great collection and be an invaluable development mechanism as well, and of course be a magnificent book.”

Over the past two years, Tanenbaum, as well as former Rose director Michael Rush, Rose Director Roy Dawes, former Assistant Curator Adelina Jedrzejczak and Profs. Peter Kalb (FA) and Nancy Scott (FA), as well as other art historians and alumni have contributed to the effort by choosing and refining the list of works to be included in the book, writing essays and catalog entries and preparing the book for printing.

Said Dawes, “Adelina was really the driving force, and she was the point person for all of this. … Along with Michael Rush, we were making decisions as to what was going to be in the catalog, and so we came up with a large list of sort of the ‘best of’ the collection and we whittled that down to a reasonable number [of works].”

The catalog was almost finished by the time of the Jan. 26 Board of Trustees decision to authorize the sale of works from the collection. Yet the catalog’s appearance now, while the museum’s collection remains in something of a limbo state due to ongoing legal proceedings between the University and a group of Rose benefactors, presents something of a paradox. “When after Jan. 26 Abrams contacted me because they were concerned about whether or not we wanted to continue with the project. … I consulted with the president and others about [whether we] should continue with this, and everyone said, ‘Absolutely.’ We had a lot of people who had already done a lot of work in terms of writing essays, the selection of the art that would go into the catalog. … It was a big project, and we thought it’s an exciting project, so we decided to go ahead with it,” said Provost Marty Krauss.

Most of the people interviewed for this article saw the Rose catalog as a positive expression of the museum’s brilliant collection during this uncertain time. Kim Rorschach ’78, who contributed written work for the catalog, said “Since the January debacle, I’d say the role of the catalog has expanded. It will still serve to make the collection known to a broader public, which will be very impressed by the quality and breadth of the collection. The catalog will also demonstrate the tremendous educational, scholarly and artistic value of the collection, and readers will draw their own conclusions about the wisdom of the University’s January decision to sell it.” Rorschach, who has held the office of curator and director at two university art museums and is currently director at the Nasher Museum at Duke University, continued: “I cannot predict how others will react, but it seems to me a very good and hopeful sign that the University has moved forward with publication, and a positive response will hopefully discourage the University from further thoughts of selling the collection for general budget relief.”

The catalog’s contributors uni-

IMAGE COURTESY OF SCOTT EDMISTON

WORKS ON PAPER: ‘The Rose Art Museum at Brandeis’ came out Oct 1. formly praised the work of their colleagues in creating the final product.

“Regardless of what happens with the future of the Rose and its beloved collection, this magnificent book will remain as a testimony to the wisdom, generosity and sense of adventure of all those connected to the creation of this unique collection,” said Rush.

“I am so honored and proud to be a part of such an important publication,” said Helene Lowenfels ’05. “I must give thanks to my beloved professor, Nancy Scott, who suggested to the former Rose curator that I participate in the project. … The Rose graciously provided me with archival information about how the pieces came to the museum, what exhibitions they had been included in on campus and where they hang today.

Having spent so much of my time as an undergraduate at the museum, the entire experience was very meaningful for me.”

“University art museums provide a key component of a liberal education, as they did for me, and can also provide formative job training for students in art history and related fields as well as a great site for interdisciplinary learning and interaction,” said Rorschach.

“My experiences at the Rose were invaluable and indeed made me who I am today.”

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

me back art lovers JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

ently in 2008’s ‘Arp to Reinhardt: Rose Nude’ (below left) appeared in the nitely some things [in the show] that have “Rauschenberg, De Kooning—some of the works by artists like James Brooks and

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

A CENTURY OF PHOTOGRAPHY: According to Jedrzejczak, the exhibition is organized “based on the thematical differentiations [from the catalogue], the exception being the downstairs gallery, which will be photography and the photgraphy is ... from all different periods, so it starts with the early Walker Evans and ends with [works] from the last few years.”

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THE JUSTICE

OFF CAMPUS BEAUTY

TV “WHITEWASHING”

Past the saris, Aalok offers brows a break ■ The Moody Street store boasts

friendly staff, exquisite fashion and a bargain price for beautiful eyebrows.

