The Justice, September 25, 2012 issue

ARTS Page 20

SPORTS Women’s soccer recovers well 13

DOR GUEZ OPENS

FORUM New York soda ban violates rights 11 The Independent Student Newspaper

the

of

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

Justice

Volume LXV, Number 4

www.thejustice.org

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Waltham, Mass.

STUDENT UNION

Mistakes lead to confusing Union election results ■ Several elections required

‘TODAY Show’ University showcases

revotes after Union officials struggled to interpret the current online voting system.

TALI SMOOKLER/the Justice

By SAM MINTZ

comes to campus ’Deis pride By celine hacobian

A

JUSTICE editor

mid blue foam balls, handmade posters and proud students, stood a camera crew getting it all on tape. Last Thursday, the TODAY Show crew was on the Great Lawn recording a clip of what viewers could expect if Brandeis won the competition to get Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford to broadcast their morning show from campus.

Although Brandeis lost to the University of Tennessee, Rachel Nelson ’13 and Reed Zukerman ’13 headlined the effort that brought the TODAY Show to campus and made the University one of six finalists in the competition. They began by creating a video and tweeting it to the cohosts to enter the contest. In the video, Nelson and Zukerman interviewed students all over campus, as well as University President Fredrick Lawrence, Senior Vice President for Students and

JUSTICE EDITOR

Sixteen new senators were elected to the Student Union last week, in elections that were marred by polling errors and saw low voter turnout across the board, as no position garnered more than 51 percent of eligible voters.

One of these errors was that the Union announced the incorrect winner for the position of Off-Campus senator, according to a Justice analysis of the results.

Dean Kaplan ’15 won the election, with 20 votes, but the “Abstain” option garnered 23 votes, and therefore no winner should have been announced. In the Union constitution, Article IX states, “If abstain receives the greatest number of votes during a final election, than (sic) there will be a vacancy in the office until the next election.”

Student Union President Todd ’13

Enrollment Andrew Flagel and Provost Steve Goldstein, about why Kotb and Gifford should choose the University.

Common responses in the video included the enthusiastic people, the sense of community and having a castle on campus.

Lawrence’s enthusiasm to be featured in the video was evident to Nelson and Zukerman, who realized that he only needed one take. “He knew exactly what he

See SPIRIT, 9 ☛

said that there was no “mal-intent” on the part of himself and Student Union Secretary Carlton Shakes ’14 in the running of the elections.

Shakes sent out an email to the student body late last night to apologize for the mistakes and clarify the situation. He announced that there will be a re-vote for the position on Friday.

Kaplan has already been sworn into the Senate, and in an email to the Justice, he said that he will appeal to the Student Judiciary, which will have to decide “whether or not the constitution allows for my removal by anyone other than my constituents or the senate.”

Section 7 of the Union constitution says that the Chief of Elections—in this case, Shakes—has the power to resolve election disputes and that his or her decision can then be appealed to the judiciary.

Due to a polling error, the elections for Student Judiciary and Brandeis Sustainability Fund Representative had to be redone on Thursday, a day after the first elections.

Kirkland said that the original ballot was accidentally sent to alumni who graduated in 2012 and not sent to the

See ELECTION, 7 ☛

FACULTY

University announces policy on student-faculty relations ■ Romantic or sexual

relationships between faculty and students they instruct are prohibited by the new policy.

By sam mintz JUSTICE editor

The University has released a new policy on faculty and staff relations with students, according to an email from University President Frederick Lawrence to the Brandeis community.

The policy prohibits romantic or sexual relationships between instructors and any student whom he or she “instructs, evaluates, supervises, advises or over whom he/she

is in a position to exercise authority in any way.”

“The pedagogical relationship between Instructor and student must be protected from influences or activities that can interfere with learning and fair evaluation,” reads the policy.

The policy also applies to student teaching assistants with respect to students that they instruct or advise.

According to Associate Vice President of Communications Bill Burger, the policy was enacted as part of a regular review of University policies.

In an email to the Justice, he said that “the new policy … addresses situations that had not been addressed explicitly in previous poli-

cies and we felt it was time to do so.”

The policy opens by saying that “Brandeis University is committed to maintaining a fair and professional work environment in which members of the faculty and staff carry out their responsibilities in a way that is both respectful to those over whom they have authority and conducive to the development of a just and flourishing academic community.”

It applies to staff members as well as faculty, and provides the same limitations for relationships between students and staff, saying “no Staff member shall enter into a romantic or sexual relationship with a student for whom that Staff member has responsibilities of advising, mentoring, evaluating, coaching or

supervising.”

Burger also said that the University “takes under consideration recommendations of college and university associations and best practices of other institutions.” A document on the University website describing the process and background of this new policy lists several universities whose policies were reviewed in the development of this one.

They include Brown University, Tufts University, Harvard University, Dartmouth College and Northeastern University, among several others across the country.

The policy was developed by Profs. Marion Smiley (PHIL), Craig Blocker (PHYS), Melissa Stimell (LGLS), Vice Provost for Academic

Midyears in D.C.

Sweet victory

CIO nominated

This year’s midyears decided to take classes and intern in a variety of areas before starting their time at Brandeis.

 Sam Ocel ’13 gets the decisive goal as Brandeis defeats Babson in double overtime.

 John Unsworth has been nominated for the National Council on the Humanities.

FEATURES 9

For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org

Affairs Michaele Whelan and the University’s legal counsel Steve Locke.

None of the creators of the policy were made available for comment by the University.

The policy also says that violations may result in disciplinary action and that cases involving faculty will “go to the appropriate Dean and will follow Faculty Handbook procedures.”

Burger added in his email that “No student, faculty or staff member at Brandeis should ever be the subject of unwanted advances, feel pressured into entering into a relationship with another person on campus [or] be in a position where one party in a relationship has authority or power over the other.”

Let your voice be heard!

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

INDEX

SPORTS 16 ARTS SPORTS

17 13

EDITORIAL FEATURES

10 9

OPINION POLICE LOG

10 2

COMMENTARY

News 3 11

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

2

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

●

THE JUSTICE

NEWS BRIEF

POLICE LOG

New genetics prof joins faculty

Medical Emergency

Rachel V.E. Woodruff is the newest addition to the Biology department at Brandeis University. A Yale University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology alum, she joins Brandeis eagerly, stating, “Very few places offer teaching opportunities like Brandeis, and this is exactly what I want to be doing.” In an interview with the Justice, she spoke about her life as a student and teacher, and shared some spoilers and secrets about next semester’s “BIOL22a: Genetics and Molecular Biology.”

Q: Tell us about your academic trajectory.

A: Well, I went to Yale for undergrad, which was great, and I had a really long major: molecular biophysics and biochemistry. After that, I spent a year as a lab tech at Harvard University, but it was more of a mini-grad school experience rather than the typical post-undergrad lab tech job. I had a great older professor who taught me old techniques—that no one uses today [laughs]—and was able to do my own project. After that, I went to graduate school at MIT, and worked on DNA damage repair and worked with yeast and bacteria as my model organism. I did two post docs at once, and also taught an introductory biology class at MIT in 2009. After that, I taught biochem at Suffolk University, and taught through a high school outreach program through the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. And this fall, I started at Brandeis.

Q: What was it like teaching introductory biology at MIT? A: It’s a lot different. There were two post-docs teaching 500-plus students and 12 or so TAs teaching sections. This year, I think they have about 800-plus students. During discussion sections, they meet with TAs, and that is where they really learn.

Q: Well, Brandeis classes are a lot smaller than that! So, the million-dollar question: Why Brandeis?

A: This is an awesome job. I wanted to teach undergrads and I love thinking about research, but I don’t want to run a lab. So, I am focused solely on teaching.

I don’t have to worry about grants, et cetera, and very few places offer teaching positions at universities like this one. This is exactly what I want to be doing.

Q: What classes are you teaching this year?

A: This year, I am teaching “Molecular Biotechnology” and I have master and upperclass undergrads in that course. I am also teaching a [Biological Science] class on the “Biology of Cancer,” and next semester I am teaching “BIOL 22a: Genetics [and Molecular Biology]” and “BIOL 172b: Growth Control and Cancer” which will be a seminar-style course on cancer biology.

Q: Are you changing gears from the way “Genetics” has been taught in the past?

A: Maybe. I am thinking of using a different book, one that is more clear about certain explanations, and I might use i-clickers, since you’ve all learned how to use them. I will also require that sections with TAs are attended. While I would love to teach one of the sections, I think this year I am not going to do it, but maybe in the future, since it’s something I really want to do.

Q: And what do you do outside of school? Do you have a family; a dog?

A: I have two girls, four years and one year, and a 12-year-old black lab who is also a girl. I have all girls.

Sept. 18—A female student tripped and fell near the main entrance to campus. She was transported to the Health Center with an ankle injury.

Sept. 19—A 20-year-old female student in Ziv Quad called University Police complaining of a rash. BEMCo treated her, and she refused further care.

Sept. 19—A student at the athletic fields suffered a knee injury while playing in a soccer game. BEMCo treated the student who was then transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital for further care.

Sept. 20—A student at the Mailman House was transported to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital via ambulance.

Sept. 20—A student called University Police to report an intoxicated male in Shapiro Residence Hall. The intoxicated party was treated by BEMCo and transported to the NewtonWellesley Hospital via ambulance.

Sept. 22—A party in Ridge-

wood B reported an intoxicated male who was going in and out of consciousness and vomiting.

The intoxicated party was treated by BEMCo and taken to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital via ambulance.

Sept. 22—An intoxicated student in Cable was treated by BEMCo and transported to the Newton-Wellesley Hospital via ambulance.

Sept. 22—A student near Schwartz reported that he fell and injured his knee. BEMCo treated the party with a signed refusal for further care.

Sept. 22—A student in Scheffres reported that he fell and injured his leg. BEMCo treated the party, with a signed refusal for further care.

Drugs

Sept. 18—The head custodian reported that a custodian in Usen found a bag of marijuana in the men’s bathroom on the second floor. A report was composed, and the marijuana was

placed into the evidence locker.

Sept. 19—An officer reported confiscating marijuana and paraphernalia from Ziv Quad.

A report was composed, and the evidence was placed into storage.

Sept. 19—An officer confiscated marijuana from Rosenthal North. A report was compiled, and the evidence was placed into storage.

Larceny

Sept. 19—A staff member at the Bernstein-Marcus Administration Center reported the theft of one silver metal lawn chair that was on the sidewalk outside of the building. A report was composed.

Sept. 20—A student in Gerstenzang reported he left his Apple laptop unattended in the Gerstenzang Library and it was gone upon his return. A report was compiled.

Sept. 21—A staff member at the coffee shop in the Goldfarb Library reported that her unat-

The Justice is on hiatus for Sukkot. Our next issue will be published Oct. 9.

nA byline in Forum misspelled the writer's name. The author’s name is spelled Daniel Koas, not Daniel Kaos.

(Sept. 11, pg. 8) nThe title of a photo on the front page misleadingly read “Home Opener.” The photo was not, in fact, of the men’s soccer home opener, but rather of their second game of the season. (Sept. 11, pg. 1) The Justice welcomes submissions for errors that warrant correction or clarification. Email editor@ thejustice.org.

Justice

the

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

Editor News Forum Features Sports Arts Ads Photos Managing

editor@thejustice.org news@thejustice.org forum@thejustice.org features@thejustice.org sports@thejustice.org arts@thejustice.org ads@thejustice.org photos@thejustice.org managing@thejustice.org

WENDY CHOI/the Justice

Ecology, Peace and Survival Prof. Stefan Schindler of Salem State University spoke on what he termed the “Trifecta From Hell: Despoliation, Proliferation and KleptoCapitalism” at an International Day of Peace Festival event on Friday in the Geller Conference Room in the Hassenfeld Conference Center.

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

Miscellaneous

Sept. 22—An office found a dumpster fire on the lower road in the Charles River Apartments. The Waltham Fire Department extinguished the fire.

There were no known causes or suspects at the time. A report was compiled.

—compiled by Marielle Temkin

The Student Union Senate held its second meeting of the semester this past Sunday, as Student Union President Todd Kirkland ’13 swore in newly elected senators.

Union Vice President Gloria Park ’13 announced that she will be taking on the role of Academic Affairs Director as part of her position of Student Union Vice President. Her duties will include leading this year’s Take Your Professor to Lunch program and “developing the relationship between faculty and students.”

As an ongoing project throughout the year, Park also hopes to develop the course evaluations process, to make them more useful for professors and department heads, as well as promoting “more open communication ... [to see] what our feedback has done in terms of improving the quality of teaching styles.”

Nathan Israel ’14, Finance Board chair, reported that the F-Board is “currently in the process of allocating funds to clubs,” during F-Board meetings on Sunday evenings. Describing this year’s more open and discussionbased process of funds allocation, Israel reported that “clubs—especially smaller clubs—feel like they’re getting a lot of respect from the Board.”

Israel also announced that the operating budget for this year is “roughly $1.4 or 1.5 million.”

Executive Senator Ricky Rosen ’14 announced that he’s currently working on proposing amendments to make the Student Union Constitution “more efficient.” Rosen also informed the Senate that this year’s total Senate budget would be $22,500.

Finishing off the meeting, the Senators described one goal they would each like to achieve this year. Massell Quad Senator Jonathan Jacob ’16 and Ziv Senator Daniel Marks ’14 each announced that they would like to put more picnic tables and benches in the grassy areas in their respective quads.

—Emma Stodder

ANNOUNCEMENTS Finishing your M.A. in Anthropology

This workshop will review the timeline and steps in the process for completing the master’s degree in anthropology.

Today from 11 a.m. to noon in Brown room 224.

Physics Department Colloquium www.thejustice.org

Sept. 22—The sergeant called for additional units to disperse a large group in the lower Foster Mods. There were two registered parties in the lower Mods that night. The crowd dispersed without incident, and a report and judicial referrals were composed.

Sept. 22—A student called University Police complaining of loud music in Ziv Quad. The officer spoke with the residents; no further action was taken.

New senators sworn in

NOTE TO READERS:

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS

Disturbance

SENATE LOG

—Damiana Andonova

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

tended purse was stolen. A report was composed.

Heinrich Jaeger of the University of Chicago will survey some of the key issues, discuss the stress scales associated with shear thickening in dense suspensions and outline a new scenario for impact response.

Sponsored by the Physics Department.

Today from 4 to 5 p.m. in Abelson-BassYalem room 131.

Breaking the Yom Kippur fast

All members of the Brandeis community, regardless of background or religious affiliation, are invited to join President Fred and Kathy Lawrence Wednesday night, Sept. 26, for the breaking of the Yom Kippur fast.

Yom Kippur is a day of self-reflection and repentance, typically observed with fasting and prayer and concluded with a breaking

of the fast.

Beginning at 6:30 p.m. under a tent on the Great Lawn, all are invited to share in a meal and community gathering.

Tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. on the Great Lawn.

‘Don’t Roll Your Eyes’

“Don’t Roll Your Eyes: Make In-Laws Into Family” explores why in-law relationships can be troubling. Dr. Ruth Nemzoff exposes the differences in the views of the parents, couples, siblings and the various sets of inlaws. She gives practical and timely advice on building relationships in intermarried families, families related by love, not marriage, and wise counsel on how to discuss financial and end-of-life issues.

Thursday from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in Liberman-Miller Lecture Hall in the Women’s Studies Research Center.

‘The Engaged Citizen of 2012’

Do you know nothing about the candidates in the upcoming election? Do you know a lot and still want to learn more?

Join the Brandeis Democrats’ kickoff event,

“The Engaged Citizen of 2012.”

The event will feature remarks from such distinguished speakers as University President Frederick Lawrence; Mayor of Newton, Mass. Setti Warren; Alex Goldstein, a member of Governor Patrick’s cabinet and John Walsh, chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party.

Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. in Mandel Center for the Humanities room G03.

IRB application preparation workshop

Are you planning a research or thesis project involving human subjects?

Come learn the ins and outs of writing a protocol, completing the forms and what human subjects research protection is all about.

Space is limited, so sign up now. Email irb@brandeis.edu to reserve your spot.

Sponsored by the Office of Research Administration, the Institutional Review Board and LTS. Wednesday, October 3, from 1 to 2:20 p.m., in the Gardner Jackson Room of the Goldfarb Library.

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

CROWN CENTER

Sohrabi inaugurated ■ Naghmeh Sohrabi (HIST)

is the first ever Charles (Corky) Goodman Chair in Middle East History.

By SCARLETT REYNOSO JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

OLIVIA POBIEL/the Justice

NEW CHAIR: Naghmeh Sohrabi (HIST) speaks at her inaugural lecture.

Crown donation creates 3 chairs ■ The Crown family

donated money to improve the Crown Center for Middle East studies.

By LUKE HAYSLIP AND DANIELLE GROSS JUSTICE STAFF WRITERS

The Crown family of Chicago, prominent benefactors of the University, presented the school with a major donation of an undisclosed amount last week. This money will go toward solidifying a permanent place on campus for the Crown Center for Middle East Studies, including possible renovations to Schwartz Hall, as well as creating three new endowed faculty chairs.

The majority of the new construction would occur in the aging Schwartz Hall, with the creation of a new level as well as necessary improvements to replace the old heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems serving Schwartz and the adjacent Brown Social Science Center, according to BrandeisNOW. The expectations are that the new level will contain not only the permanent home for the Crown Center, but also will serve as additional space on campus to be used by the Office of the Provost. The renovations would also include provisions for an elevator and full-access to both buildings for disabled individuals, as well as two new classrooms which may house advanced technologies that integrate media and collaborative learning, according to an article on BrandeisNOW. The Crowns have earned a reputation as being generous benefactors at several prestigious universities. The family first contributed to Brandeis in 1968, with the establishment of the Irving and Rose Crown School of Graduate Studies in American Civilization.

With their first contribution, the Crowns also fostered the Crown Fellows program, which continues to this day. These fellowships aid students who are working on their doctorates. With this most

recent gift, the Fellows program has been updated. According to the Fellowship website, all Crown Fellows will receive $25,000 stipends for living expenses (adjusted annually for increases in the cost of living), up to $6,000 in summer research grants, university health coverage and full tuition.

The fellows can receive this support for up to five years.

In a recent BrandeisNOW article, President Lawrence commented, “The Crown family’s extraordinary generosity is matched by their vision for what a great research university can be.” He also noted that the Crown Center will ensure that Brandeis remains a leading institute for Middle East studies as well as a top-ranked research institution.

Another purpose of this donation was to establish three endowed faculty chairs. As of right now, only one of the chairs has been filled. The first chair, the Charles (Corky) Goodman Chair in Middle East History, has been filled by Prof. Naghmeh Sohrabi, (HIST) who delivered her inaugural lecture as the Chair last Tuesday in Rapaporte Treasure Hall.

The occupants of the other two chairs have not yet been determined; final decisions will be based on selected areas of study.

According to BrandeisNOW, Shai Feldman, the Judith and Sidney Swartz Director of the Crown Center, said the possible study areas are: Syria and Lebanon, Turkey, the politics of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states and sectarianism, tribalism and ethnicity in the Middle East.

Provost Steve Goldstein ’78 commented in the BrandeisNOW article on the merits of the Crowns’ contribution and Brandeis as a whole. “This demonstrates what our centers and interdisciplinary programs can do for us, strengthening areas of distinction and the core by bringing endowed positions to the schools, enhancing our capacity in areas where we define the cutting edge, enriching the academic milieu, and renewing the campus for everyone,” said Goldstein.

The Crown Center for Middle East Studies celebrated its annual kick-off event with the inauguration of Prof. Naghmeh Sohrabi (HIST) as the first Charles (Corky) Goodman Chair in Middle East History. Last Thursday, Sept. 13, a panel discussion on the state of the Middle East took place in Rapaporte Treasure Hall, following Sohrabi’s lecture on “The Role of History in Understanding Today’s Iran.”

“Perhaps what we are seeing is not only about the ideological nature of the Islamic republic, but it is an ambition, and it is a thought that is by now woven into the fabric of political and nationalist thought in Iran,” said Sohrabi. “Perhaps Iran’s security outlook is not mere ideology but much, much deeper.” She spoke about the power of history in giving us choices in times of strife, particularly when it comes to Iran’s conflicts and the need to understand its background.

