The Justice, September 15, 2009

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FORUM The experiential learning controversy 12

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Volume LXI, Number 4

Waltham, Mass.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

RENEWING THE CHAPELS

ACADEMICS

Liberal Arts Posse on hiatus

ADMINISTRATION

Staff level inspection to be held ■ The review will examine

the staffing levels of departments in relation to similar institutions.

By MIRANDA NEUBAUER

■ Only one of the

JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

scholarship programs offered by Brandeis Posse will continue in 2010.

The University has temporarily suspended the Brandeis Liberal Arts Posse, one of the two meritbased scholarship programs offered by the Brandeis Posse program, for the fall of 2010 due to financial hardship, according to Dean of Academic Services Kim Godsoe.

Admission to the Brandeis Liberal Arts Posse has been temporarily suspended for a year, but recruitment for Brandeis Science Posse, the other component of the Brandeis Posse program, will still take place, Godsoe said. She added that current Brandeis Liberal Arts Posse as well as Brandeis Science Posse scholars will continue to receive their scholarships.

The Brandeis Posse program is one of the nationwide initiatives of the Posse Foundation founded

by Debbie Bial ’87 that “identifies public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential who may be overlooked by traditional college selection processes,” according to the foundation’s Web site.

Posse scholars are awarded four-year full-tuition leadership scholarships by Posse partner colleges and universities.

The Brandeis Liberal Arts Posse has been at the University for 11 years, and its scholars can study any subject in the University curriculum.

The Brandeis Science Posse, which was founded last year by Prof. Irving Epstein (CHEM), requires its scholars to complete a two-week, intensive “Science Boot Camp” and enroll in introductory science and math courses in their first year of study, according to the University Web site.

The decision to suspend the Liberal Arts Posse was made last year by several parties including faculty, senior administration

See POSSE, 5 ☛

throughout the day, the Building Management System will allow the heating in the chapels to be coordinated with the schedule for their use. This should allow for a more efficient allocation of resources on campus, according to Feldman.

In the Muslim worship space in the Usdan Student Center, where Muslims within the Brandeis community gather weekly after prayer and during the nights of Ramadan, standard renovations such as floor refinishing and painting are planned, as well as the installation

The administration is in the planning stages of conducting a review of University staffing levels in comparison to those of other educational institutions, according to Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration Jeffrey Apfel.

Apfel said that the review would entail a comprehensive look at whether there are departmental areas that are understaffed or overstaffed after last year’s cuts, as well as whether there are ways for such areas to work more effectively. He said that the University would look at between eight and 12 other institutions and that he anticipated the review would take several months and be completed before the end of the academic year.

University President Jehuda Reinharz announced that Apfel would oversee the review at a Sept. 3 faculty meeting after receiving many requests for such a review from faculty. Noting the fiscal challenges Brandeis faced last year and will continue to face, Reinharz reflected on the pain experienced by all segments of the University and the 76 employees that were let go last year. Regarding the review, Reinharz said at the meeting, “Maybe we’ll find that we’ve done everything, maybe there are new efficiencies we haven’t thought about.”

In an e-mail to the Justice, Apfel wrote that last year’s staff cuts were based on extensive discussions and scenarios to analyze what measures would best meet the fiscal needs of the University and have the least effect on students.

The creation of an administrative review committee, initially suggested on the faculty listserv, was discussed at a May 5 Faculty Senate meeting. However, the minutes of the meeting state that “the Senate sees many potential pitfalls to this committee, such as the negative effect on staff morale, and feels further steps toward such a committee should be taken very carefully. The real

See CHAPELS, 5 ☛

See REVIEW, 5 ☛

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

SPRUCING UP THE SANCTUARIES: The Bethlehem chapel is one of the four houses of worship to be renovated in October.

Chapels to be repaired ■ The renovations, which

will start next month, will include painting, general repairs and refurnishment.

By LIZ POSNER JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The Jewish, Protestant and Catholic chapels on campus and their surrounding landscape, as well as the Muslim worship center in the Usdan Student Center, will undergo renovations starting next month, Vice President of Capital Projects Dan Feldman wrote in an e-mail to the Justice.

The renovation plans were approved by University President Jehuda Reinharz Aug. 25 after spending several years on the University’s list of potential renewal projects. The renovations will continue into the spring and early summer of 2010, according to Feldman. The cost of the current plans is estimated at nearly $1 million, though the exact price will not be known until Capital Projects has received bids from construction companies for the various components of the project. The project will be funded by a gift given to the University expressly for the renovation by a donor who did not wish to be named .

The scope of the planned renovations was based on input and priorities established in a meeting over the summer by the four chaplains,

the Office of Student Life, Conference and Events Services and the Office of Facilities Services. During the meeting, each chaplain led a tour of his or her respective chapel and pointed out recommendations for the renovation.

The Brandeis chapels were the first interdenominational chapels built at an American university and hold much historic and spiritual significance, but according to Feldman, they have not seen any major renovations since their construction in 1955.

“The three chapels are beautiful, iconic buildings on the Brandeis campus, but at this point they are not in good condition and are very much in need of renewal,” wrote Feldman. He has also stated that the renovations will not interfere with the current location or structure of the chapels.

The renovations for the chapels are expected to include high-priority items such as floor replacement and refinishing, new furniture, carpets, patching, painting and upgrades to bathrooms. Plans also include repairs to the stone walls and paths in the landscape surrounding all three chapels.

In addition, the mechanical systems in the chapels, including heat and electricity, will be connected to the University’s Building Management System, which should conserve energy over time.

Because the chapels are used sporadically rather than steadily

MAX BREITSTEIN MATZA/the Justice

IN NEED OF RENOVATION: The interiors of the Berlin chapel will be updated as part of the overall project.

Night of song

Two home victories

TMI conference

■ Students shared their talents at the Slosberg Coffeehouse.

■ The women’s tennis team dominated Wheaton College and Simmons College to open the season last week.

■ The Too Much Information symposium was held on campus last week.

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INDEX

ARTS

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EDITORIAL FEATURES

10 7

OPINION POLICE LOG

12 2

SPORTS 13 COMMENTARY 11

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

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

NEWS POLICE LOG

BRIEF Health Center identifies 12 cases of influenza-like illness on campus The University Health Center has identified 12 cases of influenza-like illness on campus as of Friday, Director of the Brandeis Health Center Dr. Debra Poaster said, as universities across the country take precautions against the spread of H1N1 flu.

“There are no confirmed cases of swine flu,” Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer said in an interview with the Justice.

Poaster explained that “there’s usually not a lot of influenza in September, so if we see influenza-like illness, we assume that it’s H1N1.”

Poaster added all the cases have been mild, with patients exhibiting low-grade fever, body aches, sore throats and some coughing.

Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer explained that the test for H1N1 takes two weeks. He added that there is a faster test, which is often highly unreliable with many false negatives.

For those reasons, Poaster explained, the University decided not to do any testing. She added that Massachusetts’ current policy is not to test for the illness in most cases.

The Center for Disease Control has noted that the greatest number of H1N1 cases have been among people five to 24 years old.

In an e-mail to the student body Sept. 4, Sawyer outlined the campus response plan in the event of a large outbreak of flu.

The e-mail suggested that students who can go home should do so and that, depending on students’ living situations, the University would arrange for students to stay in their rooms or move to spaces in the Faculty Lodge or Charles River Apartments.

The e-mail also stated that faculty and staff would consider adjustments in academic requirements in the event of illness.

E-mails to faculty and staff Sept. 9 from Provost Marty Krauss and Vice President for Human Resources Scott Bemis urged them in the event of illness not to go to work until 24 hours after their fever has subsided.

The e-mails directed faculty to inform their department chairs if they become ill.

Poaster said that sick students who live nearby have gone home and that some have stayed with their parents in hotels.

Students who stayed on campus remained in their rooms while healthy roommates stayed in other locations on campus.

“We ask people to self-isolate, meaning that they stay outside of six feet from people when they’re sick,” she said.

Poaster said Community Living staff and Health Center staff have been checking on sick students.

Students can leave isolation when they have no fever without medication, she said.

She added that facilities services have been doing extra cleanings of bathrooms.

The Health Center also offers “feeling blue” meal forms for students to get take-out meals from Dining Services, she said.

The Health Center began offering vaccines for the seasonal flu yesterday. Poaster said she expected the H1N1 vaccine to arrive by late October.

“The good news is that there are some indications that it might only require one dose of vaccine,” she said.

“We’ve been relatively lucky in Massachusetts. I think people have seen cases … but a lot fewer than in the West and in the Southeast,” she said.

“I think ... people have done a really good job of hand-washing and staying isolated if they feel sick” she said. “We’ve been working on the [response] through the summer, and I feel like we’re now at the place where we thought we would be.”

Medical Emergency Sept. 8—University Police received a call from a party in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center who had injured her knee.

University Police notified BEMCo, who requested an ambulance.

Sept. 9—A registered party in Pomerantz Hall reported that her roommate had been vomiting and having stomach pains all day.

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

Sept. 9—The Psychological Counseling Center requested an ambulance for a female student.

The ambulance transported the student to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Sept. 9—A student at Gosman Sports and Convocation Center reported an injury while participating in sports. BEMCo responded and treated the party onscene with a signed refusal for further care.

Sept. 9—A party in Usdan Student Center reported a cut finger that would not stop bleeding.

BEMCo responded and treated the party on-scene with a signed refusal for further care.

Sept. 13—A party in Ziv Quad reported that her suitemate might have appendicitis. BEMCo and University Police responded, and the party was treated on-scene with a signed refusal for further care.

An article in News last week misstated the deadline for filing a preliminary injunction in the Rose Art Museum lawsuit. The deadline to file a preliminary injunction is Sept. 22, not Sept. 15. The deadline for filing a motion to dismiss the case is still Sept. 15, as stated in the article. (Sept. 8, p. 3) The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. E-mail justeditor@ brandeis.edu.

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

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Larceny Sept. 8—A party in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center reported that the window of his vehicle was broken and his computer taken. University Police compiled a report.

Disturbance Sept. 7—A party on Charles River Road reported loud noise coming from the vicinity of the Charles River Appartments. University Police responded and reported that there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Sept. 11—A caller in Ridgewood Quad reported students running up and down the hall causing a disturbance. The students were attending a registered party; University Police advised the resi-

Miscellaneous Sept. 7—A party at the Shapiro Campus Center reported a smoldering ashtray. University Police respond and put out a small fire in the ashtray. No further action was taken.

Sept. 10—During fire drills in Rosenthal Quad, drugs and drug paraphernalia were found in plain view within an apartment.

University Police confiscated the contraband and compiled a report

on the incident. University judicial charges will be filed by Community Living staff.

Sept. 10—While conducting fire drills in the Charles River Appartments, University Police found drug paraphernalia within an apartment. University Police confiscated the items, and University judicial charges will be filed.

Sept. 10—Waltham Police reported a motor vehicle accident in Charles River Lot. A vehicle hit a tree on University Park property.

Involved parties were transported to the hospital, and the vehicle was towed. A report was compiled on the incident.

Sept. 11—University Police in Shapiro Residence Hall observed underage students in possession of alcohol. University Police confiscated the items and will file a report and judicial charges against the students.

—compiled by Harry Shipps

SENATE LOG Student Union plans to set up informational listserv

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS A photographer’s name was misspelled in two places in News last week. The photographer’s name is Max Breitstein Matza, not Max Matza or Max BreitsteinMatza. (Sept. 8, p. 5 and p. 2)

dents to quiet down.

Sept. 12—University Police received numerous calls about a large group outside Ridgewood Quad. The group was dispersed by police without incident.

REBECCA NEY/the Justice

Signing up to help Students explored how to get involved with community service, checking out 17 different volunteer groups at the Waltham Group Recruitment Night in the Shapiro Campus Center last Wednesday.

Student Union President Andy Hogan ’11 reported that he hopes to have a listserv set up within the week to which all students may subscribe; Hogan plans to use this listserv to send out weekly questionnaires about Union happenings in order to get student input.

The Senate confirmed four new associate directors of the Office of Student Rights and Advocacy appointed by OSRA Director Lev Hirschhorn ’11. The Senate also confirmed the members of 26 University committees.

The Senate unanimously passed a bylaw amendment that removes chartered and recognized clubs’ 10-week provisional accreditation period. According to the new bylaw, a newly accredited club must still report to the Senate after 10 weeks, but the clubs gain full status immediately upon accreditation.

The Senate rejected a bylaw amendment to remove a senator’s limit of two unexcused absences per semester as well as the requirement for a senator to receive permission from the president of the Senator for Class of 2011 Jenna Rubin withdrew a proposed bylaw amendment that would have left the Thanksgiving and Passover shuttle schedules and destinations open to student interest and would have changed the requirement for an “all-youcan-eat buffet” to “an event with free items for students.”

The Senate unanimously passed a Senate resolution to officially thank all of the University faculty and staff who have sacrificed for the University and its students by voluntarily accepting pay cuts in the current economic crisis.

The Senate passed a Senate Money Resolution of up to $450 for a “Meet Your Student Union Thirsty Thursday Event” to be held Oct. 1. The Senate unanimously passed an SMR for the ’DeisBikes program to purchase more bicycles and maintenance equipment.

The Senate chartered the Brandeis Anime and Cosplay Association, a club seeking to foster interest in Japanese animation and costume play. The Senate unanimously chartered the Student Philanthropic Front, a club dedicated to humanitarian philanthropy.

—Brian Fromm

ANNOUNCEMENTS Truman and Goldwater Info Session

2009 Roosevelt Lecture

Sophomores or juniors planning a career in mathematics or the natural sciences or leaders who have strong records of public or community service and who plan for a career in governmental, nonprofit or educational organizations can attend one of the weekly Truman and Goldwater Info Sessions to learn about each scholarship.

Sheilah Coleman will be the speaker.

Wednesday, Sept. 16, from noon to 1 p.m. in Usdan 122. For more information, e-mail sheilah@brandeis.edu.

Maria Hinojosa, senior correspondent of Now on PBS, managing editor and anchor of NPR’s Latino USA and anchor of Maria Hinojosa: One on One on WGBH will deliver a lecture entitled “Mexicana Feminist Journalist Activista: The political responsibility of owning one’s voice.” Thursday, Sept. 17, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in Rapaporte Treasure Hall. For more information, call (781) 736-3045 or e-mail daltonka@ brandeis.edu.

“Go Away” Study Abroad Fair Jewish Journeys In the first installment of the Jewish Journeys series, listen to Prof. Sylvia Fishman (NEJS) talk about her journey and experience. Wednesday, Sept. 16 from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Hassenfeld Conference Center.

For more information, e-mail hbend@ brandeis.edu or rabbiw@brandeis.edu.

The study abroad fair is an opportunity to meet program providers, get important materials and have questions answered.

Providers from programs and universities all over the world will be there. Thursday, Sept. 17 from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Levin Ballroom. For more information, call the Office of Study Abroad at (781) 736-3483.

Small Changes Change the World: MicroFinance and Leprosy Padma Venkataraman, 2009 International Humanitarian of the Year, will give a talk and lead a discussion as part of Prof.

Salitra Bhalotra’s Heller class “Global Perspectives on Health.” The event, jointly sponsored by the Psychology Department, Health: Science, Society, and Policy, the Heller School for Social Policy and Management and the Peace Studies Program, is open to the entire Brandeis community.

Venkataraman has been active for 15 years in grassroots work in leprosy rehabilitation and currently directs Rising Star Outreach’s microfinance projects in the leprosy colonies in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Monday, Sept. 21 from 5:10 to 6:30 p.m. in Schneider G4. For more information, speak to Prof. Malcolm Watson (PSYC).

THE JUSTICE

ACADEMICS

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2009

3

ROSE ART MUSEUM

Search Motion filed to dismiss Rose lawsuit for JBS leader ongoing ■ The motion to dismiss the

Rose Art Museum lawsuit was filed today and will be heard on Oct. 13.

By ALANA ABRAMSON JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

University counsel filed a motion today to dismiss the lawsuit seeking to preserve the Rose Art Museum’s collection, Thomas Reilly, the University’s outside counsel, wrote in an e-mail to the Justice Friday.

The motion will be heard Oct. 13,

■ The interview process for

the post of the Justice Brandeis Semester manager will begin soon.

By HARRY SHIPPS JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Applications for the Justice Brandeis Semester manager position are being reviewed by the committee responsible for the operations of the JBS programs, according to Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences Elaine Wong, a committee member.

The committee, which includes faculty, administrators and students, has begun reviewing résumés and plans to conduct an interview process involving committee members and perhaps other members of the Brandeis community, said Wong. She said that the committee hopes to choose someone to fill the position by October.

The Brandeis employment Web site lists the responsibilities of the JBS manager, which include “managing the logistics of the program, including developing publicity, the application process, budget monitoring, logistical arrangements for students and faculty, and the implementation of the program evaluation rubric.”

Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe said that he hoped to find a JBS manager “very soon.” Jaffe said that he expected the JBS manager to focus on “implementing the decisions about what we are going to do and how we are going to do it.”

Wong said that the larger JBS committee would draw from its members to create a subcommittee that would include at least one student representative. That subcommittee would be tasked with reviewing proposals for JBS programs and then passing on those worth consideration on to Jaffe.

The JBS Web site states, “Each JBS program will consist of at least 12 credits (e.g., three four-credit courses, or two six-credit ‘mandatory practicum’ courses) but no more than 20 credits.” Each JBS four-credit course will meet for 39 hours, which can include hours outside the classroom when the instructor is present.

The JBS committee began reviewing proposals for the JBS to take place in summer 2010 in early September and has set Oct. 1 as the deadline for the submission of proposals for summer 2010 programs.

The Dean’s office has committed to run up to a dozen pilot programs during the upcoming summer, but Jaffe said that the long-term plan entails having JBS programs during the spring, summer and fall. He hopes that the JBS programs would eventually include up to 900 students.

Jaffe said that he was looking for “[JBS] proposals that are of interest to students and are intellectually exciting.” He added that although he has effective veto power over any proposals, he doubted if he would reject a proposal that was handed on to him.

Student Union President Andy Hogan ’11 said in an interview with the Justice that the Student Union has been holding meetings with faculty and students regarding the JBS, such as one held yesterday with Prof.

Laura Goldin (AMST).

Hogan said that he would be present at these meeting with other members of the Student Union including Union Director of Academic Affairs Supreetha Gubbala ’12.

Hogan said that he believed the meetings have “allowed both faculty and students to get a feeling for what the other wanted from these programs.”

—Brian Fromm contributed

Reilly wrote. When asked about the implications of filing this motion, Reilly repeated his previous assertions that this case would validate Brandeis’ claim of commitment to academic excellence.

“Given the financial challenges facing not only Brandeis but colleges and universities throughout this country, something has to give.

The trustees and administration of Brandeis have decided its students, faculty and educational mission come first at the expense of selling art,” he wrote in an e-mail to the Justice.

