VOL 8, NO. 4
F E B R U A R Y 11 , 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
Kay oversees Beth Israel response to scandal BY JON OSTROWSKY Editor
University trustee Stephen Kay helped negotiate severance pay for the former president of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), where Kay serves as chair of the board of directors. Paul Levy, who resigned last month after a year of ethical controversy and allegations of inappropriate sexual relationships with staff members, received up to $1.6 million in the settlement orchestrated by
Kay and the board. By early April 2010, multiple Beth Israel Board members received and learned about an anonymous complaint letter, informing them that Levy had sexual relationships with two unidentified hospital employees, according to a review by the attorney general’s office. Kay, a former executive at Goldman Sachs who previously served as chair of the board of trustees at Brandeis and chair of the presidential search committee last year, requested in a May 2010 let-
ter that the attorney general’s office review the “appropriateness of the board’s governance process and conclusions” related to the board’s investigation of the complaint about Levy’s personal relationship with a female employee. Boston Globe columnist Brian McGrory wrote on Wednesday that Kay should resign from the board at Beth Israel for a violation of public trust with taxpayer money and an unwillingness to enact a stricter punishment on Levy last year. See LEVY, p. 3
Stephen Kay
PHOTO from Internet Source
Perlman named associate provost BY NATHAN KOSKELLA Editor
ferent fields in order to create a more intimate environment than a career fair. “We don’t have a marketing major at Brandeis,” O’Shea said, “so we started to bring employers to campus for brown bag lunch seminars, and this was a wonderful oppor-
Professor Dan Perlman (BIOL) has been named an associate provost with responsibility for the assessment of student learning, a portfolio that includes supervision of university-wide departmental and other office goals, by outgoing Provost Marty Krauss. His appointment to the one-year renewable term, which will overlap with Krauss’ successor to be named this spring, will begin March 1. “I will be supporting efforts throughout the university to set learning goals and assess progress toward those goals,” Perlman said in a statement to The Hoot, adding that his “efforts will include both academic programs and co-curricular programs.”
See FORUM, p. 2
See PROVOST, p. 3
PHOTO BY Alan Tran/The Hoot
PANEL DISCUSSION: Yong Sung, the associate director of media for Ogilvy & Manther, advises students on advertising career path and the importance of interning.
Hiatt hosts ‘Communications Careers Forum’ BY DEBBY BRODSKY Staff
Hiatt Career Center hosted its inaugural Communications Careers Forum and Networking Night Wednesday, to give students from local colleges and universities an op-
portunity to network with more than 25 employers. Chaired by Caroline O’Shea, assistant director of employer relations at Hiatt, the speed-networking night was created to bring together employers and recruiters from agencies and companies within dif-
World champion boxer finds Judaism Orthodox Jew wins world boxing title BY JON OSTROWSKY Editor
Yuri Foreman, the first orthodox Jew to become a world champion boxer in nearly 80 years, said during a reception Tuesday evening in Rapaporte Treasure Hall that professional boxing and religious studies can overlap in one’s life. Foreman, a native of Belarus, who moved to Israel as a child and now lives in Brooklyn, New York won the WBA super-welterweight world title in 2009.
During the nine years that he lived in Israel, Foreman did not live a religious life. “I was in a Jewish country, a Jew, but spirituality was not my thing,” he said during an interview before his talk “Boxing, Judaism and Life.” He continued, “My balance of physicality outweighed my spiritual [side].” Growing up, Foreman said that his family was so unfamiliar with Jewish traditions that his parents thought Kiddush cups were shot glasses for drinking vodka. “I never had questions about my roots,” Foreman said. “I came to Israel—I was not searching for my roots.” But that quickly changed when Foreman moved to Brooklyn in 2003 and met Rabbi Dovber
Pinson four years later. During a Shabbat dinner one night, Pinson inspired Foreman to reconnect with his heritage. “You can pursue your dreams and at the same time be spiritually connected,” Foreman said. Foreman is now studying to become a rabbi himself. Daniel Terris, the director of the International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life, praised Foreman for living up to Brandeis’ values. “In the best Brandeis tradition, he also lives the life of the mind and the soul,” Terris said. Foreman said that he began his athletic career as a swimmer, but at a young age, other children bullied him, and his mother asked See BOXER, p. 3
PHOTO BY Max Shay/The Hoot
CHAMPION: Yuri Foreman, an Orthodox Jew , says boxing and Judaism are related.
NEWS
2 The Brandeis Hoot
February 11, 2011
Columbia Univ professor lectures on human rights
PHOTO BY Ingrid Shulte/The Hoot
SAMUEL MOYN: Historian speaks to Brandeis community about the evolution of human rights.
BY JOSH KELLY Staff
On Monday night, Rapaporte Treasure Hall was the site of deep discussion and debate about issues relating to human rights around the world; even the meaning and the concept of human rights was analyzed. The event, titled “The Limits of Human Rights Thinking: A Symposium on Samuel Moyn’s ‘The Last Utopia,’” gave the audience an opportunity to listen to Professor of History at Columbia University Samuel Moyn’s argument presented in his recently published book, “The Last Utopia.” Following Moyn’s speech were two respondents from the Brandeis faculty, Professor of Democracy and Public Policy Bernard Yack (POL) and Professor of Intercommunal Coexistence Mari Fitzduff (HELLER), who presented their responses to Moyn’s ideas about human rights and their thoughts on the subject. Throughout his speech Moyn presented his basic idea about the concept of humanity: that people mistakenly attempt to ascribe the rise of humanity with their culture, when in fact it is somewhat irrelevant because there is not just one “humanity,”
but many variations of humanity. According to Moyn these different concepts of what humanity and universalism mean often go in competition with one another. “How do we think about universalism historically?” Moyn asked. “How do we situate cosmopolitanism in history? And when we look at that question, we find that a kind of single premise unites most accounts … Everyone seems to think that universalism or cosmopolitanism comes in the singular. It’s one basic idea: the unity of humankind, as a moral entity from which a set of moral entitlements then fall.” Moyn suggests, stemming from this idea of there being one idea of universalism, that people wonder where this started. “If you think of human rights—of humanity as a single idea, then it’s natural that you’re going to try to look for the one time—the one moment in history when someone somewhere broke through to it. And you might, if you adopt that view, try to take a more complex view of the subject and think that, even if there wasn’t just one moment, humanity might be something like a cumulative acquisition,” he said. Moyn, however, goes against the very nature of this idea and uses as his base a San-
skrit scholar named Sheldon Pollack, who suggests that there are many different universalisms, which do not relate to one another as a precursor to our humanity today. “If [Pollack’s theory] is right—and I think it is, it’s very obvious but maybe it hasn’t been taken seriously enough—then the fact that there’s some universalism or other in world history deep in the past or recent[ly], by itself doesn’t mean it’s at the historical origins of our own universalistic commitments,” he said. During his speech, which he divided up into ancient times and modern times, he gave evidence which showed how senses of humanity and universalism could have sprung up very early in our history, and how at a certain stage and for a very long time during modern history they were linked to nation-state formation and therefore, in essence, were always trumped in importance by their end goals. He concluded his speech with the notion that the nation-state is declining and is being replaced perhaps by more of a sense of individual self-determination. He ended his speech with a quote by the historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr., in which Schlesinger suggests that states are not adequate to decide what self-determination means, but that “human rights will be the way of reaching a deeper principle, which is individual self-determination.” Following the speech, Moyn was questioned by people in the audience, many— if not all—of them were members of the Brandeis faculty eager to discuss his ideas. Afterwards, Professor Yack and then Professor Fitzduff gave their opinions on the topic. Yack presented a case in which he primarily attacked the idea of the Utopian ideals, which in his opinion were suggested in Moyn’s book, when he finds that the quest for human rights is rarely a push to reach a perfect Utopian society, but rather a push to uphold bare minimum standards of life, beneath which no one can cross. “Sure, there are lots of nationalist theorists and actors who dream up Utopian ideals of national bliss that their community will achieve when they’re all united in the same group ruling themselves. But that’s not what they’re invoking when they
Alums advise students on life paths FORUM (from p. 1)
tunity to bring employers together from all fields.” Many of the employers were Brandeis alumni and many, if not all, had hired Brandeis students previously, O’Shea said. The evening began with a panel discussion of representatives Cone, Eloqua, Reebok and Ogilvy & Manther. Panelists took turns answering career-oriented questions regarding how and where to get started, and addressing students’ concerns about the financial market, by calling it “competitive” rather than “negative.” “Never ask how do I know where to start,” Yong Sung, the associate director of media for Ogilvy & Manther, said, “Make sure to be one-up on everyone all the time, and treat any internship as if it is a three-tosix month interview.” Regarding the benefits of internship experience, “any internship is a good way to get a foot in the door,” Reebok Head of Brand Strategy Amie Turill Owens said. Each panelist agreed that for a marketing career it is important to begin working
for an agency rather than for an in-house company. “Pick an agency job,” the vice president of brand marketing group Cone, Marc Berliner, said “and don’t look back. Agency experience is fantastic, and allows you to work on different pieces of business and learn, though you can learn a ton on the product side too.” Following the panel discussion was round-table networking with professionals, made up of four 15-minute sessions in which students spoke with different representatives in small groups. One company was Meltwater Group, a media monitoring “sass” company that its representatives described as “cloud computing, social media and software license purchasing-oriented.” Meltwater Group helps to analyze what is said about other companies online. It has a wide array of clients, including colleges and universities, politicians, the Vatican, and departments within the U.S. State Department. Another company, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, invests in companies that deal with science research. Based in
Waltham, “Massachusetts Life Sciences Center works with biotech, pharmaceutical and medical device firms,” Representative Angus G. McQuilken said. “I wish I had interned when I was a student … our company offers you real access to what’s going on.” This speed-dating style networking opportunity is a growing trend at Brandeis. “We have had networking events for careers in health care in biotech, government, communications and there is one coming up next week for education,” O’Shea said. “Our goal was to have large scale agencies with alumni presence, all with different perspectives. This is not a recruiting event but, through organic networking, students get a chance to build their networks and many employers will hire tonight.” Nearly 200 students attended the networking night to connect with professionals in the communications industry. “Our students need opportunities to network,” O’Shea concluded. “I think we will definitely host something like this again.”
demand their rights. What they’re invoking when they demand their rights is a challenging of a division of territories and population, which they say violates some minimal threshold standard, which is that all individuals who are members of a nation should be able to govern themselves in their territory,” Yack said. Fitzduff spoke more generally about human rights, explaining the difficult ambiguities associated with trying to agree on normative rights. She used the specific example of Northern Ireland, in which an attempt at a bill of rights was slowed down and made incredibly difficult due to the contesting viewpoints of the different contesting sides, each saying that their rights were more important. Furthermore, she described how people would merely use rights arguments against one another in order to achieve their ends. Fitzduff, in response to the ideas of universalism brought up throughout the symposium, explained her doubts. “I don’t have any problem at all in having an idea of universalism … I just think that we put too much weight on it as a framework in terms of the practicality,” she said. Following the event, Yale Spector ’11 described the event as “very thought provoking” and a “very nice framing of the human rights movements.” He went on to describe that he felt the main message to take away was that “a solution to human rights is not going to be located in one idea.” In the end, the symposium on Moyn’s book delved deeply into the issues it intended to address and successfully provided a venue for scholars studying issues of human rights to listen to different perspectives and consider them. The event was sponsored by the Mandel Center for the Humanities and the Brandeis Research Circle on Democracy and Cultural Pluralism. Moyn is a historian and professor at Columbia University. He completed his undergraduate degree at Washington University in St. Louis, and then got both a Masters and Ph.D. at the University of California Berkeley. He then received his JD from Harvard University. He has written a few books, including “Origins of the Other” and “Holocaust Controversy.”
Union election results
February 11, 2011
The Brandeis Hoot
NEWS
3
Univ trustee on hospital board, handles dilemma
PAUL LEVY
PHOTO from Internet Source
LEVY (from p. 1)
“Nobody is questioning whether BIDMC has worldclass doctors and intelligent nurses. But what it also has is an executive team that is now constantly inviting the question: What else are they lying about?” McGrory wrote in his column. “There’s no doubt that Kay has done good things at Beth Israel, [but] in this particular incident, there has been a hemorrhaging of public trust,” McGrory said in a phone interview yesterday. Kay could not immediately be reached for comment late yesterday afternoon. At Brandeis, Kay currently serves as a trustee on several committees, including Budget and Finance, Executive, Investment, Nominating and Governance, and the Personnel Policy
Committee. “Steve Kay has provided great wisdom and leadership to Brandeis over the years as a member of the Board of Trustees, Chairman of the Board, a donor and most recently as head of the search process that led to the hiring of our new president,” Senior Vice President for Communications Andrew Gully said in a statement. “The entire Brandeis community, particularly students and faculty, benefits from his deep commitment to the university and its mission.” The staff of BIDMC became aware of Levy’s personal relationship with the employee in 2003, and the Board Chair along with other senior staff expressed concerns about its implications on the rest of the hospital’s organization, according to the review. Kay did not serve as
chair until 2009, and was named the board chair of CareGroup Health Systems, a company that manages BIDMC, in 1996. After the complaint, Kay, in coordination with Beth Israel Vice President and General Counsel Patricia McGovern and Robert Sherman, a lawyer at Greenberg Traurig, LLP, launched an investigation and ad-hoc committee to review Levy’s behavior. The Board later fined Levy $50,000 for his actions. Levy resigned on Jan. 7 but did not mention the relationship or investigations in a letter to the hospital’s community. Levy wrote that he came to the decision to leave Beth Israel after nine years, partly because he had just turned 60 years old and had some time to reflect as he was biking in the Atlas Mountains during his vacation in Africa. “While I remain strongly committed to the fight for patient quality and safety, worker-led process improvement, and transparency, our organization needs a fresh perspective to reach new heights in these arenas,” Levy wrote. During Levy’s tenure, the hospital served more patients than ever before with inpatient volume increased by more than 11 percent. Senior management was also able to save the hospital from bankruptcy and significantly reduce its debt. “Over the last nine years, I have certainly made mistakes of degree, emphasis and judgment,” Levy wrote. “I have apologized to you directly for some
of those, but I do so again, that such errors will not overshadow the many accomplishments and contributions of our hospital to the community and the health care industry.” After a board meeting on Jan. 19, Kay wrote a public letter to the Beth Israel community disclosing the terms of its “negotiated departure with Levy.” His severance pay can be less than $1.6 million if he takes another job at another organization. “During Paul’s nine-year tenure, financial stability was restored, scores of world-class surgeons and physicians joined the faculty, demand for patient services increased dramatically, and the medical center earned a well-deserved reputation as a leader in quality, accountability and patient safety,” Kay wrote. The female employee whose hiring was later questioned because of her relationship with Kay began work in 2002 in Levy’s office as a “strategic planning analyst.” In April 2004, Jeff Liebman, the CEO at Beth Israel’s Needham location offered the employee a $75,000 job. By 2009, she earned $104,000, including bonuses, according to the Attorney General’s review. After listening to advice from members of the senior management team, Levy asked Liebman to let the employee go, and she was laid off in November 2009. The Attorney General’s review found that the employee was well qualified for the position and her salary, including $29,000 in severance pay after she left were typical for posi-
Perlman oversees learning goals two courses per year and, via this arrangement, plans to maintain the connection with students that teaching requires to better his administrative responsibilities. “I think this will be an excellent balance,” he wrote. “It will allow me to continue working closely with students while offering a good amount of time to focus on assessment issues.” Those issues include revising time frames for student assessment; perhaps moving away from a standard exclusively midterm/end of term test and paper schedule into a more varied one. “I see assessment as encompassing a wide variety of activities over a very large range of time scales,” Perlman said. “While many of us in colleges and universities PHOTO COURTESY of Dan Perlman focus on end-of-semester asDAN PERLMAN sessments, such as term paPROVOST(from p. 1) pers and final exams, I believe that many Perlman has been a member of Krauss’ valuable types of assessment occur in committee on student assessment since its both shorter and longer time frames.” Perlman said that assessment concerns beginning in 2006, and will continue in the new administrative role on a half-time encompass questions about actual skills basis. Thus Perlman will continue to teach gained from classes, and not just by se-
mester but even by each session; teachers asking the same questions to better their delivery of knowledge; particular major plans and their objectives for both career and general learning; even questions about matching the learning alumni gained during their time at Brandeis. The assessment theme will be centered on the idea of “Learning That Lasts,” according to Perlman, taking into account the learning students will need long after they graduate from Brandeis. Perlman, when working on the provost’s committee, was involved in the development of the university-wide learning goals, unveiled last year and prominently displayed in the Shapiro Student Center. The committee also invited the makers of a national study on assessment from Wabash College, a private liberal arts college for men in Indiana, who visited the campus last semester. Brandeis was ranked by the Wabash study on issues of diversity, faculty-student engagement and other measures to judge assessment both inside and outside of the classroom. Perlman’s appointment will allow the next provost, who is expected to be named by or even before April, to have continuity since the committee’s date of 2006 and plans and studies like this since that time.