In her new position, Sohrabi looks forward to acting as a link between the History department and the Crown Center.

Sohrabi’s new chair is one of three recently endowed faculty positions established by the Crown family, who also founded the center in 2005.

“Their generosity will also help in the process of a long-term University goal of providing a permanent home for the Crown Center,” said University President Frederick Lawrence of the donation.

Sohrabi has been a professor of Middle East History since 2008. Her most recent position at the Crown Center is associate director of research. She was selected for this newly established chair through a vigorous yearlong search process.

The search was seeking a candidate to engage in a part-time research and part-time academic commitment.

“Naghmeh really earned it. She is a superb scholar ... She has been a great mentor to students,” said As-

sociate Director of the Crown Center Kristina Cherniahivsky in an interview with the Justice. “She really is a person who goes beyond what’s expected to give her students the best possible experience. She will often throw away her entire syllabus she has used in a previous year, because something happened that made her rethink the way she needed to approach a course.”

“Most of my favorite moments revolve around my students,” said Sohrabi in an email to the Justice.

Among those students she says she cherishes are those who persevere in her courses and who she sees both graduating four years later and going on to exciting work, and also those who have the courage to diverge from their planned career path, as she did.

Cherniahavisky said the Crown Center’s objective in events such as this one is to provide a “context or framework in which to place events that are happening on the ground” in a setting that will allow people to give their opinions freely.

After listening to Sohrabi’s lecture, David Handler ’14 agreed in an interview with the Justice, saying that he thought the lecture shed more light on the complexities of the conflict in the Middle East, than the media’s portrayal of many aspects as purely good or bad. He is not studying in the field of Middle Eastern Studies, but decided to attend the event in hopes of gaining a new perspective.

Prof. Shai Feldman (POL), the director of the Crown Center, was the moderator of the panel discussion that followed Sohrabi’s lecture.

The panel was comprised of Abdel Monem Said Aly, senior fellow at the Crown Center and chairman of the Center’s board, Profs. Kanan Makiya (NEJS), Nader Habibi (ECON) and Eva Bellin (POL). The discussion focused on whether or not the Arab Spring has come to an end.

Said Aly set the tone for the conversation with his categorizing of “the good, the bad, and the ugly” in the Middle East. He named the good as democracy, whose path is hindered through this “transitional period” by security problems, the economic crisis, the constitutional dilemma and a transitional justice.

The bad is the constant power struggle between Islamists who want to

take charge of the streets and the gradual transition of the state’s tools during a chaotic revolution.

The ugly arises as the “Spring” is turned into a “[Canadian style] winter.” said Said Aly, referencing the dominance of Jihad groups with the spread of Al Queda in Mali, Tunisia, Syria, Libya and Yemen. He made reference to former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice’s term “constructive chaos,” saying that these countries of “the New Middle East” are certainly sites of chaos, but not necessarily construction. With repeated occasions of “violence for violence’s sake,” even a soccer game can act as a trigger.

The conversation led to the topic of development and whether or not there is truly progress towards democracy in these Arab Spring states. The speakers agreed that it is too soon to tell.

Bellin, discussing Tunisia, where she spent time completing her Ph. D. through fieldwork with Princeton University, said that “democratic consolidation” has not yet occurred, but that it is certainly not going to happen overnight.

“I am baffled by the strategic planners here that they are ignoring how to clip the powers of the Iranians where it should be, where the threat is taking shape.” said Said Aly, stressing that it will not work to strengthen the countries of the gulf and “make an Arab Spring in a tribal society.” He also reiterated the fact that Iran will try to hit Western interests that lie in the oil and Israel.

When the state of Syria was touched upon, the panelists disagreed about what should be the terms of the United States’ intervention. Makiya believed there was a “deliberate whipping of sectarianism” by the Syrian state.

“Of course every humanitarian impulse should be to stop the bloodshed,” said Makiya. He has suggested setting up a safe haven for Syrians, which he believes the United States would be unwilling to do.

Bellin stated only that she believed the United States cannot intervene militarily, but must continue to participate diplomatically, regardless of its lack of success to date.

There is a video of both the lecture and panel on the Crown Center’s website.

JENNY CHENG/the Justice

MIDDLE EAST PANEL: Experts on the Middle East discuss the Arab Spring at the Crown Center event last Thursday.

BRIEF Unsworth nominated by President Obama to serve on National Council on Humanities John Unsworth, vice provost for Library and Technology Services and chief information officer at Brandeis, has been nominated by President Obama to serve as a member on the National Council on the Humanities.

The Council consists of 26 “distinguished private citizens” who are handpicked by the president and must be approved by the Senate, according to the National Endowment

for the Humanities’ website. The Council serves to advise the chairman of the Endowment.

Members are appointed for a term of six years each.

Unsworth declined to comment

Unsworth

on his nomination, due to the fact that he is not yet an official member of the Council.

“I am grateful these accomplished men and women have agreed to join this Administration, and I’m confident they will serve ably in these important roles,” said Obama in a Sept.

12 White House press release. “I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”

Unsworth joined Brandeis this past February, succeeding Perry Hanson in his position. His appointment as vice provost and chief information officer was the summation of an eightmonth, nationwide search conducted by an 18-member committee of students, staff, and faculty, where he beat out dozens of other applicants.

Before joining the Brandeis community, Unsworth served as dean of the

Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign from 2003 to 2012.

Unsworth was also previously a tenured member of the University of Virginia English department and Director of the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities at the University of Virginia.

—Joe Crook

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THE JUSTICE

ADMISSIONS

SCOTUS to hear admissions suit

■ The Court’s decision on

affirmative action could affect Brandeis’ admissions.

By ANDREW WINGENS JUSTICE EDITOR

The Supreme Court will revisit the use of race as a factor in university admissions decisions, putting in jeopardy court precedent allowing affirmative action as a means to maintain diversity in higher education.

The new case, Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, gives the Court an opportunity to ban the use of race in the admissions process, which it had narrowly allowed in the 2003 Grutter v. Bollinger decision. The case will be argued Oct. 10.

If public universities are not allowed to use race as a factor in admissions, private universities could also be directly affected.

Brandeis, along with 35 other universities, has signed onto an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in support of using race as a factor in admissions. Brandeis filed a similar friend-of-the-court brief in 2003, supporting the University of Michigan’s use of affirmative action.

The current brief argues that “diversity among students is vitally important to the educational process,” and “diversity is not one-size-fits-all and thus institutions of higher learning should have latitude to take diversity into account in admissions in ways that further their particular educational emphases and missions.”

Although University President Frederick Lawrence was cautious not to make any interpretations or predictions of the decision’s potential impact, he said in an interview with the Justice that he will pay close attention once the Court hands down its decision.

“That’s something we follow with great focus and once a decision comes down, I assure you that not just our lawyers will study it, but I will study it as a president and as a legal scholar to see whether it has any impact on us,” Lawrence said.

“But right now I have not suggested that our admissions process change at all in anticipation of the decision.”

Diversity: an “educational goal” The Supreme Court first decided the issue of affirmative action in college admissions in 1978, when a white man, Allan Bakke, claimed he was excluded from the University of California Davis Medical School solely on the basis of race.

The case had mixed results. The Court ruled against the University of California because it used a rigid racial quota system, but Justice Lewis Powell upheld the use of race as one of many factors in an admissions process to preserve diversity as an important component of education.

Following that precedent in 2003, the Supreme Court allowed a University of Michigan Law School admissions policy that used race as a factor. The majority opinion, written by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, endorsed Justice Powell’s analysis in Bakke.

Lawrence, himself a civil rights legal expert, said in an interview with the Justice in July that ensuring diversity is a key element of the school’s educational goal.

“One of the ways in which people learn is from people of different backgrounds. It’s not just that it’s part of the social justice mission of the school; it’s part of the educational mission of the school,” he said.

He said that diversity is not limited to race or ethnicity, but also includes extracurricular talents, geography and other factors.

Lawrence said that he would not call using race as a factor in admissions discrimination.

“Brandeis is committed to a world without discrimination and that is true of our admissions policy,” he said. “We do not discriminate on any basis in our admissions policy, and Brandeis is also deeply committed to a mission of social justice and as a result that has major impact to how we try to reach out and have as broad and diverse a student body as

we can.”

He said it all comes down to a misconception of the admissions process: “It’s not as if there are two people for this spot and you pick one of them, and three people for that spot and you pick one of them.”

Lawrence said Brandeis considers a range of factors in admissions; while some factors are objective, like standardized test scores and grade point average, others are less so, like athletic or artistic skills.

“In order to achieve all of that in a class, sure, [race is] a factor, but it just doesn’t come down to ‘here are two people we are going to take one and not the other and then let’s look at this factor to make that decision — that’s not how admissions decisions get made,” Lawrence said.

Lawrence and admissions officers have referred to this as a holistic admissions approach, which was approved by the Supreme Court.

The amicus brief signed by the University states, “consideration of race as one factor in a holistic admissions process is a narrowly tailored means to achieve diversity on college and university campuses and thus passes constitutional muster.”

Threat to Brandeis policies In the new case, Abigail Fisher, a white Texas resident, filed a suit after she was rejected from the University of Texas at Austin. She argued that the university, which considers race in its admissions process, discriminated against her and rejected her because of her race.

The friend-of-the-court brief which Brandeis joined calls for the Court to allow academic institutions to determine their educational needs and goals. “As part and parcel of the bedrock concept of academic freedom, courts should give due consideration to colleges and universities’ experience and judgment regarding the best composition of their own student bodies and how to achieve that composition,” it reads.

The Court’s composition has changed since the decision in Grutter v. Bollinger, the University of Michigan Law School case that allowed affirmative action, leading some Court analysts to believe that the Court is likely to make a decision limiting or abolishing affirmative action, according to SCOTUSblog.

Three dissenters from Grutter remain on the Court — Justices Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy. Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. has replaced O’Connor, who authored the majority opinion in Grutter.

Chief Justice John Roberts has also voted against forms of affirmative action.

Only two members of the 5-4 Grutter majority remain on the CourtJustices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer—and Justice Elena Kagan has recused herself.

Lawrence declined to offer his own prediction on the outcome of Fisher, and he added that the Court is not easy to predict.

He did say, however, “Where we stand today is that it is highly unlikely in my view that the Court is going to make an educational decision to tell educational institutions—private universities—that they can’t look at a whole range of factors and use that big range of factors to select the best class for the overall educational experience of the school.”

Lawrence also said he is “surprised” that the Court is taking another look at affirmative action only a decade after Grutter.

In December, the Obama administration released new guidelines for the use of race in university admissions.

The federal report stated, “An institution may permissibly aim to achieve a critical mass of underrepresented students,” and that “post-secondary institutions can voluntarily consider race to further the compelling interest of achieving diversity.”

University officials at the time said the guidelines would have little impact on Brandeis policies because the University already uses race as a factor in the admissions process.

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

5

READY TO ROLL

JON EDELSTEIN/the Justice

’Deis pride Andrew Flagel, senior vice president for students and enrollment, shows off his new license plate at a kickoff event for this year’s Deis Impact, a “festival of social justice.”

CAMPUS SPEAKER

Employees criticize Walmart

■ Members of the

Organization United for Respect at Walmart spoke.

By EMMA STODDER JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Former Walmart employees strongly criticized working conditions at the retail giant, comparing “working at Walmart to being unemployed” during a forum hosted last Thursday by the Brandeis Labor Coalition.

Coalition members organized the forum to raise awareness of working conditions at Walmart as well as how advocacy groups for workers’ rights are trying to change them.

Two former Walmart employees, now members of the Organization United for Respect at Walmart discussed their experiences working at Walmart and their work to improve working conditions since leaving the company. Local representatives from Jobs With Justice’s Change Walmart, Change America campaign and national organizers from the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union also spoke about their collaboration with OUR Walmart.

This event follows the June announcement of a $5 million grant from the Walmart Foundation to the Heller School for Social Policy and Management’s Center for Youth and Communities. The CYC will distribute the money in $800,000 grants to nonprofit and government-run agencies sup-

porting at-risk youth in eight cities around the country. The money will go towards paying for young students’ summer jobs in these areas.

Focusing not only on informing students about the work of OUR Walmart, the speakers also tried to draw a connection for Brandeis students between the Walmart Foundation’s grant to the Heller School and the experience of working at Walmart. “The reason why we came today was because we wanted you to hear the other side of where that money really comes from,” explained James Razsa, an organizer for Campaign for Change at Walmart in Boston.

The group of former employees that make up OUR Walmart travel around the country, visiting Walmart stores and urging workers to join the organization’s network. Angela Williamson, a former Walmart employee who was fired for what an Unfair Labor Practices lawsuit found in 2012 to be “retaliation for speaking out against Walmart’s treatment of its employees,” now works with OUR Walmart.

Walmart forbids its workers from unionizing, so OUR Walmart functions to “give a voice” to these workers, providing a framework for employees to “[take] ownership of their organization,” explained Williamson.

“I compare working at Walmart to being unemployed ... there’s really not a big difference,” said Williamson.

During her time at Walmart, Williamson experienced inconsistent pay and hours, which, she noted, is not uncom-

OLIVIA POBIEL/the Justice

LABOR ISSUES: A presenter speaks at the Brandeis Labor Coalition event Thursday.

mon for Walmart employees: “even the full-time people are not getting 40 hour weeks ... some are, but it’s very few and far between.” In the course of her work with OUR Walmart, Williamson has found that, similar to what she experienced as a Walmart employee, many workers “can’t guarantee what their pay’s going to be to pay the bills [or] to put food on the table.”

In order to work towards creating a different, more reliable environment for Walmart workers throughout the company, OUR Walmart collaborates in the Boston area and around the country with Jobs With Justice and UFCW. Jobs With Justice began its Change Walmart, Change America campaign about 10 years ago.

According to Rasza, for the Campaign for Change at Walmart and OUR Walmart’s network of Walmart employees and former employees, there is a distinct goal. “It’s not about hating Walmart,” he said, “what it’s about is trying to change Walmart.”

OUR Walmart’s advocacy and Jobs With Justice’s Change Walmart, Change America campaign focus on changing what Angela Williamson experienced, and many workers continue to experience, which Rasza defines as a fundamental issue: that many jobs at Walmart are “not creating the ladder ... to a better life” for workers.

OUR Walmart’s major work in 2012 has centered on a campaign called Walmart at 50, celebrating Walmart’s 50th year in business by organizing National Days of Action to garner new members and continuing to organize and advocate for workers’ rights.

Encouraging Brandeis students to attend OUR Walmart and Jobs With Justice’s events in the Boston area, Rasza said that although the Walmart Foundation’s grant to the Heller School’s CYC will go to charitable community organizations, it’s important that Brandeis students “don’t let Walmart off the hook.”

David Duhalde-Wine, a Brandeis graduate student in the masters of public policy program and a member of the Brandeis Labor Coalition, said in an interview with the Justice, “Students at Brandeis, a school that’s focused on social justice and founded on those principles, should hear the other side of where our money’s coming from.”

The message for the Brandeis community, Duhalde-Wine said, is that Brandeis students, through groups like the Labor Coalition, should take action “to [raise] awareness of the struggles and the braveness of the Walmart workers, and [raise] awareness about their working conditions and [how they are] just trying to use their democratic rights to improve their own lives ... for that reason we should learn more about it.”

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THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, september 25, 2012

OBITUARIES

Paternostro, 27, passes ■ The ’07 alumnus was

active in student life during his time at Brandeis.

By ROBYN SPECTOR JUSTICE EDITOR

Brian Paternostro ’07 died Sept.

12 from an ongoing battle with cancer. He was 27 years old and from Wethersfield, Conn. A part of the first midyear class at Brandeis, Paternostro was a triple major in Politics, Theater, and Peace, Conflict and Coexistence Studies.

During his time at Brandeis, Paternostro was the Ridgewood Quad senator and served two years on the Student Union’s Executive Board. When he ran for Union Treasurer and lost, Paternostro placed a positive spin on his loss.

In an interview with the Justice in an article dated Sept. 19, 2006 he said, “I ran because I wanted to see someone qualified and competent win, and that happened in this election, even though it wasn’t me.” His friends Adam Schwartzbaum ’07, Alison Schwartzbaum ’08, and Cindy Kaplan ’08 remember how, “even in the face of adversity, Brian was defiant, and put on his best, most energetic effort.”

Director of Student Activities Stephanie Grimes said in an interview with the Justice, “He had a lot of advocacy around the alcohol policy at student events and the student activity fee ... His philo-

sophical mind combined with his energy and creativity made him not only a true Brandeisian but also someone who touched the lives of anyone he met.”

Paternostro In addition to serving on the Student Union, Paternostro was also “a champion of the Brandeis theater scene,” Adam Schwartzbaum recalled. Paternostro directed Hair and produced many other shows for the Undergraduate Theater Collective, cofounded the Free Play Theatre Cooperative, and produced Culture X in his last semester at school.

At six feet six inches—the length of an extra-long twin college bed, he would quip—it was hard to miss Paternostro around campus, according to his friends. He was a Roman Catholic who fit right in at Yom Kippur services. According to Cindy Spungin, associate director of Hillel at Brandeis, Paternostro made a large effort to accommodate students’ individual religious practices, letting students sit out from risqué scenes when he directed the Hillel Theater Group’s production of Hair.

Cindy Kaplan ’08 and former Student Union President Alison Schwartzbaum ’08, who was a

close friend of Paternostro, remember that he loved to write on walls. Schwartzbaum wrote in an email interview with the Justice, “To this day, I think about Brian every time I see a big white board, because Brian pushed Brandeis to install them all over the Student Union office so that we could literally draw our vision on the walls.”

Adam Schwartzbaum, who lived with Paternostro in Ridgewood, recalls that, “Brian also took to writing on the walls in his home.

His bedroom … was covered in inspirational quotes and drawings ...

In a way, the wall in his bedroom was a perfect metaphor for his personality: unorthodox, a little messy, but intimate, earnest, and endearing.”

“Brian was a builder of families and communities,” Kaplan remembers. “And somehow, those families often intertwined, and in the days since his passing, all of Brian’s friends from all the different pockets of his experiences have reconnected, the way a true family does. Sharing photos and videos, stories and memories of Brian ...

Brian brought his Brandeis community together again, just as he did so often in life.”

After graduation, Paternostro moved to Philadelphia to work for United Way, a national system for volunteers and local community activists, according to its website.

He is survived by his parents and brother.

Christakos dead at 23 ■ The recent Univ graduate

was killed in a motorcycle crash in New Hampshire earlier this month.

By SAM MINTz JUSTICE EDITOR

Alexa Christakos ’11 passed away on Sept. 4 after a motorcycle crash in Stratham, N.H. Christakos, who was from Lowell, Mass. received a degree from Brandeis in Philosophy and American studies, according to an obituary in the

Boston Globe.

According to NewHampshire. com she was a passenger on the motorcycle, which was driven by her boyfriend, a New Hampshire man who also died in Christakos the crash. The website also reported that police “are investigating the possibility that [the man] was travelling at nearly 120 mph around the time his 2007 Yamaha motorcycle went off

the highway.” Neither were wearing helmets, which, according to the Globe, are not required by New Hampshire law.

According to the Globe obituary, she was a National Honor student and Scholastic All American swimmer with “enthusiasm, [an] adventurous spirit and love of life … She touched so many lives with a compassionate heart as big as her beautiful smile; those fortunate enough to have known her will never be the same without her.”

—Robyn Spector contributed reporting

BRIEF Officer injured on faulty fire escape, structures under review Structural weaknesses in the A Tower of Usen Castle’s fire escape were uncovered Saturday, as a public safety officer fell and sprained his ankle on a stair with loose welding, according to reports from Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan.

A University worker was climbing the fire escape to access a specific door in the tower to complete a work order when the welding on one of the steps came loose, said Callahan in an interview with the Justice. At that point, the worker noticed that another stair was “not attached correctly.”

Facilities subsequently called an outside contractor to reattach the steps. “Right now, all the fire escapes [in the Castle] are being checked, just as a precautionary measure,” said Callahan.

Upon learning of the incident on Monday, Kenneth Gagnon ’15, a Castle resident, wrote in

an email to the Justice that “considering the cost of coming to Brandeis, you would think that things like that would not happen, that the infustructure would be at least good enough and safe enough to walk on.”

“I feel creeped out because it’s my fire escape,” said Darrell Hosford ’15, also a Castle resident, in an interview with the Justice.