The lawsuit, filed by Rose overseers Jonathan Lee, Meryl Rose and Lois Foster July 27, seeks to

maintain the Rose collection by stating that the University’s decision to close it and sell its paintings would violate the museum’s ethical codes. The lawsuit also states that the University’s decision violates its commitment to the Rose family to maintain the museum solely as a public museum.

The lawsuit was originally filed in the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts and subsequently transferred to the Suffolk Probate Court in August.

The filing of the motion to dismiss the lawsuit is in compliance with the deadlines set at the case management conference Sept.1. According to those deadlines, a mo-

tion to dismiss the case must be filed by Sept. 15, and a motion to impose a preliminary injunction must be filed by Sept. 22. The first hearing is scheduled for Oct. 13.

Lee, the chairman of the Rose Board of Overseers, said in an interview with the Justice that he had expected the University to file this motion.

“I have long heard of their intent to file it,” he said.

Lee said he did not believe the University would succeed in having the case dismissed, saying, “This is a question of whether the plaintiffs have the standing to bring this issue to the judicial system, and I believe that we do.”

CAMPUS EVENT

Speakers discuss technology’s effects on journalism ■ Four media experts spoke

at Too Much Information, a two-day conference on campus last week.

By NASHRAH RAHMAN JUSTICE EDITOR

Students, faculty and guest speakers discussed the effects of modern technology on journalism, democracy and education at “Too Much Information: Social Justice in the Age of Facebook,” a two-day conference held on campus last Thursday and Friday.

The event was co-sponsored by the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life; The Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism; Library and Technology Services and the Student Union.

Guest speakers included Harvard Law School Prof. Charles Nesson, Author of The Big Picture: Why Democracies Need Journalistic Excellence Jeffrey Scheuer, Cornell University Director of Information Technology Policy and Law Tracy Mitrano and Director of Content at One Laptop per Child Samuel Klein.

Guest speakers shared their ideas with the audience at four of the five sessions held over the two days. At each session, the speaker was joined by a faculty and a student respondent who provided their input on the speaker’s views to prompt the rest of the audience to also engage in the conversation. The fifth session contrasted student coverage of the event through blogging, live streaming and Twitter with traditional print coverage of the event by Global Communications and Operations Director Charles Radin.

Nesson, current defense attorney for Joel Tannenbaum, a Boston University graduate student found guilty of copyright infringement for downloading online music files, focused on the role of law regarding new media in the opening session moderated by Prof. Laura Miller (SOC).

The debate about the role of cyberspace in society is not over, Nesson said.

“Nobody knows exactly what [online copyright] infringement is,” Nesson said, emphasized that media companies have taken advantage of this situation.

He criticized the “three strikes” policy that Internet service providers want to implement with regard to music downloading. According to the policy, once an ISP is notified three times that a user has illegally downloaded copyrighted material, the user will be banned from the Internet without a trial.

“Copyright is the civil rights issue of your generation,” warned Mitrano, sharing some of Nesson’s concerns in a session moderated by Prof. Andreas Teuber (PHIL) and Hoot staff writer Daniel Ortner ’10.

Mitrano noted that the Google Book Search Copyright Class Action Settlement is a win for copyright holders.

The settlement claims that the search engine has infringed on the copyrights of books by scanning them online and making them available through the Google Books search.

She advocated the establishment of a federal regulatory agency to monitor corporations such as Google in order to provide regularity and boundary to copyrights.

Mitrano also addressed concerns about broadcasting personal information on social networking sites such as

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

ONLINE RIGHTS: Harvard Law School Prof. Charles Nesson spoke on the repercussions of illegally downloading music.

Facebook. On the other hand, Scheuer, who considers himself “techno-skeptical from a civic standpoint,” urged the audience to think critically about how information is acquired in the age of new media such as Twitter. He further stated that journalism’s most important function is its role in democracy.

“Tools are knowledge,” Scheuer said. He emphasized that people need to focus on the quality of citizenship journalism that has been made easy to pursue through the means of modern technology.

“New media can spread rumors also, which are the enemies of truth and hence of education, journalism and democracy,” he said, citing as an example the false rumor of Harrison Ford’s drowning that was spread this summer via Twitter.

However, Scheuer admitted that new media is also revolutionary and has provided the platform for journalism to reinvent itself into an independent nonprofit model.

In an interview with the Justice, Prof. Maura Jane Farrelly (JOUR), who moderated Scheuer’s session along with Hoot editor Ariel Witten-

berg ’11, agreed that it would “be a tragedy if we fall into the trap of saying that citizen journalism needs can satisfy all of the needs that we have in a democratic society.”

However, Farrelly also acknowledged that without citizenship journalism there would have been a “wall of silence” during the elections upheaval in Iran this summer, during which the mainstream press was censored.

Klein addressed whether new media has deepened the divide of communication with faculty respondent Prof. Theodore Johnson (COEX) and student respondent Danielle Myers ’12.

He emphasized that sharing over the Internet has benefited knowledge and education by making information easily accessible.

Klein added that conversations with strangers, automated language translations and publishing are all made easier with the help of new media.

Yale Spector ’11, Jamie Fleishman ’11, Rajiv Ramakrishnan ’10 and Hoot editor Samantha Shokin ’12 discussed their digital media coverage of all the

sessions at the student verdict event.

The students said that a total of 10 participants engaged in their coverage on Twitter using the hashtag feature, which allows other Twitter users to search for and engage in a particular conversation.

Shokin typed notes on the sessions as they took place, and Fleishman was in charge of editing the notes and publishing them on the blog at http:// tmibrandeis.wordpress.com. Spector oversaw the coverage on Twitter.

“This was not easy at all. This was tough,” Fleishman said.

“I’ve actually found [TMI to be] a really fascinating set of conversations,” Miller said in an interview with the Justice. “I think, though, that what could have maybe been discussed more was actually the very title of this, ‘Too Much Information,’ and the ways in which the problem of too much information actually impedes the ability to draw more people into these conversations because there are too many other distractions going on.”

—Miranda Neubauer contributed reporting

4

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 , 2009

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THE JUSTICE

STUDENT UNION

ADMINISTRATION

Candidates for Union elections discuss ideas

University releases Climate Action Plan

■ The Student Union will

hold the first of a potential two rounds of elections on Thursday, Sept. 17.

By EMILY KRAUS JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

There are 33 students running for 15 of the 16 open positions on the Student Union, including the senators for the Classes of 2010, 2012 and 2013, as well as all residence quads, in the upcoming Student Union elections, according to an e-mail from Student Union Secretary Diana Aronin ’11 to the Justice Sept. 11.

Polls will open at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 17 and will remain open for 24 hours. According to Aronin’s e-mail, the results will be announced shortly after the election except in races that require final rounds. “The final round will contain the candidates who place first or second in the primary round” unless one of the candidates receives a majority of votes in the primary round, according to the contract distributed at an informational meeting for candidates Sept. 9. Any race in which one person is running uncontested or where there are only two candidates will not have a final round.

In addition to senators for the residence quads and Classes of 2010, 2012 and 2013, positions are open for senator for the Transitional Year Program, senator-at-large and senator for off-campus students.

There is no candidate running for senator for the Foster Mods, but

Aronin told the Justice that should a candidate step forward at any time, a special election will be held.

Some candidates shared their thoughts on what changes they would like to initiate. “I want to be more eco-friendly,” said Yahav Itzkovich ’13, who is running for the position of senator for North Quad.

“There’s so much wasted water. …

Especially now, when half the world’s drying up, I think we can be more responsible about our water usage.”

Michael Sklaroff ’13, who is also running for North Quad senator, voiced similar sentiments: “I just want to make the campus greener.”

He added that “certain issues, such as the restrictive hours of the libraries and the fact that freshmen aren’t allowed to have cars on campus, … are extremely important to resolve.” Jordan Pardo ’13, who is running for Massell Quad senator, discussed his desire to get involved in the Brandeis community and in Waltham by joining efforts such as the Hunger Project. The Hunger Project is “a global, strategic organization committed to the sustainable end of world hunger,” according to its Web site.

Brendan Fradkin ’12, a candidate for the senator for the Class of 2012, discussed a plan to “improve [academic] counseling and open up some more accessibility to the people who really know the topics, maybe have the registrar do a few information sessions” to explain the process of declaring majors and minors, which Fradkin feels many of his peers are unclear about even though all sophomores must declare a major by the

end of this year.

Leigh Nusbaum ’11, who is running for the position of senator for the Village, discussed her desire to represent students hoping to study abroad in the fall because they represent such a large portion of the Village’s population. She also wants to represent the midyears because they will be living in the Village during the spring semester and a midyear may be taking over her position if she goes abroad next semester.

Jordan Caruso ’11, who is running for the position of off-campus senator, wrote in an e-mail to the Justice, “It’s important to represent off-[campus] students because even if they do live off campus, they are still Brandeis Students with issues both common and unique to those of other Brandeis students, i.e. Parking Issues.”

“Even though we’re only freshmen, I think there’s an important role to play,” said Nathan Koskella ’13, a candidate for senator for the Class of 2013. “I want to find out more about … how the administration can make things known to students, not just drop decisions from on high, … so students actually have an input in the middle of the process.”

Ryan Fanning ’11, who is running for the position of Ziv Quad senator, explained why he wanted to be a part of the Student Union: “I decided that it was time to serve my class, my quad and, in the big picture, the school to which I go. It was important to me to give back a little bit to an institution that’s given me so much.”

■ The plan specifies a

timeline for the University to achieve carbon neutrality.

By ALANA ABRAMSON JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

The Brandeis Climate Action Plan, a comprehensive set of suggestions to gradually reduce Brandeis’ energy consumption, will be released today, according to Janna Cohen-Rosenthal ’03, the University’s sustainability coordinator and chair of the plan.

Cohen-Rosenthal has been working with the Brandeis Environmental Sustainability Team on the climate action plan since last winter and said that the plan is essentially a timeline for the University to achieve carbon neutrality.

“The plan mainly consists of milestones [for the University to achieve] until 2050,” she said.

Cohen-Rosenthal explained that in 2007, Brandeis became part of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, a group of over 600 universities determined to combat climate change. Part of this commitment is an agreement to develop a comprehensive plan for each university to ultimately become climate-neutral, which she said means reducing virtually all energy consumption.

Although Cohen-Rosenthal was unable to provide specific details of the plan because it has not yet been officially approved, she explained that it is divided into different categories such as energy conservation and efficiency, clean and renewable energy, green buildings, transportation, waste disposal, food and education.

She said some of the potential ideas to promote energy reduction include working with the eco-reps, students in each quad who encourage their peers to conserve resources.

With the assistance of the eco-reps, the plan aims to promote combating climate change, provide incentives for graduate students to carpool and continue to improve the energy efficiency in the buildings on campus.

Cohen-Rosenthal acknowledged that this plan is a work in progress and that the committee is open to suggestions.

Prof. Laura Goldin (AMST), the founder of BEST, said that the measures in the current plan are realistic, although some of the ideas, such as substituting fossil fuels with alternative energy, will be harder to implement because of financial constraints.

Goldin said she plans on contributing to the plan through her classes, as she teaches classes in which students work on environmental projects that contribute to energy reduction. She cited her class “Greening the Ivory Tower: Improving Environmental Sustainability of Brandeis and Community,” as an example.

Matt Schmidt ’11, the president of Students for Environmental Action, who played an active role in formulating the transportation aspect of the plan, wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that he plans to work with the administration to implement the behavioral change section.

“While carbon neutrality by 2050 may seem like a stretch, [more than 40] years is plenty of time to arrive at this goal if we commit to taking the action necessary. As a leading academic institution, and a bastion of progressive leadership, it would be a shame if we cannot make the hard decisions and achieve this goal,” Schmidt wrote.

Goldin added that achieving carbon neutrality would inevitably impose sacrifices upon students and faculty.

“I do think that we will all have to make sacrifices; we couldn’t make it happen without those. I think they will have to be in the way we use and expect to use energy, and much of that will be in the way of conservation,” Goldin said.

Both Goldin and Cohen-Rosenthal were optimistic about the ultimate outcome of the upcoming plan.

“I would hope, and really do expect, that at a place like Brandeis, which holds as such an essential value social responsibility and contribution to the public good, that this would be something that people would embrace,” said Goldin.

STUDENT UNION

DeisBikes to restart today ■ Several changes have

been made to the bicycle rental program, which will begin operation on Sept. 15.

By HARRY SHIPPS JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

PAULA HOEKSTRA/the Justice

Remembering Sept. 11 Rabbi Elyse Winick ’86 spoke at the commemoration of Sept. 11, which was held last Friday, the eighth anniversity of the Sept. 11 attacks, at the Peace Circle. Members of the Brandeis community came together to reflect and consider how to create a peaceful world. The event was coordinated by the Interfaith Chaplaincy and the Student Union.

’DeisBikes, a free bicycle-renting program for members of the Brandeis community, is planned be operational

by Sept. 15, according to Susan Paykin ’11, a member of the subcommittee of the Student Union Services Committee that oversees ’DeisBikes.

Several changes have been made to the program, including measures aimed to ensure that bikes are returned on time and in good condition and attempts to streamline the renting process. To make sure the program runs smoothly, ’DeisBikes’ policies would be enforced much more stringently, Paykin said in an interview with the Justice.

According to its Web site, the program, which began last year, aims to “promote bicycling as desirable means of transportation in a greater effort to strengthen a culture of sustainability on campus.” Last year, the program stopped running at the very end of the year, according to Paykin. ’DeisBikes will be funded by the Union Senate, which passed a Senate Money Resolution for $2,000 at a Senate meeting last night. Paykin said that $650 of the total would be used to purchase additional bicycles, $150 would be use to purchase various equipment including tires, tubes and chains, and an additional percentage of the funds would be used to purchase a mechanic’s stand for servicing the bicycles.

In a Facebook message to members of the ’DeisBikes group, Paykin wrote

“Last semester, we had an excess of problems with people not returning bikes on time, losing items, etc. DeisBikes is a community program, and we need EVERYONE to take responsibility for the well-being of the bikes, helmets, and locks for this to be successful!”

Paykin also said that the ’DeisBikes program had requested financial backing from the Student Union to purchase new bicycles. “[The bikes] will be used again, but they will be a little higher quality, and we are going to make sure that they are in tip-top shape before they go out,” she said.

“If students do not return bikes by [11 p.m.] each night … or if they are missing any parts of the bikes, we will send students an e-mail letting them know that they owe [whatever amount they owe] in fines. After about two weeks, if the student fails to respond, the students in charge of the ’DeisBikes program will report the offending student through the judicial review system, according to Paykin.

Last year, Paykin said, students who wished to rent a bike had to fill out a form at the information booth in the Shapiro Campus Center and the attendant at the desk was required to take down the information and enter it into an online database. “[To] streamline the checking-out process, it is only going to be a paper sign-out system,” Paykin said. Each page in the sign-out binder will correspond to a different bike, and students will be responsible for signing out each bike and filling in their information.

Although the ’DeisBikes program has no way to monitor students riding bicycles at all times, Paykin said that the waiver students sign before renting a bicycle stipulates that they wear a helmet.

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2009

5

CHAPELS: Renovations start in October CONTINUED FROM 1 of a ritual ablution sink used after worship.

Not included in the current plans for renovation are several costly repairs and renewal projects that were cut due to lack of sufficient funds, according to Feldman. These include the replacement of mechanical systems, creation of handicapped-accessible restrooms, repair of the buildings’ brick facades and replacement of glass facades in the chapels.

“We hope that additional gifts will, in the future, enable us to accomplish the additional repairs,” Feldman stated. He said, however,

that “at the moment, there are no plans to carry them out.”

The schedule for the renovation was designed to avoid any interference with religious worship on campus. The Protestant and Catholic chapels will undergo renovation one at a time, and renovation of the Jewish chapel and the Muslim worship space in Usdan will take place simultaneously.

Under this plan, Protestant and Catholic worshippers will share space while their respective chapels are under construction. Jewish services will be temporarily relocated to the Catholic chapel, and Muslims will be provided with an alternative venue for their weekly prayer.

Worshippers will share facilities during holidays and days of Sabbath while the construction is underway.

Father Walter Cuenin, the Catholic chaplain at Brandeis and Coordinator of the Interfaith Chaplaincy, believes that sharing space may promote interfaith cooperation.

“I have offered to remove the Christian icons that currently hang on the walls of the Bethlehem Chapel while Jewish worshippers use the space as a makeshift synagogue,” Cuenin said.

“The Brandeis Chaplaincy—Imam Talal Eid, Rabbi Elyse Winick, Alexander Kern and myself—is committed to making this transition as

easy as possible for the religious community,” he said.

Cuenin believes that the current plans for renovation will not only repair outdated features of the interiors of the chapels but will also beautify the buildings and surrounding landscape.

He also hopes the renovations will make for a more comfortable environment for prayer.

“We have a designated space for prayer so that that space can become sacred to those who use it,” said Rabbi Elyse Winick, the Jewish chaplain. “The chapels are an important backdrop for worship, and we believe these renovations will honor that sacred space.”

CAMPUS EVENT

Professors discuss appointment of Sotomayor ■ Three Brandeis

professors spoke about the ascension of the newest Supreme Court justice.

By ERIN DONIGER JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

A round-table discussion on the confirmation hearings of Justice Sonia Sotomayor focused on questions of gender, race and ethnicity in U.S. public and political life last Thursday.

The event was co-sponsered by the American Studies and Legal Studies departments. Panelists Profs. Richard Gaskins (AMST), Anita Hill (Heller) and James Mandrell (ROMS) spoke at the event.

Sotomayor was confirmed to the Supreme Court on Aug. 6 by a Senate vote of 68 to 31. Most criticisms about her centered around a 2001 remark in which she stated, “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”

Each panelist shared thoughts regarding the hearings and then turned to the Brandeis students and faculty present for an open discussion.

Gaskins noted that the first major Supreme court nominee to face scrutiny similar to that which surrounded Sotomayor involved the University’s namesake, Louis Brandeis. Nominated by Woodrow Wilson, Brandeis was the first Jew to serve on the Court; 93 years later, Sotomayor has been the first Latin American to take a similar stride.

Sotomayor “earned the reputation of being a ‘wise’ Latina” by handling the hearings calmly and stoically, said Gaskins, in a play on

challenge is the composition of such a committee.”

Apfel said he has scheduled a meeting with his own staff to begin discussing the details of the plan.

Eventually staff from other areas that the review would oversee, such as Academics or Student Life, would also become involved, Apfel said.

Apfel said that the review would likely involve some degrees of both internal and external work.

“I’ve got to figure out how I’m going to deploy the staff to do it, because in a lot of areas people don’t have a lot of time on their hands, … but at the same time, I don’t want to go out and spend a lot of money to bring in a consultant,” he said.

