The Brandeis Hoot - Jan 21, 2011

VOL 8, NO. 1

J A N U A R Y 2 1 , 2 0 11

B R A N D E I S U N I V E R S I T Y ' S C O M M U N I T Y N E W S PA P E R

WA LT H A M , M A

Tucson attack hits close to home

BY NATHAN KOSKELLA Editor

Three-thousand miles from Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ (D) southern Arizona district, the Tucson attack on the congresswoman and her constituents nonetheless reached the Brandeis community

in a personal way.

Ben Zimmerman, a first-year international economics and finance student at the International Business School (IBS), is the brother of the late Gabe Zimmerman, an aide of Giffords’ who was shot and killed by gunman Jared Lee Loughner Jan. 8.

Ben Zimmerman wrote in an e-mail to The Hoot that the community has been supportive during his difficult time.

“IBS faculty, staff and students as well as the greater Brandeis Community have all been very supportive, and I very much appreciate [that] support,” he wrote from Tucson.

Gabe Zimmerman was director of community outreach for Giffords and received a special testament at the televised memorial service for the victims by President Obama, himself a former community organizer.

See TUCSON, p. 4

Lawrence assumes leadership New president shares Lawrence outlines goals, vision for univ provost/SVP must-haves

BY JON OSTROWSKY

BY NATHAN KOSKELLA

Despite a busy travel schedule this year, university President Fred Lawrence said that student financial aid will remain “the top priority” of his administration.

Lawrence explained that aid to undergraduates and stipends to graduate students are crucial to the university.

“That is a major part of our fabric,” Lawrence said during an interview in his office Wednesday.

Lawrence will travel to meet with Brandeis alumni and parents in many cities this semester, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City, Washington D.C., Chicago, Philadelphia and Miami.

Later in the year, he will also travel abroad

President Fred Lawrence announced qualifications he will consider in candidates for the new university provost and senior vice president for students and enrollment following the December final report by the Administration Structure Advisory Committee (ASAC). Before naming a senior vice president for students and enrollment, Lawrence and an ad-hoc search committee will recruit for the position of the newly elevated provost, who will now serve as the president’s secondin-command.

“The people who will do best here, and will be able to be in it for the long haul as we plan on doing, must necessarily see

Editor

Editor

PHOTO BY Alan Tran/The Hoot

See VISION, p. 3

See VP PICKS, p. 3

Brandeis student charged in hit and run that hospitalized two

BY JON OSTROWSKY Editor

Waltham Police charged a Brandeis student on Dec. 8 with leaving the scene of an accident with injuries, negligent driving, failure to slow for pedestrians and speeding following a Dec. 3 incident that sent two female students to local hospitals.

A student driving on Loop Road struck and injured two female students on Dec. 3, 2010 before leaving the scene of the accident, Ed Callahan, director of public safety said last month.

University police officers found the individual’s car parked behind East Residence Quad from a description provided by student witnesses. The officers contacted the driver and spoke with him that evening, however, he was not immediately charged.

“Most of the time you don’t want to be hasty in these accidents,” Callahan said in an interview on Dec. 6, explaining that it is better to

evaluate the facts and press charges once police officials and investigators know the details.

“The situation is being reviewed by the office of the Dean of Student Life from a student [and] safety perspective. Every situation involving any member of the Brandeis Community, that is investigated by my staff is dealt with in a sensitive and diplomatic manner,” Callahan wrote in a statement yesterday.

Jeremy Leiferman, senior director of Community Living, declined to comment yesterday on whether his department had taken any action or response regarding the student charged in the accident.

University police initially contacted the Waltham Police Department because of the personal injuries, Callahan wrote. The two departments originally conducted a joint investigation, but after the criminal charges were pressed against the student, Waltham Police took over the investigation.

AMR ambulances transported the two female students to New-

PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot

ton-Wellesley Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Callahan said. The student at Beth Israel spent several days there. On Monday Dec. 3, she was in good

condition, according to Morag MacLachlan, a spokeswoman for the hospital.

She is no longer at Beth Israel, a hospital spokeswoman said on

Thursday evening.

The student who went to Newton Wellesley suffered bruises and conSee HIT AND RUN, p. 4

NEWS

2 The Brandeis Hoot

January 21, 2011

Ziv damaged after sprinkler set off

BY NATHAN KOSKELLA Editor

The sprinkler and fire alarm went off in Ziv Quad Wednesday after a student mistakenly triggered the water spigot in his closet. The building was evacuated and both Public Safety and Facilities Services responded in case of possible emergency, with Facilities quickly turning off the room’s water supply.

“There was some minor dam-

age to the building, including carpeting,” Jeremy Leiferman, the senior director of the Department of Community Living, said in a statement regarding the damages. “Work commenced immediately to repair the building and we anticipate that the suites will be restored to their normal condition within the next few days.

Some students also had items that were damaged or became wet.”

The department reminded the

student community that accidental safety services like the sprinkler system have gone off before, and that buildings have been evacuated before now.

“There have been a few occasions over the years since the sprinkler systems were installed where this has happened,” Leiferman said. “Students are encouraged to be aware of the locations of sprinklers in their rooms and in common areas of the residence halls to prevent this from happening in the future.”

PHOTO COURTESY Brandeis University

Biology professor takes AAAS post

BY JOSH KELLY Staff

Professor Lizbeth Hedstrom (BIO) was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for her work on enzyme structure-function relationship, joining 502 others who will formally be awarded their position on Feb. 19 at the AAAS Fellows Forum in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1848, the society encompasses hundreds of various affiliated groups and well-respected scientific journal “Science.”

“This is a really nice validation of my work,” Hedstrom, a mechanistic enzymologist, said. “We’re very excited about it. So yeah, I guess it is the pinnacle so far.”

She certainly does not see herself, however, as the only person who should be commended in this instance.

“This really isn’t just my work.

There [are] a lot of students and post-docs. [Both] graduate students and undergrads who contributed and none of this would have happened without them,” she said.

Born in Maryland in 1958, Hedstrom, with an engineer father and a chemist mother, was exposed to science early on.

She described her special interest in chemistry as the foundation of her work today. “I liked all the subjects, but the thing that really drew me to chemistry was I found that I liked it even when the teaching wasn’t very good. So just something about the way molecules fit together and interact with other molecules just really excited me.”

Hedstrom started her education at the University of Virginia, and then attended Brandeis as a graduate student. Following graduation in 1986, she spent seven years doing post-doctoral work

at the University of California in San Francisco. Hedstrom then returned to Brandeis in 1992 where she has worked in both the Biology and Chemistry departments. When discussing her dayto-day routine she showed an air of being envious of the students who work for her.

“I walk into my office and I sit at my computer and I work all day on my computer. So my students actually get to do the fun stuff …

I remember when I was a postdoc at University of California San Francisco, I would be walking down the halls with my little racks full of test tubes and I would see this poor professor and he would sit at his little desk and he would type all day and I would think ‘what a poor sap, that guy’ … and now I’m him.”

Professor Hedstrom’s work has many applications. “Basically, I’m interested in how enzymes work, and I’m also interested in designing molecules that interact with enzymes, and those compounds could be drugs or they could be [tools] used to study how a protein or an enzyme works in a cell.

So there [are] a lot of applications on the medical side, a lot [of applications] on the industrial side,” she said.

Currently, she is working on a project to develop anti-parasitic drugs. Generally, she attempts to target and block the enzymes responsible for the precursors of RNA and DNA of such parasites in order to stop their growth.

Specifically, there is a parasite she and her coworkers are working on that causes malnutrition and, while it would not be very damaging to the average person, to someone who has a weakened immune system, it could be fatal. There is even, according to Hedstrom, a possibility that such a parasite could be used in a form of biological terrorism.

PHOTO BY Alan Tran/The Hoot

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January 21, 2011

The Brandeis Hoot

NEWS

MEET THE PRESIDENT: Lawrence sits for an interview to discuss his administration’s future.

Lawrence to travel

and spread Brandeis vision VISION(from p. 1)

to Canada, Israel, England, India, China and Brazil, according to a university press release.

He said he will not travel solely for purposes of fundraising or admissions recruitment, but rather to spread the Brandeis mission and discuss his favorite aspects of the university as a way to connect with all community members from students to parents to alumni.

“The answer is, it’s really a Brandeis trip,” he said.

Because this is his first year of presidency, “most of the trips will be intense and somewhat shorter,” to allow most of his time to be spent on campus, Lawrence said.

Even when he travels, Lawrence said that he plans to spend at least two to three hours per day working on e-mails for campus specific issues.

“Courtesy of technology, even when you’re away, you really can be connected,” Lawrence said. He explained that in today’s society, he cannot imagine serving as a university administrator without a Blackberry.

On international trips, Lawrence said that the Brandeis message includes explaining to foreign students the rare combination of a small liberal arts college and a large research university. Also, at Brandeis, students are able to study in “maybe the single best city to be a student,” he said. The wide range of interests in student life is another aspect of the university he finds crucial to highlight.

In addition to searching for new senior administration and managing a multi-million dollar budget deficit, Lawrence stressed that student life will be a key part of his presidency. Since the university named him president in July, Lawrence has attended many student events, including a basketball game, a fundraiser for Pakistan relief efforts and a discussion on interfaith cooperation on campus. “[My wife] and I have both felt really embraced by the student body,” he said.

Lawrence will deliver a lecture at a Manhattan synagogue on Friday evening, where he expects many Brandeis alumni will attend.

ADVE R T I S E M E N T

On Saturday evening, Lawrence will participate in “Battle of the Brandeis DJs,” an on-campus party in Levin Ballroom.

On Jan. 10, Lawrence spoke to more than 300 alumni and other members of the university community during a reception in Levin Ballroom. The formal inauguration is planned for March 31.

At Brandeis, however, he noted that fundraising includes interacting with donors who are both alumni and non-alumni.

During a busy week of department meetings, Lawrence said he anticipates working long hours, but similar to his work as an assistant U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York, he also expects to enjoy it.

As he reassembles his senior administration, including naming a new provost and a chief of staff for his office, Lawrence said that he wants people who will view their role at Brandeis as more than just a job.

“I want to [see] somebody’s eyes light up when they talk about Brandeis,” he said. “This is not a big company, this is a residential college.”

3

PHOTO BY Alan Tran/The Hoot

New VP picks must be involved, familiar with students VP PICKS (from p. 1)

being involved in the Brandeis community as one of the benefits of the job,” Lawrence said.

The president contrasted a merely efficient administrator with one who cannot only be an excellent steward of university imperatives, but also in touch with students and their concerns. “People think that hard work and fun are antithetical—my team has to know that they’re not,” he said.

“To work here … [the candidates] will have to love spending time with students,” Lawrence said.

Lawrence said he sees no reason to stop attending student basketball games, club events or even occasional evening student activities.

Lawrence plans to host a student DJ competition Saturday.

“I have no idea what it’ll consist of, but I’m going,” he said.

Lawrence said he admired the student-like participation of longtime Senior Vice President Jean Eddy, who ended her decade at Brandeis in September to take a job at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Eddy, who former President Jehuda Reinharz once called “a fixture” at sporting events on campus, will be a model in the Lawrence administration as far as student interaction is concerned.

A notable difference in her successor, however, was indicated in the ASAC report, which called for some responsibilities of the

student life job to be transferred to the provost, like Eddy’s former oversight of the registrar and control of academic services and counseling.

As Lawrence wrote in his e-mail last month releasing the committee’s report, much of what the report recommended was in line with other universities.

“The committee was more of a realignment if not wholesale change,” he said. “It strengthened the provost’s position [and brought] academic services and [grades] back to the academy.”

As for the Office of Students and Enrollment, “it will still maintain a strong student life position,” Lawrence said. “I believe we can strengthen the academy without appreciably weakening the student life [official].”

Lawrence said that he agreed with the committee’s report that a provost must be “the secondranking member of the administration.” The committee cited both the academic services and registrar-related former responsibilities of the enrollment VP as a supporting argument for why the position of provost had to be redefined.

Faculty and mid- to upper-level administrators will soon begin narrowing down possible candidates and presenting them to Lawrence, who will first select a provost with whom he will consult when hiring a senior vice president.

“I want to have someone [in whom] I can have complete confidence sitting in as me,” Lawrence said. In his new administration, “the provost can now be a real number at this university too.”

4 NEWS

The Brandeis Hoot

January 21, 2011

Univ snow procedures un-shoveled

BY LUKE HAYSLIP Special to The Hoot

In anticipation of a snowstorm and inclement weather, university President Fred Lawrence makes the final decision whether to cancel classes and close the university, according to Senior Vice President for Communications Andrew Gully.

Lawrence consults with Gully, Senior Vice President for Administration Mark Collins and Provost Marty Krauss. If students are on campus, a staff member from Student Affairs also participates in the decision.

Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan also speaks with Collins prior to the decision, Gully said. Facilities Services manages the snow removal on campus.

“It’s always situational—we’re watching all the factors, and then we’re trying to judge how does it impact our situation,” Gully said.