tions of that caliber, but it raised concerns about the need for her job. “While her overall salary was within the range of her job grade, she was the only non-physician director who received a bonus in all four of the years reviewed. Second, both positions that the Employee held at BIDMC and BI-Needham were newly created and not maintained after she left,” Assistant Attorney General Jed Nosal wrote in the review. The review said Kay conducted a full and well-structured investigation that included a range of positions and opinions about the best action to take, but it explained that action should have been taken earlier. Although Levy apparently did not directly influence the hospital’s treatment of the employee, the report said it was inevitable that other employees and senior officials would feel pressured to act in trying to please the CEO. “Respect for Mr. Levy and his accomplishments may have created among some Board members a level of deference to management that was, and is, inconsistent with the level of vigorous and fully independent Board oversight that would have compelled definitive action far earlier,” the review said. “Had he been called on his failure to act, or had his failure to act been reported to the entire Board, this acknowledged ‘lapse of judgment’ might never have occurred,” the review said. “For senior managers who reported to Levy, demanding a response was likely difficult. For Board members, it was their job.”
World Champion boxer speaks BOXER (from p. 1)
him if he wanted to go to the gym and try boxing. After living in Israel, Foreman realized that in the United States he would be presented with new opportunities to improve his boxing career. From boxing, Foreman said that he has learned to accept that not everything will turn out as expected. Last summer, Foreman lost his first professional match at Yankee Stadium and, despite a knee injury, continued to fight until the end. “Everything that happens in our life— good or bad—it happens for the good,” Foreman said. “Life don’t have to be silky smooth and perhaps it’s good that way.” When Foreman went to the Western Wall in Jerusalem, he said he wrote three things on his note before placing it in the Kotel. He said he wanted to be a world champion, marry a model and receive guidance from God. Before his fight for the world championship, he said he continually prayed to God to allow him to persevere through pain and appear confident in the ring. “In order for me to be a world champion, I had to first find Judaism,” Foreman said. Contrary to his belief while growing up that life could either be about boxing or about Judaism, Foreman now said he knows that a life can feature both passions.
EDITORIALS
4 The Brandeis Hoot
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 Gordy Stillman Sports Editor Leah Lefkowitz Layout Editor Vanessa Kerr Business Editor Yael Katzwer Copy Editor Savannah Pearlman Copy Editor Photography Editors Nafiz R. “Fizz” Ahmed Ingrid Schulte Alan Tran Associate Editor Ariel Wittenberg Senior Editors Bret Matthew Max Shay Staff Rick Alterbaum, Candice Bautista, Alana Blum, Chris Bordelon, Debby Brodsky, Becca Carden, Emma Chad-Friedman, Jodi Elkin, Andrea Fishman, Adam Hughes, Gabby Katz, Josh Kelly, Ariel Madway, Estie Martin, Alex Norris, Morgana Russino, Aliza Sena, 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. The opinions, columns, cartoons and advertisements printed in The Hoot do not necessarily represent the opinions of the editorial board. The Hoot is a community student newspaper of Brandeis University. Produced entirely by students, The Hoot serves a readership of 6,000 with in-depth news, relevant commentary, sports and coverage of cultural events. Our mission is to give every community member a voice.
CONNECT @TheBrandeisHoot.com Online http://thebrandeishoot.com Twitter http://twitter.com/thebrandeishoot Facebook http://facebook.com/thebrandeishoot Phone (781) 330.0051 E-mail eic@thebrandeishoot.com
CORRECTIONS Due to a reporting error, an article in the Feb 4 issue of The Hoot, “Feldman resigns as East Quad Senator,” incorrectly stated that Liya Kahan is studying abroad. She is not abroad and is currently serving as a senator and Chair of the Services Committee. Due to a reporting error, an article in the Feb 4 issue of The Hoot, “Schlossberg explores ‘Life in Miniature’ with audience,” included an incorrect quotation, which should state: “In my head I don’t think it’s comic … but the fact that it’s written in a child’s voice creates a dissonance that gives it levity.” Also, the article misstated the publication timeline of the mentioned book. The book was accepted for publication two years ago.
Looking for a copy of The Hoot? Check out our new distribution boxes across campus.
T
February 11, 2011
Why the Rose still matters
his week The Hoot ran a retrospective about the financial state of the university and The Rose Art Museum in honor of the two-year anniversary of then-president Jehuda Reinharz’s announcement that the museum would be closing and that the art would be sold. Two years later, The Rose is open, and no art has been monetized. Some in this community have been prone to question the merit of caring about The Rose if nothing has changed. But the reason Reinharz’s Rose announcement on Jan 26, 2009 made so many waves was not so much because of the threat of an art sale (although that certainly was part of it). The Rose announcement is a pinnacle moment in Brandeis’ recent history because it was a unilateral decision made in the cloak of darkness about the university’s finances and mission. No one at this school knew the mu-
seum was at risk until it appeared on the pages of the Boston Globe. Indeed, The Rose staff only learned of the matter one hour before the story broke. Not only that, no student or faculty member of this university was aware that Brandeis’ financial situation was so dire until it was plastered on the pages of the national press. The decision to close The Rose and sell the art was not only devoid of transparency, but it was also devoid of thought. In the weeks after the decision, Reinharz was quoted in numerous news outlets giving the incorrect number of works of art at the museum. Prior to the announcement, no one had visited the museum’s registrar to ascertain how much art could legally be sold. And no one anticipated that the announcement to close the museum would cause such a media firestorm or elicit a law suit in which the university is still entangled.
The museum’s story is emblematic of the university’s struggle as a whole to find its footing amid national financial strife and has informed every single financial decision the university has made since Jan 26, 2009. Today, The Rose remains open not only because of the lawsuit but also \ because the community united and mobilized to fight for one of our greatest assets. The Rose became a rallying cry. This is why The Rose matters. The Rose matters because it was so highly publicized that now every time arts at Brandeis are mentioned, so will The Rose debacle. Because every time the administration is thinking about making a crucial decision, it is forced to create a committee that includes faculty and students, lest another Rose happens. It matters because the next time a major decision is made, the Brandeis community, and not the national media, will be the first to know.
Banking unaffordable for students
A
s Brandeis students, we have quite a bit on our minds. That’s why it’s so easy to overlook the recent increase in student banking fees. In the aftermath of new federal banking regulations, some local banks have decided to raise fees on students. Bank of America no longer offers a student checking account to new customers, charging students on a fee-schedule applicable to all customers. Citizens’ Bank, on the other hand, does offer a student account, but unless you keep a strict minimum balance or make a specified number of transactions each month, a monthly fee applies. This begs the question: who actually counts the number of debit card transactions they make? Students are unlike other banking customers. Even a student who works can only do so part-time,
and as such, we just can’t afford these fees. And, with limited access to banks at Brandeis, it isn’t easy to switch banks when fees become unreasonable. Some banks, such as Sovereign Bank and TD Bank have not changed their rules, continuing to offer free student checking accounts, but we fear that fees are inevitable. Plus, with laughable deposit rates especially for the average student who can’t afford to keep that much money in an account, banking with these banks remains unpalatable. To make matters worse, ATMs on campus continue to charge fees to students who do not belong to the specified bank. This is wrong, and makes access to cash more difficult. As a condition for banks to keep ATMs on campus, Brandeis ought
to require that ATM services be offered free of charge. Until banks recognize the error of alienating their largest group of future customers, students have options. Call your bank at the first sign of a charge and complain. Threaten to close your account, and if the bank does not listen to your concerns, do so. Switch to accounts with no fees, such as those offered from online banks or local banks from your area. And when it comes to using local ATMs, find a bank that will refund ATM fees charged by other banks. One such local bank is TD Bank, which also offers a free student account. Time constraints may make active participation in your banking difficult, and that’s why banking practices are unfair. But until policies change, remember this: all you have to lose is money.
Letters to the Editor Send letters to eic@thebrandeishoot.com Eat for here!
Or take A reuseable to go container Dear Editors, A recent student column gave some misinformation about to-go containers at Brandeis. The writer asserted they are recyclable. The to-go containers in Usdan are not recyclable—in fact putting them with their likely food waste stains in recycling bins can contaminate the rest of the clean recycling. They should go in labeled trash cans. Reducing to-go container use is a smart idea for the environment; the less
waste to transport off campus the better. If students want to make the green to-go choice, they can sign up for the reusable to-go program. Simply visit the P.O.D. market and give a $5 deposit for a nifty green plastic box. Now you can eat green to-go! If you want to learn more about recycling and waste reduction visit brandeis. edu/recycling. — Janna Cohen-Rosenthal Sustainability Coordinator
The Hoot welcomes letters or opinion articles from members of the community. Please send submissions to eic@thebrandeishoo.com.
IMPRESSIONS
February 11, 2011
Engrossing
Get off our butts
BY MORGAN GROSS Editor
A few days ago, over a plate of Asia Wok veggie lo-mein, I got to thinking about my parents’ favorite Chinese restaurant. As I remember it from my childhood, Wang’s Garden was a tiny hole in the wall with eight tables or less. The restaurant’s small size was conducive to intimate family dinners; some of my fondest family memories call Wang’s Garden home. The establishment, however, was fatally flawed by the manager’s chainsmoking at the corner table. My parents would constantly complain about the manager’s smoking, but there was nothing to be done about this smelly problem. That is, until the very controversial non-smoking bans in Pennsylvania forced the manager to take his smoking outside, which left my family and me in joy and peace, happily liberated from the manager’s smoke.
I remember feeling so thrilled to be able to enjoy my wonton soup in peace and clean air. Unfortunately, after reading of a recent edition of The New York Times, I fear that my initial elation at the installation of these regulations has faded, leaving in its place a sinking feeling that government regulations on smoking are going a little too far. A recent Times editorial revealed that the New York City Council recently voted—36 to 12—“to ban smoking outdoors in city parks, beaches and even plazas, including in Times Square.” I would have to agree with The New York Times editorial claiming that “city councils have overreached” by trying to prohibit smoking in such public areas and tourist hot-spots. While the initial regulations on smoking were put in place to reduce smoking indoors in restaurants and other establishments are reasonable, these new pieces of legislation, proposing more widespread bans on tobac-
co use toe the line of insanity. The Times editorial agrees with me, asserting that while those who created this anti-tobacco legislation called their plan “a noble experiment. It turned into a civic disaster.” While these smoking bans got their start in restaurants and establishments across the country and spread to major cities and tourist locales, college campuses are not far behind. Teaming up with the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation, more than 466 college campuses across the nation have jumped on the bandwagon of tobacco prohibition. This long list of smoke-free campuses includes Washington University in St. Louis. According to the WashU website regarding their tobacco-free campaign, “under the new policy, smoking and the use of all other tobacco products is prohibited on the entire campus. Smoking also is prohibited inside vehicles parked in campus parking lots.” A friend of mine who attends the university explained to me that while the smoking bans may seem designed to protect nonsmokers’ rights, the reality is not so simple. Although smoking is banned on all of campus, the main road running between the residential and academic areas of campus is considered neutral territory, as it is a public road. As a result of this, smokers would congregate along this street, and every student walking through campus has to pass right through them to get to their dorms or classes. Instead of eliminating the threat of secondhand smoke, the ban actually increases the exposure of nonsmokers to secondhand smoke; inconveniencing both smokers and nonsmokers alike. Although I don’t smoke, I don’t see how this—or any— university has the right to dictate whether or not its students have the right to engage in an act that is completely legal (assuming that those who are partaking are 18 years old). It is not uncommon for private university tuition to be upwards of $50,000 per year. For this type of tuition, this micromanaging of student rights is ridiculous to say the least. We as university students are adults and it seems unquestionably wrong to deprive adults of something that is unquestionably legal. As Louis Brandeis—the namesake of our university—said, “we have the right to be left alone,” and I believe that, no matter how we as individuals feel about tobacco use, we should respect that right.