“Since we’re not out of the woods yet, as we are implementing the various Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering committee recommendations for enrollment and for faculty. … We still … need to try and take a hard

POSSE: Program on leave for year CONTINUED FROM 1

MAX BREITSTEIN MATZA/the Justice

RACE AND GENDER: Prof. Anita Hill (Heller) above spoke about the implications of Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s rise to power.

Sotomayor’s own controversial words. “[Sotomayor] is someone whose life has been changed by the law,” said Hill. “Her relationship with the law is not just academic ... It is real and personal,” she said.

“That is one of the reasons I think she is going to make a fine jurist,” Hill added.

When asked whether race or gender is a more prominent issue today by a student in the audience, Hill says, “I’m not sure either are easier to resolve. It has become uncivil for any of us to recognize our race. It has become an inappropriate thing to talk about. If [Sotomayor] had

said a ‘wise woman’ [instead of wise Latina], I don’t think it would have gotten her in as much trouble.”

In an interview with the Justice, Mandrell commented on the event’s large turnout.

“It wasn’t just the number of people, but it was the way that people stayed through what turned out to be a long event and their [continued] engagement. People were really, seriously, interested in listening,” he said.

“I thought this was a wonderful opportunity to hear some of the great scholars, particularly someone [Anita Hill] who is very familiar with the Supreme Court hear-

ings,” said Prof. Shilpa Davé (AMST), who attended the event.

Davé added that she had assigned her “Women in American Popular Culture” class to attend the event with questions in hand.

“The most interesting part of the lecture was Mandrell’s analysis of Sen. Lindsey Graham’s questioning of Sotomayor during the hearings.

His analysis allowed us to see that the senator had an underlying message in his tone that we would not have noticed if we just took Senator Graham’s questions at face value,” said Morgan Fine ’13, referring to Mandrell’s showing of Youtube footage of the hearings.

REVIEW: Univ will assess department staffing levels CONTINUED FROM 1

Other representatives from the religious community at Brandeis also shared their thoughts on the planned renovations.

“The renovation of the chapels is a great sign of interfaith commitment,” said Cuenin.

“Putting money into the chapels shows the University’s continuing dedication to the value of these spiritual traditions,” he said.

Winick commented on the significance of the renovations in relation to the University and its various religious groups, saying that “these renovations show that Brandeis understands and values how students grow spiritually during their time here, not just intellectually.”

look to see what our staffing patterns are,” Apfel said.

He added that he would consider more extensive research beyond the focus on staffing if he thought it beneficial. “If there are other things we can do that can be useful that provide community insight into how we compare with other institutions, then I want to do that too, … but I haven’t quite defined what that means yet.

Apfel explained that the review would look at administrative units that different institutions have in common. “[There’s] probably a way that we can go and compare how many people are in the controller’s office here or physical facilities here compared to Brandeis,” he said.

Apfel said the review would ask, “What does it take to get these jobs done at other places?”

The study would also look at appropriate institutions for comparison and therefore would not look at large schools such as the University of California, Berkeley or small colleges without large sci-

ence departments or research, Apfel said.

Apfel emphasized that differences in staffing levels would not necessarily reflect negatively.

“Maybe we have more because we do more things or because our physical plant is different,” he said.

“I don’t want this to just stop at the level of ‘Williams has 10 people and Amherst has 11 people.’ ... It shouldn’t stop there.”

He explained that wanted to see “how can we learn why those variances exist and whether there is anything we can do about them to create greater efficiencies.”

As a newcomer, he emphasized that he has heard anecdotal evidence that some departments feel overworked. He pointed out that that the Office of Research Administration has seen an increase in workload due to processing information related to the federal stimulus package. “Their level of work has gone up a huge amount, and they all have the same number of people to cover

it,” he said.

He recalled that while he was at the Rhode Island School of Design, faculty were concerned that the administration was spending too much money on its own staff. In that situation, RISD looked at public financial statements of comparable schools and found that the amount of money it spent was similar to that of other institutions; however, what it spent on financial aid was less while its academic expenditures were higher on academic programs was more.

For a study focused primarily on staffing, he said he did not expect all the information to be publicly available. For that reason, he said direct consultation with the other institutions could be necessary.

Apfel emphasized that the study would be very insightful to him as a new administrator “At one level it may be that this came from the faculty side, … [but] as the newcomer, I have every reason in the world to want to do it myself. I want to understand how the place works,” he said.

and the Posse Foundation. The decision was announced to department chairs and current Posse scholars in spring.

“The decision is just part of the very difficult economic climate,” Godsoe said. The Science Posse has not been affected, since the University receives “some significant grant funding to offset the cost of the Science Posse,” she said.

“The Howard Hughes Medical Institute Grant and the Carnegie Foundation provide significant levels of funding for the salaries and operating costs associated with the Science Posse. The full-tuition leadership scholarships are provided

by Brandeis University,” Godsoe wrote in an e-mail to the Justice.

In contrast with the science program, the full-tuition leadership scholarships, salaries and operating costs for the Brandeis Liberal Arts Posse are all provided by the University, Godsoe wrote.

Godsoe stated that the Office of Development has been working with donors in an effort to raise money for the Liberal Arts Posse.

She added that proposals to different foundations have also been sent to enlist their help.

“The University is actively doing whatever it can to restore [the Brandeis Liberal Arts Posse],” Godsoe said.

Godsoe could not be reached for further clarifications by press time.

“I think it’s unfortunate. I think that the Liberal Arts Posse has been a huge plus for the campus, and it’s brought us some wonderful students, and I understand the times are very difficult economically,” Epstein said.

Regarding the future of the Brandeis Science Posse, Epstein said, “I think if the economy continues to be in trouble, then everything is on the table, so I’m concerned.” “[The temporary suspension of Brandeis Liberal Arts Posse is] pretty upsetting, because the people who wanted to study something else other than science, they’re going to be left out,” Angcon Podder ’10, Brandeis Liberal Arts Posse 9, said.

Reflecting on her experience as a part of Brandeis Liberal Arts Posse 11, Tamar Brown ’12 said, “Well I definitely probably wouldn’t have been at Brandeis without the Posse scholarship. … I wouldn’t have really known to research this school in particular.”

If you have an interest in theater, consider writing for the Arts section of theJustice. the

Justice is looking for writers to both preview and review shows.

E-mail artseditors@yahoo.com for more information.

THE JUSTICE

just

features

●

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2009

VERBATIM | Richard Nixon Sure, there are dishonest men in local government. But there are dishonest men in national government, too.

ON THIS DAY...

FUN FACT

In 1812, Moscow was set on fire by Russians after Napoleon Bonaparte’s troops invaded.

“Go” is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.

Fighting for publication

By TESS RASER JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

If someone were to pick up a copy of Prof. Jytte Klausen’s (POL) new book, The Cartoons That Shook the World, he might expect to see the said cartoons that supposedly shook the world. However, these cartoons, as well as any sort of supplementary images, are conspicuously absent.

The Cartoons That Shook the World, which was published in October, chronicles the influence of cartoons from an article from the Danish newspaper The Jutland Post titled “The face of Muhammad.” Images from “The face of Muhammad” include cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad dressed in a bomb-shaped turban as well as several caricatures’ of the Muslim holy figure. The cartoons, which were published in September 2005, prompted violent demonstrations led by various Islamic groups across Europe, Asia and Africa several months later.

These protests led to the deaths of over 100 people and caused Danish embassies in Lebanon, Iran and Syria to be set on fire.

“There’s a big difference between saying that the cartoons caused all these things to happen and that the cartoons were used in the context in which all these horrible things happened,” Klausen said. “One hundred seventy five people died in Nigeria in which the cartoons were mentioned, but it was really a civil war that was going on. … There were more important issues.”

Klausen, who is Danish and knew many of the Danish actors involved in the cartoons, wrote the book as part of an investigative project. She said that she started the book in early 2006, right when the protests against the cartoons peaked. Klausen also knew several of the Muslim leaders involved in the protest from working on her previous book, The Islamic Challenge: Politics and Religion in Western Europe.

“I wanted to find out what happened in between [the publication of the cartoons and the protests], ... what were the sources of the protest and how could we trace those sources,” said Klausen, who has been a professor of comparative politics at Brandeis for 17 years.

However, when Klausen brought her book to Yale University Press to be published, Yale decided to have the images of the 12 cartoons, as well as other images of Muhammad in the book, reviewed by experts. In the end, Yale decided not to publish the images.

John Donatich, director of Yale University Press, discussed including the cartoons in the book with counterterrorism officials, diplomats and Muslim United Nations officials. Donatich told the New York Times that the Press’s decision regarding the publication of the cartoons was “overwhelming and unanimous.” Yale was afraid that republishing the images might cause further protests and violence from the Islamic world.

However, according to Klausen, the decision was not unanimous.

“John Donatich used the term unanimous, and he realized he had misspoken afterward and sent me

Prof. Jytte Klausen (POL) faced controversy with her newest book

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

AN INVESTIGATIVE PROFESSOR: Prof. Klausen (POL) wrote the book The Cartoons That Shook the World, which chronicles violence and protests that broke out in Europe, Asia and Africa as a result of controversial Danish cartoons. a message. The book was also reviewed by four expert reviewers who were asked if the cartoons should be in book, and they said they should,” explained Klausen.

Charles Radin, director of global operations and communications at Brandeis, who has been handling all the media requests that Klausen has been receiving, also confirmed that “at least one of the people who gave an opinion said that she did not agree.”

“After Yale sought some opinions of these cartoons and

[Klausen] demanded to see what the people who [Yale] sought opinions from had to say, they said they wouldn’t show them to her unless she promised not to reveal who the people were,” said Radin.

The result has been described as a “gag order.”

Klausen said that she believes Yale University Press wanted all images of Muhammad removed, not just the cartoons, because “[they have] become very politicized. [They’ve] become a lens in the West for speaking about what

7

Muslims want or do not want—regard we should pay to not just Islam but all religious prohibitions,” said Klausen.

Additionally, Yale sent the cartoons out to be reviewed without sending the book along with them.

In this way, Klausen believes Yale did not provide proper context for the book.

“I think it’s a mistake to send out illustrations about an academic book without sending the book. I would say the experts were not fully informed about a book

they were asked to have an opinion about. It’s as if we're in the Cold War, but we’re not in a war,” Klausen said.

Yale University Press officially refused to print the controversial Danish Muhammad cartoons because “[they] are freely available on the Internet and can be accurately described in words, so reprinting them could be interpreted easily as gratuitous,” saidDonatich.

Klausen contends that republishing the cartoons now would be harmless, since the goal of the book is to explain why the cartoons were controversial. However, Klausen also said she knew that the images would be controversial but thought that the book would be a forum to discuss their implications in a neutral and calm way.

Radin also said the book has been getting attention and coverage from not only American papers but also United Arab Emirates papers, the London Times and even journalist and religious skeptic Christopher Hitchens, all centered around the cartoon debates.

Some members of Brandeis’ faculty agreed that the images in Klausen’s book should have been published. Chair of the Politics department Prof. Steven Burg said, “Suppressing the publication of the cartoons was an act of self-censorship under pressure of fear of acts of relation.”

Radin explained that fear: “The impression that comes out of much of the media accounts is that they were security consultants who [did not] read the book but just looked at the cartoons. To consider it that way doesn’t look at the context or the academic mission.”

Donatich confirmed to the Boston Globe that “it became a security issue and not a censorship issue.”

Burg believes that the information that the book provides should be of greater importance than the consequences the cartoons may cause.

“While judgments about the probable consequences of publication may reasonably differ, the work itself is serious scholarship intended for a serious audience,” Burg said.

Politics student Nathan Koskella ’13 also believes that the decision to remove the images from the book is an act of censorship.

“I think that there need to be pictures in the text to refer to,” Koskella said.

While Radin contends that Klausen’s book is still effective in its message, he worries that it is not as effective as it could have been.

“It’s a good, strong, solid piece of scholarship, but I don’t see how anyone could argue that it could be as effective without the images,” Radin said. “Part of the reason of the book [was written was to see what the] controversy really was about. [Klausen] basically says [that] if [she were] was teaching a course on sex education [she] would expect people to be able to look in a straightforward and educated motivated way at how [things] look. ... It would be silly to teach a course like that without having illustrations.”

—Rebecca Klein contributed reporting.

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2009

From graduation to the altar Many Brandeis alumni find lifelong love with their college sweethearts

By REBECCA BLADY JUSTICE EDITOR

When a friend of Reuben Wechsler ’80 and Ellen Levine-Wechsler ’80 arranged a meeting on Chapels Field to exchange chemistry notes toward the end of their junior year, the couple did not foresee the imminent rollercoaster ride their relationship would take that would to last for years to come.

“I saw a guy walking towards me that day at our proposed meeting time, and I looked into his dreamy brown eyes, introduced myself and asked him about borrowing the notes,” Levine-Wechsler said in an e-mail to the Justice. “His entire response to me was, ‘If I lend you the notes, you better return them back to me in perfect condition.’ ... But, it actually blossomed into a very long, offand-on-again relationship.”

In 2006, 26 years after they left Brandeis, Wechsler and Levine-Wechsler got married.

According to Assistant Vice President of Alumni and University Relations Karen Engelbourg ’79, Brandeis has a record of 2,162 alumni married to alumni. To put that in perspective, that’s approximately equal to the entire current sophomore class plus the entire junior class plus one-seventh of the senior class—all married to each other.

Wechsler and Levine-Wechsler dated their entire senior year and then broke up during their first year at different graduate schools.

Levine-Wechsler didn’t hear from Wechsler again until several years after finishing graduate school. He occasionally checked in with her, once actually in person at LevineWechsler’s parents’ home in Fort Lauderdale soon after the birth of her first child.

“It was a joyous meeting,” said LevineWechsler in her e-mail, “but I was already married, and now with a new baby."

Years passed before Wechsler called again.

But this time, the circumstances were different.

“Reuben and I were both separated from our spouses, and we began a friendship all over again. Renewed, but different. I think we both grew into the people we always knew we’d one day become, and treasured this growth. We soon were both divorced, and went to our Brandeis 25th reunion together, now dating again (some of our former classmates thought still!) We explained to everyone that wonderful night … that our relationship [was] renewed, 25 years after we left Brandeis.

About a year later, we married. I left Florida with my two children, and moved north to Atlanta to live with Reuben and his two children.”

Engelbourg, who married alumnus Donald Stewart ’76 at the Faculty Club, mentioned several reasons why many alumni choose to tie the knot in the years after graduation.

“Being married to a fellow alum, I can certainly understand why so many Brandeis graduates get together,” Engelbourg wrote in an e-mail to the Justice. “Brandeis is a small, intimate and very unique community. In some ways, it’s very much like family. Many of us share common values and interests, and of course, share our university experience. The relationships we form here, whether during our undergraduate days or once we’re alumni, are lifelong.”

Engelbourg and Stewart are hardly alone in their choice to integrate Brandeis into their married lives. Prof. Shula Reinharz (SOC) met her husband, University President Jehuda Reinharz, in high school, and they both earned their doctoral degrees at Brandeis.

Shula Reinharz told the story in an e-mail

PHOTO COURTESY OF LEWIS BROOKS

to the Justice of her first encounter with her husband. As high school sweethearts, Shula and Jehuda met at ages 15 and 17, respectively. According to Shula, they met right after Jehuda moved to the United States from Germany. “His parents sent him to live with a relative in my town—River Edge, NJ— until they could find an apartment or house,” Prof. Reinharz said.

“His arrival in my high school—River Dell Regional—caused quite a stir because there were almost no foreign students attending. I met him the first day he was in the school, in the cafeteria. I walked up to him and said to him in broken Hebrew (he knew no English at all) that I’d be happy to show him around.

I knew (and perhaps he did too) that I had just met the person I would marry,” Shula Reinharz said.

Six years later, President Reinharz and Prof. Reinharz married, moved to Boston, and became a Brandeis alumni couple when they both finished their Ph.D.s—hers in Sociology, his in modern Jewish history—here.

Even among the multitude of married alumni who don’t hold official University titles, fascinating stories abound. Although Lewis Brooks ’80 and Denise Brooks ’84 were never actually students at Brandeis at the same time, Denise shared an anecdote about their meeting at Brandeis in an e-mail to the Justice.

“Lewis was ‘famous’ for the slideshows he showed before Friday night movies while he was a student,” Denise said. “In May of 1983, Lewis came back to campus to show slideshows. At the time, I was the President of ProBo [short for Programming Board, now Student Events], and Lewis came into the office looking for an extension cord.

The rest really is history. Lewis proposed to me in February of my senior year. I ran weekly ProBo meetings on Monday nights.

Lewis knew that and sent someone in with a message during one of the meetings and asked me to come to the International Lounge at a certain time, and that’s where he proposed.”

Dissatisfied with their New York hometown’s choice of wedding venues, the two invited their friends and family back to Brandeis for a “destination wedding.” The night before the wedding, they had a barbecue in Massell Quad. The next day, Lewis and Denise were married in the Berlin Chapel, followed by a reception in the Faculty Lounge.

As Engelbourg indicated, Brandeis seems conducive to forging special lifelong relationships. Many alumni expressed similar feelings about the love they found while at their alma mater.

Lisa Berman Hills ’82, married to her fellow Politics major Matthew Hills ’81, wrote in an e-mail to the Justice, “The Brandeis undergraduate experience attracts students who are not only committed to academic excellence, but who also share common values and interests. A vibrant and engaged student body enables meaningful relationships to be easily formed.”

Denise Brooks added, “We have a huge

THEN AND NOW: Denise Brooks ’84 and Lewis Brooks ’80, now married, met at Brandeis, although they were never actually students together. The couple met when Lewis was visiting campus in ’83. Lewis proposed to Denise during her senior year, and they got married at the Brandeis Faculty Club.

PHOTO COURTESY OF LEWIS BROOKS

PHOTO COURTESY OF LEWIS BROOKS

THROUGHOUT THE YEARS: Reuben Wechsler ’80 and Ellen Levine-Wechsler ’80, who dated throughout college, got married 26 years after they left Brandeis.

PHOTO COURTESY OF LEWIS BROOKS

number of friends where the bride and the groom went to Brandeis. It does seem, in talking to friends at work and where we live, that Brandeis’ incidence of this kind of thing is high.”

Levine-Wechsler agreed. “The best part about [my relationship with my husband] is that we both have so many of the same memories about college and friends. I guess you can say that for me, Brandeis was not just a life-turning event, it was a life-long event.”

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

the Justice Established 1949

Brandeis University

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

Substantiate new slogans There’s been a lot of verbiage flying around Brandeis lately but not a lot of actual change. An itch to rebrand ourselves is going around the University, and it has resulted mainly in some name changes that are at best unnecessary and at worst crass. The Dean’s office has provided us with a set of new curricular learning goals. The Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering admissions subcommittee has helpfully sorted our majors into eight “areas” of study, such as “Humanities: Reason and Imagination” and “The Global University.” We’ve also gained some new signage at the University’s entrance, where banners proclaim such slogans as “Liberal Arts for the 21st Century” and names of subject areas such as “Jewish Studies.”