Even when administrators are not on campus during inclement weather, they still have offcampus access during all hours of the day to communication with students through e-mail list serves, phone and message alerts.

If the university is closed or classes are canceled, dining services in Usdan, Sherman, Einstein’s and the C-store will most likely operate on a regular schedule, Collins wrote in an email.

However, if the university closes, some employees still report to work.

Waltham PD presses charges after accident HIT AND RUN (from p. 1)

PHOTO BY Ingrid Schulte/The Hoot

SNOW DAY: Facilities services manages the task of clearing all roads and sidewalks around campus during snowstorms. Even in storms when classes are canceled, dining services employees come to work to feed the university’s inhabitants.

“University employees in Facilities, Dining [and] Public Safety are considered essential employees because they all contribute to our ability to deliver services to the campus community,” Collins wrote.

“There is no expectation that individual employees will risk their safety to get to work at their assigned time during bad weather conditions,” Collins wrote. “There is, however, an expectation that essential employees will arrive at work as close to their starting time as possible.”

But, if some dining services employees are unable to make it to work, there are emergency plans that require other staff to assist.

Community advisers and other students who arrived early last week did not have meal plans activated until Friday, according to Collins.

On Jan. 12, the university closed for the day because of a snowstorm and Gully sent out a statement at 10 p.m. the night before advising all essential employees and staff in “laboratories where it is crucial to

maintain research activities” to follow departmental procedures for reporting to work.

“If the storm had been Friday, we would have had employees stay over in the Faculty Club lodge or other local hotels to be here to open the dining hall,“ Collins wrote. “This is a standard procedure.”

As of yesterday at 8 p.m., the National Weather Service in Taunton had issued a Winter Storm Warning for Middlesex County and predicted five to eight inches of heavy snow to fall late last night and today.

tusions and was released Dec. 3, according to Callahan.

Waltham Police Department Lt. Joseph Brooks declined to comment on the case because since it was a “pending criminal matter” it was an “exception [to the] public records law.”

A spokeswoman for Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone directed a request for the police report to the Waltham District Court clerk’s office. There was no report on file for the student charged in the case late Thursday afternoon. An assistant at the clerk’s office explained even if no report is on file, it is possible that a court date is being scheduled.

Callahan said that the two girls were walking in the street when the car struck them near the Life Sciences building. At the time, they were with between four and six friends and returning to campus after going out to dinner.

Prior to the incident, Public Safety had replaced several of the 15 m.p.h. speed limit signs missing on Loop Road, Callahan wrote.

The department also bought a speed monitor that was used last semester outside the chapels, but it is currently not being used because of the winter weather. Later in the spring, the monitor and trailer will be used again.

“This device is an educational tool to advise Community members ... [on dangers of speeding] and the need to be cognizant of pedestrian traffic,” Callahan wrote.

Tucson tragedy personal for students TUCSON (from p. 1)

The Zimmerman brothers were also the primary subject of President Fred Lawrence’s community-wide e-mail written in the wake of the shooting.

“We are all deeply saddened by the horrific events over the weekend in Tucson, Arizona.

Any act of violence is abhorrent, but the shooting of an elected public servant strikes at the core of our democratic society,” Lawrence wrote. “The tragedy of the attack hit this community in a very personal way ... I know everyone at Brandeis joins me in extending our heartfelt sympathy to Ben and his family during this very dark time.”

Annie Chiorazzi ’11 also lives in Tucson and spends school breaks there with her family, mere blocks from the Safeway supermarket where Giffords, Zimmerman and 17 others were shot.

“My initial reaction was a lot of disbelief,” she said. “And I’m sorry to say it, but my first thought was, ‘Oh, Arizona, again?’” Chiorazzi said, referencing other political controversies the state has been subjected to, such as the spirited debate

over recent immigration and health care changes.

“But I was buying into the stereotypes that Arizona’s going crazy. But the more I learned, it’s just a one-time thing—it could have happened anywhere,” she said.

Chiorazzi, rather than guess at the shooter’s motivations, said after the short time since the incident, that she thinks only about response.

“I thought Arizona did a really nice job. There’s so much hurt and pain, and yet my family has said there’s just been an

outpouring of love there,” she said.

PHOTOS COURTESY Vickie Bletso Ben Zim- MEMORIAL: President Barack Obama spoke at the University of Arizona in Tucson last week following the merman also shooting deaths of six people at a local Safeway. Vickie Bletso, mother of Tucson-native Annie Chiorazzi ’11 said that the attended the “moving” service. reaction of the nation to the Tucson tragedy was for the most try: I hope we as Americans “There is a decent amount of atpart appropriate, when focusing can take those words to heart, I tention [on Arizona and its polion hope. know that I will.” tics and] this situation,” she said.

“I thought [Obama] gave a In that spirit, Chiorazzi’s father “The hardest part for me is not very powerful and very moving organized a memorial race for the being in Tucson, with the comspeech,” he wrote, adding that victims, something Chiorazzi said munity. “included in that speech were she wished she could have been “For me, Tucson just means words of guidance for the coun- home to attend. home,” she said.

EDITORIALS

January 21, 2011

Established 2005 "To acquire wisdom, one must observe."

Alex Schneider Editor in Chief Destiny D. Aquino Managing Editor Nathan Koskella News Editor Jon Ostrowsky News Editor Leah Finkelman Features Editor Morgan Gross Impressions Editor Alex Self Impressions Editor Kayla Dos Santos Arts, Etc. Editor Sean Fabery Arts, Etc. Editor Leah Lefkowitz Layout Editor Vanessa Kerr Business Editor Yael Katzwer Copy Editor Savannah Pearlman Copy Editor Josh Waizer Distribution Manager Photography Editors Nafiz R. “Fizz” Ahmed Ingrid Schulte Alan Tran Associate Editor Ariel Wittenberg Senior Editors Bret Matthew Max Shay

The Brandeis Hoot 5

The latest PR stunt fails

A

s the ball dropped in Times Square this New Year’s Eve, members of the Brandeis community were greeted with a video holiday card from President Fred Lawrence and his family wishing a happy new year to all. The video is the first Lawrence has made in his time as president, and the university has already posted a new flick, “if we will it,” to introduce Lawrence to the community.

While we welcome the admin-

istration to the 21st century and applaud the unprecedented use of multimedia to access the community at large, this year’s new videos are certainly tacky and border on creepy—a combination this editorial board did not know was possible.

The cold, stiff, uncomfortable new year video, which amputated members of the Brandeis presidential family mid-thigh, did not do justice to the warm, animated and personable man who has recently ascended to

the presidency. Similarly, the “if we will it” video is altogether too long and clearly choreographed.

As far as personality, the board of trustees chose well when they picked Lawrence as the university’s new president; however, the orchestration of both videos stifles his charisma and dampens his amicable nature.

We have met Fred Lawrence.

This is not Fred Lawrence.

Staff Candice Bautista, Alana Blum, Becca Carden, Emma Chad-Friedman, Jodi Elkin, Andrea Fishman, Adam Hughes, Gabby Katz, Josh Kelly, Alex Norris, Morgana Russino, Aliza Sena, Gordy Stillman, Emily Stott and Ryan Tierney

FOUNDED BY

Leslie Pazan, Igor Pedan and Daniel Silverman

SUBMISSION POLICIES The Hoot welcomes letters to the editor on subjects that are of interest to the general community. Preference is given to current or former community members. The Hoot reserves the right to edit any submissions for libel, grammar, punctuation, spelling and clarity. The Hoot is under no obligation to print any of the pieces submitted.

Letters in print will also appear on-line at www.thebrandeishoot.com The deadline for submitting letters is Tuesday at 8 p.m. All letters must be submitted electronically at www. thebrandeishoot.com. All letters must be from a valid e-mail address and include contact information for the author. Letters of length greater than 500 words may not be accepted.

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6 The Brandeis Hoot

Book of Matthew

IMPRESSIONS

January 21, 2011

Scenes from Brandeis’ past, part two: Occupying Ford Hall

BY BRET MATTHEW Editor

In 1969, a group of African-American Brandeis students, fed up with what they perceived as unfair treatment of the Brandeis African-American community, did the unthinkable and occupied a building for 10 straight days. Their story of the Ford Hall takeover is often referenced—especially to prospective students looking to learn about Brandeis’ radical past—but rarely retold in full.

The story begins with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose birthday we celebrated this week. King visited Brandeis twice—first in 1957 and again in 1963—to discuss nonviolent resistance. As the crowd of Brandeis students listened in silence, King spoke about the problems of race relations, the struggle for civil rights, and his admiration for Brandeis and its liberalism.

On April 4, 1968, King lay dead and the nation lay in convulsions as riots broke out in more than 100 U.S. cities. At Brandeis, the question of how to honor and memorialize King severely divided the student body. According to the April 9, 1968 edition of the Justice, memorial demonstrations held oncampus and at the Boston State House (with Brandeis students in attendance) were peacefully but undeniably segregated along racial lines. Instead of attending a university-sponsored service, the Brandeis Afro-American Club held its own hour of silent meditation at Harlan Chapel—for black students only.

Club member Jackie Shearer ’68 told the Justice that the group felt that any response to the murder by white students would be “hypocritical” because it would be belated awareness at a time when much more attention was being paid to the draft and the war in Vietnam.

Perhaps for those African-American students, who had just lost one of their most respected community figures, splitting off into their own group was the only sensible thing to do. Attending college with white students in the 1960s was not always easy for AfricanAmericans, even in the generally more liberal institutions of the Northeast. In many ways, attending a school like Brandeis, with its reputation for liberal political thought, was actually worse for African-Americans because they were not always treated as they expected to be.

In the Jan. 14, 1969 issue, Larry Hirschhorn wrote in his analysis of the events of the Ford Hall takeover that, “The painful experience of the black at Brandeis has been well-documented […]. His insecurity, the academic pressures, the competition from whites, the ambiguous status of TYP, the fear of failure, his perception of hostility, all serve to magnify and compound the normal and sometimes overwhelming pressures that every young man faces in his first years of university life.”

A Jan. 21, 1969 Justice editorial criticized the “arrogant, subtly racist assumption that the needs of black students can be met in an educational environment styled primarily for those who are affluent, middle-class and white.”

Indeed, Brandeis’ efforts to improve the condition of its African-American community in the wake of King’s assassination left much to be desired. Outgoing President Abraham Sachar had been a believer in equal rights; his successor, Morris Abram, was not as trusted in that area. Though the faculty had approved an African and Afro-American Concentration in December 1968, it was not its own academic department. The first TYP (Transitional Year Program) class— which was designed to offer students with limited educational opportunities the chance to attend Brandeis for one year—met under

Professor Jacob Cohen, but Brandeis had not assumed its funding yet (the Zale Foundation, the Office of Economic Opportunity and several professors funded it instead).

Many African-American students even felt unsafe on campus, especially after Dec. 18, 1968, when a white student shot an AfricanAmerican student in the cheek with a BB gun. The white student was caught, but the administration refused to expel him without a formal trial, which never occurred.

So, nine months after King’s death, a group of African-American students who had been inspired by a student strike at San Francisco State University decided that the only way gain the attention of the Administration and their fellow students was to do something drastic.

At 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 1969, approximately 10 to 15 African-American students entered the switchboard room of Ford Hall and told the two operators present to leave the building. They targeted Ford Hall because it was one of the central buildings on campus and housed the university’s central computer center and communications switchboard. According to Justice reports at the time, the occupying students—whose numbers had grown to between 60 and 75 by the time they took control of the phone system—moved throughout the building and told those in classes to leave the building.

Meanwhile, the two displaced switchboard operators alerted Campus Communications Director Ruth Kelly, who informed Director of Business Administration David Rolbein.

Rolbein told the Justice that he went to the switchboard personally to witness the beginning of the occupation and then proceeded to inform the resident’s office. Rolbein also ordered campus security not to enter Ford Hall.

After securing the building, some of the occupying students held two news conferences.

The first took place in the office of Lathan Johnson, the black student adviser. There, Ridgewood Residence Counselor Ricardo Millet ’68 and Brandeis Afro-American Society President Roy DeBerry read a prepared list of 10 non-negotiable demands of the university administration. They asked for an African Studies Department with the power to hire and fire; year-round recruitment of African-American students by African-American students headed by an African-American director; the doubling of the number of students in the TYP program and the funding of the program by the administration; an African-American director for the program; the addition of African-American professors to various departments; the establishment of an Afro-American center designed by African-American students; written clarification of the position of TYP students encompassing the areas of financial aid, admission and criteria for satisfactory work; the expulsion of the white student who shot the AfricanAmerican student before the Christmas holiday; that the brochure for African-American student recruitment must be accepted in its present form or only with changes accepted

by African-American students, and that the brochure must be published immediately; the intensification of recruitment of African students in the Wein program; and 10 Martin Luther King Jr. automatic full scholarships for on-campus and off-campus African-American students (including transportation from the TYP program on up to graduation from the university).