Castle Quad senator Shukai Zhang ’15 expressed his concern for the Castle infrastructure in an email to the Justice. “This should never ever happen again. As I stated in my platform, the castle is the oldest building on campus, so necessary renovations have to be made to prevent any potential dangers,” wrote Zhang.

Zhang also mentioned the Campus Operations Work Group as a reference point for facilities projects and potential safety hazards.

—Tate Herbert

BRIEF Math dept receives $533,000 in grants for graduate students The United States Department of Education has awarded the Brandeis Mathematics department a Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need grant. The grant provides $533,000 over the course of three years to 12 graduate students, funding four individuals each year. This marks the third consecutive time that the Mathematics department has received the grant.

According to the Department of Education’s website, the GAANN is awarded to departments with an abundance of graduate students with excellent academic records who “demonstrate financial need and plan to pursue the highest degree available in their course of study.” The Department of Education also dictates how most of its funds are used, assuring that fellowships reach graduate students in need of financial support.

Due to the nature of the grant’s conditions, the Mathematics department can only use the provided funds for the benefit of graduate students. This narrow purpose allows beneficiaries of the GAANN to focus exclusively on the issue of graduate students in need without diluting spending. The grant’s website puts it bluntly: “This program provides fellowships, through academic departments and programs of IHEs, to assist graduate students.”

Prof. Daniel Ruberman (MATH), the coordinator of the Mathematics department’s application for the grant, said that his department’s approach to education made it an ideal candidate for the grant.

“I think they [the agency that runs the GAANN grant] liked the overall environment that we provide, including the kind of personal interactions that we have with our graduate students,” he said. “They also gave considerable weight to the strong teacher training program and continued guidance that we provide for our graduate students as they begin their careers at Brandeis.”

Though Ruberman personally filed the grant, he said that the application process required participation from the whole of the Mathematics department. “The application was a collective effort by many department members,” he said.

“We gathered lots of data to document the quality of our program and wrote about how we would use the money to good effect.”

Ruberman believes grants of this type are vital to his department’s well-being. “Training grants provide a mechanism for the University to maintain a robust graduate program. Mathematics is a very human endeavor, and having a critical mass of students and faculty is essential for the kind of dialog that promotes interesting and innovative research.”

This year’s successful grant application builds on the Mathematics department’s success from last year, when it was one of several science departments from the University to receive the National Science Foundation’s grant for Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship.

—Eli Boonin-Vail

Join the Club The Justice

JOSHUA LINTON/the Justice

Opposing perspectives Brandeis students interested in social activism and the Occupy movement gathered in Ridgewood A Commons last Wednesday to watch a live streaming video of a debate on the issue between journalist Chris Hedges and the CrimethInc. Ex-Workers’ Collective.

Layout

Contact Rachel Burkhoff at

layout@thejustice.org

TUESDAY, september 25, 2012

ELECTION: East Quad senator seat unfilled and uncontested CONTINUED FROM 1 Class of 2016.

There was also a revote for the position of Ridgewood Quad senator, due to a tie in the voting.

There were no candidates for the East Quad senator position, in either the main round of elections or in the revote round, so the seat was not filled. There will be a new election for that position in the next week, according to an email from Shakes.

Alexander Burger ’16 was elected North Quad senator, winning 102 votes with 43.6 percent of eligible voters taking part. “I am excited and extremely committed to making sure

that no voice goes unheard and no idea is shot down without adequate consideration,” said Burger in an email to the Justice.

Jonathan Jacob ’16 was elected Massell Quad senator in the election with the highest rate of participatiop.

With 50.3 percent of eligible voters voting, Jacob won 103 vote.

Biana Gotlibovsky ’15 was elected Rosenthal Quad senator, winning 32 votes in her victory over two other candidates.

In an email to the Justice, Gotlibovsky said that she was “beyond excited and honored to have been elected” and that her main goal this year is to “to spread a sense of unity

and friendship.”

Shukai Zhang ’15 was elected Castle senator, winning 25 votes and defeating two other candidates. In his platform, which he sent to the Justice, Zhang wrote that he hopes to make the Castle “more habitable and an even more significant figure for Brandeis.”

Ha Raum Cho ’13 was elected Village senator, winning 45 votes in a victory over a handful of other candidates.

Daniel Schwab ’14 was elected Charles River and 567 senator, winning 19 votes as only 10.46 percent of eligible voters took part.

Daniel Marks ’14 was elected Ziv Quad senator, winning 37 votes in an

easy victory with only one opponent.

Nicholas Polanco ’13 ran unopposed and was elected Foster Mods senator.

Andrew Chang ’16 and Jianqiang Yao ’16 were elected Class of 2016 senators in a race with a participation rate of 46.38 percent.

Dennis Hermida-Gonzalez ’16 ran unopposed and was elected Transitional Year Program senator.

In the revotes that took place on Thursday, Michael DeFeo ’14 was elected to the Judiciary, Owen Voelker ’14 was elected Ridgewood Quad senator, and Flora Wang ’15 and Padraig Murphy ’14 were elected Brandeis Sustainability Fund Representatives.

ROBYN SPECTOR/the Justice

‘TODAY Show’ spirit Students make posters in the Shapiro Campus Center to show their support for Brandeis' ultimately unsuccesful bid to be on the fourth hour of the TODAY Show. For more coverage of the TODAY Show at Brandeis, see pages 1 and 4.

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THE JUSTICE

BRIEF

University rank drops in annual US News ranking The recent release of the 2013 US News & World Report national university rankings places Brandeis at No. 33, two spots lower than last year’s ranking.

The position is shared with the College of William and Mary, located in Williamsburg, Va., as well as New York’s University of Rochester.

Nearby Massachusetts institutions, including Tufts University and Boston College, were ranked similarly. Tufts is ranked at No. 28 and Boston College at No. 31. Brandeis has been ranked between No. 31 and No. 34 since 1999.

Boston College was tied at No. 31 with Brandeis last year, but, unlike Brandeis, remains at that ranking in this year’s edition.

US News & World Report slightly alters their methodology of ranking each year, but takes many of the same factors into consideration. These include, but are not limited to, freshmen retention, graduation rates and student-to-faculty ratios.

Bill Burger, associate vice president of communications at Brandeis, said in an interview with the Justice that in comparison to other national university rankings, “their methodology isn’t trivial and they take more care with it.”

In spite of this, Burger said that the rankings provide little insight into the unique qualities of each university and should not play a significant role in the application process at Brandeis. “The rankings are broadly interesting in terms of understanding the quality of a college, but are not precise,” Burger added.

Though the University’s ranking wavers throughout the years, it plays a small role in the University’s operations.

“We pay attention but don’t give too much importance,” Burger said.

Despite Brandeis’ relative youth as a university, it isn’t focused on improving its rankings in the future. “We don’t obsess about it,” Burger said, “you figure out what you want to do as a university and set it as your mission.”

—Anita Palmer

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

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VERBATIM | BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN The best music, you can seek some shelter in it momentarily, but it’s essentially there to provide you something to face the world with.

ON THIS DAY…

FUN FACT

In 1977, about 4,200 people ran in the first Chicago Marathon.

Koalas, the mammals who sleep the longest, sleep up to 22 hours a day.

SPIRIT: Talk show sparks enthusiasm CONTINUED FROM 1 was going to say,” said Nelson. “[The administration] also did so much to make [Thursday] happen, which you wouldn’t be able to tell if you weren’t behind the scenes. … We had to figure out logistics with the food, with the balloons, with everything. And they really helped us out with that,” she said.

On the Great Lawn on Thursday, students held signs with messages including “This is our ParaDeis” and “Small in Size, Big in Spirit;” a disc jockey played music and students wore Brandeis attire and blue war paint.

Shelby Magid ’15, a transfer student from the George Washington University who attended the event on Thursday and showed her Brandeis pride by holding up a poster, said, “I think this is a good opportunity to show that even though we’re smaller and don’t have the same sports, that we still have a caring and close community. It’s an awesome opportunity to show the school off.”

Amanda Dryer ’13 wanted the cohosts to choose Brandeis so that more people would know about the University: “I know that if Brandeis is on NBC, more people will hear about Brandeis and how great Brandeis is.”

She hopes the spirit will last throughout the year, especially during sporting events. “We definitely need to bring more of this kind of spirit to basketball games and athletic events as well. I think [this event] is a really good kickoff to start the spirit at Brandeis,” she said.

Nelson was also happy with the way the filming turned out. “It was so nice seeing everybody in blue, everybody with the signs. First it started off where we really just wanted to meet Kathy Lee and Hoda, let’s be honest, but then it turned into so much more; Brandeis is actually an awesome place and people don’t know about it, so why don’t they know about it?” she said.

The contest consisted of several steps. Students from all over the country could submit tweets using the hashtag #KLGandHodaU until Sept. 16 to catch the eye of the cohosts.

The hosts then chose six schools as finalists based on the criteria of 30 percent creativity, 30 percent originality and 40 percent school spirit, according to Zukerman.

Tweets urging the hosts to choose Brandeis included remarks about extracurricular activities, as well as key features of the campus. One tweet from @jasonmdick claimed, “Brandeis is going to need to see your resumes. We don’t let just anybody film the 4th hour here.”

The five other schools in the contest were Syracuse University, the Ohio State Univer-

sity, University of Tennessee, University of South Florida and Creighton University.

While Nelson and Zukerman originally considered simply taking a few pictures of the campus to tweet to the show, they decided to make a video, as most schools had not used this method to get the show’s attention. The students were determined to make the top six.

“We love the TODAY Show, we love Kathy Lee and Hoda. We just hadn’t been watching because we had class, but we watch it like every day when we don’t have class. All the time,” Nelson said.

“We just said, ‘If we’re going to do it, we’re going to do it big,’” Zukerman said.

He wants more people outside the community to know about Brandeis and what the University gives its students. “This is the opportunity for Brandeis to be seen on a national stage.

I think it’s been decades since Jimmy Carter; we learned, that when he came to Brandeis [was the last time] that Brandeis has been seen on national television, so this is an opportunity for Brandeis to have free publicity, to get their name out there, to show what type of university we are: that we are spirited individuals and we’re so excited to rally behind a cause,” he said.

After the finalists were chosen, camera crews filmed at the six schools throughout last week as online voting continued from Sept. 17 through Sept. 21. The winner, the University of Tennessee, will have Kotb and Gifford broadcast live from its campus during the week of Oct. 1.

Of course, the size of the University may have posed a problem in terms of voting. “We have 45,000 living alumni. That’s less than the entire population of Ohio State,” according to Nelson.

“In one sense, it’s nice that we can communicate with everyone on our level because we’re on a small scale, so we can kind of pinpoint who we want to talk to, [whereas for bigger schools] it might be hard to send out that information to the entire population,” Zukerman added.

Regardless of the winning school, Zukerman agreed that the filming on the Great Lawn was already a great result of being involved in the contest. “It was amazing. I just felt this great Brandeis pride, which sometime is lacking.

This spirit where we just come together. We’re never all together wearing Brandeis gear and just cheering. It was just amazing to see everyone come together and just be happy with each other and for Brandeis.”

—Marissa Ditkowsky contributed reporting.

TALI SMOOKLER/the Justice

UNITED EFFORT: Both Nelson ’13 (left) and Zukerman ’13 (center) joined fellow students on the Great Lawn last Thursday to show spirit.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JAMES HAYWARD

D.C. IN THE FALL: Many midyear students chose to study and find internships in Washington D.C.

Students travel to

DC for fall

Midyear observed his peers’ experiences for the semester

By JAMES HAYWARD SPECIAL TO THE JUSTICE

When many midyears first open their acceptance letters from Brandeis, telling them that they can attend college starting in January, they are unsure of what to do during fall semester. They have the option to study at a local college, travel somewhere new or find work. Some, like the midyear students who chose to spend their semester in Washington D.C. before arriving on campus, chose all three.

Students faced with midyear acceptances are given the choice of a variety of programs to participate in instead of attending Brandeis during the fall semester.

Midyears can choose to study abroad in China, England, France, Spain or the District of Columbia.

I chose to study in D.C. and work on Capitol Hill because of my interest in political science as well as my desire to see firsthand and up close the events unfolding during an election year. Studying in our nation’s capital has been a remarkable experience and has given me an appreciation for what it means to be an American. I took a step back and decided to see how other midyears had found the experience in D.C. At the Washington Mentorship Program, midyear Brandeisians take four courses and participate in an internship two days a week. Students are responsible for finding and applying to internships they find related to their future careers or academic studies. The process begins at the “internship bazaar” where students are introduced to opportunities in finance, government, diplomacy, lobbying and nonprofit groups which need interns to help in their institution’s day-to-day functions.

“Honestly, I was incredibly upset at Brandeis for making me a midyear” said Ethan Harris ’16. “I felt rejected and it put me in an awkward situation. But now that I’m in D.C., while being at Brandeis first semester would have been my number one choice, being in D.C. with other midyears has given me a completely different opportunity.”

While some were disappointed, others had a mixed reaction to the idea of starting their college careers one semester later.

“I didn’t know what to think, I had never heard of getting accepted somewhere as a midyear and I honestly did not really love the idea. It originally put me off wanting to go to Brandeis, but then I realized that Brandeis is a really great school,” said Peri Novik ’16.

The midyear program began when the Office of Admissions “began to seize the opportunity to accept more of the students we desired by offering some students the opportunity to join our community in January,” according to the University’s web-

site. The midyear program is not unique to Brandeis. The University of Miami and Colorado College have midyear programs with students also attending and studying at American University where the Washington Mentorship Program is hosted.

Louise Cafiero ’16 is spending her fall semester working in the development department of a nonprofit organization called Americans United for the Separation of Church and State that is trying to uphold and protect the First Amendment. “It gets involved in local ballot initiative-type issues and local politics also on a national scale,” Cafiero said. “Right now we’re organizing 79 concerts in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. They’re all folk concerts geared toward getting our message out and raising money.” While other midyears are working for lobbying groups and nonprofits, some have chosen to work directly for the federal government.

While some intern clichés still occur on occasion, most interns do more than get coffee and make copies.

Novik chose an internship with Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy from the fourth district in New York. “I have learned how to give tours of the Capitol, in addition I write letters to constituents, answer phone calls, sort mail and go to briefings and hearings on a wide variety of subjects to take notes for staffers,” Novik said. “The experience has been very interesting; it’s exciting to be working on Capitol Hill and to be in the District during an election year. I’m really enjoying the fact that I have the opportunity to do an internship especially because I am working for the congresswoman from my district.”

Even as midyears are looking forward to Brandeis, they are focused on their present tasks of completing their internships and academic studies.

Students participating in the Washington Mentorship Program are recommended to take classes in college writing, American politics, culture and an elective.

If students scored well on AP exams, however, they are allowed to take other courses instead. Cafiero is taking “Dance in Society,” Novik is taking “Sociology from the Third World” and Harris is taking “Introductory French.”

While midyears are enjoying their time here in Washington, these Brandesians still have their sights set on arriving in Waltham in January.

“I’m looking forward to meeting everyone, the classes and finally being able to settle into an environment. Right now I feel this is temporary, so it’ll be nice to settle down and try a bunch of classes,” Cafiero said.

Editor’s Note: The writer is a midyear student in the Class of 2016.

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TUESDAY, September 25, 2012

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THE JUSTICE

Justice Justice

the the

Established 1949, Brandeis University

Brandeis University

Established 1949

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

Concerning elections Another Student Union election cycle has come and gone, and for the second year in a row, multiple issues of concern arose.

This year’s issues include problems with sending out the ballot, as well as declaring who had won in one race.

The “error in our All Campus polling system,” as reported by Student Union Secretary Carlton Shakes ’14, involved sending the ballot to graduated students from the Class of 2012. Additionally, a significant portion of the Class of 2016 did not receive emails with a link to the voting website.

Moreover, the Union announced that a candidate was elected into the Union even though he did not receive the greatest amount of votes. While mistakes are inevitable, more care should have been taken in reading and sending out the ballots.

Additionally, students were not given a clear-enough picture about the voting process. After a problematic Student Union election cycle last fall, former Student Union President Herbie Rosen ’12 announced changes to the computerized polling system. Most notably, in addition to the “abstain” option, a “skip” option was added to prevent confusion among voters.

When students had previously voted for the “abstain” option, they presumed that they were skipping that specific election.

In actuality, they were electing “abstain” to positions in the Union; Senate bylaws dictate that if “abstain” receives the most votes, no candidate can win the election. As a solution, the “skip” option was introduced in order to alleviate the

Take more care in procedure problem of “abstain” votes outnumbering actual candidate votes.

Last week, when Student Union Secretary Carlton Shakes ’14 sent out voting information, he did not include an explanation for the new system implemented last year.

Students who may have forgotten about the new voting options added last year, but more importantly, first-years who have never voted before, were likely confused by the presence of both a “skip” and “abstain” option. The problem is particularly pertinent to first-years, as voter turnout and enthusiasm is highest in that demographic.

Additionally, despite the addition of the “abstain” and “skip” options, the Union announced that Dean Kaplan ’15 was elected as the off-campus senator, even though Kaplan received only 20 votes and the “abstain” option received 23 votes.

While the off-campus senator position should have undergone another round of elections because the “abstain” option won, Kaplan was announced as the winner—an error on account of the Union’s reporting.

We are concerned by this oversight.

These procedures were put in place last year with the intention of decreasing errors in Union elections.

With more carefully crafted emails and more attention to detail, future elections can proceed without faults. If the Student Union can pay more attention to election procedures, the student body may be able to take our representatives more seriously.

Turn spirit into pride Brandeis has long been a school of active, lively individuals, but rarely has that energy manifested itself as school spirit.

In that light, this editorial board commends students, faculty and staff for their recent collective effort to revitalize spirit on campus and bring the community together.

Brandeis earned a spot in the final six of a competition to host the TODAY Show due in large part to the effort put in by students. Rachel Nelson ’13 and Reed Zuckerman ’13 got the idea off the ground, and hundreds of students took to social media to support the cause. After Brandeis reached the final round of voting, a huge crowd showed up to a nationally televised rally wearing Brandeis colors and showing far more school spirit than has been seen in recent years.

This spirit extended beyond the television screen.

The men’s soccer team has had its best start to a season since 1986, racing out to an 8-0 record and a national ranking. But it is not just the team that has improved as of late; the crowds at games have been noticeably larger this year. At last Wednesday’s home game against local rival Babson College, several hundred students rushed the field after the team won in double overtime. Sports Information Director Adam Levin ’94 called it “one of the biggest and most spirited crowds that [he] could remember.”

Bring community together It is not just the students who have stepped up; the new administration has shown great enthusiasm and participation in student activities, which has had a significant impact on school spirit.

While the TODAY Show campaign may have been Nelson and Zuckerman’s initiative, Senior Vice President for Student Enrollment Andrew Flagel, University President Frederick Lawrence and other administrators were hugely supportive of the idea.

We understand that we are not a large school and that we do not place much emphasis on sports or school spirit, but the soccer game and TODAY Show created a source of support that has been largely absent from athletics events and community gatherings in recent years.

Brandeis is a community of passionate people who are frequently active in the community.

But the TODAY Show rally and men’s soccer game showcased a different type of character: school pride. The University often lacks a forum for a unified expression of our passion, and pro-Brandeis spirit has been largely absent in recent years. We hope that the students, faculty and staff at Brandeis can build off of this and continue to exhibit such enthusiasm, recognizing that support for both social justice and the Brandeis Judges go hand in hand.

SARA WEININGER/the Justice

Views the News on

Two weeks ago, angry protests were sparked across the Middle East—including Egypt and Yemen—in response to “The Innocence of Muslims,” an American anti-Islam film that was released this past summer. The film insults and mocks the Prophet MUhammad by depicting him as a child molester, homosexual and womanizer. While the riots have resulted in casualties, do you believe the protests are justified?

Alina Cheema ’15 In any democracy or society, when there is a clash of opinions, peaceful protesting is acceptable; however, under no circumstance can violent protesting be justified. In the Quran, it says, “He who saves a life is as if he has saved all of humanity. He who takes a life is as if he has killed all of humanity.” These are a few of the words of Allah, and the words that the Prophet strictly and obediently followed. And by acting against these words you are also disgracing the Prophet. In order to stop these hurtful words and insults, as Muslims, we are to show patience in these times because the insults will continue coming if we continue to show they are hurting us. I pray to Allah to give peace and solace to the families who have lost their loved ones in this unjustifiable violence.