Residence Life and the Office of Student Conduct rebranding themselves as the Department of Community Living and the Office of Student Rights and Community Standards are two unnecessary name changes that don’t matter much.

However, when empty campaign slogans such as “Liberal Arts for the 21st Century” (coming at a time when the Liberal Arts Posse scholarship program has been suspended) start popping up on our campus, we have cause to worry.

A young university like Brandeis doesn’t have years of tradition to fall back on when promoting itself to prospective students. However, promoting a supposedly innovative liberal arts program when Brandeis’ academic focus has been on professional concentrations like the new Business major seems to be in bad faith.

Furthermore, promoting our majors as entries in New Age categories like

Terms seem meaningless “The Global University” isn’t only an unnecessary attempt at labeling and sorting students whom many administrative bodies like to see engaging in interdisciplinary, unclassifiable study. It’s also dangerously close to Dean of Arts and Science Adam Jaffe’s infamous “meta-majors” proposal last February—a plan, immediately rejected by the faculty, to consolidate majors into broad subject areas, wherein students could concentrate rather than major in more specific areas.

Furthermore, the University’s curricular learning goals program, initiated by demands from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, a board that grants and revokes accreditation from universities, has been presented to professors and Undergraduate Department Representatives and is being promoted via a large new outdoor banner on the Shapiro Campus Center. We support the University’s desire to assess and attempt to regulate the quality of learning that goes on at Brandeis, and we recognize the difficulty in coming up with a quantitative program to measure such an abstract and ineffable thing. However, attempting to get students to think seriously about whether they’ve “mastered” such “core skills” as “communication skills,” “quantitative skills” and “critical thinking skills” is willfully naïve.

What’s more, elevating “social justice” to the level of “knowledge” within this goal hierarchy is yet more curious.

Instead of promoting our academic experience with campaign-like slogans, the University should focus on enhancing students’ education in order to fit these empty labels.

Staff review a positive step According to a Sept. 3 faculty meeting announcement by University President Jehuda Reinharz, Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration Jeffrey Apfel will oversee a comprehensive review of University staffing levels. During the review, called for by many faculty members and praised by Mr. Apfel, the University will compare Brandeis’ staff roster to those of eight to 12 other similar universities, thereby judging the appropriateness of staff levels of departments in the school. We believe that the pending review will be a positive addendum to the administration’s efforts to trim Brandeis’ budget by making across-the-board staff cuts.

Faculty members took the initiative to propose and point out the benefits of the review, and that this proposal is now reality shows that faculty concerns were heard, considered and acted upon at upper administrative levels. This apparent receptiveness provides evidence to back administrative promises to consider input from all facets of the University when making decisions. We hope that this trend continues.

This review also shows the faculty and administration’s concerns about the staff cuts’ effects that go beyond the purely fiscal. The review may, in the words of University President Jehuda

It will consider all input Reinharz, reveal “new efficiencies” that will further improve Brandeis’ management of its skimpy funds, showing where new cuts can be made or funds can be reapportioned. But discovering University departments that are understaffed—especially in comparison to those of comparable area schools—could lead to greater spending on research administration and similar departments that would eventually strengthen Brandeis’ academic portfolio rather than its pocket.

The fact that this review is being conducted is also promising for Mr. Apfel, a new administrator at Brandeis brought in to replace outgoing Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Peter French. Mr. Apfel will be able to use this review to become better acquainted with Brandeis campus, staff and departments, and we are encouraged by his receptiveness from the beginning of his time at the University.

We hope that the administration will continue to use tools such as this review to keep tabs on the effects of its budget- and organization-related decisions and will adjust staffing and funding plans accordingly to better manage our University during this fiscally rocky period.

A. ELI TUKACHINSKY/the Justice

Klausen’s cartoon book exceeded the bounds of freedom of speech

By NUSRATH YUSUF JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Far too many people seem to be criticizing Yale University Press’ decision to remove the controversial Danish cartoons of Prophet Muhammad from Brandeis Prof. Jyette Klausen’s (POL) book, The Cartoons That Shook the World, to be released in November. Prominent alumni from Yale, including a U.S. ambassador to the U.N. under the most recent Bush administration, a speechwriter for Bush and a liberal doctor, have signed a letter asking Yale to reinstate the cartoons to the book. Some people are calling Yale’s actions cowardly, claiming that the actions violate the author’s freedom of speech.

I, on the other hand, commend Yale for its decision to intervene in this instance of freedom of speech taken to a negative extreme.

Yale University Press consulted about a dozen Muslim diplomats before reaching its decision. Yale released a statement explaining that these cartoons were removed from the book because “there existed a substantial likelihood of violence that might take the lives of innocent victims.” Director of Yale University Press John Donatich also argued that this was not a case of suppressing freedom of speech because the press did not censor any original content of the writer.

Most of the diplomats who advised Yale remain unidentified, but one of the known who were consulted was Fareed Zakaria, a CNN host and Newsweek editor. He was quoted by The AP saying, “As a journalist and public commentator, I believe deeply in the First Amendment and academic freedom, but in this instance Yale University Press was confronted with a clear threat of violence and loss of life.”

Moreover, Yale University Press isn’t the only publication that decided not to publish these images. The New York Times and other newspapers had decided not to reprint them back in 2006.

Any images of any of the prophets are completely forbidden in Islam because Islam tries to avoid any sort of idolatry.

Not only did the Danish cartoons depict an image of the Prophet Muhammad, but one of the cartoons had him wearing a turban shaped into a bomb. Several months after these cartoons were published in 2005, there were many riots linked to the cartoons that ultimately resulted in over 200 deaths. Also, many Muslim countries boycotted Danish products as yet another result. Why publish the same cartoons again that have already caused so much mayhem?

I realize that the reason the cartoons were published the first time differs from the reason they are included in Prof.

Klausen’s book. This book is meant for academic purposes and is meant to document the whole controversy behind the cartoons. People could argue that removing the cartoons from the book makes it harder to understand the controversy behind it and ultimately decreases the value of the book.

The people who are so curious to see the cartoons, though, should just look for them online where information is not regulated by publishers. It’s not necessary to have the cartoons in the book in order to describe the turmoil; a written description of them is sufficient.

To have a cartoon of an Arab dressed up as a terrorist is one thing, but to draw a cartoon of Islam’s holiest figure in such garb is taking it too far. That’s just the ultimate way of saying that all Muslims are terrorists, which is absolutely not true. This is abusing freedom of speech. As a Muslim, I wouldn’t buy a book that contained such images no matter how neutral the book. Now that the book won’t have these images, I might buy it after all.

Brandeis’ Imam (Islamic chaplain) Talal Eid gives another good reason for Yale’s decision to remove the images.

Brandeis promotes ideals like peace and social justice. But imagine, says Eid, what people would think if a professor from a nonsectarian Jewish university like ours publishes a book with these offensive cartoons. What would that do for Brandeis’ image? He thinks that this book being published by the Brandeis professor could tarnish Brandeis’ image of a peace-promoting organization focused on tolerance and multiculturalism.

Ultimately, yet reluctantly, Klausen accepted Yale’s decision to remove the cartoons. No matter how wrong people think Yale’s self-censorship is, I believe Yale made the appropriate decision. Sometimes freedom of speech needs to be regulated just for the sake of peace.

OP-BOX Quote of the Week “The Brandeis undergraduate experience attracts students who are not only committed to academic excellence, but who also share common values an interests. A vibrant and engaged student body enables meaningful relationships to be easily formed.”

—Lisa Berman Hills ’82 on why Brandeis is conducive to students meeting their spouses. She herself is married to Matthew Hills ’81.

(See Features, page 9)

Brandeis Talks Back Now that ’DeisBikes are back in action, what are your plans to use them, if any?

JULIE GOODMAN ’11 “Personally, I’m not a huge biker, so I’m probably not the best person to ask.”

ABHIRUP DAS ’11 “I’m sorry, I can’t ride a bike.”

DAN GILLMAN ’10 “Regularly if possible.”

DANIELLE BORIN ’12 “I’ll use them as long as the weather doesn’t get really cold.”

THE JUSTICE

READER COMMENTARY First impression of Olin mistaken In response to your article “Cherish Brandeis’ excellent environment” (Forum, Sept. 8): The book was a lengthy ramble about how if a company empathizes with its customers, it can do a more effective job of marketing to and creating products for those customers. One of the examples that the author gave was a consulting project that his own design firm worked on. Target asked its design firm to come up with ways to more effectively market to 17-year-olds shopping for their freshman year of college.

The point that an Olin student brought up was a very valid one: The last thing the world needs is more stuff. His point was that it is slightly unethical for Target to prey on the fears of nervous teenagers to hawk more stuff to them, when what they really need are people telling them, “Yes, you’ll do great in college, don’t worry.” But it isn’t Target’s job to reassure college freshmen.

Target is the business of selling goods to you.

Convincing you to buy less stuff is perhaps a more ethical thing to do from an environmental standpoint, but it is not in the best interest of Target to do so, so they won’t do it.

It seems that you interpreted this counterargument of “Target is in the business of selling household goods, not counseling” as “Olin students are corporate shills.” It is hard to discuss a nuanced argument in an auditorium of 300 students. I hope that the impression of Olin that you take away will come from your classes rather than an awkward convocation Q-and-A. Also, I was the person who asked the question about laying off people. What I was trying to ask was, “Is an empathetic corporate culture always the best for the greater good of the company?

What if it hurts the company’s bottom line, resulting in less pocket change for the employees?” I was trying to emphasize that caring for people on an individual level may not be the best for the greater good of the collective. Nuance is key here. It is unwise to assume that a large room of sentient human beings are all mindless tools.

—Katherine Elliott The writer is a student at Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering.

Bales’ slavery talk affects students The article “Modern-day emancipation” (Features, Sept. 8) about the recent lecture at Brandeis by contemporary abolitionist Dr. Kevin Bales captured well the power of the event. Along with the rest of the standing-room-only crowd in Rapaporte Treasure Hall, I listened raptly as Dr. Bales discussed the forms and methods of human bondage occurring both globally and within our own society today. I was heartened to hear that liberating and acclimating former slaves to freedom is quite possible. We, in this land of plenty, have a moral obligation to end slavery domestically and internationally, particularly given that, as Bales told us, the cost is a fraction of what we devote to, say, war efforts. We live in a country where our current president, merely by virtue of his skin color, could have been legally enslaved less than a century and a half ago; that attests to advances we have made toward outlawing slavery. But much remains to be done.

I left the event moved by Bales’ poignant recounting of his afternoon talking with female sex slaves in Southeast Asia, whom he could not liberate because doing so would result in someone else being killed—an experience that led Bales to help launch the Free the Slaves antislavery organization in the U.S. I am outraged that something as unconscionable as slavery persists on such a large scale and feel obligated to take some action, as I am sure others do as well.

Bales said throughout history, investigative reporters have been key to abolition movements.

Maybe some of us will be investigative reporters, but many of us won’t. Fortunately, there are outlets for us students to direct the righteous indignation, energy and commitment to social justice that are hallmarks of the Brandeis community.

Bales said that while it’s not the most exciting action to take against slavery, the most valuable contribution students can make is to give regular donations, even $5 per month, to antislavery organizations like his (www.freetheslaves.net), which funds services to help enslaved people liberate themselves and start new self-supporting lives. Those who want to do more should visit Human Trafficking Students’ Web site (www.humantraffickingstudents.webs.com).

The new, quickly evolving, Boston-area organization connects students with local antislavery meetings, advocacy trainings, fundraising events and organizations. To get involved, contact humantraffickingstudents@gmail.com.

—Jonah Seligman ’10 The writer is a research assistant at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism, which brought Dr. Bales to Brandeis.

Write to us

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

Letters from off-campus sources should include location. The Justice does not print letters to the editor and op-ed submissions that have been submitted to other publications. Op-ed submissions of general interest to the University community—that do not respond explicitly to articles printed in the Justice—are also welcome and should be limited to 800 words.

All submissions are due Friday at 5 p.m.

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2009

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Require community service

By EITAN COOPER JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Just the other day in Sherman Dining Hall, I stood in front of the dessert table, agonizing over which cupcake to claim. While the vanilla frosting has its merits, who can ever refuse chocolate? And Jason, our wonderful omelet/stir-fry/pasta chef, doesn’t make it any easier with all of his delicious sauces and toppings to choose from.

And that’s just the cafeteria! I’m not even going to get into class shopping; there is literally not enough ink to cover the subject.

Do I prefer Chemistry or Computer Science?

Akkadian or Greek? All are seemingly lifechanging dilemmas.

Here’s what I’m trying to say: in my first two weeks at Brandeis, I have noticed that much of what I do involves taking. I can take classes. I can take food from the cafeteria. I can take advice from my academic adviser. I can take information about 50 different clubs at the activities fair. But whatever happened to giving?

Brandeis University prides itself on advocating social justice. It seems somewhat ironic, then, that Brandeis does not push harder for its talented students to live up to the mantra of social welfare.

In order to comply with this ever-present mantra, the University should require community service in order for its students to graduate. For, let’s say, two hours a week for just one semester, we should go out into the Boston area and do something charitable. There wouldn’t be grades, papers or professors. We could even choose what we want to do.

And because it would be a University requirement, no one would be able to stray away from it. We are required to take classes across a variety of disciplines and even required to take physical education.

Brandeis’s goal is to mold us into wellrounded human beings. Shouldn’t community service be a contributor to the molding process?

True, there are a number of different community service options on campus. And I’m

STACY HANDLER/the Justice

sure many people sign up for a variety of clubs. But by no means do enough members of the student population partake in these activities. If we all stopped for a moment, and just looked around at our environment, we would see that we live in a very selfish community.

Don’t get me wrong: I don’t mean to insult our University. Really, most colleges in the world are like this. These are the formative years of our lives; it is important that we take time to, well, take. By taking time to make ourselves better people, we will be able to have a greater impact on the world around us. It’s a productive version of selfishness.

With that said, I still believe that all Brandeis students need to try, and maybe even be required every once and a while, to escape this selfish mindset. It’s only through acts of selflessness that we can

truly get a sense of the world around us.

Through community service we can, for a brief moment, catch a glimpse of what life is like outside the conveniences of living in our little Brandeis bubble.

Selflessness is difficult. Because the truth is, most of us really enjoy taking. When push comes to shove, we aren’t all too motivated to act. And if we do, many times it is primarily for our own personal satisfaction and secondarily for others.

We are not bad people for not always wanting to help others. We are pretty normal people in this regard. But let’s try to be something more—especially because we chose to attend a university that makes social justice one of its central principles.

While we use these four years to make ourselves better people, let’s honestly, generously and selflessly give a little in the process.

Revamp shopping period to fix its flaws

By ELLY KALFUS JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Entering Brandeis just three short weeks ago was a harrowing process. Figuring out all the ins and outs of living on campus was even harder. But the silver lining on the whole situation was the idea of navigating the world of shopping—shopping classes, that is.

While I concede that there are benefits to the Brandeis shopping system, such as giving students the opportunity to meet their professors before committing to a class or allowing us to see which areas of interest we most want to pursue, the cons definitely outweigh the pros.

I’m not advocating that the University eliminate the shopping system altogether; rather, I think that the University should revamp the system to make it run more smoothly in order to have a relatively happier and more peaceful start of the school year.

To start, first-years sign up for classes early on in the summer, practically while we’re still in high school. Because the significance of the shopping period isn’t impressed on first-years beforehand, a majority of first-years are too intimidated by the process to actively look for alternatives to the classes they have signed up for, and instead, find safety in sticking to their pre-existing schedules.

This means that by the time the first day of class rolls around in August, we are utterly committed to each and every one of the classes we have signed up for and have practically memorized, though we will consult our folded-up schedules countless times in a single day.

Even if first-years wanted to shop classes, there is such a vast number and variety of

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

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classes that too easily intrigue students that it can easily overwhelm and intimidate a student of any class year.

And then once students decide which classes to shop, they must then reconfigure their whole schedules around the classes they eventually decide to keep, an undesirable feat considering the complexity of the sage system despite its recent reconfiguration.

Another particularly confusing part of the process is whether to buy one’s required materials as soon as the syllabus for the course appears online. If you act quickly, you can look for them online and hopefully get them at a discounted price, but if you decide later to drop the class, you find yourself having to choose between sticking with a course you don’t like and dropping it and having to find a friend in the class who will buy your books.

On the other hand, if you wait to buy your books until after you have attended the class a few times and know you want to keep it, it may be too late to order the books online, since they are more often than not needed sooner than a store would ship them.

While on the topic of books, another issue that arises from the shopping period is the supply of books available to students in the Brandeis bookstore. Many students buy books for their classes from the bookstore before deciding to remain in the class, since the bookstore allows students to return the textbooks up until a certain time within this period.

However, since at times more students buy the books than are signed up for the class, there are students who come to the bookstore too late and must place a special order for the books they need, while being forced to use a classmate’s copies until their

The Staff For information on joining the Justice, write to justeditor@ brandeis.edu.

EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS NEWS: Harry Shipps FORUM: Hillel Buechler

orders have arrived. In short, the shopping period causes students to waste money or show up to class unprepared because of the long interval of time students are given to shop.

Now, Brandeis’ intentions are good, and with work and a lot of student input, the University could solve the problems presented by the shopping period in its current state.

For instance, one good element is that students are told early on that there is an official last day to add classes. So, why not implement a standard time for when courses will start having graded homework and tests? This way all departments would be on the same page, and students transferring into classes would know what they are getting into and thus can judge if it is too late to add a class.

Another suggestion would be to either better advertise the shopping period to firstyears early on so we know what we are getting into or else not require first-years to select their classes so far in advance.

Additionally, the sage system should be reconfigured so that it does not prevent students from signing up for multiple classes during the same time block for the duration of the shopping period.

Although it is helpful to see which classes conflict with one another, this technical feature does not take into account students who are trying to choose between classes with limited enrollment and want to reserve a spot in both for the duration of the shopping period.

By implementing some of these suggestions and others the student body doubtlessly has to offer, Brandeis can hope to make its first few weeks of class an easier transition for both faculty and students, especially first-years.