The Brandeis Hoot 5
Book of Matthew
GRAPHIC BY Alexandra Zelle Rettman/The Hoot
Cold budgeting BY BRET MATTHEW Editor
In his State of the Union address last month, President Obama spoke about the importance of cutting the yearly budget deficit. “But,” he added, “let’s make sure that we’re not doing it on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens.” This line was met by particularly thunderous applause in the House chamber. Yet, only a month later, it seems that the message of the speech has faded from the president’s memory. Recently, it has been reported that Obama’s proposed 2012 budget will cut $2.5 billion from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The 30-year-old program, which helps low-income families pay their home energy bills, especially for heating, will be forced to operate with about half of the $5.1 billion budget it had last year. This is not another example of “wasteful spending” due for the chopping block. LIHEAP is already underfunded. The number of Americans who received LIHEAP grants last year increased during the previous year, due in part to the lingering effects of the recession and rising energy prices—especially $90-per-barrel oil. And this year, as we all know, Americans in the Northeast are suffering through a particularly bad winter—a fact that prompted Senator John Kerry (D-MA) to write the president and beg him to keep LIHEAP funding at its 2010 level. “We simply cannot afford to
cut LIHEAP funding during one of the most brutal winters in history,” Kerry wrote in his Feb. 9 letter. “Families across Massachusetts, and the country, depend on these monies to heat their homes and survive the season.” If this cut is implemented, Kerry’s fears, and the fears of state LIHEAP directors across the nation, will come true: three million qualifying Americans will go without energy assistance, according to the American Gas Association. But the worst thing about this cut is what it means for the budget deficit: almost nothing. The budget deficit for fiscal year 2011 is projected to be about $1.5 trillion. Cutting $2.5 billion in LIHEAP funding will reduce that shortfall to—drum roll—$1.4975 trillion. Not exactly enough to turn us into a thrifty nation. This is part of a disturbing trend that the White House has been setting recently. Though Obama has rightly promised to reduce the deficit in the near future, he seems oddly focused on some of the smallest items in the budget, like community service block grants, which states give to community organizers to help the poor. Obama himself worked with these grants when he was a community organizer in Chicago in the 1980s, and he has called the decision to cut their funding in half, saving $350 million, a difficult one. But cutting small grants won’t make any more of a dent in the deficit than will cutting from LIHEAP—after all, you can’t lose See COLD BUDGETING p. 9
6 IMPRESSIONS
Sexcapades
The Brandeis Hoot
February 11, 2011
Do’s and don’ts of Valentine’s Day
BY SOPHIE RIESE Columnist
Well, it’s that time of year again. I wrote my first column just one year ago, as we were getting ready to head out into a break that began with Valentine’s Day. This year is a little different, since we’ll all still be at school for the “holiday.” Maybe it’s because I usually find myself newly single right around Valentine’s Day, or maybe it was my parents’ irritation about holidays when I was younger, but I’ve never quite looked forward to Valentine’s Day the way so many of my peers have. And so while this year will be different (if my boyfriend and I break up before Valentine’s Day, something will have gone SERIOUSLY wrong), I still have many of the same sentiments. My parents always said that Valentine’s Day was a bit stupid in that you should share your love EVERY day and not reserve it for a Hallmark holiday. Don’t get me wrong, I love flowers and chocolate as much as the next girl, but why shouldn’t I get those things all the time? Additionally, restaurants overbook and jack up their prices on Valentine’s Day, knowing that every guy will be willing to shell out a little more just to make his girlfriend happy, no matter how stupid it is. So I say, skip the sappy stuff and get to something a little more exciting!
Last year I wrote about places to have sex outside of your dorm room, so I thought I’d add a few more ideas to spice things up. 1. DO get out of the house: whether you’re having sex or just hanging out, things can get monotonous if you’re in the same place all the time. I know there’s snow on the ground, but the last few days have been nice, and it’s great to put on a few layers and get out into the sun and the snow. Maybe find a buried park bench, or trudge your way onto Chapel’s Field for a great laugh and a little Vitamin D. 2. DO bring out the sexy lingerie: sure it’s cold outside, but it’s warm inside (usually), and that means you can bring out all kinds of lacy nothings to share with your partner. Valentine’s Day is often thought of as the perfect time for these things and in a way it is, if for no other reason than the awesome sales on sexy underthings right around the holiday. 3. DO make a picnic: maybe skip the restaurant and have a picnic indoors. You can cook together and then devour each other for dessert. If you buy sugar-free whipped cream for the sundaes, you can use it later in the evening on one another without too much fear of repercussions later. 4. DON’T make a laundry list: things can be stressful right now, with Valentine’s Day pressure, looming vacation and midterms. Make sure you’re supportive of one another and understanding if
GRAPHIC BY Ariel Wittenberg/The Hoot
something (like restaurant reservations on Monday) doesn’t work out. If you really like each other, it shouldn’t matter if you’re going for a fancy date ON Valentine’s Day or not, it should only matter that you get to hang out with one another. 5. DON’T pick a fight: OK, so you wanted roses but your boyfriend got you tulips (this happened to me once—he thought
they were roses, in his defense). Don’t turn it into something it’s not. He did his best and hey, you got flowers! Lots of couples break up right around Valentine’s Day because one partner sees problems where there aren’t any. Don’t be a statistic; be happy that you have someone to keep you warm for the rest of the (LONG) winter! 6. DO enjoy: take a day for yourself or for you as a couple,
and do something you both enjoy. Take the time to remember why you like/love your partner and the things you do together. All this being said, I’m not trying to convince anyone that the traditional route—flowers, dinner, sex— isn’t a good one. It’s traditional because it works. I’m just saying that there are other ways to enjoy being together other than buying a card that sings a love song.
The College Brandeis Experience
PHOTO BY Max ShayThe Hoot
BY RICKY ROSEN Special to The Hoot
I know what you must be thinking—no, I’m not a midyear. That is the only possible explanation as to why I would be writing this article right now. After all, this is an awkward time to be
commenting on the “glorious” college experience. It’s the beginning of February— the semester is off to a freezing cold start. What am I doing writing about this now? Obviously this article would be more appropriate if written at the end of my first year or at the end of my first semester. But you know what they
say—the best things in life are unexpected. And so, my condolences to anyone who may be offended by my poor timing. “The college experience.” A phrase that’s been written about, mentioned and cited so many times that it brings the dead horse to life. But before you shake your head at my use of such a trite
expression and flip the page in disappointment, I’m not going to talk about the typical college experience. This won’t be about a frat party I went to. Or the time something clicked with me during one of my professor’s lectures. Or the American-flag-wavingin-the-background feeling I got when I realized Brandeis was where I belonged. I would just like to share my idea of what the college experience meant to me six months ago and what it means to me now. Coming into college, I had heard all the rumors. I had seen “Revenge of the Nerds” (even the last two, which were awful). My friends had told me that I would be in for quite the surprise; that the best four years of my life would be in college; that I should prepare for laughter, for learning and for liquor. Well, none of my friends went to Brandeis. And so none of what I expected came true. Nevertheless, I was aching to get out of my high school. It wasn’t that I couldn’t deal with “The Plastics” or that I wasn’t being challenged by all my AP courses, but it was that I had felt like I had been in high school for years. Every day was the same—I wondered sometimes if I were repeat-
ing the same day over and over again, like something out of “Tru Calling” (for all you Eliza Dushku fans). I was itching to move on with my life. And then there was college. I had this ideal vision of college as a paradise where independence and fun were the only guarantees. But I wasn’t naive. I knew about the parties and the prevalence of drugs and alcohol. Nonetheless, coming into August, I had two contrasting ideas of college: the idealized view of it and the wild-parties view of it. But reality struck me in the face like a wet noodle when I arrived at Brandeis in late August. It turns out the college experience at Brandeis is almost the complete opposite of the college experience in general. It is nothing like I imagined it would be. And this is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s just different. It’s funny that I say that, because I am constantly hearing students on my trek up the Rabb steps criticizing every single facet of Brandeis life. The food is awful. The girls are repulsing (as are the guys). Waltham is boring. Brandeis is dull. Everything is horrible! Brandeis students are whiners and I am on the caboose See BRANDEIS, p. 9
February 11, 2011
The Brandeis Hoot
A senior’s Brandeis bucket list
IMPRESSIONS
7
By Ayal Weiner-Kaplow Special to the Hoot My fellow seniors: as we move past the 100-day mark, it’s time to put together our Brandeis bucket lists of things to do before graduation. I was inspired to write this by a similar article published in The Hoot in my first year and I hope that you’ll continue to add to this to make it your own! Here’s a list of some great things do before graduation. These top 19 will get you started . . . 1. Gorge yourself at one of Moody Street’s many excellent Indian lunch buffets. 2. Crowd surf at a Brandeis concert. 3. Explore Sachar Woods. Whether you consider yourself “outdoorsy” or not, it’s a great place for campfires and drunken renditions of your favorite songs.
13. Take in a Brandeis undergrad theater show. 14. Write a guest article for a campus publication or make anonymous controversial comments on the Justice’s website. 15. Go to a Boston professional sports game … We’ve got the Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics and more. GRAPHICS BY Leah Lefkowitz /The Hoot
4. See the Liquid Latex show (or better yet, be a part of it!). 5. Go skydiving (or try something that you swore you’d never do). 6. Go to a ’Deis basketball game and cheer them on as if we’re a big sports campus.
7. Visit The Rose Art Museum and make absurd interpretations of some of its more abstract displays. 8. Pull some sort of memorable stunt on Admitted Student’s Day. 9. Swim in or ice skate on the pond in Massell quad (I promise that it’s not contaminated). 10. Find the NASA lab on campus. 11. Listen to a show on WBRS—they’re always on the air and always appreciate more listeners. 12. Go to a religious service with a friend of a different faith.
16. Go sledding on the library hill … there is bound to be somebody there with a sled (or you could always steal one from Sherman). 17. Check out the Chabad Purim party—it’ll make you wonder why we even bother celebrating Halloween. 18. Explore the tunnels under the Castle and East Quad. They do exist and are a great (claustrophobic) adventure. 19. Double check to make sure that you’re on track to graduate … I’ve met a hilarious number of people who didn’t realize that they were missing requirements until recently.
8 IMPRESSIONS
The Brandeis Hoot
Altered Consciousness
BY RICK ALTERBAUM Columnist
Conventional wisdom dictates that the primary way to solve the Israeli-Arab conflict is to create a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. A partition that is implemented in the very near future, however, would in fact not solve this notorious dispute and perhaps only make matters worse. Consider what would happen in the event that an agreement is reached that culminates in the creation of two states between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. First, Israel would have to make enormous concessions, including the uprooting of tens of thousands of people from their homes and villages in the West Bank; the severing of its capital, Jerusalem; the dismantling of security measures and the withdrawal of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) from nearly all of the West Bank except perhaps the Jordan River Valley; a return to the indefensible pre-1967 borders; and the acceptance of at least several thousand hostile Palestinian refugees. Then, what of a putative Palestine? There is a best case and worst case scenario. The former involves the creation of a state that resembles the status quo. In the West Bank,
February 11, 2011
Two-state destruction the economy would continue to grow; the corrupt, undemocratic Palestinian Authority (PA) would stay in power; the refugees would ultimately be integrated, though this would be a challenge; and the population there would still be hostile to Israel due to the antiZionist and anti-Semitic messages filtered through the state-run media. Meanwhile, in the absence of Fatah-Hamas reconciliation, Gaza would remain as Hamastan, the mini-Islamist terror state on the Mediterranean. Therefore, Palestine would maintain a bipolar character and consist essentially of two countries wrapped into one. In this state of affairs, there would be a cold peace between Israel and the PA, which would probably continue not to recognize Israel as the Jewish state. It is highly unlikely, however, that Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, Syria or Iran would in any meaningful way change their intractable ideologically-motivated stance toward the Jews. In short, nothing significant would change except for the fact that Israel would have to make wrenching concessions in exchange for a signed piece of paper. This is not a good deal. But the more probable scenario is far worse than what I mentioned above. If the PA were to sign a reasonable agreement with Israel and
GRAPHIC BY Internet Source
concede in a significant way on any of the core issues dividing the parties, it would lose legitimacy in the eyes of its people. A weakening in support for these ostensible moderates combined with an IDF withdrawal from the West Bank would provide the perfect opportunity for Hamas to take control of this territory just as it did with its bloody coup in Gaza in 2007. Additionally, Hamas would perceive
weakness from the concessiongranting Israel, and be emboldened to launch a new series of rockets, missiles and bombings into not just the Negev, as it had done before, but into Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and the surrounding metropolitan areas. If Hezbollah and Iran were to join in the fray, it would prove to be an existential struggle for the Jewish state. If a partition plan cannot be
implemented, then I picture five alternatives. The first and main one is to encourage the statebuilding efforts of Salam Fayyad while launching an international campaign to end anti-Israel incitement; convince the Palestinians to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state; moderate their stance on issues like Jerusalem, refugees See DESTRUCTION, p. 9
Liberal intolerance at Brandeis BY SAM ALLEN Columnist
There are many stereotypes that persist about Brandeis and its students. Since transferring to Brandeis University last fall, I have heard things such as: every student is Jewish, everyone is from Long Island or New Jersey, and that Brandeis students are too awkward to function. Another stereotype that I have heard, and witnessed firsthand, is that Brandeis is filled overwhelmingly with liberal students and professors. Every class I have been in has had nearly zero representation of conservative viewpoints during discussions, and the leaders of these discussions, the professors or teaching assistants, often don’t even try to seem impartial. Additionally, the club center website has five organizations that are clearly liberal or progressive in nature, compared to only two organizations that are clearly conservative or libertarian in nature. Thankfully I am not a conservative, however I can imagine that many politically conservative students might feel their views are grossly underrepresented on cam-
pus. To get a better idea of how students view the political views at Brandeis, I interviewed a few members of the community including a member of ’Deis Dems, and a student who had previously worked for the Massachusetts Republican Party. Every student that I interviewed described Brandeis as being a liberal campus, with one person going as far to say it is far-left. Another interesting find was that every interviewee mentioned that when politics is brought up in classes or just socially, there is an assumption that
everyone listening is a liberal. Another person that I interviewed singled out the Peace and Coexistence department as the most intolerant of conservative viewpoints, however, the same person said that most professors in other departments respect students with different viewpoints. When I asked the former employee of the Massachusetts Republican Party if other students respected his views he said that his ideas were “hotly contested and debated, but in the end most people respect my views. Some people can’t however.” He also
GRAPHIC BY Leah Lefkowitz/The Hoot
stated that many professors openly mock conservative public figures in class, but almost never do the same to liberal public figures. These interviews, when combined with my own personal experience on the Brandeis campus, confirm the stereotype that Brandeis is indeed a liberal campus. There is nothing wrong with having a liberal campus; however, there is a problem if debate is shut down and only views from one side of the political spectrum are deemed acceptable. As a political moderate, who believes that
no ideology has a monopoly on good ideas, it is disturbing when only one side is represented in a class, club or event. Even worse, I have encountered a few students who get personally offended when presented with another viewpoint besides their own. I am currently in a class where the professor and the majority of the class are clearly very liberal. While the professor and the vast majority of the class are respectful of my often different viewpoint, I have been told by three different students that I should leave the class because my views were offending them. Sadly for them I will not be leaving the class, as I have found that I learn the most when surrounded by people who think and view the world differently from myself. Too many liberal social science and humanities students at Brandeis do not take advantage of the amazing learning opportunity available by simply having a political conservation with people who view the world differently from them. One of the conservative movement’s biggest problems is that it often is guilty of just talking to itself and declaring different points of view heresy. The liberal students of Brandeis should not make the same mistake.