Alina Cheema ’15 is the treasurer of the Muslim Students Association on campus.

Pinchus Polack ’13 The violent protests that erupted throughout the Islamic world were undoubtedly unjustified, and should be categorically repudiated in the strongest of terms. No act condones the senseless loss of life or the unjustified use of brute force against others. Nevertheless, this episode does not give a carte blanche for provocateurs to abuse the religious sensibilities of others, no matter what religion. Just like other religions who revere central figures, whether Moses of the Jews or Jesus for Christians, Muslims are taught from an early age to highly revere the Prophet, an individual they hold very dear to their religious ethos. Indeed, one of the very first utterances heard by a Muslim newborn is the Islamic declaration of faith: “There is no God but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God.” Pinchus Polack ’13 is the undergraduate departmental representative of the Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies program.

Abdel Monem Said Aly No, the reaction is unjustified, both from a legal point of view and from a moral one. Politically, it is even more unwise. Those who did the film or the cartoon or an article in a paper or magazine know the sensitivity of Muslims to such acts. Violence of any sort serves the purpose of the instigators of these shameful acts. Correcting the image of the Prophet and his message to humanity that made 1,300 million people believe in him is the response needed. Acts of violence, and certainly killings is shameful and a disgrace to true Muslims.

Abdel Monem Said Aly is a Senior Fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies.

Sarah Fahmy ’14 I think that everyone deserves his or her own opinion, and that you should just have to accept that. While it was very, very hurtful that the Prophet Muhammad was disrespected, at the end of the day they do have the right to do publish what they want. In terms of the protests— I think that responding in a violent manner is not a good way to deal with things. However, just as those who made the video had to the right to “protest,” if you will, against the Prophet Muhammad, anyone who wishes to protest against them can as well—in a peaceful manner.

Sarah Fahmy ’14 is the vice president of the Muslim Students Association on campus.

THE JUSTICE

READER COMMENTARY Professor rightly voiced concerns In response to your article, “Questions aired at faculty meeting,” (Sept. 11): As I am on sabbatical I missed the first faculty meeting. So I thank the Justice for its attention to the remarks of Prof. Harry Mairson (COSI) (former Chair of the Faculty Senate) about the rights and respect owed to long-time Brandeis administrators Mark Collins and Fran Drolette. I am reassured to read that President [Frederick] Lawrence consulted with them in the process of replacing them, though the article does not make clear why the position of Chief Operating Officer is so much more “delicate” than others that we could not have had transparency in this particular process.

As the President rightly points out, faculty and students have been represented in and kept aware of the process of the other appointments in the new administration. At any rate, it was good that the community was invited to hear or read and think about this important matter: I am very grateful to Professor Mairson for seeing to it that we did. This is why we have a Faculty Meeting, and newspapers. While I am being grateful, let me not forget the hard work of Ms. Drolette and Mr. Collins during extraordinarily difficult times. My thanks to you all.

—Mary Campbell Mary Campbell is a professor in the English department.

Assess standards of Chabad house In response to your article, “New Chabad house to open,” (Sept. 11) Let me express some concern about Chabad House from a health-life-safety and ADA/Accessibility perspective. From the photograph, I see a wood frame building with approximately eight steps leading to the front door. This would not comply with the “ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and facilities.”

If this is a 3-story building, wheelchair access would have to be provided to all floors.

Also, bathroom and kitchens and other amenities would have to be accessible. I am also concerned that with potential occupancies of over 75 persons, issues of exits, door swings, sprinklers and whether a wood frame 3 story structure permits such a use should be explored...including obtaining a new certificate of occupancy.

I am not sure if this is a Brandeis University facility or a Chabad House responsibility, but I hope that someone from Brandeis facilities has looked at this Chabad structure to ensure safety, ADA and Waltham building code compliance.

—Martin Zelnik ’61

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TUESDAY, september 25, 2012

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Soda ban violates personal rights

By NOAH HORWITZ JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the New York State Board of Health have recently passed an ordinance that would prohibit the sale of soda larger than sixteen ounces. The legislation would affect virtually any business selling carbonated beverages, including restaurants, peddlers and theaters, both large and small. The government has begun to treat soda, a minimally harmful substance, like a narcotic or other harmful drug by attempting to limit access and discourage use, which, in my opinion, is quite foolish.

It is stuff like this that makes me want to join the Tea Party. Don’t worry, I’m still politically liberal, but that’s beside the point. Day and night, I hear people complain of an overreaching government that meddles in our affairs, but I have never been able to find an example until now. The “nanny state” mentality, that is ,an overbearing government that obstructs personal choice, is exactly what many conservatives have been warning about for years.

The ban is ill-sighted for two reasons. First, there is a personal liberty argument for the use of carbonated beverages. Even though the government seems to have started to treat fatty foods and soft drinks like drugs, Coca-Cola is a far cry from cigarettes or any illegal narcotic.

Tobacco, cocaine and heroin are horrendously detrimental to users, even after relatively limited usage.

Soft drink, though, will only cause possible weight gain if you have too much of it. However, what constitutes “too much” is different

for everybody.

For example, younger people usually have faster metabolisms than their older counterparts. While a 24-ounce drink may have adverse of effects on middle-aged or older users, the same may not be true for as many of its younger users.

Additionally, some people simply have faster metabolisms. For them, worrying about soda intake is not as much of a problem. It seems that some people’s lack of self-control should not hurt those who are not affected as much by the issue.

Secondly, the notion that limiting the quantity of soda sold in one cup will reduce the amount someone would imbibe is dubious at best. For example, I come from Texas, where everything is bigger. For as long as I can remember, my friends from back home and I have been connoisseurs of Dr. Pepper, not being able to function without at least one per day. When we go to a local lunch establishment, we are handed our fountain drink cup in an oversized container with access to unlimited refills at the fountain, just like at Brandeis’ own Sherman Dining Hall.

Last year, when my high school class went to Israel, my friends and I noticed something odd.

There were no jumbo-sized fountain drinks in Israel. The concept of free refills is foreign to them. The maximum was about 16 ounces, and sometimes even 12 ounces. This didn’t stop my friends and I from purchasing soda, it simply caused us to purchase more drinks and spend more money.

Even though drugs are far more harmful than and very different from soda, at a certain

point, people who want to drink soda will drink soda, just as people who want to smoke will smoke.

It would be foolish to think that limiting the number of cigarettes in a pack would actually reduce smoking or making beer cans smaller would mitigate alcohol intake. In both of these situations, it will simply cause people to spend more money to obtain the same amount of cigarettes, beer or soda. Sin taxes on cigarettes and alcohol, or taxes specifically levied on products considered undesirable by society, have shown that charging more for an “unhealthy” substance will not reduce its use. Like with cigarettes and drugs, the true way to deal with overconsumption of soda and obesity is education.

People need to simply receive an education on the negative effects of too much soda and learn about what their specific metabolism can handle. Just as education can curb other unhealthy substances, education can curb overconsumption. Before someone accuses me of being an unrealistic, naïve libertarian, I do think that the government should play a proactive role in promoting anti-obesity education and stressing personal responsibility of such choices, just as it did in teaching schoolchildren the dangers of tobacco and just as First Lady Michelle Obama has done in her “let’s move” campaign.

It is ultimately our choice to eat too much, just as it is our choice to drink soda or alcohol. However, if given the opportunity to learn about the problems facing our health and make our own decisions, I believe that we could have a far stronger impact upon stopping obesity than any nanny-state law.

Bring justice for Prof. Donald Hindley In response to “Reader Commentary,” (Sept.

11) I, too, applaud Aaron Fried for his excellent article on the infamous Hindley affair, for which Brandeis was properly excoriated by such champions of free speech as Nat Hentoff.

I wouldn’t count on President Lawrence doing the right thing. He informed me through one of his assistants several months ago that he would have nothing to say on the whole matter—demonstrating in this particular instance an abject and disgraceful lack of courage and decency.

—Jay Bergman ’70

MARA SASSOON and SHAFAQ HASAN/the Justice

Flat percentage tax overcomes flaws of our current system By mATThew cAMBRIA JUSTICE Contributing WRITER

As a young, liberal-minded sophomore, I support much of what the Democratic Party stands for. President Barack Obama’s campaign has impressed me far more than Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s has. However, one issue that consistently bothers me is Obama’s line of advertisements regarding his and his opponent’s positions on taxes.

In brief, the advertisements claim that Obama will lower taxes for the middle class, an undoubtedly large portion of the population, while Romney will cut taxes for the upper class, a small, undeserving portion of the population according to the implications of the advertisement line. The main purpose of Obama’s plan would be to leave the middle class with more of the money they earn and fill the remaining gap with the money of the upper class. Effective as it may be, Obama’s

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campaign fallaciously implies that the middle class is more deserving of their money than the upper class. A fair system of taxation takes into consideration the right of the wealthy to keep their earnings as well as the money’s ability to grow exponentially.

The 2012 income tax rates show that a person who falls into the lowest end of the highest tax bracket pays 35 percent of his or her $388,530 income, amounting to $135,985.50. On the opposite end of the spectrum, a person making the highest amount allowable in the lowest tax bracket pays 10 percent of $8,700, equaling only $870. This, of course, is a negligible sum compared to the six figures handed over by the wealthiest Americans.

My point here lies not in the suggestion that $870 is too little to take from those with such low incomes, but taking away more than a third of one party’s income while another party pays only a tenth of his or her income is unjust. Those in the highest bracket earn their money in the same sys-

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tem that those in the lowest bracket do. It may be true that the wealthy do not need all the money they earn, but this does not change the fact that they earned it in some fashion. Such an absurd difference in tax rates between the brackets is based on a true yet misguided principle.

The extreme opposite of our current tax system, the flat sum tax, illustrates the necessity of some difference in tax rates between the classes.

The flat tax dictates that everyone pays taxes at the same amount, regardless of class. This system is flawed because it does not compensate for the fact that wealth begets wealth. For instance, a business owner can profit from shares in the company without doing any work. This inequality may be exacerbated by the possible inheritance of business ownership or other sources of wealth.

In a flat-tax system, there is no compensation for this possibility of unearned wealth. A truly fair tax system must address this problem.

The alternate extreme of a flat sum tax is there-

The Staff

For information on joining the Justice, write to editor@ thejustice.org.

fore just as unfair as the presently gigantic difference in tax rates between the classes. A compromise solution to this problem may be a tax system based on a flat percentage rather than a truly flat sum. Though there still would be a difference in tax rates, this system takes money in proportion to income, thus compensating for money earned solely from money had.

While the current system takes too much money from the wealthy and a flat-sum tax would take too little, a flat-percentage tax incorporates the best of each extreme. It overcomes the flaws of the other systems.

In the current fuzz of political advertising and party allegiance, it becomes increasingly important for us to form our own opinions rather than jump on the Democratic or Republican side of thinking. Advertisements may showcase President Obama’s tax reform plans as supremely altruistic, but this cannot be accepted without consideration of all those affected.

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

Leah Smith, Avi Snyder, Naomi Volk Sports: Jacob Elder, Jacob Moskowitz Arts: Damiana Andonova, Erica Cooperberg, Alex DeSilva, Olivia Leiter, Mara Sassoon, Ayan Sanyal, Maya Shemtov, Aziz Sohail, Viet Tran Photography: Jon Edelstein, Nathaniel Freedman, Josh Horowitz, Josh Spiro, Michelle Wang, Anna Yatskar Copy: Aliza Braverman, Jennie Bromberg, Hilary Cheney, Patricia Greene, Andrew Hayes, Max Holzman, Brittany Joyce, Eunice Ko, Kinza Kukhari, Megan Paris, Christine Phan, Mailinh Phan-Nguyen, Leah Rogers, Will Schneiderman, Amanda Winn Layout: Jassen Lu, Denny Poliferno, Illustrations: Rishika Assomull, Mara Sassoon, Arielle Shorr, Tziporah Thompson

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TUESDAY, sEPTEMBER 25, 2012

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THE JUSTICE

FORUM

Chicago’s strike violates union principles

By Catherine rosch JUSTICE contributing WRITER

On Sept. 10 the Chicago Teachers Union went on strike to protest teachers’ current pay, benefits and protections, as well as to bring attention to issues such as ballooning class sizes and cuts to funding for the arts and athletics.

Chicago Public Schools is the third-largest district in the United States, with over 400,000 students enrolled in its elementary, middle and high schools. The strike ended on Sept. 18.

Generally, I am in support of public sector workers striking for better benefits. While there are those who abuse the pension system, they are few and far between.

Our teachers, nurses, emergency responders and other government employees are often underpaid and used as political bargaining chips. Without strikes, often times public sector workers are not able to get what society owes them.

Therefore, I support what the teachers were striking for; public school teachers are grossly underpaid for their labor and the current evaluation system relies far too heavily on standardized test scores.

Teachers should have to teach for more than two or three years before getting offered tenure, and they should be reviewed every five years to make sure they are still doing a good job.

State governments shut down school buildings to save money, and, as a result, class sizes grow and good teachers are laid off while bad ones can remain in the system if they have tenure. For example, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported this August that to save money this year, the Pittsburgh school district decided to lay off teachers and other staff members.

These decisions were based on seniority, and not which teachers were the best.

Extracurricular programs are often cut, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is trying to end free school breakfasts for low-income children.

However, while I support their cause, I did not support the Chicago Teachers Union strike.

The Chicago Teachers Union has expressed dissatisfaction with Mayor Emanuel and his plans to save the city money, including a plan for pay increases with limited layoffs. This

RISHIKA ASSOMULL /the Justice

proposal was one of the triggers for the strike.

The union could have organized a strike at any other time, such as over the summer or during winter vacation.

The effect would also have been teachers refusing to teach and making an important statement about what is wrong with the current system.

Starting on Sept. 10, 400,000 students could not go to school because the schools could not run without the teachers, administrators and all the other individuals required to keep the schools functioning.

As an elementary school student, I’m sure I would have been thrilled if my school shut down for a week and I got to stay home, my parents less so.

For some families, shutting down the school for eight days may not have been a problem.

A stay-at-home parent or a relative or a family friend could watch the child. However, according to the 2010 census, 16.6 percent of families in Chicago live below the federal poverty line.

Moreover, the majority of those families are racial minorities, communities that have the lowest graduation rates in Chicago Public Schools, as reported by the Chicago Tribune in April 2006.

Those families, and thousands of others where both parents have to work, may not have exhaustive child-care options. These families, and their children, are the ones being hurt most by the strike.

The Chicago Teachers Unions strike lowered my own opinion of public sector unions.

I’ve been a staunch supporter of unions since Scott Walker and the state legislature of Wisconsin passed what I thought to be incredibly harsh measures to prevent most public sector unions from collectively bargaining to raise wages and benefits two years ago.

I am disappointed in the Chicago Teachers Union for how they decided to strike, but, for the most part, I agree with how unions use strikes. At the same time, I can easily imagine how someone who is on the fence about public sector unions now could oppose them after the strike.

The Chicago Teachers Union strike was founded on noble ideas that I, and hopefully many others, agree with, but the way they carried out the strike with disregard for the students and their families was not the right choice.

If the union is going to put its own interests, no matter how noble, before the interests of those whom its members are supposed to be educating, is it doing its job? I argue no, but the choice is up to you.

Government should further assist welfare recipients

By DAVID MILLER JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

After nearly five decades, the war on poverty is nearing an end, sadly, with poverty about to claim victory. By the end of 2012, the U.S. Census Bureau projects that the poverty rate will reach its highest level since 1965, before Lyndon B. Johnson implemented his Great Society programs. According to census data released in December 2011, 48 percent of Americans are now either poor or low-income—with each family of four in this category living on less than $45,000 a year. And among developed countries, our 23 percent child poverty rate is second only to Romania, a totalitarian dictatorship up until 1989.

At a time when poverty has reached such a high level, it’s concerning that representatives of both parties have only offered conventional wisdom and rhetoric discouraging welfare dependency, rather than calling for a bold government response, as President Johnson did in 1964, to “free” 46 million Americans “from the prison of poverty.”

Speaking to campaign donors in a recently leaked video, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney rather callously remarked about people receiving government assistance, “I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility.” Similarly, President Barack Obama has tried to appeal to independent voters in a campaign advertisement promoting welfare’s work requirements and attacking the Massachusetts program, started by Romney, which provides welfare recipients with access to cars.

The bipartisan assumption that social support must be conditional and limited, not a guaranteed right, is a threat to our freedom. Though often overlooked, fears of hunger and homelessness have real power over us, primarily as incentive to work. If you can’t depend on the government’s support to meet these needs and maintain an acceptable standard of living, you must instead depend more heavily on a private employer, putting you in a poor position to ask for better pay or benefits.

But so far this election year, the moral discussion of welfare has been left mostly to Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, whose views are even less forgiving. Ryan has proposed deep cuts to social welfare programs, claiming that welfare “dishonors the dignity of the human person.” He believes his budget plan will restore this dignity by creating a more individualistic “opportunity society;” a faster-growing economy unburdened by the welfare state.

CAITLYN_AND_KARA/FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS

WAR ON POVERTY: During the Occupy Washington D.C. movement from last December, a discarded sign calls for further action on the poverty epidemic in America.

To get a sense of how Ryan’s more “dignified” society would work, just look at Europe, where similar policies have been implemented in response to the sovereign debt crisis. According to the Greek Ministry of Health, the suicide rate in Greece has doubled since the crisis began, accompanied by a series of very public protest-suicides in Greece.

In one notable case, Dimitris Christoulas, a retired pharmacist who had lost most of his pension, shot himself outside the Greek parliament building, claiming in a final note, “I see no other solution than this dignified end to my life, so I don’t find myself fishing through garbage cans for my sustenance.”

To some conservatives, such unfortunate cases are the necessary price of a free society. However, it’s also important to recognize that while a freemarket economy is based on letting consumer

preferences dictate outcomes, people’s desires often conflict with social needs. Supply and demand can set prices, but they can’t accurately determine the true value of people’s efforts, nor can they reflect the innate value of each human being. Given this, is it really humane to let market forces judge someone’s worthiness of essential resources and basic comforts?

Mitt Romney seems to think so. In the leaked video addressing his donors, Romney expressed outrage at people who “believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing … And [that] the government should give it to them,” even if they aren’t trying sufficiently, in his view, to provide for themselves.

But if everyone is not entitled to these basic rights, can we really consider ourselves a civilized people? The general consensus preferring “workfare” over welfare—supported by 83 per-

cent of the American public—implies that if someone is going through a personal rough patch and doesn’t want to work, that person in fact doesn’t deserve these basics.

Meanwhile, Obama, the so-called progressive choice, has failed to voice a strong alternative to the anti-welfare conservative viewpoint, or to make a positive case for the virtues of the welfare state.

If Obama is reelected, he insists that he is “eager” to pursue a deficit compromise with Republicans “based on the principles of [his] bipartisan debt commission,” which has recommended large cuts to social programs.

It’s more urgent now than ever to make it clear to our leaders that all human beings deserve life and dignity, and that to sacrifice these for economic growth would be cruel and unworthy of a modern democratic society.

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

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CROSS-COUNTRY

TRAFFIC JAM

Teams finish fifth at UMass

■ Both teams performed

well at the UMass-Dartmouth Shriners Invitational.

By TARA GORDON JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

MICHELLE WANG/Justice File Photo

IN THE BEARS’ DEN: Right back Emma Eddy ’15 shields the ball from a Bowdoin player in a 2-1 home loss against the Polar Bears in the team's first loss of the season.

Women prevail in tricky tests ■ The women’s soccer team

won both at home and away to improve record to 7-1-0.

By BEN FREUDMANN JUSTICE contributing writer

The women’s soccer team has continually relied on its impenetrable defense for victories this season, winning their most recent matches by one-goal margins.

The Judges played in consecutive nail-biters this week against Gordon College and Bates College after a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Bowdoin College on Sept. 15. Brandeis showed its resilience though by winning both contests last week by scores of 1-0.

Forward Dara Spital ’15 continued to anchor the offensive unit for the Judges, scoring the Judges’ only goal in their win against Bates College last Saturday in the 44th minute.