STAFF Senior Writers: Miranda Neubauer, Melissa Siegel Senior Illustrator: A. Eli Tukachinsky News/Features Staff: Alana Abramson, Destiny Aquino, Sam Datlof, Irina Finkel, Reina Guerrero, Ruth Orbach Forum: Richard Alterbaum, David Litvak, Zachary Matusheski, Ethan Mermelstein, Eileen Smolyar Arts: Wei-Huan Chen, Rachel Klein, Emily Leifer, Wei Sum Li, Daniel Orkin, Alex Pagan, Ben Serby, Shelley Shore Photography: Rebecca Ney Sports: Sean Petterson Copy: Ariel Adams, Danielle Berger, Jacob Chatinover, Emily Kraus, Lauren Paris, Joyce Wang Layout: Karen Hu, Kathryn Marable

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

FORUM EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING EXAMINED

RISHIKA ASSOMULL/the Justice

IN FAVOR

Learning can happen outside the classroom Zachary

MATUSHESKI COMMENT IS FREE

With the Justice Brandeis Semester under discussion, experiential learning is on many people’s minds. According to the international nonprofit Association for Experiential Education, experiential learning is “a philosophy and methodology in which educators purposefully engage with learners in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills and clarify values.” In other words, you learn about something, and then you go do it. Then you think about what you did. An example of experiential learning would be to take a class in banking, work for Bank of America and then write a paper or give a presentation on what was learned.

This style of pedagogy values both what can be learned in the classroom and what can be learned outside of it.

Experiential learning is an excellent concept for students facing the job market.

Outside experience can easily lead to employment. According to the National Association of College and Employers, 30.7 percent of new hires came from an internship program within the company and 60 percent of new hires had internship experience. Last year, Northeastern’s experiential learning program placed students with the International Monetary Fund, Microsoft and Children’s Hospital Boston. With a

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[Experiential learning] is at its best when it complements coursework by providing another source of learning.

tight job market, having a meaningful internship may be the key to getting a job.

Experiential learning can take the internship experience to another level. By involving course work related to the field and a program-based paper or presentation, students can take what they saw as an intern and turn it into a reflective learning experience. There is no better way to learn about the good and bad parts of a job or service than by having to deal with those parts on a daily basis. What is abstract in the lecture hall becomes real.

That said, experiential learning does not have to be an alternative to the lecture hall or the liberal arts education. It is at its best when it complements coursework by providing another source of learning. Basic educational psychology shows that information can be taken in by a variety of ways: seeing, hearing, and doing. You get the “seeing” from reading and visual aids in lectures. You get the “hearing” from lectures.

Discussion sections offer a sort of “learning by doing.” Experiential learning enriches the “doing” sort of learning.

Furthermore, a liberal arts education allows students to experiment. Students can see if they enjoy Classics, Anthropology, Physics or Psychology. Similarly, experiential learning allows students to try out different careers. It is a win-win situation

regardless of the outcome. If students like their internships, the advantage of a likely chance of obtaining employment mentioned earlier kicks in. If a student totally hates the field they are working in, then he learns a little bit about what career he may want to pursue. Either way, the process leads to self-discovery.

Experiential learning provides a way for alumni and students to connect. By taking in a student participating in an experiential learning program, alumni can help their alma mater. Johns Hopkins University is a case in point. The Society of Engineering Alumni at Hopkins provides funding and support for students searching for an engineering internship. Another group of alumni at Hopkins provides $5,000 for nonprofit internship programs.

Communities benefit from universities with experiential learning programs.

Wagner College in New York City has a “Civic Innovation Program” which focuses on helping disadvantaged youth in New York City. The program focuses on student collaboration with youth organizations to enhance the lives of children. According to Wagner’s Web site, 1,200 Wagner students reach 8,000 kids each year. Wagner also provides a certificate program in Civic Engagement for students who are committed to giving back. A socially aware univer-

sity like Brandeis could learn something from Wagner.

Experiential learning has a social value beyond the benefits it provides to public service organizations with internship programs. Some universities have given students credit for the jobs they hold outside of the school. For example, Old Dominion University gives students various ways that don’t only include traditional coursework to prove competency so they may take higher-level courses. By approaching learning in this way, barriers to learning are removed while quality of education is assured.

There are many ways to learn about the world. An experiential learning program that connects the job experience with the classroom would be a boon for our University. Students would see how classroom discussion applies beyond the spirit of theory. The University would strengthen old relationships and develop new ones with the community. These relationships could provide a social value—whether it is helping a nontraditional student pursue education or aiding an overwhelmed social program with enthusiastic Brandeis students. An experiential learning program would add value to Brandeis University as an institution of ideas and as a community of scholars connecting to students.

IN OPPOSITION

Experiential learning cannot be a liberal art Matt

LAWRENCE MODEST PROPOSALS

Much has been made recently of the idea of experiential learning. The proposed Justice Brandeis Semester, which, according to the Justice, the University hopes to make mandatory, will cement our increasing commitment to this concept.

The temptation for the Justice Brandeis Semester to grant credit for internships and other more worldly pursuits is too great.

This is my most obvious concern. The report from the Sept. 1 issue of the Justice ends most tellingly: The last sentence of the article quotes a student glad her work in one of these classes will now seem more appealing on a résumé. This particular student had signed up for the class before the change in policy, but one can see how this mentality of résumé-boosting is inevitable.

This is particularly demeaning to any aca-

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The quest for knowledge, truth and beauty need not have any obvious correlative with a set of skills or experiences.

demic pursuit—the pursuit of career goals should be kept farther away from the classroom in order to maintain a high level of genuine academic discourse.

Some would argue that people already pad their résumés anyway and that at least they will be doing some good for the society at large. I would largely agree with that, but I would hasten to add that neither of those objectives have anything to do with the liberal arts.

More generally, I’m concerned that mandatory experiential learning challenges the role of the liberal arts at Brandeis. In an e-mail, Academic Administrator for Experiential Learning Audra Grady said that “a liberal arts education … is truly enhanced because of the real world settings” in which the student may be placed.

I’m skeptical of this division between the

“real world” and the classroom. This type of thinking holds the value of pure knowledge as something inferior. I have no doubt that for some students in fields such as the life sciences, the union of knowledge and extracurricular experience could have tremendous benefits. I’m less certain, however, that this is valuable for all students, particularly humanities and fine arts students.

Experiential learning insists that learning must be useful; the liberal arts never claimed to be useful—and I mean that as a compliment. The quest for knowledge, truth and beauty need not have any obvious correlative with a set of skills or experiences.

They are satisfying and enriching enough on their own. Grady says experiential learning “allows an individual to be prepared for a career” as “referencing a text or theory is

rarely enough to complete a job.” I cannot dispute either of those points, but I would argue that four years of college is too short; we have the rest of our lives to integrate our learning with experience. Many undergraduates, myself proudly included, are quite content to spend eight semesters cloistered in libraries and to spend our nights arguing in dormitories. A liberal arts education should keep the “real world” at bay for four years and let students luxuriate in the world of ideas.

This is not to say I have no contact with the outside world, but the things I choose to do are independent of my academic pursuits. Everything I learn informs who I am and how I see the world, but the process of converting that knowledge into practical know-how is quite subtle and one I do not wish to rush or be forced into.

THE JUSTICE

●

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2009

13

SPORTS WOMEN’S TENNIS

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Judges cruise past Wheaton and Simmons on the road

Team fails to score in two

■ The women’s tennis team

lost only one match against Wheaton College and Simmons College last week.

■ The women’s soccer

team tied at Springfield College and lost 1-0 at Babson College last week.

By JONATHAN STEINBERG JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

By MELISSA SIEGEL With the rain storming, the outdoor courts too wet to practice on and last Saturday’s home match against Bowdoin College canceled, the women’s tennis team arrived at last Sunday’s match at Simmons College and sent a strong message in the form of a 9-0 blowout win.

The Judges improved their record to 2-0 after they also defeated Wheaton College 8-1. “[This is] a nice strong start to the season,” No. 5 singles Sarah Richman ’12 said.

Brandeis dominated the match against Simmons from beginning to end, starting with three solid doubles performances. Rachel Rosman ’11 and Mackenzie Gallegos ’11 teamed up at No. 1 doubles and defeated the top Simmons team of junior Maile Macleod and rookie Sabrina Salmela, 8-1.

Rookie Faith Broderick ’12 paired with Richman at No. 2 doubles and won their match over Simmons sophomore Maggie Taylor and freshman Melissa Keroack by the same score.

Ariana Sanai ’10 and Nina Levine ’12 rounded out the doubles matches with an 8-2 victory over senior Jordan Borash and sophomore Athena Lynch. In total, the doubles team for Brandeis lost only four of 24 games against Simmons.

In singles action, Brandeis nearly swept each match in straight sets, as the team dropped only one set in singles play. Captain Emily Weisberger ’09 at No. 4 singles was the only Judge to drop a set. She won the first set easily 6-0, but then fell in the second set 46. She recovered from this loss to win the super-tiebreaker 10-8, securing the victory.

At No. 1 singles, Rosman fought through a tough first set against Salmela but cruised in the second, taking the match 7-6, 6-0.

Rosman said that her “mental toughness” allows her to play at a high level, but she can always improve her concentration.

“You really just have to make sure you keep your focus regardless of how each point goes,” Rosman said.

In other singles matches, Broderick handled her opponent Macleod at No. 2 singles, 6-0, 6-1. No. 3 Sanai and No. 6 Levine also had strong outings, taking their respective matches 6-3, 6-1 and 6-1, 6-0. Richman had to battle through her singles match at No. 5 singles but still won in straight sets 64, 6-4 to wrap up the Brandeis sweep.

Against Wheaton, the only match the Judges dropped was at No. 1 doubles, where Rosman and Gallegos were unable to hold off the Lyons’ top pairing of juniors Sarah Geocaris and Catherine Teague. The match was a back-and-forth duel, with both sides playing at high levels of intensity, but

JUSTICE SENIOR WRITER

DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/Justice File Photo

DOMINANT OPENERS: Rachel Rosman ’11 led the Judges to their first two wins of the season at No. 1 singles. Above, Rosman plays Bentley College at home last year. in the end Wheaton secured the victory, winning a close decision at 9-8.

Rosman, however, was able to even the odds at No. 1 singles against Geocaris. Rosman won the first set 63 and recovered from a 2-6 second-set loss to take the third set 6-2 to win the match. Gallegos also won her match at No. 4 singles, also bouncing back from a 2-6 second-set loss after taking the first 6-4, to win the match in a super-tiebreaker, 6-4, 2-6, 10-4.

“You really just have to go in thinking about it one point at a time,” Rosman said. “You just work on winning that one point, and not thinking any further ahead, and as soon as

doubles ends, you have to really transition quickly into singles.”

Other scores included Broderick’s win at No. 2 singles over Teague by a count of 2-6, 6-2, 6-2. Sanai, Weisberger and Richman each took their singles matches in straight sets at No. 3, No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, only dropping a combined 16 games among the three matches.

Brandeis will next compete at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division III Regional Championships hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology starting Sept. 18. The next team match will be at Bentley College Sept. 24.

GOLF: Bloom shines at Bowdoin CONTINUED FROM 16 79 by five strokes on day two to contribute to the Judges’ historic round.

Other scores included Dan Goldsmith’s ’11 22-over-par 164, which improved eight strokes from round one to round two, and Scott Beaulac’s ’12 21-over-par 163.

“Goldsmith played well [on] both days, especially the second,” Shipman said. “He needs to do that for us to shoot well [as a team].

Sacks has been playing well too.”

Bloom said he was proud of his team and impressed by the way they played last weekend.

“I think right now we have a really young and really good team,” he said. “Everyone here has the ability to shoot under an 80, and that makes us really dangerous. It’s certainly the best team I’ve ever been on.”

Shipman added that the team’s performance last weekend proved how good the team could be.

“We’re not that deep, but we have a capable group of five or six and I think we could keep among the better teams in New England in Division III if given the chance,” he said.

The team, whose future is unclear due to lack of space in the Athletics

budget, continues to play hard and focus on its game despite the off-thecourse issues it faces.

“We just go out there and play our best,” Bloom said. “It’s in the back of all of our minds but we just go out there and give it our all.”

“We are trying to play well to perform the as a team and as individuals to represent our team and our school,” Custato added. “We will always strive to perform the best we can no matter what the outcome of the team.”

The Judges will next compete at the Elms Invitational in Chicopee, Mass. Sept. 30.

Just 16 minutes, 20 seconds into the Brandeis women’s soccer team’s game against No. 18 Springfield College, forward Tiffany Pacheco ’11 found herself facing a wide-open net with the game tied at 0-0. A goal would have given the Judges an early lead against one of the top teams in the country.

Unfortunately for the Judges, Pacheco’s shot sailed just wide left, and the Judges went on to tie Springfield 0-0 in double overtime. Brandeis is now 2-1-1 after a 1-0 loss at Babson College on Wednesday.

After having five shots in the second half and just one in the first overtime, the Judges put the pressure on the Springfield defense in the second overtime, when the Judges got off three shots in the last nine minutes of play. The first two came from midfielder Alanna Torre ’12, who hit a ball wide of the net in the 102nd minute and another that was saved by Pride sophomore goalie Hanna MacDougall in the 105th minute. Brandeis also had a good chance at the end of the game when midfielder Mimi Theodore ’12, who had just come back into the game less than three minutes earlier, hit a header that also went wide of the net.

“Unfortunately. I thought we were the better team [on Saturday]. I thought we played hard, and we definitely controlled a lot of the game, but we didn’t really have a lot of shot opportunities that were threatening,” coach Denise Dallamora said. “[Springfield] did not play as well as I thought they were going to be.

They’re very athletic, they’re very physical, [and] they moved the ball well, but we actually stepped up and won a lot more of the 50-50s, and we just controlled more of the game.”

The Pride had some scoring

opportunities as well. With just over 10 minutes left in regulation, Springfield sophomore forward Katie Mantie’s free kick sailed over the crossbar. Mantie also had a shot go high in the fourth minute of overtime that would have given Springfield the win.

Both teams had similar statistics. Each goaltender had four saves and Brandeis had 16 shots compared to the Pride’s 14.

However, nine of the Judges’ shots came from either Torre or Pacheco, while Springfield’s shots were more spread out, with no player having more than three.

Springfield’s one big advantage came on corner kicks, having 10 compared to just four for Brandeis. However, the Brandeis defense, which has given up just three goals in four games, was able to shut the Pride down. The defense was led by goalie Hillary Rosenzweig ’10, who pitched her 17th career shutout and first of the season.

“The defense played exceptionally [well]. Every one of them stepped up,” Dallamora said. “All four of the back four [defenders Allison Maresca ’12, Taryn Martiniello ’11, Jessica Schulman ’12 and Francesca Shin ’12] were solid from beginning to end.

Maybe [they made] a couple of mistakes here and there but basically they played lights-out.”

Last Wednesday night, the Judges suffered their first loss of the season against Babson College. The Beavers scored the only goal of the game in the 71st minute when junior Patty Pytlik scored her fourth goal of the season on a shot that landed inside the left post. Babson outshot Brandeis 20-10 in the game, including 11-4 in the second half, though Dallamora thought that statistic was because Babson was being more liberal in what they considered a “shot.”

“I think we controlled most of the first half,” she said. “We did not control the second half; they controlled the second half, and that was unfortunate for us.”

The Judges are next in action today at home against Bridgewater State University at 4 p.m. and Thursday at Roger Williams College at 3 p.m.

VOLLEYBALL: Squad splits at home invite CONTINUED FROM 16 Earlier in the day the Judges were unable to take a single set from Tufts, as the Jumbos won 2725, 25-15, 25-19. Tufts was able to control the flow of the game in each set, forcing Brandeis to play from behind for most of the match.

Despite the tough loss, Kim recognized that her team needs to improve on certain aspects of its game in order to beat Tufts, a team they face at home on Sept. 22. “[To beat Tufts], we need to clean up our passing and defense,” Kim said. “Our blockers need to be disciplined. We know we have it in us to challenge them.”

In their first game of the tournament last Friday, the Judges defeated Rhode Island College in three sets by scores of 25-14, 25-12, 25-20. Setter Abby Blasco ’11 had 39 of the team’s 40 assists in the match, and the offensive attack of outside hitter Paige Blasco ’11, Fischer, McAllister, and Smith were able to finish off the Anchorwomen.

Later, the Judges faced the Ephs of Williams College, who defeated the Judges in a tight four-set match. The Judges won the first set 25-20, but after losing the second set 25-23, Brandeis was unable to gain another set, losing 25-13, 25-22 in the process.

Despite the fact that the team went 2-2 on the weekend, Smith recognized the team’s resiliency.

“We didn’t reach our goal of winning the tournament, but we did overcome losing to Williams and Tufts,” Smith said.

While Kim was happy with how the team performed in its wins, she still thinks it could have played a more consistent and better overall game in the tournament.

“I don’t think we had the best showing this weekend,” she said.

“We had a really strong start to the season, and we have definitely played better than we have shown this season.”

The team, now 7-3 after defeating Wellesley College in four sets last Wednesday, continues its season at Endicott College Thursday.

THE JUSTICE ● TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2009

AP BRIEFS

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Bears linebacker Urlacher out for the season after first team loss

Nicole Smith ’11 ■ The middle blocker led the

volleyball team to two wins and a .500 record at the Brandeis Invitational last weekend. She also earned all-tournament honors in the process.

While the volleyball team did not finish as well as it had hoped at the nineteam Brandeis Invitational last weekend, ending with a 2-2 record, the Judges still got a top performance from middle blocker Nicole Smith ’11.

Smith was named to the all-tournament team after being a crucial contributer in giving the Judges’ two wins.

She was one of two middle blockers to be selected to the nine-person squad.

One girl was selected from each squad.

“It’s an honor to be recognized for the work I put into this weekend, and for others teams and coaches to recognize that, it is [always] an honor to make an all-tournament team,” Smith said. “It is something I will cherish.”

Smith had 27 kills in the tournament, tying for third place on the team, but what stood out the most was her .440 hitting percentage. Smith’s success rate led the team for the entire tournament.

Smith also committed only five offensive errors in the four games in which the team played.

Smith was not only an effective player on offense, but she also was a stalwart on the defensive side. She was credited with 12 blocked shots, two of which were solo, but her 6-foot-1-inch presence was certainly known each time she was on the court.

Despite the success Smith had in the tournament, she felt that the team as a whole needs to work on different

Judging numbers

297

total strokes by the golf team in the second round of the Bowdoin Invitational last Sunday. The score was good enough to earn third place and was the lowest single-round score in school history.

2

wins and two losses for the volleyball team at the Brandeis Invitational last weekend. The Judges defeated Rhode Island College and Babson College but fell to Williams College and Tufts University.

3

sets lost by the women’s tennis team in its opening match at Wheaton College last Wednesday. The Judges dominated singles play by taking all six matches and won 8-1.

0

goals scored by the women’s soccer team in its last two games.

The Judges lost 1-0 at Babson College last Wednesday and were locked in a scoreless tie at Springfield College last Saturday.

27

kills on 50 attempts for volleyball team middle hitter Nicole Smith ’11 in four games at the Brandeis Invitational last weekend. Smith had only five errors and finished the tournament with a .440 hitting percentage.

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTSPIX

KILLER ATTACK: Middle blocker Nicole Smith ’11 stands at the net in a volleyball match. aspects of its game in order to improve.

“Next week, we need to work on our fundamentals and stay focused to reach our goal,” she said.