February 11, 2011
The Brandeis Hoot
COLD BUDGETING (from p. 6)
BRANDEIS (from p. 7)
weight by ordering a Big Mac, large fries, and a Diet Coke. They will, however, make life more difficult for the individuals who rely on the government funding. I expect this sort of behavior from Republicans, who have made no effort to hide their disdain for the poorest Americans, and who, if current legislative events are to be any indication, would rather persecute women seeking abortions than do anything to fix our economic troubles. I do not expect this from a man who spent his younger years working with those same poor Americans and teaching them how to better themselves through political action. Truly cutting the budget deficit will be difficult, and it will require major changes to the amount our government collects in taxes and the amount of money it spends on the military (sorry Republicans—two of the largest contributors to the deficit are the Bush tax cuts and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan). Until that happens, snipping tiny line items from the bottom of the budget amounts to nothing more than political showmanship. Americans are willing to sacrifice, if necessary. We’ve done it before—several times in our nation’s history. But only if we know that our sacrifice will mean something.
of that complain train. Nevertheless, it’s rather Brandeisian of us to say those things. And most of them are true. But Brandeis does have its benefits. All things considered, the education at Brandeis is top-notch. If you are willing to learn, learn you shall. When finding myself engrossed in my political history class, I laugh at the comparisons to my high school AP Government class, which involved my teacher repeatedly asking a nonresponsive class what the First Amendment said. But the education at Brandeis is a given. It’s all the other features of Brandeis that come under attack from the students. And they have a right to be critical. After all, we’re paying $56,000 per year to go to Brandeis. We could have easily sat home and read the textbooks or studied the information online for free. Or we could have gone to community college. So why Brandeis? The easy answer is that we’re going to college to get a degree, not to get an education. But what we’re really paying for is the social experiences, and the growth and development we undergo as human beings. If all I were paying for when I applied to Brandeis was the education, I would have taken a snow check. But that’s not what I’m getting. I’m getting a unique college experience.
TWO STATE (from p. 9)
and borders; isolate and topple Hamas by exerting large amounts of economic pressure on these Islamists; and draw a clear contrast between Gaza and the West Bank. The success of these efforts can ultimately lead to the creation of a unified Palestinian state within the next few decades. Secondly, if their present regimes survive, Jordan could take control of parts of the West Bank while Egypt could reacquire Gaza. Thirdly, in a one-state solution, Israel could provide convincing incentives for the Arabs to migrate to neighboring countries while implementing measures to further increase Jewish population growth and aliyah rates. Fourthly, Israel could deny non-Jews voting rights, though I don’t think this would go over very well with an unsympathetic international community. And fifthly, Israelis and the Palestinians could just not change anything, recognizing that the conflict is simply unsolvable. Therefore, there are options out on the table. The creation of a Palestinian state in the very near future, however, should not be one of them.
9
Brandeis pride
Fiscal futility
Partition ≠ peace
IMPRESSIONS
Brandeis isn’t Boston University. It’s much smaller and much more intimate. And for most students here, that’s what they prefer. But it also has things that, if nothing else, make it special. Perhaps the most-criticized element of Brandeis is the food at Sherman. But that is one aspect of Brandeis that is distinct. As is going to Ollie’s at 2 a.m. on a Saturday for pancakes. And Brandeis students are nothing like Harvard students or NYU students. Above all else, we’re nerdier. I mean, think about it: how many of your friends spend every single night digging a hole for themselves to finish all their work either in their room or in the library? How many of your friends remind you on a daily basis how stressed out they are or how jam-packed their schedule is? That’s Brandeis. Brandeis students are more likely to procrastinate on Sporcle than on Facebook. Brandeis students are likely to sit in Usdan for hours discussing just about anything to avoid studying for a chemistry test. Brandeis students are likely to entwine the Jewish faith into every conversation. What’s made my college experience memorable so far? Oh, where do I begin? Very late nights at the Shapiro Campus Center (like watching the sun rise late). Waiting for the BranVan in the
pouring rain while my friend sings “American Pie.” An enormous Secret Santa party in Polaris Lounge with my Jewish friends. Playing Ultimate Ninja in Harvard Square, a game permanently ingrained in my memory after Orientation Week. Living in the library during finals week (I set up a hammock on the second floor). Having a giant whipped cream fight with my friend at the Quad Olympics and subsequently licking myself on the walk home. Signing up for hundreds of clubs at the Activity Fair and currently having a jam-packed inbox full of messages from clubs I never intended to join (I’m sorry, Cheese Club!). A huge game of hide-andgo-seek in the library. Waking up at 8:30 a.m. for free food and free unity outside of the SCC. Having inspirational talks with all sorts of people in every lounge in North and Massell Quads. Late nights in various places debating our top five presidents or questioning the origins of existence. These will make some pretty colorful stories to tell my kids one day. No, I never went to Brown. And I haven’t lived at Duke either. So I can’t say for certain that Brandeis is the best college out there. But I can say that contrary to what students may think, the Brandeis experience is not all that bad.
10 The Brandeis Hoot
ARTS, ETC.
February 11, 2011
Art exhibit tackles ‘insatiable’ appetites BY KAYLA DOS SANTOS Editor
We want more: more food, more money, more power, more sex—we are never satisfied with what we have and are always hungering for what we do not already possess. In the juryed exhibit “Insatiable,” currently featured at the Kniznick Gallery in the Women’s Studies Research Center (WSRC), 42 artists tackle modern society’s endless appetite and the resulting consequences in a wide array of art pieces ranging from digital prints to found-object sculptures. Art can serve as a reflection of and commentary on one’s culture. Artists can take what they see of the world and create works that presents their unique view to a public. Their works can have the power to highlight specific aspects of a society and spark discussion. The pieces exhibited by the WSRC attempt to make viewers confront their culture’s “rapacious appetite” with varying degrees of success. When I first entered Epstein, I had several expectations of what I would find. The fact that all the pieces were on the theme of our over-consuming society made it so that some works were a little predictable. There were paintings and sculptures of obese subjects; there was a painting of an American flag with dollar bills for its stripes and pennies for its stars; there were paintings of food and photographs of malls. I’m not saying that there was anything technically wrong with these pieces or even that they were boring, just that there were a few that seemed to skim the surface of the theme, making it an object to glance over rather than an object to contemplate. Take for example, Amy Guidry’s “The United States of Consumerism,” which takes the most recognizable symbol of America—the flag—and transforms it into
PHOTO BY Nate Rosenbloom/The Hoot
MATERIALIST DESIRES: Kirstin Lamb was one of the 42 artists to explore the theme of society’s “rapacious appetite” for more in the exhibit “Insatiable.” Her pieces “Better Materialists” (left) and “Patience and Extravagance” (right) explore what happens when the desire for physical objects is all-consuming.
a monetary construction. It’s very obvious. Maybe I lack a critical eye, but what is there to ponder about that piece that can’t be determined with a sweeping glance? America has often been criticized for being a consumerist society and Guidry illustrates that, but, for me, that’s all the piece does—make a literal depiction of a commonly-held criticism. Then again, maybe that’s the point of Guidry’s work—the viewer’s reaction or lack of reaction. Have we accepted our consumerist society? Have we become dulled to that criticism? And is that dangerous? Despite the predictability of some of the art, overall the exhibit was full of pieces that provided interesting lenses through which to look at society’s vices. One piece that made me consider glut-
tony was Nina Prader’s watercolor “La Rotonde,” which presents an interesting study of naked full-figured female forms. The women depicted are in confident stances, their folds and curves illustrated in muted pinks and grays. It’s unclear what Prader is criticizing—the women who seem proud of their rotund physiques or the media’s perception of beauty—both could be possible interpretations. Rachel Bee Porter’s “The Joy of Cooking #6” was another engaging critique of gluttony. In a vibrant digital print, Porter shows an elegant cake smashed to bits, revealing the danger of pairing aggression with food. Morrix’s “Hero” dealt with the subject of materialism in a unique way. His mixed media piece resembles a shrine from afar,
but as one makes out its details, it becomes clear that the shrine is constructed with cheap plastic toys of cartoon characters like Aladdin and Hercules. In today’s culture, what heroes are children idolizing? Most of the art was successful in making one consider the consequences of living an insatiable lifestyle. Anne Percoco’s “Indra’s Cloud” forces one to confront the result of misusing and destroying earth’s resources. The digital photograph shows a small floating cloud of empty plastic bottles on the Yamuna River in India. The cloud was a public sculpture project that involved more than 1,000 water bottles and, after its completion, the cloud was floated around the town See INSATIABLE, p. 14
Documentary inspires debate over ‘Race to Nowhere’ BY ALEX SCHNEIDER Editor
Solving challenges in primary and secondary education is a complex problem, and today, everyone’s an expert. After all, most American parents went to school, and they are convinced they know what’s best for their kids. Which also means that when things don’t go as planned, parents—who want their children to be as successful as they were—think they know how to put their children back on track in order to get into the most competitive colleges like Harvard, Yale and, of course, Brandeis. The trouble is—and this will come as a shock to some people—not everyone belongs at Harvard, Yale or Brandeis. Some students belong elsewhere, yet they are caught up in a whirlwind of societal priorities and pressures that dictate the normative for students: take six APs, get straight A’s, belong to five clubs and two sports teams, and spend hours on homework. Yet for all that pressure and all those choices made without options, some students inevitably don’t get what they want. And that rejection letter is also a reminder: In the “race to nowhere,” everyone runs, even if they don’t know where they are going. The destination may even be in the opposite direction. Vicki’s view Vicki Abeles wants the U.S. education system to change course. As a parent, she no longer insists that
PHOTO BY NAFIZ “FIZZ” R. AHMED/The Hoot
SCHOOL SPEAK: A student offers his own views in a discussion following a screening of the education documentary “Race to Nowhere” in the Shapiro Campus Center on Feb. 8.
her children complete their homework, just that they are happy-go-lucky kids. And, as a professional filmmaker, Abeles produced “Race to Nowhere,” a film about the absurdities of the education system that screened in the Shapiro Campus Center on Tuesday night. With few answers but a whole lot of questions, Abeles describes the pressures faced by modern students, suggesting that these pressures are extreme, unnecessary and contrived. Through interviews with a range of stu-
dents from different backgrounds, she identifies norms for students that she views as wrong: overscheduled days, unnecessary pressure, the sleep lost in favor of homework, young children with headaches and stomachaches developed from school-related stresses, and a spike in child suicides and depression. The documentary’s interviews make a compelling case. One student describes the “and” game (You play sports? And, anything else? Oh, you take four APs? And?). Another explains how, even though she told
her mother she was going to bed, she woke up in the middle of the night to work on homework—in seventh grade. A parent recalled how she felt like a prison guard when she watched over her children working on homework. Another parent was surprised when her daughter, having completed AP French, said, “I never have to take French again!” A teacher of AP Biology said the course was overwhelming to the point of being pointless. He cut his students’ homework in half and watched their scores go up. At the same time, Abeles leaves too many questions unanswered. She criticizes the No Child Left Behind Act but provides no alternative. She attributes cheating and teen suicide to the overwhelming amount of work students have to complete but never admits to the benefits of any work, especially for those who deserve to be challenged and could be candidates for Harvard, Yale and Brandeis. She points a finger at homework but forgets the alternatives: Facebook, game consoles and television. To say that everyone is engaged in a “race to nowhere” is to ignore the diversity of the United States. Some students would be bored without homework. Some students learn something from school. And some students will use the skills they learn in a way that is beneficial to society. We can’t jeopardize those students. Also, some students come from backgrounds where they are disadvantaged. See NOWHERE p. 14
February 11, 2011
The Brandeis Hoot
How to keep your valentine
ARTS, ETC.
11
For some people, Valentine’s Day is a great time to show their significant others how much they care by giving them a present that they bought months in advance. For others, it’s crunch time. If you still haven’t gotten your valentine a present or made plans for a special evening, here are some ideas that our editors conjured up.
Get crafty! Nothing beats a personal touch. Valentine’s Day should be a time to show off how well you know a person with a unique, individualized gift. Chocolate tastes good but lasts a few days at most. Roses are pretty, but I’m not a flower kind of girl—I’d much rather see them on a bush. So instead of going out and spending a lot of money on a gift, get in sync with your creative side and give a gift that will bring back old memories and laughs. A friend of mine who is adept with a needle once sewed her “Star Wars”-obsessed boyfriend a Jedi teddy bear instead of going to a place like Build-a-Bear, while he gave her a shadow box filled with pictures and ticket stubs from moments they had shared together. Not that there is anything wrong with a store-bought gift, but sometimes making your own gift can be more fun … and college-budget friendly! Besides, you can’t put a price on love! And as corny as that sounds, Valentine’s Day is the one day of the year that you are expected to express your corny side! —Ingrid Schulte
Be creative! You can never go wrong with being a little creative and making something original. Last year, I wrote a song for my girlfriend and posted it on Facebook, because she was studying abroad and it was the most efficient way of giving her the present. This year, I am taking her out to the Americas wing of the Museum of Fine Arts and then watching a movie in Kendall Square. I will end the night by taking her to a small Afghani restaurant, Helmand, in Cambridge with a nice cozy fireplace and a great menu—just to try something new. If you are planning on a dinner date, make sure you make reservations ASAP. When I called on Tuesday, the place was already filling up. Valentine’s Day is a busy time of year for all the nice restaurants. Also, there are a bunch of clubs and organizations on campus, including Greek life, selling items like flowers and candy to send to your loved one’s mailbox. Some groups donate their proceeds to charity. She’ll love you for the heart-shaped lollipop but will also love you because the money went to charity. It’s a double win! —Nafiz “Fizz” R. Ahmed
Get looks with a book! If you want to show your loved one that you care but are feeling a certain ennui from the pink- and red-colored fluffy options at your local pharmacy, how about a gift with a more personal touch? No matter your partner’s personality, there is definitely a book out there that can fit them and show you care, whether it’s for the die-hard romantic (“Wuthering Heights”) or the young at heart (“Everybody Poops”). When giving a book, it is always important to write an inscription on the inside cover to personalize the gift. The inscription can be as corny or carefree as you wish, but will go a long way toward showing the thought you put into your gift. Books as gifts are a great way to step away from the generic and put a personal touch on one of the most commercialized days of the year. So this Valentine’s Day, forget the chocolates. What can say “I love you” better than some brain food? —Ariel Wittenberg
Put a twist on the classics! I’d get a dozen of my valentine’s favorite flowers and chocolates (always make sure you know her allergies so you don’t end up in the emergency room). Sure, these seem standard, but the details are what can make these gifts stand out. The chocolates could be either a set or a special chocolate bar. What would then make the chocolates special? The chocolates could all be custom-imprinted with your valentine’s name. Either the chocolates could be contained in a standard heartshaped box or flowers could be used to conceal the custom chocolate bar. It’s basically a new twist on the standard flowers and chocolate idea, as well as a few steps above getting M&Ms with your valentine’s name written on them. —Gordy Stillman
Warm things up!