The second news conference was held in Mailman Hall, where Phyllis Raynor ’69, a member of the Afro-American Society, presented the 10 demands to a gathering that included many white students. According to several Justice reports, it is clear that the occupying students hoped to win white support in their efforts to pressure the administration.

GRAPHIC BY Leah Lefkowitz/The Hoot

At 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 1969, approximately 10 to 15 African-American students entered the switchboard room of Ford Hall and told the two operators present to leave the building.

President Abram had been in New York when the occupation began, but when he arrived home he immediately met with all senior staff and deans, as well as faculty and several students. They conducted a lengthy discussion, in which several courses of action—including forcible eviction—were debated and ultimately ruled out. Finally, at 7:45 Wednesday evening, Abram announced that the faculty had voted 153 to 18 to condemn the actions of the occupying students and to call for the end of the occupation and the beginning of negotiation.

At first, Abram refused to go to Ford Hall himself. According to the Jan. 10, 1969 issue of the Justice, Abram “reiterated his decision not to visit those committing an illegal act.” It was not until 11:57 p.m. that Abram went on foot to Ford Hall and asked to be admitted, which he was. The meeting with the occupying students lasted less than 20 minutes: according to the Justice, Abram signaled a willingness to negotiate, while DeBerry insisted on complete concession by the university on all 10 demands. Little more was accomplished that night, with Abram awaiting action from the Student Council. It finally came at 4 a.m., when Student Council President Eric Yoffie reported that the council had voted 13-0-2 in favor of a resolution opposing the occupation and calling for further negotiations at a neutral area.

The next several days consisted of a media firestorm. Coverage of the occupation reached the front page of every Boston area daily newspaper and even made it as far as national television and radio news reports.

On campus, the tussle between the occupying students and Abram had become increasingly visible, and more students were becoming aware and involved. When Abram announced on Thursday that he had set the deadline for amnesty at 9 a.m. Friday morning, and claimed to have obtained a court order restraining students from occupying campus buildings, students demonstrated outside of Bernstein-Marcus in support of the occupying students.

Abram took a hard line against the occupying students. At a press conference held in

his office at noon on Saturday Abrams announced that he had suspended the occupying students on Friday morning when their chance for amnesty passed. This announcement did not pose much of a threat to the occupying students, however, because neither Abram nor any other member of the administration had a list of the students in question.

The announcement did have the effect of further inciting protest: at least 100 students signed a petition pledging to withdraw from the university if the administration punished the students occupying Ford Hall. Picketers marched outside carrying signs that read “Not 1, not 2 but 10 demands.”

Also during the press conference, Abram maintained that he was working toward what he felt would be a fair settlement to the crisis. In the Jan. 14, 1969 issue of the Justice, he was quoted as saying: “We have been guided by three principles: 1.) We cannot establish academic policy by intimidation of any kind.

2.) The University’s operations and total wellbeing must not come to a halt because of the outrageous conduct of a few. 3.) I have never forgotten that these trespassers are students of Brandeis University and as President of the University I have a deep concern for their personal welfare and their future careers.”

The occupation of Ford Hall continued for a total of 10 days. Several meetings took place between representatives from the occupying students and representatives from the administration, including Abram. At times, negotiations became heated: in one instance, the occupying students threatened to destroy a Ford Hall computer if police were called.

This pressure appeared to work, for even though Abram had gotten a civil restraining order issued to the occupying students ordering them to leave Ford Hall he did not call the police to evict them by force. It became clear through negotiation, however, that members of the Administration would be willing to consider many of the student demands as long as the students left Ford Hall first.

On Saturday, Jan. 18, they finally did exactly that—almost every member of the occupation exited Ford Hall through a second See FORD HALL, p. 9

January 21, 2011

Reflections on starting my midyear experience

GRAPHIC BY Estie Martin/T he Hoot

BY ARIEL MADWAY Special to the Hoot

“CONGRATULATIONS.” Big, bold and blue, the word was clearly printed on the large white envelope I held in my shaking hands. Heart pumping, I ran into the kitchen to show my family. I had been accepted.

I had been chosen. I tore open the envelope and proudly began to read the letter aloud. It started off the same as any, welcoming me to the Brandeis class of 2014, but quickly I came face to face with a brand new word: midyear. What did this mean?

What exactly was a midyear?

And, most of all, why was I not allowed to begin in August like all the other members of my class?

Bitterness began to well up within me as I finally sat down to read the midyear information pamphlet. The school’s administration wrote about how the midyears were a dynamic group on campus and usually went on to become student leaders. Past midyears wrote about how much they had loved the midyear experience and how it had personally affected them. Each article made it seem like I had been selected for something incredible. Each article enforced the point that being a midyear was something of which to be proud.

Supposedly the midyears were a community of strong individuals hand-selected by the administration office. Supposedly being a midyear meant that I was special. I should have felt proud.

Hell, I should have felt honored.

But, even with all the pro-midyear information, the only emotion I felt was disappointment. I didn’t understand. I didn’t want to be special. I didn’t want to be a midyear. But, nonetheless, that’s what I became.

IMPRESSIONS 7

The Brandeis Hoot

On Jan. 14, I, along with about 100 of my peers, arrived on campus filled with excitement and a few nerves. Midyear orientation had begun. Although I had definitely come to terms with beginning university a semester late, I was still wary about how smoothly we would be integrated into the school.

It turns out I had nothing to be worried about at all. During the three days dedicated to midyear orientation, I found myself surrounded by an incredible group of people, staff and students alike. Together we went through all the steps that each first-year student takes upon arrival to campus: the information sessions, the tours and, perhaps most importantly of all, the community building.

The Orientation Leaders, the staff and peer advisers who took us through this journey, repeatedly reinforced the information found in the original midyear packet: being a midyear was an incredible opportunity as well as an asset to the Brandeis community. They were genuinely proud to have us there and I genuinely found myself proud to have been chosen to take part in something so special.

-When the returning Brandeis students arrived on campus for the start of the semester, I felt that instead of us being thrown into their preexisting community, they were joining ours. And now, slowly but surely, these two communities are joining together as one. I had been so quick to doubt that this was possible but in only a few short days it has come to fruition. I cannot wait for my next three and a half years here at Brandeis University; I’m sure they will be just as incredible as my first week here has been.

The Self Shelf

A Week in Botswana

BY ALEX SELF Editor

For the seven months before winter break, I had known that I was going to spend a little more than a week in the small sub-Saharan African country of Botswana. Many of my acquaintances pointed out that this was ample time to change my plans.

Encouraging tidbits like “Wow, that’s really brave of you, going to Africa in the summer!” and “Don’t get malaria!” abounded.

Having known a bit about Botswana and, specifically, Gaborone, I knew that it was actually pretty temperate and that it didn’t even have the breed of mosquitoes that spread malaria.

Nonetheless, cheery comments like this did nothing to improve my temperament when I actually had to step on the Airbus.

But you may be wondering why I was going to Botswana during winter break in the first place. The answer is the Worlds Universities Debating Championships. As a member of B.A.D.A.S.S., I had the honor of representing Brandeis, along with four of my friends, at what essentially amounted to the world cup for debaters (except annual rather than every four years). I was fairly intimidated by the prospect of facing off against people from all around the world but, by far, the prospect of traveling out of North America for the first time in my life scared me the most. At the same time, however, I was excited to visit two continents during the trip. I would have a 12-hour layover in Munich and a 4-hour layover in Johannesburg before the final flight to Gaborone. In total, it would amount to 40 hours of flying there and back but this realization did not bother me. Little did I know how my body would react to all of the traveling.

On Christmas Day (the cheapest flight we could get), I found myself on the tarmac taxiing towards a great unknown. The first flight was eight hours and I quickly realized that sleeping on a plane was extremely difficult for me. The flight had left at six o’clock in the evening but I just could not sleep. So, at two in the morning Eastern Standard Time (eight o’clock in Munich), I grabbed my bags and loped off the flight. We had decided in advance that we would venture out into the city during the layover.

And it was well worth it. As a history major, Munich carried a sense of antiquity that kept me in wonder throughout the journey. Ornate churches from the 15th century that put my imagination to shame kept me enthralled throughout our tour of the city. Also, if you ever find yourself in Munich, I would recommend eating lunch, dinner, and probably breakfast at the Hofbrauhaus–it has some of the finest food and finest beer you will ever taste.

After this surprisingly memo-

rable 12-hour sojourn in Munich, we set out on an 11-hour flight to Johannesburg. I managed to snag a fitful three hours of sleep, leaving me in a state of heightened tension by the time we got to Johannesburg. Three hours of sleep in 56 hours had beaten my sensibility into the ground. In no mood to talk or simply wait out the layover, a friend and I walked out of the airport to explore. And to the delight of both of us, we were able to spend some time at a hotel spa before our final flight.

Upon arriving in Botswana, my first realization was that the plane was the only one at the airport.

I looked around at the empty runway and saw a dust storm on the hor i z on – a s cliché as it sounds, only then did it truly hit me that I was in Africa.

We arrived at the campus where we were staying in a state of dishevelment (especially myself).

I was given a few welcoming materials, a roll of toilet paper and a smile before arriving at my room. The first aspect I noticed was that the lights didn’t work. This problem was rectified relatively quickly (there was a desk light) but it would foreshadow a slew of small technical problems that would hamper the tournament. We unpacked our bags and headed to dinner where, after one glance at the food, I realized I would probably be converting to a largely vegetarian diet for a while. After this, I collapsed immediately into sleep, in spite of the heat.

The first few days were a little grating for me. I was still recovering from my journey and I was getting used to the reality of my new accommodations. It’s amazing what you take for granted on a daily basis. Even at Brandeis, I hear complaints all the time but they seemed so miniscule when you had problems like water shortages. Actually, the smartest thing I did at the tournament was to buy a 24-pack of water on the first day. But as I adjusted to my new conditions and the summer heat, I slowly realized that the trip was going to be pretty awesome. Acclimatization aside, the presence of four seemingly endlessly optimistic friends certainly helped.

The lone setback was when I realized that the traveler’s cheques that my parents had encouraged me to bring were worthless because the bank refused to transfer them into Pula (the currency used in Botswana). Thus, I was 5,000 miles away from my home with no cash. Luckily I had a credit card which helped me ward off starvation in the days ahead.

After a few days of mingling

and going to cultural events, the debating began. It was scheduled as three days with threehour long rounds of debate per day. My days also included hours of waiting as the tournament desperately tried to sort through the results of the last round. A typical day of debating would last from eight o’clock in the morning to nine o’clock at night. There were myriad delays with the tournament. The most memorable occurred when the vegetarian food for lunch was three hours late on the second day, nearly resulting in a riot in the main cafeteria as hundreds of people waited in vain for their meals.

As for the actual debating, it was mostly what I expected. It was difficult as the other debaters from around the world specialized in the style used at the tournament whereas we did not. Nevertheless, we would later find out that we had done reasonably well and had certainly outdone expectations.

After the three days of debate, there was a break before the breaks (playoffs) were announced. In the meantime, we were set to go on a daylong safari in South Africa. Unfortunately, that was canceled as the place had double-booked and decided to honor the other guys. They apologized and postponed us to the next day. In the meantime, we went on another excursion to local villages and a nature reserve (a mountain gorge). While touring the villages, I discovered that the local children were afraid of my red hair, which provided my friends ample amusement throughout the rest of the trip. As for the gorge, a friend and I were able to literally climb a mountain cliff, which made for one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

The next day, we were still glowing from our previous experience. We got on the bus that was finally going to take us on the safari at 8:30 in the morning.

About 20 minutes into the ride, however, the volunteer who was guiding us there reported that the trip was canceled. Apparently, she had just called to confirm our reservations and found that those same guys who had contributed to the postponement yesterday were doing the same today. In the end, we canceled our reservations. Once we got back, the first thing we asked for was our money back. The volunteer, terribly apologetic, reported that we could only get our money back in Pula. We respectfully declined this option and asked for American dollars (the currency we had paid in).

What followed was an amusing conversation that I will probably

I was given a few welcoming materials, a roll of toilet paper, and a smile before arriving at my room.

See BOTSWANA, p. 8

8 IMPRESSIONS

The Brandeis Hoot

January 21, 2011

Altered Consciousness

A reaction to Tucson

BY RICK ALTERBAUM Columnist

The recent massacre in Tucson fueled raucous debate across the nation. Observers wondered what gave rise to this heinous act and how we can prevent something like it from happening again.

What were the motivations of assassin Jared Loughner?

As the dust cleared, we learned that Loughner was likely delusional, possibly even schizophrenic.

Yet these facts did not put to rest calls to reduce the rhetoric that has, at least in past years, come mostly from the right.

There is no doubt that there is a palpable tension in American political discourse. What is less obvious, though, is that the source of this frustration has arguably been epitomized by the Tea Party Movement.

