The Justice, October 9, 2012 issue

ARTS PAGE 23

SPORTS Men’s soccer excels 16

BK STIRS LAUGHS

FORUM Climate change deserves attention 11 The Independent Student Newspaper

the

of

B r a n d e is U n i v e r sit y S i n c e 1 9 4 9

Justice

Volume LXV, Number 5

www.thejustice.org

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

TECHNOLOGY

Library funds remain same for 20 years

SANTIGOLD LIGHTS UP GOSMAN

JOSHUA LINTON/the Justice

Bright performance Students gather on stage around Santigold (in green glasses) as she performs at the Student Events Fall Concert on Saturday, Sept. 29 in the Shapiro Gym of the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center. The opening act was rapper Theophilus London. For more coverage and a review of the concert, see Arts, p. 20.

■ LTS’s collection budget

has roughly half the purchasing power that it did in 1989. Most of that amount is still spent on print resources.

STUDENT UNION

By TATE HERBERT JUSTICE EDITOR

The value of investment in Brandeis’s library collection, both in print and through digital resources, has seen little to no change in 23 years, according to data provided by John Unsworth, vice provost for Library and Technology Services and chief information officer.

In an interview with the Justice, Unsworth acknowledged that the collections budget actually showed a small decrease from 1989, when it was about three and a quarter million dollars.

In 2011, this figure was 3.14 million. Adjusted for inflation, 3.25 million dollars in today’s money comes out to just under 6 million dollars, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics’ online inflation calculator. “I think there’s a long term need to increase the collections budget in the library,” said Unsworth.

The University as a whole took a hit through the financial crisis of 2008, and this meant cutbacks for LTS as well as other departments. However, Unsworth was quick to clarify that “It’s certainly not the case that the overall budget

See LTS, 7 ☛

East and off-campus senators elected ■ Ethan Levy ’15 and Sunny

Aidasani ’14 won the third round of elections.

By ALLYSON CARTTER JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

On Sept. 29, Ethan Levy ’15 was elected as East Quad senator and Sunny Aidasani ’14 was elected as Off-Campus senator in the third round of the Student Union elections.

Approximately 29 percent of East

Quad residents and five percent of off-campus residents voted.

The other elected senator positions were filled in the first two rounds of elections, which took place on Sept. 20 and Sept. 21. Reelections were held for East Quad senator after no candidates chose to run in the initial elections.

Student Union Secretary and Chief of Elections Carlton Shakes ’14 sent an email to the student body on Sept.

22 urging East Quad residents to run for the senator position. Eight stu-

dents ran for the position. The Class of 2016 senator race, for which there were two open positions, was the only race that had more candidates, Shakes said in a phone interview with the Justice.

Levy won with 31 out of 111 votes.

Levy said in an interview with the Justice that he was surprised to learn that no East Quad candidates had run in the previous round. He said that East Quad elections went “smoothly” and that “campaigning was clean all around.” He hopes to

address facilities issues in the quad and to focus on hall and quad programming, he added.

Reelections for the Off-Campus senator position were held due to an error in the first round of voting.

Dean Kaplan ’14 was incorrectly announced as the winner in a campuswide email from Shakes on Sept. 21 and sworn in as Off-Campus senator at the Student Union meeting on Sept. 23.

See ELECTIONS, 7 ☛

STUDENT LIFE

Mods parties temporarily prohibited by DCL ■ Party registration has

been reinstated, and there are ongoing discussions about how to solve future issues with overcrowding and noise.

By SAM MINTZ JUSTICE EDITOR

Students searching for parties in the Foster Mods last weekend came away disappointed as the Department of Community Living temporarily ceased party registration in the Mods following an unprec-

edented spike in incident reports and complaints about crowds and excessive noise. Party registration has since been reinstituted, and the process has not undergone any changes.

An email to students living in the Mods sent by Community Development Coordinator George Marshall,

Jr. cited “heightened activity of parties [the previous two] weekends … which caused overcrowding, excessive noise, public drinking, and underage alcohol transports.”

Recent police reports include incidents of large crowds need-

See MODS, 7 ☛

Discussing Israel

Jump for joy

Coffee shop opens

Five students held an event to introduce their new club bVIEW, which promotes conversation about Israel.

The volleyball team got back to its winning ways with a 3-0 victory over Wheaton College last Thursday.

 The new Ecogrounds cafe on the first floor of Goldfarb is open following delays.

SPORTS 16

NEWS 3

FEATURES 9

For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org

Waltham, Mass.

Let your voice be heard!

Submit letters to the editor online at www.thejustice.org

INDEX

ARTS SPORTS

17 16

EDITORIAL FEATURES

10 8

OPINION POLICE LOG

10 2

COPYRIGHT 2012 FREE AT BRANDEIS. Email managing@thejustice.org for home delivery.

2

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012

●

THE JUSTICE

NEWS SENATE LOG

POLICE LOG

Senate revisits chartering process

Medical Emergency

At its most recent meeting, the Student Union senate recognized two clubs and chartered another, then proceeded to discuss amendments to the bylaws of the Student Union constitution that would alter the recognition and chartering process.

The senate recognized both the Airtime Aerial Arts club and the Women of Color Alliance, but only WOCA was chartered at this meeting. Several senators abstained in the vote for the Aerial Arts club’s charter, preventing it from receiving the needed two-thirds majority.

Trevor Kafka ’15, founder of the club, presented it as an opportunity for interested students to coordinate offcampus workshops to learn and practice aerial dance and acrobatics. Kafka also cited the possibility of a variety show put on by club members.

WOCA, which has been recognized by the Intercultural Center for several years, requested charter and recognition from the Senate in order to gain a broader base and more funding for its event collaborations with other clubs on campus. WOCA is open to any student who self-identifies as a “woman of color,” regardless of gender or ethnicity.

The senate later unanimously dechartered and derecognized 32 clubs in one vote. These clubs had been inactive or failed to submit an anti-hazing form or both.

Ninja Band was initially on the list of clubs to decharter, but was removed because several senators recalled seeing them at the activities fair last month.

Executive Senator and Senator for the Class of 2014 Ricky Rosen, Senator for the Class of 2013 David Fisch, and Senator at Large Charlotte Franco ’15 presented the content of a proposed amendment to revamp the club chartering and recognition process.

In an effort to streamline the process, the amendment would group all votes on recognition into the first Sunday of every month, while all votes on chartering would take place on the third Sundays of every month. The amendment also added a requirement of 100 signatures of interested students in order for a club to be recognized, while none would be needed to charter a club.

Clubs currently need signatures of 10 prospective members and no student supporters to be considered for recognition. Signatures of 15 prospective members and 135 student supporters are needed to be chartered.

The senate will vote on the proposal in parts at their next meeting. If passed, the new system would be implemented starting in November, said Rosen.

Student Union president Todd Kirkland ’13 also mentioned upcoming amendments to the constitution to create a 567 apartments senatorial position, which he will propose at an upcoming meeting. 567 is currently represented by the Charles River apartments senator.

Vice President Gloria Park ’13 announced that she had received 36 preliminary applications for ‘Deis Impact, which will undergo review next week.

Lastly, the senate passed a Senate Money Resolution for $224.40 that will go toward food and drink for the “Meet the Senate” event next Sunday at 5 p.m. in the Shapiro Campus Center atrium.

At last week’s meeting, the senate unanimously dechartered the inactive club Brandeis Vegans, and unanimously recognized the new Brandeis Vegan/Vegetarian Club, which did not seek to be chartered. The Brandeis Triathlon Club was also recognized, but failed to be chartered.

The Brandeis Firecrackers Aerial Pole Dance Club, however, was recognized and chartered. The club aims to fill a “special interest fitness” niche on campus.

Representatives to the Brandeis Sustainability Fund and new Judiciary members and senators were also sworn in at the meeting.

Sept. 29—A party called to report an intoxicated student in Usen Hall. The student was treated by BEMCo and declined further medical assistance.

Oct. 1—A caller in the Foster Mods reported that their friend was dizzy and experiencing sharp pains in her chest. She was treated at the scene by BEMCo and declined further medical assistance.

Oct. 2—A female party in Pomerantz was vomiting blood.

She was treated by BEMCo and declined further medical assistance.

Oct. 2—A student at the Mailman House agreed to a voluntary psychological assessment at the Newton-Wellesley Hospital. An ambulance was assigned for the transport, and Community Living was notified of the situation.

Oct. 3—The Provisions on Demand Market manager requested BEMCo to the area outside of the store for a student who was vomiting. The units were cleared, and the student was

driven to the Health Center.

Oct. 6—A student in Hassenfeld Residence Hall complained of an allergic reaction and was treated by BEMCo. The student was transported via ambulance to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Oct. 7—A 19-year-old female in Rosenthal was intoxicated but breathing and semi-alert. BEMCo was dispatched, and the party was transported to the NewtonWellesley Hospital.

Oct. 7—University Police received a report of a student with a dislocated shoulder on the athletic fields. The student refused BEMCo service and was transported to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital via a friend.

Oct. 7—A student on the athletic fields contacted BEMCo regarding a possible concussion.

BEMCo requested an ambulance to transport the student to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Drugs

Oct. 1—University Police re-

ceived a call from a student reporting smelling marijuana in Rosenthal East. Officers checked the area, but the odor had dissipated. No further action was taken.

Traffic

Oct. 4—A student at the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center reported hit-and-run damage to his car while it was parked.

Disturbance

Sept. 26—An anonymous caller reported a loud gathering in the lower Foster Mods. Officers discovered and dispersed an unauthorized party. Judicial action will be taken.

Oct. 6—A large group of students was outside at the Charles River Apartments; police units dispersed the party, and the Community Development Coordinator was sent to the area.

Oct. 6—A caller reported a group of students yelling outside in East Quad. University Police

OLIVIA POBIEL/the Justice

Community connection

nAn article in News incorrectly identified the past position of Prof. Naghmeh Sohrabi (HIST). She was a lecturer when she joined the University in 2008, not a professor. (Sept. 25, pg. 3)

Brandeis students speak to representatives from local community service organizations on Wednesday in the Shapiro Campus Center at the annual community service fair. Attendees included Beacon Hospice, City Year, Tutors for All and the Waltham YMCA.

nA caption in Arts on View incorrectly identified a Justice photographer’s class year. The photographer, Jon Edelstein, is part of the Class of 2013, not the Class of 2014. (Sept. 25, pg. 24)

ANNOUNCEMENTS

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The Justice is the independent student newspaper of Brandeis University. The Justice is published every Tuesday of the academic year with the exception of examination and vacation periods. Editor in chief office hours are held Mondays from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Justice office.

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Sept. 25—A staff member reported an unattended briefcase in the Goldfarb Library. An officer checked the bag and discovered a lunch and miscellaneous papers.

Oct. 2—A student in the Goldfarb Library reported an Internet fraud scam. The scammer tried to dupe the student into depositing a fraudulent check into their account. There was no loss of funds. A report was composed.

Oct. 4—A student reported a past sexual assault that occurred off campus.

—compiled by Marielle Temkin

Train tracks replaced

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS

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

Miscellaneous

BRIEF

—Tate Herbert

nAn article in Arts incorrectly named the protagonist of a novel. The character in The Day of the Owl is named Captain Bellodi, not Captain Bellosi. (Sept. 25, pg. 23)

units were sent to the area, and the parties moved along.

Oct. 6—A community adviser in East Quad notified University Police that there were several people in the quad being loud.

Units were sent to the area, and three parties were sent on their way.

Study Abroad workshop

Each of the Study Abroad information sessions will give you an overview of the offcampus study process at Brandeis, including tips for researching programs and destinations, the application process, getting credit for your work off campus, financial aid and resources and services our office provides.

Attending a general information session is mandatory for students wishing to study off campus for the semester or academic year. After you have attended an information session, you can set up an appointment with a member of the study abroad staff.

Today from 12:30 to 1 p.m. in the Student Financial Services conference room, Usdan Student Center.

Proposal writing workshop

Although this session is targeted at undergraduates applying for summer internship funding, including the Sorensen Fellowship, it will be useful for anyone interested in learning to write a project funding proposal. All are welcome. This workshop

is sponsored by the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life.

Tomorrow from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. in the Abraham Shapiro Academic Complex atrium.

Harry Potter Alliance founder Andrew Slack

Brandeis alumnus and founder of the Harry Potter Alliance Andrew Slack ’02 will speak about his organization and the chapter that will be started at Brandeis this semester.

Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. in Pearlman Lounge.

Postcards with Ollie

Have your picture taken with Brandeis’ own mascot, Ollie the Owl. This keepsake will help you remember your weekend once you have returned home.

Friday from 11 a.m. to noon in the Shapiro Campus Center atrium.

Faculty and families mixer

Come mingle with Brandeis faculty with

Construction to replace the deteriorating railroad tracks at the Brandeis/Roberts commuter rail station began Oct. 5 at 11 p.m., and was completed Oct. 7 at 8 p.m. by the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company, according to the Waltham Police Department.

“Basically this is work that the [Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority] had to initiate to ensure the safety and integrity of the railroad tracks and crossing area,” said Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan in an email to the Justice.

The construction blocked traffic on South Street, allowing residential and local traffic to enter South Street north of the tracks from Highland Street and Hope Avenue, including the area by Brandeis University. Traffic at River Road in Weston was also stopped for those traveling from Weston into Waltham. Residential and commercial traffic in this area was only allowed for vehicles entering River Road in Weston.

Despite the closings to traffic, the closed area remained open to pedestrians. In addition, the commuter rail and Brandeis shuttle services continued to run on a regular schedule. The commuter rail continued running as the construction was completed on only one track at a time. The Brandeis shuttle service to Cambridge and Boston was forced to take an alternate route and experienced minimal delays, according to Callahan.

The construction was completed successfully on Sunday night, as confirmed by a post on the Waltham Police Department Facebook page.

“All road work on South Street has just been completed,” read the post.

“South Street is once again open to all traffic, from Weston Street in Waltham to the Weston town line.

Thanks for your patience!”

—Marissa Ditkowsky

tea, coffee and afternoon snacks. Take the opportunity to hear their stories and ask them questions about their careers and research and more through a set of timed intervals.

Friday from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Stein restaurant, Hassenfeld Conference Center.

University-wide welcome reception

Visit with faculty and staff at this campuswide function. Mix and mingle with other families and get to know who is here for the weekend.

Friday from 3 to 4 p.m. in the Shapiro Campus Center atrium.

Mandel Center 10th anniversary

The Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education is holding its 10th anniversary celebration and colloquium this Sunday.

Discussions and presentations will center on “A Conversation About Jewish Education: Where Have We Been and Where are We Going?”

Sunday from 1:30 to 8 p.m. at the Faculty Club and Hassenfeld Conference Center.

THE JUSTICE

faculty

Rosbash accepts Gruber Chair ■ Prof. Michael Rosbash

(BIOL) has spent his career researching the circadian rhythms of Drosophila.

By shani abramowitz JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

The University hosted the dedication and inaugural lecture of Prof.

Michael Rosbash (BIOL), the new Gruber Chair in Neuroscience, on Thursday, Sept. 27 in Rapaporte Treasure Hall, with Rosbash being honored for his distinguished career working on the circadian rhythms in Drosophila fruit flies.

Provost Steve Goldstein ’78 introduced University President Frederick Lawrence, who spoke on the important impact Brandeis has on scientific research despite its small size.

Prof. Eve Marder (BIOL), who introduced Rosbash, spoke about the importance of circadian rhythms and how the study of these daily cycles allows researchers to uncover the mechanisms behind specific behaviors.

In his remarks, Rosbash discussed the physiological significance of the circadian rhythm, citing implications in jetlag, sleep disorders and the occurrence and symptom onset of various diseases.

The Gruber Chair is endowed

by The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation, which seeks “to honor and encourage educational excellence, social justice and scientific achievements that better the human condition,” according to the Foundation’s website. Established in 1993, the Foundation is a private, United States-based philanthropic organization funded entirely by Peter and Patricia Gruber, who serve as its chairman and president, respectively.

Rosbash, who received his Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of

Technology is the inaugural holder of the Peter Gruber Chair in Neuroscience and is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.

Rosbash is also the director of the National Center for Behavioral Genomics at Brandeis and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences as well as the National Academy of Sciences.

Rosbash and Professor Emeritus Jeffrey Hall (BIOL) collaborated closely for more than two decades in their research on the Drosophila fruit fly and cloning its period gene, a key regulator of circadian rhythms.

The circadian rhythm is a roughly 24-hour cycle in biochemical, physiological and behavioral processes synchronized to the period of the day. These cycles are a fundamental aspect of behavior in humans and all other animals as well.

Following Rosbash’s presentation, the audience was encouraged to ask questions to further the research discussion. A small reception followed the lecture.

“The Gruber Chair is a great honor for me personally and for all of Neuroscience at Brandeis,” Rosbash wrote in an email to the Justice.

“The gift also recognizes the excellence of the entire Life Science enterprise here. It has prospered because of an interactive environment, a wonderful set of colleagues and in small measure the support of an enlightened administration,” Rosbash concluded.

Rosbash was also the recipient of the Gruber prize in 2009.

According to the Foundation’s website, “A major focus of the Foundation’s philanthropy is its International Prize Program, created to recognize excellence in the sciences and humanities by highlighting five fields that create a better world: Cosmology, Genetics, Neuroscience, Justice and Women’s Rights.”

JON EDELSTEIN/the Justice

DISTINGUISHED CAREER: Rosbash gives his inaugural lecture as the Gruber Chair.

FACILITIES

Lupkin to lead sustainability efforts ■ Lea Lupkin will serve

as interim Sustainability Coordinator until a permanent director is found.

By shani abramowitz JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Lea Lupkin, a consultant from the firm GreenerU, is serving as the interim Sustainability Coordinator for Facilities Services following the September resignation of Janna Cohen-Rosenthal ’03.

Cohen-Rosenthal left her position to pursue a graduate degree at the Heller School of Social Policy and Management.

Lupkin already has experience with Brandeis: she covered for Cohen-Rosenthal during her maternity leave last spring and returned to Brandeis in late August in her role as a consultant for GreenerU, where she has been for three years, helping schools in the New England area develop sustainability programs.

In addition to Brandeis, GreenerU clients include other New England schools such as Brown Univer-

sity and Babson College.

According to her email, the first thing Lupkin worked on this year after returning to Brandeis was the Green Orientation Activities.

“About Lupkin 40 Green Volunteers helped to hand out recycling bags and LED light bulbs to all new students, made the welcome BBQ a Zero Waste event, and pulled off a fantastic Move in Market,” she wrote.

When asked what some of her goals are as the interim Sustainability Coordinator, Lupkin wrote that she hopes to maintain some of the University initiatives currently in place, such as the Brandeis Sustainability Fund and Eco Reps.

“In addition,” she continued, “we hope to achieve two big goals this year: [Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System] Silver Rating, and a science-focused energy conservation campaign as part of the Sustainable Energy Program.”

Lupkin also reported that in March 2011, Brandeis submitted a STARS report and voluntary selfassessment, which led to the University receiving a Bronze rating last year.

“This year it is our goal to submit a second STARS Report and achieve a Silver Rating,” wrote Lupkin.

When asked what she is most looking forward to in her new position, Lupkin wrote: “There is a new program on campus that I am very excited about.

Brandeis is investing $5 million in infrastructure upgrades and energy efficiency as part of a ‘Sustainable Energy Program,’” she said. “Our slogan for the program is ‘It All Adds Up,’ since we’re going to do a lot of projects that will add up to a lot of savings, as well as ask the Brandeis community to do what they can to conserve energy because every action adds up to something larger.”

Lupkin also provided some efficiency statistics related to the initiatives and projects currently in place.

“Over the summer, a steam pipe under North Quad was replaced and

will save an estimated 431 metric tons of carbon emissions annually, which is equivalent to the carbon emission of electricity being used in about 54 average America homes a year.