With one minute, 42 seconds left in the opening half, midfielder Alyssa Fenenbock ’15 chipped a ball

from 45 yards out toward the top of the Bates penalty area. Spital made sure to capitalize on the open route for the game-winning goal. Eight different Judges also had shooting opportunities in the win.

Rookie midfielder Holly Szafran ’16 nearly scored off of a corner kick in the opening minute, while Spital challenged Bates junior goalkeeper Anabel Schmelz on three attempts.

Midfielder Alec Spivack ’15 also sent Schmelz diving to deflect the ball out of harm's way.

It was a back-and-forth affair, and so, the Judges also had to rely on a strong defense to seal the victory. Goalies Michelle Savuto ’15 and Francine Kofinas ’13 shared goal-keeping duties, saving all six of Bates’ shots on goal.

Spital noted that Kofinas and Savuto’s goal-keeping abilities help the Judges in key moments.

“They continue to make some of the most amazing plays I have ever seen,” she said. “That is just one of the many reasons why we are winning.”

The Judges sought to avenge their loss against Bowdoin last

Tuesday and did so in rapid fashion. The squad came out of the gates quickly and aggressively versus Gordon, scoring on their second shot opportunity in the fifth minute of regulation.

Spital scored the goal in emphatic fashion, launching a left-footed strike from 25 yards that sailed over the outstretched arms of junior goalie Kari Christensen.

The Judges may have only scored one goal throughout the match, but they managed to fire 23 more shots, 11 of which were on goal, in the remaining 85 minutes.

Ten different Judges took these shots, a testament to the team's ability to distribute the ball across the field.

Spivack and defender Sapir Edalati ’15 fired off consecutive close-range shots in the 80th minute in an attempt to extend the lead, but Christensen deflected both shots.

Brandeis also dominated on the defensive side of the field, holding Gordon to only five shots, three of which were fired in the first half.

The game was played under unfavorable conditions, but the strong

winds and rain clearly did not affect the Judges’ play.

Spital believed that the Judges’ ability to persevere served as the key factor in the win.

“We just battled. If we hadn’t battled, we weren’t going to win that game,” she said. “It just came down to who wanted more.”

Spital, who now holds a teamleading seven goals so far this season, has been the anchor of the offense, scoring in all but two games.

The Judges are currently ranked No. 24 in the Division III nationwide poll and begin conference play at the University of Rochester on Saturday.

Spital stated that the Judges will need to apply the same formula they have used this season against their conference rivals.

“We’re really confident,” she said.

“We break down everything in games and work on it in practice.

Our outlook is really positive, and our team’s chemistry is really good, so we don’t fight or bicker about anything. We just keep our heads up.”

NEWS AND NOTES

Judges continue to make waves in athletic news ■ Brandeis Athletics,

introduces swimming coaches, excels in tennis and revels in alum’s feats.

By HENRY LOUGHLIN JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

There were several noteworthy stories about the Judges in the collegiate and professional sporting worlds over the past week.

Swimming The swimming and diving program will feature some new faces for the 2012-13 season. Breda O’Connor, who worked with and swam for coach Mike Kotch at Bentley University, will take over as assistant swimming coach. Charlotte Rea ’09 will assume the diving coach role.

After receiving her master’s in Organizational and Professional Communication from Regis College in 2011, O’Connor took over the Pride’s program and led them to notable finishes at the New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Association meet and Great Northeast Athletic Conference meets.

Prior to her stint at Regis, O’Connor swam for Coach Kotch at Bentley, where she received her bachelor of science in marketing.

While a Falcon, she was on a squad that went 39-14 over four years, serving as captain when she was a senior.

As an undergraduate, Rea had an illustrious career for Brandeis, where she still ranks in the top three of most major diving categories in the Judges’ record book. She qualified for the NCAA Division III Championship in each of her four seasons competing for the Judges.

As a senior, she was All-UAA in the one-meter, and received an Athletic Director’s Award for her achievements following her senior season.

“Breda and Charlotte are tremendous additions to the staff,” Kotch said. “Having worked well with Breda in the past, and knowing of Charlotte’s skill in her sport and familiarity with Brandeis, I know we can bring the program to new heights.”

The Judges will compete for the first time since 2009 on Oct. 20 against Wheaton College.

Men's Tennis Two senior tennis players put in

top performances at the Middlebury Invitational last weekend to kick off this year’s campaign. Captains Josh Jordan ’13 and Steven Milo ’13 got to the finals of the ‘A’ flight doubles by virtue of their three consecutive victories.

In the semi-finals, Jordan and Milo struck down Skidmore’s Oliver Loutsenko and Danny Knight in a hard fought 8-6 decision. Though they would ultimately fall 8-2 against a pair of All-Americans — Matt Bettles and Rob Crampton of Bates College —they showed great promise along the way. The strength of their finals’ opponents was apparent, as the ‘A’ singles final was contested between the aforementioned Bates players.

In singles action, Jordan defeated Dan Freeman of Vassar by scores of 6-4, 7-6 (7-5). He met his match against Middlebury, falling 6-0, 6-0 in the quarterfinals of ‘A’ singles.

Nelson Figueroa Where has Nelson Figueroa ’98 been since leaving Brandeis?

A Brooklyn native, Figueroa graduated from Brandeis with a degree in American Studies and became the first player in Brandeis baseball his-

tory to have his number retired. He was drafted by the New York Mets in the 1995 Major League Baseball draft and made his MLB debut in 2000 with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He spent some time in various leagues, including the Mexican League and Venezuelan Professional League. He made a return to the majors in 2009 for the Mets and tossed a four-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals. He ultimately pitched for seven different major league teams.

Last Thursday night, he pitched the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox to their first International League Governor’s Cup in 28 years, winning the decisive game 4-1. However, in the Triple-A championship game last Tuesday, Figueroa lasted just two innings as the PawSox lost 10-3.

Prior to the clincher, he emerged victorious in the deciding game of the first playoff round, where his team defeated the Scranton/WilkesBarre Yankees.

While he isn’t one who will threaten to start in the major leagues given his age and wear on his body (he has pitched 1,992 minor league innings and 499 major league innings), Figueroa has hinted that he still has something left.

The men’s and women’s cross country teams kicked off their successful campaign last year with top-five finishes at the Shriners Invitational at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. Brandeis is hoping that their equally successful start this year will pay dividends in the upcoming season.

Both squads finished in fifth place out of a field of 39 teams for the men and 38 teams for the women.

The men finished with 206 points, only eight behind the United States Coast Guard Academy. The women meanwhile accumulated 232 points, earning a tie with Division-I Bryant University. The squad also fell nine points behind Coast Guard, which was in fourth place.

The invitational, which was held at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, consisted of an eightkilometer course for the men and an equally challenging five-kilometer run for the women.

Ed Colvin ’14, Alex Kramer ’13 and Mik Kern ’13 had the top three finishes for the Judges. The trio finished in 25 minutes, 11 seconds, 25:20 and 25:36, respectively, good for seventh, 12th, and 19th overall.

They all ran personal bests following intense summer training sessions, according Kern.

“I’m especially excited to have been out there racing, let alone running a personal record, because I trained only last season and didn’t race,” said Kern, for whom the Dartmouth Invitational was his first collegiate varsity race. “The three of us pushed each other and ran together for the first four miles, then [Colvin] pulled ahead.”

Jake Newfield ’13, who finished the race in 27:08, said that the runners looked to utilize the Invitational as preparation for upcoming meets.

The women’s team experienced similar success in its first race without former All-American and captain Kate Warwick ’12. Victoria Sanford ’14, who was the first Judge to finish the race, placing in 11th with a time of 18:50, noted that the new core of first-years should be of great help to the squad.

“The team gained five fast freshmen who have already displayed success and are determined to help the team,” she said.

Erin Bisceglia ’12, MA’13 finished in 19:18 for 31st place. Ali Kirsch ’14 followed Bisceglia with a finish in 19:45, and Kelsey Whitaker ’16, Maggie Hensel ’16 and Molly Paris ’16 raced to strong finishes in 20:03, 20:08 and 20:44, respectively. Kristi Pisarik ’15 also finished with a time of 20:37.

Sanford explained that this meet provided a great opportunity for the Judges to fine-tune their techniques and see where they stood among other collegiate squads.

“We didn’t really have any expectations going into the meet,” said Sanford. “We just wanted to go out and run and see what would happen. Trying for fifth was a nice finish, and had we had Amelia [Lundkvist ’14], we would have done even better.”

Lundkvist, a veteran junior, has been struggling with injury since the summer and is expected to return for the second half of the season.

Both squads will next compete at the Open New England Championships, their first championship meet of the season, at Franklin Park in Boston on Oct. 6.

14

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

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THE JUSTICE

Shooting for Success Brandeis Athletics has officially partnered with Hollywood-based JLTV

By ADAM RABINOWITZ JUSTICE editor

Hollywood is making a pit stop in Waltham.

Jewish Life Television, a 24hour network based in Los Angeles that nationally broadcasts Jewish programming, partnered with Brandeis Athletics on June 19 to provide coverage of the Judges to its nationwide audience.

The network plans to utilize a unique news ticker similar to ESPN’s display, providing results from the Judges’ games and matches throughout its daily programming. JLTV anchors will also produce features that illuminate the accomplishments of Brandeis athletes and coaches.

JLTV, which launched in 2007, offers an array of programs that include films, documentaries, music and special events. The network boasts broadcast studios in locations ranging from New York, Los Angeles and Toronto to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. According to Brad Pomerance, senior vice president of news and programming, JLTV has expanded its viewer base to 33 million households in just five years, while also forging partnerships with Comcast and DirecTV. Despite the Hollywood-based entity’s growth, there was a missing piece in JLTV’s arsenal: broadcast of college sports.

Enter Brandeis University.

The two parties worked tirelessly over the summer to create a framework for the collaboration, and by late August, JLTV was already airing Judges results.

Brandeis and JLTV, though, have yet to introduce their ace in the hole.

Pomerance and Brandeis Sports Information Director Adam Levin both expressed that the next logical step in this partnership will be to air a weekly “Brandeis minute” segment on the network. In an ideal setting, Brandeis Television would direct, produce and film the segment, which would aired to a national audience on JLTV’s news programming.

Levin stated that BTV’s involvement would be vital in accomplishing this goal.

“BTV’s involvement is absolutely crucial,” he said. “Our objective is to engage the Brandeis community, provide them with the opportunity for a national audience and allow them to be more engaged with our athletics.”

Pomerance noted that this weekly event would be completely innovative, allowing for college anchors to showcase their segments to a nationwide viewing base.

“The ultimate goal is to have this entirely new weekly wrap-up, which would be produced by BTV,” he said. “Brandeis students would

be able to anchor these professional shows, which to me, is an opportunity that is simply unheard of.”

There is slow movement in these discussions with BTV, according to Levin, but the two parties hope to air the weekly segment by the start of next semester.

Pomerance said the collaboration with Brandeis was a logical choice for the network in light of its desire to expand its sports programming.

“It’s a fact that Americans love college sports,” he said. “Our viewing base is constituted largely by fans of well-known Jewish institutions, and Brandeis fits that mold perfectly.”

Levin echoed this sentiment, stating that the potential partnership posed a great opportunity for Brandeis athletics to expand its visibility.

“This is an entirely exclusive framework,” he said. “The network is carried on multiple providers and promotes the promise of great exposure. No other college organization can boast this type of partnership with a network like JLTV.” JLTV’s sports division currently prides itself on its exclusive coverage and broadcasting of the Maccabiah Games. The worldwide competition is held once every four years and is the third largest sporting event in the world. The network also offers a weekly sports segment hosted by former Olympic gymnast Mitch Gaylord as well as a wide variety of documentaries.

Pomerance stated that JLTV desired to expand its visibility in the Jewish sporting world, adding that there was no better way to do this than to partner with Brandeis, a notable Jewish-affiliated institution.

“Brandeis has a rich history in Jewish studies, and the school has a cultural grounding,” said Pomerance. “We wanted to link our interests in Jewish programming with an institution that is of great interest to us and our viewing base. It just seemed like a natural fit.”

The Judges compete in the University Athletic Association, one of the most competitive conferences in Division III athletics.

Given its prestige, the UAA is a market that JLTV will certainly wish to utilize.

Pomerance stated his expectations for the success of this joint venture hinged on two goals.

“We want Brandeis to be involved, but also, increase visibility with a devoted alumni base in Boston and throughout the nation,” he said.

The Judges have proven that they are ready for the bright lights of California.

Get ready, ladies and gentlemen.

It’s showtime.

DIRECTING DUTIES: Senior Vice President Brad Pomerance (right) oversees the production for the 2009 Maccabiah Games.

PHOTOS COURTSEY OF BRAD POMERANCE

WORLD TRAVELERS: Pomerance airs a news special profiling Jerusalem at its studio for its international audence in 2009.

THE JUSTICE

jUDGES BY THE NUMBERS

●

Tuesday, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

15

COACH PROFILE

Men’s Soccer UAA STANDINGS

TEAM STATS Goals

Not including Monday’s games UAA Conference Overall

W L D W L D Pct. JUDGES 0 0 0 8 0 0 1.000 NYU 0 0 0 7 0 0 1.000 Carnegie 0 0 0 7 1 0 0.875 Chicago 0 0 0 5 1 1 0.786 WashU 0 0 0 5 1 1 0.786 Rochester 0 0 0 5 2 0 0.714 Emory 0 0 0 4 4 1 0.500 Case 0 0 0 3 4 1 0.438

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

Player Goals Lee Russo 8 Sam Ocel 4 Tyler Savonen 3 three tied with 2

Shots San Ocel ’13 is the current team leader with 26 shots.

Player Shots Sam Ocel 26 Lee Russo 25 Tyler Savonen 16 Tudor Livadaru 13

UPCOMING GAMES Today at Wentworth Saturday at Rochester Wed., Oct. 3 vs. Wheaton

WOMen’s Soccer UAA STANDINGS

TEAM STATS

Not including Monday’s games

Goals

UAA Conference Overall

W L D W L D Pct. JUDGES 0 0 0 7 1 0 .875 Carnegie 0 0 0 6 0 2 .875 Emory 0 0 0 6 0 2 .875 WashU 0 0 0 7 1 0 .875 Chicago 0 0 0 6 2 0 .750 NYU 0 0 0 5 2 0 .714 Case 0 0 0 4 2 2 .625 Rochester 0 0 0 1 6 0 .143

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

Player Goals Dara Spital 7 Holly Szafran 3 Mary Shimko 3 Sapir Edalati 2

UPCOMING GAMES: Tonight at Wentworth Saturday at Rochester Wed., Oct. 3 vs. Wheaton

Shots Dara Spital ’15 led the team in shots taken with 34.

Player Shots Dara Spital 34 Holly Szafran 21 Sapir Edalati 15 Mary Shimko 14

VOLLEYBALL UAA STANDINGS

TEAM STATS Kills

Not including Monday’s games UAA Conference Overall

W L W L Pct. WashU 0 0 0 13 1 0 .929 Emory 0 0 0 15 2 0 .882 Case 0 0 0 11 3 0 .786 Rochester 0 0 0 14 4 0 .778 Chicago 0 0 0 12 4 0 .750 JUDGES 0 0 0 11 4 0 .733 NYU 0 0 0 10 5 0 .667 Carnegie 0 0 0 9 9 0 .500

UPCOMING GAMES: Saturday vs. Case Saturday vs. WashU Saturday vs. Rochester

Liz Hood ’15 leads the team in kills this year with 229.

Player Kills Liz Hood 229 Si-Si Hensley 116 Becca Fischer 101 Lauren Berens 101

Digs Elsie Bernaiche ’15 leads the team in digs this year with 312.

Player Digs Elsie Bernaiche 312 Si-Si Hensley 144 Yael Einhorn 138 Susan Sun 135

cross cOuntry Results from last week’s UMass Dartmouth Shriner’s Invitational

TOP FINISHERS (Men’s)

TOP FINISHERS (Women’s)

RUNNER TIME Edward Colvin 25:11 Alex Kramer 25:20 Mik Kern 25:36 Greg Bray 26:51

RUNNER TIME Victoria Sanford 18:50 Erin Bisceglia 19:18 Ali Kirsch 19:46 Kelsey Whitaker 20:03

UPCOMING EVENTS: Oct. 6 Open New England Championship at Franklin Park Oct. 27 UAA Championships at the University of Rochester

PHOITO COURTESY OF JAN VOLK

THE DIRECTOR: Men’s soccer head coach Michael Coven has accomplished a lot in his tenure, including a national champioship.

Coven leads Judges to continued success ■ Coach Michael Coven has

remained a fixture at the helm of the men’s soccer team for forty seasons.

By HENRY LOUGHLIN JUSTICE EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

A young 25-year-old aspiring coach named Mike Coven came to Brandeis to take over the men’s soccer program in 1972.

Forty years later, he is still the same boisterous and chipper coach, dedicated to his job at the head for the Judges.

“I love my job,” Coven said of his role the day after his 450th career victory, a 2-1 double-overtime win against local rival Babson College.

“Every day, I drive home with a smile on my face.”

Since 1972, Coven has compiled a record of 450-246-9, including the 1976 NCAA Division III National Championship. The 65-year-old has also guided his team to nine Division III tournament appearances.

Coven first started playing the game as a teenager at a summer

camp in Maine before proceeding to play four years of varsity soccer at American International College.

He then took an assistant job at Newton South High School.

Though he was hired as an assistant, Coven found himself in the head coaching position when the head coach quit four days before the season.

After some time at Newton South, Coven came to Brandeis, where he thought he would remain for a few years before moving on to a Division I program. Yet, despite lucrative offers, Coven saw no reason to leave Brandeis.

“Once I started, I really liked it, and I said, ‘Ok, this is what I want to do.’ I thought I’d be here for a few years, build up my resume, win some games, and move on to a higher level.

“But I never did,” he said. “I had a couple interviews. After a while, I just stopped looking. You look at yourself and say, ‘This is a pretty good situation.’”

Coven credits the Brandeis community with its great support of the soccer programs.

“Here at Brandeis, all of the ad-

ministration—people like President [Fred] Lawrence, [Andrew] Flagel, [Athletics Director] Sheryl Sousa—have really done a great job with letting us go on trips to places like Atlanta and Chicago, getting people out to support us and being supportive of our program,” he said.

Coven also credits assistant coaches Gabe Margolis, a former player at Boston College and Wheaton College, and Tim Murray, a goalkeeper with the New England Revolution, with helping him understand the evolution of the game.

“I think a lot of the success I’ve had in the last few years is due to [Margolis and Murray],” he said.

In addition to his praise for his fellow coaches, Coven credited his players.

“We’ve got a good bunch of guys,” he said, “I’m lucky that the majority of the players I’ve had on my teams have been real good people on and off the field. That makes it enjoyable because whether you’re winning or losing, you’re working with people you enjoy.”

They enjoy working with him, too.

nhl lockout National Hockey League faces impending lockout and the prospects of yet another lost season For the fourth time since 1992, the National Hockey League’s owners have locked out their players in a labor dispute.

This spells disaster for the league, considering that the last time this happened, the NHL lost an entire season and considerable revenue.

In what should have been the 2004-05 hockey season, the league negotiated with the National Hockey League Players’ Association to create a salary cap. Initially, the players’ union was not willing to compromise. They wanted to preserve a system in which players could individually negotiate with teams, thus securing larger contracts for themselves.

Under the system in place prior to that point, the teams spent 76 percent of their gross incomes on

players’ salaries, higher than any other American professional sports league. As a result, many teams were either going toward bankruptcy or dumping their players with large salaries On Feb. 16, 2005, the league officially announced that the season was cancelled. The NHL became the first American sports league to cancel an entire season due to a labor dispute.

As the lockout pressed on, many players abandoned the NHL for the year, going to play for teams in Europe to stay in top hockey form.

Finally, in July 2005, after the NHLPA replaced their executive director Bob Goodenow, an agreement was reached where the players would receive 54 percent of the league’s revenues.

Additionally, a salary cap was

created so that the players could no longer receive bloated salaries that were dangerous to the teams’ financial capabilities.

The new collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players also called for new rules for the game itself, including the move to a shootout after one overtime period during a regular season game. The size of the goaltenders’ pads was reduced for more scoring opportunities, while penalties were much more strongly enforced for the safety of the players.