Some critics will contend that the anger we are witnessing today is primarily the product of

the sensationalists of Fox News and talk radio. Others view this dynamic through a sociological prism; the right, they would claim, is aggrieved by the fact that President Obama is African-American, or that America will, within the coming decades, become majority non-white. Yet more will argue that the seemingly endless recession we are stuck in has aggravated—and brought needless suffering upon—hard-working Americans.

Adventures in Botswana BOTSWANA (from p. 7)

never forget.

We asked where the American dollars we had paid with were and received the response that another bus driver had them.

Upon asking the name of the bus driver, the volunteer told us she didn’t know. When we asked where this bus driver was, she told us he was somewhere in South Africa. The very idea of a random bus driver driving around in South Africa with thousands of American dollars (there were 50 people on the trip) was so incredible that we ended up taking the Pula. We figured it was better to get something back now than nothing later. Yet I still occasionally wonder what ever happened to that driver with the American money. Nonetheless, this setback, while disappointing, was not too much of a downer as it allowed us to watch

quarter finals of the tournament.

The next day, we were taken to a military barracks where the final round was. Monash University ended up taking home the championship (and they most certainly deserved it). After a surprisingly good final banquet (by far the best food we had eaten all week), we prepared to say our goodbyes to Botswana.

The tournament on the whole had been what a friend of mine described as “an incredibly enjoyable disaster.” Problems like the vegetarian food not arriving, never-ending delays and difficulties with the excursions (our safari had not been the only one to be canceled) had sullied what had otherwise been a fantastic experience. Additionally, allegations of corruption abounded as apparently the financial aspects of the tournament didn’t quite add up. Nonetheless, I enjoyed

my time in Africa and definitely was happy that I made the decision to go all those months ago.

On the way back, we stopped at Johannesburg again and Frankfurt, which was enjoyable, although not as much as Munich, before heading into JFK. I got one hour of sleep during the entire period. By the time I touched down in New York, I was exhausted beyond belief and quite literally fell asleep as soon as I sat down in my parents’ car (much to the dismay of my mother, who wanted to know everything and anything about the trip). Looking back on it, it was an incredible experience that I was extremely lucky to have.

Additionally, the travel lessons I learned (don’t assume banks will take traveler’s cheques) will help me as I hopefully travel more of the world throughout my life. Finally, I didn’t contract malaria.

GRAPHIC BY Leah Lefkowitz/The Hoot

Certainly these factors may contribute to the harshness of the debate we have been hearing as of late. Yet I think that most commentators often overlook a crucial issue: the role of individualism.

The Tea Party, more than anything, seems to unite around common policy grievances. The main message that is constantly heard from this group is, “no more bailouts, cut government spending reduce the deficit.”

There is a common thread that

runs through these complaints: the powerful institutions that dominate the public and, to a lesser extent, private sectors have simply gotten out of control. The federal government under both Democratic and Republican administrations has spent upwards of trillions of dollars every year on everything from Social Security to the FDA without a hint of concern for the deficit and growing national debt. Financial institutions that, with the tacit approval of complicit regulators and encouragement by government policies, irresponsibly drove the economy into a ditch are now being backed

by U.S. taxpayers. Add to this the Detroit bailouts, uncompromising unions and related issues, and you get a toxic and aggravating blend of moral hazard, anti-elitism and general disillusionment with how our society, and the systems and bureaucracies underlying it, is administered.

All of this ultimately leaves the average member of the Tea Party thinking that he or she is an oasis of stability and sanity in a rather senseless world. In this sense, the right wing, particularly now in this chaotic age, celebrates the rationally self-interested independent individual that can look out for his or her own needs and self-regulate, as opposed to flawed and, at times, mismanaged institutions like government.

Make no mistake: conservatives do not wish for an anarchic, Hobbesian world. Instead, these people believe that more political, economic and social power should be invested back into the individual because when it is in the hands of some nameless, faceless bureaucracy, it inevitably is See MISUNDERSTOOD, p. 9

Taking over Ford Hall SCENES (from p. 6)

story rear fire escape. Though no concrete decisions had been made regarding the 10 demands, Abram explained at a press conference that he had extended full amnesty to all participants. He also said that the fact that the occupation and the subsequent reaction had remained non-violent allowed the administration to consider the 10 demands in a “voluntary, positive and speedy” way, adding that every “legitimate” demand would be considered.

Indeed, many were. On April 24, 1969, the faculty approved the African and Afro-American Department. Six days later, a Chair—Ronald Walters—was chosen. In May of that year, efforts were made to evaluate and strengthen TYP, and the faculty chose a new director. Then, on March 6, 1970, acting President Charles Schottland agreed to

bring 80 more minority students to Brandeis, signaling an increased willingness to work with the African and Afro-American department and the university’s AfricanAmerican community.

That was 42 years ago. In 2011, much has changed. Ford Hall no longer stands at the center of campus, having been replaced by the Shapiro Campus Center in 2001.

But although it only exists on paper, in computer archives, and in the memories of the few who were there, Ford Hall leaves behind a massive legacy that we still feel today. The African and Afro-American Department remains strong, with diverse courses and an experienced faculty. With “diversity” as one of the core pillars of this university, programs such as TYP and Posse still operate and enrich campus with their members. Progress has been made and continues to be made, and one could argue that race relations on campus have never been better.

That’s something to be proud of.

January 21, 2011

IMPRESSIONS 9

The Brandeis Hoot

Engrossing

Tucson: A tragedy not a political event

Sexcapades

BY MORGAN GROSS Editor

I, like many of you, spent the majority of my winter break sitting on the couch, eating pizza bites and flipping through the channels.

While my tour-de-television was comprised primarily of bad daytime talk shows and reruns of “The Nanny”, I did occasionally flip by a news channel.

Most of the time, when this happened, I just kept on clicking until I found a suitably ridiculous episode of “Jerry Springer”; however, every once in a while, I took a detour from my regularly scheduled programming and, whenever I did, I was greeted by the soothing sounds of politicians and political pundits raving, throwing wild accusations and trying to attribute the negative news of the world to those who oppose them. The overall effect was ridiculous and only slightly more entertaining than the Lifetime Original Movie that I had passed up to watch it. Not surprisingly, I quickly lost interest, shook my head and flipped back to “Arrested Development”.

However, a few days before I was set to be awoken from my television coma and shipped back to Brandeis, an event occurred that drew my attention away from cable and to the news stations that had bored me just days before—the shootings in Tucson. When watching coverage of the events, I expected the political pundits that I had seen just days before raving like lunatics, reflecting on this tragic event. Instead I was greeted by what looked like reruns of the past weeks’ shows, fraught with dramatics and aspersions being cast between sides. I was immediately disturbed by this coverage but didn’t dwell on it for long, “Say Yes to the Dress” was calling.

Shortly after I first heard about the events of that Saturday afternoon, I had the chance to bring my television habit from the screen to reality by attending a live taping of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”.

With the tragedy in Tucson sitting at the back of my mind, I stood in the cold and wet, waiting to be admitted into Jon Stewart’s Manhattan studio to watch—in person—what many of you would see later that night.

I sat in the first row of the studio audience and clapped wildly when Jon Stewart finally made his first appearance to the set.

In his opening monologue, Stewart decided to step away from his typical shtick of making fun of the news, choosing to take a more serious look at the events of the weekend.

As it turns out, he took the words right out of my mouth, saying that “it would be really nice, if the ramblings of crazy people, did not in any way resemble how we actually talk to each other on T.V.” He pleaded to the media to “at least make crazy individuals easier to spot” among the dramatics of modern news coverage and political punditry.

He went on to make the point that trying to assign blame for an incident like this, solely to a side of the political spectrum or even to the toxic political climate as a whole, is like trying to pin Columbine solely on heavy metal music. Stewart continues, saying “boy would it be nice to be able to draw a straight line of causation from this horror to something tangible, because then we could convince ourselves that if we just stopped this, the horrors will end,” and that is exactly what the politicians and political pundits are trying to do: to pin the blame on their opposition. Flipping to any given news station, it is a fair bet that the allegations that the radical right, and Sarah Palin, and the Tea Party, and Fox News, and talk shows, and the radical left, are to blame.

And, while it may not be an entirely original opinion, I think that it bears repetition. Politicizing the events that transpired in Tucson, just a few short weeks ago, doesn’t make them any less horrific and does nothing but disrespect those who were affected by the tragedy while doing nothing positive in exchange.

I believe that Stewart said it: “Wouldn’t it be a shame if we didn’t take this opportunity, and the loss of these incredible people and the pain that their loved ones are going through right now. Wouldn’t it be a shame if we didn’t take that moment, to make sure that the world that we are creating now, that will ultimately be shattered again by a moment of lunacy, wouldn’t it be a shame if that world wasn’t better than the one we previously lost.”

Misunderstood right-wing TUCSON REACTION (from p. 8)

misused.

The right does have a point.

America is exceptional for its famous brand of rugged individualism and because unlike, say, European social democracies and welfare states, it never had a strong socialist movement. And indeed, expanded choice and ability to make independent decisions is synonymous with individual freedom.

Conservatives and the Tea Party lack specifics. Everyone knows that the right is against the bailouts and health reform, for in-

stance. But conservatives also appear wary of cutting entitlements and specifically-defined benefits; the line, “Get your government hands off my Medicare,” exemplifies this contradiction.

In short, the question to ask: what is the proper balance between the individual and organizations like government? This is a question that has characterized American political debate since the birth of the Republic.

The right has a powerful message: empower average, everyday people—this should not be taken for granted or misconstrued.

Heating things up during Winter Break GRAPHIC BY Leah Lefkowitz/The Hoot

BY SOPHIE RIESE Columnist

However strange it may seem, since I write a column about sex, the truth is that I’m pretty reserved. I’m not generally into costumes or props, scenarios or new positions—I like plain old sex. But even that term, plain old sex, has different meanings for different people. I’m not talking about missionary position, although some people might be, while others are talking about nurse’s costumes and themed dates. There comes a time in every relationship, however, when you have to ask yourself: is plain old sex really going to cut it?

After you’ve been together for a while and the sex calms down, some people just settle into less sex, while others make efforts to “spice things up.” Whether that means trying a new move or introducing a toy, there’s a point in every long-term relationship when it happens. For those who aren’t all that into boring, old sex, the next step can be more exaggerated because they’re starting from a place where they’ve already moved the boundaries.

For others, it can be as simple as buying sexy lingerie.

This time in a relationship is about far more than sex though.

It’s about trust. Do you trust your partner enough to be able to open up about your fantasies?

Fantasies aren’t just about role playing, but are about everything

from what you want for the future to the types of additions you’d like to make in the bedroom. Being able to share these fantasies with your partner means that even if you’re not totally sure about what you want, the two of you can work it out together.

Vacations can be one of those times in a relationship when boundaries are pushed, either intentionally or unintentionally. Either, you leave for winter break knowing it will be two or four weeks before you see each other again and worry about how to keep the spark alive when you haven’t spent more than a few days apart since you started dating in September, or you’re spending a week or more together, just the two of you, on vacation or at someone’s house. Either way, extremes are reached, often based on the security felt about the relationship. In college, vacations like winter break are often the first time people experience these changes, because if they dated in high school, they likely dated people from their school or town who generally went on the same trips or stayed home for the break.

In college, however, expectations are different. Lots of people who start school as virgins find themselves in relationships where, even if sex wasn’t involved at first, it quickly becomes a part.

Other people simply arrive with certain goals or actions planned out. Vacation is a time to test

those relationships or to expand into new-found territories. Those not in relationships often go home and find those they never had the nerve to approach before, or they call up exes and old hook-up buddies.

Girls who never thought about it before send their boyfriends nudie cellphone pictures and engage in phone- or cyber-sex.

Other girls spend far more time with their boyfriends than they ever did before and are either worn out by the amount of sex or disappointed by the lack thereof.

The first week back from winter break can bring with it pain and joy. Here at Brandeis, there is a whole new group of people, as midyears come and juniors who were abroad in the fall return. Relationships that made it through break experience a sort of deflation, as the unrecognized tension of break disappears. Those relationships that didn’t quite make it will perhaps cause some pain and tension for those involved and their friends. Sex, however, will be like it was in the first few weeks of the fall—overt and flagrant. Reunited couples and new acquaintances will rush to bed like it’s the last chance to “get some,” all with a newly developed sense of what sex is, with new toys and clothes and with some new positions hidden away for a snow day.

10 The Brandeis Hoot

ARTS, ETC.

January 21, 2011

Answering the call of the wild

BY DAVID HANDLER Special to The Hoot

On New Year’s Eve, most people gather at social events with friends and families, eating warm food, dancing, laughing and sharing the night with people they care about as the midnight hour draws closer.

That was not how I spent my New Year’s Eve. Before 2011 began, I was asleep, alone, on a frozen Minnesota lake only a few miles from the Canadian border.