By AMY MELSER JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

PHOTO COURTESY OF FOX ENTERTAINMENT

CROONING CREW: Recent episodes of Fox’s comedy show ‘Glee’ exemplify how minority actors continue to be underrepresented in lead roles on TV and in movies.

Minority voices are drowned out on ‘Glee’ ■ In keeping with national trends,

the high school comedy parodies the same racial stereotypes it subtly reinforces, sending a damaging message to young viewers of color.

By KAREN CHAU JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

In episode seven of Fox’s new hit show Glee, Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch), the cheerleading coach and the show’s primary antagonist, tries to splinter the high school’s glee club in order to cause it to fail. Working with another teacher to divide the club into two groups to perform two separate numbers, Sue chooses all the minority students within Glee Club and says, “I don’t want to participate in a group that ignores the needs of minority students.” Glee Club coach Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) responds, “You have got to be kidding me!”, to which Sue responds, “I wouldn’t kid about this, Will. And maybe that’s your problem. Bigotry is no laughing matter.” As a satire, Glee caricatures characters for the purposes of lampooning traditional representations of high school. Yet the scene where Sue calls Will’s inherent bias into question actually resonates with a problem not only prevalent in Hollywood but within the program itself.

Initially billed as an ensemble show, Glee thus far has centered its storylines around five white, able-bodied main characters: Will Schuester, guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury, talented student Rachel Berry, footballplayer-turned-glee-clubber Finn Hudson and head cheerleader Quinn Fabray. Most of the press surrounding the show has lauded its innovation and diversity since other members of the glee club are gay, disabled, black, Asian or Latino. While these characters are celebrated for what they bring to the show, they often get pushed aside into nonparticipatory roles. There have been entire episodes in which these diverse secondary characters have one line or no lines at all, and in terms of singing, most of the songs have gone to the five leads.

This is hardly a new trend in television, a medium that has proven to be slow to change.

Television programs most often feature white actors in lead roles, with minorities serving as secondary characters. In 1999, controversy over “whitewashing” in television programs led the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to threaten the major networks with a lawsuit if they did not attempt to include more minorities in their casting practices. That year, the LA Times reported that “in 26 new prime-time shows slated to debut on the four major networks this fall, every lead character and nearly all the cast regulars will be white, even those on shows where the action takes place in urban high schools and New York City nightspots.”

Things haven’t changed much since then. According to data released by the Screen Actors Guild on Oct. 23, “Caucasian roles as a pro-

portion of total roles crept up in 2008, after falling in each of the past two years. Caucasians [account] for … 71.9% of roles in episodic television.” Entertainment Weekly claimed that “each of the five major broadcast networks is whiter than the Caucasian percentage (66.2 percent) of the United States population, as per the 2007 census estimate.”

Executives claim the logic behind this “whitewashing” is financial. Television networks make most of their profits from selling ad time; the bigger the show, the more viewers a show has and the more expensive the ad time. According to the group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, a common industry practice called “discounting” means that advertisers pay less for programs that have primarily minority audiences, with “some [companies] flatly [refusing] to buy ads … that reach … the so-called ‘no urban/no Spanish dictate.’” Ad groups and corporations do not want to reach minorities as consumers. The idea behind this is that most minorities are too poor to afford the items being sold and thus do not offer as much potential capital to advertisers as white viewers. This practice has created a vicious cycle: If a show has no minorities, it is because minorities make no money. Yet minority-led shows make no money because advertisers have already decided that minorities aren’t a marketable group. Ugly Betty remains the only show on primetime led by a minority character this season. Yet Ugly Betty only illustrates its diversity in Betty and her family; at Betty’s workplace at a fashion magazine, almost all of her co-workers are white.