All had been well in the league up until the end of the 2012 season, but now suddenly, the NHL is experiencing de ja vu. The players and the owners have again taken opposite sides, and neither seems to want to budge.

The main issue here is money — how should the league split its 3.3 billion dollar revenue with the players.

The players, during this past season, received 57 percent of the league’s revenue. The league, in their last proposal before the lockout, wanted to lower that number to 46 percent.

This does not bode well for NHL players. The NHL makes considerably less money than the NFL, and thus, the salaries of the NHL players will be considerably less as well under this proposal.

Small market teams in the NHL, such as the Columbus Blue Jackets, will also be hurt by the upcoming lockout, as they will lose a significant amount of income if games are not played.

As the lockout begins, players are

already taking steps to play this season, although not necessarily in the NHL. Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin, Detroit Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk and Ottawa Senators defenseman Sergei Gonchar have all already signed deals to play in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League. While they are the biggest names to leave, they are certainly not the only ones.

Lord Stanley’s Cup, which bears the name of every cup winner since the Montreal Hockey Club first won in 1893, reads in the place of the 200405 season this: “Season Not Played.”

As the lockout begins, we are left to wonder if this inscription will again be engraved on the trophy of North America’s fastest-paced sport.

— Zachary Marlin

just

Sports

Page 16

PRIMETIME Brandeis Athletics and the Jewish Television Life Network have partnered to provide nationwide coverage for the Judges, p. 14.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Waltham, Mass.

MEN’S SOCCER

Judges beat Babson in double overtime ■ Brandeis rallies from a

second half deficit to down their rival Beavers and improve to 8-0 on the year.

By HENRY LOUGHLIN JUSTICE EDITORAL ASSISTANT

Babson senior forward Eric Anderson scored six times against the men’s soccer team in his career before Wednesday’s game.

Though the Beavers' two-time AllAmerican gave them a first half lead, the Judges had the last laugh in the second sudden-death overtime.

Judges midfielder Sam Ocel ’13 scored with eight minutes, one second left in double overtime to cap a spirited rally and hand Brandeis a hard-fought 2-1 victory over their longtime rivals.

“I think the second half was the best soccer we have played in the past three years,” said Judges coach Mike Coven, whose team improved to 8-0-0 with the win.

“The whole team won the game, not just the people on the field,” said forward Lee Russo ’13, whose 66th -minute equalizer set the stage for Ocel’s dramatic winner. “Everyone played a part.”

Despite having the minority of the possession time, Brandeis had more scoring opportunities, the first of which came in the seventh minute.

Forward Tyler Savonen ’15 initiated the attack on Babson junior goalkeeper Jackson Klein, shooting just high of the net.

Midfielder Jake Picard ’16 was the next to come close, sending a high curler a yard over Klein’s bar.

It seemed only a matter of time before Brandeis scored. However, the Judges found themselves behind at the 29 minute mark.

Babson junior midfielder Kevin Israel burst down the right flank. He whipped in a cross towards the center, where Anderson—who stands at six-foot-four—headed the ball past goalkeeper Blake Minchoff ’13 and into the right corner to silence the boisterous home crowd.

Given that last year’s meeting featured Brandeis going in front before losing 2-1 in overtime, the home crowd would have hoped the game would follow the same pattern.

For a while, though, it appeared that it just wasn’t the host’s day.

JANE ZITOMER/the Justice

COME AND GET IT: Rookie forward Chris Bradley ’16 dribbles between two Babson defenders on Wednesday night in a crucial 2-1 overtime victory against their heated rival.

Klein came up with two big saves in the 58th minute, denying Russo and Savonen in quick succession from close range.

Yet, he was helpless to prevent the equalizer.

With 24 minutes to go, Russo and Ocel got shots off in quick succession, both of which Klein deflected.

The third time was the charm, however, as Russo lashed a half-volley into the net that sent the crowd into frenzy.

Babson senior midfielder Salomon Guindi then attempted to counter for the Beavers. However, his driven effort—though seemingly ticketed for the top of the net—flew harmlessly over Minchoff’s bar.

Brandeis almost won it with 14 seconds left in regulation. Midfielder

Kyle Feather ’14 fired an effort from 25 yards out. Though an anticipatory hush fell over the crowd, the shot zipped inches over.

Just like last year’s game, the first overtime ended with the score at 1-1. However, this year, it would be Brandeis—not Babson—who got the winner in the second overtime.

With 8:01 left in the second of two 10-minute overtimes, Russo took a long throw on the right flank, hurling the ball into the middle, where Ocel was there to flick it on. However, instead of finding a teammate as he had intended, the midfielder’s header found the net, ending the game and resulting in the storming of the field from the home supporters.

Russo was quick to herald the im-

pact of the fans, who have become known as “Coven’s Corner,” in recent weeks.

“Before the game, someone told me that if I scored, I would have to run over to the fans,” said Russo, who did just that after netting the equalizer.

“Being at home, having them lift you every play is awesome.”

Coven admitted that the start to this season, Brandeis’ best since 1986, has been surprising given losses in key positions from last year.

“We lost our two center backs [in] Ari Silver [’12] and David McCoy [’12,] and central midfielder Theo Terris [’12], who was our playmaker and probably our best player,” he said. “Bringing Joey [Eisenbies ’13] from holding midfielder to center back really helped out. Matt Bron-

doli [’14], who didn’t play much as a freshman or sophomore, has come in at center back and done really well.

I’m very happy with the way things are going.”

Despite the thrill of beating their rival for the first time since 2008, the Judges aren’t taking anything for granted. They play at Wentworth Institute of Technology today before traveling to the University of Rochester for their first University Athletic Association contest on Saturday.

“We’ll be playing better teams, and we’re going to have to keep bringing our best game,” said Coven. “If you look at the [National Soccer Coaches Association of America] Division III polls, many of the top teams are in our conference. We’re going to have to keep playing well.”

VOLLEYBALL

Squad splits four matches at the MIT Invitational ■ The Judges endured mixed

fortunes, highlighted by wins against Bates and Mount Ida.

By SEjUN LEE JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The women’s volleyball team tested its mettle against non-conference foes this weekend with mixed results.

The squad played a competitive four games during the MIT Invitational on Friday and Saturday, beating Bates College and Mount Ida College while losing to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Roger Williams University.

Brandeis clicked on all cylinders against Mount Ida, the Judges’ last game, winning in four sets 26-28, 2517, 25-16, and 25-11. Outside hitter Liz Hood ’15 recorded 16 kills, setter Yael Einhorn ’14 led the way with 30 assists, while libero Elsie Bernaiche ’15 contributed 21 digs.

The Judges showcased their de-

fensive strengths with several momentum-turning blocks. The Judges rallied from a three-point deficit to tie the set at 15-15. Middle blocker Becca Fischer ’13 was particularly clutch on the defensive end, hustling for a key block to tie the game at 22-22. After the loss in the first game, the Judges roared back with huge offensive bursts to go along with their tight defense.

Earlier that Saturday, Brandeis squared off against MIT. The first set proved to be a slow start for the Judges who appeared rushed and out of position but after pulling ahead 13-12, Brandeis did not show any signs of slowing down. Shemira Pennyman ’15 closed the game with an enormous kill to tie the score to 20 and the Judges eventually wrapped up the set 25-22. The Judges failed to regain their momentum after that vital win, losing the next two sets by margins of 25-11 and 26-24.

Fischer was impressed with her team’s perseverance and dedication in light of large deficits throughout the match.

“Our team’s really good about working hard together when it comes to long rallies,” she said. “Everybody was in their spots doing their part. We’re trying out some new lineups right now so we’re learning to work together and I think that when those long rallies came about, those were the moments when we really worked hard and made sure to win those points.”

The Judges concluded their set of matches on Friday with a resounding victory over Bates. Brandeis won the tight match by a total margin of 10 points over four sets, finishing with victories of 27-25, 25-19, 27-25, and 26-24. Fischer, Hood, and middle blocker Maddie Engeler ’16 impressed on offense during this series with 17, 14, and 10 kills, respectively. Einhorn contributed with 45 assists while Bernaiche anchored the defensive unit with 21 digs.

Coach Michelle Kim explained that an ability to control the tempo of the game was a key factor in the defeat versus Bates.

“Going into the Bates game, I

think everyone was a little bit depressed,” she said. “It was a tough way to pull that win out against Bates in the fashion that we did.

Again, we still had some different lineups and that’s been the cause of a lot of our issues because that ball control isn’t there, and it’s hard to get many clean points when the ball control isn’t there.”

The Judges started the Invitational with a resilient effort against Roger Williams but ultimately fell short in five sets. The Judges won the first two sets by scores of 25-22 and 25-7, but were unable to close out the last three sets, losing 25-20, 25-18, and 1715. Hood finished with 20 kills while outside hitter Si-Si Hensley ’14 added 15 kills and 17 digs. Einhorn put up 37 assists and Bernaiche contributed 22 digs.

Kim was able to identify the root of the loss versus Roger Williams, citing that the team must improve on its ability to finish matches.

“Roger Williams was a tough loss, definitely,” she said. "We were off and we were definitely not on our A-

game. I think if we had our A-game that would have been a really good win for us. It’s a tough loss because we won the first 2 and lost the next 3 and we were up in the last set before losing. That’s kind of a heartbreaking loss."

She also noted that injuries were a limiting factor in the Judges’ performance, preventing the squad from establishing chemistry on the court.

“We have some injuries,” she said. “We don’t have everyone in who’s usually in. There’s a lot to be said about chemistry and who you get used to playing next to, so we get some different people in different c o n t e x t s and that’s a little tough to get used to. But that’s something we have to keep working on in practice because injuries are going to happen and we’re going to have to learn to deal with that."

The Judges have a week off before their next game and seek to continue their momentum from their last victory into the University Athletic Association round-robin tournament at the University of Chicago.

just just

September 25, 2012 February 7, 2012

ARTS

Dor Guez opens a new year at the Rose p. 20

Photo: Karina Wagenpfeil and Robyn Spector/the Justice. Design: Jenny Cheng/the Justice.

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TUESDAY, september 25, 2012 ● THE JUSTICE

POP CULTURE

INSIDE ON CAMPUS

18

■ Slosberg Concert Review

19

■ Convergence in the WSRC

19

■ Dor Guez Exhibit Premiere

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Prof. Daniel Stepner (MUS) plays a full program of classical music with Robert Levin.

The Women’s Studies Research Center celebrated 10 years of artistic excellence.

The new exhibit, titled “100 Steps to the Mediterranean,” was positively received.

OFF CAMPUS

21-24

■ ‘Bachelorette’ Review

21

The new film with Kirsten Dunst is hampered by an unremarkable plotline but remains enjoyable in its comedy.

■ ‘The Time Keeper’ Review

21

■ 3-D Rerelease Commentary

21

■ ‘The Master’ Review

23

■ ‘Tempest’ Review

23

■ ‘The Day of the Owl’ Review

23

Mitch Albom’s new book gets jumbled.

Aliza Vigderman ’16 discusses the prevalence of re-releasing films in 3-D.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film about a religious cult poses provacative questions.

Bob Dylan’s new album is excellent despite the singer’s aging vocals.

The novel, a reading in FYS 48A, is a fascinating murder mystery about the mafia’s policy of silence.

CALENDAR

Interview

by Erica Cooperberg

Kate was sunbathing topless. Seems like a text message you could receive from a friend, until you add in the all-important details: she is also the Duchess of Cambridge, was privately vacationing in France when the photos were snapped and those photos were published by the French magazine, Closer.

Middleton, who has been living a true-life Cinderella story after marrying Prince William, Duke of Cambridge last year, has been dealing with a royal nightmare lately. On Sept.

13, Closer published topless photos of Kate. The mag has remained unapologetic and editor Laurence Pieau—the individual responsible for publishing the picture—defends the decision, claiming that the photos are “not in the least shocking.” That was only the beginning of the saga, which has included an intense ongoing French legal battle and Italian and Irish magazines, Chi and Irish Daily Star, respectively, jumping on the bandwagon to publish the royal’s pics.

Paparazzi have been infamously tracking down celebrities for decades, and the royal family has long been a target—case in point, Princess Diana. So is it even really an issue that some photos were taken and published without Kate’s permission?

To break it down, there are a number of contentious points. First, Kate and her royal hubby were on vacation at relative Lord Linley’s personal chateau in Provence, France, where privacy was the number one priority. There is no doubt that the photos were taken using a very strong lens; thus the pictures were the result of a deliberate peeping Tom rather than a coincidental photo of a nearby event.

Second, we need to consider the practice of sunbathing. While topless tanning isn’t a widely-accepted practice here in the States, it’s a pretty common pastime in France, which would explain Pieau defending the publication of the photos by arguing, “[Kate] is a young

Strouse plays integral role in the UTC shows

 Undergraduate Theatre Collective Coordinator Kelsey Strouse talks theater at Brandeis.

JustArts spoke with Kelsey Strouse ’13, UTC Coordinator, about her experiences in theater at Brandeis.

MCT CAMPUS

MARRIED ROYALS: Kate and Will in happier times. woman who is topless, just like the ones seen on all the beaches of France.”

Third, keep in mind this all boils down to business. These publications are companies and such photos would undoubtedly skyrocket sales.

But of course, let’s not forget, this isn’t just a random French mademoiselle—this is the future Queen Consort of England. Part of being a member of the royal family is being a flawless role model—something the topless images don’t entirely uphold.

But perhaps most contentiously, where exactly does freedom of the press end and individual privacy begin? I have been able to understand points from both sides—the business-oriented magazines as well as the respected royal family. But at the end of the day, I say these photos shouldn’t be seen by the world.

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

ON-CAMPUS EVENTS Sukkah Decoration Competition

Sponsored by Hillel, come celebrate the Jewish Holiday of Sukkot by taking part in the traditional decorating of a sukkah.

Thrsday from 8 to 10 p.m. in Sherman Dining Hall.

Fall Concert

Come check out the biggest concert of the semester when Santigold and Theophilus London take the stage at the annual fall concert. Sponsored by Student Events, this is not a night to miss.

Saturday from 8 to 11p.m. in the Gosman Shapiro Gym. Tickets are $10 for Brandeis Students.

BAASA Presents: Arden Cho

The Brandeis Asian American Student Association is bringing Arden Cho, a Korean-American singer, model and actress, to campus. Cho will do a musical performance, followed by a special video screeening and a question-and-answer session. There will also be a meet-and-greet session, including autographs.

Saturday from 7:30 to 10 p.m. in the Shapiro Campus Center Theater. Tickets are free with a college ID.

Twin Shadow with Silent Drape Runners After the Fall Concert, come check out the aftershow sponsored by WBRS. Silent Drape Runners will open the show, followed by Twin Shadow, George Lewis Jr. and his band.

Saturday starting at 11 p.m. in Chums.

Uke Lounge An informal gathering of Ukulele players to learn, come share and have fun while playing ukulele.

Mondays at 6:30 p.m. in the Slosberg Music Center.

Embedded Legacies: Lydia Kann Nettler

The Women’s Studies Research Center presents its latest exhibit by artist Lydia Kann Nettler, who creates environmental themed artwork that incorpates prose to explore deaper subjects, like poverty and mental illness.

Beginning Oct. 1 at the WSRC in the Epstein Building.

Java in the Hut

Sponsored by Hillel, come drink some hot coffee and enjoy delicious snacks while you listen to your favorite a Cappella groups: Manginah, Jewish Fella A cappella and Ba’note.

Additionally, the event features the comedy group Bad Grammar and the Israeli Dance Group B’Yachad.

Wednesday Oct.3 from 8 to 10:30 p.m. in the Sukkah outside of Sherman Dining Hall .

‘See You Soon Again’

The Edie and Lew Wasserman Fund; Film, Television and Interactive Media Program; and the Near Eastern and Judaic Studies

MCT CAMPUS

POP SINGER ON THE RISE: Singer/songwriter Santigold is slated to perform at the annual Fall Concert on Saturday night in the Shapiro Athletic Center. She will be joined by Theophilus London. department invite you to a sneak peek of See You Soon Again followed by a question-and -answer session with director and writer Bernadette Wegenstein.

Oct. 4 from 7 to 10 p.m. in the Wasserman Cinematheque. Free.

OFF-CAMPUS EVENTS

Queer Wave: Benefit Show for The Theater Offensive

This is a night of musical performances all benefiting a good cause, The Theater Offensive. This organization works in its community to present the lives of queer artists and their works. The event features musical performances and spoken word poetry.

Tomorrow from 8 to 11:30 p.m. Tickets are $10. Midway Cafe 3496 Washington St., Jamaica Plain, Mass.

Art on the Roof: Boston 2012

Join us for an evening to celebrate New England-based artists, benefit the community, listen to music mixed by DJ Shuze and enjoy catered hors d’oeuvres and drinks overlooking the Boston Harbor. A portion of proceeds from ticket and art sales benefit: Dot Art in Dorchester, MA since 1998.

Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $45 at the door. MassChallenge, Inc., One Marina Park Drive, 14th floor, Boston.

‘Expatriate’

The Theater Offensive is proud to present the off-Broadway hit, Expatriate, an explosive and funny new play composed, written, and performed by Lenelle Moïse.

When two best friends bolt from their lives in Boston to create their American Dream in Paris, they encounter fabulous success, degrading dangers and ghosts of their own pasts.

Moïse and fellow performer Karla Moseley create an energetic and seamless fusion of realistic action, dream sequences and live concert numbers, exploring Black identity, friendship, desire, addiction, sexual freedom, love and survival.

The New York Times raved, “Inspiring Invigorating Appealing Compelling Intelligent Expatriate delivers on all counts!”

Oct. 4, 5 and 6 at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $10.

Villa Victoria Center for the Arts 85 W Newton St., Boston.

Summer Street Markets

Boston’s largest arts and crafts outdoor market is open at Downtown Crossing.

Fine art, jewelry, clothing and accessories, photography, woodworks, glassworks, metalworks and fiber arts are all available for sale.

Ongoing weekly. Wednesdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Summer Street across from Macy’s in Downtown Crossing in Boston.

Walking Tour of Boston’s Literary Landmarks

This guided walking tour strolls through the vibrant literary history of Victorian Boston. Boston was the most important literary center in the country and home to many of America’s greatest writers.

On this tour you will see the homes and haunts of great Victorians as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, Charles Dickens, Louisa May Alcott, Henry James and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Individually, they were writers and poets without peer.

Collectively, they made Boston the epicenter of American Letters.

Ongoing weekly on Saturdays from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Tickets are $12 but are free for members of Boston By Foot. Plaza at School and Washington Streets in Boston.

JustArts: What was your first theater experience at Brandeis?

Kelsey Strouse: I first did the 24-Hour Musical my freshman year and was the assistant stage manager. I fell in love with Brandeis theater and it has been my life ever since.

JA: What is your job as Undergraduate Theatre Collective coordinator?

KS: The UTC is five undergraduate theater clubs and each club puts on shows every year. I run commission meetings where all the Executive Boards of the clubs get together and talk about the UTC as a whole, what we want to do with undergraduate theater at Brandeis.

JA: How did you get involved with UTC? KS: I had gotten asked to assistant stage manage A Chorus Line, done by Typanium Euphorium in the beginning of my freshman year. I had loved stage managing in high school and I wanted to keep doing it so I got involved with a lot of the clubs in the UTC. Mostly, I loved the community­—there are five different clubs but it is one big family and people don’t just do shows with one club.

JA: What are some of the highlights of the upcoming season?

KS: Well, we already had the 24-Hour Musical, which was a great theater orientation for everybody and to get excited about the season.

Lots of the shows going up this year fill staff positions based on the people they meet at the musical. There’s a good mix of shows this year: Tymp is doing Bat Boy, which is a dark comedy and sometimes absurd; Metamorphoses is being done through Brandeis Ensemble Theatre based on poems by Ovid, told in a series of vignettes, and the set is hopefully going to have a pool in it; Hillel Theater Group is doing Rumors, also a really funny dark comedy; Or is going up with Brandeis Players and it takes place in the mid-1600s but it is a commentary on the 1960s, and of course, Boris’ Kitchen always does their sketch comedy show.

JA: How do the arts and theater enhance your experience at Brandeis?

KS: It’s been my family since I’ve got here.

It’s a really great group of people who do theater and since I’ve been stage manager, I’ve gotten to work with actors and techies and I’m trying to bridge the gap between the two groups.