The Judges will play at Endicott College Thursday at 7 p.m. in their next match before taking part in a rematch

against Tufts University, a team they lost to in straight sets last weekend at the Brandeis Invitational, on Sept. 22.

Tufts defeated the Judges 27-25, 25-15, 25-19 last weekend.

—Josh Asen

UAA STANDINGS Men’s Soccer

Women’s Soccer

Not including Monday’s games

Not including Monday’s games

UAA Conference WL T Rochester 0 0 0 Carnegie 0 0 0 Chicago 0 0 0 Emory 0 0 0 Washington 0 0 0 Case 0 0 0 New York 0 0 0 JUDGES 0 0 0

UAA Conference WL New York 0 0 Rochester 0 0 Chicago 0 0 Case 0 0 JUDGES 0 0 Washington 0 0 Emory 0 0 Carnegie 0 0

W 4 5 3 3 2 2 2 0

L 0 1 1 1 0 2 3 2

Overall T Pct. 1 .900 0 .833 0 .750 0 .750 3 .700 1 .500 0 .400 1 .167

W 4 3 3 3 2 3 2 1

L 1 0 1 1 1 2 1 3

T 0 2 0 1 1 0 3 0

Overall Pct. .800 .800 .750 .700 .625 .600 .583 .250

TEAM LEADERS MSoccer (shots)

WSoccer (points)

Midfielder Luke Teece ’12 has a team-high seven shots to lead the Judges this season.

Midfielder Sofia Vallone ’11 and forward Tiffany Pacheco ’11 lead the team with four points each.

Player Luke Teece Sam Ocel Lee Russo Joe Eisenbeis Noah Bass

Player Tiffany Pacheco Sofia Vallone Ali Theodore Alanna Torre Mimi Theodore

Shots 7 6 4 4 4

Points 4 4 2 2 2

Volleyball (kills)

Volleyball (digs)

Outside hitter Paige Blasco ’11 leads the Judges with 115 kills.

Libero Anna Homitsky ’13 has 99 digs to lead the squad this season.

Player Paige Blasco Piera Carfagno Bridget McAllister Nicole Smith Becca Fischer

Player Anna Homitsky Bridget McAllister Piera Carfagno Abby Blasco Paige Blasco

Kills 115 72 69 65 54

Digs 99 97 96 95 89

UPCOMING GAME OF THE WEEK MSoccer vs. Worcester Polytechnic Institute The Judges will play in their home opener tomorrow night at 7 p.m. against WPI.

1

goal scored by men’s soccer forward Matt Peabody ’13 in the Judges’ 2-1 loss at Clark University last Sunday. Peabody recorded the team’s first points of the season along with his first career goal.

15

Last season on Sept. 17, 2008, men’s soccer forward Ben Premo ’09 broke a 11 tie by scoring with just 50 seconds remaining in the second overtime at Worcester Polytechnic Institute to give the Judges their fifth win of the season and first on the road.

Tomorrow, almost exactly one year to the date, WPI will get another chance at

Brandeis as the two teams square off in the Judges’ first home game of the season at 7 p.m.

This season, Brandeis is 0-2-1 after losing 2-1 in overtime at Clark University last Sunday. WPI is 4-1 on the season after defeating Framingham State College in its home opener last Saturday.

LAKE FOREST, Ill.—Finally healthy after two years of neck and back problems, Brian Urlacher gave everyone a blast from the past during the regular season opener, lowering his shoulder and plowing over Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

His season was off to a good start. And then it was over.

The Chicago Bears’ star linebacker underwent surgery Monday to repair a dislocated right wrist and will not be back this season—a major blow for a team with high expectations.

Team spokesman Jim Christman confirmed the bad news for the Bears. There was no immediate word from Urlacher other than a text message to the Chicago Tribune that said simply: “Season is over.”

Urlacher, a 10-year veteran, apparently was injured in the first quarter of Sunday night’s 21-15 loss at Green Bay making a tackle on Packers running back Ryan Grant. He played in the second quarter but left on the Packers’ first drive of the second half.

While the arrival of Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler sent expectations in Chicago soaring, the Bears were also counting on a healthy Urlacher to help them get back to the playoffs after missing postseason the past two years.

The six-time Pro Bowler, now 31, appeared to be in better shape after being limited by a bad back and neck the past two years, and he was off to a good start on Sunday.

He looked like his old self when he flattened Rodgers just as the quarterback released a pass downfield that a leaping Donald Driver juggled and dropped. Later in the quarter, Urlacher rolled over Grant while making one of his three tackles and briefly shook his wrist before walking away with what looked like nothing more than a minor injury.

Now the Bears are without the longtime face of the franchise and a stalwart run-stuffer in a division with Grant and Vikings star Adrian Peterson.

With Urlacher out, Hunter Hillenmeyer could see more time after replacing him on Sunday.

If the Bears look for outside help, one option might be former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Derrick Brooks.

The 36-year-old Brooks, who was cut by Tampa Bay in February, has a good relationship with Bears coach Lovie Smith dating to his days on Tampa Bay’s staff.

Zach Thomas, who was cut by Kansas City earlier this month, might also be a possibility.

Chicago could also be shorthanded in other areas, too.

Tight end Desmond Clark took a hard hit after making a catch in the third quarter and left the game with a back injury. Left guard Frank Omiyale also went down for several minutes moments later after spraining his ankle and limping off the field.

Linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa also left in the first half with a knee injury, but Urlacher’s injury creates a big hole on a defense that was trying to regain its dominant form after two mediocre seasons.

Kim Clijsters takes US Open Championship in women’s singles NEW YORK—Someday Kim Clijsters will show her daughter the pictures—Jada pointing at herself on the giant video boards, scampering around the court and leaning over to touch the trophy.

The 18-month-old is too young to remember her mother’s unforgettable run at the U.S. Open.

Clijsters came into her third tournament after two and a half years of retirement just hoping to ease herself back into the experience of competing at a Grand Slam.

Instead, the Belgian beat five of the top 18 players in the world to become the first unseeded player to win the Open when she defeated No. 9 seed Caroline Wozniacki 7-5, 6-3 last Sunday night.

“It’s a great feeling to have, but it’s confusing in a lot of ways as well,” Clijsters said. “It went so quickly, everything.”

No mother had captured a major since Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1980 at Wimbledon.

“I was so very excited to hear that Kim won, and I’m so happy for her,” Cawley, who won Wimbledon three years after having her daughter Kelly, told The Associated Press yesterday. “Go moms.”

Rain delayed the semifinal match between Clijsters and Serena Williams, then that match ended abruptly Saturday night in a very different kind of storm: Williams’ tirade at a linesperson after a foot fault call resulted in a penalty that decided the final point of the match.

Last Sunday, Williams was fined $10,000, and more punishment could follow from a broader investigation.

The ending left Clijsters stunned instead of celebrating her stellar play. But the break from tennis and motherhood have left the 26-year-old wiser than the last time she played the Open, when she won her lone previous major title in 2005.

“Because I’ve become a lot more understanding of myself, you know how to deal with it when different emotions come up,” Clijsters said.

Lacking motivation, disheartened by a series of injuries and yearning to start a family, Clijsters had retired. She didn’t think about competitive tennis until she started training again at the start of the year.

“She’s playing because she thinks it’s fun and because she likes it,” Wozniacki said. “I really think she might be a better player now than she was before.”

What if somebody had called her in the hospital after Jada was born and told her she’d be back playing tennis in 18 months?

“I would have gone, ‘Click,”’ Clijsters said, laughing as she pantomimed hanging up a phone.

Clijsters beat both Williams sisters along the way to her second title.

Clijsters didn’t have a ranking coming in because she hadn’t played enough tournaments to get on the list. She’ll come in at around No. 20 when the new rankings are released this week.

Last Sunday, Jada took a nap a bit later than usual so she could stay awake for the match.

“Brian and I were a lot more nervous than she was,” Clijsters said. “She just thought it was the most normal thing.”

just

Sports

Page 16

BIG OPENERS The women’s tennis team opened its fall season with two lopsided victories last week, p. 13.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Waltham, Mass.

GOLF

VOLLEYBALL

Team breaks a school record

Squad goes 2-2 at Invite

■ The golf team shot the

lowest single round in school history last Sunday at the Bowdoin Invitational.

By JEFFREY BOXER, IAN CUTLER and MAX GOLDSTEIN

■ The volleyball team

JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

In the first match of what could be its final season as a varsity program, the golf team displayed one of the better performances in school history, finishing third out of nine teams at the Bowdoin Invitational last weekend.

The Judges improved their firstround score of 324 and shot a roundbest 297 second round last Sunday to put the team at 621 overall, nine strokes ahead of host school Bowdoin for third place. The 297 score marks the best single round in team history. Lee Bloom’s ’10 twounder-par 70 at the second day of the invite led the Judges.

Husson College won the event with a 599 overall score but finished two strokes behind Brandeis on the second day with a 299 second-round score.

“It was the lowest score we’ve ever shot. That speaks for itself to some degree,” coach Bill Shipman said.

Shipman also noted that the individual successes on the day spread throughout the entire team.

“Having an [individual] score under par helps,” he said. “Usually we only have two guys [who score] in the mid 70s, but we had a few guys that were able to do that. …

Our guys kept the ball in play and didn’t make any major [mistakes].”

“We were carried by [Bloom] today,” Aaron Custato ’12 said.

Bloom’s second-round performance marked the second year in a row that he has shot a round of 70 at the Bowdoin Invitational and the third time in his career that he finished a round under par. Bloom had the second-best individual score at the invite this year with a five-overpar 149, just three strokes behind the winner, Husson’s junior Kevin Byrne.

In the first round last Saturday, Bloom got off to an unfortunate start that threw off his game. The shaft of Bloom’s four iron broke at the end of one his swings toward the middle of the round, according to Shipman, even though Bloom had his clubs re-gripped prior to the invitational.

“The accident with my club caused me to lose my composure a little bit, and I wasn’t sure if I could come back,” Bloom said. “But the whole team really bounced back on

hosted the Brandeis Invitational last weekend and split its matches.

By JOSH ASEN JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

PHOTO COURTESY OF SPORTSPIX

UNDER PAR: Lee Bloom ’10 had the second best score at the Bowdoin Invitational last weekend shooting a 79 over two days.

Sunday and played with a sense of purpose.”

The Judges finished fourth place in the first round with a score of 324 but moved up to third place on the second day.

Like Bloom, Custato got off to a rough start, putting up a 14-over-par 86 on day one. However, Custato handed in the Judges’ biggest turnaround of the weekend on day two, improving his score by 11 strokes to

finish 18-over-par 161.

Charles Sacks ’11 also had a strong outing, taking ninth place overall shooting 11-over-par 153.

Sacks improved his day one score of

See GOLF, 13 ☛

MEN’S SOCCER

Judges get on the board but fail to hold off Clark ■ The men’s soccer team

fell in overtime at Clark University last Sunday and sit at 0-2-1 on the season.

By DAVID FISCH JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The men’s soccer team was in the midst of a hard-fought game at Clark University last Sunday in a match that was rescheduled from the day before because of rain. But in overtime in the 96th minute a ball coming off the foot of Clark junior Kyle Klapp sailed past Judges goalie Matt Lynch ’11, essentially ending the game with a Brandeis defeat.

With the loss, the Judges dropped

to 0-2-1 and failed to avenge a 2-1 loss to the same Clark team last season. For Clark, the win marks the team’s third straight victory and improves its season record to 3-1.

After a scoreless first half in which both teams combined for only five shots, Clark graduate student Mike Trobagis scored a goal in the 52nd minute off of an assist from junior forward Tim Doenmez to give the Cougars a 1-0 advantage.

In the 71st minute, the Judges responded and evened the score at one with the first collegiate goal from forward Matt Peabody ’13, off an assist from fellow rookie midfielder Sam Ocel ’13. Ocel’s pass was set up by forward Alex Farr ’12.

“We have a really good freshman class,” Lynch said. “They have a lot of skill and a lot of potential. We

gave them a lot of playing time, which is really good. I’ve been really impressed with how they’ve been doing all season. They’re stepping up. It’s important to get the underclassmen in the game.”

The two teams battled until regulation ended. As soon as overtime began, Clark senior midfielder Jeremy Radovsky came close to ending the game with a shot that took an amazing save from Lynch to preserve the tie. “[Radovsky] got some good power on it,” Lynch said. “[He] was able to put it to the far corner. It was pretty close to going in but I was able to come away with it.”

Brandeis also had a chance to take the lead in overtime when Ocel pursued the net and had a closerange shot, but Clark rookie goal-

tender Ryan King was able to turn it away.

Later, 26 seconds into the 96th minute, Klapp was able to fire a loose ball past Lynch for the game winner.

Farr reacted to the tight finish and took a positive look at the close defeat.

“We’ve been playing well,” Farr said. “Especially [in] this last game, … we all think that we should have had it, but we didn’t come up with the win. I think we played really well. … We had a few chances that we should have finished up on.”

The Judges will play their first home game of the season tomorrow at 7 p.m. against Worcester Polytechnic Institute in hopes of attaining their first win of the year.

The Judges beat WPI 2-1 last season.

The women’s volleyball team was able to rebound after starting out 1-2 at the Brandeis Invitational last weekend by defeating Babson College last Saturday in the team’s final meet. The Judges’ victory concluded the two-day annual invitational that hosted nine teams from across New England.

Brandeis defeated Rhode Island College 3-0 to open the invitational but lost to Williams College and Tufts University, 3-1 and 3-0, respectively, before beating Babson 3-0 to finish the invitational with a 2-2 record.

In the game against Babson, the Judges took three straight sets, 25-20, 25-9 and 25-20. The offensive attack was led by outside hitter/middle blocker Bridget McAllister ’10, who led the team with seven kills. Right setter Piera Carfagno ’10 was second to McAllister in kills, as Carfagno had six kills in the win.

In the first set of the match, the Beavers served five shots into the net, aiding the Judges to a tight win. The first set highlighted middle blocker Nicole Smith’s ’11 defensive game, where she contested and blocked several of the Beavers’ attempted kills. Smith, who earned Alltournament honors, had 12 blocks in the entire tournament, to go along with 27 kills. “[Smith] had a great weekend,” coach Michelle Kim said.

“She blocked really well, which helped out our defense. She was a big part of our offense too. She was very efficient getting kills and missing errors.”

The second set was an easy victory for the Judges, as Babson continued to be plagued by errors. Brandeis also fed off of the hustle and play of middle blocker/right setter Becca Fischer ’13, who fueled and energized the team.

Kim said she has been very pleased with Fischer’s play as a rookie this season. “[Fischer] is definitely coming along,” Kim said. “She is very coachable. She is still improving, and as long as she continues to improve, I think she will have a good future.”

Smith, who plays the same position as Fischer, also highlighted Fischer’s improvement since the beginning of the season.

“I think she has improved greatly,” Smith said. “She has played very well at the net, blocking-wise.”

In the third and final set, the Judges prevailed again by the same score as the first set.

Despite controlling the beginning of the game, the Beavers pulled within a few points toward the end of the match, making it 23-20. However, the kills and overall play of McAllister and Fischer preserved the win, ending the Judges’ two-game losing streak.

See VOLLEYBALL, 13 ☛

just

September 15, 2009

ARTS

Experimental Dental School rocks Chum’s p. 19

Photos: Genevieve Armstrong and Robyn Spector/the Justice. Design: Julian Agin-Liebes, Max Breitstein Matza and Rebecca Ney/the Justice.

18

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2009

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THE JUSTICE

POP CULTURE

INSIDE ON CAMPUS

18-19

■ Dental Practices Trade at Chum’s 19 The Portland, Ore.-based duo, composed of guitarist Jesse Hall and drummer Shoko Horikawak, played for Brandeis students as part of current U.S. tour.

■ Student Coffeehouse at Slosberg 19 For the first-ever Slosberg Coffeehouse, several Brandeis students shared their more eclectic musical tastes and were joined by campus groups like VoiceMale.

OFF CAMPUS

20-24

21 ■ Review: ‘Joy’ This album from the recently reunited band Phish is the group’s 14th studio album and features tracks that play to the band members’ strengths.

21 ■ Review: ‘9’ Tim Burton’s adaptation of Shane Acker’s 11-minute short film fails to capture the spirit of the original piece and forces a confused message regarding technology and religion on the movie’s audience.

■ ‘The Superheroine Monologues’ 23 The Phoenix Theater Artists’ parody of ‘The Vagina Monologues’ is being performed at the Plaza Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts until Sept. 26.

■ Review: Blue Ribbon Barbeque 23 The Newton diner delivers delicious, well-portioned meat platters and equally noteworthy side dishes.

CALENDAR

U-WIRE

by Shelly Shore

In the eight years since the World Trade Center collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001, it’s been a steady process of rebuilding New York City both emotionally and physically. For rapper and Brooklyn native Jay-Z, the recovery of New York is something personal. “We should always move past it and be strong but never forget,” he said in a recent interview.

On Friday night, Jay-Z marked the anniversary in his own way: organizing and headlining the “Answer the Call 9/11” concert at Madison Square Garden. The sold-out concert paid tribute to the police officers and firefighters who died responding to the Sept. 11 attacks.

The show began with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by an electric guitar arrangement of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Jay-Z began the show with his own New York anthems, including “Empire State of Mind”; “Where I’m From,” a song about his childhood in the Marcy housing projects; and “Brooklyn Go Hard.” The concert aired on Fuse TV, and all proceeds will be donated to the New York Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Benefit Fund.

In addition to Jay-Z, myriad other artists came out to benefit the concert. John Mayer rocked out “Dirt Off Your Shoulder,” Mary J. Blige brought some gritty soul to “Can’t Knock the Hustle” and Beyoncé took the stage and dominated with her hit song “Diva,” complete with dance routine. Rihanna performed “Run This Town” with Kanye West, her first performance since her domestic altercation with Chris Brown last February, and showed the crowd she’s more than ready to return to the stage.

Despite the uplifting message of the concert itself, the performers set a serious tone, wearing black and gray onstage. The audience members, who chanted Jay-Z’s nickname, “Hova,” between each song, never took their seats from

In media, celebrities worth more dead than alive

■ As sales of Michael Jackson’s signature tracks jump in the wake of his death, the public’s morbid fascination with the death of celebrities is brought into focus.

By ALEX GRATZER DAILY EVERGREEN (WASHINGTON STATE U.)

TONY DEJACK/The Associated Press

ALTRUISTIC ARTIST: Rapper Jay-Z recently organized a concert in memoriam of Sept. 11. the beginning of the first song until the end of the concert.

Jay-Z held a moment of silence three-quarters of the way into the show, but the most emotional moment of the night came later when a montage of the faces of the men and women who died on 9/11 was shown. The headshots of the fallen appeared on a backdrop of buildings while JayZ’s “Young Forever” played in the background.