“Overall, the estimated annual savings from all the projects of the Sustainable Energy Program are $540,00 a year in utility costs, 1.614 tons of carbon dioxide emissions (the equivalent of taking 318 cars off the road), and 2 million kilowatt hours.”

Lupkin previously worked for the Sustainable Endowments Institute, which publishes the College Sustainability Report Card, an evaluation “designed to identify colleges and universities that are leading by example in their commitment to sustainability,” according to GreenReportCard.org.

Lupkin also served on the steering committee that organized the first Power Shift Conference in 2007, a youth climate action summit at the University of Maryland, which about 10,000 young people from around the country attended to discuss and learn about the environment.

●

TUESDAY, october 9, 2012

BRIEF

After delay, Ecogrounds coffee shop opens doors The new library coffee shop, located on the first floor of the Goldfarb Library, held its grand opening Oct. 2 after it began regular service in late September. The shop was expected to open before the start of the semester, but was delayed due to complications with obtaining permits and shipping furniture.

Ecogrounds by Java City sells a variety of Ecogrounds free-trade coffee, as well as other drinks like warm apple cider. It also offers snacks including muffins, cookies, sandwiches and salads.

The shop is located in the Green Room area. “We picked this space partly because it was traditionally what we call a loud study space … so people are already accustomed to coming here and having conversation,” John Unsworth, vice provost of Library and Technology Services and chief information officer, said in a Sept. 21 interview with the Justice.

According to Unsworth, the Ecogrounds company paid for the construction of the cafe, including carpeting and painting the area. Brandeis took this as an opportunity to renovate the rest of the first floor and paid to re-carpet and repaint the rest of the Green Room area.

Unsworth said, “We’ll be using it as a lab, I think, to experiment with different kinds of furniture and technology and see what works.”

He stated that over the next year, he would like to add more furniture and technology, arrange them in a way that “turn[s] the rest of this space into an area where people can come and just collaborate.”

He mentioned the possibility of having booths with video screens at one end, which students could plug their laptops into, so groups of students can work together without having to look over each other’s shoulders.

“It’s a really nice social hang out. I like what they’ve done with all the furniture, and I think it’s a positive addition to our library,” Noah Litwer ’15 said in an interview with the Justice. “I think it’s really handy because it’s nice to be able to study without having to go all the way over to Usdan in harsh weather.”

Unsworth said most of the comments on the comment board at the entrance of the Green Room are positive, although “some people say ‘It’s still Brandeis food.’ ” Rachel Hughes ’15, however, praised the shop’s quality, saying, “I am huge fan of the coffee shop in the library. It’s probably some of the best coffee you can get around campus, and the people who work there are super nice.”

The cafe is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to midnight, Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 4 p.m. to midnight.

—Suzanne Schatz and Tate Herbert

BRIEF

Chaplain Walter Cuenin leaving campus to receive cancer treatment at Mayo Clinic Last Wednesday, Catholic Chaplain and Coordinator of the Interfaith Chaplaincy Reverend Walter Cuenin sent an email to the Brandeis Catholic Student organization announcing that he would be leaving the following day to receive treatment for cancer at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Cuenin did not provide an estimated time for his return to campus but wrote that “I look forward to seeing you when my work is

done.”

Cuenin described the treatment program as a Church-sponsored course for priests “to get them in better shape” and said he hoped to address not only his Cuenin cancer but also “other psychological and spiritual

issues.”

According to Cuenin’s email, evening Mass will continue as usual with a series of other priests filling in for him.

“Father Cuenin is also the kind of person who would keep news of his illness quiet unless otherwise necessary,” remarked Mathew Kuruvinakunnel ’15, a member of Brandeis’ Catholic community, in an email to the Justice. “Naturally, I am saddened by this, and it goes

without saying that I hope and pray for his recovery,” he continued.

Flower Le ’15 wrote in a message to the Justice that she knew about his cancer when she attended a Catholic retreat with him recently “but he seemed as cheerful as ever so I didn’t expected [sic] the news.”

Le continued, “Through his words, I found a certain comfort with God and I can only pray that he is receiving the best treatment possible and he returns to Brandeis as soon

as possible.”

Rabbi Elyse Winick ’86, who works with Cuenin as a member of the Interfaith Chaplaincy, declined to comment, as she wished to respect Cuenin’s request for privacy.

However, Winick did say that “Father Walter is in all of our prayers.”

Other members of the Interfaith Chaplaincy did not respond to request for comment by press time.

—Tate Herbert

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THE JUSTICE

ENGAGING CITIZENS

By jess linde JUSTICE contributing WRITER

JANE ZITOMER/the Justice

HOMETOWN HERO: Newton Mayor Setti Warren speaks at the event last week.

Local politicians come to campus, urge involvement By marissa ditkowsky JUSTICE contributing WRITER

On Sept. 29, the Brandeis College Democrats hosted “The Engaged Citizen of 2012” in the Mandel Center for the Humanities, featuring four speakers with significant roles in the political arena in order to encourage students to become involved in the upcoming election.

Speakers included Chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party John Walsh; Mayor Setti Warren of Newton, Mass.; Executive Director of Governor of Massachusetts Deval Patrick’s Deval Patrick Committee and the Together PAC Alex Goldstein ’06 and Massachusetts State Representative Tackey Chan ’95.

Walsh encouraged event attendees to not only become involved and educated voters, but to consider running for a political position in the future.

“As the debates come up, imagine yourself behind those podiums … If that makes you absolutely uncomfortable, imagine yourself as the campaign manager, the director,” Walsh said in his speech.

For those with intentions of running for office, Chan said that working on a campaign is the most effective way to learn the ropes. “Work on a local campaign in particular; small campaigns give you the best knowledge about what’s going on, particularly in places that you live. If you want to run, you need to take time to learn what’s going on in your neighborhood, and then proceed to work on a local race to get a taste of what it’s like,” he suggested in an interview with the Justice.

“I like to think that young people bring with them a certain level of energy, enthusiasm [and] idealism to really go out there and try to make a difference,” said Goldstein in an interview with the Justice, “and that that energy and enthusiasm is so important because it is hard to wake up day after day and get in your car and drive up to New Hampshire and [canvass].”

5

University reacts as Obama, Romney debate in Colorado and Governor Mitt Romney argued about the economy, jobs, and healthcare.

featured talks by four MA politicians, some of them with Brandeis connections.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012

politics

■ President Barack Obama

■ “Engaged Citizen”

●

According to Goldstein, although a young volunteer might start off completing “grunt work,” once a student shows that he or she can complete the work, it is extremely possible to move up and take on more challenging and stimulating tasks.

The first step, according to Chan, is to find a campaign to assist. “You’ve got to find a campaign you enjoy, or a person you like with principles you share, and then figure out your time what you can contribute and how you can contribute,” Chan advised.

“Time is running out, and this is a once-in-a-lifetime election. So everybody will hopefully come away from this and be inspired to just go out there and tomorrow, walk into your first campaign office … whether it’s the Warren campaign or the Brown campaign, wherever the place is that you see yourself most aligned, and … start doing the work,” recommended Goldstein.

A collaborative effort of the Brandeis Democrats executive board and group members brought these political figures to campus using preexisting relationships cultivated through internships, according to of the Brandeis Democrats’ treasurer Ula Rutkowska ’15.

“I think it’s important to encourage students at Brandeis to become engaged, especially this election season.

Because it’s such an intense election, there’s so much at stake,” Rutkowska said in an interview with the Justice.

“These are people who are kind of inspirational … because they’ve succeeded at what a lot of us hope to succeed at … It’s interesting to listen to how they did that and how they feel about it and whether or not it’s fulfilling to them.”

The upcoming election on Nov. 6 will include not only the presidential election between President Barack Obama and Republican and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney among others, but also the U.S. senatorial race between incumbent Republican Scott Brown and Democrat Elizabeth Warren.

Massachusetts’ voter registration deadline is Oct. 17. For those who would like to vote in their home states, absentee ballot applications are available and deadlines vary in each state.

Last Wednesday, President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney met at the University of Denver in Colorado for their first debate.

The debate, moderated by PBS’ Jim Lehrer, was the first of three and focused on social policy—specifically on the economy, jobs, healthcare and the role of government.

Immediately after the debate, an online viewer poll conducted by CNN projected Romney as the winner, with 65 percent of the vote in his favor, as opposed to 25 percent in Obama’s.

Republicans and Democrats alike were surprised by the debate, as Romney seemed to hold his own against the President and reinvigorate confidence in his campaign, which had been dwindling in recent months, according to national polls.

“Heading into Wednesday night’s debate, Obama had been riding a wave of momentum since

the [Democratic National Convention],” said Ricky Rosen ’14, former vice-president of the Brandeis Libertarian Conservative Club and current Brandeis Republicans Club administrator, in an email to the Justice. “At the debate, though, Romney surprised many political pundits who pegged him as a weak candidate,” wrote Rosen.

Democratic pundits such as Chris Matthews were disappointed in Obama’s performance. In the Oct. 4 episode of his show, Hardball, Matthews asked, “Where was Obama tonight?”

Treasurer for the Brandeis Democrats Ula Rutkowska ’15 wrote in an email to the Justice that “[Obama’s] performance was reserved, and lacked the character, passion, and enthusiasm that he typically emanates.”

However, Romney was criticized following the debate for making statements that fact- checking sites such as PolitiFact and ThinkProgress found to range from “mostly false” to “half true.” Much of Romney’s rhetoric was also considered by said websites to be very general and vague.

On the other hand, Obama’s treatment of topics was “professorial,” according to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. Romney also contradicted himself on several major topics such as the tax plan he has been promoting for over a year. This was also argued by pundits such

as Rachel Maddow as Romney “attempting to seem moderate. I don’t think Obama was ready for that,” she said in an Oct. 3 CNN post-debate discussion.

PolitiFact also rated several of Obama’s important statements as “exaggerations” and “half true.”

The debate’s questions were all asked slowly over the course of 90 minutes, and most of them centered on the differences between the candidates’ handling of the various issues presented. Each candidate had two minutes per questions and the same time for rebuttals and counterpoints.

Immediately after the debate, several news outlets such as The Huffington Post and MSNBC speculated on whether or not the Romney victory would affect the President’s slowly growing lead in swing states such as Ohio and Florida. Despite data and opinion pointing toward a gain in the polls for Romney, not much seemed to change.

“According to the data, these debates often have little effect on the outcome of the presidential election” Prof. Peter Woll (POL) said in an interview with the Justice, “but what will be remembered most is the presentation, rather than the policy. So that is why the media is declaring Romney the winner, because he performed with energy while the President seemed to be asleep.”

Zuma Press/MCT

FRIENDLY, FOR NOW: Mitt Romney and Barack Obama greet eachother with smiles before the debate on Wednesday.

BRIEF

Rosen to reach out to student body with radio show Student Union Executive Senator Ricky Rosen ’14 will be hosting a radio show on WBRS called the Brandeis Student Union Launch Pad in order to further the connection and communication between the Student Union and the student body.

In an email to the University community, Rosen announced that the show would air on Thursdays from noon to 1 p.m. and that it would feature Student Union representatives discussing their work serving on the student government body.

Rosen explained in an email to the Justice that the show seeks to serve two purposes. First, he wrote, it “provides an outlet for Student Union representatives to

broadcast their initiatives to the student body,” and it also provides students a way to reach out to Union members with questions or ideas.

“As the show advances, we’d like to bring on administrators who can answer student questions themselves,” he continued.

“We understand that students may not necessarily have the time or want to take the initiative to meet with their Senators to discuss an issue, so this is just an easy way for them to have their voices heard,” he wrote.

“I love the idea,” said Student Union President Todd Kirkland ’13 in an email to the Justice. “I hope it becomes an amazing avenue of communication for the student

body. Even if students cannot listen in for that hour, their questions or comments can be discussed.”

WBRS general manager Jesse Manning, who is also the Student Union Chief of Staff, said that the show represents an excellent opportunity for connection.

“I realized that there was no better way for the Union to reach people than through a show,” he said. “I hope to get more shows like this on the air soon, with different organizations and with administrators.”

The show can be heard weekly at wbrs.org, and students can tweet questions to the show by using the hashtag #DeisLaunchPad. —Sam Mintz

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012

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A Yom Kippur feast Students help themselves to food to break the Yom Kippur fast on the Great Lawn on Sept. 26. University President Frederick and Dr. Kathy Lawrence hosted the event.

ELECTIONS: Kaplan plans to appeal decision to Judiciary The error resulted from a misreading of the results, according to a campuswide email from Shakes on Sept.

25. In the elections for Off-Campus senator, Kaplan received 20 votes and the “abstain” option received 23 votes. According to Section 6, Part 2 of the Student Union Constitution, a position must remain unfilled if “abstain” receives the most votes until another election is held.

According to a Sept. 20, 2011 article in the Justice, a “skip” option was added to elections in fall 2011.

Selecting “skip” allows students to move on to the next poll without voting for a candidate while “abstain” “work[s] against a candidate” and “is an option intended for those who are uncomfortable with all candidates for a position,” according to a Student Union press release from last fall.

The results of the Off-Campus senator race may have resulted from confusion on the part of students about these options. “I think a lot of students don’t understand what ‘abstain’ is,” said Student Union President Todd Kirkland ’13 in an

interview with the Justice. Students may think that “abstain” and “skip” serve the same function, he added.

“I think that students are confused, and it needs to be addressed as soon as possible,” said Shakes.

Elections are conducted through BigPulse, an online voting system.

In a phone interview with the Justice, Managing Director of BigPulse Dominic Swinn said that Brandeis has a self-managed account with the company and that the account is administered and controlled from campus. BigPulse supplies the software and technical support for the account but does not set it up, he said.

The “skip” and “abstain” system “tries to imitate what might happen on an actual paper ballot,” he explained.

In a Sept. 25 email, Shakes announced reelections for Off-Campus senator and opened the election to additional candidates. Six students ran, and Aidasani won with 14 out of 38 votes.

“It was as fair as possible,” said Shakes.

Kaplan, who received nine votes in the third round, has begun the process to appeal the decision with

THE JUSTICE

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LTS: Technology departments to increase hiring

BREAKING THE FAST

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the Student Union Judiciary. In an email to the Justice, Kaplan cited Article X, Section 1 of the Constitution, which states that “[a]n elected official’s constituency shall have the right to recall that official,” and Article X, Section 2, which states that “[a] two-thirds vote of the Senate is required to impeach an elected Union Government official.”

According to Kirkland, Kaplan’s swearing-in process was not constitutionally sound. The Judiciary process is still in the “preliminary decision” phase. The first step will be a peer mediation, which may be followed by a public trial, with the Student Union as the accused, said Kirkland.

Aidasani did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

According to Shakes, “the Student Union is working very closely this year to review our Constitution.”

“Our Constitution has a lot of work to be done based on the … interpretation of it. The way we run the Student Union elections will also have to change, and that will be an ongoing thing this semester to avoid more conflict in the spring,” said Shakes.

for LTS hasn’t changed in 20 years;” only the collections budget has felt this kind of long-term squeeze.

Representatives from the Office of Budget and Financial Planning did not return calls for comment on Monday.

The collections budget includes money allocated for “buying books, buying journals [and] licensing online databases,” said Unsworth.

“It’s all of the information products that the library provides, and that includes an increasing number of things that are provided electronically and remotely.”

According to Sherry Keen, associate director of resource management and budget at LTS, the department spends about 80 percent of its collections budget on print and 20 percent on electronic resources.

“I think the library and technology on this campus are a major component of the campus budget … It’s hard to say ‘oh, well, you know, they should double my budget, and just forget about everybody else,’” said Unsworth.

“The budget, I think, has been fair … Every department took a hit over the past few years and is slowly rebounding,” agreed Tim O’Neil, associate director of Media Technology Services, in an interview with the Justice. O’Neil recounted seeing a “great rise” in spending for media technology during the first few years of the seven he has been at Brandeis, “then it leveled off and was hit by the economy, and now it’s coming back.”

When asked to compare his department’s situation to that of other universities, O’Neil responded, “I work with a lot of people at other universities and a bunch of consortiums, and I think … For this size university, [Brandeis does] very well with it.”

Both MTS and LTS are now hiring staff after having to make cuts in full-time positions. According to Unsworth, the University has recently hired two science librarians and one social science librarian, and is in the process of hiring a humanities librarian. “Those people are really important to the interactions that we have with faculty and students. … So I’m really pleased, actually, to have been able to hire those folks,” said Unsworth.

Information security is also seeing a resurgence, with the hiring process for one more position underway. However, it is still “an area in which we’re significantly understaffed,” said Unsworth. One person, George Moore, the information security architect, currently oversees all

the University’s information security needs. According to Unsworth, the information security needs of the department are being met, but, ideally, more people should share the responsibilities of the job. “George is a very capable and creative guy, but he needs to be able to take a vacation once in a while,” he said.

O’Neil, who oversaw only four full-time staff members at the beginning of this year, after one retired, will be adding two more positions to the department. One of these will be in place next week.

As for the future of the library and technology at Brandeis, Unsworth stressed that “you can’t really be a research university these days without a real information infrastructure and a real research library.” He served as an LTS representative on several strategic planning committees, in which he discussed topics such as the role of online learning in the future, academic innovation on campus and faculty research and scholarship.

“I think that a lot of investment has to be put into digital media display and connectivity in the classrooms,” said O’ Neil. “It’s important

“

I think there's a long term need to increase the collections budget in the library.

JOHN UNSWORTH

that some funding’s put into the infrastructure to make that possible.”

“Students pay a lot of money to come to Brandeis, and there’s a lot of things and a lot of funds invested, and we treat it seriously,” he continued. “So we give it a good percentage of our budget to support classrooms … trying to keep up with the emerging technology that changes everything, and how the faculty teach and how the students learn.”

The strategic planning framework will be released to the Brandeis community tomorrow, Oct. 10. This will include input from task forces made up of students, faculty, administrators and alumni which addresses topics including, but not limited to, academic innovation, flexible education through technology, University finances, and faculty, scholarship and research.

DCL: Uninvited underclassmen contribute to overcrowding CONTINUED FROM 1 ing to be dispersed in the Mods, specifically on Saturday, Sept. 22 and Wednesday, Sept. 26.

In an interview with the Justice, Director of Community Living Erika Lamarre described an environment in which many students, especially first-years and sophomores, attend parties at the Mods uninvited and contribute to issues of overcrowding and underage drinking.

“I think that students who are new to Brandeis … go looking for … social life and their social niche, and they haven’t found it yet, [and they] tend to gravitate to places where they think partying is going on, and then that contributes to the crowds.”

In an email to the Justice, East Quad CDC Stephanie Crane wrote that the responsibility for safety at

parties on campus is shared.

“Underage consumption is never something that is permissible, so students who are underage need to be responsible for their own actions and make smart choices,” she wrote. “However, on the flip side of that, hosts of parties need to be responsible for knowing who they are admitting to their parties and who they are serving alcohol or allowing to drink at these gatherings.”

Crane had previously sent an email to all East Quad residents asking underage students to “avoid off-campus and on-campus student parties.”

The DCL requires students who are interested in hosting a party on campus to fill out a party registration form. Parties that are not registered can be broken up at any time, according to Lamarre, while parties that are registered will usu-

ally be allowed to continue until quiet hours start, which is 1 a.m. on weekends.

The form, which is available online or in the DCL office, asks for information such as the names of hosts, estimated attendance and type and quantity of alcohol being served.

Lamarre praised the current system for party registration, which she has helped work on in her seven years here.

“I love that conversations are happening with party hosts and administration, to just realistically talk about how to have a successful party,” she said. “To me, those conversations are the best part of the whole thing. It’s just us giving some really solid advice about how to avoid trouble, have a good time and have a successful party.”