Often, it’s too easy to brush off the racial casting practices of Hollywood as unimportant. After all, it’s just a TV show. However, in today’s society, people are introduced to television at a young age and casting choices can create “racial socialization” in children, influencing thoughts and beliefs. According to child psychologist Dr. Ardis Martin, a study sponsored by nonprofit organization Children Now found that “across races, children and adolescents associated positive characteristics to Caucasian characters on TV and negative characteristics to minority cultures, Latinos and African Americans in particular.

They also report how the absence of minorities on TV, in general, makes children feel that they are not worthy of ‘attention.’” Television is not just about entertainment; it shapes the way its viewers see the world, whether that occurs on a conscious level or not. The absence of nonstereotypical minority role models leads to identity crisis; many minority children express at a young age the desire to possess more “white” features.

Even roles intended for minorities can be given to white actors, though the reverse is rarely true. CSI: Miami co-creator Anthony Zuiker explained the casting of David Caruso in a role originally written for a Latino man as the network “[wanting] to be as authentic as possible.” He added that many Hispanic actors would be cast in guest-starring roles.

“But in terms of quotas, we wanted to hire the best actors.” Trends in television have often equated “best actors” with “white actors,” yet

too often are secondary or “guest roles,” often as crime suspects or victims, used to reassure viewers that Hollywood remains “diverse” in its casting. Casting shouldn’t be colorblind, just representative. If one in three people in the United States is a minority, then television should reflect the national landscape.

In the wake of another race casting scandal, that of the upcoming Avatar by M. Night Shyamalan, Jackson Rathbone, a white actor, was cast as an Asian male lead, and responded to protest of the casting as racist by saying, “I think it’s one of those things where I pull my hair up, shave the sides, and I definitely need a tan. … Hopefully, the audience will suspend disbelief a little bit.” Too often, minority outrage is dismissed as being an overreaction to a trivial event. Yet Hollywood’s dismissal of minorities both as audience members and participants in the entertainment industry engenders little to no public outrage.

Until Hollywood and studios begin to recognize that minorities are not only an audience worth having and respecting but also groups worthy of proper representation on television, this cycle of casting will continue.

It’s 2009, and one would expect the television landscape to look a little less pale. NBC executive Ben Silverman listed one goal of the networks as making the television landscape resemble that of real life, stating, “I don’t think you can deny the power that Barack Obama brings in magnifying this direction in our world.” Well, now that we’ve officially elected a minority president, it’s time to finally start showing minorities on television.

Until this change actually happens, we only have the shows that are currently on air now to judge.

And what has Glee taught us? Glee has shown me that Tina Cohen-Chang, the token Asian, is insecure, quiet, meek and self-sacrificing and that Mercedes Jones, the token African-American girl, is outspoken, has an attitude, identifies with Beyoncé and sings angry R&B songs like “Hate on Me” and “Bust Your Windows.” And beyond that, Glee continues to portray pretty, white girls like Rachel Berry and Quinn Fabray as infinitely more important and talented; the structure of the narrative depends on their presence, and they get multiple song features (in the case of Rachel, at least one per episode) covering multiple genres, whether they have the voice for it or not, compared to Tina, who has gotten one minute-long song snippet, and Mercedes, who’s gotten the lead in two songs (both of which fell within the R&B genre).

In the pilot of Glee, the glee club coach explains, “Even by its very definition in Mr. Webster’s book, Glee is about opening yourself up to joy.” If there is any cause to be less than joyful, it is that Glee has come to embody not openness but exclusiveness and enclosure. Until Hollywood learns to “open” itself up, it will remain a gated community with white actors and crew on one side and minority actors and crew on the other. Yet on the other side of the screen, minority viewers are forced to identify with the complex and “good” characters only available behind the gates.

Eyebrows are an integral part of the face that can sometimes be overlooked in a daily beauty routine. They can help define your features if your face is round or add softness if your face is angular. At Aalok International on Moody Street in Waltham, eyebrow threading is offered as a frequent treatment for individuals looking to “clean up” their bushy eyebrows or repair damage and add shape to overplucked eyebrows. Whatever your eyebrow situation, you can rest assured that your brows will be in good hands.