I chose to spend my New Year’s—and my 19th birthday— on a one-week dog-sledding and cross-country skiing expedition in the Minnesota Boundary Water Wilderness Preserve as part of the Outward Bound outdoor education program. When I told my friends and family on campus and back home in Kansas about my travel plans, I was met with a combination of surprise, shock and concern about my sanity—especially the last one. Although many of my friends and family were familiar with Outward Bound, with several having completed their own expeditions, most were baffled by my decision to attempt an arduous wilderness expedition in the heart of winter.

I went on my journey with seven PHOTO BY David Handler/The Hoot of the finest people and 11 of the TRUE GRIT: David Handler ‘14 tested his personal endurance by participating in a dog-sledding and skiing expedition in Minnesota during winter break. best dogs I have ever known. The experience that we shared was one not realize the difficulties of liv- regularly under attack from the a constant chore. The weather dur- temperatures ranging from the of the hardest challenges I have ing, much less working, in a cold elements and keeping our core ing my expedition was actually, ever undertaken. Most people do environment. Our bodies were body temperatures elevated was relatively speaking, warm, with See WILD, p. 13

‘Somewhere’ goes nowhere, but beautifully

BY SEAN FABERY Editor

In the opening scene of “Somewhere,” the latest film from director Sofia Coppola, a Ferrari repeatedly circles around the same stretch of road, speeding in and out of frame until its exasperated driver finally steps out, confused about where exactly he’s found himself. In response, the film’s title cryptically appears. Coppola uses the next 90 minutes to illuminate just exactly where “somewhere” is and, potentially, how to get out of there. Though not as successful as her previous efforts like “Lost in Translation,” the film benefits from Coppola’s knack at beautifully framing penetrating examinations of loneliness.

That aimless driver, as it turns out, is movie star Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff), a man increasingly bored with his indulgent lifestyle, which is filled with nightly parties and frequent appearances by twin pole-dancers. Johnny is forced to reevaluate his life when his ex drops off their daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning) at his suite in the famous Chateau Marmont. He begins to find renewed meaning through his relationship with Cleo and realizes how his frequent absences have affected her. Whether this revelation is enough to take him out of stasis, however, is an-

other question.

Coppola’s airy yet introspective brand of film-making has earned itself many devotees, this reviewer included. She clearly has a great visual eye, always taking great pleasure in the surroundings in which she places her characters; this is as true in “Somewhere” as it is in the rest of her oeuvre. For instance, one especially striking visual finds Johnny and Cleo enjoying an underwater tea party.

Like Quentin Tarantino, Coppola perfectly melds her visuals with great soundtracks, which sparked some controversy when she affixed a post-punk PHOTO FROM Internet Source playlist to the rococo ‘SOMEWHERE’ OUT THERE: Stephen Dorff stars in the new film “Somewhere” as a movie star settings of “Marie reconnecting with his adolescent daughter (Elle Fanning).

Antoinette.” In “Somewhere” she istic of her three previous fea- has primarily fixed her sights on turns exclusively to the band Phoe- tures. Though she has returned Johnny, though her camera often nix for the film’s score; we only to this theme repeatedly, each gazes on Cleo alone. hear other artists when the charac- of her films—from the haunting Just as the film succeeds visuters listen to music.

“Virgin Suicides” to the afore- ally and aurally, it has been imbued Thematically, “Somewhere” con- mentioned raucous “Marie An- with two great lead performances. tinues her focus on narratives of toinette”—feels wholly unique. Dorff, previously largely confined loneliness, a defining character- In the case of “Somewhere,” she to B pictures, perfectly illustrates

how such an emotionally careless man has coasted along for years on charm. Fanning, however, is the film’s true revelation, portraying a realistic 12-year-old without the cutesy artifice that permeates many child performances.

Unfortunately, Coppola’s script does not always serve her actors well, as their characters remain blank canvases to its end. Both are immensely likable, yet I feel like I know little about them. In focusing so much energy on illuminating the dynamic between them, Coppola fails to fully flesh out either character.

While clearly intended as a character study, the film lacks any kind of real forward momentum.

“Somewhere” lacks a satisfying narrative arc. Yes, Johnny realizes that he has wronged his daughter, yet Coppola explores little beyond this. This proves especially disappointing since each scene on its own is enjoyable, whether it illustrates the excesses of Hollywood or the quiet moments that exist between parent and child. I enjoyed watching the film, but, within a few hours, it had already disappeared from my memory.

For fans of Coppola’s previous efforts in particular and small character studies in general, “Somewhere” certainly warrants a viewing—just don’t expect to see her most fully-realized work.

January 21, 2011

The Brandeis Hoot

ARTS, ETC.

Top video games of 2010

BY GORDY STILLMAN Staff

Now that 2010 has actually ended, we can finally look at the top video games of the previous year.

Before I do that, however, there are many games out there deserving honorable mention. “Mass Effect 2,” “Bioshock 2,” “Assassins Creed 2,” “ModNation Racers,” “Fable 3,” “Rockband 3,” “GoldenEye 007” and “Donkey Kong Country Returns” were all games

11

that I enjoyed.

Aside from the many fantastic games listed above, Microsoft and Sony entered the motion control market in an effort to take a bite out of Nintendo’s casual gamer market share. Additionally, Nintendo announced the development of its newest handheld, a glasses-free 3D gaming device called the 3DS due out this March. On the whole, 2010 was a great year in video games.

But, without further ado, here are the top video games of 2010. Considering that they span three consoles, two handhelds and many different genres, I cannot legitimately rank them, but I know that all are worthy games.

“Final Fantasy XIII”

After nearly five years in development, “Final Fantasy XIII” made its way onto both the PS3 and the Xbox 360. Despite some early concerns that the Xbox version would have inferior visuals compared to the PS3 version, both versions received good reviews from aggregate sites such as Metacritic. While I haven’t played through many other games in the “Final Fantasy” series, I found it to be an excellent experience, as the action and battle system found the balance between fast-pace action and strategy. The story was not only interesting but unique.

“Pokemon HeartGold

and SoulSilver”

March 2010 saw the release of the latest installments in the Pokemon series. Both enhanced remakes of the 2000 releases “Gold” and “Silver” were simultaneously nostalgic and refreshing. Playing through these games, it was interesting to realize how these remakes brought a breath of fresh air to the series.

“Red Dead Redemption” This game—an old western developed by Rockstar Games (the same company that makes the “Grand Theft Auto” series)—features a sandbox environment and top-notch gameplay, which helped it secure numerous game of the year awards and an average ranking of 95/100 on Metacritic. I haven’t had much time to play far into it, but, based on the few hours I was able to immerse myself in it, I can easily agree with the critical acclaim.

“Halo Reach”

“God of War 3” Kratos’ war against Zeus comes to an end as Kratos plows his way through any god, titan or hero that dares to stand in his way.

The game was very similar to the first two but featured many graphical enhancements. “God of War 3” was among my most anticipated games of the year. After playing through the first two games, it was satisfying watching the story’s conclusion unfold.

Arguably game developer Bungie’s magnum opus of the “Halo” universe, Bungie’s last foray into the “Halo” universe is a prequel. While stepping backwards in the story, including the technology used by the player, Bungie manages many leaps forward in gameplay, improving the gaming experience as a whole. These improvements only help solidify Bungie as the gold standard for the “Halo” series.

“Super Mario Galaxy 2”

“Gran Turismo 5”

The “Super Mario” games have always been among my favorites. Even though I generally set higher standards for the Mario brand, “Galaxy 2” does not disappoint. While retaining many elements of the original “Galaxy” game, “Galaxy 2” offers new worlds and new power-ups.

Pretty much everything is new—except the standard story of Princess Peach being captured by Bowser. While the traditional platform gameplay remains, I found myself having to think outside the box to collect the many stars.

“Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep” Both its excellent gameplay and its contribution to the overarching story of the “Kingdom Hearts” series earn this game a spot on the list. The game’s story was largely expository, adding to our understanding of the earlier installments in the series. This prequel also introduced new characters that felt right at home and were well-integrated into the story.

After numerous delays, Sony’s racing series made its official debut on the Playstation 3. With more than 1,000 cars available to unlock, the game has a lot to offer for fans of racing simulations.

It may not be the type of racing which fans of “Mario Kart” would expect, as the game aims to simulate actual racing and appease the appetites of racing simulators.

“Call of Duty: Black Ops” I’ve never been a big fan of the “Call of Duty” series; I prefer “Halo” if I want to play an online shooter. That being said, after spending a winter break with friends who frequently wanted to play the game, I have to admit that it’s a very fun experience. My favorite new feature is a collection of games called wager matches. One such game, titled “Gun Game,” is basically a race to score 20 kills, each with a different weapon and the last one with the most difficult weapon in the game.

PHOTOS FROM Internet Source

12 ARTS ,ETC.

The Brandeis Hoot

January 21, 2011

Goodbye, cigarettes!

Video gaming is the next big addiction

BY GABBY KATZ Staff

The dorms are bustling, the SCC is humming and the library is empty—yes, a new semester has started. Everyone is back and excited to take advantage of new classes, clubs and midyears.

Brandeis students are unique in that we have a wide array of diverse interests; many students participate in clubs ranging from Bollywood to the Console Gamers X club. With all these activities going on, I personally find it puzzling and potentially unhealthy to discover so many people glued to their television screens playing video games. I’ve never played “World of Warcraft,” “Halo” or “Call of Duty” but I can’t imagine being on my butt for hours and getting carpal tunnel in my thumbs. My suspicions were recently proven true on Fox News by the statements of Douglas A. Gentile, who runs the Media Research Lab at Iowa State University.

Douglas conducted a two-year study of more than 3,000 school children in Singapore and found that one in ten were labeled as video game “addicts,” and many were considered chronically stuck with this label. He also remarked that “when children became addicted,

their depression, anxiety and social phobias got worse, and their grades dropped.” Douglas suggested that these addictions are long-lasting and detrimental to being well-rounded in people’s lives, especially those of male teens. Even though I realize sitting for hours may not be healthy, my first response is to question Gentile’s concept of addiction and evaluate its true applicability to our peers.

In an attempt to research this further, I presented the article to an avid Brandeisian gamer, Joseph Sloman ’12, in which he remarked, “The only statistic I know is my own. I stay inside all day, I rock my 360 and I’m pretty f***ing happy. My so called ‘addiction’ doesn’t seem to be ruining my life.” Apparently, he feels that his video gaming does not negatively impact his happiness.

In my opinion, if your grades, nutrition, physical health, social and/or love life is impacted by video games, then maybe it is a problem. Framing this concept using the terminology of “addiction,” however, is a bit of stretch.

of time instead of exercising, but his theory of addiction discredits his more important points. My thoughts on this concept in relation to college students is that health is based on moderation. If you play video games to relax, I don’t see that as a problem. I think this activity only becomes a problem when this takes precedence over other daily, necessary tasks.

We should spend equal time moving, sitting, working, relaxing and sleeping.

In the end, who knows how sound this study is? Considering that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that you watch no more than two hours of television per day, you should probably just limit yourself to no more than two hours of video games per day as well.

I think that includes chatting with your avatar girlfriend.

Other than that, study hard and play hard!

GRAPHIC BY Estie Martin/The Hoot Hope you had a great first week of classes and are getting Gentile simply fails to recognize back into the swing of things. As the use of video games and telealways, tune in this semester for vision as a popular social gathermore health tips and send me an ing tool now. His message may e-mail at gkatz10@brandeis.edu have been more respected if he outlined some basic detrimental with any health-related questions effects of sitting for long periods you may have.

‘Black Swan’ dives into madness

BY SEAN FABERY Editor

“I just want to be perfect,” ballerina Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) tells the director of her ballet company. In a way, director Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan” achieves the off-kilter perfection Nina desperately craves through its combination of artful melodrama and strong visual style.

“Black Swan” centers on Nina, a quiet young woman who has spent her life living and breathing ballet. What little free time she has is spent at home with her overbearing and severe mother (Barbara Hershey), a former ballerina herself. Nina has already achieved a reputation for technical proficiency onstage and frigidity offstage by the start of the film.

She receives her chance at stardom when the company director, Thomas (Vincent Cassel), fires the company’s lead performer, Beth (Winona Ryder), and chooses Nina to star in his production of “Swan Lake.” Thomas envisions a production in which the virginal White Swan and the duplicitous Black Swan are both played by Nina, requiring her to somehow acquire a sensuality and liveliness she lacks.

The pressure of the role soon gets to her. Thomas berates her constantly, increasingly focusing his attention on the newest member of the company, Lily (Mila

PHOTO FROM Internet Source

‘BLACK SWAN’: Natalie Portman portrays a ballerina haunted by strange visions and her own paranoia in director Darren Aronofsky’ s psychological thriller “Black Swan.”

Kunis), whom Thomas praises for her loose, sensual dancing—“she’s not faking it,” he tells Nina. To compensate, Nina attempts to free her own sexuality through partying, drugs and sex, which begins to weaken her own grasp on reality. She begins to suspect that both Lily and her mother are conspiring against her, and she succumbs to her own delusions, leading to an explosive third act.