She said that the goal of the reg-

istration process is to reduce the negative consequences of parties and make the registration process accessible to students who want to host. She added that the process is always being improved and that in recent years there have been changes made to clarify expectations and streamline the process.

Discussions are ongoing about how to make the process even more efficient and how to avoid problems like the ones seen in past weeks. Lamarre said that Marshall, the Community Advisors in the Mods, Mods Senator Nicholas Polanco ’13 (who could not be reached for comment) and campus police have all been involved in both formal and informal meetings and conversations and that all parties have been able to express their concerns and talk about solutions.

One potential solution that La-

marre mentioned was making sure that CDCs and CAs, who know residents personally, are more actively involved before campus police have to be brought into a situation, because those DCL officials “have a different relationship” with residents than the campus police.

“I think that not letting us have parties was … annoying for people who wanted to have them, but it was a good way to calm things down,” said Danna Pinto ’13 in an interview with the Justice. “It did a little bit of its job, but a lot needs to be done.”

Crane concluded her email by writing that “Overall, this is a community issue and will take the community to be able to creatively resolve any lingering issues with parties occurring both on and off campus.”

—Jeffrey Boxer contributed reporting

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012

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THE JUSTICE

VERBATIM | GROUCHO MARX Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.

THIS WEEK…

FUN FACT

In 1948, Brandeis University, named after the first Jewish Justice of the Supreme Court, was founded.

The first movie to gross over $100 million was Jaws in 1975.

Zaqtan and Joudah: Not lost in translation PHOTOS BY WENDY CHOI/the Justice

FAST FRIENDS: Fady Joudah (left) and Ghassan Zaqtan (right) discussed their friendship as well as their professional relationship during their lecture in the Mandel Center for the Humanities on National Poetry Day.

Poets share and discuss literary writing and translation of poetry

By JAIME KAISER JUSTICE contributing WRITER

“‘Whenever I say it’s time I went the songs I thought would never return, arrive.’ That’s one of my favorite lines in the whole book, actually,” said Fady Joudah, smiling slightly to himself.

On Thursday, which was, fittingly, National Poetry Day, a small group of Brandeis students and faculty assembled in the Mandel Center for the Humanities’ reading room for the privilege of hearing the poetry of Ghassan Zaqtan, a prominent Palestinian poet. His poetry, originally written in Arabic, was translated to English and recited at the event

by Fady Joudah.

The reading, the School of Night’s first event of the semester, was sponsored by the Creative Writing department, the Peace, Conflict and Coexistence department and the International Poets In Conversation, part of the Harriet Monroe Poetry Institute’s consortium tour.

Zaqtan is an accomplished poet currently living in Ramallah, a Palestinian city in the central West Bank. He recently released his 10th collection of poetry in April 2012—as part of the Yale University Press’ Cecile and Theodore Margellos World Republic of Letters series. In 1998 he became cofounder and director of Ramallah’s House of Poetry.

Outside the poetry sphere, Zaqtan has worked as the editor of various literary magazines and has authored a number of novels, but his main passion is poetry.

“Internally, writing has different domains,” said Zaqtan. “For me, my domain is poetry.”

Fady Joudah is an award-winning translator and a poet in his own right. His English translation of Mahmoud Darwish’s Arabic poem “If I Were Another,” won him the PEN USA literary award for translation. He also won the Yale Younger Poets prize in 2007 for his collection of original work entitled The Earth in the Attic.

Joudah, a child of Palestinian refugees, reflected on how his parentage influenced his literary tastes. When asked by an audience member why he chose

to translate Zaqtan’s poetry, he said, “I have a not-so-secret desire, out of my bias, a deep-set belief in Palestinian poetry. I am always searching for folks who have offered something to Palestinian literature and narrative literature in the same breath.”

The poems read at the event were from Zaqtan’s most recent collection of poetry, Like a Straw Bird it Follows Me. Joudah and Zaqtan took turns reading: Joudah read his English translation and provided a brief explanation about the piece when he thought it necessary, followed by a reading of the poetry in its original tongue from Zaqtan.

Both men had an understated but commanding stage presence, particularly Zaqtan who conversed very little with the audience directly throughout the reading because of the language barrier. “We are both very mellow,” Joudah said, and then he emphasized, “well, he is very mellow.”

The two men appeared completely at ease around each other, an impression that was solidified when a small bit of their personal dynamic was shared. “I would call him up and maybe ask him a question of a word and spend an hour and a half talking about everything else other than his poems,” said Joudah.

The most poignant moment of the reading came after Joudah read the poem “Like a Dream at Noon.” The last lines, “And he didn’t think, not for a moment, to open the window where, without waiting, where without waiting, like a dream at noon, the astonished flowers where above the apple trees” were met with audible gasps from multiple members of the audience.

But the resonance of the poetry at times seemed to transcend the words. Nikk Wasserman ’15 noted the benefit of having both the English translation and the Arabic read at the event.

“I think what struck me even more than the words was how resonant their voices were, particularly the Arabic speaker. The timbre of his voice was actually so low that I don’t think it can be reached in English. I found that absolutely fascinating.”

Following the reading, there was a short question-and-answer session, in which Joudah touched upon, among other things, the intricacies of translating Zaqtan’s poems into English.

In regard to how he retains the music of the poetry, Joudah described it as having an “echo petrified in my mind [and from there] decided that this is syntax in English that would come closest to that breath.”

Despite the careful attempts to translate as precisely as possible, the frustration that some members of the audience felt at the inevitable loss of certain subtleties across the language divide was noted by Jessica Huang ’15.

“There was a different meaning hearing it in Arabic. I really wish I understood Arabic so I could fully understand his original work.”

Their U.S. visit was delayed due to political complications with Zaqtan’s visa, forcing Joudah to do book launch events by himself while the author’s passport issues were being handled.

These complications made the anticipation to hear his poetry that much more exciting.

FAMILY INFLUENCE: Fady Joudah, a winner of the PEN USA literary award in poetry for his translation, told the audience about the effect of being a child of Palestinian refugees.

ROLES OF A WRITER: Zaqtan has edited literary magazines, written books and released his latest collection of poetry last April.

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012

New views on conversation

BRIANNA KUHS MUSSMAN/the Justice

WISE WORDS: Arad ’15 said that the future of bVIEW will include conversations with leaders, rather than only listening to lectures.

9

RHEA SANGHI/the Justice

OTHER THOUGHTS: Members gave ideas by writing them down during the event.

bVIEW club provides fresh perspectives on discussing Israel

By SOOJUNG CRYSTAL WANG JUSTICE contributing WRITER

Last Thursday, over 125 students filled the Mandel Center for the Humanities atrium; some gathered in Mandel; some gathered at the back of the room and others sat on the floor. Five coordinators of Brandeis Visions for Israel in an Evolving World stood on the stage and were ready to deliver their speeches.

The event started off with words from Chen Arad ’15, master of ceremonies for the night and cofounder of bVIEW. He explained the various events that the club will hold throughout the fall semester, and announced a conference that will take place in the spring.

This event took place to “facilitate conversations first about how we discuss Israel on campus, and to allow us to ultimately better discuss real events and issues that we, as people who care about that piece of land and those who live in it, care for,” according to Arad. He, Natan Odenheimer ’15, Sarah Geller ’13, Erica Shaps ’13, and Gil Zamir ’15 are the five co-founders. They came up with the idea to transform the way students discuss Israel on

campus.

Their passion to revolutionize discourse on Israel on campus quickly became more than an idea for the future. This past summer, the team members worked on the project from distant parts of the world by video chatting with each other at two in the morning to accommodate for the time difference.

The bVIEW members’ passion for pursuing change and liberation in ideas culminated in this first event of the semester, which featured an Israeli-Palenstinian guest speaker, Ashraf Hussein ’13, who, when he arrived at Brandeis back in 2009, “felt the massive hostility and anger between students from different political clubs, namely [Brandeis Zionist Alliance] and [Brandeis Students for Justice in Palestine].”

He expressed his distress about the conflict, saying, “Students were taking sides, [and were] too extreme, which hindered every possibility of dialogue or even eye contact. The situation got even worse; students stopped to talking to each other because of their political views. This drove me crazy … I did not like it. I was upset, angry and I was lost in a state of confusion.”

Odenheimer was also distressed about the absence of communication when he first came to campus last year.

Odenheimer left an event about Israel, feeling upset and sad. “I thought that the tactics suggested were unpragmatic, polarizing, unproductive,” he said. He realized that the discussion tactics were flawed and lacked acceptance of other views. So he set out to change this. “We are not worshipers of ‘sight and sound,’ we do not ‘fan’ Israel or neither do we cheer ‘antiIsraelism.’ No, we are college students, we are philosophers, we are not easily brainwashed by mere rhetoric and we are seekers of truth.

We want to understand better, but also to understand how to better.

How to better the future. We are looking forward.”

With such a vision in mind, bVIEW began. The group focuses on open conversation that will allow students to freely talk about Israel on campus. As Arad believes that “discussion innately carries better action, better energies, unity, better ideas,” bVIEW seeks an idea, a conversation and a discussion about Israel in the future. More impor-

tantly, bVIEW is organized and led by students.

Other students also seem positive about the vision of bVIEW. Josh Berman ’15 has been assisting and organizing the bVIEW events in collaboration with the team members.

He is the copresident of J Street U— Brandeis, the student branch of the larger J Street organization, which is a group of “campus chapters advocating and educating on colleges and universities ... for vigorous and sustained American leadership in facilitating a negotiated, two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palesinian conflict,” according to its website.

“In terms of the larger community, I think that everyone is hungry for dialogue, you hear it lamented in every single corner: whether it’s a conservative group or liberal group,” said Berman. He strongly believes that bVIEW has the ability to achieve their goal at Brandeis. He said, “there’s a lot of echo chamber going on and bVIEW, because it’s so new, doesn’t have any stigmas attached to it, so it can really unite everyone under one event.”

Not only students are supportive of bVIEW. The school administration and different departments have

also joined in.

In a video created by bVIEW and shown during the event, University President Frederick Lawrence said, “One of the most important ways we can contribute to the urgent issues facing Israel is that Brandeis can be a place where people of all views come together and discuss these questions in a serious, reflective, rigorous, analytic way with respect for differences. This is in fact what shows the greatest respect and indeed the greatest love for the state of Israel which has been a core piece of Brandeis since our very founding.”

According to Arad, the bVIEW members have been working with the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies and the Crown Center for Middle East Studies and using their expertise.

The students involved in bVIEW have a clear goal and vision and are eager for change. In addition to the events hosted by bVIEW, the team is planning a publication about bVIEW in the near future and making this event annual. “We’re going to have amazing speakers who are leaders in their field, but you won’t only be listening to them—they will also be listening to you,” said Arad.

BRIANNA KUHS MUSSMAN/the Justice

CONTINUED COLLABORATION: The attendees enjoyed refreshments baked by Maddie Ziff ’13 following the words spoken by the cofounders, as well as the speech by Ashraf Hussein ’13, the night’s student speaker.

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012

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THE JUSTICE

Justice Justice

the the

Established 1949, Brandeis University

Brandeis University

Established 1949

Andrew Wingens, Editor in Chief Marielle Temkin, Managing Editor Eitan Cooper, Production Editor Fiona Lockyer, Deputy Editor Jeffrey Boxer, Nan Pang and Robyn Spector, Associate Editors Sam Mintz and Tate Herbert, News Editors Celine Hacobian, Features Editor Shafaq Hasan, Forum Editor Adam Rabinowitz, Sports Editor Jenny Cheng and Joshua Linton, Photography Editors Rachel Burkhoff, Acting Layout Editor Sara Dejene, Online Editor Maya Riser-Kositsky, Copy Editor David Wolkoff, Advertising Editor

Increase resource funding A university’s character and prestige is often measured by its numbers: the class sizes, the student-faculty ratio, the percentage of international students and the size of the endowment, among other figures.

The quality of higher education is dictated not only by these stringent measurements, but also by the extent of the university’s academic resources. While Brandeis’ electronic resources and library collection may have grown along with the changes in research and technology, the budget for attaining these resources has actually declined since 1989.

In the future, with a boost in funding, we hope the University will ensure its electronic resources and physical library are able to continue supporting and promoting research.

In an interview with the Justice, John Unsworth, the provost for Library and Technology Services, indicated that the collection budget for books hasn’t changed significantly over time. While in 1989 the budget was around $3.25 million, more than 20 years has actually decreased. The LTS budget last year was $3.14 million.

According to the associate director of resource management and budget at LTS, Sherry Keen, this budget is then further allocated—80 percent for print media and 20 percent for electronic resources. After two decades this budget surely can’t continue to accommodate the library’s media needs.

Resources support research With 20 percent of the budget going toward sustaining electronic media, the University has been able to accumulate a number of useful and expensive online research databases like LexisNexis, EBSCOhost and JSTOR. Enabling students to have unlimited access to search for articles across multiple databases allows for an easy and productive search process.

On the other hand, our limited book selection only hinders the process. Waiting the maximum 14-day period for an interlibrary loan from another university or library is obstructive to any student engaging in extensive research with deadlines and a restricted amount of time.

Even with an established digital media library, the unavailability of these print resources is detrimental to the University’s reputation and it’s capacity to support research.

Although our digital library has matched the continually advancing image of the University’s research programs and initiatives, the physical library has fallen behind. While the process of online researching is easy and instantaneous, oftentimes older books that have information about specific issues are not extensively covered in digital media. In order for the University to promote and sustain student learning and faculty research, it must invest the funding to increase the selection of print resources.

Register to vote With the general election less than a month away, there is not much time left to register to vote in what is many Brandesians’ first presidential election.

According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, in 2008, a record 130 million voters participated in the presidential election, but only 50 percent of eligible people ages 18 to 29 took part.

As the decisions made in this general election will affect each and every one of us, it is extremely important for students to register and have their voices heard.

Throughout the semester, representatives from Sen. Scott Brown’s (R-MA) and senate nominee Elizabeth Warren’s campaigns have tabled at Brandeis, urging all who are qualified to register to vote, regardless of party affiliation.

Various politically affiliated clubs on campus—such as College Democrats and the Brandeis Libertarian Conservative Union—have also held voter registration drives where students, faculty and staff could register to take part in the upcoming presidential election.

In an effort to bring the campus together, the College Democrats held a viewing party for the first presidential debate, which took place last Wednesday. Perhaps another on-campus group could take the initiative and put together a viewing for the vice presidential debate taking place this Thursday and the future presidential debates as well.

As the election draws closer, clubs affiliated with different parties could consider holding a bipartisan event to inform Brandesians of the issues and candidates

Let your voice be heard that will appear on their ballots. Such an event would ease some of the apathy felt by students who have not made an effort to learn anything about the candidates.

It could possibly help increase the percentage of people voting in our age group because people are more likely to vote if they are more informed.

The deadline to register to vote in Massachusetts is Oct. 17, the deadline for New York is Oct. 12, the deadline for New Jersey is Oct. 16, and the deadline for California is Oct. 22.

Each state has varying deadlines for requesting an absentee ballot, but requests for most states must be postmarked by late October.

Another option for anyone who misses this deadline is to register to vote in Massachusetts and then vote in person on Nov. 6.

Though the reason for low voter turnout among 18 to 29-year-olds is unclear, it may be because young people believe their vote ultimately does not matter.

However, with the close Congressional race this year between Brown and Warren, the Massachusetts senate election has the ability to influence Congress’ political leanings.

While our University can be divisive when it comes to political issues, there is a general consensus when it comes to voting: It is our right as citizens to take part in elections, and because the issues our representatives will face affect all of us, we should do what we can to get the people who best represent us into office.

SARA WEININGER/the Justice

Reform female TV stereotypes Liz

posner but i digress

To be honest, writing about feminism makes me a little uncomfortable. I guess I’m sensitive about sounding like a grumpy bra-burner or some other negative female stereotype. But, it is these kinds of stereotypes —perpetuated by popular culture—that intrigue and anger me in the first place. Despite the progress women have made in political and workplace equality, for some reason we can’t think of many original roles for women in television and film, and instead perpetuate stereotypical character tropes. This kind of portrayal of female characters can subliminally impact the way its viewers think of real women, which is something that should worry anyone who cares about women’s equality.

I want to focus on one new show in particular.

For anyone who hasn’t seen The Mindy Project, FOX’s new sitcom, here’s a quick recap. Mindy Kaling of The Office plays a successful OB/GYN who runs her own practice but struggles in her personal life. Mindy dreams of finding the perfect boyfriend and seeing her life pan out like one of her favorite romantic comedies, though she is unable to separate her work life from her personal drama. Most of the show is spent following Mindy’s uncomfortable first dates, her hookups with male doctors and her bitterness about her ex.

Mindy is an unrealistic and exaggerated character. How could a successful and professional doctor make such a mess of her personal life? You would think Mindy’s work would occupy most of her time and energy, but her thoughts are primarily concerned with her love life. Kudos to FOX for including a show in their fall lineup about a woman who has achieved success in a male-dominated

profession. But turning her search for a boyfriend into her greatest priority effectively cancels this out.

For a show written and produced by an intelligent woman with plenty of experience in the television industry, Kaling does almost nothing to avoid the clichés too often found in depictions of women on television. In a feature she wrote for The New Yorker in October 2011, Kaling discusses the unrealistic, one-note archetypes used to portray women in romantic comedies. She identifies stereotypes like the beautiful but klutzy Katherine Heigl type, the quirky girl next door, and the uptight career-obsessed woman “who is no fun at all.” The Mindy Project creates a slightly more developed personality than these annoying female character tropes, but what good is this if Mindy obsesses over her love life as female characters too often do?

Of course, there are plenty of TV shows that portray women in more progressive, complex ways. It seems that sitcoms are the genre of television that most frequently resorts to these tired standards of female characters, just to score a laugh. For instance, Modern Family’s uptight mom Claire Dunphy.

There is a tendency to play down the importance of the portrayal of characters like this because these are comedies and therefore meant to be laughed at. HBO’s Girls, which follows the lives of four 20-something friends living in New York City, explores more fully what it means today to be young and a woman. Men complicate the lives of these characters, but the focus is on their friendships, their individual eccentricities, their career goals—anxieties we all face irrespective of our genders. This would be a great model for sitcoms to follow in future seasons.

This is an issue that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Entertainment is of course meant to be entertaining, but it is also a reflection of our society. Shows like The Mindy Project send false depictions of women to their audiences, and worse, reaffirm the stereotypes we may already hold subconsciously.

How twitter is changing my life Shafaq

hasan into the fire

I have a difficult relationship with social networks. The very idea of investing interest in the lives of other people that I secretly resent is both alluring and repellent. While I scroll through my Facebook newsfeed, I often alternate between grimacing at my drunk high school acquaintance oversharing Instagram pictures and popping popcorn to watch the disintegration of a couple’s relationship. I’m intrigued and repulsed by how much of their lives people make available for others to snoop through. As an incredibly private person, displaying any really personal part of my life on the Internet is sacrilegious. I will untag and unfollow posts and pictures to erase any trace of myself I don’t want others to know.

But all of that changed when I got a Twitter account. It’s only been a couple of days, but I’m hooked. It started slowly. I tweet when I would first wake up in the morning, something witty that my 11 eager followers would enjoy. Retweet Slate around lunchtime and finish the day strong with a trending hashtag.

There are already signs the networking site is starting to permeate my lifestyle. It’s probably not normal to hear something funny and immediately think to retweet it.

I’m putting more of my thoughts on display that I ever would on Facebook or Tumblr. My general mentality has been that I’m just me, so who really

cares what I have to say? Do I even want anyone to know what I’m really thinking?