Threading is an ancient technique used to remove hair. The tool used in the technique looks like two pieces of dental floss, but it is actually special string imported from India. The process is fast and efficient, because as the thread goes across your face more than one hair is removed at a time. Thus, threading is less painful than plucking because it is quicker. It is also less harsh than waxing, and the hair is lifted from the root as opposed to being ripped off like a Band-Aid … ouch! Nevertheless, those using prescription medications such as Retin-A, Differin, or Accutane should avoid threading because their skin is too fragile.

The ambience at Aalok International is inviting. The front of the store is a boutique specializing in custom clothing and Indian jewelry, and the back of the store is the salon.

When I walked in, bangles sparkled in the window, and richly colored Indian cloth, soon to be made into saris, was stacked high on the shelves. The two employees I spoke with, Padmari and Sumara, are from the Punjab region of India. They spoke to each other in a mix of Hindi and Punjabi and were happy to discuss the Bollywood films and Indian food that have infiltrated American culture. The owner, Neeta, is licensed in shahnaz facials and is also an aroma beautician. She offers aromatherapy, threading, waxing, bridal packages and henna tattoos. On Nov. 7 she expects to show some of her sari designs in local fashion shows.

When a high school senior walked in to get her eyebrows threaded, I was eager to watch the process take place. In a matter of minutes her eyes looked brighter thanks to her newly shaped brows. Another woman walked in with very thin eyebrows. At first I was confused as to why she would take more hair off her brows, but again, in a matter of minutes, her arches were transformed and her face looked more symmetrical. While I paced around, I decided I ought to try this myself.

The other two clients hardly flinched, so I figured it couldn’t be that bad. I sat back in the chair and let Sumara work her magic. On a 1to-10 pain scale, I would say the process was about a four. The worst part for me was sitting directly under hot lights that made my eyes water. Afterward, my pale skin was mildly red, a problem less noticeable in the other clients.

When I walked back into the boutique and paid the extremely reasonable price of six dollars for eyebrow threading, the cashier told me that it “opened up” my eyes.

Overall, I’m happy with my eyebrow experience at Aalok International. Not only did I learn about a new form of hair removal, I was introduced to a new cultural experience. To learn more about Aalok International, visit its Web site at www.aalokfashion.com or visit the store at 404 Moody St.

AMY MELSER/the Justice

BEAUTIFUL BROWS: A client at Aalok International undergoes the ancient beauty practice of threading.

THE JUSTICE

DEAD MAN’S CELL PHONE

By BEN SERBY JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

PHOTO COURTESY OF LYRIC STAGE COMPANY OF BOSTON

DANGER DIVAS: Picking up a cell phone eventually leads to the meek Jean (Liz Hayes, right) finding her life threatened.

‘Cell’ dials up success Boston offers a skillful staging of the humorous, smart play by Sarah Ruhl.

By AARON ARBITER JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Like Murphy’s Law, it’s inevitable that in any moment of quiet, a cell phone is bound to ring. “There are only one or two sacred places left in the world today. Where there is no ringing.

The theater, the church and the toilet. But some people actually answer their phones on the shitter these days,” cries Gordon’s mother as she eulogizes her son during Sarah Ruhl’s play Dead Man’s Cell Phone. But the play, now in its premiere Boston run at the Lyric Stage Company of Boston, is not a postmodern rant against technology—not entirely, that is.

Jean is finishing her lunch in a café when a cell phone starts ringing and won’t stop. Miffed that the man at the next table will not answer his phone, the otherwise quiet and meek Jean takes it upon herself to pick up. As the title promises, the man is dead and Jean suddenly finds herself telling a heap of lies, playing secretary, therapist and confidante to the deceased Gordon’s dysfunctional family and unsavory business associates. But Cell Phone is more than just a morbid situation comedy.