Director Aronofsky stalks Nina through the twisting, labyrinthine structures of her increasingly paranoid mind, showing us the world only as Nina sees it—full of shadows and unexplained vi-

sions. Nothing we see can be trusted. And it’s no wonder she feels like she’s being watched, as Aronofsky’s camera menacingly observes her both on and off the stage, frequently focusing its gaze squarely on Nina’s face, capturing her frightened expressions.

What makes “Black Swan” such a superb film is the way in which its narrative operates on so many levels, moving beyond the psychological thriller tag that has been affixed to it.

On one level, it acts as a film about showbiz along the lines of “All About Eve.” Nina replaces Beth and in turn fears that she

will be replaced by Lily. In making the three interchangeable, Nina loses recognition as an individual, feeding her paranoia that she will become nothing. Aronofsky adds a level of tension to this by casting Ryder as Beth, since Ryder herself has largely been confined to supporting roles in recent years as actresses like Portman have risen to prominence.

On another level, “Black Swan” delights in toying with identity.

As Nina becomes increasingly delusional, she conflates her own image with that of Lily, fleetingly seeing her own face on Lily’s body.

In seeing herself in Lily, Nina is al-

most forced into confronting her true nature, something that she violently resists. This true nature, in turn, possesses its own duality, consisting of both the virginal and seductive traits that characterize her roles in “Swan Lake.”

To illustrate these points, Aronofsky occasionally relies on conventions associated with the horror genre, which only increases the film’s tensions, making Nina’s breaks from reality even more terrifying. Sometimes this devolves into camp, but never unSee SWAN, p. 14

January 21, 2011

The Brandeis Hoot

ARTS, ETC.

13

‘Downton Abbey’ almost a ‘Masterpiece’

BY KAYLA DOS SANTOS Editor

It starts with a tragedy. The pilot of PBS’s British import “Downton Abbey” begins with the upper class Crawley family hearing the news that the Titanic has sunk.

The noble patriarch of the family, Lord Grantham (played by “Masterpiece” veteran Hugh Bonneville), is shaken by the fact that his immediate heirs have not survived the disaster. Since he only has daughters, his beloved estate in the English countryside, from which the series takes its name, will go to a distant middle-class relative, a result that would inevitably upset the family’s and their servants’ old-world mode of living.

“Downton Abbey” is a clever and surprisingly lighthearted miniseries that illustrates what happens to people when an old world crumbles in favor of a new one.

Oscar winner Julian Fellowes has penned a very clever script. He smartly portrays the old world through the eyes of the Crawley family as well as their servants. This has the effect of painting a vibrant, complex picture of a doomed, but still elegant, way of life. It’s fascinating to watch what it takes to run a grand estate. As the Crawley family attempts to keep the estate within the immediate family through attempted courtships, the servants keep the estate functioning, preparing extravagant dinners and answering the family’s many demands.

This, however, couldn’t have been done without superb casting. Bonneville plays Lord Grantham with the grace of a gentleman, but with an awareness that the times

are changing proach ends up insulting the rapidly around servants, making for very him. This is illuscompelling viewing. trated wonderWhile “Downton Abbey” fully through has its share of drama, it is Lord Grantham’s done in a very light-heartened relationship with tone, almost in the style of a his newly hired Jane Austen novel. The Dowavalet John Bates ger of Grantham, played with (Brendan Coyle), great fun by Maggie Smith, is a friend he made almost a caricature of a stuffy, during the war. upper-class matron, resulting An old war wound in many moments of hilarity. makes it difficult Rather than being invested in for Bates to do the characters, viewers are inhis job, forcing vested in the storyline.

Grantham to deThere is an aesthetic pleacide whether to do sure that comes from watching what’s best for his the show. The estate of Downestate and hire a ton Abbey is nestled near a new, more capable quaint town in the beautiful valet, or to be a green countryside. The Crawloyal friend. Coyle, ley home is grand in scale with in turn, gives his numerous rooms adorned character an air of with impressive trinkets of a a strong man drivluxurious lifestyles. It is no en to vulnerability. wonder that Lord Grantham The clash beis willing to sacrifice anything tween the old to keep the estate and the serworld and the new vants go to such great lengths is what propels the to keep it running. For both, PHOTO FROM Internet Source show forward and Downton Abbey is a home. makes what would HOUSE AND HOME: The huge cast of ‘Downton Abbey’ effectively portrays the uneasy PBS will air the remaining seem to be a sim- relationship between an upperclass family and its servants. episodes through January, alple plot (who will lowing them to be available inherit the estate?) into a whirligig of shift- is baffled by the family’s expectations. He online until the end of February. Future ing alliances, strong loyalties and ambi- is determined to place his profession as a episodes seem to offer a frothy plot, fultions. When the new heir Matthew Craw- doctor before the estate, emphasizing his ly-realized world and an evening’s enley (Dan Stevens) arrives at Downton, he different priorities. His self-righteous ap- tertainment that should not be missed.

Braving the elements WILD (from p. 10)

high-teens to the low 30s. Conditions, however, were actually worse than they appeared. The snow became slushy; at one point it rained and snowed while we were on the trail, soaking the bulk of our equipment and eventually freezing it. This made even the simple task of tying shoe laces incredibly difficult. Wet conditions also made it harder to stay warm; I actually developed very earlystage hypothermia at one point.

When most people go skiing or are presented with the rare opportunity to go dog sledding, they do so when conditions are ideal. The members of my expedition were not so fortunate. We had to keep going, pushing and pulling alongside our dogs through the howling wind, pouring rain and slushy snow that threatened to freeze our sleds in place.

On our last day of travel, we had to push 10 miles to get home, most of it after sunset.

Although conditions were rough, this expedition was one of the greatest experiences of my life. At certain times the weather would break and we would ski for miles along endless lakes lined with forests that seemed frozen in time. One day, while I was driving one of the dogsleds, the conditions were so good and the dogs were running so well that it was as if I were sailing across the frozen lake as the chilled wind hit my face and filled my lungs.

Outward Bound is a strenuous wilderness survival program but it is also a time for deep reflection and selfdiscovery. I have long had issues with self-confidence, so going on this expedition and previous expeditions has re-

PHOTO BY David Handler/The Hoot

ON ICE: Handler faced tough conditions, from rain to slushy snow, during his Outward Bound expedition in the Minnesota Wilderness Preserve.

invigorated my spirit. I feel taller, stronger and bolder. As I arrived back on campus and walked the familiar paths, I felt a sense of confidence that I have not felt for quite some time.

Ultimately, though, what I have really brought with me from my travels are the memories. They come and go in a constant stream of thoughts and images like all memories do, as if it were a baseball game or a trip to the grocery store. I do not know what surprises and challenges this semester will hold, but I know that the strength and grit that I demonstrated in the wilderness will help me meet them.

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January 21, 2011

‘Swan’ proves a complex psychological thriller SWAN (from p. 12)

ally so—there are moments when the film wants you to laugh, refusing to succumb to the stiffness that plagues Nina.

Of course, much has been said about Natalie Portman’s no-holds-barred portrayal of Nina, which easily ranks among the best performances of the year. Though she has almost always turned in solid work (barring a “Star Wars” or three), Aronofsky captures something darker that audiences really haven’t seen in her before.

Portman receives stellar support from Hershey, an always consummate actress who skillfully melds the scary, sympathetic and camp aspects of her character; from Kunis, who injects her Lily with more than simple sex appeal; and Cassel, who imbues the lecherous Thomas with a likability he may have otherwise lacked.

Ultimately, however, this is Aronofsky’s show, as “Black Swan” would be a different film without the audacity of his directorial vision. The film’s success is thus especially

PHOTO FROM Internet Source

satisfying, considering that its current take at the box office almost doubles that of his first four films—including “The Wrestler”

and “Requiem for a Dream”—combined, indicating an increased openness by audiences for his work.

And that, as Nina might observe, is pretty perfect.

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Arts Recommends Not everyone has the time to pick up the latest books or see the latest films. Our editors make some recommendations that you can pick up at the nearest library.

In one of the most romantic films of recent years, a young and British Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter) travels to Florence, Italy with her prudish chaperone (Maggie Smith) in order to experience a more vibrant way of life. When she arrives she is dismayed to discover that her hotel room doesn’t have a view but, when fellow travelers offer to switch their rooms for hers, Lucy embarks on a series of adventures that lead to a passionate interlude with a near stranger (Julian Sands). This film is almost a love letter to Italy from the way the director James Ivory captures its fields, its squares and its crooked streets. Featuring wonderful performances by Carter, Smith and a very young Daniel Day Lewis (who plays a condescending, yet sympathetic suitor for Lucy), “A Room with A View” is largely a character-driven film. “A Room with a View” is funny and witty in its portrayal of a young woman who must choose between a sensible life and a passionate one. While it’s snowing, watch this film with a mug of hot cocoa and lose yourself in Italy.—KDS

Book Pick: ‘The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay’ PHOTOS FROM Internet Source

Film Pick: ‘A Room with a View’

If you like completely immersing yourself in a specific time and milieu, then pick up Michael Chabon’s “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay,” set in the early days of the comic industry in the early 1940s. Comic book enthusiast Sam Clay hopes to break into the comic book industry when his cousin, artist Joe Kavalier, arrives in New York City after having fled Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. The two join their creative forces—Sam in order to find fame, Joe in the hopes of making enough money to rescue his family—and quickly become the darlings of the comic world. Along the way, a world war and an intelligent, beautiful young woman almost tear their partnership asunder. Chabon so vividly draws his characters that you can’t help but wish that the novel would go on infinitely. And, if great characterizations and a twisting plot aren’t enough for you, you’ll certainly learn a great deal about the comic book industry. What more could you want?—SF

FEATURES

January 21, 2011

The Brandeis Hoot 15

Fashionistas win prestigious national scholarship

BY LEAH FINKELMAN Editor

SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS: From left, Abi Katznelson ’11, Ji Yun Lee ’11 and Danielle Schivek ’11.

PHOTO BY Alan Tran/The Hoot

Danielle Schivek ’11 has been interested in fashion for as long as she can remember, but she never planned to be involved in the fashion industry. That, however, did not stop her from becoming one of three Brandeis seniors to win a prestigious fashion scholarship this year.

Schivek joined Abi Katznelson ’11 and Ji Yun Lee ’11 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York to be recognized at the annual Fashion Scholarship Fund (FSF) Geoffrey Beene National Scholarship Awards Dinner.

This is the first year Brandeis has participated in the scholarship competition, which is open to 32 schools invited by the Young Musicians and Artists (YMA) FSF. Schivek, Katznelson and Lee were among 100 scholars who received $5,000 scholarships.

Paul Rosengard ’80, chairman of YMA FSF was instrumental in extending the scholarship opportunity to Brandeis.

“As a proud alumnus, it is gratifying to me that three Brandeis students were selected as recipients the first year in which the university participated in this prestigious scholarship program,” Rosengard said. “This threefor-three first-year sweep has never happened before and is a testament to the strength of these outstanding candidates, each one richly deserving of this recognition.”

Each member school has a YMA FSF contact, and up to five students from each school may be invited to apply by completing a case study and an interview with a member of YMA FSF. Application for the scholarship is open to sophomores, juniors and seniors enrolled at one of the 32 member schools. To apply, students must be full-time students with a minimum GPA of 3.0.

See FASHION, p. 16

‘Queens,’ volunteers and performers celebrate King on MLK Day

BY LEAH FINKELMAN Editor

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day has traditionally served as a day of reflection, remembrance and service. The holiday at Brandeis, with its history of commitment to social action, is no exception.

This year, the sixth annual Brandeis Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Memorial, was a day focused on service led by a university chaplain and a program called “The Queens of His Dream,” which commemorated King and the women who made his dreams possible. This was the first year the day’s events included an afternoon of volunteering.

Alexander Levering Kern, Brandeis’ Protestant chaplain, is the executive director of Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries (CMM), a Boston-based interfaith social action and community service group. To commemorate MLK Day, Kern and Matt Carriker, CMM’s program coordinator and a pastor in Natick, organized a volunteer day of service.

Volunteers met at Brandeis for lunch, got organized and split into groups for different service opportunities. They were able to choose from options such as going to a homeless shelter to spend time with residents or doing office work at an organization that promotes equal opportunities for immigrant students.

One group also helped the Brandeis Haiti Initiative by writing letters to Haitian children, sorting donations, and writing to Senators John Kerry and Scott Brown to ask for continued governmental support for the people of Haiti.

After completing their projects, participants gathered again at Brandeis for dinner and a wrap-up. In conversations after dinner, many participants said that they were inspired by King’s spirit, values and goals, and that this inspiration led them to partake in the festivities.