JA: If you could stage manage any theater piece what would it be?

KS: What I love about being involved with a show is watching the progression from beginning to end, so really any show that has a cast and crew really dedicated to the success of the show. That’s what is all worth it to me. So I guess the show itself doesn’t matter, as long as it’s something people can be really passionate about and I can watch that grow.

JA: What shows have you stage managed in the past?

KS: I was abroad in the spring last year, but last fall I managed Cinderella Waltz. In the spring of my sophomore year I did Rent, which was an incredible experience. I’ve also done lots of little things, like stage managing for Boris’ Kitchen and Quickies, which is the studentwritten play festival.

JA: What is the most challenging aspect of being stage manager of a theater show?

KS: The time commitment is huge, so balancing everything can get really tough. The stage manager’s job is the ultimate middle man, so they are the liaison between the cast and the production staff, and as soon as you get into tech week, the manager is supposed to know everything that the designers, cast and directors need. Mediating all those different factors can get really stressful, especially within the UTC because we all share the same space and we have one or two weeks to get everything in the theater ready for the show. It’s stressful and a lot of late nights, but so rewarding. It’s the greatest feeling once the show gets on the stage and you realize everything you have done leading up to that one moment.

JA: What do you want to do after graduation?

KS: I want to go into teaching, and I’m still very much struggling in figuring out how theater is going to fit into my life because I know it has to. Theater is such a part of who I am.

One of the best aspects about theater is that you don’t have to give it up if you don’t go into some other profession; there is always a place to fit it in. Also, I want to fit theater in with what I do as a teacher because it is a great tool for kids, especially now when there is a big push towards discipline, kids going on ADHD medication and things like that. Theater is a great outlet for kids to let everything loose that they can’t in the classroom.

— Jessie Miller

THE JUSTICE

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TUESDAY, september 25, 2012

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WSRC ART EXHIBITION

Exhibit marks milestone for WSRC ■ The ‘Convergence’ exhibit

presented artwork from affiliates of the Women’s Studies Research Center.

By Xiang Gu JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Last Wednesday, the Women’s Studies Research Center held a closing ceremony for its exhibition titled “Convergence: 10 Years of Artistic Excellence at the WSRC.” The exhibit featured artwork from the past 10 years by affiliates of the WSRC, including past WSRC scholars, staff and board members.

The curator and jury of the exhibit, Michele L’Heureux, facilitated the selection of artwork. L’Heureux reached out to affiliates of the WSRC and received submissions from over 90 scholars. A variety of works, ranging from oil paintings and photographs to sculptures and handicrafts, were selected by two faculty members in the Fine Arts department.

“This is an interesting moment,” the WSRC Director Shulamit Reinharz said to Emily Corbató about her photograph during the closing ceremony.

The picture, taken in traditional black and white, shows a woman

walking by several men. The men are standing on the corner, watching the girl passing by, not whistling. Corbató noticed this scene when she was with her camera, trying to catch some filmographies.

“She caught my attention …

She’s different. She looks confident, with emboldened spirit,” explained Corbató. She believed that the girls in her photographs are “glorious women” who are “comfortable within themselves and not afraid to be ‘out there.’”

Corbató focuses on women in her photographs who are strong, powerful and sometimes humorous.

Another photographer, Karin Rosenthal, was interested in photographing nudes because of her fascination with tide pools. She believed that there is something about tide pools that made her contemplate human existence and the cycle of life. In one of her images presented in the show, the models, a stone, a shell and a feather, were lit by the sun.

Rosenthal wrote in the introduction of her book about her works, “I used my camera to push vision to the unseen … A reflected nude results in multiple bodies seen from different angles tucked into shells, wrapped around edges, morphing into a dolphin.

Disruptions of the surface tension create numerous mirrors as shells and seaweed breaks the water, reflecting and distorting the body reflection in different ways simultaneously.”

The buyer of this photograph was also at the closing ceremony.

While listening to Rosenthal explain her works to others, she explained in an interview with the Justice that the reason she and her husband decided to buy this image was that she likes “the movement of inviting me into the unknown ... I really enjoyed it. I keep looking at it and keep seeing different textures.”

Art in the Convergence exhibition clearly demonstrates the tagline of WSRC: where research, art and activism converge. Artists have shown their efforts for campaigning for women’s rights in their works: Mary Oestereicher created a book called More Pawns, showing that women could do the jobs that men could do in medieval Europe. Susan Eisenberg took a picture of two women who were holding a slogan of “stop gender harassment” during a parade.

Overall, “Convergence” is a great exhibition. The art works not only showed the diversity and creativity of WSRC scholars, but they were creative, provocative pieces in their own right.

CONTEMPORARY CREATIVITY: This work by Karen Frostig hung in the reception area.

PHOTOS BY JOSHUA LINTON/the Justice

ARTIST TALKS: Karin Rosenthal, a WSRC scholar, explains her artwork to a crowd of onlookers including fellow artists.

DIRECTOR DUO: Michele L’Heureux (left) and Prof. Shulamit Reinharz (SOC) listen in.

music

Duo dazzles Slosberg with a classical program ■ Prof. Daniel Stepner (MUS)

and Robert Levin performed the music of Brahms and Mendelssohn on Sunday.

By Felicia KUPERWASER JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On Sunday night, crowds of people poured into Slosberg Recital Hall to hear the Brandeis Music Department’s opening concert of the season.

Performing were Prof. Daniel Stepner (MUS) playing violin and Harvard University’s Professor Robert Levin, on piano. The duo played a full program of Brahms and Mendelssohn on a Streicher piano—in the style of the 1800s—and delivered a masterful performance in an electrifying evening of music. The piano, owned by Levin and housed in the music department of Harvard, was specially moved to Brandeis for the concert.

They opened with Brahms’ second violin sonata in A major, Op. 100 with

a marked note of urgency and immediacy that set the tone for the entire concert. Both performances played with a vigor and resolve that truly animated the texturally-rich Brahms composition. From the outset, they delivered a visually engaging performance, each individually mimicking musical expression with their physical gestures, while also in constant dialogue with one another. The piano itself was a visual focal point, with its intricately carved music stand and elegantly designed legs. It pulled all of the parts of the performance onstage into a single unit that generated music whose force truly was greater than the sum of its parts, complementing and building upon the individual notes of each instrument.

Simultaneously musically complex and indulgently passionate, the second sonata captured the essence of Brahms’ writing and prepared the audience for the successive pieces.

To finish the first half, the duo continued onto Brahms’ third and

final violin sonata in D minor, Op. 108. Wholly different in character from the second sonata, this piece showcases both Brahms’s stormier writing as well as his sad, evocative and perhaps contemplative folk-like melodies. Full of exciting rhythmic changes, the piece captivated the audience from the outset, and Stepner and Levin compressed the movements into one continual narrative full of riveting momentum and urgency that only found relief at the piece’s end.

Stepner and Levin’s exuberance was contagious, but the Steicher piano was an important musical star in its own right. Before he began the Mendelssohn, Levin shared an explanation and demonstration of the piano’s unique features. Built in Vienna in 1869, this Streicher is virtually identical to the one Brahms kept in his living room and on which he composed. Its parallel stringing, explained Levin, affords a uniform aesthetic throughout the keyboard

and showcases Brahms’s rich orchestral writing without overwhelming the melody. Stepner and Levin used the piano’s clarity to their advantage, playing freely and immediately without ever losing details in the overall sound.

Levin then sat down to play three selections from Mendelssohn’s “Songs Without Words,” the Andante espressivo, Op. 62, No. 1, Andante con moto, Op. 19b, No. 1 and Allegro vivace, Op. 102, No. 5. These three pieces, absolutely sweet and melodious in character, perfectly suited the piano’s unique quality, and in their relative quiet and calm, complemented the rest of the program. The sparkling melodies shone above textural accompaniment, and Levin played each with earnest and grace that created moments of great musical intimacy in the hall.

The duo finished the program with Brahms’s Sonata No. 1 in G Major, Op. 78, strategically placed after those that succeed it chronologically

as if to provide a musical context for Brahms’s earlier and perhaps seemingly simpler work. Stepner and Levin played the piece’s broader, gliding melodies with flourish and finesse, while the piano’s textural contributions propelled the music to its quiet and profound ending. As Stepner lowered his bow, he let the memory of the last measure resonate for an extra moment before formally ending the piece. He then resurfaced with Levin to receive rounds of enthusiastic applause and a well-deserved standing ovation.

They treated the audience to one last piece, a single movement Scherzo in C-minor that Brahms wrote as a birthday gift for a friend of his, which Stepner joked was Brahms’ own perfect encore. Lively and spirited, it was a perfect ending to a night dedicated to this rich, unified musical aesthetic, and it was an inspired beginning to a new season of musical celebration and exploration at Brandeis.

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

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THE JUSTICE

New Rose exhibit

excites

community

PHOTO BY DVORA ORBACH

IDENTITY THROUGH ART: Dor Guez focuses on identity as both a Palestinian and a Jew in contemporary Israel.

Dor Guez’s premiere gets big turnout

By Phil gallagher JUSTICE Editorial Assistant

KARINA WAGENPFEIL/the Justice

THOUGHTFUL CONVERSATIONS: Dor Guez stops to speak with a museum visitor about his artwork in the exhibit.

JOSH HOROWITZ/the Justice

BUILDING ALLIANCES: Christopher Bedford, new director of the Rose Art Museum, greets Provost Steve Goldstein ‘78.

Students, faculty, administrators and community members filled the galleries of the Rose Art Museum for the premiere of Dor Guez’s solo exhibition “100 Steps to the Mediterranean” last Thursday.

The exhibit, a combination of photography and videography, was Guez’s first major exhibition in the United States and his largest exhibition to date.

According to Prof. Gannit Ankori (FA), a co-curator of the exhibit, over 600 people attended the opening.

Guez, an Israeli with both Palestinian Christian and Tunisian Jewish heritage, focused on the question of contemporary Israeli identity in the exhibit. The artwork, which is on display in the Lois Foster Gallery of the Rose, was varied in its content. Guez took home videos of his family members where he interviewed them about their experiences with race in Israel and projected the videos on gallery walls for the exhibit. In one of the videos, Guez interviewed his cousin Samira, who described her experiences with racism in Israel. “What does it mean to feel Israeli?” Samira asks, continuing, “What does it mean to feel Arab?”

Still photos from Guez’s “Lydd Ruins” series held an eerie glow along the wall with stark contrasts between luminous images of fire and backgrounds of dark sky. Another photograph, titled “Two Palestinian Riders,” hung bright and vividly, displaying blurred horses running through a dense forest. Many of the works attracted crowds of viewers who stopped to understand and ponder Guez’s message of identity in Israeli society. Guez was present for the opening of the exhibit, fielding questions from inquisitive viewers.

The exhibit was co curated

by Dabney Hailey, director of academic programs at the Rose, and Ankori, a scholar of Israeli and Palestinian art.

Both individuals spoke very positively of the experience; Hailey exclaiming that she was “thrilled” to work with Ankori and Ankori calling the partnership a “fruitful and seam-

less collaboration.”

Guez was first introduced to the Rose Art Museum during a visit to Brandeis in June 2011, explained Ankori in an email to the Justice. The Schusterman Center for Israel Studies had convened an artists’ panel on multicultural Israeli art in which Guez participated. During that visit, Ankori brought the artist panelists to the Rose, where the Rose staff were first introduced to Guez and became interested in his work.

Once the Rose decided to feature his work in a solo exhibit, it took about a year to develop, Ankori noted.

Both Hailey and Ankori were thrilled with the large student attendance at the exhibit.

“There are so many students,” remarked Hailey at the exhibit. “The most important audience is the students.”

“I was especially moved by our students’ responses and their deep and insightful understanding of the installation,” Ankori agreed.

Students also had positive reactions to the exhibit.“I like the exhibit,” said Alexandra Patch ’14. “I like the contrasts between bright colors on top of pale pictures in the ‘Lydd Ruins.’”

“It seems pretty cool,” commented Rachel Rothfeld ’13. “I like the videos. It’s an interesting look into the lives of Christian Arabs living in Israel and the struggles that they deal with.”

During the exhibit, Christopher Bedford, the new Henry and Lois Foster Director of the Rose Art Museum, was formally introduced to the Brandeis community by Provost Steve Goldstein ’78, who praised Bedford’s experience and enthusiasm for the position. Bedford stated that he was looking forward to being integrated into the campus and strengthening the alliance between the University and the Rose.

Ankori expressed satisfaction with the final presentation. “One of my colleagues said that it is rare that contemporary art is both accessible and complex; both visceral and cerebral,” she said in reference to Guez’s artwork. “I thought that remark was incredibly accurate.”

THE JUSTICE

SWIMMING IN CASH

By joy feagan JUSTICE contributing WRITER

3-D rereleases: old films gasp for air, profit ■ Over the past few years,

more movies are being rereleased in 3-D, adding little to viewer experiences.

By ALIZA VIGDERMAN JUSTICE CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Have you ever gotten “re-gifted?”

You know, when the giver had clearly received the present from someone else, and is now trying to pass it off to you? That’s what I think of the recent trend of rereleasing movies in 3-D. It allows studios to evade the responsibility of creating anything new and simply rely on the technology aspect to put extra dollars in their pockets. And sadly, this ploy has been ridiculously successful.

If you didn’t know, 3-D movies are one of Hollywood’s latest undertakings. They work by increasing the appearance of depth to create images that seem like they are “coming at you.” Although 3-D movies have actually existed since 1915, they have become especially popular throughout the 2000s, resulting in excessive amounts of rereleases like Toy Story, The Lion King and Titanic.

Disney has been used to re-releasing its popular movies into theaters every 10 years. However, with the various home cinema options available today, this practice no longer made financial sense—until the era of 3-D. Finally, a way for people in Hollywood to make excessive amounts of money without really doing anything!

If you haven’t seen Finding Nemo yet, I highly recommend it—its one of those kids movies that can make you laugh even after you’ve grown up. Finding Nemo was originally released by Disney-Pixar in 2004. It is the story of the neurotic clownfish Marlin (Albert Brooks) on a search through Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, accompanied by his blue tang fish friend Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), to find his son, Nemo (Alexander Gould). Over Rosh Hashanah break, I decided to see Finding Nemo in 3-D, and see how it compares to the original version. The verdict? Although the movie itself is still delightful, the 3-D aspect didn’t really add anything and was definitely not worth the extra 30 percent at the box office.

The film industry has enjoyed large financial gains as a result of

releasing 3-D films. Last year, the top 50 3-D films grossed over $8 billion. Theaters charge considerably more for 3-D movies than 2-D, an average of 28 percent, and 43 percent more for IMAX 3-D, according to cnet.com. As a result, it can appear that 3-D movies are simply a money-making ploy for the film industry, charging exorbitant ticket fees for special effects of mediocre quality. Additionally, plot line and character development are often sacrificed for explosions and guns that sort of look like they’re coming right at you.

James Cameron’s Avatar, considered the highest quality 3-D movie yet, was the highest grossing film of all time, earning over $2 billion worldwide according to Box Office Mojo. Upon seeing the success of Avatar, many studios have tried to attain their piece of this billion dollar pie. However, unlike Avatar, which was praised for its cinematic breakthroughs, most attempts at 3-D filmmaking have received much criticism from audiences and critics alike.

Walter Murch, arguably the most revered film editor and sound designer in films today, criticized 3-D films in a letter to the Chicago Sun-Times. He describes them quite bluntly as “dark, small, stroby, headache inducing, alienating. And expensive.”

Despite it’s obvious faults, the 3-D movie movement endures. There has been much anticipation for Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit, as well as Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby, which promise better quality than recent 3-D movies. Additionally, 3-D televisions are now on the market.

But beware of “headaches, dizziness, nausea, seizures, and more,” warns Samsung on the Blu-Ray website.

If done well, quality 3-D rereleases are possible, even with the difficulty of converting 2-D film into 3-D. However, the rereleasing of movies into 3-D seems like an easy way to justify a huge price bump at the box office. 3-D movies attempt to immerse their audience in the cinematic experience. However, a truly great film can do this without relying on an extra dimension as a crutch.

Whether you hate it or just strongly dislike it, 3-D is sure to only become more abundant in the next few years, before the next thing comes along.

21

‘Bachelorette’ entertains anticipated movie starring Kirsten Dunst is amusing and enjoyable in its simplicity.

SHANEWARNE_60000/Flickr Creative Commons

TUESDAY, September 25, 2012

movie review

■ Although not perfect, the

FISHING FOR PROFITS: ‘Finding Nemo’ was released in 3-D, earning millions in days.

●

When the trailer for Bachelorette hit the Internet, people responded loudly and skeptically on Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter. The trailer revealed a cast that included Kirsten Dunst, coming off the biggest critical hit of her career with Melancholia; new comedic favorite Rebel Wilson, whose bit part in Bridesmaids was arguably the funniest part of the film; Lizzy Caplan, best known for playing the unforgettable Janice Ian in the equally as unforgettable Mean Girls, and Isla Fisher, most memorable for playing a psychopathic sex-fiend in Wedding Crashers.

For a movie fan, the cast looked solid, but the premise, and even the film’s title, seemed like a rip-off of Kristen Wiig’s hit 2010 film, Bridesmaids.

People, still entirely unconvinced, responded accordingly. Blogs on my Tumblr dashboard provided some notable reactions, including “Kirsten [Dunst], you are now a critic’s darling!

Why would you take this unoriginal role!?” “Rebel [Wilson], we get that Bridesmaids made you almost a household name, but being in the same film twice is not a good career move!”

Honestly, I was one of these concerned people. Here’s how the trailer portrays the film: Regan (Dunst) and Becky (Wilson) are BFFs, and much to Regan’s dismay, she has been asked to be the maid of honor at Becky’s wedding. Dealing with the stress of her best friend finding true love before she does while trying to be a good maid

of honor leads to a series of amusing mishaps, enhanced by the wild duo comprised of pals Gena (Caplan) and Katie (Fisher), which risks Regan’s friendship with Becky—in short, kind of, sort of, the plot of Bridesmaids.

Though wary of this done-before theme, I tried to go into watching Bachelorette with an open mind and surprisingly, I enjoyed it.

The fact that Dunst is the film’s biggest name, along with her being featured most prominently in the trailer, made it seem like the film was going to be led by her, presumably as she tries to become the next Kristen Wiig.

In reality though, Bachelorette, unlike Bridesmaids, is an ensemble comedy in which Dunst’s screen time is equally shared with Caplan and Fisher. In fact, Caplan, always good at playing rude and witty roles, such as Casey on the hilarious, short-lived series Party Down steals the show. Her performance is enhanced by her romantic pairing with Adam Scott, known for playing Ben Wyatt on the brilliant Parks and Recreation, and also Caplan’s love interest on Party Down.

In addition to this, the film is different from Bridesmaids in that none of the leading characters is likeable. Regan is unforgivably selfish and rude, making fun of Becky’s weight and yelling at the wedding planners. Katie is almost incomprehensibly dumb, and when asked to make a speech at the rehearsal dinner simply announces, “I lost my cell phone.” Gena also lacks any semblance of manners, making a tasteless joke in her rehearsal dinner speech about Becky’s high school bulimia. The girls, who appropriately call themselves the “B-faces,” are written to be ridiculously horrible for comedic effect. The things they do and say are funny, but only if they’re not taken seriously. If viewers can successfully

appreciate the character’s actions as simply elements of humor, then watching Bachelorette will come with many laughs.

At the one hour mark, viewers may feel like they have the film figured out: it’s a raunchy comedy, not trying to force any message or humility on these characters who are far beyond the point of being relatable or likeable.

During the film’s fast-paced final 30 minutes, however, Bachelorette hits a rough patch as the plot attempts to redeem these terrible people, ending up feeling forced and fake. Seemingly out of nowhere, Gena realizes that the Bfaces have been behaving poorly and attempts to make amends with Becky.

Katie remains too lost to understand what is going on, but she feels bad about it anyway. The film’s romantic subplots, in which each girl is being pursued by her own perfectly matched man, also wrap up too quickly for closure. At many of the final moments, the film feels annoyingly cliché.

As a viewer, I couldn’t bring myself to forgive Bachelorette’s characters the way I apparently was supposed to, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy watching them be awful. During the majority of the film, Gena and Katie, who are supposed to be 30 years old, are high on cocaine, something the characters are implied as doing often.