To her admirers, Sarah Ruhl is the answer to a recent resurgence of kitchen-sink dramas like Rabbit Hole, The God of Carnage and the

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‘Embryonic’ is a rebirth for the Lips the Flaming Lips release a thrillingly inventive album.

wildly popular August: Osage County . Ruhl’s plays are filled with outrageous scenarios, fantastical imagery and language that oscillates between the metaphysical and the mundane. Here Ruhl concocts a cell phone ballet, a meeting in the afterlife, international espionage and some oddly placed stationery to create a hilarious and heartbreaking story about chance encounters and the possibility for connection in the digital age.

The heroine Jean could easily be the kind of Brandeis girl you’d want to take home to Mom. Jean works at the Holocaust museum.

She’s pretty and a bit meek, and she has an unswerving sense of duty to a man she’s never even met. It’s a tough role for an actress; on any other day Jean would be just another umbrella in the rain. Liz Hayes is up for the challenge, playing the part with subtle grace (occasionally a little too subtle), a lot of charm and nearly perfect timing. A devilishly slippery Neil McGarry plays the dead man, Gordon. Beth Gotha, Jessica D. Turner and Bryn Jameson star as Gordon’s mother, mistress and estranged wife, respectively. Jeff Mahoney stands out as Dwight, Gordon’s lesser half of a brother.

Mahoney delivers a pitch-perfect performance full of nebbishy magnetism. The entire cast is delightful, finding and nailing the wonderful nuances and rhythms of Ruhl’s script.

And it’s not an easy script to get around. Cristina Tedesco’s bleakly modern set neatly transforms itself into a café, an airport and someplace that’s not quite heaven and not really hell either (to name just a few). It also magnifies the

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2009

MUSIC

■ Veteran Oklahoma rockers

■ Lyric Stage Company of

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moments of emptiness and loss that punctuate the play and, as Sarah Ruhl seems to argue, modern life itself. David Raynoso’s costumes and John Malinowski’s lighting design are equally lovely and play well together. Dewey Dellay’s score and sound design are at times clunky, at other moments crisp. All of this is under the confident direction of Carmel O’Reilly. Dead Man’s Cell Phone is filled with moments; in this production not all of them are represented as magically as one might like, but no matter. The show is a wonderfully eloquent and entertaining rendition of Sarah Ruhl’s script.

In a drunken confession to Jean, Gordon’s wife Hermia announces, “You know—people never write into Cosmo about how sexual revulsion can be caused by moral revulsion—they just tell you to change positions.” I laughed so hard I cried a little. Sarah Ruhl is asking a “magic if” about those little extremities we call our phones.

Do they connect us or disconnect us? She’s not the first to ask this question, of course, but nobody has ever tackled the issue with as much wit and depth. So the play’s not a typical sitcom, and it’s not a bludgeoning condemnation of technology. Her detractors can say that her work is overly symbolic, fantastical or whatever they like, but does it matter what it is if the play is good?

Dead Man’s Cell Phone runs through Nov. 14 at the Lyric Stage Company of Boston in the YWCA Building at 140 Clarendon Street.

Tickets are available from $25-50.

Call 617-585-5678 or visit online at www.lyricstage.com.

As they enter their second quartercentury of existence as a band, the Flaming Lips stand astride a trail of highly influential material that, for all its weak spots, assures them a place in the pantheon of great musicians. Although their work often explicitly admits an intense grounding in traditional rock influences —The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd—the Lips have a certain elusive quality that sets them apart. Wayne Coyne’s unmistakable voice must have something to do with it, as do the band’s subtle and eccentric production details (harp strums, theremin and tornado sirens, to take my favorite examples). Add to this their famously bizarre stage theatrics, and it is clear that the Oklahoma-based foursome has crafted a unique identity transcending the music itself.

Equipped with this bag of tricks, the Flaming Lips could have easily given up on releasing anything worthwhile without any concern about losing their credibility. The task of following up on the ingenious 1999 album The Soft Bulletin is surely daunting enough to drive an artist into hibernation, if not early retirement. And indeed, I was less than impressed by their output in the 10 years since, which has consisted of 2002’s uneven Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and the insipid 2006 album At War with the Mystics. But with Emtheir newest studio bryonic, album—and the 12th in their career as a band—the Lips reaffirm their ineffable, but obvious, gifts as musicians.