Maybe it’s the audience on Twitter or that I’ve genuinely enjoyed reading Kanye West’s infamously conceited tweets, but I have developed a greater respect for the tweeting community than those of Facebook and Tumblr. Or maybe it’s because you can as easily tweet your friends as Anderson Cooper or Joseph Gordon Levitt. The degrees of separation that exist on other networking sites are stripped away—just simply hit reply.

And now I’m on the verge of oversharing. The cat’s out of the bag that I watch Grey’s Anatomy and I have a super-secret crush on B.J. Novak.

And it’s only going to get worse from here. I might actually start to inform everyone who doesn’t care about my decision-making processes. Should I buy the maroon cardigan because it goes with my skin tone or the dark gray cardigan because I don’t have one in that color yet?

The real problem here is that I’m not necessarily concerned that I’m sharing more details about my life, as are the millions of the other tweeters on the site. If a future potential employer is offended by my interest in the meth business or references to Arrest Development, then those are not the kind of people I want to associate myself with.

And to those that say I’ll eventually lose interest and stop tweeting, they need to realize I’m not really taking this too seriously and neither should anyone else.

My stream of consciousness may not be as profound or literary as Jack Kerouac’s, but the sentiment is the same. It’s a collection of thoughts that allows me to connect with people in ways other social media networking sites haven’t allowed me to. After all, what else am I going to use my English degree for? I think I’ll tweet about that.

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, October 9, 2012

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Debates should inform undecided viewers

By CATHERINE ROSCH JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

During the 2012 primary elections, I watched every single Republican debate, partly because I hate myself and partly because they were a good way to procrastinate.

Twenty-seven debates later, I learned that Rick Perry can only name two federal agencies he would eliminate, Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 is not a winning economic strategy and Newt Gingrich supports wasting millions of dollars on building a moon base. Despite all this, the Republican primary debates, tedious and infuriating as they may have been, were successful debates: the candidates were forced to answer tough questions and describe clear public policy.

In contrast, last Monday’s Massachusetts senate debate and Wednesday’s presidential debate were not successful because they did not further inform undecided voters about the candidates and their stances on key issues.

Televised debates can be a excellent medium for educating voters on what the candidates stand for and how they plan to address our nation’s most pressing issues. The campaigns are not able to fully prep their candidates in advance with carefully worded, noncontroversial answers designed to appease the largest group possible.

Although they have lines prepared, and numbers memorized, the candidates are forced to go off their scripts. Obviously, candidates from both parties have gotten pretty good at ignoring the question in favor of talking about an issue or an attack that can score them points with their base. Therefore, it falls on the moderator to make sure the questions are actually answered.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney won Wednesday’s debate. President Barack Obama stumbled and disappointed his army of liberal college students, including myself.

I’m still in shock. How can a respected PBS journalist do such a poor job of moderating a debate?

Yes, I get that Jim Lehrer is an older gentleman and Romney and Obama were behaving like squabbling preschoolers, ignoring every single time limit, but Mr. Lehrer should have known better. Although candidates will always try to abuse the time limit system, and this year the limits were less strictly enforced than in 2008, Mr. Lehrer should have cut them off earlier and more forcefully.

After all, the man was chosen because he’s an old hand at moderating debates and would, supposedly, keep both Governor Romney and President Obama in check and on topic.

The one thing the debate had going for it was the substance of the questions. While I would have loved a question about Romney’s

TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES/MCT

47 percent comment, or the President referencing that gaffe, it isn’t a policy question and it wouldn’t have been appropriate in a presidential debate.

The questions on Wednesday night were standard debate questions, about the economy, education, entitlements and the role of the federal government.

Although they were less exciting than attacks, those are the sort of questions that do inform voters. While President Obama did terribly and I spent most of the debate wishing it would be over, I have to admit that the questions were solid and not the about superfluous topics.

In comparison, the questions at the Massachusetts senate debate were awful.

The Elizabeth Warren Native American heritage story shouldn’t even be a story anymore, but it was the subject of the first question.

Scott Brown attacked Warren, claiming that she lied about her family history to get

a job at Harvard University, while Elizabeth Warren went on the defensive.

A better question would have been to ask Brown why he’s made his opponent’s racial heritage such an issue.

The questions didn’t get better.

Warren and Brown barely talked about policy but instead argued about who was more bipartisan and discussed the Red Sox’s terrible season. A senate debate is not place for baseball.

The only two policy questions came from two college students who asked about jobs for recent graduates and the unemployment rate and immigration reform.

Even so, Brown and Warren did not give specifics or talk about the bills they would propose. Instead, they gave the same lines they have given in every interview, press conference and debate.

I’m not an independent or undecided voter by any stretch of the imagination. My mind was made up a long time ago. However, for

the four to six percent of undecided voters, the debates should present an opportunity to learn more about both candidates and what they believe in.

Presidential debates should both excite the base and educate those voters who are undecided.

Both candidates should call each other out on the rhetoric and half-truths, like how Romney’s healthcare plan doesn’t actually cover everyone with preexisting conditions or that Obama is going to raise taxes for some of the American people.

Although the presidential debate had good questions, the moderator did not fact-check the candidates or hold them to a high enough standard.

The Senate debate on the other hand, had poor questions that did next to nothing to inform the voters. In the future, debates should inform the American people by holding the candidates accountable for their campaign promises.

Lack of connection with students undermines Union’s role By michael abrams JUSTICE staff WRITER

I love the Student Union.

I love how there is student-run organization at Brandeis that is devoted to our rights and improving life at the University. I love how every semester the Finance Board supports the rich club culture at Brandeis—one of my favorite aspects of life here.

But I don’t love everything about the Student Union. I don’t love how irrelevant elections seem to be.

I also don’t love the lack of connection many students feel to the Union.

To remedy this, a renewed advocacy for students’ rights by the Union would help engage the student body and enact positive change for us all.

Consider how in the recent election Union Secretary Carlton Shakes ’14 inaccurately interpreted the ballot data and announced the winner of the off-campus senator position.

In reality, the “abstain” option had received more votes than any other candidate. According to the Student Union Constitution, if “abstain” wins the election, the seat is not filled.

However, the “skip” option was created several years ago to prevent “abstain,” from winning.

This gives students the option to not participate in an election.

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However, the difference between the “skip” and “abstain” options was never properly explained to new students prior to the elections, and this system did not prevent problems in the recent elections.

The Student Union isn’t fostering the necessary climate on campus to encourage more voting.

Just look at some of the statistics from the elections: The Justice recently reported that less than 10.6 percent of 567 and Charles River residents participated in the senator elections and both the Ziv Quad and Foster Mod candidates ran unopposed.

A major cause of this voter apathy is the website we use to vote: Big Pulse. Every time I have used it, something has gone wrong. For example, it doesn’t always move on to the next election after I submit my vote, forcing me to reload the page and log in again—which does not always solve the problem.

The website is simply not user friendly.

These types of technology-related issues do not encourage voter turnout, even among students who have used it before.

Another factor is that students may not feel connected enough to the Union to be active constituents.

That is not to say that the Student Union is incapable of engaging with the student body.

The weekly emails we receive about what is happening on campus are prime examples of

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consistent connection. Moreover, last year’s ’Deis Impact event was an excellent example of the Student Union really engaging the student body. On its website, the event is described as “a unique collaboration between the Brandeis Undergraduate Student Union and the International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life,” showing how integral the Student Union was to the event.

The fact that several clubs, such as the Brandeis Academic Debate and Speech Society, Brandeis Labor Coalition and the Pre-Law Society, were involved in events and that the student attendance rate was impressive, illustrate the Union’s success.

However, I think that the Student Union should better publicize other initiatives they are involved in and undertake more. They say they are fighting for students’ rights and a better life for us on campus, but they need to do a better job of proving it. When the biggest story about the Union a month into the school year is a major, and very avoidable, misinterpretation of election results, things need to change.

For example, they could push for better dining options for students with special dietary needs.

Food allergies, such as corn allergies, do not seem to be represented at all. Food ingredient labeling could be improved in both Sherman Dining Hall and Usdan Boulevard and Café so students, regardless of their dietary needs,

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know exactly what is in their food.

The Union could also work to increase labeling prices of items in the Provisions on Demand Market as well as to try to get more food products to count as part of a meal so students pressed for points will not run out as quickly.

Further, the Union can develop plans and put pressure on the administration to further reform the University’s sexual assault policies, which are still in need of improvement.

Inaccurate reporting of sexual assaults and the lack of adequate resources for rape victims, like a 24-hour hotline or rape crisis center on campus, are a few of the issues with the University’s policies.

The Student Union can help clubs like the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance or Students Talking About Relationships in their efforts to promote their resources and events.

Such actions would show true initiative on the Union’s part and reaffirm their commitment to student’s rights.

It is clear that the problems with the Student Union are much larger than the election.

There is a vicious cycle on campus of student apathy producing a less-than-optimal Student Union. Even though the Union does a lot of good right now, it can do so much more.

For this to happen, students need to pressure the Union to be more active, and the Union itself should work as hard as it can to deal with its internal problems.

Editorial Assistants Arts: Philip Gallagher, Jessie Miller Forum: Glen Chagi Chesir Photos: Josh Horowitz Sports: Henry Loughlin Staff Senior Writers: Josh Asen, Aaron Berke, Dafna Fine Senior Illustrator: Sara Weininger Senior Photographer: Alex Margolis, Tali Smookler, Jane Zitomer News: Shani Abramowitz, Allyson Cartter, Danielle Gross, Luke Hayslip, Raquel Kallas, Suzanne Schatz, Rachel Starr Features: Selene Campion, Rachel Miller, Gabrielle Santoro Forum: Michael Abrams, Aaron Fried, Liz Posner,

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TUESDAY, October 9, 2012

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THE JUSTICE

FORUM

Climate change deserves fair coverage

By DANIEL KOAS JUSTICE contributing WRITER

When was the last time you heard about climate change?

Maybe a friend brought it up recently in conversation or you saw a poster encouraging you to recycle.

Perhaps a professor discussed it in class or you came across a post about it on Facebook.

You’ve also probably seen the alarming documentaries and read the frightening articles. Needless to say, it is an issue that most of us are aware exists. However, what many of us are unaware of is just how imminent this threat is, and how little is being done to bring attention to it.

A string of recent studies have underscored that our planet is on thin ice, both literally and figuratively.

According to an August report by the National Snow and Ice Data Center, a government-sponsored research agency, the amount of sea ice in the Arctic has fallen to its lowest level on record.

The rate of ice-loss is accelerating, and if this goes unchecked, worldwide sea levels are expected to rise by as much as three feet by the end of the century.

This is a truly frightening fact because 13 of the world’s 20 largest cities lie on a coast.

Many people around the world are already feeling the effects of climate change.

Based on a 2005 study published in the scientific journal Nature, 150,000 yearly deaths and five million illnesses can be attributed to rising temperatures and the diseases spread by them, a statistic that is also embraced by the World Health Organization.

So why isn’t our country taking a serious stand to tackle this problem?

Why has the environmental movement that rose to national glory roughly six years ago faded away? Why are the environmental issues that used to be at the forefront of political and social dialogue now only referred to in passing?

The media is largely to blame.

A study from Media Matters for America, a nonprofit research group, found that since 2009, a year in which Congress passed a climate bill and a major international climate conference took place in Copenhagen, the amount of climate change coverage on the Sunday shows and nightly news has declined tremendously. Between 2009 and 2011, Sunday show coverage of climate change fell 90 percent, while nightly news coverage fell by 72 percent.

In fact, CBS’ Face the Nation covered climate change for a meager total of just four minutes over the past three years.

Shockingly enough, despite this lack of media coverage, a 2011 Gallup poll indicates that 43 percent of Americans feel that “the media exaggerates the seriousness” of climate change.

TZIPORAH THOMPSON /the Justice

A report issued last month by DARA, an international humanitarian aid group, has been in the spotlight because of its startling conclusion that if the world fails to act on climate change, nearly 100 million people will die by 2030.

However, this report has been highly criticized for exaggeration, and its calculations have been drawn into question.

As evidenced by the hype around the DARA report, this may be due to the media’s tendency to sensationalize stories.

Climate change coverage that depicts doomsday scenarios, like those mentioned in the DARA study, attracts more viewers and attention than coverage of specific scientific details.

For the most part, politicians have stopped discussing the issue.

Throughout this year’s presidential campaign climate change has almost never been explicitly mentioned.

The creation of “green jobs” is usually the

only environmental topic brought up, with the candidates emphasizing only how these jobs would stimulate the economy, not help the planet.

Moreover, many conservative politicians have discredited climate change as a myth or remain skeptical of its existence despite consensus in the scientific community. The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Republican John Boehner, said in a 2009 interview that “the idea that carbon dioxide is a carcinogen that is harmful to our environment is almost comical.” Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann called climate change a “manufactured science” at a 2011 campaign event.

Even with the limited discussion of the issue in this election, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has made his priorities clear, saying in an interview last month, “The reason I’m in this race is to help people. I’m not in this race to slow the rise of the oceans or to heal the planet. I’m in this race to help

the American people.”

These views have permeated through American society.

An ongoing Washington Post–Stanford University study reveals that 25 percent of Americans believe that the world’s temperature is “probably not” increasing.

In 2006, only 13 percent held that view Despite the controversy around the DARA report, the sentiment remains and the truth is still inconvenient.

Neither the media nor the politicians are taking any comprehensive action to bring climate change to the forefront of their discussions.

Politicians should know that there are Americans out there who care about preserving the environment just as much as preserving American jobs, and the media should be aware that there is a market for accurate environmental reporting. We cannot keep heading down the road we are on without suffering the consequences.

Court must recognize merit of affirmative action

By NOAH M. hORWITZ JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

This past week was the 50th anniversary of integration at my hometown’s college, the University of Houston.

The college has seen a dramatic transition and is now the third most racially and ethnically diverse college in the nation, according to the U.S. News and World Report. This reversal is most likely the result of both changing demographics and affirmative action.

On the other hand, the diversity at the University of Texas is less likely to be attributed just to changing demographics: Since integration, the proportion of African-American students has risen to 20 percent, and the proportion of Latino students has risen to nearly 21 percent.

This blossoming of diversity is newly found in the South, finally taking part in the progressive tenants of the 20th century. However, these programs now face new challenges from our judicial system.

Tomorrow, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case of Fisher v. University of Texas, in what will, most likely, be a landmark Supreme Court decision. It could outlaw all affirmative action programs used at public universities.

The Supreme Court is likely to strike down all affirmative action programs, as Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the swing vote who saved the programs 10 years ago, is no longer on the court.

There is no doubt in my mind that affirmative action has tremendously changed this country for the better.

In my “Social and Political Philosophy: Democracy and Disobedience” course, Prof.

Andreas Teuber (PHIL) mentioned that President Johnson once stated that affirmative action was necessary because students overcoming poverty and racism could not be accurately measured against those who did not have to face the same difficulties.

Johnson compared a person helped by affirmative action to a person who “has been hobbled by chains, and then when liberated, brought to the starting line of a race and told, ‘You are free to compete with all the others.’”

Indeed, the harshest critics of affirmative action today, in their blind hatred of anyone given the slightest push in college admissions, underscore why affirmative action is needed in the first place.

All too often, those who oppose affirmative action lay out the same story: The sad rich white kid was denied entrance into a prestigious university, as he may feel is his birthright.

“

There is no doubt in my mind that affirmative action has tremendously changed this country for the better.

Each of the plaintiffs of affirmative action court cases have sued institutions of higher learning after they were denied admission.

These people assumed that the sole reason for their rejection was because they were white.

Additionally, most detractors seem to fun-

damentally misunderstand how affirmative action programs function today.

While originally, universities may have had quota systems, these actions have been illegal for 34 years since the Supreme Court case of Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. Under current precedents and universities’ rules, race may only be considered a part of the larger picture in admissions decisions.

In reality, several other factors are considered during the college admissions process aside from grade point average, leadership and extracurricular positions. Personality (that is one of the reasons there is often an interview), background and profile are some of the additional factors.

Affirmative action’s opponents may not understand that wealth, familial connections and a stable home life have tremendous influence on a student’s grades throughout high school.

In 2010, Harvard University published an article alleging that the SAT was biased toward white people, citing cultural differences in the verbal section. Additionally, a 2009 study published by The New York Times showed an average difference in score of about 375 points between the lowest and highest income groups, most likely as a result of the ability to purchase preparation materials and tutoring.

Rather, the opponents of affirmative action should look at the positive effects of fostering diversity within the community. An article from The New York Times from this past Friday claimed that ending such programs, “would reduce the number of black students by about 60 percent, and the number of Hispanic students by about one-third, at selective

private schools.”

Mayor Julián Castro of San Antonio, who delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, is another example of the positive attributes of affirmative action.

While Castro had always stood out among his friends and family for being intelligent, he could not overcome the institutional bias of standardized testing.

According to a New York Times article from a few years ago, Mayor Castro’s SAT score was 1210 out of a maximum of 1600, well below the mean score for Stanford University.

He attributed his acceptance to Stanford to its affirmative action program. Granted, Castro boasted a stellar grade point average, but affirmative action was most likely at least partially responsible for his acceptance. It is worth noting that without any further help, he excelled at Stanford, was elected to the university’s student senate, and gained admission to Harvard Law School, this time in the median range of incoming students.

Nevertheless, opponents of the program find that any such boost is unfair. Conservative organizations and blogs such as Breitbart, Drudge Report, and The Washington Times have given Castro the pejorative, if not racist, title of “affirmative action boy” or “Mayor affirmative action.”

Such hatred underscores why the program is still needed today, just as it has been needed in the past.

I am sure there are many more like Castro whose stories have yet to be written. If our nation’s Supreme Court justices overturn the 30 years of precedent to outlaw affirmative action in public institutions, their stories may never be written.

THE JUSTICE

CROSS COUNTRY

Squads race among regional foes ■ Facing tough competition,

the men’s and women’s cross country teams fared well against Division I rivals.

By HENRY LOUGHLIN JUSTICE editorial assistant

With the championship portion of their season beginning in a couple of weeks, the men’s and women’s cross country teams measured well against their regional opponents at the New England Championships on Sunday held at Stanley Park in Westfield, Mass.

Competing against programs from Division I and II as well as Division III, the men’s and women’s squads placed 29th and 27th, respectively, out of 37 teams. Both teams defeated multiple Division I and II squads, cementing their reputations as New England Division III powers.

"In cross country, you don't always get to see the course beforehand," said Jarret Harrigan '15, noting that understanding the particulars of a cross country course is much like having home-field advantage.

"But this weekend served as a preview of how the course will run at the biggest meet of the year, the Division III New England Regional Championship [also at Stanley Park on Nov. 10].

Even though the meet didn't go quite as planned, we know what we have to prepare for."

Alex Kramer ’13 completed the undulating eight kilometer course in 25 minutes, 23.66 seconds, good for 51st place out of the 261 runner field. Mik Kern ’13 was the next runner across the line for the Judges, who finished in 26:18.04 minutes. Taylor Dundas ’14 outkicked Greg Bray ’15 for 186th place, timing in at 26:54.89, while Bray took 187th in 26:55.22. Michael Rosenbach ’15 was the final scorer for the Judges, finishing in 195th place

with a time of 27:03.29. Jarret Harrigan ’15 and Ed Colvin ’14 also competed, taking 214th and 245th places, respectively, with times of 27:35.46 and 29:36.44. Colvin struggled with a knee injury early in the race and faces a day-to-day recovery.

The women saw similar success as well. Victoria Sanford ’14 was first across the line, finishing the fivekilometer race in 18:50.04, which was good for 89th place. Classmate Ali Kirsch ’14 was the next finisher for the Judges, taking 107th place with a time of 19:03.06 . Amelia Lundkvist ’14 took 146th, stopping the clock at 19:07.46. Kelsey Whitaker ’16 was fourth for the Judges, placing 160th and timing in at 19:39.10 seconds.