“Make some noise for everybody that lost their lives so that we can live ours,” he said as the concert came to a close.

What’s happening in Arts on and off campus

Liquid Latex Informational Meeting The Liquid Latex club invites students to attend this meeting which will address its 10th annual body-art show. Applications will be distributed and the group will answer questions pertaining to the event. The Liquid Latex club has been active at Brandeis since 2001, and each year, its spring show is one of the campus’ most widely attended events.

For the show, Liquid Latex’s executive board collaborates with designers, painters, choreographers, models and students from all parts of the Brandeis community to challenge traditional social norms by artistically covering models in liquid latex paint.

Tuesday from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Shapiro Campus Center Multipurpose Room.

Achla Muzika: Israeli Radio Show on WBRS Israeli music will make its return to 100.1 FM as of Sept. 16. Hosted by Gideon Klionsky ’11, Achla Muzika can be heard every Wednesday on WBRS or through live Web streaming at wbrs.org. Song requests can be sent to israeli@wbrs.org during the week or called in at (781) 736-5277 during the show.

Students can also make requests during the show by sending an instant message to WBRSFM. Wednesday from 8 to 9 p.m.

REBCCA NEY/Justice File Photo

DARING DANCERS: Students strike a pose at last year’s Liquid Latex. The event unites dancers, choreographers and artists in one of Brandeis’ most treasured—and provocative—traditions.

Free Community Day Friday Music Breaks@3 Music department faculty member and mezzo-soprano Pamela Dellal invites students and staff to join her for an afternoon of song. This event, which is free and open to the public, is part of the new colloquium and recital series run by graduate students from the Music department.

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

OFF-CAMPUS EVENTS ‘El Prisionero Trece’ As part of its Classic Mexican Cinema series, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston will be screening El Prisionero Trece. The film follows the character of Colonel Julian Carrasco following the abandonment of his wife, Marta, and son, Juan.

Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

WHAT’S ON?

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston invites visitors to stop by and enjoy free admission, gallery tours, special exhibitions and family activities. ReadBoston, an organization that promotes early childhood literacy, will also hold a book drive at this particular event.

Visitors are encouraged to bring new or gently used children’s books to the Storymobile, located outside the MFA’s State Street Corporation Fenway Entrance. On the day of this event, visitors can also save 10 percent (MFA members save 20 percent) on children’s books in the Museum Bookstore & Shop.

Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Youth Brigade, The Unseen and Off With Their Heads As part of their 25th anniversary tour, the punk rock group Youth Brigade will perform in Cambridge with fellow musical groups The Unseen and Off With Their Heads. Youth

Brigade, which was created in 1980 by the brothers Mark, Adam and Shawn Stern, hails from Los Angeles, California and is responsible for the founding of the Better Youth Organization record label. The night’s other acts, The Unseen and Off With Their Heads, play music belonging to the punk/hardcore/rock and minimalist/lyrical/comedy genres, respectively.

Sunday, doors at 7:30 p.m., at the Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge.

MassConcerts Presents...

Finnish band Stratovarius will perform with Norwegian ensemble Pagan’s Mind. The former was founded in 1984 under the name Black Water and is currently touring to promote its 2009 album Polaris while the other is working to publicize its recently completed DVD. The DVD depicts several of the band’s live performances, including one that took place at Rockefeller Music Hall in Oslo. Both bands describe their music as “power metal.”

Monday, doors at 7:30 p.m., at the Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge.

Rarely is the true life of a celebrity exposed to reveal a charming, happy existence.

Understandable, because the celebrity’s sole gift to the world is to entertain, and the world’s gift back to them is merely a paycheck. Nor do they have a real identity. They are whatever they need to be depending on who’s calling the shots. In the wake of the recent epidemic of celebrity deaths, it’s only natural to wonder how many were the product of very troubled lives.

Most popular, of course, would be Michael Jackson’s surprising demise in late June. If there’s anything the media loves more than Jackson’s almost psychotic circus-show public escapades, it’s his death. Producers everywhere must have been secretly thrilled, knowing full well that television ratings would skyrocket, specifically on shows such as Entertainment Tonight. Magazine sales would also benefit greatly, and surely a Michael Jackson biopic will eventually invade theaters and make millions of dollars.

The death of ’70s icon Farrah Fawcett on the very same day is either a freak coincidence or an evil conspiracy by People magazine to significantly boost sales.

When it comes to the media’s response to death, respect is not part of the game, nor should it be. Media outlets do not need to show respect to the deceased. It is news coverage, just like anything else. However, I am unnerved by television programs like the documentary Farrah’s Story, which premiered in May on NBC. I can’t imagine what the purpose of such a show would be, other than to make money off the cruel and relentless exploitation of a oncerelevant pop-culture icon. I’ve seen the documentary, and while the footage does seem to accurately account the suffering caused by cancer, not a single person in the country honestly deserves to witness that.

Why Fawcett would agree to it is staggering, unless her intentions were as greedy as that of the producers responsible for funding the project. It could be that the strive for attention in Hollywood has gotten so sickeningly competitive that stars are willing to exploit themselves, even on the verge of death, to get their last 15 minutes.

Perhaps death is merely the new Hollywood accessory. For a while, it was adoption, then pregnancy and now the only way left to express their emptiness is to simply spread it with the rest of the world. Certainly one of the best ways to get back into the spotlight is to die.

It doesn’t help that people have a rather sick fascination with death. The Dark Knight became the second-highest-grossing film of all time because of Heath Ledger’s death. His tragic overdose could very well have been the result of a sad and troubled life, but his legacy will be associated with that of a maniacal clown in a summer blockbuster. No wonder many celebrities’ lives are so tragic—their real lives are shrouded by the characters they play.

Of course, the media know society is fascinated by this. The media’s goal with each death is to somehow recover whatever relevance the celebrity once had to cash in on their previous success. If iTunes were to see a major boost in Michael Jackson song purchases, that wouldn’t be an accident. In Hollywood, a death does not signify the end of a human being, but merely a new stream of revenue to look forward to.

Top 10s for the week ending Sept. 15

Box Office

College Radio

Billboard

WBRS

1. Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself 2. 9 3. Inglourious Basterds 4. All About Steve 5. The Final Destination 6. Sorority Row 7. Whiteout 8. District 9 9. Julie & Julia 10. Gamer

1. Fruit Bats – The Ruminant Band 2. Wilco – Wilco (The Album) 3. Dead Weather – Horehound 4. Japandroids – Post-Nothing 5. Yacht – See Mystery Lights 6. Portugal. The Man – The Satanic Satanist 7. Wye Oak – The Knot 8. Modest Mouse – No One’s First and You’re Next 9. Pissed Jeans – King of Jeans 10. Throw Me the Statue – Creaturesque

1. Whitney Houston – I Look To You 2. Miley Cyrus – The Time Of Our Lives (EP) 3. Trey Songz – Ready 4. Insane Clown Posse – Bang! Pow! Boom!

5. Colbie Caillat – Breakthrough 6. Chevelle – Sci-Fi Crimes 7. Kings of Leon – Only By The Night 8. Pitbull – Rebelution 9. Taylor Swift – Fearless 10. The Used – Artwork

1. David Bazan – “Bless This Mess” 2. Experimental Dental School – “Basement Fever” 3. Jim Byrnes – “What Are They Doing in Heaven Today” 4. Racky Thomas – “She’s Alright” 5. Phoenix – “1901” 6. Grizzly Bear – “While You Wait for the Others” 7. The Dodos – “The Strums” 8. La Roux – “Bulletproof” 9. The Antlers – “Kettering” 10. Anthem in – “Cloudbusting”

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

THE JUSTICE

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ON CAMPUS MUSIC

Chum’s hosts School’s musical experiments ■ Punk, Rock n’ Roll Club brought a Portland, Ore. noise-rock duo to Chum’s for an intimate show that pumped up the audience.

By SARAH BAYER JUSTICE EDITOR

While packing up his band’s tour van after playing Sunday night in Cholmondeley’s, Experimental Dental School guitarist Jesse Hall weighed in on the night’s performance. “That was pretty good for a Monday night show,” he said.

His bandmate, drummer Shoko Horikawa, quickly corrected him, but both of them could have been forgiven for forgetting what day it was. After all, the Portland, Ore.based band kicked off its tour two weeks ago in Salt Lake City and arrived at Brandeis fresh from two back-to-back shows in Brooklyn.

At Sunday’s gig, organized by Punk, Rock n’ Roll Club, the noiserock duo played to a group of about 30 head-bobbing guests and a couple of Chum’s baristas flailing with their friends in the back.

With their rainbow-striped and glittery amps, the two were all the more friendly for having their heads in the clouds. Appearing without an opener, they had no trouble warming up the audience. Hall urged the crowd to cluster around the stage, high-fiving them when he was happy with the way a song had gone.

The pair opened with the playful, poppy “Argentine Pears,” a track from their most recent album, Forest Field. The rest of their set consisted mostly of other tracks from 2009’s Forest Field, including the spacey and chaotic “Royal Fantasy Snow,” in which Hall riffs trippily while Horikawa contributes la-la vocals. The band has drawn comparisons to indie band Deerhoof for its noise-pop fusion and swirling sound.

While most of the songs have lyrics, they are more of an afterthought for the band; Hall related a

JULIAN AGIN-LIEBES/the Justice

MOUTHING OFF: Experimental Dental School guitarist Jesse Hall rocks out at Chum’s Sunday night. Hall and drummer Shoko Horikawa played for a crowd of about 30. time when he realized the band had unknowingly booked a set at a Christian college in Tennessee and then worried, “Do we have any songs that mention the devil?”

The band’s quirky song titles like “Square Wave Cave” and “Cheap Wine River” match its offbeat sound, as throughout the show the band repeatedly shattered Horikawa’s ethereal vocals with the crash of her cymbals or a pounding guitar chorus.

Horikawa and Hall have collaborated on four albums now, surviving the departure of a third member during the band’s move to Portland from San Francisco two years ago.

The downsizing led Horikawa, formerly the group’s organist, to take up the drums instead. (Compliment her on her sound and she dryly replies, “Thanks, I learned when I was 30.”)

The band retreated to a home studio in their basement to create their

fourth album, Forest Field. In keeping with their art for art’s sake philosophy, XDS made Forest Field available for free on their Web site.

The site, which Hall maintains himself, is full of pink fonts and oddball self-descriptions in what Hall describes as an attempt to eschew the one-format-fits-all mentality of MySpace.

The band’s change of setting is invoked on Forest Field’s first track, titled “Basement Fever.” The band

also filmed its first-ever music video, for “Royal Fantasy Snow,” in its basement studio. Their unshakeable inward focus has resulted in near-perfect collaboration that was quite evident at Sunday night’s show, which had the same intimacy and informality as a basement session attended by friends. At the show’s end, Hall and Horikawa announced they were leaving to indulge in some delicious delivered Thai food.

MUSIC

Students gather in song at Slosberg Student Coffeehouse ■ Slosberg hosted the debut

of the Student Coffeehouse, sponsored by the Music department. Students shared a number of musical talents.

By REBECCA BROOKS JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

At the incredibly successful, firstever Student Coffee House held in the Slosberg Music Center on Sunday, Sept. 13, Brandeis students shared their talents as well as their eclectic music tastes with their peers. Organized by the Music department, the event showcased six different Brandeis groups, which performed a variety of musical selections, ranging from catchy folk tunes to soothing classical pieces. Each performance lasted 10 to 15 minutes, with easy and smooth transitions between groups.

Singer Austin Auh ’10 performed the first piece of the evening—“Epiphany” from the musical Altar Boyz—accompanied by Jae Han ’10 on piano. Auh did justice to the song’s snappy, comedic lyrics through his constant hand motions and animated expressions, and he sang with spirit and enthusiasm. In his second song, “Nobody Needs to Know,” a selection from the off-Broadway musical The Last Five Years, Auh put every drop of his energy into his performance, showing off his ability to hit a wide range of notes.

Aimée Birnbaum ’10, the second performer of the night, chose to sing a variety of folk tunes. Although she warned the audience that she was recovering from laryngitis, her voice

ROBYN SPECTOR/the Justice

STUDENT CROONER: Adam Levine ’11 takes a solo during VoiceMale’s performance at Sunday night’s Student Coffeehouse. was sweet and melodic. She began her set by singing “Chelsea Morning” from the Joni Mitchell album Clouds, and her next three songs were all pieces by Bob Dylan. In “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright,” Birnbaum demonstrated her ability to be an engaging singer, drawing the audience in quite effectively. Next, she sang “It Ain’t Me Babe,” a soft folk tune that showed off her talent as a musician as she strummed expertly on the guitar while singing the melody. Birnbaum finished with “Fourth Time Around,”

which did well by the Bob Dylan original.

Jared Field ’11 performed next on the clarinet, and Han returned on piano. The duo performed the second and third movements of Paul Hindemith’s Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, a dynamic piece that the two musicians played with ease. The second movement was upbeat and showed how passionate the two musicians were, while the third movement started out slowly and was more relaxed than the second, creating a

smooth and rich sound.

Han performed some solo pieces in addition to his many accompaniments, and his crowning moment that evening was his rendition of Johann Sebastian Bach’s French Suite in D Minor. Prior to playing the piece, Han noted to the audience that he had switched works and decided to go with Bach instead of playing Mozart as he had originally planned. As Han’s fingers danced across the piano keys, he made the music look simple and effortless, and although his talent

and skill as a pianist was evident throughout the night, he shone as a soloist in his rendition of Bach’s famous suite.

The penultimate performance of the night was sung by Nick Branley ’10 and accompanied by none other than Han. The two admitted to the audience that they were sight reading The Messiah by George Frederic Handel, and the piece turned out to be dark, mysterious and a fun counterpoint to the many upbeat pieces played earlier in the night. Branley sang extremely well, and Han’s performance was just as spectacular as his earlier ones.

The final group of the night was the all-male a cappella group VoiceMale.

The group is composed of nine Brandeis males, all of whom donned matching black suits and collared shirts for the coffeehouse. They sang four songs, including two popular favorites: “Stand By Me” and “In the Still of the Night.” The men were entertaining and enthusiastic; they jumped, clapped, snapped and tapped their feet to the beat throughout their entire performance. VoiceMale ended the night with a hip hop-styled song, which included a portion by a beatboxer and a special shout-out to its newest members.

The Music department’s Student Coffeehouse was a successful compilation of Brandeis musicians and singers. It encompassed a variety of musical genres, including songs from off-Broadway musicals and songs from the 1960s folk era. All of the performers were extremely skilled and enthusiastic. The Student Coffeehouse was an enjoyable event that showcased the talents of the Brandeis musicians.

THE JUSTICE

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OFF CAMPUS PHISH’S FOURSOME MAKES TRIUMPHANT RETURN

CHAD RACHMAN/The Associated Press

REUNITED ROCKERS: The folk-rock group Phish’s new album, ‘Joy,’ contains songs about the band members’ trials over the years; the track “Twenty Years Later” addresses Trey Anastasio’s struggles with drugs.

Phish album gives ‘Joy’ to world ■ The band’s 14th studio

album is a record of its members’ personal trials as well as a celebration of the group’s relationship with its legions of loyal fans.

By BEN SERBY JUSTICE STAFF WRITER

The new album by Phish, simply named Joy, is the band’s 14th studio release in its 25-year recording history and its first since reuniting after a five-year hiatus. Unlike the group’s previous album, Undermind, which was slated to be the last, Joy is an unmitigated success from start to finish. Gone are the long-winded, saccharine ballads and

uninspired, undemanding radio-pop songs that made for a particularly graceless exit. Now, the foursome adheres to the maxim “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it” and plays to its strengths in order to craft something altogether enjoyable and unmistakably, Phish.

At no point is this more obvious than during the climax to the stellar folk-rock album opener, “Backwards Down the Number Line.” In a faithful homage to the late Jerry Garcia, guitarist Trey Anastasio gradually builds up a magnificent arrangement of soaring notes played in the upper registers in his recognizable yet unique tone. Supporting the guitarwork is a familiar backdrop that consists of cascading piano notes and gentle bass counter-harmonies, all over a characteristically simple three-chord structure. Elsewhere,

the band reaches back into other tried-and-true areas of its past, touching on funky rock (“Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan”), bluesboogie (“Kill Devil Falls”) and a touch of Caribbean music (“Sugar Shack”).

The lyrics are, at times, prone to introspection and regret, as when Trey Anastasio sings, “I was doing the best that I can, I suppose,” in apparent reference to his drug addiction and recent arrest. On the final track, “Twenty Years Later,” he admits that he is “still upside down” after decades of making mistakes.

And in the aforementioned “Backwards Down the Number Line,” a retrospective meditation on the band’s career, the musicians remember how together they have “pushed through hardships, tasted tears.”

Nevertheless, as the title promises, the album is infused with a sense of joy: specifically, the joy of reunion and return. The opening lyrics, “Happy, happy, oh my friend,” speak for themselves. The theme of friendship between the band members and with similiar connections with their audience resurfaces throughout. On the title track, arguably the jewel of the album, Anastasio sings, “We want you to be happy, ’cause this is your song, too.” Although the song is ostensibly addressed to a girl named Joy, the message is overt: The band is here to provide more tuneful music for their audience to enjoy, and they themselves could not be happier to do so.

This sort of uncomplicated, forcibly sunny declaration is perhaps the reason why Phish and so

many similar bands are often maligned and filed away as mediocre jam-bands. Undoubtedly, Phish will never be hip or edgy, but there is something to be said for the fact that Phish has perhaps the most loyal fan base of any existing band. Phish fans—and I, crypto-hippie that I am, unashamedly put myself in this category—will find listening to Joy to be, in a certain sense, the musical equivalent to coming home after years in exile or being reunited with a loved one after a prolonged absence. Through Joy, the members of Phish are telling their fans that their music is a gift meant to make us happy.

I put this question to any Phish detractor: How many bands can make such an assertion without alienating their audience? After all, this is our album, too.

FILM

Burton’s ‘9’ subtracts from original short film ■ Tim Burton’s extended version of an award-winning short film muddles the themes and weakens the impact of the original work.

By JUSTINE ROOT JUSTICE EDITOR

Sometimes I feel as though Tim Burton doesn’t know when to leave well enough alone.

Don’t get me wrong; the director’s original fare is brilliant 90 percent of the time. However, when Burton gets his hands on someone else’s brainchild, it seems, that more often than not, his resulting interpretation is a Planet of the Apes-sized mess. And while I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Burton’s work with 9—his latest cinematic ward—has resulted in an unrecognizable disaster, it’s safe to say the aforementioned film would have been better off left in the care of its original writer and director, Shane Acker.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the origins of 9, the movie currently in theaters is an extended

version of an 11-minute short film released by Acker in 2005 that details the travails of two “stitchpunks” (i.e. animated dolls infused with the souls of men) as they fight a mysterious mechanical beast in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. After watching the short film online, I am not surprised by the fact that Burton was so impressed with the production that he wanted to expand upon it. However, part of the reason that the original 9 works is that it leaves much to the imagination—there is no backstory nor any explanation for how the world ended, and the result is that the audience members are left to ask themselves whether our current world could become Acker’s future one.