Stuffed animals are cute and everything, but what happens to those gifts the day after Valentine’s Day? They get thrown into a closet and forgotten until they are resurrected once a year during spring cleaning. Instead you should give your special someone a useful gift that will not be relegated to the dusty bottom drawer. Give your valentine a pair of cute gloves or a pretty scarf—it is still plenty cold outside. Just because it is a Valentine’s Day gift does not mean it needs to be overly mushy and covered in hearts—give that particular individual something they can use on the other 364 days of the year. This way, every time your significant other wears your gift, they will think of you, whether it is on a day devoted to love or not. —Yael Katzwer
12 ARTS ,ETC.
The Brandeis Hoot
February 11, 2011
Gosling and Williams deliver ‘Blue Valentine’ BY SEAN FABERY Editor
Towards the beginning of director Derek Cianfrance’s “Blue Valentine,” college student Cindy Pereira (Michelle Williams) asks her grandmother a question: “What did it feel like when you fell in love?” In response, her grandmother looks around as if she’s lost something, then gently but bluntly responds that she doesn’t think she ever found it and, if she did, it was fleeting. Cindy is not alone in probing the nature of love. Cianfrance’s film itself explores the fickle nature of relationships—specifically that of Cindy and her husband, Dean (Ryan Gosling)—and how easily they can become corrupted. “Blue Valentine” begins with the end, so to speak. Cindy and Dean have been married for roughly six years and share a house as well as a daughter, Frankie (Faith Wladyka). They share increasingly little else, however. Cindy spends much of her time at the local hospital, where she works as a nurse; Dean, meanwhile, is adrift, stuck in a dead-end job as a house painter. He tells Cindy he’s fine with this—he prefers being a father and a husband to everything else—but she increasingly finds his lack of aspirations, along with his feelings of inadequacy, troubling. Even in their present state, they still share several moments where they seemingly reconnect, yet this tenuous present is underscored by intermittent flashbacks of their courtship that reveal a genuinely loving past. In a way, it’s love at first sight for Dean: he happens to spot her while working for a moving company; as he tells it, he immediately gets “that feeling when you just gotta dance” and eventually convinces her to take a chance on him. Their early relationship is not completely absent of drama, but an undeniable connection ties them together.
PHOTO FROM Internet Source
BITTER ‘VALENTINE’: Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling star as a couple whose marriage falls apart in director Derek Cianfrance’s “Blue Valentine.”
Innumerable films have tackled the topic of failing relationships, but there’s something singular about “Blue Valentine.” Cianfrance approaches his characters with a watchful tenderness, never allowing himself to view marriage with the kind of cynicism that defines so many other attempts to explore the subject. The film’s screenplay, written by Cianfrance, Cami Delavigne and Joey Curtis, does not innately distrust the institution of marriage but instead recognizes how easily corruptible it is. As such, the film presents the specter of several
other marriages that have fallen asunder. Dean’s mother abandoned both her husband and her children, while Cindy’s father constantly berates her mother. Yet there’s also hope—before meeting Cindy, Dean helps move an elderly man into a nursing home and comes across the man’s wedding portrait which he treasures long after his wife has passed away. One of the film’s strengths is that it does not rely on standard plot contrivances, like infidelity or physical abuse, to eat away at Cindy and Dean’s marriage. In fact, the
reasons for its decay are surprisingly banal. Dean’s pronounced feelings of inadequacy aside, the two change little in the time between the beginning and end of their relationship. Instead, they simply become tired of one another, though to varying degrees. Cindy no longer finds Dean’s manchild routine charming and thus pulls away from him physically. Dean, meanwhile, finds Cindy’s intelligence intimidating and her distant behavior aggravating. In short, See BLUE, p. 14
A Valentine’s Day Playlist Whether you’re in a relationship or not, whether you’re going out for Valentine’s Day or staying in, you’re going to need some tunes while you do it. Here are The Hoot’s relationship status-appropriate picks for a perfect Valentine’s Day soundtrack for you.
Love Birds 1. “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” – Aerosmith 2. “The Luckiest” – Ben Folds 3. “Collide” – Howie Day 4. “I’m into Something Good” – Herman’s Hermits 5. “First Day of My Life” – Bright Eyes 6. “Banana Pancakes” – Jack Johnson 7. “Our Song” – Taylor Swift 8. “Closer” – Joshua Radin 9. “Elephant Love Medley” – Cast of “Moulin Rouge!” 10. “When U Love Somebody” – Fruit Bats
11. “I’m Yours” – Jason Mraz 12. “All I Have to Give” – Backstreet Boys 13. “For Emma” – Bon Iver 14. “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” – The Proclaimers 15. “Replay” – Iyaz 16. “Say Hey” – Michael Franti & Spearhead 17. “Truly Madly Deeply” – Savage Garden 18. “Accidentally In Love” – Counting Crows 19. “Your Song” – Elton John 20. “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room” – John Mayer
Lonely Hearts 1. “Just Dance” – Lady Gaga 2. “So Nice So Smart” – Kimya Dawson 3. “King of Anything” – Sara Bareilles 4. “You Give Love A Bad Name” – Bon Jovi 5. “Break Your Heart” – Taio Cruz 6. “Forget You” – Cee Lo Green 7. “No Sleep Tonight” – The Faders 8. “The More Boys I Meet (The More I Love My Dog)” – Carrie Underwood 9. “Float On” – Modest Mouse 10. “Wannabe” – Spice Girls
GRAPHIC BY Ariel Wittenberg/The Hoot
11. “Haven’t Met You Yet” – Michael Buble 12. “99 Problems” – Jay-Z 13. “Love Today” – Mika 14. “You Don’t Know Me” – Ben Folds (featuring Regina Spektor) 15. “Consolation Prizes” – Phoenix 16. “Bye Bye Bye” – *NSync 17. “Bitches Ain’t Shit” – Ben Folds 18. “Chicago” – Sufjan Stevens 19. “Darling Do Not Fear” – Brett Dennen 20. Dog Days are Over” – Florence and the Machine
February 11, 2011
The Brandeis Hoot
ARTS, ETC.
13
Yousome, mesome, threesome: exploring sexual boundaries BY GABBY KATZ Staff
Creating healthy boundaries and discovering which sexual activities feel right or wrong for you remains the key to maintaining and exploring your sexual health. This means knowing what you are comfortable with doing as well as realizing that each person may have wildly different boundaries than you do. Boundaries can be influenced by personal preference, religious values, cultural values and a multitude of other factors. An example of variance is that, in some European countries, it is customary to kiss someone as a greeting, while in other countries it is not even socially acceptable to smile at the person. Case in point, when you assume someone’s boundaries, it makes an ass out of you and me. So how can you make sure you maintain your own boundaries as well as your partner’s? Ask your partner! The only way to be sure both you and your prospective partner are on the same page is through communication and the establishment of a form of consent. This can be achieved through assertive “I” statements like, “when you (behavior), I feel (how you feel) and I want (a change you want or reinforcement of something you enjoy).” SSIS members Sami Grosser ’12 and Shannon Ingram ’13 suggest creating a safe word like “bananas” or “paprika.” This is a word that you or your partner can say when the activities become uncomfortable, and the word will stop whatever that activity is when you hear it, no questions asked. They also suggest that if you’re meeting up with somebody new that you don’t know too well, you should tell a close friend
GRAPHIC BY Alexandra Zelle Rettman/The Hoot
where you’re going and when they should expect to hear from you. If they don’t hear from you or you tell them a code word that means something is going wrong, they can help. Boundaries can either be crossed or expanded, but it should be at your own discretion. The most extreme example of unwanted boundary-crossing is rape, defined as forced or unwanted sexual intercourse. According to the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, “in Massachusetts alone, 4,418 adolescents and adults are sexually assaulted each year—that’s 12 people each day and one every two hours. Additionally 90 percent of rape survivors on college campuses knew their attackers.” Now I am not introducing these statistics to confine you
to your room at night, but to have you be aware that rape and sexual assault is more common than we think. The best way to prevent this is to be alert upon entering every new situation. Ultimately preventing boundary crossing should also be a crucial part of our community standards, as we should have a zero-tolerance policy for that kind of behavior. On the other end of the boundary spectrum is the idea of exploration and expanding your boundaries. If you have known what you enjoy for a while and are ready to try new things, there are many different activities to try to expand your sexual boundaries. Ingram and Grosser suggested the idea of BDSM (Bondage Discipline Dominant Submission Sadomasochism),
The weekly glutton: hole-y Einsteins! BY AARON SADOWSKY AND IMARA ROYCHOWDHURY Special to The Hoot
Let’s talk about an oasis on a campus otherwise devoid of … bagels? The belly of the Shapiro Campus Center houses Einstein Bros. Bagels. Many Brandeisians frequent this throbbing center of social activity for their daily cup(s) of coffee or for a food that is quitessentially Jewish: the bagel. A bagel is a questionable food for the glutton. Why is there a hole in the center? Where’d the rest of it go? These are all valid questions that a glutton might have, but they will have to remain unanswered because, from the moment you take a bite out of that hole-y piece of bread slathered in “schmear,” you forget about the hole. The experience is too great for words. Bagels aside, Einsteins also has a variety of salads. There are only three, but each one is a masterpiece in its own right, with each being extraordinarily delicious. We get the salads not so much for the lettuce, but for the cheese, croutons and dressing, all of which contain a necessary amount of protein and carbs. Also of note are the sandwiches and wraps. We like the turkey sandwiches when we’re trying to cut back on calories, but the chicken Caesar wrap is definitely a favorite. It’s like a salad ... to go. The veggie wrap is also enjoyable and especially good to have when you’re worried that the smell of tuna on your breath may scare off all those oncampus cuties. Now that you have a good idea of that, let’s move on. As you go down the line, you see the
PHOTO BY Ingrid Schulte/The Hoot
BAGEL HAVEN: Einstein Bros. Bagels, located in the Shapiro Campus Center, offers an array of delicious choices ranging from their trademark bagels to appetizing salads.
baked goods that are so bad for you yet so good to eat. There’s the strawberry white chocolate muffin, the blueberry muffin, the mixed berry coffee cake, the chocolate chip coffee cake and the cinnamon twist. These are all such delicious snacks that it’s difficult to choose which one to get. We think that you should eat them on a rotating schedule. The baked goods and coffee go together like peanut butter and jelly, or bagels and shmear, or peanut butter on bagels—whatever happens to be your cup of tea. Coffee is always available and scalding hot. There are four flavors, but the general consensus is that the hazelnut is the best
one. If coffee makes you too jittery, go for tea. They usually have at least one type out. But beware, your taste buds may be burned to a crisp. This is not a drink for the weak of tongue. Despite all the flowery assorted foods to be found at Einsteins, the bagel is always going to be Brandeis’ biggest mystery. Where do the holes go? We leave you to ponder that over your bagel and coffee and wish you a happy and gluttony-filled week. Always remember: Gluttons are better prepared for snow-storms. (More layers!)
an umbrella term for a lot of different techniques and activities. Perhaps you would not self-identify or be afraid of BDSM, but, in fact, many people actually perform it or fantasize about it. For instance, using handcuffs or spanking your partner are both forms of BDSM. Intrigued yet? All types of people have been known to enjoy BDSM, whether they’re gay, straight, queer, young or middle-aged women. For people who have too many responsibilities in their lives and want somebody else to take the reins, or for people who feel like they have lost control of everything around them and want to regain a dominant position, BDSM with a consenting partner could be for you. See BOUNDARIES p. 14
14 ARTS ,ETC.
The Brandeis Hoot
Exhibit tackles consumerism
‘Nowhere’ sparks discussion about educational value system
INSATIABLE (from p. 10)
NOWHERE (from p. 10)
of Vrindavan. Percoco took an ancient tale and made a modernized version of it, a parable that cautions people to respect one’s environment or face unwanted consequences. Yet, the one work that I will remember the most is what, at first, seems like a simple piece. Marli Diestel’s untitled photograph shows a couple window shopping. The girl has her mouth open and her hand pressed to the glass of a store, her eyes glazed over with desire. Her boyfriend, laden with bags of merchandise, looks longingly at a beautiful passing stranger. I interpreted this as a portrayal of two different longings, the desire for another person and the desire for an object—both portrayed through the direction of their gazes. I was struck by the thought that I, like the girl, was trying to find meaning by looking at objects. The very act of going to a museum or an art exhibit is placing importance on things. There is a difference, however. The girl looking at the items in the shop window is doing so with a gaze that is clouded by lust, while my looking at the objects was discon-
They want to succeed, but their backgrounds do not provide sufficient tools to help them do so. They may return home at night to an empty house or apartment. Abeles’ vision of happy-go-lucky children without homework to weigh down their creativity may not strictly apply to such individuals. We can’t fail these students. Then there are students who are overwhelmed by work and are average students. We don’t need to expect straight A’s from these students. Getting just one A, a few B’s and the occasional C in Math should be acceptable. Teachers should recognize other types of achievements in these students and not expect from them work that will not, in the end, benefit these students. Such students will go far in life, even if they don’t understand high school chemistry. We shouldn’t lie to these students.
PHOTO BY Nate Rosenbloom/The Hoot
OVERINDULGENCE: Nina Prader’s “La Rotonde” ambiguously critiques societal overconsumption.
nected with desire. Maybe museums and exhibits can teach us how to treat objects properly—to consider them in the context of how they reflect upon society. “Insatiable” provokes its visitors’ emotions and thoughts with a variety of pieces that ultimately makes one consider the costs of human desire. The exhibit will be in the Epstein building until March 15.
PHOTO BY Nate Rosenbloom/The Hoot
CONSUMPTION: The exhibit featured works by artists including Justin Goodall and Max Heller.
February 11, 2011
The view from college How many APs did you take to get into Brandeis? And how many extracurriculars? What about sports teams, honors courses, tests and test prep? How many hours of homework did you do per night? And how many hours of sleep did you get? Was it worth it? The Dean of Arts and Sciences, the Education Program and the Office of Academic Services all sponsored the screening on Tuesday night. The Department of Admissions was conspicuously absent.