In a recent interview, Coyne colorfully asserted that the album “sounds like John Lennon, … if he got together with Miles Davis and they went back in time, but there was a supercomputer that they could figure out how to work.” This is somehow startlingly accurate. The Lips’ usual science-fiction motifs and robot sketches are all over Embryonic, but this time they seem less risible than in the past (see “Race for the Prize,” off The Soft Bulletin) and more in tune with the sound on the record. Seriously, this album plays like it could have been recorded on a spaceship. The opening track, “Convinced of the Hex,” assembles an eerie tableau of ’60s psychedelia replete with drums in overdrive, crisp metallic guitar notes that chirp and scream like mechanical creatures and monotone vocals that sound, well, robotic. At the opposite end of the noise spectrum and of the album, “The Impulse” employs a Kanye West-esque device that is best described as a human voice transmogrified by an electric accordion or, perhaps more aptly, robots harmonizing in the midst of a mellow high.

For all its cohesiveness, the album

does make a few much-needed deviations from the spaceship narrative at points. Fans of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs will love “I Can Be a Frog,” in which Yeahs singer Karen O squawks animal sounds through a telephone receiver, giggling with evident pleasure all the while. “If” is another cute quasi-song seemingly placed on the record by happy accident. As Coyne’s voice sweetly reaches to the upper registers, careful listeners will catch the sounds of chairs creaking and muffled coughs, as well as the electric piano keys being pressed, thus adding a degree of intimacy that rarely surfaces in the Lips’ highly produced recent work.

Debatably, the standout on Embryonic is “Worm Mountain,” a scintillating jam recorded with indie-pop stars MGMT. There is an overwhelmingly cathartic energy to this song, which features undulating fuzz bass contortions and shouted vocals that, in total, evoke a satanic dance party. In contrast to these head-banging rhythms, “Evil” plays to the historic strengths of the band: beautiful string arrangements, ethereal vocal harmonies and synth sounds that mimic honing radar. Midway through the song, the sweet arpeggio that repeats (in perhaps unconscious homage to “Burning of the Midnight Lamp”) is suddenly threatened by the loud, discordant buzzes of a foreboding electronic machine. Here, as Coyne laments “I wish I could go back in time,” the album returns to the uncanny setting of a spaceship, and it becomes clear that escape is purely mental and fleeting.

That frightening sense of doom and powerlessness hovers throughout the album, and it represents a new posture for the Flaming Lips. “See the Leaves,” for instance, is a dark chant that could be about either winter or climate change. The apocalyptic lyrics on this song match relentlessly crashing cymbals and damaged, distorted chords played on a Fender Rhodes electric piano. Here as elsewhere on the album, the Lips directly invoke the atonal and chaotic fusion of 1969 to ’70 Miles Davis.

But to speak of “songs” on Embryonic would be somewhat misleading, since the album wanders through a succession of soundscapes and themes.

Certain moods and moments, right down to specific noises, recur throughout the 70-minute album. Several tracks start off with nothing more than a simple bass line that repeats for several measures before there is any further development. In fact, this structure characterizes so many of the tracks on Embryonic that the listener has an unusually difficult time distinguishing the songs by their names. Short sound clips of a German mathematician speaking in disconnected phrases appear at various points. Above all, this repeating device underscores the claustrophobic tension that makes Embryonic such a haunting listen. If for no other reason than that, this is a rare contemporary record that one ought to play from its beginning to its conclusion.

MUSIC

Bazan ‘Branches’ out on solo effort, as seen at a recent gig ■ The singer-songwriter

brought his solo act to Boston Oct. 20, attracting fans of his band Pedro the Lion as well as newcomers.

By DAN ORKIN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

When David Bazan took the stage at T.T. the Bear’s last Tuesday, his audience had been more than patient.

Two overly long sets from two underwhelming openers had already dragged the evening way past the posted set times, fueling the suspense for the congregation of Bazan fans.