Before becoming CMM’s program co- said, adding that throughout history, wom- “Haitian one. They showed a slide-show of ordinator, Carriker was the coordinator en have historically been forgotten. photos from Brandeis efforts to help Haiof the Interfaith Youth Initiative, a sumOther performances included slam po- tians and from ETE Camp, a camp for Haimer program organized by CMM. “I was etry by Amanda Dryer ’13 and Claudi- tian children started by Gilbert. inspired by CMM’s mission, which really ane Philippe ’13, Brandeis’ step group So Gloria White-Hammond, the keynote aligns with King’s. ‘Injustice anywhere is a Unique, and Ba’note, an all-girl Jewish a speaker, is a reverend, a pediatrician, a wife threat to justice everywhere,’” he said, quot- cappella group. Louise Grasmere, a gospel and a mother. She spoke primarily of how ing King. “We really try to live by his values singer, led the group in an emotionally- women have been left in the background of everyday to make the world a better place charged rendition of “Lift Every Voice and history for so long, but that they truly do for everyone.”

Sing,” also called the “Black National An- “make the world spin.” She urged everyone After participants shared their experi- them.” in the audience to “step out on faith” and ences with the group, they joined members Shaina Gilbert ’10 and London Graham take risks to achieve their goals, citing Nelof the Brandeis community in the Carl J. ’11 urged the audience to continue to sup- son Mandela and saying that not once in Shapiro Campus Center Theater for “The port Haiti, reminding them that the devas- his 27 years of imprisonment did he think Queens of His Dreams” to hear speakers tation there is a human problem, not just a that his cause might fail. and performers memorialize King. The event, which focused on King’s impact, the power of women and remembering Haiti, featured keynote speaker Reverend Gloria WhiteHammond.

Max Price ’11 was the first performer of the night, playing guitar and singing Bob Dylan’s “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll.” He rewrote the lyrics to apply to world issues and fit King’s messages of acceptance and equality.

After Price’s performance, Associate Dean of Student Life Jamele Adams opened the event by explaining the title.

“None of his goals would have been accomplished with“QUEENS OF HIS DREAM:” Claudiane Phillippe ’13 performs at MLK Memorial event.

PHOTO BY Ingrid Schulte/The Hoot out women,” Adams

16 FEATURES

The Brandeis Hoot

This Week in History

Hasbara sends Brandeisians to Israel

BY MORGAN GROSS Editor

Brandeis

2007 Jimmy Carter and

Alan Derschowitz give back-to-back speeches to the Brandeis community regarding Carter’s book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.”

recieves 2006 Brandeis a warning from the

Waltham Liquor Commission after the Stein was caught serving beer to two undercover and underage people.

Massachusetts

1986

1919

Christa McAulliffe, the “first teacher in space,” perishes in the space shuttle Challenger disaster.

January 21, 2011

From Dec. 19 through Jan. 4, Brandeis Students Dana Kandel ’14, Amber Kornreich ’12, Avi Fuld ’14, Zahava Horowitz ’14 and Emily Mandel ’12, along with 105 other college students from more that 60 universities nationwide, had the incredible opportunity to travel to Israel with the Hasbara Fellowship.

The fellowship was created in 2001 as a joint initiative between the Foreign Ministry of Israel and Aish International, an organization devoted to developing Jewish education and leadership training programs.

The fellowship is “an intensive two-week program with the goal of educating, training and motivating students to become

pro-Israel activists on their campuses to combat the wide-ranging anti-Israel propaganda prevalent on campuses.”

Fellows “receive support from professional Hasbara staff to help facilitate proIsrael programs,” and they “become highly trained Israel activists leading pro-Israel activities back on campus.”

In the program’s short lifespan, they have managed to send nearly 2,000 participants to Israel in the hope of preparing them to “learn how to communicate effectively for Israel, answer difficult questions and run successful programming upon returning to campus.”

According to Emily Mandel, program participants “spent two weeks traveling all over Israel, hearing from fascinating journalists, politicians, historians and citizens.

[They] visited areas of the country that have recently been in the news like Sderot and the West Bank.” Mandel says that the program really “provides its participants with views from multiple angles across political and social spectrums and, as a result, we are better equipped to advocate for Israel.”

In past years, program participants have had the opportunity to hear a series of speakers including “historians, journalists, military personnel, politicians and academics” as well as participate in “strategic tours of Sderot, Hebron, and Israeli borders of Syria and Lebanon.” The fel-

lowship was enhanced this year, however, and as a new part of the program, participants got to meet with an “Israeli member of Knesset, receive top briefings at the Knesset and the Israeli Foreign Ministry, and go to Project Better Place in Tel Aviv to learn about Israel’s advancements in alternative energy” in addition to hearing speakers and traveling.

Being a part of such a unique and intensive program was unquestionably a meaningful experience; however, according to participant Fuld, the most significant part of the program “wasn’t hearing world class journalists or brilliant historians but talking to average, Israeli citizens about their perspectives on Israeli life and occasionally on the conflict. While speaking to a bartender in Jerusalem, he recounted to me and my friends from Hasbara about his army service more than 15 years ago (since there is a mandatory draft in Israel).

He warily told us that he just wants peace already.”

Fuld came back from the 17-day experience excited to have returned “from Hasbara with the tools to help educate the Brandeis campus about Israel.” Mandel agreed, explaining that “it is vital that before people form any opinions, that they do everything they can to educate themselves. Hasbara provides its participants with views from multiple angles across political and social spectrums.”

The Great Molasses Flood occurs killing 21 people.

United States 1961

1861

John F. Kennedy is inaugurated, making him the 35th president of the United States.

Louisiana becomes the sixth state to secede from the Union when a state convention votes 113 to 17 in favor of the measure.

World 1996

1981

Yasser Arafat is elected president of Palestine.

The Iran Hostage Crisis ends after 444 days, releasing the 52 U.S. captives held at the U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran.

PHOTO FROM Internet source

Students win fashion scholarship for innovative case studies FASHION (from p. 15)

Katznelson was “welcomed with open arms” to apply for the scholarship. As a student focusing on finance and economics, rather than fashion or design, she was excited by the idea of building her own brand.

“People don’t seem to notice that there is a lot of business management behind the scenes of every successful business and in the fashion world that stems far beyond the designers and all of the textile manufacturers,” she said.

Her case study, a large part of the application process, was a “fusion of active wear and casual wear.” She knew that by including compression technology in everyday casual clothes, women would be able to multitask by exercising while going about their daily routines.

Lee had always been interested in fashion, citing her mother, a “fashionista,” as her muse. She didn’t know about the scholarship option until several friends heard about it and suggested she

apply. They knew about her numerous fashion-related internships, including W magazine, Vogue China and Saks Fifth Avenue. Through these opportunities, she worked on photo shoots, with senior fashion editors as well as major fashion houses, and attended Fashion Week in New York City.

For her case study, Lee designed a concept for an online shop that used microfinance to help Asian artists and designers grow their businesses.

Schivek has bounced back and forth between job aspirations in the fashion industry. After interning at the fashion department of Hamptons Magazine, she wanted to work as a fashion journalist or editor, but an internship at Elle left her wanting to pursue a career in law.

After an internship at Tod’s, a leather goods company, and a position working for Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Schivek began to consider the idea of becoming a fashion advocate.

Her case study was based on her expe-

rience at Tod’s. She created a company called Gatsby (named after the novel “The Great Gatsby”) that would make quality leather goods in America while creating local jobs.

“If people could have a brand like Tod’s, Gucci or Hermès, and it was the same price and quality, why wouldn’t they support an American company?” she asked.

All three women are writing senior theses that deal in different ways with the fashion industry and they each plan to incorporate what they have learned through the scholarship application process in their post-Brandeis lives.

After college, Katznelson will work as a buyer for Ross Stores, a Fortune 500 chain of department stores. Lee hopes to get involved with the business side of fashion and work towards further globalization of the industry. Schivek plans to attend law school and go into fashion law.

January 21, 2011

The Brandeis Hoot

FEATURES

17

A farewell to Reinharz

Friedman discusses WikiLeaks, technology at symposium

growth is important, but how that economic growth is disEditor tributed is a political, not just an economic question,” said New York Times columnist Sandel.

Thomas Friedman ’75 quesReferencing the Obama tioned the ethics of WikiLeaks administration’s bailout of Wall and technology in journalism Street as an example, Sandel during an academic symposium said that its excuse of needing to to honor outgoing university prevent a recession from worsPresident Jehuda Reinharz Dec. ening is not enough.

15, 2010 in the Shapiro Campus “I think that answer overlooks Center. an enormous political price,” Friedman, who writes many Sandel said, explaining that columns on politics and global- there should have been public, ization, said that he was torn tax-payer representatives on the about whether WikiLeaks was boards involved with the bailjustified to release the more out. than 250,000 diplomatic cables Because of the failure to recthat it did to The New York ognize that political cost, Sandel Times last month. argued that “the Obama admin“I would not want to live in a istration has become the tarworld without whistleblowers,” get of that anger,” even though Friedman said. “But I would not the bailout’s foundation began want to live in a world where under President George W. any individual can expose all Bush. the internal e-mails [of an orgaWhen discussing China’s econization].” nomic rise, Friedman warned Yet Friedman also explained that the country’s model of that while America “on balance government is dangerous and [is] a real force for good in makes him worry about the the world,” Julian Assange, the world’s future. founder of WikiLeaks, does not When Great Britain fell as the believe in or support American economic superpower, America values. was there to take its place, Commenting on the role of Friedman said. If America falls technology, Friedman said that today, China’s repressive polithe benefits tics should include the would not want to concern the rise in globalworld. live in a world with- “ T h e r e ’ s ization, but W i k i L e a k s out whistleblowers, but I s o m e t h i n g d e m ons t r at e s would not want to live in a really coldsome of the b l o o d e d potential issues world where any individu- about China,” with rapidly al can expose all the inter- F r i e d m a n growing techsaid. “It is nal e-mails. nology. an economic “It’s incred- Thomas Friedman ’75 rise without ibly empowvalues.” ering and it’s Sandel disincredibly disagreed, preemp owering,” dicting that Friedman said.

China can maintain a capitalist Friedman and Harvard and market economy even if Professor Michael Sandel ’75, one party unjustly dominates who teaches a famous course the government. called “Justice: What’s the Right When discussing technology, Thing to Do?” discussed the Friedman insisted that despite connection between justice, new inventions with Facebook economic growth and China’s and online media, personal rise as a global economic power interviews and conversations during the symposium. are irreplaceable.

Politics allows society to max“If you want to have an impact imize the benefits of global- on your world, get off Facebook ization, while minimizing the and into somebody’s face,” risks, Friedman said.

Friedman said. “I still get enor“Politics is about how we get mous satisfaction from interthe best out of [globalization] viewing people wherever I go.” and cushion the worst,” he said.

Admitting that he has never “Without economic growth, been to Facebook’s website there is really just a conflict before, Friedman said that “your over diminishing and scarce world may be digital, but poliresources.” tics, God bless it, is still analog.”

Although he and Friedman But Reinharz reminded agreed on many economic Friedman that society cannot trends, Sandel said that eco- deny the impact of websites nomic growth alone was not an such as Facebook. effective measure of progress.

“The fact is, Tom, that Mark Since 1980, nearly all economic Zuckerberg [the founder of growth has been in the top 20 Facebook] is the man of the percent of society, according to year this year, not you and I,” Sandel.

Reinharz said.

“The case for economic Sandel and Friedman were

BY JON OSTROWSKY

“I

childhood friends, co-starring in a play on Purim at age seven, who reunited during their studies at Brandeis and have since co-taught courses on globalization with Director of President Obama’s National Economic Council and former Harvard

President Larry Summers as well as Harvard Professor Stanley Hoffman.

Reinharz spoke briefly in his final words to the university community as president.

He officially stepped down as

PHOTOS COURTESY Mike Lovett

president on Dec. 31, 2010 and Fred Lawrence became president on Jan. 1.

“I didn’t know how smart my move to Brandeis was in 1968,” Reinharz said. “It was the smartest thing I ever did.”

SPORTS

18 The Brandeis Hoot

January 21, 2011

Gosman field-house renovations replace ‘unplayable’ track used recreationally by the community at large.

Renovating the track and courts The indoor track and tennis cost $500,000 from the university courts in the Gosman Athletic capitol projects budget. The uniCenter were replaced during win- versity also used proceeds from ter break after the NCAA deter- an insurance payment the univermined the surfaces unplayable sity received two years ago when under the University Athletic As- the field-house flooded. sociation’s standards.

Plagued by pieces of the track “The surface was worn and lifting up and becoming breached tired and there were safety issues,” and deteriorated sand pits for Senior Vice President for Admin- triple and long jumps with metal istration Mark Collins said. “If sticking out, Collins said “the area you quickly changed directions had exceeded its useful life expecon the tennis court, for example, tancy.” the pad would baThe track t really brings the and courts sically go right out from under you.” space together,’ are not the Collins said the only athuniversity had Collins said. ‘It’s so letic areas been working with Brandeis.’ that were the NCAA for two in need of years trying to rerenovation. pair the 20-year-old track and The Linsey Pool, for example, has courts made from Mondo Sur- been closed since 2008 due to deface, but that the organization terioration. ultimately determined the areas “I have a lot of needs around needed to be completely redone campus,” Collins said. “Many, before they could be used com- many, many things need to be repetitively. paired. But the track has been on “It’s a surface that gets a lot of the list for years and now it was a wear and tear,” Collins said, add- safety hazard.” ing that the track and courts are Collins said the renovation of used not only by their respective the track and tennis courts came Brandeis athletic teams, but also at roughly the annual price it would

BY ARIEL WITTENBERG Editor

take to operate the Linsey pool.