PHOTO FROM Internet source
‘RACE TO NOWHERE’: A student works diligently in a scene from the education documentary “Race to Nowhere.”
Brandeis University may be just one of many competitive schools, so, naturally, it can easily deny any responsibility for the pressure students feel in high school, middle school and elementary school. But should it? That’s the bottom line, the take away, the elephant in the room: for all the talk of reducing pressure and for all the grass-roots campaigning, this issue is about one thing—competition induced by a college admissions process that is not transparent. Colleges like to state that they want applicants to show they took advantage of a range of opportunities at their high schools. They want to see sports, extracurriculars, four years of a language and, on top of all that, as many acronyms as possible: SATs, SAT IIs, ACTs, APs and 4.0 GPAs. Each component makes sense, each helps a school weed out applicants who are not worthy of their program. And yet, it also gives students one choice: accept the game or drop-out.
Disappointingly—and perhaps on account of the fact that her own children are still young—the filmmaker blames everyone from parents to districts to the federal government for perpetuating stress in K-12 education, but she overlooks the role of colleges. The Race If education is about improving the knowledge of the workforce of the next generation, it should be better tailored to individual needs. As Abeles suggests, rethinking homework may be beneficial: some studies suggest that students do not gain from more than two hours of homework per night. The education system of tomorrow would require all of us—students, parents, teachers and administrators—to accept that not everyone needs to enter the “race to nowhere.” Some can get to where they need to go by simply embracing their own strengths. That’s the real meaning of achievement.
‘Blue’ offers searing portrait of a broken marriage Examining boundaries
BLUE (from p. 12)
their relationship suffers from problems that may be surprisingly relatable to some; boredom transforms our views of things, both generally in life and specifically in romance. Though the film’s use of flashbacks is hardly new—“Annie Hall” and, more recently, “500 Days of Summer,” do the same thing to similar effect—it emphasizes how different their reactions to one another have become during the last few years due to their marriage’s malaise. Time and time again, the two encounter elements from their past—a favorite song, an old romantic flame—and have wholly different reactions to them, and the flashbacks only increase the bite of these disparities. Of course, a film centered so squarely on one relationship requires that both actors involved must be exceptionally strong. Luckily, Cianfrance brought together two of the best actors working today. Gosling completely buries himself inside his role, imbuing Dean with a combination of energy and immaturity that makes it abun-
PHOTO FROM Internet source
dantly clear why Cindy can alternately find him charming and infuriating. For the most part, his Dean is all charm and heart, and, even as he alternately tries to verbally attack and attract his wife as their marriage crumbles, he still possesses a strange naiveté about the whole matter. Gosling also completely transforms himself physically for the scenes set in the present; while once youthful and confident, the present finds him with a receding hairline and a shrinking inadequacy that marks even his physical demeanor. Williams, too, never feels anything less than inauthentic in a
role that is arguably more difficult than Dean’s. Dean speaks his mind at all times, but Cindy remains constantly aloof even in the happiest of times; furthermore, her unhappiness stems less from the present than the years of marriage that preceeded it. Despite this, Williams ensures that we also give Cindy our sympathy; she may be less afraid to challenge Dean, but Williams conveys the love that accompanies her disenchanted state. As a result of these sterling performances, Dean and Cindy’s marriage never feels anything less than authentic and lived-in. Even
when they’re destroying each other, they exist in a kind of concert together, one perfectly instep with the other. Of course, their performances owe a large debt to Cianfrance, who employed unorthodox techniques to enhance the film’s reality. “Blue Valentine” relies heavily on improvisation, as Cianfrance became bored with the script before filming and instead chose to workshop many key scenes with Gosling and Williams. To ensure that the pair perfectly captured their married life, he also instructed Gosling, Williams and Wladyka to live together as a family in order to mimic domestic life together. Based on the final product, these decisions paid off well. Cianfrance has created one of the most searing deconstructions of a relationship in recent memory which works for all the reasons mentioned above. To boot, it’s also beautifully framed visually and boasts a haunting score by the band Grizzly Bear. Just one word of caution: you probably won’t want to take your own valentine to see “Blue Valentine.”
BOUNDARIES (from p. 13)
Expanding your boundaries can also include role playing, strip teases, bondage with silk scarves, public settings, tickling, ice and threesomes. Benefits of threesomes can include deleting the desire to cheat, reviving your lust for your partner through competition and giving an incentive for you to get into shape and dress up (or down) for a new person! Some say the sensation of two people stimulating you is an experience that could bring you to new levels you could never have imagined. Whether you discover that your comfort zone of sexual health doesn’t go beyond kissing or that it’s time for a third person in the bedroom, exploring sexual boundaries is an essential part of your sexual health. I wish you all safe and healthy pleasure. From masturbating to putting condoms on with your mouth, I hope that this sexual health series has been informative and exciting. As always, tune in for more health tips and send me an e-mail at gkatz10@brandeis.edu with any health-related questions you may have.
February 11, 2011
This Week in History Brandeis
2003 Two Brandeis students are among 300 arrested at an anti-Iraq war rally in New York City.
2008 South African
Ambassador Welile Nhlapo speaks for the Ruth First Memorial Lecture
Massachusetts
1820 Susan B. An-
thony, a suffragist and women’s rights advocate, is born in Adams, Massachusetts.
1885 A Concord, Mas-
sachusetts, library bans Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”
United States
1964
Buster Douglas defeats Mike Tyson, the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, in Tokyo.
1999
President Clinton acquitted of perjury and obstruction of justice: he did not have sex with that woman.
World
1898 A massive explo-
sion sinks the battleship USS Maine in Havana harbor, igniting the Spanish-American War.
1972
David Bowie premiers his alter ego, Ziggy Stardust, during a concert at London pub.
FEATURES
15 The Brandeis Hoot
Valentine's Day at 'Deis
BY ALEXANDRA ZELLE RETTMAN Special to The Hoot
What do we know about Valentine’s Day? We know that every year on Feb. 14 people send cards, flowers and gifts to the ones they love. But why is it “Valentine’s” Day? Who is St. Valentine? Today the Catholic Church recognizes at least three saints with a similar last name, all of whom were martyred. One legend cites Valentine as a priest during the 3rd century in Rome who defied Emperor Claudius II when he outlawed marriage for young men in the hopes of creating a better army. Valentine continued to perform secret mar-
riages in defiance, but was discovered and put to death. Another legend tells that when Valentine was in prison he fell in love with a young girl who visited him during his confinement. Before his execution, it is believed that he wrote her a letter and signed it, “From your Valentine,” becoming the first Valentine’s Day card. Whether Valentine was a priest performing secret marriages or a man writing love notes in the face of death, a day has been made in his honor and the celebration has spread to many places in the world. Great Britain began celebrating close to the 17th century. America
followed suit and Esther A. Howland began to sell the first massproduced Valentine’s Day cards in America in the 1840s. According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated 190 million Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year after Christmas. Also, according to Hallmark, more than 50 percent of all Valentine’s Day cards are purchased in the six days prior to the observance, making Valentine’s Day a procrastinator’s delight. But what is Valentine’s Day to Brandeisians?
``````````````
Hazal Uzunkaya '14 I’m from Turkey and in coming to the States, Valentine’s Day has become a whole new Istanbul, Turkey experience. In Turkey, Valentine’s Day is a
day celebrated strictly between lovers as a time to purchase things and exchange them. However, in America, Valentine’s Day is a day not restricted to just lovers, rather it is a day to celebrate the love you feel towards everyone by buying candy, flowers and cards. But for me personally, I feel like every day should be a day to celebrate love. However, it is nice to have a designated day to put all of your focus into and make something personal to show how much you care for the people who are close to you. XOXO! Jk.
`````````````
In 2009 I began longboarding, an activity that is relaManny Zahonet '14 tively dangerous. I would board with this insanely hot, Bronx, NY smart girl named Lujaisi Reynoso. She would glide like an angel on any skateboard on any surface. We spent most of our time together traveling down hills at 40 mph. On Valentine’s Day it was snowing, which brought our longboarding activities to a halt. Therefore, we stayed in, watched a movie, and ate Captain Crunch. As I was walking her home I slipped and fell backwards on the ice. Before I could get up she sat down besides me. It sounds quite simple but it was one of the cutest moments I can remember having. Lujaisi Reynoso didn’t wait for me to make the first move. She kissed me. Totally beat longboarding.
`````````````
Jessica Petrino '13 Last Valentine’s Day I was home for break with my boyfriend of four months. From the Rockport, MA offset, this Valentine’s Day appeared to be one of those nonchalant date nights. After dinner at our favorite restaurant, we went for a walk. We followed the route we took on our first date together. We paused as we reached the spot where we shared our first kiss together. As expected, we relived that first kiss and, to my surprise, I was not bored reliving this experience yet was struck by its importance to our relationship. The second time around I was far less nervous and awkward. Rather, we were comfortable with each other’s company and affection. That night did not turn out to be full of commercial candy hearts and store-bought cards, as I had expected. Nor did I feel the universal disappointment of a let-down holiday. On the other hand, I realized how important it is to preserve our favorite memories and make them better every time we relive them.
`````````````
So it was first year and my then-girlfriend had recently Dan Gutman '12 decided she wanted a break. I decided Valentine’s Day Mt. Olive, NJ would be the time to win her back; I knew if it was possible, I’d have to go all out. The 14th was the Saturday before our February break, so the dorms were completely empty, and my roommate Michael Tatarsky and I decided to do a double date. We’d turn our room in Renfield into the Waldorf, complete with a covered dining table, candles, roses everywhere, the works. At 7 a.m. I stuck a huge teddy bear with an invite tucked in the collar outside of her door, I knew she’d come. That day Mike and I set up the room and prepared the meal, we got a huge sushi platter and chocolate fondue with strawberries to dip for dessert. The girls came at 8; we had Sinatra playing and white wine on the table. We ate, we danced and we had a great time. After all of it, I asked her out again. She said “yes”.
16 FEATURES
The Brandeis Hoot
February 11, 2011
Abroad at Brandeis International Student Stories
GRAPHIC BY Steven Wong/The Hoot
BY ALANA BLUM Staff
In pursuit of their independence, five students from five separate countries decided to spend four years abroad in the United States. Searching for a small, tight-knit and community-driven experience, these five international students landed at Brandeis. Though their experiences are different, each student shares the same drive to make the best out of their four years in an American University. These are their stories: John Wong ’12 is one of the few Malaysians at Brandeis. To him the most important aspect of studying abroad is meeting new people and learning about their different ideologies. He chose Brandeis not only because of its good national rankings, but also because he wanted to get as far away as from home as possible. Immersing himself in a society where there are very few Malaysians gives him his chance to learn about differnt people. “Being in the U.S. and being one of the only students from my country gives me the advantage of growing outside my own experience,” says Wong. Before Wong came to Brandeis, his impression of the United States was based entirely on movies. Thus, he imagined the classic American teenager as a jock running around with his cap backwards. Expecting the American college environment to be much crazier, like a scene out of American Pie, Wong experienced a small amount of culture shock. Wong describes his first year at Brandeis as a life changing experience. He made sure to meet a variety of people, improve his English, and distinguish himself from other foreign students. While in Malaysia, students are encouraged to take more practical subjects such as economics, Wong took advantage of the American system of taking classes that are more fitting to his interests, such as physics. “When people ask me what my major is, I usually say ‘not economics.’ That usually distinguishes me from 90% of foreign students,” he says.
As he intended, being one of the only Malaysians at Brandeis had its advantages. In Wong’s opinion, studying abroad is instrumental to learning about a new culture. He believes that there is no use in going to another country if one is just set on studying. Nora Li ’13, also came to Brandeis in order to meet and learn about new people. Li grew up in Shanghai, China, and was always fascinated by the American university sub-culture. Li was looking to expand her social network, searching for a smaller school, thus Brandeis held the greatest appeal to her. One of her favorite aspects of Brandeis is the small professor-to-student ratio that one does not find in larger universities. During Li’s first year in an American university, she was shocked to discover that American students do not exchange gifts with their professors. In China, giving gifts to a professor, especially during the Chinese New Year, is considered a token of respect and appreciation. Here, however, a professor might consider it an act of bribery. “I liked one of my professors here very much. I decided to give her some fine black tea. I was surprised to find that she wasn’t completely excited about the gift. She seemed a bit embarrassed and hesitant to accept it,” says Li. Li is a business major and plans on going to graduate school after college. Currently, she is trying to integrate both the Chinese and American cultures into her education. While she helps out with bc3, the Brandies Chinese Cultural Connection, she has also tried out clubs where she is one of the only nonAmericans. For example, in her freshman year, Li participated in the 24 hour musical. Li explained that studying abroad gives her a chance to experience new methods of learning. In China, the classroom setting is very lecture based. Thus discussion based classes are a new phenomenon for Li. “I bring the Chinese culture here. It’s interesting that some-
times I can see the things that Americans can’t. If you grow up in this culture, you accept everything as the norm,” she says. Yosep Bae ’13, hailing from South Korea, describes an experience both similar and yet different from Li’s. Feeling that there was some sort of barrier to what he could learn in the Korean education system, Bae had his heart set on studying abroad since middle school. Like Li, he also describes a classroom setting in which there was very little discussion outside of the lecture. He heard about Brandeis from his college counselor and was deeply impressed. Bae intentionally chose to join clubs that were not related to his ethnicity, and he is now the coordinator for Waltham Group’s General Tutoring Program. “Waltham Group is a really good link for me to observe American society and at the same time build connections with non-Korean students,” he says. Like Wong, Bae believes that it is very important for international students to make friends with students from other cultures. In his opinion, international students can learn from each other while also learning
from the American lifestyle. Bae’s strangest encounter in America took place on a subway. A rather uneducated man had asked Bae where he was from. After Bae politely answered “Korea,” the man had retorted “Don’t nuke our country.” Nevertheless, Bae’s experience in the United States has been a positive one. However, he currently has military duty looming ahead in the near future. Two years of military duty is a requirement in Korea. Afterwards, Bae plans on continuing to business school. Two other international students are Daniela Dorfzaun ’14, from Ecuador, and Michael Mutluoglu ’14, from Israel. Before coming to Brandeis, Mutluoglu served in the Israeli Defense Force. One of his goals in coming to Brandeis was to enhance his social network and meet new people. Through the International Club and The Student Philanthropic Front, Mutluoglu tries to stay connected to the Brandeis Community. He also joined the Brandeis Zionist Alliance in an effort to bring more speakers to Brandeis. While Mutluoglu is impressed with the variety of clubs that Brandeis has to offer, he is
KEEPING CULTURE: John Wong ‘12 designs a poster for a Lunar New Year event.
shocked by American eating habits. “Here, people eat everyday pizza and hamburgers,” Mutluoglu says with a laugh. Dorfzaun also decided to study abroad in an effort to diversify her social life. She was especially attracted to Brandeis because of its history of activism. At Brandeis, she saw the opportunity to change the world and do what she loves. She is now a member of Students Taking Action Now: Darfur (STAND) and Student Events. “I like feeling that I can do something for the world. When I’m part of a community, I like working for it and giving all I can to make it as best as it can be. It’s how I grew up and it’s my way to really feel the Brandeis pride,” she said. While they may all come from different backgrounds, these five students all came to Brandeis in an effort to meet new people and learn about different cultures. All five of the international students agree that it is up to the student to decide how his or her Brandeis experience will turn out. The key is putting aside the books every once in a while and exploring the actual community and world around you.