The show had sold out a few days earlier, and the mass of Bazan devotees had filled the venue hours before his set was to begin.

With the release of Curse Your

Branches last month, his first fulllength solo release since the break-up of his band Pedro the Lion in 2004, Bazan’s devout flock of followers was finally given an LP to accompany his rebirth as a solo act. Pedro the Lion, which almost never had the same lineup through its 10-year run, was always a vehicle for Bazan as a singer-songwriter, and the current tour is the first he’s done with a full backing band in years.

Curse Your Branches reveals a Bazan maturing musically with fresh instrumentation and approaches never before used in any of his recordings. Lyrically, Bazan’s struggles with faith and alcoholism along with his new role as a loving father have given him plenty of material to work with. His compositions are as engrossing as ever, and Curse Your Branches is the best album he’s released in years.

But then again, Bazan’s never been

afraid of inserting himself into his music. From his earliest recordings under the Pedro the Lion moniker to this newest release, Bazan’s personal struggles have always provided a compelling autobiographical thread for his fans to follow. Pedro the Lion was often mislabeled as “Christian rock,” and while biblical themes and imagery were an important lyrical foundation, it was Bazan’s complex relationship to his faith—his constant questioning and spiritual vacillation—that made his music so gripping. It makes sense that in every one of his performances, Bazan includes brief question-and-answer sessions for his fans to connect to him in an even more direct way.

But beyond all these sanctimonious interpretations, when Bazan and his band finally started playing last Tuesday, they did something a little more basic: They kicked ass for over 90 minutes. The set included

every song from the new album, most of the superb, if rather jaded, Fewer Moving Parts EP from 2006, and a smattering of about four Pedro the Lion songs including a haunting encore of “Priests and Paramedics” from 2002’s Control.

Bazan’s backing band included two members from the repetitive opener, Say Hi (formerly Say Hi to Your Mom) and two other musicians from his posse of Seattle collaborators. The standout here was lead guitarist Blake Westcott, a hulking grizzly bear of a man with a mesmerizing multi-colored beard that shamed the facial hair sported by pretty much every other male in the room. Westcott nailed every song, playing complex lead licks with eerie echo and e-bow effects, giving a certain space-country twang to the lush sounds generated by the rest of the band.

As for Bazan, who usually plays all

the instruments on his recordings, he was rocking the bass and nailing the funky lines while leading the rest of the group. His vocals, the vital centerpiece of any Bazan effort, were perfectly on point. Even on the higher notes, like in the verse for the standout track on the new album, “Bless this Mess,” his voice’s breaking strains and reaches sounded great.

Following well over an hour of huge sounds from the entire ensemble, Bazan came back for a short solo encore. Here, his hushed, prayer-like singing over the slight picked guitar connected the entire audience from the longest standing diehards to those new fans for whom Curse Your Branches is their first exposure. For them, this glimpse of a rejuvenated Bazan playing an awe-inspiring set to a sold-out crowd was probably something of a revelation. For us fervent Bazan fans, seeing him in this high form was nothing short of religious.

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) A rejection of your attempt to be friendly leaves you with two choices: Try again, or give up. If you want to make another effort, go slowly. Let things develop without pressure.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) It could be a problem dealing with unfamiliar people who do things differently from what you’re used to. But rely on that strong sense of purpose to get you through this difficult period.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) To avoid neglecting a personal matter because of a demanding new workplace schedule, start prioritizing immediately. Knowing how to apportion your time takes a little while to set up.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) It won’t be easy to avoid some of the pressures that come with change. Best advice: Take things a step at a time, and you’ll be less likely to trip up while things are in a chaotic state.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) A much-talkedabout workplace change could be coming soon.

Be sure to get all the details involved in the process, and once you have them, you can decide how you want to deal with it.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) You might still believe that your trust was betrayed, although the facts would appear to prove the opposite. But by the week’s end you should learn something that will help set the record straight.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Holiday plans could be a challenge because of shifting circumstances. But a more settled period starts by midweek, allowing you to firm up your planmaking once and for all.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) The facts continue to be on your side. So make use of ACROSS 1. Poker variety 5. Crooner Damone 8. Ellipse 12. Sci-fi’s Skywalker 13. Leading lady?