Maggie Hensel ’16 was the squad’s final scorer, taking 176th with a time of 19:51.01. Erin Bisceglia ’12, MA ’13 and Kristi Pisarik ’15 also competed, taking 196th in 20:13.53 and 204th with a time of 20:21.84, respectively.

On Saturday, the squads will make

the trek to Albany, N.Y. to compete in the University of Albany Invitational, which will provide some more opportunity for competition against Division I and II competition. While the New England Division III Regional Meet is still over a month away, the squads are starting to show signs of budding success.

Despite the fact that the men's squad hasn't been ranked as highly as they would have liked to have been this year, Harrigan cautioned anyone who might doubt the Judges' abilities.

"We all still genuinely believe that we can run with anyone in the region,” he said. “We have been working towards the [University Athletic Association] Championships and Regionals throughout the entire season because those are the only two meets that really matter. It will be fun surprising a few people at UAAs in three weeks and then surprising everyone at Regionals in five weeks."

WSOCCER: Judges shut out Case and Babson in vital home matches CONTINUED FROM 16 ball, having complete control in the midfield. Kofinas was able to notch the win without making a single save in the first half.

Brandeis continued to show its offensive prowess just five minutes into the second half with a third goal from Spital.

Babson finally scored in the 69th minute, breaking their 434-minute

scoreless streak, off of a rebound shot from senior Emily Anderson and deflected free kick by Savuto.

Dallamora noted that, while Spital has been a invaluable offensive asset, the team must learn to plan an offense in light of her contributions.

"They are double teaming Dara Spital so we need to continue to work an offense around that," she said.

The Judges outshot Babson by a notable 26-14 margin while also firing off 12 shots on target, nearly equaling Babson’s total shots.

Katy Lehmann ’16 debuted in her first collegiate match in goal, notching two saves in five minutes.

Coach Dallamora figures to showcase Lehmann in a rotation for these crucial matches later in the season.

Dallamora said that her squad's

strong efforts at defense will be key in future conference matches.

"My team has been playing unbelievable defense - only 3 goals in 12 games," she said.

Brandeis will take to the road, though, for two crucial UAA games.

The team first travels to the University of Chicago for a game this Friday at 4 p.m. followed by a game at Washington University in St. Louis this Sunday at noon.

JANE ZITOMER/the Justice

WATCH OUT: Midfielder Sam Ocel ’13 prepares to fire the ball as two Wheaton College defenders try to close him down during the Judges’ 1-0 home victory on Wednesday night.

MSOCCER: Men remain perfect at home CONTINUED FROM 16 week, and I was finally healthy and felt good,” said Lynch. “I wanted to let my team know I wanted to get forward more.” Lynch did his job in getting the ball forward, with four individual runs deep into the Wheaton zone. However, it was in the 72nd minute that Lynch’s hard work paid off. Moving the ball down the right side, he passed the ball to a streaking Livadaru who converted a strike from 25 yards out for the game winner.

Wednesday’s win was not without

tension, however. In the dying moments, Brandeis fell victim to a wet field and gave the ball away, allowing Wheaton one last free kick attempt at tying the game. As the kick sailed high, Brandeis walked off a winner over their New England rivals.

“The UAA games are important,” said Coach Michael Coven, “but we still have our tradition New England games. This is a big game.” Coven, although happy with the result, said that one can never be too confident in a 1-0 victory, especially with the tough conditions of a wet field. “I think we dominated play, but if we

make a stupid play at the end, next thing you know, with 13 seconds left they have a chance right outside the box. Anything can happen.”

The win on Saturday dropped Case to 0-2-0 in UAA play and 3-8-1 overall.

Though Case outshot Brandeis 8-4 in the second half, Brandeis had eight shots of their own in the first half and outshot Case overall, 14-12. The game was a very physical game, with each side committing about 15 fouls.

Coven realizes that UAA games are tough, physical games, which take a lot out of a player. It is in these games that Coven stresses that a player

must give everything they have. Earlier this season, Coven stressed the importance of UAA matches. “The UAA teams have five of the top 20 New England Schools. We have to play even better to beat UAA teams,” Coven said two weeks ago.

Brandeis has the week off before beginning a Midwest trip for UAA matches.

The Judges travel to Chicago Friday night for a match against the University of Chicago before going to St. Louis for a Sunday afternoon game at Washington University in St. Louis.

●

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012

13

BRIEFS Siegel and Krems ace Invitational Seeded 11th in the doubles "A" flight at the Wallach Invitational at Bates College this weekend, men's tennis players Alec Siegel ’15 and Mitch Krems ’16 had a tall firstround task in front of them in the form of Trinity College duo Jugal Marfatia and Jordan Kemp.

Not only did they win thatmatchup, they advanced through three more rounds to the finals before losing to Bates' Pierre Planche and Matt Bettles.

"Alec and Mitch had a great weekend," said men’s tennis coach Ben Lamanna. "They're young guys, but showed good composure, they returned well, and they hit well. It's great for the program to have our second doubles team do so well. They’re buying into the system and improving."

After beating Marfatia and Kemp, the two then upset Skidmore College’s Oliver Loutsenko and Danny Knight in the second round 9-7. From there, they beat Middlebury College’s Peter Heidrich and Chris Frost before falling in the A-flight finals to Planche and Bettles in the finals by a score of 8-2.

The duo, along with the rest of the men's team, conclude for the fall season but look forward to a match against Occidental College on Feb. 18.

—Adam Rabinowitz

Brandeis F.C., Stan Ree win in final games for intramural soccer league The Intramural Outdoor Soccer season came to a close on Thursday night when Gordon Field lit up with excitement surrounding the men's, women's and co-ed championships.

In the first game of the night, the Men's Championship, the International Business School Men took on Brandeis F.C. in a game where the competitive nature of the two teams preceded them and it lived up to and exceeded the hype.

Led by captain Carlo Frank MA ’13 and an incredible cheering section, IBS took the lead early in the game, but Brandeis F.C. recovered and tied it up on a great goal by Ben Berson ’15.

The game went in to overtime after regulation ended 1-1, but the draw was short-lived as Brandon Kase ’14. scored 40 seconds into overtime and Brandeis F.C. won the game on the golden goal.

The women's final showed great sportmanship and the Senioras won a close battle that truly epitomized the easygoing and fun-loving nature of the two teams.

Finally, in the co-ed final, Stan Ree came out with a vengeance and stormed to a huge lead that never faltered. Pat Seaward '13, an Intramural veteran and member of co-ed finalist Bingo Bango Bongos, reflected on his memorable moments in intramural soccer.

"Intramurals is a part of me and I hold it near to my heart. I feel like a champion every time I leave the field after any athletic season," he said.

Thank you to the staff and all of the participants this season. Next on the agenda is Flag Football and we cannot wait for another great season of Brandeis Intramural Sports!

—Courtesy of Intramural Sports

Looking for accommodations?

Are you interested in living in a house rent-free in exchange for helping as a personal assistant and/or home manager?

Busy single professional Muslim from India, male, 54 with minor medical problems is offering a free room with bath, kitchen, cable TV, internet access and other facilities to student(s) willing to help in two major areas.

Home manager duties include cleaning kitchen, bathroom, vacuuming and laundry twice a month, taking care of plants, yard work and snow removal.

Personal assistant duties include motivate and participate in daily exercise and stretching, giving medications, eye drops and skin care.

Looking for someone responsible, reliable, dependable, honest and quiet with good organizational, time management and multitasking skills. Nonsmoker, no drugs or alcohol or friends allowed. No loud music. Willing to keep two students who can divide duties.

Compatibility essential. If you can eat Indian/Pakistani food, you are welcome to have free meals. Graduate student a plus. Indian/Pakistani a plus but not essential. Large house located in Brookline (close to Cleveland Circle) on a quiet, peaceful residential street but very close to Green B, C and D lines and bus stops.

Send letter of recommendation & resume to taimurazamMD@gmail.com or call 617-713-0740

The Justice is looking for Arts writers.

Curious about

E-mail Philip Gallagher and Jessie Miller at

Contact David Wolkoff at ads@thejustice.org for more information.

Arts@thejustice.org

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Come join the advertising team at the Justice!

THE JUSTICE

●

Tuesday, OCTOBER 9, 2012

15

ATHLETE OF THE MONTH

jUDGES BY THE NUMBERS Men’s Soccer UAA STANDINGS

TEAM STATS Goals

Not including Monday’s games UAA Conference Overall

W L D W L D Pct. JUDGES 1 0 1 11 0 1 .958 NYU 1 0 1 9 1 1 .864 Carnegie 1 0 1 8 1 1 .850 WashU 1 1 0 6 3 1 .652 Emory 1 1 0 6 5 1 .542 Rochester 0 0 2 6 2 2 .700 Chicago 0 1 1 5 2 3 .650 Case 0 2 0 3 8 1 .292

Lee Russo ’13 leads the team this season with nine goals.

Player Goals Lee Russo 9 Sam Ocel 5 Tyler Savonen 4 Kyle Feather 3

Assists San Ocel ’13 is the current team leader with seven assists.

Player Sam Ocel Lee Russo Tyler Savonen three tied with

UPCOMING GAMES Friday at Chicago Sunday at WashU Wed., Oct. 17 vs. Springfield

Assists 7 5 3 2

WOMen’s Soccer UAA STANDINGS

TEAM STATS

Not including Monday’s games

Goals

UAA Conference Overall

W L D W L D Pct. JUDGES 1 0 1 10 1 1 .875 Emory 1 0 1 8 0 3 .864 WashU 1 0 1 9 1 1 .864 Case 1 0 1 7 2 3 .708 Carnegie 1 1 0 7 1 2 .800 NYU 1 1 0 8 3 0 .727 Chicago 0 2 0 7 4 0 .636 Rochester 0 2 0 3 8 0 .273

Dara Spital ’15 leads the team this season with nine goals.

Player Goals Dara Spital 9 Holly Szafran 5 Sapir Edalati 4 Mary Shimko 3

UPCOMING GAMES: Friday at Chicago Sunday at WashU Thurs., Oct. 18 vs. Lesley

Assists Dara Spital ’15 leads the team this year with four assists.

Player Assists Dara Spital 4 three tied with 3 Alyssa Fenenbock 2 four tied with 1

VOLLEYBALL UAA STANDINGS

TEAM STATS Kills

Not including Monday’s games UAA Conference Overall

W L W L Pct. WashU 3 0 0 21 1 0 .955 Emory 3 0 0 19 3 0 .864 Case 2 1 0 16 6 0 .786 Chicago 2 1 0 16 6 0 .778 Rochester 1 2 0 16 6 0 .750 NYU 1 2 0 12 7 0 .733 JUDGES 0 3 0 12 7 0 .667 Carnegie 0 3 0 10 12 0 .455

UPCOMING GAMES: Tomorrow vs. Emerson Saturday vs. NYU Saturday vs. Chicago

Liz Hood ’15 leads the team in kills this year with 271.

Player Kills Liz Hood 271 Si-Si Hensley 139 Lauren Berens 120 Maddie Engeler 114

Digs Elsie Bernaiche ’15 leads the team in digs this year with 366.

Player Digs Elsie Bernaiche 366 Si-Si Hensley 183 Yael Einhorn 165 Susan Sun 162

cross cOuntry Results from last week’s Open New England Championships

TOP FINISHERS (Men’s)

TOP FINISHERS (Women’s)

RUNNER TIME Alex Kramer 25:23.66 Mik Kern 26:18.04 Taylor Dundas 26:54.89 Greg Bray 26:55.52

RUNNER TIME Victoria Sanford 18:50.04 Ali Kirsch 19:03.06 Amelia Lundkvist 19:27.46 Kelsey Whitaker 19:39.10

UPCOMING EVENTS: Oct. 27 UAA Championships at the University of Rochester Nov. 10 New England Division III Regional Tournament

PHOITO COURTESY OF JAN VOLK

LEADER OF THE PACK: Ed Colvin ‘14 looks to lead his team back to the NCAA Division IIII Cross-Country Championships.

Colvin puts best foot forward in key year ■ Ed Colvin ’14 seeks to

lead the men’s cross-country team to success on the regional and national stage.

By ZACHARY MARLIN JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

After the graduation of four-time Division III All-New England runners Chris Brown ’12 and Marc Boutin ’12, the men’s cross country team looked for a runner to fill their shoes.

Enter Ed Colvin ’14.

In his first major meet of the 2012 season, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Shriner’s Invitational, Colvin ran an eight-kilometer race in 25 minutes, 11 seconds, finishing seventh out of 293 runners.

Colvin looks to build on his start with a rigorous training regimen over the course of the season.

“My training has been great,” he said.

“We’re just starting to get into some really fast workouts, and I’m excited to see how that goes. As of now, I’m doing about 75 miles a

week, but it varies from 65 to 85.”

Colvin impressed college recruiters while he attended Catholic Memorial High School in nearby Roxbury, Mass., earning numerous top-10 finishes in All-Massachusetts Championships.

He especially distinguished himself with a first-place finish at the Catholic Conference Championships and a 13th place finish in the 5000 meter at the Nike Indoor Nationals competiotion where he ran a personal record of 15:28.16.

Colvin ended his high school career with a notable ninth-place finish at the 2010 Massachusetts AllState Outdoor Championship.

Colvin chose to attend Brandeis because of the opportunity for elite competition.

“My goal for the season is to qualify for [NCAA Division III] Nationals,” he said.

“It’s our team goal as well, but we are in a very tough region. It will be tough, but we think we can do it.”

The Open New England Championships will serve as the team’s first test, a competition that includes college squads from across Boston.

Colvin is confident that the team

will succeed.

“We are finally running our full team, everyone is back from injury, and this will be a good indicator for us,” he said.

Colvin also cites his team as a primary support network, noting that his fellow runners help fuel his ambitions and push him to succeed.

“In cross country, I am nothing without my team,” he said.

“If I mess up, I can count on them to run well and make up for it.

Training with them and racing with them helps me run faster as well and make sure we stay on top as a team.”

Colvin noted that the team is primed to shine in the second half of the season after a rigorous training season.

“As the season starts to get towards the end, we will start to run workouts a little faster and cutting down mileage a little as we get closer to conferences and regionals,” he said.

“We’ve all been working so hard all summer; we are ready for the big races up ahead.”

Ready, set, go. Colvin is primed to bolt out of the gates to a memorable season.

MLB AWARD PREDICTIONS Cabrera and Dickey headline a class of elite players in a race for the MVP and Cy Young awards The 2012 major league baseball season has been quite the roller-coaster ride.

The Washington Nationals, Baltimore Orioles and Oakland Athletics stunned the league to qualify for the playoffs. Journeyman knuckleballer R.A. Dickey notched 20 wins and looks to be a front-runner for the Cy Young Award, while Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim center fielder Mike Trout wrapped up the best offensive season for a rookie in major league history.

The 2012 season offered many surprises, but the Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award should be clear-cut decisions.

The Detroit Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera should be American League MVP – and by a unanimous margin. Cabrera, who led the American league with a .330 batting average, 44 home runs

and 139 runs batted in, earned the first Triple Crown since Boston Red Sox leftfielder Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.

Many can make the case, though, that phenom outfielder Trout, the first rookie ever to hit 25 home runs and steal 40 bases, is the league’s MVP. Some baseball fans and voters favor the use of sabermetrics, statistics that are more mathematical and analytical such as Wins Above Replacement and on-base percentage, over more concrete figures such as stolen bases, hits, and runs. Cabrera was the third baseman that flourished in August and September while carrying his team to a triumph over the fading Chicago White Sox. Trout, on the other hand, ultimately failed to lead his team into the playoffs. He may win Rookie of the Year, but in light of this year’s monumental Triple Crown finish, Cabrera

will likely win MVP. The San Francisco Giants’ catcher Buster Posey should win the MVP for the National League, especially in regard to the collapse of the Pittsburgh Pirates and center fielder Andrew McCutchen’s playoff hopes. Posey earned the National League’s batting title with a formidable .336 batting average. The catcher also hit 24 home runs, drove in 103 runs, and led the league with 38 put-outs. Posey would be the first National League catcher to win the award since the Cincinnati Reds’ Johnny Bench in 1972. St. Louis catcher Yadier Molina, with 22 home runs and 76 RBIs, will muster votes, but Posey should gain the edge in voting.

It is time, though, to look at the Cy Young Award. Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price, leading the American League with 20 wins, a 2.56 ERA and

25 quality starts for the Rays, figures to be a prominent candidate for the AL Cy Young Award. The Tigers’ Justin Verlander and the White Sox’ Chris Sale will also receive votes but the most intriguing candidate is Tampa Bay closer Fernando Rodney. He notched 48 saves and a pristine 0.60 ERA, figures that certainly merit consideration for the top award. Ultimately, though, Price’ unparalleled numbers will lead to a Cy Young victory.

Last, but certainly not least, the National League Cy Young award will be handed to the New York Mets’ R.A Dickey - not just for the story, but for the statistics as well.

Dickey finished second in the National League with 20 wins, a 1.05 walks plus hits per inning pitched, 2.73 ERA and a league-leading 230 strikeouts. It is also important to note,

that with a uncontrollable knuckleball which baffled hitters throughout the league, Dickey only walked 54 batters. He also pitched back-to-back onehitters during interleague play this year, a feat that has not been matched by any other pitcher. The knuckleballer had 27 quality starts this year and pitched five complete games, three of which were shutouts.

The Washington Nationals’ Gio Gonzalez, Los Angeles Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw, Philadelphia Phillies’ Cole Hamels and Reds’ Johnny Cueto will all compete for the top prize but Dickey stands out in this category.

The regular season concluded in a photo finish, but the award season should not offer too many surprises as November approaches.

— Ben Freudman

just

Sports

Page 16

COLVIN’S CORNER Ed Colvin ’14 headlines a new core of the men’s cross country team and aims for a top finish at the national level, p. 15.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Waltham, Mass.

WOMEN’S SOCCER

MEN’S SOCCER

Women continue historic surge Judges

extend streak with two victories

■ The women’s soccer team,

at 10-1-1, is off to its best 12-game start in history after a victory and tie.

By JONAH PRICE JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The women’s soccer squad pelted potential goal after potential goal at Case Western Reserve University rookie goaltender Megan Romelfanger, hoping for the decisive goal that would lead to a crucial University Athletic Association victory.

The Judges’ luck ran out, though, as the team failed to notch a score in a 0-0 double-overtime draw. The team, though, notched a 4-1 victory against Babson College, their crosstown rivals, in a must-win local match last Thursday.

The Judges are now 11-1-1 overall and sport a 1-0-1 in University Athletic Association matches.

Brandeis dominated possession and controlled the offensive tempo, outshooting Case 29-16, while also notching 10 corner kicks to Case’s one. Forward Dara Spital ’15 also notched a notable eight shots on goal but Romelfanger proved to be impenetrable.

Both teams fought aggressively in the midfield for possession throughout the first half, unable to gain an advantage.

As the half progressed, however, Brandeis began to mount more of an offense, earning seven shots on goal in the half. Goaltender Francine Kofinas ’13 ultimately made two saves out of the seven shots Case offered.

The second half was a different story for the Judges. Brandeis outshot Case 14-2 and took three additional corner kicks. However, in the 58th minute, Brandeis’ chances of victory were suddenly on the line.

Netminder Michelle Savuto ’15 came up with a save on a shot destined for the top left corner, keeping Brandeis in the match. Spital, in the 59th minute, had a prime scoring opportunity with a powerful strike, but Romelfanger barely got her hands on the ball, tipping the shot up to the crossbar.

Brandeis had one final opportunity in the 71st minute as midfielder Holly Szafran ’16 ripped a shot from outside the 18-yard box, but the ball rose just over the goal.

■ The men’s soccer team

maintained its top-10 ranking with crucial wins versus Wheaton and Case.