PHOTO BY Alana Blum/The Hoot
February 11, 2011
The Brandeis Hoot
FEATURES
17
Two years after The Rose: Where are we now? BY ARIEL WITTENBERG Editor
On Jan. 26 2009 former Brandeis University president Jehuda Reinharz sent a community-wide email announcing that the university’s board of trustees had voted to close the campus’ Rose Art Museum and sell its collection. The decision, which was met with uproar by the Brandeis and art communities, was made amid economic crisis and financial struggle in order to alleviate what was then a crippling $80 million budget deficit. Though the measure was only one part of a fiveyear plan for the university created in the fall of 2008 instituting numerous budget and academic cuts, the announcement indicated exactly how much the university was struggling to keep its financial footing. Now, after two years of cuts, and halfway through the five-year emergency plan, Brandeis senior administrators said last week that the university is on track to full financial recovery, but the curriculum is slimmer, with cuts in the Anthropology and Chemistry PhD programs, the theatre program, and the termination of the Hebrew major and Yiddish minor as cuts. Though selling Rose Art is not completely off the table, legal battles, staff changes and exhibition alterations, The Rose remains open. Two years ago, Brandeis tuition (fees not included) was $37,294. For the 2010-2011 school year tuition is $40,514. Since the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year, enrollment has risen by 200 students, and the university plans to add 200 more by 2014. The biggest challenge facing the university today is not balancing the budget, but repairing old buildings. Brandeis had been preparing for economic challenge since the spring of 2008 when there were “strong competitive signs that we would be facing some greater challenge,” according to Fran Drolette, the university’s senior vice president for finance and chief financial officer. The university instituted a hiring freeze and implemented two rounds of budget reductions in order to balance the budget for the 2009 fiscal year, which would begin on July 1 of that year. In the fall Drolette’s staff saw a severe drop in the endowment return, which was at negative 20 percent. “There were challenging factors coming out of the economic downturn that meant the reduction of the endowment could have reached 25 or even 30 percent,” Drolette said. “That would have, in short, meant we wouldn’t have been able to generate income. That was the condition at the time of the Rose.” The university had to act fast.
One week before Reinharz sent his e-mail announcement concerning the museum, steps were taken to cut the use of merit scholarship funds by students while they were studying abroad. Then the Rose announcement came, and though three days later Reinharz would retract his statement, saying the museum would not close but the art would still be sold, the damage was irrevocable. Brandeis, and its financial troubles, was catapulted into the media limelight, with national publications like the New York Times, National Public Radio and Reuters appearing on campus for student protests against the decision. The university payed $20,000 to public relations firm Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications Inc. to handle the media storm. Current university President Frederick Lawrence was dean of George Washington University’s Law School at the time, but remembers the events. “The whole world knew what was going on,” he said. “Our problems were publicized more than other people’s problems.” While the media was covering the Rose Art Museum and the economic strife that came with it, the university was taking more financial measures. In a Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering Committee administrators and faculties reexamined what it meant to be a liberal arts institution, and created a Justice Brandeis Semester program to give students summer study opportunities while drawing in university revenue. The housing process was consolidated in order to ensure every room was filled, again bringing in funds. A business major was created to draw more applicants to the university. The university also cut staff positions and suspended contributions into the retirement funds of its 5,181 remaining employees. The measures helped the university balance its budget, and the school finished its financial year with a negative 17 percent reduction of its endowment. Meanwhile, three benefactors to the Rose Art Museum sued the university to stop any sale of art, a legal battle that continues to today. The media continued to cover the story, and circulated rumors that the Rose Art Museum crisis could have been averted had it not been for university investments with ponzischemer Bernard Madoff, with whom big-time university donor Carl Shapiro had invested. “We invested zero dollars in Madoff. We have sold zero pieces of art from the museum,” Lawrence said. “But in my travels I have spoken to lots of people who believe they know something about this university. Even
though they are all just wrong, they could pass a polygraph test. That’s how much they believe this stuff.” In September of 2009, Reinharz announced his intention to resign from the presidency. By January, the university was set to make more board of trusteesmandated budget cuts to help relieve what board member Meyer Koplow ’72 called a “$25 million ongoing budget shortfall in the typical year.” Though the Rose had re-opened with an exhibit from its permanent collection in October, Koplow told the faculty “some of the solution will come from realizing value ultimately from some of the art at the Rose.” Unable to sell art because of the legal battle, the university instead decided to terminate or restructure 18 academic programs. This year, the university has not made any budget cuts and the university ended the 2010 fiscal year with an endowment return of 13.8 percent. Halfway through it’s “reactionary fiveyear plan,” the university endowment today is “what it was precrash 2008,” Lawrence said. Similarly the museum, though in legal limbo, is open and has restarted programs that were suspended back in January of 2009. Just last week a program allowing students to rent artwork for their dorm rooms started up again. This year the museum welcomed a new director of academic programs, a position that had been vacant for two years, and the university is searching for a museum director. The university is looking into rental options for the art, and while the discussion about art being sold is not off the table, it has been postponed. But while the budget is balanced, Lawrence things “the endowment is not where we need it to be for all the things we want to do.” Indeed, as a result of the financial crisis, the university has $170 million in deferred maintenance needs as the 54 buildings on campus more than 40 years of age begin to decay and deteriorate. The worst-off building, the Castle dormitory, would cost $10 million to renovate. Library renovations, also high on the list, would cost the same. “We achieved a balanced budget without any assumption of the monetization of art,” Drolette said. “But I cant comment on whether there is a need to still discuss it … We still have to develop appropriate fiduciary plans to meet the needs of the university.” “It’s important that we have an annual budget that is balanced, that is finance 101,” Drolette continued. “But it is not where we need it to be for all of the things we want to do. These are really schizophrenic times.”
Two years of The Rose Spring of 2008 The Brandeis senior administration creates a five-year plan to cope with financial strife. Jan 26, 2009 Jehuda Reinharz announces plan to close The Rose Art Museum and sell its art. Feb 6, 2009 “I screwed up” - Jehuda Reinharz The university announces the museum will not close, but it is still pursuing the sale of art. Feb 2009 Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering Committee is formed to make academic cuts. July 27, 2009 Three Rose Art benefactors sue the university to stop the sale of any art. Oct 16 2009 The Massachusetts Attorney General announces she will investigate any plans to sell Rose Art. Oct. 29 2009 The Rose Art reopens after five months with an exhibit from its permanent collection. Jan 22, 2010 Board of trustees mandates the university must make more academic cuts to balance the budget. March 2010 Brandeis 2020 committee makes cuts to Anthropology PhD program, among others. Aug 2010 The Board of Trustees tables discussion of art sale and looks into rental options. Aug 2010 Three artists pull out of an exhibit at The Rose until the university commits to not sell the art.
18 The Brandeis Hoot
SPORTS
February 11, 2011
Men’s basketball slumps on the road BY BRIAN TABAKIN Staff
During the last few days, the Brandeis men’s basketball team has been busy. After the upset to Rochester at home almost two weeks ago, the team traveled to Emory and Rochester for rematches, followed by a game against top-25 ranked Amherst College. On Tuesday the Brandeis men’s basketball team fell into a deep hole early and was unable to climb out as they lost their fourth straight to number-three ranked Amherst, 79-65, in non-conference action on Tuesday night. Amherst opened the game with an 18-3 run and never surrendered the lead. Amherst led by as much as 21 points in the second half; however, Brandeis was able to cut the lead to eight points with just a little less than four minutes to go in the second half. Unfortunately, Amherst proceeded to put
PHOTO BY Ingrid Schulte/The Hoot
the game away. Brandeis opened the game by missing its first six shots and committing three turnovers in the first four minutes, allowing Amherst to open with a 9-0 lead. Brandeis guard Tyrone Hughes ’12 put the Judges on the board with a three-pointer, but Amherst went on another 9-0 run to reach an 18-3 lead. Brandeis hit only three shots in the first 10 minutes of the game, enabling Amherst to lead by double digits for the final 13:50 minutes of the first half. Brandeis center Youri Dascy ’14 hit a layup as time expired in the first half to cut the Amherst lead to 40-24. In the first half, Brandeis shot 31 percent from the floor (9-of-29), while Amherst shot 46.4 percent from the floor including 12-of-14 from the free throw line. Brandeis went on to outscore Amherst 4139 in the second half. The Judges opened the second half hot, with back-to-back threepointers by guard Ben Bartoldus ’14 and forward Alex Schmidt ’14, going on a 12-2 run to cut the Amherst lead to 55-45 with 12:55 to play in the game. Brandeis was unable to cut the lead to single digits, until Hughes hit a threepointer with 4:09 to play, making it a 72-63 game. Dascy hit a layup on the next possession and cut the lead to seven, but Amherst scored the next four points pushing their lead back to 11 with 2:10 to play to put the game practically out of reach. Allen Williamson and Conor Meehan combined for 38 points and 10 rebounds for Amherst, who earned their first regular season victory against the Judges time since the 2006-2007 season. Bartoldus led the Judges with
Runners race to victory at Tufts Invitational BY GORDY STILLMAN Editor
Last weekend, both the men’s and women’s track teams participated in the Tufts Invitational meet. Judges runners managed to reach the podium in competitions that included runners not not only Division III, but also higher division and professional racers. Perhaps the top racer was Vincent Asante ’14. Asante placed second in the 60-meter dash, running at a very quick 7.05 seconds. With a rate of more than eight meters-per-second, Asante was a mere 0.02 seconds behind first place. In the 200-meter dash, Charlie Pino ’12 came in sixth place at 23.63 seconds. Asante was just 0.2 seconds behind at 23.83 but that two-tenths of a second pushed him back to 13th place. In middle length events Brandeis runners also made appearances in the top half of racers. In the 600-meter run Mik Kern ’13 placed sixth with a time of 1:24.90. Senior Ben Bray man-
aged 11th place in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:00.99. In longer competition, namely the mile run, Brandeis runners also found success. Chris Brown ’12 and Paul Norton ’11 took the podium, placing second and third respectively. Brown clocked in at 4:19.00 with Norton only 1.6 seconds behind him at 4:20.60. Dan Anastos ’11 also placed well in the mile, placing 11th with a time of 4:26.85. Brandeis was also successful in reaching the podium in the women’s competition. In the 400-meter event Casey McGown ’13 finished third with a time of 1:01.98 while Anna Sinjour ’13 came in sixth place with a time of 1:02.49. Sinjour also ran the 200-meter dash in 27.53 seconds for ninth place. In the 1,000-meter event Marie Lemay ’11 added a second place finish to Brandeis’ record by running the event in 3:05.59. In another of the longer events, the mile run, Hannah Lindholm ’11 reached third place with a time of 5:27.67.
12 points, while Schmidt finished with 11 points. Christian Yemga ’11 had six points, led the team with nine rebounds and had three assists. A few days earlier on Feb. 6, despite 17 points from guard Bartoldus and eight assists from guard Hughes, Brandeis fell once again to the University of Rochester, 7757. Rochester was led by the hot shooting of sophomore John DiBartolomeo, who exploded with 23 points in the second half after scoring just three points in the first half. In the second half, DiBartolomeo hit 6-of-7 from the field, 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and 6-of-6 from the line. He also led Rochester with seven rebounds, six assists and three steals. Rochester had three other starters in double figures. Senior Mike Labanowski scored 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc, rookie Nate Vernon added 11 points and sophomore Rob Reid contributed 10 points. Brandeis was paced by Bartoldus who scored 10 of his 17 points in the second half. He was 7-of-8 shooting, 2-of-3 from downtown, another term for three-pointer, and 1-of-1 from the line only missing a single shot in the game. Other than Bartoldus, Dascy was the only player to score more than two baskets, finishing the day with eight points on 3-of-8 shooting and 2-of-2 from the threepoint line. Despite a fiercely contested first half that featured three ties and nine lead changes, Rochester seized control in the second half with red-hot shooting. While the Brandeis’ women’s team did well in jumping events as well. Luci Capano ’11 finished in second place with a distance of 11.17 meters. Kim Farrington ’13 wasn’t far behind, placing fourth place with a distance of 10.56 meters. Capano also managed 4.68 meters in the long jump for eighth place and came in 12th in the 60-meter dash with a speed of more than seven meters-per-second and a time of 8.33 seconds. Both the men’s and women’s teams run again on Saturday, Feb. 12 at Boston University.
PHOTO BY Andrew Rauner/The Hoot
Judges shot 59.1 percent (13-22) and held Rochester to 50 percent shooting (13-26) in the first half, they still closed the half trailing Rochester 35-33. Rochester connected on 63.6 percent (14-22) in the second half as Brandeis cooled to an undesirable 32.1 percent (9-28). With Rochester shooting 56.3 percent overall for the game, Brandeis has now allowed four of their last five opponents to shoot more than 50 percent after holding opponents to below 45 percent shooting in their first 14 games this year. Last Friday, Feb. 4, Brandeis fell to Emory 85-70. Emory returned with a vengeance after falling to Brandeis almost two weeks ago in overtime. The first half featured five ties and seven lead changes in what started out as a very tight game. After Dascy hit the game’s first points, Emory’s Michael Friedberg responded by connecting from beyond the arc to give Emory a three-two lead. The Eagles maintained the lead throughout the half, but Brandeis held Emory from being able to push it beyond five. Emory took a 3331 lead into the half led by 11 points by Friedberg. To start the second half, Bartoldus scored to tie up the game at 33-33. Emory’s Alex Greven responded with a three-point play at the other end to take back the lead. Emory maintained the lead for the rest of the game. Dascy cut the Emory lead to 40-38 with 17:13 left in the game; however, Emory went on a 15-6 run in the next four minutes, during which they connected on 6-of-7 shots including
Men’s Basketball Judges at Emory Loss 85-70 at Rochester Loss 77-57 at Amherst Loss 79-65
three-pointers on three straight possessions, to stretch their lead to 55-44. Brandeis was able to cut the lead to nine points a few times afterwards, but Emory opened a 13-4 run to stretch their lead to 20 points with 4:32 remaining in the game. The Judges went on a mini-run of their own to cut the lead to 12, but it was too little, too late. Dascy led Brandeis with 18 points (7-of-9 shooting and 4-of-5 from the line) and had five rebounds. Hughes contributed 13 points, with nine coming in the second half, while Yemga scored nine of his 11 points in the second half. No Brandeis player had more than two assists as the Judges matched their season-low with only seven assists in the game. Dascy and rookie Alex Stoyle each blocked three shots setting a season-high six blocked shots for the Judges. This was the first loss for the Judges where they went to the free throw line more than their opponents. Brandeis enjoyed a 26-19 edge at the line. Brandeis, now 3-6 in the UAA and 13-7 overall, will next play when they host Carnegie Mellon Friday at 8 p.m. At the same time, Emory will host Washington (Miss.) while Rochester plans to host University of Chicago.