“That’s not even counting the $2.5 to $3 million we would have to spend to renovate the pool just to get it up and running,” he said.

Now the field-house, in addition to having a new surface, also has a new color-scheme, going from green and red, to a Brandeisian blue and gray.

“It really brings the space together,” Collins said. “It’s so Brandeis.”

‘I

PHOTO BY Nafiz R. “Fizz” Ahmed/The Hoot

Women’s basketball suffers loss to Case Western Reserve

BY ARIEL WITTENBERG Editor

The Judges women’s basketball team lost its first game back from winter break Sunday, falling to Case Western Reserve University, 56-38. With the loss, Brandeis’ record fell to 9-5 (1-2 UAA), while the Spartans rose to 9-5 (3-0 UAA).

Two days earlier, the Judges beat Carnegie Mellon University, 65-62, with a big lift in the second half to win the game and the team also returned victorious after a game against the Lasell Lasers on Jan. 4 (81-29), but the Judges were not so fortunate facing the Spartans.

Kelly Ethier ’12 scored eight points to lead the Judges in scoring, however it was the first game this season in which no player scored in the double digits. Ethier also led the team with three assists.

Back-court mate Morgan Kendrew ’12 was held to just seven points and struggled, making only two of her 16 attempts from the floor.

Senior forward Amber Strodthof led the Judges with 10 rebounds, her fourth game of the season in double figures. The Judges, who were held to a season-low with 27.3 percent shooting from the field (15-55), had their lowest scoring output since last February.

The Spartans put four starters in double figures. Erin Hollinger led all scorers with 13 points, while Caitlin Henry, Evy Iacono

and Erica Iafelice all contributed 11. Henry also posted a doubledouble with a game-high 14 rebounds and led all players with four assists. The Spartans won the battle of the turnovers, forcing 16 while committing just 14, and they turned that edge into an 18-4 advantage in points off those miscues. With the win, the Spartans ended a 14-game losing streak to the Judges that dated to the 200203 season.

After Strodthoff gave the Judges an early 5-4 lead by putting back a rebound of her own miss, Case answered with a 7-0 run, with five coming from Iafelice, to take an 11-5 lead. Case was ahead, 22-14, with just 1:34 left in the first when Ethier connected beyond the arc and Kendrew added a jumper with 44 seconds on the clock as the Judges closed to within three points at the break at 22-19.

Ethier hit the first hoop of the second half to get Brandeis within one point of Case, sparking a 6-2 run to open the stanza and give the Judges a 25-24 lead just over three minutes into the second half, after a pair of Kendrew free throws.

Case’s Marissa Miles responded with a three-pointer, sparking a 13-0 run over the next 3:23. The run was capped by an Iafelice trifecta that put the hosts up, 37-25, with 13:35 left, and the Spartans’ lead never dipped any lower than six points the rest of the way.

Brandeis plays again Friday at 6 p.m. when they host the University of Chicago, the other coleaders of the conference.

CMU game ends men’s basketball’s 11-game winning streak

BY ARIEL WITTENBERG Editor

The Brandeis men ended their 11-game winning streak Sunday when the 13th-ranked team lost 53-52 to Carnegie Mellon University. The Judges, who were 4-0 in games decided by a bucket or less, had the final offensive possession of the contest, but the Tartans blocked rookie Ben Bartoldus’ runner in the lane.

Brandeis falls to 11-1, 1-1 in the UAA, while CMU improves to 4-8, 1-1 in the conference after winning against Emerson, New York University and Bates College during the winter break.

The Judges owned a 34-31 lead at the break, as they outshot Carnegie Mellon, 48 percent to 34.5 percent.

Tyrone Hughes ’12 and Vytas Kriskus ’12 had a combined 16 points—eight each—on six-ofeight overall and three-of-four from downtown.

Brandeis led by as many as eight points at 21-13 after a pair of Ruben Kanya ’14 free throws just over 11 minutes into the game. CMU fought back and eventually tied the game at 2929 on Shane Rife’s freebies 2:25 before the break.

Hughes responded from downtown and Wouter van der Eng ’13 added a hoop before the Tartans’ Rob Mohen was fouled just before the break.

Mohen missed the free

throw—one of 10 CMU misses from the charity stripe in the first half. Rookie Raushan Reilly had 10 points to keep the Tartans within striking distance.

In the second half, the Judges opened with a lay-up by Youri Dascy ’14 at the 19:02 mark to push the lead back to five points, 36-31—and then did not hit another for more than 12 minutes. Brandeis missed 13 straight shots before Kanya connected at the 6:46 mark, allowing CMU to go on a 15-4 run.

They took a 46-38 lead on two Joe Kromka free throws before Kanya’s bucket.

Brandeis was still down seven with 3:08 remaining when Rife hit a jumper in the lane to put the Tartans up, 50-43. The Judges, who have twice escaped doubledigit second-half deficits this season, answered, as Kanya hit from deep to cut the lead back to four. On the next two Carnegie Mellon possessions, Christian Yemga ’11 and Hughes each came up with a steal thanks to back-court pressure, then got to the line on offense. Hughes’ two foul shots with 55 seconds left knotted the game at 50.

On the next CMU possession, the Tartans were successfully able to break the pressure, with junior John Duhring finding Rife behind the defense for a 5250 lead. Hughes responded with two more free throws with 33 seconds left, but rookie Chris-

tian Manoli was fouled just five seconds later.

Manoli hit the first of two free throws to give the Tartans a 53-52 lead, but Bartoldus grabbed the rebound. Brandeis eschewed a timeout on the offensive end, preferring to work the ball around the perimeter.

As the clock wound down, Bartoldus drove into the lane, but his floater was swatted away by Manoli as time expired, denying the Judges their second buzzerbeater in as many UAA games.

In the end, Brandeis shot just 18 percent in the second half (422), including just 1-of-10 from beyond the arc for the nation’s second-best three-point shooting team entering the game.

Hughes finished with a gamehigh 13 points, while Kanya added 11. Riley, Manoli and Rife each had 10 points for the Tartans. Manoli, Rife and Duhring also tied for game-high honors with seven rebounds, while Dascy led the Judges with six boards.

Both teams return to UAA action on Sunday, when the Judges are in Cleveland to take on Case Western Reserve, and Carnegie Mellon hosts NYU. Both games are at noon. In the first eight games of the UAA season so far, seven have been decided by six points or fewer, including five by one or two points and another by four points.

January 21, 2011

The Brandeis Hoot

SPORTS

19

Road to the Super Bowl: Conference Championships

BY GORDY STILLMAN Staff

Welcome back to another semester at Brandeis. For those of you who kept track last semester, my weekly picks ended with a record of 54-29, not bad at all.

Rather than merely make picks for the two games this week, I thought I might offer a preview of the match-ups.

Interestingly enough, in the case of both the AFC and NFC championships, the second seed teams are hosting the games.

AFC Championship: This game places the New York Jets in their second consecutive bid for the Super Bowl against the hometown favorite Pittsburgh Steelers.

Both teams have overcome a lot of challenges to make it this far.

The Jets entered the post season as the sixth seed after losing three of their final five regular season games.

To get this far they defeated last year’s AFC champion Indianapolis Colts (17-16) in what would have been the upset of the week had the Seattle Seahawks not beaten the defending champions, the New Orleans Saints, earlier that same day.

After the first upset, the Jets returned to Foxborough last week to face the New England Patriots for the third time this year.

After an embarrassing defeat last time (45-3), the Jets re-

turned with a vengeance winning (28-21) to secure their spot in this week’s game against the Steelers, a team they beat (2217) last month. The Steelers on the other hand entered the postseason as the second seed behind the Patriots. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, one of the only teams that was able to beat the Steelers this season was the Jets, as stated above.

One of the many things the Steelers have going for them is that throughout the post season, rematch games have been going differently than their regular season counterparts.

Last week, every team that lost in the regular season won and, if the pattern holds true, then the Steelers would be expected to overcome the Jets this week.

NFC Championship: This game places NFC North rivals the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers against each other in what ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert likes to call the “Epicenter of Humanity.”

Interestingly enough, these two teams, two of the oldest teams in the NFL (both were founded in 1919), have only ever faced each other once in the post season before. Back in 1941, the Bears beat the Packers (33-14) at home.

Whether the Bears can assert their dominance over the Packers or not, this game is officially set to be the biggest game in the rivalry’s history, sending one team to the Super Bowl.

Green Bay entered the postseason as the sixth seed (like the Jets)after beating the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field on the last day of the regular season.

To get this far they overcame the third seed Philadelphia (21-16) followed by the first seed Atlanta Falcons (48-21). Earlier this year the Packers and Bears split their series, both taking their home games, raising the question of whether Aaron Rodgers can beat Jay Cutler at Soldier Field.

Chicago entered the playoffs as the second seed (like the Steelers) and secured their spot in this week’s game with a win over the Seattle Seahawks (3524) in a rematch of a regular season defeat (23-20). Additionally, the Bears have President Obama on their side.

Obama has also indicated that he plans to attend the Superbowl should his prediction of a Bears victory play out.

At the very least, this weekend may turn out into another example of the crazy year that this season has been.

At the start of the season the Packers and the Minnesota Vikings were expected to make strong bids for the post season.

Instead of the Vikings, it turns out the Bears host the NFC championship while the Steelers host the AFC championship.

Additionally, if there’s any consolation for Vikings fans and Patriots fans, it is this: the hated rivals get terrible draft picks next year.

GRAPHIC from Internet source

Men, women place at track tournament

BY ARIEL WITTENBERG Editor

At their annual Reggie Poyau Memorial Invitational, the Brandeis men’s indoor track and field team had three victories and placed third overall while the Brandeis women’s indoor track and field team won four events to finish in second place out of five teams.

The only multiple winner of the day for Brandeis men’s was rookie Vincent Asante ’14 who won the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.62 seconds after running a 6.59 in the preliminary heats. Asante also captured the 200-meter dash in 23.57 seconds. Charlie Pino ’12 also earned points for the Judges in those two events, placing second in the 200 (23.90 seconds) and third in the 55 (6.85 seconds).

Brandeis’ other win on the men’s side came in the 3,200-meter relay, where the team of Alex Kramer ’13, Mik Kern ’13, Taylor Dudas ’14 and Chris Brown ’12 turned in a time of 8:19.34, a full 30 seconds ahead of the secondplace squad from the University

of Southern Maine.

Southern Maine topped the field with 170 points, 10 ahead of Amherst, while Brandeis tallied 111 points.

The Brandeis women were successful in distance and field events. Grayce Selig ’11 took the 3,000-meter run in 9:50.01, setting a school indoor record. Marie Lemay ’11 took the mile run with a time of 5:13.51.

Lucia Capano ’11 had a fine overall meet, scoring in three events. Capano won the triple jump with a distance of 10.96 meters (35 feet, 11½ inches) and came in third in the long jump (4.82 m, 15-9¾) and in the 55-meter dash (7.80 seconds).

The Judges’ final win came in the high jump where Lily Parenteau ’12 won at a height of 1.60 meters (5 feet, 3 inches).

Amherst won the meet on the women’s side with 190 points, while Brandeis came in second with 96.

The Reggie Poyau Memorial Invitational is named after Brandeis runner Reggie Poyau, who drowned in May, 2003, while studying abroad in Senegal.

20 The Brandeis Hoot

HOOT SCOOPS

January 21, 2011

MIDYEARS ARRIVE! Better late than never, right?

Zelle Rettman

Vinnie Ferlisi

Seattle, WA

Mustapha Isa

Woburn, MA

Connor Murphy

Kaduna, Nigeria

Hull, MA

p u y e th e r e ? r w e t t a s e Wh m e s t s a l to Working in retail, grass-

roots organizing, working for NARAL Washington ~Megan Elsayed

Why is be ing a midyear s o great?

“There’s already a bond in our class, especially now that everyone else has gotten to campus.” ~Mustapha

Studied Hebrew and Arabic Worked in a lab at at Hebrew University in Israel Tufts ~Connor ~Zelle “I came to visit and stayed with someone I knew, and “These are the nicest I already felt like I went people ever. They’re so here.” ~Robyn Lederer welcoming.” ~Connor

“A few nights ago, my hall crammed into my room to watch a movie together.” ~Vinnie

What’s so great about ’Deis?

“I love the school, the programs, the people, the mission statement, everything.” ~Megan Elsayed

Compiled by: Leah Finkelman, Editor Photos by: Ingrid Schulte, Shirel Guez