There is also an especially hilarious scene in which Gena describes her method of a certain sex act to a strange man sitting next to her on an airplane.

However rushed its ending, Bachelorette produces many great comedic moments. Overall, the film is a bunch of talented actors doing ridiculous and funny things. Don’t spend $10 at the theater on it, and don’t expect it to win an Oscar, but in a few months, rent it and enjoy some laughs with your friends.

book review

Don’t spend time on ‘Time Keeper’ ■ New Mitch Albom novel

falls flat despite author’s preceding reputation of illuminating novels.

By alexander burger JUSTICE contributing WRITER

Time is precious. It’s as simple as that: something we all know deep down, but never seem to remember when we’re all wrapped up in the moments of our everyday lives. Mitch Albom’s ‘79 newest novel, The Time Keeper, drills this point home through a spiraling story of Father Time and his eternal punishment, listening to people’s endless, ear-piercing pleas for more time. It’s a straightforward theme, one revolving around realizing exactly what time is and how you choose to spend it. Strikingly close to that of Albom’s previous works, The Five People You Meet in Heaven and Tuesdays with Morrie, he continues to choose ideas that we all can relate to and feel for.

And yet, I can’t help but say that the book was choppy. Let me explain— The characters are scattered; you feel as if you’re learning about them, but never really relating to them. All three characters are connected in the book, and yet they never seem unified, with Albom turning on or turning off one or the other each and every chapter. With each page overflowing with bold-faced lines of text being woven into the other paragraphs, you find your eyes distracted and the steady stream of your reading impeded. You begin to see the bolded lines as sort of makeshift bullet points for the gist of the page. Sure, this saves you the time of reading the entire block of text, but in reality it only screws up your flow, your ease of reading and your enjoyment of the book. Simply put, the intermittent bold-faced simple sentences make you feel like you’re reading a screenplay rather than a hardcover book.

The novel revolves around substories for characters Dor, Sarah and Victor, which all meld to make one final tale. However, I felt as if the segueing sub-stories made the overall tale harder to follow, relate to and feel strongly about, which leads to a somewhat underwhelming storyline.

Betty Lew/Hyperion

LATEST RELEASE: Albom’s latest novel on the frailty of time is a waste of time itself.

Unlike Tuesdays with Morrie, I didn’t grow attached. Albom’s famously fluid writing style props up the novel, but that doesn’t change the fact that the characters are less in-tune with the reader, and therefore, the reader is less responsive to the novel as a whole.

In the beginning you meet Dor, a boy obsessed with counting, be it his breaths or the stones he collects and marks up to find what he eventually discovers: time. And yet, his invention of the very first clock leads him to be banished to a far away cavern somewhere up high. In an unclear series of events, Dor is left with nothing but the cries for more time from mortals on Earth. But then he hears Sarah, a teenager whose first crush has left her heart crumbled, and Victor, an 80-year-old billionaire who is simply looking for the fastest way to immor-

tality.

You can say a lot about The Time Keeper: it’s interesting and quick to read, the cover looks fantastic and the idea is beyond fascinating. But saying the book was worth the time may be a bit of a stretch. I found the characters weak, the plot feeble and the overall feel of the book lacking. I dove headfirst into this novel, feeling in my gut that this was surely the deep end of the pool, and to my utter surprise, hit the bottom within seconds of diving.

Mitch Albom may be world-renowned, and his books may be best-sellers, but The Time Keeper is nothing but a lukewarm story line that had the potential to be progressive. In the end, the book is about realizing how precious time is, and unfortunately, I gave up some of my own by reading this book and now I want every minute back.

Looking for accommodations?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Justice is looking for Arts writers.

Curious about

E-mail Philip Gallagher and Jessie Miller at

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

Arts@thejustice.org

advertising?

Want to gain real buisiness experience?

Are you interested in marketing?

Do you have graphic degin skills?

Come join the advertising team at the Justice!

THE JUSTICE

TENSE MOMENTS

By eli kaminsky JUSTICE contributing WRITER

MCT CAMPUS

MASTER AND FOLLOWER: Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman illustrate a complicated relationship in the cult.

Thoughtful new film is satisfying to watch ‘The Master,’ is a captivating introspect into the minds of a cult leader and his follower.

By adelina simpson JUSTICE contributing WRITER

Dubbed Paul Thomas Anderson’s Scientology movie, The Master is part voyeuristic dip into Dianetics, part fictionalized documentary about larger-than-life cult leader Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and his manic follower, Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix).

Shot in lush, life-like 70 millimeter (think The Tree of Life and Samsara), the film depicts what can happen during the spiritually fertile period after wars.

A slave to his post-traumatic stress condition, World War II Navy veteran Freddie can’t hold a job. A drunk, he concocts moonshine out of paint thinner, darkroom chemicals and household cleaners. He brawls with customers and coworkers alike until he stumbles back to sea and onto the ship of Lancaster Dodd, creator of the Cause—a movement with strong echoes in Scientology.

Like Anderson’s last two films, Punch-Drunk Love and There Will Be Blood, The Master offers its al-

23

‘Tempest’ is golden latest album ‘Tempest,’ Bob Dylan proves he is still a musician to watch.

coholic antihero a makeshift family to help him cope. Dodd and his disciples promise Freddie meaning. This proves no easy feat: Freddie must revisit trillions of years of past trauma in order to free himself in a process called “time-holing.”

But the Cause is full of contradictions. Dodd urges his followers toward existence, but his time-hole sessions take place in the past. He claims that we’re trapped in vessels (our bodies) through multiple rebirths, yet his protégés are obsessed with their respective vessels. Gatherings are often an incestuous haze. Dodd’s son, Val (Jesse Plemons), at one point says to Freddie: “He’s making all this up as he goes along. You don’t see that?”

The Cause and its failing aren’t the point of the movie, but the implications of the movement are.

It’s a theory soaked in nostalgia, in a yearning for something intangible. After an auditing session with Dodd, Freddie remembers his wartime sweetheart, Doris (Madisen Beaty). When Freddie goes to find her, she has moved south.

He asks her housemate, in a mood both somber and playful, “She still ugly?”

It’s this kind of comic relief that makes Anderson’s otherwise aching film playfully work. The heavy question marks of life are usually countered with dark comedy. For

TUESDAY, september 25, 2012

MUSIC

■ With the release of his

■ The newly-released movie,

●

instance, when Freddie attempts to quit alcohol, Dodd’s wife, Peggy (Amy Adams), says to him: “You can’t take this life straight, can you?”

The Master tries to captures a still moment on a moving train. It grapples with the elusiveness interwoven in relationships, in spiritual enlightenment. Anderson successfully depicts the homing device in all of us, if we don’t know exactly where that home is.

In an interview with the Huffington Post, Anderson said: “People have attractions to somebody that’s probably not good for them, or an attraction to somebody who’s a runner, you know? That attraction the Master has for Freddie— absolute sheer excitement at the thrill of the possibility that he may leave or do something crazy at any moment.”

In his final words to Freddie, Dodd gives a haunting rendition of Ella Fitzgerald’s song “Slow Boat to China,” “I want to get you on a slow boat to China/All by myself, alone,” he sings, “Get you and keep you in my arms evermore/Leave all your lovelies weeping on the far away shore.” If someone who’s supposed to be the Master of his emotions can’t rationalize his longing, who can? Anderson doesn’t give us the answer, but he asks the right questions.

It is the summer of 1965, and Bob Dylan, one of America’s most influential singer-songwriters, has just taken the stage at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island. Much to the surprise of a crowd accustomed to Dylan’s exclusively acoustic solo performances, the singer is playing an electric guitar alongside an amplified backing-band.

Members of the crowd begin booing and throwing stones, later calling the musician “Judas” and claiming he killed folk music. Forty-seven years and thirty albums later, the very same Robert “Bob Dylan” Zimmerman is quite accustomed to personal, professional and musical change. On Sept.

11, he released Tempest, one of his darkest, strangest, most experimental and poetic works to date that magnificently culminates Dylan’s musical process as the work of a constantly evolving genius.

The utterly dark and contemplative Tempest, which clocks in at a solid hour and eight minutes, begins with the soft, electric guitar twang of the lead single, “Duquesne Whistle,” that quickly bursts into a country-blues jam topped off by Dylan’s masterful poetry. Tempest’s opener acts as a good indication of what the listener is in for. Gone are the days of a young man preaching to those who wish to listen via an acoustic guitar and a harmonica; now a weathered spirit sings the blues of life, struggle, pain and loss.

The next track, the radiantly beautiful “Soon After Midnight,” takes a gentler stab at Drake’s motto of “You only live once,” declaring that “It’s soon after midnight and [Dylan’s] day has just begun.” Though “Midnight” is not a particularly sad song, Dylan’s innocent and tender vocal delivery threatens to draw tears. The fourth song on Tempest, “Long and Wasted Years” is in fact a depressing reflection on a wasted life and probably will cause some crying somewhere along the line.

The album’s title track is a fourteenminute epic about the Titanic, which, like “Tin Angel,” perhaps stretches on for just a few too many verses. Structurally, it recalls Dylan’s 1965 “Desolation Row,” a twelve-minute ode to desolation, as the title suggests. Out of its near countless verses, one line stands out: “The orchestra was playing songs of faded love,” sings an innocent

Dylan, summarizing Tempest in one line. The record is about faded love: old, worn, lost love for life, for work, for humanity and for individuals.

If one song had to be chosen to represent the entire album, Tempest’s fifth track, “Pay In Blood” would be an excellent choice. Musically, it displays both the quiet electric chord strumming that may be more familiar to fans of Dylan’s older classics, in addition to strong blues progressions dominant in several sections of the track. Lyrically, “Pay In Blood” is near flawless, like every other song on the album and for the most part, every other Bob Dylan song.

Furthermore, Tempest’s major theme, looking back on a painful life in its entirety, is present in full vitality on “Pay In Blood.”

“Narrow Way” and “Early Roman Kings” compliment “Pay in Blood’s” instrumentation with their ChicagoBlues styles that lift riffs from classic Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf compositions. A young Dylan probably never dreamed of playing the blues, but a Tempest-era Dylan leans heavily on the genre, embodying what he calls his “transfiguration.”

Despite the major differences between Tempest and Dylan’s older work, the new record still sounds as raw as music from classics such as The Times They Are A Changin’ and The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan era partially thanks to the singer’s raspy, aged voice. Dylan’s vocal performance is the one of Tempest’s flaws on an almost nonexistent list, but since Dylan’s voice has never contributed to the unparalleled beauty of his music, it remains an unimportant factor.

“Roll On John,” Dylan’s gorgeous ode to his friend and colleague, John Lennon, formerly of the Beatles and the Plastic Ono Band, is perhaps the weakest song on Tempest. Although the song discusses John Lennon’s troubled end, Dylan seemed to have slapped “Roll On John” onto the end of the record. Nonetheless, it is truly remarkable that the weakest song on this album is still an unbelievably pretty tune that only a few songwriters could hope to compose.

Tempest is the dark but triumphant reflection of Bob Dylan, a poet, a performer, an activist and an artist, upon his spiritual and musical journey through life. It is the culmination of every musical style with which he experimented, every lyrical strategy he utilized, every soulful idea he ever conjured. Fifty years after his self-titled debut, a seventy-one-year-old Bob Dylan can still release relevant, timeless, thought provoking music that touches listeners to their core.

à

BADOSA/Creative Commons

CLASSIC CROONER: Dylan’s evolving sound has continued to please listeners.

book review

Novel reveals hidden facts and details on the Italian Mafia

■ Wishingrad ’16 reviews a novel on the Mafia that she read for her First Year Seminar class and gives it her approval.

By EMILY WISHINGRAD JUSTICE contributing WRITER

The Day of the Owl, written in 1961

by Leonardo Sciascia, is a captivating murder-mystery about omertà, the mafia’s policy of silence and the fear of speaking that pervades the Sicilian landscape. In the first novel ever written about the Sicilian Mafia, Sciascia takes a big risk in addressing this weighty and taboo subject. The violence starts on the first page when Salvatore Colasberna, a bricklayer

known for his honesty, is shot while running to catch a train in the middle of a populated square. Many people witness the tragedy, but when the carabinieri, the Italian police, arrive, nobody is there to report what they saw. When the investigations start, Captain Bellosi, the detective investigating the case, starts to realize that nobody will talk. Even the brothers of the victim are too fearful to tell the carabinieri their suspicions about who may have killed their brother.

Captain Bellosi, the protagonist, is an outsider from the north, who, unlike the old Sicilian investigators, has a new and fresh approach to interrogating members of the mafia. Bellosi turns out to be an extraordinarily good investigator who is able to suck

the truth out of the most reluctant people by treating them as equals and subtly nudging them on. With the information he acquires, Bellosi is skillfully able to piece the evidence together and solve the case. The main antagonist, Don Marino, Bellosi’s intellectual foil, is also an intriguing character. The reader is predisposed to dislike him simply because he is the head of the mafia. As Bellosi interviews him, however, the reader is able to see the humanity of Marino and the profoundly genuine respect he has for “real” men such as Bellosi.

The novel reveals the enormous scope of the mafia in Sicily—everyone is involved and everyone has an interest in keeping the truth from coming into focus. It condemns the

mafia but also recognizes the illusive and seductive lure of the protection that comes from being part of the “family.”

Even Captain Bellosi is somewhat intrigued by the glamour of Don Marino’s position. The story moves at a fairly rapid pace, but through Bellosi’s interviews with Mafiosi, Sciacia manages to include deep, theoretical conversations about the mafia throughout.

The Day of the Owl gives the reader great insight into how the Sicilian mafia functions and how Sicilians adapt to and deal with living in the midst of such a corrupt society. Some keep the policy of omertà and try to stay out of the way of the mafia, while others, like Bellosi, are intent on try-

ing to fight against this organization.

The novel’s intriguing title is most likely referring to the fact that the book brings the mysterious institution of the mafia into the daylight for everybody to see. Before this book was published, Sicilians knew little about this secretive institution. In fact, some people denied that the institution existed at all.

By writing this book, Sciascia puts the mafia into the light for people to see and be aware of. Sciascia most likely chose the owl to symbolize the mafia because like the mafia, they are mysterious and rarely seen becuase they are nocturnal. There is also a 1968 movie version directed by Damiano Damiani, for any Italian-speaking Brandeisians out there!

24

TUESday, September 25, 2012 ● THE JUSTICE

TOP of the

ARTS ON VIEW

Brandeis “

CHARTS

TALKS

Top 10s for the week ending September 23

Quote of the week “The pedagogical relationship between Instructor and student must be protected from influences or activities that can interfere with learning and fair evaluation” — New university policy on relations between students and faculty, (News, p. 1).

BOX OFFICE

1. Resident Evil: Retribution 2. Finding Nemo 3-D 3. The Possession 4. Lawless 2012 5. The Expendables 2 6. ParaNorman 7. The Words 8. The Bourne Legacy 9. The Odd Life of Timothy Green 10. The Campaign

What did you think of our placement in the TODAY show’s top six?

NYT BESTSELLERS

Fiction 1. A Wanted Man — Lee Childs 2. Gone Girl: A Novel — Gillian Flynn 3. The Time Keeper — Mitch Albom 4. Delusion in Death — J.D. Robb 5. Telegraph Avenue: A Novel — Michael Chabon JON EDELSTEIN/The Justice

NATURE UP CLOSE: Justice photographer Jon Edelstein ’14 captured a dragonfly at Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Maynard, Massachusetts while apple picking Sunday, one of the first days of autumn.

Rachel Romm ’15 “I think it’s good because we’re getting publicity.”

Ross Newman ’14 “I definitely think that it was something Brandeis never did before.”

Jessica Capobianco ’13 “It was a great opportunity for Brandeis to get on the map.”

ACROSS 1 Bout with padded weapons 12 Source of a large reserve supply 14 Period, say 16 Score direction: Abbr.

17 Gull-like bird 18 Pearl City punch bowl serving 19 “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” composer 20 Some shooters, briefly 21 Go on (one’s way) 22 Certain hustler’s tools 23 Setting for Ariadne 24 Observation after “Clean your room!”

29 Pea family trees 31 Student’s supper spot 32 “Oh no!” from Poirot 33 Showed contempt for 34 Where Daniel was incarcerated 35 Sellout signs 36 President under whom Texas was annexed 37 “__ be in England ...”: Browning 38 Goggle 39 Fragment 44 Co-star with Betty, Rue and Estelle 45 Bartlett relative 46 Whistled at, perhaps 47 Tavern order 50 Characterized by extremes 51 Hybrid sport with seemingly incompatible components DOWN 1 __ hose 2 “Txtng & Drivng ... __ Wait”: AT&T ad tagline 3 BP unit 4 Hard to look at, in a way 5 Words with diet or dime 6 Turkey features 7 Circulars 8 Sikorsky and Stravinsky 9 ’50s-’60s title detective whose show’s theme was composed by Mancini 10 Breakfast choice 11 Figure with two legs askew 12 Matin preceder 13 Queen’s mate 14 Button on older phones 15 Razz 20 Figure (out), in slang 21 Districts 22 Lincoln’s place?

23 Author of the novel “Doctor Faustus” 24 Suffix with robot 25 Of the best quality 26 “Everyone’s a comedian” 27 Kid’s retort 28 Extinct kiwi

CROSSWORD

iTUNES

1. PSY — “Gangnam Style” 2. Maroon 5 — “One More Night” 3. Taylor Swift — “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” 4. Fun. — “Some Nights” 5. Flo Rida — “Whistle” 6. Alex Clare — “Too Close” 7. Justin Bieber feat. Big Sean — “As Long As You Love Me” 8. Phillip Phillips — “Home” 9. Carly Rae Jepsen and Owl City —“Good Time” 10. Neon Trees — “Everybody Talks”

BILLBOARD

1. Dave Matthews Band — Away from the World 2. Little Big Town — Tornado 3. Bob Dylan — Tempest 4. The Avett Brothers — The Carpenter 5. The xx — Coexist 6. ZZ Top — La Futura 7. Imagine Dragons — Night Visions 8. Matchbox Twenty — North 9. Various Artists — Now, Vol. 43 10. Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra — Theatre is Evil

29 One who’s at home on the range?

30 Nearest star to Pluto 32 Take advantage of 34 Like the Atkins diet 36 Leisurely walks 37 “Memoirs of a Geisha” prop 38 State runners: Abbr.

39 Highly seasoned pheasant stew 40 Used for cover 41 During 42 Russo of “Tin Cup” 43 34th pres.

45 Supporting part 46 Fraud 48 Cry of derision 49 Fiscal VIP

Top of the Charts information provided by Fandango, the New York Times, Billboard. com and Apple.com.

STAFF PLAYLIST

“Lazy Sunday” Solution to last week’s crossword

Crossword Copyright 2012 MCT Campus, Inc.

Maura Boughter-Dornfeld ’14 “I think it’s really wonderful.

We’re quirky, intelligent, and great.”

SUDOKU INSTRUCTIONS: Place a number in the empty boxes in such a way that each row across, each column down and each small 9-box square contains all of the numbers from one to nine.

Mustapha Isa ’14

“It was a lot of energy and a lot of team spirit.”

—Compiled by Jane Zitomer Photos by Joshua Horowitz/ the Justice

Nonfiction 1. No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama Bin Laden — Mark Owen and Kevin Maurer 2. The Price of Politics — Bob Woodward 3. Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever — Bill O’Reilly 4. Obama’s America: Unmaking the American Dream — Dinesh D’Souza 5. The Amateur ­— Edward Klein

Solution to last week’s sudoku

Sudoku Copyright 2012 MCT Campus, Inc.

By ELI KAMINSKY

Justice CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The theme for my staff playlist this week is “Lazy Sunday.”

These are the tunes that I listen to when I let my weekends slip away.

THE LIST 1. “Lazy Sunday”—The Lonely Island 2. “Everyday People”—Sly & The Family Stone 3. “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”—Crosby, Stills & Nash 4. “The Trip to Pirate’s Cove”— Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers 5. “When The Levee Breaks”— Led Zeppelin 6. “Scar Tissue”—Red Hot Chili Peppers 7. “Psychotic Girl”—The Black Keys 8. “Is This It?”—The Strokes 9. “All The Shine”—Childish Gambino 10. “Rhinestone Eyes” —Gorillaz