But, seeing as how the new 9 is approximately an hour longer than its parent film, it must have seemed necessary to include the two aforementioned plot points, and it is these forced additions that are the movie’s downfall; over the course of Burton’s 9, we are introduced to the stitchpunks’ creator, a scientist also responsible for creating the mechanical “brain” that seeks to destroy its burlap brothers and sisters. Essentially, the scientist created the stitchpunks to salvage what is left of

humanity following the death of man.

However, this portion of the narrative leads to all kinds of complications; for one, why create sentient beings to salvage humanity when humanity in its entirety is dead? Further, by the film’s conclusion, you’re wondering why humankind could not accomplish what the stitchpunks ultimately end up doing. The plot feels as contrived and artificial as the machines pursuing the man-made protagonists.

It should also be noted that the original 9 was devoid of dialogue; according to the new film’s production notes, Acker “wanted to depict [the character 9] empathetically, without dialogue. This way, the short film could be universal and accessible, while also challenging the audience to piece the details together in order to understand the whole. [Acker] thought that would make for a rewarding film going experience, especially in animated form.” And Acker was right. Whereas in the short film the stitchpunks are silent and more spiritlike, giving the impression of being superior entities capable of taking over where humans left off, the chattering stitchpunks of the extended 9 are too much like their predecessors. To elaborate: At one point in

the film, one of the nine stitchpunks speaks of how another “got what he deserved” for seeking knowledge, and it’s like watching the re-emergence of the human race in the midst of the Middle Ages. The stitchpunks do not inspire faith, and while some of them do redeem themselves by the film’s conclusion, the audience is still wondering by said conclusion (a) why the stitchpunks should even exist and (b) why their fate will be any better than that of humans their essences come from.

The feature-length film also feels as though it is torn between two ideologies; while the simplicity of Acker’s 9 invited questions and let the audience decide for itself the film’s implications, the new work strives to deliver some kind of greater message. This wouldn’t be such a horrible thing, except the movie’s makers aren’t really sure whether their message is protechnology or pro-religion. For instance, the film’s main antagonist (the “brain” machine) is described as a technological advancement capable of creating other machines in its own image, and its handiwork offers up stitchpunks as though they were sacrifices. However the stitchpunks themselves are religious; stitchpunk

1 is dressed like a bishop for a good portion of the film, and the other stitchpunks perform religiously oriented funeral services. So what are the creators trying to tell us?

I place the blame for these mixed messages on Burton and screenwriter Pamela Pettler, who was recruited by the director to work with Acker on 9’s expansion. Pettler, who also wrote portions of Corpse Bride and Monster House, had an extensive role in developing the key concepts of the new 9, and I have to wonder how much her meddling in Acker’s vision had to do with the film’s mixed messages.

On the positive side, 9 certainly looks nice. However, computer animation is no longer a new technology, and a film employing this medium can no longer skate by on appearances alone. The character design, though, is worthy of praise; the monsters of Acker’s world are genuinely frightening, and several of the film’s scenes are quite striking (e.g., the brain machine using the bones of men to make new machines).

Unfortunately, the eventual result is a post-apocalyptic tale that is not only not “your little brother’s animated film” but also probably not your cup of tea, either.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA CREATIVE COMMONS

THE JUSTICE

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THEATER

‘Monologues’ reach great heights ■ The play was created after a

Phoenix Theatre artist was inspired to parody the Vagina Monologues.

By BRYAN PRYWES JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Since 1941, superheroines have been fighting crime and influencing their respective generations. But have you ever wondered what influences these superheroines who inspire millions? What are Wonder Woman’s motives?

How does Lois Lane put up with Superman’s constant antics? What really makes Catwoman purr? Phoenix Theatre Artists and Company One’s production of The Superheroine Monologues by Rick Park and John Kuntz answers all these questions and more. The play is being presented through Sept. 26 at the Boston Center for the Arts in a laugh-out-loud style parodying the ever-famous Vagina Monologues.

The show seems to begin the moment you set foot in the theater: Upon entering, you are greeted by such songs of womanhood as “Independent Woman,” “You Don’t Own Me” and “Respect,” feminine anthems that set the mood for the hysterical show yet to come.

Written chronologically, the show begins in 1941 on Paradise Island, home to Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, strongly played by Maureen Adduci. It is here that we are introduced to her daughter, Diana; you may know her as Wonder Woman. Following her heart, Diana (played by the stunning and talented Shawna O’Brien) leaves Paradise Island to experience the world outside, only to become an icon for all future superheroines.

She assumes the identity of Diana Prince and slowly learns of an undercover mission to defeat the Nazis. O’Brien accurately captures the cheesy, campy nature of her scene, written in a style akin to film noir that is sure to make anyone laugh aloud.

The show then jumps to 1954, and we meet Lois Lane, played by Amanda Good Hennessy.

Hennessy captures every essence of the 1950s housewife stereotype that influenced the character of Lois Lane; her panicky and witty nature seemed more than perfect for the character.

In 1968, we meet Catwoman, a character who is beyond crazy. I must confess that with “superheroines” in the title, I was slightly upset that the writers, Kuntz and Park chose to focus more on the supervillainous aspects of this character. Regardless of this minor setback in character development, Elizabeth Montigny did wonders with the character to the point where you find yourself loving her and being absolutely terrified of her at the same time.

The play then jumps ahead to 1977, where we find Batgirl cranking up her Cassidy Brothers

PHOTO COURTESY OF JARED FENNELLY

WONDERFUL WOMAN: ‘The Superheroine Monologues’ offers a more intimate view of female comic heroes. records, ogling Scott Baio and, most importantly, dealing with an identity crisis. Elizabeth Rimar’s interpretation of Barbara Gordon in disguise was beautifully crafted and full of depth. I was most impressed by her ability to improvise within the context of her scene. Having created a fairly obsessive-compulsive character, she stopped midway through her monologue to adjust an audience member’s Velcro shoes.

During the year 1989, we are introduced to Supergirl as she dances to “Maniac” while flying around in space. I had the privilege of seeing understudy Molly Kimmerling in the role, who was filling in for Jackie McCoy. As she vented about not making the cheerleading squad in high school and how it is so hard to find datable superheroes, Kimmerling seemed somewhat frazzled in the role, but she made it work for the

character.

Next, we encounter Prof. Ororo MonroeStorm—a physical education teacher employed at Professor Xavier’s School for the Gifted in the year 1997. Played by Cheryl D. Singleton, she tells us of how she never had time for a family because her career as a superheroine consumed her life. I found myself slightly disappointed once again by Kuntz and Park for their choice in character development; it appeared to me that just because Storm was the only African-American superheroine to hit the stage that evening, she was inevitably written as if she were a Tyler Perry character. However, Singleton took the writing in stride and turned it to gold.

We meet yet another X-(wo)man in 2003: Phoenix, played by Christine Powers. She brought the bipolar essence of Jean Grey to new

levels. However, it was within this scene that I found my final gripe with the otherwise highquality writing of this play: All the scenes in the play seemed to exist as if they were accounts of events in history, but Phoenix’s scene contained a meta-realization of not only the existence of Marvel comics, but also its ability to change her history. This particular aspect of the scene set it apart from the rest of the monologues, making it the third-wheel in an otherwise brilliant meshing of comedic comic history.

The show concludes with an elder Wonder Woman, played by Maureen Adduci, doubting if it was all worth it. Adduci tells a touching story about her life since 1941, which is sure to bring tears to your eyes. Then, paying homage to Weidman and Sondheim’s Assassins, the superheroines appear from the shadows of the stage, gathering around her to convince her that without her, none of their efforts would have been possible, concluding the play in remarkable fashion.

In all these hilarious anecdotes that ensue throughout the course of the play, I fear that many brilliant people go unnoticed. For starters, the impeccable male ensemble, composed of Terrence P. Haddad, Art Hennessey and Casey Preston deserves a standing ovation of its own. While they are not forced to take on such hearty monologues as the females in the show, each actor in the ensemble embraces countless roles with ease, changing costumes, makeup and, at times, gender in a matter of seconds.

Additionally, the exceptional writing duo of Kuntz and Park was able to take something from our childhoods and make it relatable on so many new levels. I could not help but admire their abilities to find humor in the smallest of places, to make historical and political references and to stay true to the original storyline and the decade in which each monologue took place. I was also incredibly impressed by their incorporation of classic songs, altered for the play, including “I’m Leaving on a(n Invisible) Jet Plane,” sung by a departing Wonder Woman, “It Takes Two, (Barbra),” a song of dual identities, sung by Batgirl, and the curtain call song “I Need a Hero(ine),” cleverly accompanied by Angie Jepson’s fight choreography.

Lastly, artistic director and set and costume designer Greg Maraio truly brought Kuntz and Park’s hilarious script to its full potential. His set, though simple, worked incredibly well with P.J. Strachman’s lighting design. His costumes were generally well made, and some even had a sense of humor all their own.

So, if you ever find yourself wondering “WWWD?” (What Would Wonder Woman Do?), navigate down to the Boston Center for the Arts, buy yourself a ticket, and, in the words of Director Greg Maraio, “sit back, relax and enjoy your heroine.”

FOOD

Blue Ribbon Barbeque merits first place ■ This local restaurant offers generous portions and excellent side dishes, preparing its meat platters exclusively with original sauces.

By GREG HU JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

I felt even luckier than usual to be eating at Blue Ribbon Barbeque when I found myself sitting next to all-star Celtics player Ray Allen. I was astounded to be sitting next to him, but not surprised that Allen cures his barbeque cravings at Blue Ribbon. At the diner, Allen is just another customer enjoying Southern-style smoked barbeque, and that’s what Blue Ribbon Barbeque is really all about.

At Blue Ribbon Barbeque, your choices of slow-cooked, wood-smoked meat include Texas sliced brisket, North Carolina pulled pork, Kansas City burnt ends and Memphis dryrubbed ribs, to name just a few of the available varieties. The pulled pork and ribs are definitely worth a try and maybe even worthy of making a routine weekly trip to the restaurant.

The pulled pork is juicy and tender with hints of smoky flavor in every bite, and it just melts in your mouth. The burnt ends are a little too saucy for me, since the flavor of this particular dish is not as much about the meat itself. However, the barbeque sauces are all original to Blue Ribbon Barbeque and genuinely tasty.

You can order your barbeque meat in two ways: the sandwich or the “platter,” a dish with more meat and no bread. The portions are generally oversized here, so I often opt for the sandwich, though there are times when I just have an insatiable appetite for barbeque and the platter just makes more sense.

Either way, every order comes with two sides, and my favorites are the mashed potatoes with gravy and the coleslaw. The mashed potatoes are very fluffy, creamy and perfectly seasoned; many customers often just order the potatoes as both of their sides (they call it “double-mash”). The coleslaw is crisp and light, and the fact that it is not drowning in mayo makes this particular side a refreshing counterbalance to the bold smoky flavor of the meat. Blue Ribbon Barbeque also offers baked and green beans, but I’m personally not a big fan of them because they just are not as original as many of the other sides available.

As for the diner itself, it is pretty tiny; there are only about 15 seats situated along a bar.

The walls are decorated with barbeque awards and license plates from Southern U.S. states, and folk music plays in the background. It can get crowded here, especially during regular meal times (e.g., noon and 6 p.m.), but the food is usually served within two to three minutes of having placed your order, hot and fresh, which is a tremendous advantage when you are hungry.

After several visits to Blue Ribbon Barbeque, I’ve become more comfortable ordering from their daily specials menu; it took me more than a year to transition from their regular menu, but that’s because only after becoming a regular do you realize that ordering from the daily specials is just more exciting (they even have daily special sides), and often even tastier. I highly recommend giving it a try if you have been here and have never taken ordering to this level yet.

Most recently, I enjoyed one of my favorite daily specials, the Texas reuben brisket sandwich. The sandwich itself is composed of two slices of thick, toasted bread with about a half a pound of tender, slow-cooked, smoky-flavored

PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN KENNEDY

SPECIAL SAUCE: Blue Ribbon Barbeque’s casual setting and delicious flavorings win repeat customers. beef brisket slices piled in between and topped off with Blue Ribbon’s coleslaw (occasionally sauerkraut) and Russian dressing. Personally, the Russian dressing is what does it for me: It makes even the driest brisket (which, occasionally, you might unfortunately encounter) taste moist and flavorful. Along with the sandwich, I ordered the bleu cheese and broccoli salad—a daily special side—and mashed potatoes with gravy—which are almost impossible not to order after you have tried them. The meal was delicious (nothing unusual) and cost only $7.59, and I was especially happy about the bleu cheese and broccoli salad, which I tried for the first time that day. It acted as a substitute for my regular coleslaw side and proved to be a worthy replacement: fresh, crunchy and cool, a perfect balance to the barbequed brisket and mashed potatoes. I’ll definitely be ordering the blue cheese and broccoli salad again.

For me, just about everything tastes good at Blue Ribbon Barbeque, and it all only costs between $7 to $15 (sandwich combos are about $7, the platter combos are a bit pricier at around $10, and the ribs/multi-meat platters cost about $15). It really is a great deal for how good the food tastes. That’s why it’s always surprising to me when someone from Brandeis or Waltham who has been around for years tells me they have never had Blue Ribbon Barbeque before. To me, that’s almost like saying, “I’m not interested in food.” But maybe I’m just food-spoiled and lucky I ever found out about this place. You’ll understand what I mean when you go yourself: Ray Allen knows, too.

So the next time you’re really hungry for some barbeque, venture to Blue Ribbon Barbeque at 1375 Washington St. right in Newton—the diner is less than 10 minutes away from Brandeis and is certainly worth the trip.

24

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2009

●

THE JUSTICE

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) Travel plans could be interrupted by the re-emergence of a workplace problem that was never quite fully resolved. Deal with it at once, and then take off on that well-deserved trip.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Aspects favor cultural activities for sensuous Bovines. Attend a concert or an art show. Better yet, create something yourself (a poem, perhaps?), and dedicate it to someone special.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Respect any doubts you might now be feeling about a new situation. They could be reflecting your inner awareness that some essential information might be missing. Check it out.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) It’s important to start the new month with as clean a slate as possible. Either complete all those unfinished tasks or pass them on to others who would be more than happy to take them on.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) This is a good time to cut down on expenses and tame that urge to splurge. Applying some financial discipline now could help the Big Cat ride out a possible monetary crunch later on.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) Money matters are dominant this week. Recheck your accounts and make sure they’re up-to-date.

Also, pay more attention to personal issues before they become major problems.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) You might be tempted to employ the same tactics as your adversary, but that could backfire. Better to use the same balanced approach that has worked for you before and could again.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) A changing workplace environment could stir up confusion as well as apprehension. Best to ACROSS 1. Scolded 5. Young lion 8. Skaters’ venue 12. Dorothy’s destination 13. Work with 14. Mideast port city ...

15. ... and a dweller therein 16. Soft fabric 18. Grayish red 20. Long, harsh speech 21. House section 23. Cauldron 24. Heavy military footwear 28. Makes a hole 31. Rowing prop 32. Missionary Junipero 34. Unit 35. Commandment pronoun 37. “Sinker” 39. “That tastes awful!”

41. Infamous lyre player 42. Damage 45. Household linens 49. Agree 51. Pelvic bones 52. Evidenced a pinprick 53. Frank McCourt book 54. — and void 55. “— Breckinridge” 56. Type squares 57. Mirth DOWN 1. African nation 2. Circle dance 3. Mosque VIP 4. Go ashore 5. Repeated monotonously 6. Mex. neighbor 7. A-number-1 8. Rifleman’s tamping device

ignore the rumors and get the facts. You could find that changes bring positive elements.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) Communication is easier this week with people ready and eager to hear what you have to say. Also, check for possible technical problems before you start your new project.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Aspects favor change for the usually traditional Goat. Opening your mind to possibilities you had ignored could lead you to make decisions you once considered improbable.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) Making personal as well as professional adjustments to changing conditions might be easier with more information explaining the “hows” and “whys” of the situations in question.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) With a growing tide of positive reactions to buoy your confidence, this could be the right time to put the finishing touches to your new project and get it well and truly launched.

BORN THIS WEEK: You have a gift for setting an example of quiet, calm reasoning in the midst of chaotic conditions.

BRANDEIS

Through the Lens

Solution to last issue’s crossword.

NATHAN FREEDMAN/the Justice

Castle in the Clouds A night view of Usen Castle reveals many illuminated bedrooms.

Those with rooms in the Castle dwell on the brink of campus with-

Sudoku

9. Act of thinking 10. Dweeb 11. Leg joint 17. With it 19. Weeps loudly 22. Dunderhead 24. Make marginal notes 25. “That feels good” 26. Casino employee 27. Actuality 29. Wildebeest 30. Prepared 33. Taj Mahal city 36. Kampala’s country 38. Optimistic

40. Toper’s interruption 42. Cold War weapon (Abbr.)

43. Magical herb of myth 44. Ceremony 46. Hebrew month 47. Anger 48. Harvard’s rival 50. Poorly lighted

King Crossword Copyright 2007 King Features Synd., Inc.

■ It was beloved comedian Bill Cosby who made the following sage observation: “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.”

■ Before the 1800s, lobster was not considered to be the delicacy it is today. In fact, the crustacean was so ill-regarded as a food source that only the very poor ate them.

■ Famed 19th-century Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky wasn’t just a musical genius. With the ability to fluently speak Russian, French and German by the time he was six years old, he evidently had a gift for languages, too.

■ At 50 feet in diameter, the world’s largest clock is the Colgate Clock. If you want to see it in person, you’ll have to travel to Jersey City, N.J., to do so.

■ Besides having successful careers in film, what do Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise, Sela Ward and Lucy Liu have in common? All of them had an engineer for a father. TV stars Mila

Kunis and Ray Romano did, too, as did singer Mariah Carey.

■ When the popular word game Scrabble was first put on the market in 1938, the game’s creator, Alfred Mosher Butts, received only five cents for each game that was sold.

■ When he was in college, comedian and TV host David Letterman was fired from his job as a disc jockey.

■ The town of Waco, Texas, has an entire museum dedicated to the popular soda Dr Pepper.

Even more surprising is the fact that it gets more than 100 visitors a day, on average.

■ Considering the franchise’s longevity, you might be surprised to learn that the original Star Trek series never did better than 52nd place in the ratings during its three-year stint on TV in the late 1960s.

Thought for the Day: “The nice thing about being a celebrity is that when you bore people, they think it’s their fault.” — Henry Kissinger

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

Sudoku Copyright 2007 King Features Synd., Inc.

in sight of Boston’s skyline. As shopping period ended this week, sophomores settled in for another year of studying and socializing.