By AVI GOLD JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

JON EDELSTEIN/the Justice

RACE TO THE FINISH: Forward Dara Spital ’15 jockeys with a Case Western defender for the ball in a 0-0 draw last Saturday.

Brandeis continued to dominate the first overtime on the offensive side of the ball, doubling Case’s shot total and posing a lockdown defense. Case managed to rally in the second overtime, outshooting Brandeis 5-3 and taking command of the midfield. However, at the end of the day, neither were able to produce a goal in an eventual tie.

Coach Denise Dallamora stated that she admired the team's perseverance throughout the game and regretted that the team could not

convert its efforts into a goal.

"They never quit," she said.

"I know we were the better team but did not score. I was happy with my team's work ethic and character."

The Judges, though, took care of business at home last Thursday with a crucial victory over local rival Babson – despite the tough conditions.

Szafran kicked off the scoring onslaught with a fifth-minute goal on the first shot of the game after

receiving a cross from Spital. Spital did not stop there. She had yet another assist, launching a deep throw which forward Sapir Edalati ’15 fired from the 18-yard box to give Brandeis a 2-0 lead. Edalati scored her second goal of the match just 11 minutes later, notching her first collegiate multi-goal game and handing Brandeis a sizeable 3-0 lead going into the second half. The Judges dominated possession of the

See WSOCCER, 13 ☛

volleyball

Squad ends its woes with a sweep at Wheaton ■ The women’s volleyball

squad halted a three-game losing streak with a 3-0 victory at Wheaton College.

By SEJUN LEE JUSTICE contributing WRITER

Having lost three games in a row, the womens’ volleyball team looked to get back on track on Thursday night against Wheaton College.

One 3-0 victory later, they did just that.

Liz Hood ’15 led the way offensively with 12 kills and Yael Einhorn ’14 recorded the only double-double of the night with 25 assists and 11 digs. Elsie Bernaiche ’15 had 10 digs and Si-Si Hensley ’14 contributed seven kills and seven digs.

The Judges, who made chemistry the focus of their match, were able to defeat the Lyons in three straight games by a total margin of 31 points,

winning 25-14, 25-13 and 25-17.

In the opening set, Brandeis burst out of the gates to a 7-2 advantage. The Lyons did pull to within four points but Brandeis ensured that it would not repeat its mistakes from past matches.

The Judges reeled off a 10-3 run to increase their lead to a sizable 21-10 margin, and from there, Brandeis cruised to a dominant first set victory.

Wheaton caused a scare for the Judges, eventually pulling to a 14-11 deficit, but once again, Brandeis took care of business en route to a 25-13 win.

The third set was a tight affair, featuring ten ties, but ultimately, Brandeis gained the upper hand with an 8-0 run to win the set and match.

Hood commented, “I think we had a lot of positive energy and were all ready to play. Our team chemistry was especially good last night and we played well from good passing and setting.”

Becca Fischer ’13, who added four kills, echoed Hood’s analysis of the Judges’ game and added, “We started the match with a really high energy and we were able to continue it throughout all three games."

Fischer also commented that the primary reason the team was so successful was largely due to their enhanced sense of team chemistry and their ability to work as a team.

"It was a huge team effort and I think the reason we did so well is because we worked as a team," she said.

"We picked up every ball, were putting down our hits and making sure that we were creating our points and not committing errors.”

The game plan of chemistry and minimizing mistakes seemed to have worked – the Judges only had 9 errors throughout 3 games while the Lyons committed 23. Brandeis was able to capitalize on these momentum-breaking errors made by Wheaton and finished all of their games on long runs of more than 6 unanswered points.

Si-Si Hensley ’14 mentioned, “Our team did really well yesterday and I’m really glad. I thought that what we did well was to minimize errors and maintain control of the pace of the game the entire time.”

With fewer injuries and more time for the athletes to get comfortable in their original lineups, the Judges seem to have gelled together well and are focused on improving.

The more mature, more developed Judges have entered their last month of the season and will need to continue that momentum as they head into the UAA Round Robin 2 hosted at Carnegie Mellon University, where they will face the likes of New York University, Chicago University, Emory University, and the host school over two days.

With the intensity of practices and united goal of not only winning but winning together, this Judges squad will undoubtedly impress and surprise many more people and athletes to come.

The Brandeis Judges completed an impressive week Saturday, beating Case Western Reserve University 2-0 on Gordon Field. The victory, on the heels of a 1-0 victory over Wheaton College Wednesday night, allowed Brandeis to extend its unbeaten streak to 17 games and move the team to 11-0-1 on the season.

Both games featured new players finding the score sheet.

Wednesday’s victory over Wheaton featured the second goal of the season by Tudor Livadaru ’14, his first game winner. “It felt pretty good. It was long awaited for,” said Livardu, who took a pass near the top of the box and buried it into the top right corner in the 71st minute for the game winner. Steve Salazar ’14 scored the first goal of his Brandeis career Saturday, converting a one-timer in the 72nd minute ensuring Saturday’s win.

The win over Case moved Brandeis to 1-0-1 in University Athletic Association competition.

The first half of the Case game was slow-paced, featuring a combined three shots on goal from a 12 shot total. After forcing Blake Minchoff ’13 to make a superb save in the 49th minute, Brandeis capitalized on the counter attack when midfielder Sam Ocel ’13 received a cross from Tyler Savonen ’15 and netted his team leading fourth game winner. The goal was Ocel’s fifth on the season, second to the nine from Lee Russo ’13.

After nearly allowing an equalizer in the 60th minute, Brandeis set itself up well for the insurance goal. After Livadaru beat a midfielder on the goal line, he left a pass in front of the net for Salazar, who one-touched it into a wide open net in the 72nd minute. The goal was Salazar’s first collegiate goal, and ensured the victory as the always-stingy Brandeis allowd only one shot by Case after Salazar’s goal. The shutout by Minchoff was his fifth during the season, second only to NYU and tied with Rochester.

Livadaru had a strong week, with an assist and a team-high three shots in Saturday’s win and the game winner in Wednesday’s win. His strong play Wednesday was complemented by the resurgent play of Robbie Lynch ’15.

Lynch, who made a number of runs down the right side of the pitch resulting in good chances for Brandeis, saw his performance prior to Wednesday as below par.

“I came off a groin injury last

See MSOCCER, 13 ☛

just

just

October 7,9,2012 2012 February

ARTS

festival

celebrates eclectic music for social activism

p. 23

Photo: Jenny Cheng, Olivia Pobiel, and Robyn Spector/the Justice. Design: Jenny Cheng/the Justice.

18

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012 ● THE JUSTICE

POP CULTURE

INSIDE ON CAMPUS

18

■ Chinese Autumn Gala

19

■ Fall Concert

20

■ Chum’s Concert

21

■ Boris’ Kitchen Show

21

Students present an exciting evening full of Chinese cultural performances.

Santigold and Theophilous London put on a great show at the annual Student Events’ annual Fall concert.

Twin Shadow gives a dazzling performance to a sweaty crowd in Chomondley’s.

At its fall semester show, Boris’ Kitchen once again brings the laughs.

21-24

OFF CAMPUS

■ ‘The Casual Vacancy’ Review 21 J.K. Rowling’s first novel since Harry Potter reveals the problems a small town endures.

■ ‘Perks of Being a Wallflower’ 22 Shafaq Hasan ‘14 praises the new movie, starring Logan Lerman and Emma Watson, based on a popular novel.

■ G.O.O.D. Music Album Review 23

West’s latest album, titled Cruel Summer, is a new style compared to his past work and is a product of his record company.

■ Mumford and Sons Review

23

■ Honk! Music Festival

23

The band’s latest album fails to impress.

This local music festival is a yearly tradition with great music and a charitable cause.

CALENDAR

Interview

by Erica Cooperberg

You might remember Amanda Bynes from your elementary school days, when she played Judge Trudy on her self-titled sketch show. But nowadays, she’s sitting on the other side of the courtroom. Her downward spiral was first publicly recognized in April, thanks to her pinkhaired mug shot that TMZ cleverly described as “to dye for”—and her trouble doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon.

The 26-year-old former actress—that’s right, she “retired” in September 2012—was never slated to travel down a path of destruction. In 2007, she told Access Hollywood, “I like being with my family and friends, and I don’t need to be out at the clubs.” Even in a 2009 interview with Cosmopolitan, she admitted to enjoying nightlife while still keeping her priorities in check: “I’m finding a balance. I can have a drink and dance if I want.” It was this honesty that kept her wholesome and makes her recent breakdown all the more saddening.

Her infamous mug shot was accompanied by a DUI arrest and rumors that she had sideswiped a police car—but Hollywood and beyond didn’t think anything of it. “An unfortunate end to an irresponsible night—now she’ll remember to take a cab home next time!” was the general response of the public.

Since then, Bynes has been charged with two hit-and-runs, in mid-April and August, during which she failed to exchange insurance information and call the police before leaving the scenes. Bynes’ response? Randomly tweeting President Barack Obama back in June, writing: “I don’t drink … Please fire the cop who arrested me. I also don’t hit and run” (FYI, the president has yet to assist Bynes with her legal battles).

At that point, her spiral was only just beginning to pick up force. To do a little “Amanda’s September” recap: Her license was suspended by the DMV, her car was impounded, and she has been incessantly compared to notoriously troubled former teen star Lindsay Lohan. So,

Fields produces ‘Into the Woods’ in the woods  Jessie Fields ’13 is directing the Freeplay Theatre Group’s ‘Into the Woods,’ premiering Thursday.

MCT CAMPUS

TEEN STAR: Amanda Bynes pre-celeb breakdown. naturally, in came the mental meltdown.

It began on Sept. 17, when TMZ reported that the bubbly Penny Pingleton from the 2007 film Hairspray locked herself in a dressing room for nearly two hours during a shopping trip.

She yelled to employees that she “needed more time” in the room—and then almost left the store without paying for a bathing suit top that she said she forgot she was wearing.

Then, US Weekly reported that a few days later while attending a spin class, Bynes stopped mid-class to take off her shirt, revealing her strapless, push-up bra. She then proceeded to fix her make-up in the mirror for a few minutes, reclothe herself and leave.

But the most upsetting part of the whole situation: Bynes herself is in ultimate denial. On Sept. 19 she told PEOPLE magazine, “I’m doing amazing. … I don’t drink and drive. [The DUI allegations are] all false.” I wish I could say I believe her.

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

ON-CAMPUS EVENTS

Close Looking: Carl Van Vechten

Prof. Faith Smith (ENG) and Prof. Nancy Scott (FA) will discuss and interpret the photography of Carl Van Vechten, an American portrait photographer and writer.

Tomorrow from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in Rapaporte Treasure Hall in the Goldfarb Library.

Body, Earth, and God: celebrating artist Helène Aylon

Helène Aylon, a pioneering installation artist, will read a section of her memoir Whatever is Contained Must be Released: My Jewish Orthodox Girlhood, My Life as a Feminist Artist. The reading will be followed by a slideshow and discussion of the intersection of Jewish identity and art. RSVP encouraged to hbi@brandeis.edu.

Tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in the Rose Art Museum.

‘Into the Woods’

The undergraduate-led Freeplay Theatre Collective will be presenting the Tony award-winning musical Into the Woods outside in the Sachar woods near campus.

Thursday through Saturday evening.

Email freeplaytheatre@gmail.com for location and starting times.

‘Or’

The Brandeis Players, a subgroup of the Undergraduate Theatre Collective, is presenting Liz Duffy Adams’ Or. The play takes place in 17th-century England and explores the life of Aphra Behn, a playwright, spy and mistress of King Charles II. Thursday at 8 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Tickets cost $5 or $3 with a Brandeis ID.

Fall Fest Fairy Tale Trivia night A timeless favorite among Brandeis students. Come test your knowledge of fairy tale characters.

Thursday at 10 p.m. in the Stein Restaurant.

Fall Fest Variety Show A talent show featuring Brandeis students.

Performances include a cappella groups, dance ensembles and more.

Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Levin Ballroom.

Fall Fest Concert: Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra and University Chorus The University Chorus, directed by Prof.

James Olsen (MUS), will perform Franz Schbert’s G Major Mass. The Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra, conducted by Prof. Neal Hampton (MUS), performs Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor.

Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Slosberg Music Center.

Tribute to Irving Fine

A concert in memory of composer and former Prof. Irving Fine (MUS), founder of the School of Creative Arts. Prof. Neal Hampton

MCT CAMPUS

COLORFUL TRIO: The Blue Man Group will perform at the Charles Playhouse on Thursday.

(MUS) will conduct “Serious Song: A Lament for String Orchestra” and Notturno for Strings and Harp, performed by the Lydian String Quartet and their colleagues. Composer Richard Wernick ‘55, Prof. Emeritus Yehudi Wyner (MUS) and Prof. Emeritus Martin Boykan (MUS) will share their memories of Fine.

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

OFF-CAMPUS EVENTS ‘War Horse’

As World War I begins, Joey, young Albert’s beloved horse, is sold to the cavalry and shipped from England to France. He’s soon caught up in enemy fire, and fate takes him on an extraordinary journey, serving on both sides before finding himself alone in no man’s land. But Albert cannot forget Joey and, still not old enough to enlist, he embarks on a treacherous mission to find him and bring him home.

This powerfully moving and imaginative drama, filled with stirring music and songs, is a show of phenomenal inventiveness that is currently playing to packed houses in London and New York City. At its heart are astonishing life-sized puppets created by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company, that bring to life breathing, galloping, charging horses strong enough for men to ride.

Tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the Boston Opera House.

Clannad

In a career spanning four decades, Irish group Clannad has made music that entwines the traditional and the modern, the past and the future, with stunningly beautiful results. With their haunting songs, mesmerizing vocals and captivating sound, the

award-winning group has sold over 10 million records worldwide. The acclaimed Irish group consists of siblings Moya, Ciaran and Pol Brennan along with their twin uncles Noel and Padraig Duggan. For this close-knit group, their musical journey is both remarkable in its personal accomplishment and historic in its contributions to Irish culture.

Tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at the Berklee Performance Center, Berklee College of Music. Tickets are between $49.50 and $59.50.

‘Beat Generation’ by Jack Kerouac

The world premiere of the play is the centerpiece of the 2012 Jack Kerouac Literary Festival, which will be held Oct. 10 to 14 in Lowell, Mass., Kerouac’s hometown. The festival, held every two years by UMass Lowell —Lowell Celebrates Kerouac! and numerous other community partners—features a variety of programs inspired by Kerouac’s works and life in Lowell and showcases prominent contemporary authors. This year’s theme is “Writing and Music.”

Beat Generation is a story of friendship and karma set in the 1950s and its characters and dialogue capture the Beat mentality at the roots of American counterculture as only Kerouac could.

The play’s premiere is being presented in Lowell with the support and collaboration of Kerouac Literary Estate representative John Sampas.

Thursday at 2:00 p.m. at the Merrimack Repertory Theater. Tickets range from $40 to $100.

Blue Man Group

The famed Blue Man Group will be performing old and new routines in their comedic fashion.

Thursday at 8:00 p.m. at the Charles Playhouse in Boston.

JustArts spoke with Jessie Fields ’13 about her experience directing Into the Woods and her decision to stage the show in the woods near the Brandeis campus in the evening.

JustArts: What is the play about?

JF: Into the Woods is an explosion of fairy tale characters. The play centers on the baker (Ben Gold ‘13) and his wife (Jamie Perutz ’13) who are told by the local witch (Gabriella Feingold ’14) that they have been cursed with childlessness. In order to reverse the curse they must retrieve four objects, and in the pursuit they encounter a slew of storybook favorites including Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, and Jack—each trying to achieve their own wishes as they go. Despite the fun premise, Into the Woods is an exploration of deep themes like social responsibility, loss, love and what’s truly important in life.

JustArts: What has your experience been, in general, directing Into the Woods?

Jessie Fields: It’s been a fantastic experience. It’s actually a larger cast than I’ve ever worked with before. Seventeen kids. But they’re all wonderful. I could not have asked for a better group of people to work with. And they’re very interested in exploring this in a new way, because I think Into the Woods is a play that’s done the same way a lot of times, and what we wanted to do was put our own spin on it, ... to give it that little something else.

But it’s been a fantastic experience, and it’s a great work. I mean, Sondheim. There could hardly be any more themes in there to explore if you wanted there to be. There’s a lot of stuff in there, and I hope we did a great job with it. I think that they’re doing a great job.

JustArts: What is it like rehearsing in the woods?

JF: Well, it’s hard because of the sun. Classic theater rehearsal hours are 7 to 11 p.m., and the sun is down during those hours. So that’s a problem. So, we have generators to plug our lights in, but we could not get them until noconflict week, so before that, if we wanted to rehearse in the woods, we’d either have to have rehearsal on Saturday, which our cast was very nice about and would meet us during the day with the beautiful sun to guide our way, or we would rehearse 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. instead of 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. and have that first hour outside, and then go inside and work on exploring and blocking before taking it back outside. Now we’re in the woods all the time, though.

Aside from that, ... it’s been great. We have a really good space, and one of the fun things about the production is building our set around the woods. We wanted to really work with it, so we’ve got a treehouse, we’ve got some platforms in between trees, and some steps up into trees, so just working with it has been fun. I think it also helps with the environment because being in the woods helps give the actors more to work with than just being inside a room with trees made of Styrofoam and sadness.

JustArts: Has this idea of having a show in its literal setting ever been done before at Brandeis?

JF: I don’t know.

JustArts: Are you trying to set a precedent?

JF: I would like to set a precedent of creativity and thinking outside the box; ... you don’t have to go into the woods. ... But yeah, I definitely encourage people to think outside of the box. It adds something that you could never get sitting in a theater, looking behind a fourth wall backstage.

JustArts: And what led you to choose Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods as your fall production?

JF: I love Sondheim. Oh God, I love Sondheim. It was also my last production with Freeplay [Theatre Group]. In the spring, I’m doing my thesis. Me and my stage manager, Rachel Hubbard ’14, always do a show together, and this was our last one together, so we wanted to make it special. We both love the show, and we thought it would be meaningful to the student body at this time. It talks a lot about social responsibility, taking care of people around you and knowing that your actions can affect a great number of people. Just a good message.

JustArts: What is it that intrigues you about Sondheim’s work?

JF: Sondheim is a master of using details to build a hugely emotional and powerful show.

I have encountered no other playwright who comes close to the level of cleverness and intricacy Sondheim achieves, let alone who is able to tackle huge issues—like raising a child, or losing someone you love—with such insight and heart-wrenching accuracy. Into the Woods is a perfect example of his skill in combining intelligence with emotion.

— Phil Gallagher

THE JUSTICE

PERFORMANCE REVIEW

Twin Shadow raises temperature in Chum’s ■ Twin Shadow delivered a

strong performance in Usen Castle to an enthusiastic audience on Saturday.

By Joe Crook JUSTICE contributing WRITER

If you go to Cholmondeley’s on a typical Saturday night, you usually have plenty of space to move around, chat with your peers or maybe even catch one of Brandeis‘ many a cappella groups. However, the packed, hot and sweaty scene at Chum’s the Saturday night of Sept. 29 suggested a different story.

Following the successful Student Events billing of Santigold and Theophilus London in Gosman Sports and Convocation Center for the annual Fall Fest Concert, Brandeis was lucky enough to have the critically acclaimed George Lewis, Jr., who records under the moniker Twin Shadow, take a stop off his Ton Up North American Tour and play to a small (relative to his other shows on tour), but eager, crowd in the packed intimacy of Chum’s.

For those of you who have never heard of Twin Shadow, this is kind of a big deal. With a haunting take on 80s new wave combined with his own hazy brand of contemporary pop, George Lewis, Jr. has risen rapidly through the indie music ranks to become one of its most recognized figures. George Lewis Jr. started as Twin Shadow in 2006, after relocating to Brooklyn, N.Y. from Boston.