Fencing: straight to the point BY GORDY STILLMAN Editor
The men’s and women’s fencing teams have had an active week. Last weekend both teams competed in the Eric Sollee Invitational at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The women’s team also had a match against Wellesley after inclement weather postponed what should have been a Feb. 2 meeting. Tuesday was arguably the highlight of the week as the women’s team overcame Wellesley for a 1413 victory. Saber fighters led the way with a 9-0 run. Anna Hanley ’11, Zoe Messinger ’13 and Emmily Smith ’13 all went 3-0 against Wellesley opponents that just weren’t sharp enough. In foil Brandeis went 3-6, struggling to find their marks. Senior Alex Turner provided the highlight for Brandeis, going 5-1 against Wellesley rookie Jenny Mittleman. Wellesley took the epee event 7-2 with Brandeis firstyear Leah Mack taking the only Brandeis wins in that event. During the weekend, the wom-
en’s team went 3-3 in tournament play at MIT. Brandeis took wins against Yeshiva (23-4), NYU (1512) and Hunter (23-4). Brandeis couldn’t seem to succeed against Pennsylvania teams, losing to the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn, 21-6) and Penn State (22-5). In the final round against Duke, the Judges fell to 3-3 with a 23-4 defeat. The men’s team unfortunately didn’t fare as well during the weekend. Going 2-4 in the tournament, the Judges’ men’s team matched up similarly to the women’s team. The men’s team lost bouts against UPenn (19-8), Penn State (19-8) and, unlike the women’s team, lost to NYU (1710). The men did manage commanding victories against Yeshiva (23-4) and Hunter (19-8). In the final round, also against Duke, the Judges were overwhelmed in a 24-3 defeat. The women’s team duels next on Sunday at the Stevens Tech Invitational. Both teams are also competing in the Boston Beanpot tournament on Wednesday.
February 11, 2011
The Brandeis Hoot
SPORTS
19
Women’s basketball dry spell continues BY BRIAN TABAKIN Staff
In a rematch against Rochester, Brandeis guard Mia DePalo ’11 led all Brandeis players with 14 points including 4-of-4 from beyond the arc; however, DePalo’s hot shooting was not enough to pull away from the Rochester Yellowjackets as Rochester used two
large runs, one in each half, to run away with an 80-51 victory. With the loss, Brandeis falls to 10-10 (2-7 University Athletic Association (UAA)) and Rochester improves to 16-4 (6-3 UAA). In the two games against Rochester this year, DePalo averaged 17.5 points per game and hit 9-of11 from beyond the arc. Guard Morgan Kendrew ’12 added 11
PHOTO BY Nate Rosenbloom/The Hoot
points with six coming in the first half. Sophomore Samantha Anderson topped the team with five rebounds. But no other Brandeis player had more than three rebounds as the Judges went on to lose the rebounding battle 35-23, tying their lowest deficit of the season. Rochester had three starters in double figures, including Melissa Alwardt who topped all players with 16 points. Alwardt shot 6-of12 overall and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Kristyn Wright added 12 points, including a pair of threepointers, and Jodie Luther scored eight of her 10 points in the first half. Rochester outshot Brandeis 49.1 percent to 39.1 percent. The Judges started the game hot, hitting 6-of-8 to open an early 13-6 lead. That lead had increased to 22-17 with 8:24 left in the first half. At this point, however, Rochester went on a 22-2 run to end the half and take a 39-24 lead into the locker room. Early in the second half, the Judges managed to stay in the game, never trailing by more than 12. With 11 minutes left in the second half, the Judges had cut Rochester’s lead to 51-42. Rochester would go on to score 16 of the game’s next 18 points, however, to put the game away completely. Earlier in the week, Brandeis fell to Emory 72-55 despite 16 points from guard Kendrew. Freshman
Julia Scanlon and senior Amber Strodthoff each contributed eight points for the Judges. Strodthoff also led Brandeis with five rebounds and DePalo finished with a game-high five assists. Kendrew scored 10 of her 16 points in the first half as the Judges led by as many as seven points at 17-10 after a Kendrew jumper with 9:19 remaining in the first half. Brandeis was still ahead by five points at 27-22 with just more than three minutes remaining in the first half after Kendrew hit a pair of free throws; however, Emory would proceed to go on an 8-2 run to take a 30-29 lead into the half. Brandeis shot 46 percent for the half while holding Emory to 30 percent shooting including 3-of-13 from beyond the arc, but Emory enjoyed a 9-4 edge at the free throw line. In the second half, Emory became red-hot, shooting 71.4 percent (15-21) and missing only six shots. With 14:43 left in the second half, Emory led the Judges 38-36, but Emory would go on to score the next seven points making it a nine-point game at 45-36 with 12:22 left in the second half. Samantha Anderson ’13 converted a three-point play in an attempt to halt Emory’s momentum but Emory immediately responded with a three-pointer. Brandeis was still in the game
Women’s Basketball Judges at Emory Loss 72-55 at Rochester Loss 80-51 with little more than seven minutes to play after a jumper by Scanlon cut Emory’s lead to 5545. Emory responded, however, by making the next five shots, including two from downtown, to pull away with the game. Despite winning the rebounding battle by 24 in their first meeting, Brandeis lost the rebounding battle by five, 35-30 in the loss. Becca Feldman contributed 14 points for Emory off the bench, while Hannah Lily had 13 points and Courtney Von Stein and Misha Jackson each had 11 points. Feldman and Von Stein each had three three-pointers for Emory. Danielle Landry finished with a game-high eight rebounds, while Jackson added seven of her own. Melissa Koike and Selena Castillo each had three assists, and Koike and Landry each had three assists. Brandeis will host Carnegie Mellon University on Friday and Case Western Reserve University on Sunday, while Rochester will host University of Chicago and Washington University (Miss.) on the same days respectively.
Players versus owners as NFL lockout looms near BY GORDY STILLMAN Editor
As you probably haven’t heard, since you are most likely a Brandeis student and probably do not care much for sports, the NFL and the NFL Players Association’s (NFLPA) Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is set to expire on March 3. If no new agreement is put in place by then, there may not be a 2011 NFL season to look forward to. Back in 2008 after a meeting, the NFL owners voted to opt out of the current CBA after the recently concluded 2010 season. Owners decided they wanted a larger share of the league’s revenue. Currently, the owners receive around 40 percent of the $8 billion of revenue the league makes annually while players receive the larger 60 percent. This ignores a portion of revenue set aside for owners’ expenses that shift the revenue split closer to 50 percent each. It appears that owners want a larger share in order to regain money invested in new stadiums and other expenses more quickly. When it comes to the postseason, teams as a whole earn less money than during the regular season. The NFL gains all ticket sales to be shared by the teams in the post-season. Additionally, the NFL pays teams a flat rate that does not cover the costs of post-season play. For instance the team that wins the Super Bowl is awarded around $3.5 million by the NFL, which generally does
not fully cover the expenses of travel, equipment, etc. On the players side of the postseason problem, we have a sharp reduction in salaries during the post-season. While star players make millions during the course of their careers, when they get to the post-season the NFL pays everyone on the team, including the bench-warmers, an equal share. While players aren’t going to go broke by playing in the postseason, they certainly do not earn a fair share of the revenue generated by post-season appearances. Why should players receive more money in the post-season? For the same reason players make so much money in the regular season. Players run the risk of career-ending injuries every week when they go out onto the field. Whether they should be in such danger is a whole additional topic but the core reason players make large sums of money is because the average career is not all that long. The average length of an NFL career is around three and a half seasons according to the NFLPA’s website. While players may seem to be making massive fortunes if they last several years, the players who only last at or below the average do not exactly end up swimming in cash. While I can see why owners would want to regain their investments more quickly, I still cannot wrap my head around the idea of players getting a lesser share, even if it is still more than half,
of the money the NFL generates every year. When I go to a Vikings game, I go to watch Adrian Peterson, Sidney Rice and, until recently, Brett Favre. I’ve never gone to a game with the slightest care about how the game will relate to owner Zygi Wilf. The same applies with all other professional sports; fans go to watch the athletes, not the owners. Another issue to negotiate, is the idea of expanding the regular season to 18 games instead of the current 16. While I wouldn’t mind more games in the year, this isn’t the way to do it. First of all, the logistics would be a nightmare. Currently, each team’s schedule is made up of six games with division rivals, four games with a different division in the same conference and four games with a division from the opposite conference. The final two games are determined by how each team did relative to their own division in the previous season. Thus the team that places second in the NFC North will play against the two teams in the National Football Conference (NFC) which placed second in their own divisions but were not encompassed by the previous games. While that may sound complicated, once you start looking at the schedules it makes sense. Adding two more games would add a degree of chaos into the mix that is outright unnecessary. A better option would be to expand the post-season and allow more teams the chance to pursue the
GRAPHIC BY Steven Wong/The Hoot
Lombardi trophy. I’d personally like to see the NFL implement an extra round in the playoffs and no byes. That would place every team in the post-season and make for a more interesting fight in the last few weeks. Some could argue that doing so would make the regular season pointless. I disagree because the regular season would serve the purpose of seeding for a postseason set up as a tournament. Another compromise would be to add a round but grant all division champions a bye in the first week as eight wild-card teams battle for four spots against division champions (per conference). Sure this would put half the teams in the
playoffs but it would give more fans a reason to continue watching and generate more revenue for the league. These are just a couple of issues that the players union and the NFL need to hammer out before the March 3 deadline. Other issues include health care benefits for current and retired players as well as considerations for making the game safer to play. With less than a month to go, the prospects of a 2011 NFL season to look forward to becomes dimmer as each day passes. Hopefully, now that the Super Bowl has finished and with it the 2010 season, negotiators can get together and forge a new, long-term agreement that can make both sides happy.
HOOT SCOOPS
20 The Brandeis Hoot
February 11, 2011
The Final Slam Poets get ‘VOCAL’
Slam poets compete to form team to go to national invitational BY RYAN TIERNEY Staff
On Tuesday, Feb. 8, VOCAL poetry held its most important event of the year, The Final Slam. It was a night filled with nerves, poets and nervous poets; it brought out the best in the poets—those who came to slam and those who came to be slammed. The Final Slam was held to determine who would have the opportunity to be part of the 2011 Brandeis Slam Team and travel to the University of Michigan to compete in the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational (CUPSI) from April 6 through 9. The Final Slam served as the conclusion to the Brandeis Open Mic Series (B.O.M.S.), which has been holding bi-weekly events since the beginning of the fall semester, consisting of a workshop, an open mic, a spotlight performance by a student poet and a feature performance by a professional poet. B.O.M.S. nights conclude with a poetry slam—a competitive poetry reading, consisting of three rounds in which original poems, no longer than three minutes in length, are scored by random judges on a scale of one to ten based on the poem itself and the poet’s performance. The impressive qualifiers for The Final Slam included: Sarah Kass Levy ’12, Jason Henry Simon-Bierenbaum ’11, Stephen Cadigan ’13, Daniel Goulden ’14, Jordan Hinahara ’12, Rachel Downs ’13, Rachel Parkin ’12, Rawda Aljawhary ’13, Usman Hameedi ’12, Ashley Lynette ’13 and Rachel Benjamin ’14 (Benjamin qualified but was unable to compete due to other engagements). All of these qualifiers gained eligibility for the event by winning a past slam or participating in other parts of B.O.M.S. events including spotlighting, reading at open mic or participating in a past slam. The Final Slam—held in Castle Commons—was to be hosted by Associate Dean of Student Life Jamele Adams. Unfortunately, Adams was
Rawda Aljawhary ’13
HOST WITH THE MOST: Jason Henry Simon-Bierenbaum ’11 hosted the event, making him ineligible to compete, but he will serve as team captain.
held up in transit and was unable to attend. In his stead, VOCAL poetry founder, Jason Henry Simon-Bierenbaum sacrificed his spot in the competition in order to host The Final Slam. Though this caused him to be disqualified from the slam team, Simon-Bierenbaum will help to coach the team in preparation for CUPSI. The event was opened by two “sacrificial” poets, Kori Perten ’13 and Jason Henry Simon-Bierenbaum. These poets didn’t compete in the slam; instead, they each allowed one of their pieces to be scored by the judges so that they would modulate scores and see what the judging process entails before scoring actual slam contestants. Once the sacrificial poets had read, the competition began. The order of performances was chosen at random and each poet presented their first piece for judgment.
Usman Hameedi ’12
Following the first round, the poet awarded the lowest score was eliminated. The second round’s order was based on the scores of the previous round, starting from the poets with the highest scores to the lowest scores. At the close of the second round, there were two poets whose scores matched as the lowest, and therefore there was no elimination. The third round ordered the poets from lowest to highest score. Each poet gave their heart to the audience in every poem they read, however, after the dust of the incredible performance had settled, only five poets remained. This year’s Brandeis University Slam Team consists of Rawda Aljawhary, Ashley Lynette, Jordan Hinahara, Sarah Kass Levy and Usman Hameedi. For CUPSI, each team member is required to prepare several solo po-
Ashley Lynette ’13
ems and the team as a whole is responsible to collaborate on several group pieces. Together, the team will train and be coached by Jason Henry Simon-Bierenbaum and Usman Hameedi in preparation for their trip to Michigan. In addition to their rigorous individual training, the team will engage in sparring matches with other local slam teams at the bi-weekly B.O.M.S. events. These practice exercises are designed to prepare team members for CUPSI and to allow them to meet contestants from other schools before the competition itself. The Brandeis team will be debuting its individual and group performance pieces at VOCAL poetry’s Main Event—a showcase of local and national poets, hosted by VOCAL as a fundraiser for a Waltham afterschool program—on April 3.
Sara Kass Levy ’12
Jordan Hinahara ’12 PHOTOS BY Nafiz “Fizz” R. Ahmed/The Hoot