14. Lima’s country 15. Help in a crime 16. Greek 18. Tangy green condiment 20. Noble 21. Anatomical cavities 23. West of Hollywood 24. Sasha and Malia’s mom 28. Men only 31. Tavern 32. Diarist Samuel 34. — -la-la 35. All over again 37. Wood-finishing substances 39. Homer’s interjection 41. Cain’s victim 42. Arouse 45. Arouse 49. “Holder” of a brief explanation 51. Guy 52. Reed instrument 53. Have a bug 54. Additionally 55. Swiss city 56. In medias — 57. Witnessed DOWN 1. Cabbage salad 2. Big brass instrument 3. Guitars’ kin 4. Remove (from) 5. Planes, trains and automobiles

them in dealing with any challenge to your stated position. Also, open your mind to the offer of help from an unlikely source.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) There could still be a communication problem holding up the resolution of a troublesome situation. Stay with it, and eventually your message will get through and be understood.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) A possible change in your workplace schedule might create a chaotic situation for a while. But once things begin to settle down, you might find that this could work to your advantage.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) A recent job-linked decision might need to be reassessed because of the possibility of finding benefits you might have overlooked. Check out all related data to help in the search.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) A personal situation you agreed to might not be as acceptable to the other person involved in the matter.

Avoid pressuring and bullying. Instead, seek common ground by talking things through.

BORN THIS WEEK: You have a gift for touching people’s minds as well as their hearts. You would make an outstanding educator.

BRANDEIS

Through the Lens

Solution to last issue’s crossword.

ASHER KRELL/the Justice

Autumn Acrobats A dance group performs at Sunday night’s Fall Fest Variety Show. A number of clubs performed for families visiting from out of town.

Sudoku

6. “— Got a Secret” 7. Honeycomb compartment 8. La Scala shows 9. Family feud 10. Seed covering 11. Historic sitcom star 17. Sellers co-star Herbert 19. Road Runner’s sound 22. Omega’s opposite 24. Biz deg.

25. Author Fleming 26. The U in “IOU” 27. Looks at intently 29. Joan of — 30. Petrol

33. Dispatched 36. Opposite of “improve” 38. South American herd 40. “Whadja say?”

42. Nose-in-the-air sort 43. Toothpaste dispenser 44. Bosc or Bartlett 46. Hardy cabbage 47. Otherwise 48. Night light?

50. Falsehood

King Crossword Copyright 2009 King Features Synd., Inc.

■ It was way back in the 19th century when American statesman Daniel Webster made the following sage observation: “The world is governed more by appearances than realities, so that it is fully as necessary to seem to know something as to know it.”

■ Those who study such things say that the coolest parts of the sun are approximately 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, while the hottest spots can reach a whopping 15 million degrees.

■ The popular pub pastime of darts originated in the Middle Ages as a training game for archers.

■ Scary movies like Jaws notwithstanding, experts claim that you are 50 times more likely to be killed by a bee than you are to be killed by a shark.

■ All official American flags must be lowered and put away at night—all except one. The flag that was placed on the moon on Jul. 20, 1969 by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin remains flying at all times.

■ Although almost everyone today thinks of the dictator Napoleon as being unusually short, records show that he was actually 5 feet, 6 inches tall, which was the average height for a man in France at that time.

■ Theodore Roosevelt was the first American president to drive an automobile as well as the first to own one.

■ Although our lives are centered around the seven-day week, not all cultures have demarcated dates that way. Ancient Egyptians once used a 10-day week, and ancient Romans followed a pattern of eight-day weeks.

Thought for the Day: “In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress.” —John Adams

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

Sudoku Copyright 2009 King Features Synd., Inc.

For many club members, it was their first chance to show off the fine performances they’d honed in only two months on campus.