During his time in Boston, Lewis undertook various musical occupations that ranged from composing for a touring dance company to fronting the punk band Mad Man Films.

Since his relocation to Brooklyn and subsequent artistic reinvention, Lewis started recording and performing under the name Twin Shadow. His ascension began when Chris Taylor, bassist of fellow indie giant Grizzly Bear, took notice and promptly signed Lewis to his Terrible Records label along with producing his debut album, Forget, in 2010, which was placed among Pitchfork’s Top 50 Albums list for that year. Fast forward two years, and Twin Shadow has come out with yet another critically acclaimed album, Confess, which is largely inspired by a motorcycle crash he survived a few years ago, pushing

his sound in a deeper and darker direction without sacrificing the pop sensibilities that got him where he is today.

Now, back to the show. The mood was set as opening act Silent Drape Runners performed a sort of spoken word over grainy, lo-fi electronic beats. Silent Drape Runners, a Brooklyn-based duo consisting of Russ Marshalek and Sophie Weiner (a former Brandeis student) provided more of a creepy ambience than a live show, as they performed in the back of the venue while the crowd continuously piled in for the main act. The duo performed a few originals and Weiner, who was on the mic, ruminated intermittently on various topics such as the Furby that accompanied them, the main act following, and even her experiences at Brandeis itself. Following this, Marshalek took to his laptop for a short DJ set in between acts.

After around 20 minutes, with no announcement, a few black-clad figures casually strolled through the crowd and took to the stage. Twin Shadow was about to perform.

The time was somewhere around 11:30 p.m. and Chum’s was packed.

The 100-something students lucky enough to grab tickets from WBRS before they ran out were eagerly awaiting the rare treat of having such an acclaimed artist perform in the intimate setting of the campus coffeehouse. While tickets were in fact sold out prior to the show, not everyone with a ticket came, so a good portion of the large line that formed outside the venue, a testament to Twin Shadow’s popularity and following, was allowed in. As Twin Shadow and his comrades broke into the first song, something of a sensory overload occurred. The second Lewis struck the first note on his guitar, an array of lightbulbs lit up the mic stands and amplifiers as a fog machine slowly enveloped the crowd, giving each audience member an intimate moment with his or her own respective twin shadow.

This grandiose explosion of energy within the intimate confines of the venue defined the larger than life atmosphere that Twin Shadow evoked throughout the night. Three songs into the set, Twin Shadow brought out his hit from recent album Confess, entitled “5 Seconds.”

That was all the time the crowd needed to erupt in ecstatic revelry.

The audience continued to ride this energetic wave throughout the night. However, it crested halfway

through the show when Lewis heard that it was someone in the venue’s birthday. Moments after hearing the news, Lewis gave a birthday present that wouldn’t soon be forgotten.

The timeless chords of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana punctured the air as he transformed the classic into a custom happy birthday song for Holden Collick ’14. As a result of all this excitement, Collick elevated himself above the audience in a celebratory 21st birthday crowd surf.

From this point on, the fog machine obfuscated the stage and all that could be seen were the continuously flashing lights. Looking at the stage from the crowd was like being in the middle of a lightning storm soundtracked by the thunderous propulsion of Twin Shadow’s music. It definitely felt hot and sticky enough inside Chum’s, the perfect recipe for such weather. Lewis recognized this and prompted the audience members to take their shirts off, and, being as hot it was, the crowd gladly took the excuse to strip down a layer or two.

Winding down the set, Twin Shadow closed with the song “Golden Light,” a perfect description of what could be seen at that point—the warm glow of the lights shining through the billowing fog that permeated the venue.

Just like a lightning storm, the show seemed over before it started.

Not because it was short by any means, but because the hazy, introspective atmosphere it provided made it easy to get lost in the sights, sounds and lyrics that reverberated around the venue during Twin Shadow’s performance. As his past two album titles, Forget and Confess suggest, Lewis’ music evokes a darkly romantic connection to the past. Through dark-leaning pop and vintage bass-lines, Twin Shadow looks at these moments retroactively and provides a lighter musical counterpart to contrast the darker lyrics, resulting in a cathartic and memorable experience to be had by all.

With nearly everyone shirtless in a cloud of fog by the end of the show, Twin Shadow provided the perfect ending to a rare, intimate performance. There was no doubt that as the set winded down, everyone was on the same wavelength—equally into the music, and equally wondering if a show could ever match the energy, intimacy and experience provided that crisp fall night in Chum’s coffeehouse.

OLIVIA POBIEL/the Justice

SMOKING PERFORMANCE: George Lewis, Jr. performs an impressive set in a very humid Chomondley’s on Saturday evening.

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TUESDAY, october 9, 2012

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ART THROUGH CULTURE

KARINA WAGENPFEIL/the Justice

LOVE STORY: Two students sing on stage in the Greater Chinese Mid-Autumn Gala.

Students perform Chinese culture ■ The Greater Chinese Mid-

Autumn Gala took place last Saturday, featuring several student performances.

By Emily wishingrad JUSTICE contributing WRITER

Levin Ballroom, overflowing with students was teeming with excitement and laughter for the “Brandeis 2012 Greater Chinese Mid-Autumn Gala” Saturday, Sept.

30th. The gala lasted four hours and featured 17 performances, each with distinct personalities. The acts ranged from solo vocal to Tai Chi to hip-hop dance. The performances combined traditional and modern aspects of Chinese culture and the snacks were in keeping with the theme. There were traditional moon cakes (soft, very sweet Chinese pastries filled with cooked egg yokes), as well as more modern snacks such as Doritos and York Peppermint Patties on every table for viewers to enjoy.

The event opened with an upbeat student rock band, fronted by Yiping Tang ‘15 with Shuping Zhang ’15 on vocals, Mishi Shi ’15 on drums, Yizhou Shen ’15 on guitar and Xiaoyu Yang ’15 on electric piano. The performance got the crowd moving in their seats and excited for more. In a particularly sweet performance near the beginning of the show, entitled “My Song, My Heart.” Chengyu Li MA’13 and Ran Gao MA ’14 sang a ballad while walking towards each other, from opposite ends of the ballroom.

They then met in the middle of the ballroom in a dramatic, romantic moment. The melodramatic tone of the performance caused the crowd to wave their arms over their heads in time with the song.

After the performance, students shouted the Chinese equivalent of “encore.” However, to the crowd’s disappointment, the couple yielded the stage to the next act.

One of the more traditional performances was a Chinese crosstalk, performed completely in Mandarin. A crosstalk, Xiangsheng in Mandarin, is a satirical oral performance, which is used to make fun of people, often political figures.

Two students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Zijiao Zhao and Binghong Han, who were dressed in traditional Chinese robes, performed a long dialogue in Mandarin about a bored Ph.D. student who experiences time travel due to various injuries. From a non-mandarin speaker’s perspective, the crosstalk was obviously incomprehensible and thus made the fairly long performance rather boring. It also seemed like the Mandarin speakers weren’t completely enthralled either. There was a copious amount of background noise as the audience chatted amongst themselves. Wenxi Zhao ’16 explained to me that since the crosstalk is such a traditional comedy

act, the Mandarin speakers had heard the same kinds of crosstalk humor many times. Because of this, the audience was not very amused.

A group jazz dance was very popular and excited the crowd. First, female dancers performed Ellie Golding’s “Starry Eyed” and were then joined by male dancers when they came out to the song “Boys”

by Britney Spears. Wenxi was one of the female dancers in this dance and commented on the recruitment of the male dancers. “We tried very hard to get boys into this dance because Chinese boys are shy, much more shy than girls. It’s different from the United States’ culture,” she said. Wenxi also talked about her experience putting on a show after so few rehearsals, saying “we practiced three or four times, each time for two hours,” but she said, “in the end we had a great time. I don’t know how the audience reacted but at least we had a good time.” On a personal level, Wenxi described what she learned: “no matter what kind of girl you are, when you are on the stage you must maintain your confidence. We had to do the right movements, but also make them sexy.”

Toward the end of the gala, seven students, Linli Xu MA ‘14, Hao Zhang MA ’13, Changyue Hong, Wentao Zhu MA ’13, Xiaoyun Hu, Jingyu Xu MA ’14, and Lixuan Zheng MA ’13 put on a Chinese dramatic comedy; “Ms. Bai at Brandeis”, performed completely in Mandarin. In the skit, an engaged couple added to the humor by cross-dressing. The man wore a bridal dress complete with a veil and heavy makeup, while the woman wore skinny jeans and a masculine top.

According to Wenxi, crossdressing is a large part of Chinese humor. By the Mandarin speakers, at least, the performance was very well received and the crowd cheered and laughed along with the cast. For the non-Mandarin speakers, however, it was not as entertaining. At the beginning of each act, an announcer gave a one or two line summary in English, but the summary was not very helpful especially since it was very hard to hear.

The event culminated in a lively rendition of PSY’s “Gangnam Style” complete with singing and its infamous “horse-riding” dance.

A bountiful Chinese feast followed the performances. The food was very popular, and the line extended across the whole ballroom. Nearly breaking the paper plates, students loaded up on the innumerable dishes. The gala was a joyous celebration of fall and taught the whole Brandeis community about the annual event in a very fun way.

As Wenxi told me, it is traditional in Chinese culture to do a gala as a celebration, in this case, a celebration of autumn. There will be another gala at Brandeis in the springtime.

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THE JUSTICE

PHOTO TITLE ALL CAPS

PHOTOS BY JENNY CHENG/the Justice

ROCKING OUT: Santigold and Theophilus London (top left) perform live at the Student Events-sponsored concert this past Saturday night. Hundreds of students turned out at the concert to hear them play.

Fall performance strikes a high note ■ At the annual fall concert,

Santigold and Theophilus London attracted hundreds of students to enjoy the show.

By Eli Kaminsky JUSTICE contributing WRITER

“We want music!” repeatedly chanted an audience of over 100 students, huddled together in the front of the Shapiro Gym stage at the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center on Saturday Sept. 29. The continuously growing crowd that would eventually amass to approximately 850 people was restless.

Every fall, Student Events hosts a fall concert, which, this semester, featured the groovy, dance-rooted hip-hop of British rapper Theophilus London and Santigold’s experimental, almost unclassifiable music.

The crowd went crazy when Theophilus London, accompanied by a full band, took the stage, hands waving, smiling widely. The rapper displayed an exuberant stage

persona, jumping from side to side in his leather jacket, flat-rimmed baseball cap and circular-lensed sunglasses, dragging his microphone and stand, embodying Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler.

London received significant crowd participation on two infectuously catchy hits, “Last Name London,” and “Love is Real” off his album, Timez Are Weird These Days. London is by no means as widely known as other rappers such as Jay-Z, Kanye West or even A$AP Rocky and Childish Gambino, so it was surprising to see that a significant portion of the crowd did know at least the choruses of these two tunes. Everyone was jumping and singing, matching London’s energy.

A concert will only be as fun as the performer is having, and this was certainly the case for Theophilus London’s set.

Santi “Santigold” White is known throughout the music business for her absolute eclectic eccentricity in all her projects, videos, songs and performances. It is difficult to even categorize Santigold’s music, which has rock, hip-hop, electronic, reggae,

indie and soul influences. Her set at Brandeis’ Fall Concert could not have more perfectly exemplified her crazy, unique style.

Soon after Theophilus departed from the stage, two dancers in matching white-and-green dresses and white glasses with black lenses, a drummer and guitarist/keyboardist in square white hats, white shortshorts and bizarre tops marched up the staircase. They subtly found their respective posts while the audience members screamed as Santigold walked onto stage, decked out in a black-and-gold dress that would later be abandoned for a bright green one.

Santigold kicked off the show, fittingly, with the ominous “GO!,” the opener off her most recent release, 2012’s Master of My Make Believe, which then flowed confidently into her smash “L.E.S. Artistes” from her 2008 eponymous debut. Other highlights of the show included “Creator,” “The Keepers,” “Disparate Youth” and her cover of Major Lazer’s “Hold the Line,” on which she is featured.

Visually, Santigold’s performance

was incredible. She and her band changed outfits several times to fit the persona of each song. The two matching dancers paraded around the stage in perfect synchronization waving umbrellas, jumping, running, dancing and waving their hands. Even more visually shocking than the dancers was the giant horse costume that made several appearances, giving the show not only a weird but also a somewhat humorous vibe. At the same time, however, the Philadelphian singer-songwriter showed her personable and rightminded side when she invited the entire front of the audience onto the stage and proceeded to promote voting and free speech. Some students found her statements tacky and unnecessary, though it is always nice to see artists directly voicing their opinions outside of their music.

Brandeis is certainly known to have politically and artsy-minded creative students, so bringing less mainstream artists such as Santigold and Theophilus London was a greater success here than it might have been elsewhere. Nearly a quarter of

the undergraduate population purchased a ticket to the event and most of them had been talking about it for weeks prior.

Overall, Santigold’s music is quite odd and is really an acquired taste that I wonder how many attendants have. Her work finds listeners divided into groups—those that tolerate her eccentricity and those that find themselves simply overwhelmed.

The only issue that was agreed upon unanimously was the poor sound quality of the venue. It was quite difficult to hear Theophilus London in particular. Ultimately, his show became visual more than anything else, whereas Santigold’s more eerie music actually works in an echoing venue. Craig Rothenberg ’16 said, “The acoustics in the gym weren’t great, so it was difficult to hear either act well, but I still really enjoyed the concert.” To add onto Rothenberg’s assessment, the show was a massive party, so the less-than-perfect aural experience did not subtract greatly from the overall enjoyability, leaving Alden Reiman ’16 with one word: “phenomenal.”

OLIVIA POBIEL/the Justice

DANCE TEAM: Santigold and her backup dancers and band perform on stage at the Fall Concert in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center. The audience loved her funky style and unique sound.

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012

COMEDIC GENIUS

Crowd laughter engulfs Merrick Theater ■ At their annual semester

performance, The Old Sh*t Show, Boris’ Kitchen cast members entertain the student audience with humorous short skits.

By rACHEL HUGHES JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Last Thursday, Oct. 9, marked an exciting night for Brandeis’ sketch comedy troupe, Boris’ Kitchen.

Their annual performance, The Old Sh*t Show, was held at the Merrick Theater in the Spingold Theater Center. Upon opening the theater’s front door, friendly chatter and laughter could be heard from down the windy hallway minutes before the show even started. First-years through seniors, audience members cozied up to one another, sitting closely together on the floor of the mediumsized theater and eagerly craning to see the performers work their magic.

Boris’ Kitchen has been making Brandeis laugh for over two and a half decades, and their hilarious tradition is being kept strong by a growing cast every year. Out of a dozen performers in total, Thursday’s show featured new members Emily Duggan ’15, and Dennis Hermida ’16, Jason Kasman ’16 and Deesha Patel ’16.

As the lights dimmed a few minutes after 8 p.m., the stark white theater resonated with an uproarious wave of applause and cheers. As students in the audience called out to their friends who were about to perform, one couldn’t help but smile.

The show opened with a sketch about a boy and a girl arguing over the best times and places to eat pizza bagels— in the operating room, at a funeral, anytime at all, really—which the audience absolutely loved. So much, in fact, that sitting in the crowd, I could even see people around me inching closer to the performers as the show went on.

The third sketch was an audience favorite, as several performers sat at desks and put on high-pitched, childlike voices and looked to a frazzled teacher chasing pills (candy) with a bottle of Jack (liquor not included). The “kids” were hilarious, and each played up stereotypes we are all familiar with, like the troublemaker boys who poke fun and the class know-it-all. The “teacher” announced to the class that it was the day for a sex education lecture due to budget cuts, and the first massive wave of laughter from the audience ensued. The know-it-all cried out “But teacher, we’re only in second grade!” and an even more massive wave of laughter erupted. Even she didn’t know enough to get the humor of the teacher’s outrageous routine, the hilarity was certainly not lost on the audience. By the end of the sketch, among several other bizarre but sidesplitting moments, the teacher’s pet read from a racy, 50

Shades of Grey-esque romance novel in order to teach the lesson, and the entire class burst out bawling when they figured out what the book was really about and that, no, there was no friendly stork who dropped them at their parents’ doorstep one lucky day. The audience went wild with laughter, probably wishing that they too could revert to their second -grade selves and cry hysterically from time to time.

My personal favorite sketch was one that received the most laughter and started with a simple premise: a doctor and a patient. The patient, a young man who was new in town, waited twitchily to see the town’s most-beloved doctor. The doctor entered, swathed in a brightly colored costume, bobbing her head and pulsing her hips to some exotic beat heard only by her, staring intently at the quizzical patient. She asked him where his pain was—rather asked him to show her—and whipped out a voodoo doll and a stick to poke it with. He hesitantly touched the stick to the doll and the “doctor” shrieked in pain, then erupted with laughter, with a “just kidding!” I probably laughed the loudest at this one.

There were upwards of a dozen sketches in all, appealing to different types of humor. They were shocking, subtle, outrageous and not one left the audience wanting for a laugh.

Other sketches ranged from bacon fights to accidentally drinking from a bidet, from a son overhearing his parents having phone sex to Mario and Luigi getting in trouble with the law. In a word, the show was hysterical.

COMICAL COP: Michael Frederikse ’15, acting as a police officer, arrests and grabs the mustache of Yoni Bronstein ’13.

“

The sketches addressed serious themes–religion, social conflicts in history, stereotyping and prejudice, politics–with humor but never in a way that was offensive.

Although one may not have realized it at first viewing, after reflecting on the show, it is clear that it was much more than just a comedic performance. The sketches addressed serious themes—religion, social conflicts in history, stereotyping and prejudice, politics—with humor but never in a way that was offensive.

The performers’ comfort in front of a large, leering group added immensely to their sketches. Each member of Boris’ Kitchen had obviously invested hours in rehearsing, as every laughable line was delivered seamlessly and their comedic timing was commendable. When the next Old Sh*t Show rolls around, Brandeisians will be truly missing out if they choose not to go.

BOOZY STORYTIME: Michelle Wexler ’15 reads a book to a tired Emily Duggan ’15, who is seated near pills and alcohol.

PHOTOS BY JON EDELSTEIN/ the JUSTICE

SKETCHY HUMOR: The members of Boris’ Kitchen entertain the audience at their semester show on Oct. 9 in Merrick Theatre. At left, Emily Duggan ’15 and Jason Kasman ’16. At right, Christopher Knight ’14.

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THE JUSTICE

movie review

‘Wallflower’ emerges as a standout film ■ Based off popular book by

Stephen Chbosky, the ‘Perks of Being a Wallflower’ is a dynamic and exciting movie.

By Shafaq hasan JUSTICE editor

In the simplest sense, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a movie steeped in nostalgia. While we may have nestled into our college lives after a few years, we all remember in some sense what it feels like to be sixteen—the anxieties of fitting in, the challenge of being yourself and the impossible task of figuring out the opposite sex. The Perks of Being a Wallflower reminds viewers that while these fears may ease with age, they remain lifelong struggles.

Set in Pittsburgh in the early 1990s, Charlie, (Logan Lerman), is starting out his freshman year of high school as an unpopular, sensitive and seemingly traumatized adolescent. He’s going back to school after a difficult previous year; his best friend committed suicide, and he is struggling to fight back his own encroaching depression and anxiety.

Lonely and lost, Charlie attempts to adjust to the wear and tear of high school while Patrick (Ezra Miller) and his stepsister Sam (Emma Watson), Charlie’s love interest, enter the picture. The two misfits and their group of friends take Charlie under their collective wing and introduce him to the unfamiliar world of drugs and friendship. Stephen Chbosky, the novel’s author, also directs the movie. Chboksy’s heart-wrenching narrative will undoubtedly strike a chord and compel viewers to return again and again to this story.

The main characters struggle with the issues still plaguing us as we climb into our twenties: feeling lonely, under-loved or misunderstood.

During the film’s few hours, you’ll be transported to your own first experience getting “baked as a cake” by a substance-enhanced pastry.

You’ll be reminded of the constant challenge of managing your evolving relationships and navigating the uncertain waters of unwanted feelings. It’s a shame the movie was primarily marketed toward teenagers; in many ways, the movie—like the book—has the unique and rare ability to transcend all demographics.

Though closely following the book, the film version isn’t afraid to change the story and tweak the dialogue. While several poignant lines from the book, like “We are infinite” and “I want to make sure that the

first person you kiss loves you,” are interestingly woven into the movie, other parts from the book are altered and some are cut altogether. But it’s that fearlessness that will give past readers the invaluable joy of rediscovering this story and leave new viewers with a haunting experience.

Where many high school dramas are afraid to go, this film dives into the darkest territories of adolescence with realism and grace. The last 15 minutes of the film will have new viewers reeling and dedicated fans digging their nails into their skin as they anticipate the end. The film’s dark underbelly propels Perks beyond the clichéd, traditional coming-of-age narrative into a more well-rounded look at the challenges that teenagers face.

Luckily, Miller’s comedic performance as Patrick provides the perfect counterweight to balance the more serious tone of the film. While Patrick is openly gay and unperturbed by the bullying he encounters in high school, Patrick’s boyfriend, the popular quarterback played by Johnny Simmons, is caught between embracing his sexuality and hiding it from his friends and family. While Miller is able to deliver his character’s self-assured and witty oneliners, he can also turn around to sympathetically portray a tortured young gay man dealing with rejection and depression.

Perhaps the only element in the film that outshines Miller’s chameleon-like acting is Lerman, the lead actor. When you get past his arresting good looks, you realize Lerman innately understands the vulnerabilities and excruciating wounds Charlie bears in the novel. He loves unconditionally and without judgment. While Miller and Watson’s unrestrained individualism is sometimes unrealistic, Lerman makes Charlie relatable and endearing.

His performance pushes through the fourth wall so the viewer feels these emotions with Charlie: his happiness as he makes his first friends in high school, his heartbreak when Sam chooses someone else to love and his anxiety of an impending emotional breakdown. Charlie jumps out of the book and onto the screen with the Pittsburgh backdrop, embodying the heartwarming earnestness and innocence of the original lonely boy.

That being said, Watson’s performance opposite Lerman proves to be the weakest element in the film, but it’s not entirely her fault. Playing the world-shifting femme fatale is never easy. While there’s incred-

JOHN BRAMLEY/MCT CAMPUS

LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP: Charlie (Logan Lerman) and Sam (Emma Watson) attend the yearly high school Sadie Hawkins dance. ible depth and potential to Sam’s character, she is somewhat underdeveloped—perhaps a flaw of having the narrative told from Charlie’s perspective.

The movie never fully realizes exactly what it is about Sam that Charlie finds so moving. Alongside Lerman’s rendering of the hopeful and bleary-eyed Charlie, Watson’s acting falls short.

But even this, albeit significant, flaw can’t and won’t detract from the beauty of the story. The genius of the film is its ability to render the viewer completely vulnerable so that when Charlie says, “We accept the love we think we deserve,” it is life-affirming, even to those of us who have already read the book.

JOHN BRAMLEY/MCT CAMPUS

LATE-NIGHT DRIVE: Sam, Charlie and Patrick bond while driving through town.

Book review

‘The Casual Vacancy’ explores somber realities ■ J.K. Rowling’s new book

‘The Casual Vacancy’ is starkly different than Harry Potter but still is a provocative read.

By Jessie miller JUSTICE editorial assistant

I am part of the generation who grew up with Harry, Ron and Hermione, immersing myself into their magical world and learning life lessons at the same time. Therefore, when I heard J.K. Rowling was publishing her first non-Harry Potter series novel, I couldn’t resist grabbing a copy of the book. To the woman who gave me years of entertainment, I could surely give a few hours of my time to read the latest fruits of her labor, The Casual Vacancy.

Within five pages of the novel, a character drops dead in a golf club parking lot. From there on, the book centers on the aftereffects of Barry Fairbrother’s death and in doing so reveals the inner lives of other town residents.

Located far outside the outskirts of London, Pagford is a small, quiet town in England with a mainly white, middle-class demographic. However, after a controversial scandal and battle with neighboring town Yarvil, the lower-class, poor area called the Fields is forced to merge with the town of Pagford.

ANDREW MONTGOMERY/ WALL TO WALL MEDIA LTD.

MAGICAL WORDSMITH: J.K. Rowling once again proves her proclivity with writing.

Fairbrother’s, a former council member, death leaves a casual vacancy—the title’s inspiration—within the parish council, and this void soon sparks a bitter schism within the small community, pitting conservative against liberal, rich against poor and even father against son. The council calls for an election, with the vacant seat holding the key vote on

two divisive issues: the closing of an addiction clinic and the disincorporation of the Fields to save the money in the town budget.

Though the plot is substantial and progresses naturally, the defining aspects of Rowling’s book are the characters. Within 500 pages, Rowling manages to create an entire ensemble of a town, giving almost every char-

acter a distinct voice and background story. Each chapter is told from the point of view of a different character, allowing the reader multiple viewpoints into the problems of Pagford and a greater understanding of how the conflict affected each individual.

I found myself developing a connection with certain aspects of a character, recognizing the desperation of teenage Sukhvinder Jawanda, the compassion and dedication of social worker Kay Bawden and the anger of Andrew Price.

The most heartbreaking character is Krystal Wheedon, a teenager from the Fields. Her mother, Terri, is a drug addict and a mess of a mother to Krystal and her younger brother Robbie. Their father is non-existent; their house is basically uninhabitable; and their basic needs in life, like food and parenting, are hardly met. However, before his death, Fairbrother takes Krystal under his guidance when she joins the school rowing team, and his significance, though she often denies it, is profound on her life. My heart ached for Krystal. Though she was only a character on a page, I so badly wished she would get the help she deserved and make a better life for herself and her brother.

Rowling does not fail to produce a thought-provoking, introspective novel. Like the Harry Potter stories, the true message often lies below the surface, waiting for the readers

to discover it themselves on their own terms. In The Casual Vacancy, Rowling demonstrates the downfall of society: the darker side of human nature that consists of selfishness and resentment, along with the inability to get past one’s own bias and do something to make a necessary change in the broader community.

Rowling’s novel exposes the bitter, raw truth of human beings. They can be absolutely terrible and sometimes truly maniacal. They can let minor disagreements fracture their community and even their own families.

Within the novel, Rowling deals with incredibly sensitive issues, including child abuse, rape, addiction, depression, death and religious intolerance; in response, it is an emotionally heavy novel that exemplifies actions and values usually seen as deplorable in society. Despite the fact that the novel gained its fame from its author rather than its plotline, it is still a worthwhile and insightful read.

It is no stroke of genius or a Pulitzer Prize-winner, but Rowling’s legendary voice cannot be ignored. As in Harry Potter, the characters spring to life off the pages and you are drawn into the mystical world she deftly creates. The Casual Vacancy may not involve magic wands, flying cars or evil wizards, but this Muggle world still invokes a critical human truth about society while engaging the reader in the journey of the small town.

THE JUSTICE

ALBUM REVIEW

plenty of famous voices, but the main artist’s voice gets lost in the album tracks.

By jOY FEAGAN JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

Cruel Summer is not a Kanye West album and anyone preparing to listen to it needs to know that. Rather, a G.O.O.D. Music album featuring 23 different artists, only one of whom is Kanye West. G.O.O.D. Music is a record label started by Kanye West in 2004, and it has since signed some of the biggest artists in music including John Legend, Common and Kid Cudi. All of the other G.O.O.D. Music artists are much less well-known; thus, it was a smart marketing tactic for West to release an album with both big and small names, giving his less-popular artists a huge amount of exposure. In addition to the famous acts on the G.O.O.D. Music roster, Cruel Summer also features some of West’s successful friends including Jay-Z, R. Kelly and Ghostface Killah.

With such a star-studded lineup led

by West, the king of high expectations, Cruel Summer had a lot of hype to live up to. Websites such as Pitchfork and Global Grind made excited posts about the album long before it was released.

Unfortunately, the album comes across as forgettable. Cruel Summer is a compilation album, but some efforts should have been made to make it feel more cohesive. Ideally, Cruel Summer would serve as a G.O.O.D. Music crew album, appropriately displaying the talents of the label’s members in the form of an enjoyable record. Puff Daddy & The Family’s 1997 release, No Way Out, proves that great crew rap albums can be made.

Like those featured in Puff Daddy & The Family, the members of G.O.O.D. Music are not officially a rap crew, but that does not excuse the record’s sloppy track arrangement.

“Creepers,” which featuring only Kid Cudi, comes awkwardly after a stream of tracks that each features four to five different artists and sounds comparably out of place. On its own, “Creepers” is an enjoyable, catchy song and serves as a nice break from overly-crowded songs.

Within the track listing, however, Kid Cudi’s solo performance and comparatively peppy song do not belong.

“The Morning” features six different artists. It has a simple beat, giving the rappers a chance to show off, but none of the verses are memorable. Besides the lack of cohesion, this is one of Cruel Summer’s biggest

problems: lacking ambitious beats or powerful verses, many of the songs become repetitive and boring fast.

“Mercy,” the album’s second-highest charting single to date at No. 13 on the Billboard 100, is difficult to listen to all the way through, thanks to Lil B saying “swag” every fourth beat, which is no longer a creative technique.

“The One” is led by the rapping of Big Sean and 2 Chainz. Both are up-and-comers on the G.O.O.D. Music lineup (Big Sean was recently featured on the new Justin Bieber single, “As Long as You Love Me”), but neither is a very good rapper. Big Sean and 2 Chainz’s unexceptional, boring flows start to test the listener’s patience, especially toward the end of the six-minute song.

Within the jumble, Cruel Summer does have some decent songs individually. The opening track, “To the World,” is particularly catchy.

The song features just R. Kelly and West, allowing for a nice balance of melody and rapping — good rapping, at that. “Clique” is the album’s highest charting single to date at No. 12 on the Billboard 100. A good beat and a couple of solid verses from Kanye and Jay-Z make the song one of Cruel Summer’s best.

But that still isn’t all that amazing, especially in the grand, non-cohesive scheme that is Cruel Summer’s track listing. Even the album’s best songs would be considered bad when compared with the rest of West’s library.

No, Cruel Summer is not a Kanye West album, and it shows. If this is what we have coming in the future from the G.O.O.D. Music artists, I respond with a great big apathetic “eh.”

HAHN-KHAYAT/MCT CAMPUS

23

ROBYN SPECTOR/the Justice

HEADLIGHTS: A HONK! Festival attendant shows off his unique attire while biking through Davis Square in Somerville, Mass.

Local music festival entertains for charity ■ This past weekend, artists

from across the country converged at HONK! Festival.

By oLIVIA lEITER JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

GOLDEN: West wins multiple Grammys.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2012

HONK FOR MUSIC

‘Cruel Summer’ album falls flat ■ ‘Cruel Summer’ features

●

People of all ages and from all over the country came together for Somerville’s seventh annual HONK! Festival, which ran from Thursday, Oct. 4 through Sunday, Oct. 8. Everyone decorated themselves in bright costumes, peculiar hats and body paint and gathered around the dynamic street music.

The Honk! Festival is a non-profit music event that is entirely supported by the community. The longest-running HONK! Festival takes place in Davis Square, but the idea has recently spread to Seattle and Austin, Texas.

There was a kick-off concert on Friday featuring an extensive variety of brass bands like Church Marching Band from Sonoma, Calif., Young Fellaz Brass Band from New Orleans and Pink Puffers Brass Band coming all the way from Rome. The HONK! Festival is definitely quirky, a strange experience for most first-timers when they see an “instrument petting zoo” at the

concert entrance, decorative patches printed on recycled soda bottle paper and interpretive dancing. I remember watching an audience member climb a tree so he could view the concert from the top. Everyone around me looked up at him and smiled—there really are no rules here.

“It’s really like a family … you start to recognize familiar faces,” explained an audience member last Friday in an interview with JustArts. “Every year that we come back, it’s like no time has passed.”

On Saturday, the busiest day of the festival, there was a free outdoor concert with 34 activist street bands.

Some of the featured bands were Brass Liberation Orchestra, Chaotic Noise Marching Corps, The Primate Fiasco and Rude Mechanical Orchestra.

Though every band was brass-based, each brought with it a distinct sound, a specific kind of eccentric energy.

The instrumentation for The Carnival Band, for example, included a wide variety of brass, drums, tambourine, woodwinds, bass and voice. Many of these instruments were hand-painted with vibrant designs. The band asked the audience to clap along and sing chants like “We got the music!” and “Feet don’t fail me now!” Some of the

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band members wore togas; some wore long, flowing dresses; some painted their faces; and others wore giant hats.

“The music itself is very eclectic,” expressed Mary Curtin, the festival’s publicist, to JustArts. “The common thread for the bands is that they are all portable, can hit the streets unplugged and engage an audience on the street level.”

The concert created a personal, interactive space because the bands were not restricted to a conventional stage. The festival was not so much about the bands as it was about sharing music with those around you and inviting them into an experience.

The festival also featured arts and community organizations like Bikes not Bombs, 350.org and Green Streets Initiative, all of which are grassroots environmental groups. HONK! is about making noise and bringing attention to political causes, but it does so in a creative and non-threatening way.

When I saw the Somerville community come together for the festival, I was struck by the transformative power of the music. There was an overriding sense of being alive, of being together and, most of all, a profound sense of being human.

24

TUESday, October 9, 2012 ● THE JUSTICE

TOP of the

ARTS ON VIEW

Brandeis “

CHARTS

TALKS

Top 10s for the week ending September 30

Quote of the week “Overall, this is a community issue and will take the community to be able to creatively resolve any lingering issues with parties occurring both on and off campus.”

— East Quad CDC Stephanie Crane on cancelling parties in the Mods, (News, p. 7).

BOX OFFICE

1. Taken 2 2. Hotel Transylvania 3. Pitch Perfect 4. Looper 5. Frankenweenie 6. End of Watch 7. Trouble With the Curve 8. House at the End of the Street 9. The Master 10. Finding Nemo 3D

How did the first presidential debate affect your impressions of the candidates?

NYT BESTSELLERS

Fiction 1. The Casual Vacancy — J.K. Rowling 2. Winter of the World: Book Two of the Cenutry Trilology — Ken Follett 3. Gone Girl: A Novel — Gillian Flynn 4. A Wanted Man — Lee Child 5. The Time Keeper — Mitch Albom JANE ZITOMER/The Justice

FRANCE IN FOCUS: Justice Photographer Jane Zitomer ’13 took this photograph while in France last spring. The locks on a bridge are placed there by couples who then throw away the key.

Josh Gibbons ’15 “I’m inherently a Democrat so either way I’m going to vote for Obama.”

Leah Staffin ’15 “Romney is looking for fame, not for change.”

Can Sabaner ’16 “I was supporting Obama before. Now I’m warming up to Romney.”

ACROSS 1 6-Across, for one 6 Friday portrayer 10 Flag down __ 14 Totally lose it 15 Modest reply to a compliment 16 Sported 17 Zimbalist Jr. of “77 Sunset Strip” 18 Playwright Akins and Tony winner Caldwell 19 Et __: and others 20 Repeatedly, in poems 21 The first Mrs. Trump 23 Reaction to a pun, perhaps 24 Driver with a permit 26 *Monopoly cards 28 Snickered at 29 Start of a confession to a priest 32 Ed.’s workload 33 *Warty leaper 34 “You’ve got mail” Internet giant 35 Recedes to the sea 38 “Oedipus __” 39 Beggar’s request 40 Spanish aunt 41 *Robin’s egg color 43 Cookie container 45 Concur about 47 Mary’s little follower 51 *Scrub 52 Latvia neighbor 53 Sonic bursts 55 Make joyful 57 Cold War initials 58 Prefix with Chinese 59 Silly smile, maybe 60 Inline roller 62 Sly glance 63 __ platter: Chinese menu choice 64 Tuckers (out) 65 Use intense light on 66 Laundry challenge 67 Begin DOWN 1 From long ago 2 *With 13-Down, roasted aromatic seed 3 Fish-and-chips sauce 4 Reveal, in verse 5 Helps remember 6 *Oz ruler 7 School for English princes 8 Place for pumpernickel 9 Fly-__: air passes 10 Military medals, e.g.

11 Really huge 12 “Carmen” highlight 13 *See 2-Down 22 Victory signs 23 Turned right 25 Canyon perimeters 27 Portuguese “she”

CROSSWORD

iTUNES

1. Adele — “Skyfall” 2. PSY — “Gangham Style” 3. Taylor Swift — “Red” 4. One Direction — “Live While We’re Young” 5. Maroon 5 — “One More Night” 6. Taylor Swift — “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” 7. Fun. — “Some Nights” 8. Ke$ha — “Die Young” 9. Rihanna —“Diamonds” 10. Alex Clare — “Too Close”

BILLBOARD

30 *Pop’s partner 31 2012 British Open winner Ernie 33 Peg on the links 35 Terminal expectation: Abbr.

36 *Tom Hanks film 37 Lines on labels 38 Second-place finisher 39 Folk singer Guthrie 41 Swarming stingers 42 Mauna __ 43 Kid around 44 Swears to 46 “Get Shorty” author Leonard 47 *Piece of packing material 48 Michael who played Cochise 49 Title associated with the 11 starred answers 50 Most meager 53 *Bird’s beak 54 Fit for military duty 56 Fat removal, briefly 59 Navig. aid 61 Christopher Carson, famously

1. Mumford & Sons — Babel 2. Green Day — ¡Uno! 3. No Doubt — Push and Shove 4. P!nk — The Truth About Love 5. Lupe Fiasco — Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Pt. 1 6. Deadmau5 — Album Title Goes Here 7. Various Artists — Kanye West Presents Good Music Cruel Summer 8. Dave Matthews Band — Away from the World 9. Little Big Town — Tornado 10. The Killers — Battle Born

Top of the Charts information provided by Fandango, the New York Times, Billboard. com and Apple.com.

STAFF PLAYLIST

“Autumn”

Solution to last week’s crossword

Crossword Copyright 2012 MCT Campus, Inc.

Afzal Ullah ’14 “I think Romney told a lot of lies.”

SUDOKU INSTRUCTIONS: Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each small 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.

Nikki Isaacs ’14

“I was more disappointed with both candidates”

—Compiled by Sara Dejene Photos by Joshua Linton/ the Justice

Nonfiction 1. No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama Bin Laden — Mark Owen and Kevin Maurer 2. Waging Heavy Peace — Neil Young 3. Joseph Anton: A Memoir — Salman Rushdie 4. The Price of Politics — Bob Woodward 5. How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character ­— Paul Tough

Solution to last week’s sudoku

Sudoku Copyright 2012 MCT Campus, Inc.

By OLIVIA POBIEL

Justice STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

These songs are an ode to the change of season—welcoming crisp autumn air, rainy days and the coziness of sweaters and blankets.

THE LIST 1. “Turn! Turn! Turn! (to Everything There Is a Season)”—The Byrds 2. “A Girl, a Boy, and a Graveyard”—Jeremy Messersmith 3. “Maple Leaves”—Jens Lekman 4. “Autumn to May”—Peter Paul and Mary 5. “Moondance”—Van Morrisomn 6. “Autumn Tears”— Vashti Bunyan 7. “Soon it Will be Cold Enough to Build Fires”—Emancipator 8. “Leaves That Are Green”— Simon & Garfunkel 9. “Her Morning Elegance”— Oren Lavie 10. “Seven Years”—Norah Jones