The Brandeis Hoot - March 2, 2012

Volume 9 Number 6

www.thebrandeishoot.com

Brandeis University’s Community Newspaper • Waltham, Mass.

March 2, 2012

Divers continue search for missing BC student Speaker raises efficacy of ‘one state solution’

Officials reveal few clues in disappearance

By Yael Katzwer

By Yael Katzwer

Editor

Franco Garcia, 21, a student at Boston College (BC) and West Newton resident, has been missing since Feb. 22, and police have no leads as to his whereabouts.

Garcia, who lives with his parents in West Newton, studies chemistry, plays clarinet in the symphony and plays trombone in the marching band at BC. He was last seen at approximately 12:30 a.m. on Feb. 22 at the Brighton bar Mary Ann’s at a BC Mardi Gras celebration. He attended the party with friends, including BC senior Katherine Corteselli, but they were separated during the course of the night. Garcia appears to have left the party alone, according to Corteselli, drunk though, “not smashed” and has not been seen since.

“While we have lost track of him when we’ve been out before, and sometimes we don’t hear from him during the week because he commutes from home, it is extremely out of his character for him to not go home or contact his family,” Corteselli told The Hoot. “All I know is that See GARCIA, page 5

Editor

one or two weeks preparing to take the test so that a professor can give you a letter grade. This is four years of work coming down to a small qualification period. It’s all about being able to put aside pressure the best that you can, and perform to the level that you’re capable of.

Some people rise under this pressure but unfortunately, some people don’t.”

Ali Abunimah of Electronic Intifada, an independent nonprofit that provides information on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, believes a one-state solution is not something to be afraid of after all. His lecture, titled “Who is Afraid of the One State Solution,” was the keynote address of Brandeis Apartheid week, in past years called Israeli Occupation Awareness Week, an involved discussion about the state of Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It was hosted by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).

A graduate of Princeton University and the University of Chicago, Abunimah is also the author of the book “One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.”

The one-state solution proposes that Israel become a nonsectarian state with equal rights for both Israelis and Palestinians, regardless of ethnicity or religion. In “The One State Declaration,” a statement authored by Abunimah in collaboration with others and issued in 2007, Abunimah argues that the two-state solution “presumes a false parity in power and moral claims between a colonized and occupied people on the one hand and colonizing state and military occupier on the other.” The declaration goes on to outline the bases necessary for the one-state solution, such as “the creation of a nonsectarian state”; “the recognition of the diverse character of the society”; and “the establishment of legal and institutional frameworks for justice and reconciliation.”

Abunimah explained that upon writing the declaration he “looked for principles that were reasonable

See MOREHOUSE, page 6

See ISRAEL, page 4

photos by ingrid schulte/the hoot missing student search (Above) Divers prepare to search reservoir in Newton; (right) Newton police coordinate with state police.

Alum with silver will go for gold in London

By Emily Belowich Staff

Fencer Tim Morehouse ’00, already an Olympic silver medalist, is currently training to qualify for the Summer 2012 Olympics in London, drawing a new spotlight on Brandeis Athletics and its fencing program. Morehouse says that he didn’t realize his full potential until he came to Brandeis and competed against nationally ranked fencers.

Currently, Morehouse is training full-time, dedicating four to five hours each day for five days each week to prepare for the qualification period and he is traveling to different countries every other weekend.

In three to six weeks, he will know if he has qualified for the Summer 2012 London Olympics.

Coach Shipman believes that Morehouse has a strong chance of making the team.

“His chances of making the team

Activist exposes exploitation on crucial seafood supplier

By Gilda Di Carli Staff

E. Benjamin Skinner, award-winning author, investigative reporter and Schuster Institute fellow, published a report in Bloomberg Businessweek last week on forced labor in the New Zealand fishing industry.

The report brought to light the abusive working conditions comparable to indentured servitude experienced on foreign-chartered fishing vessels in New Zealand’s waters.

When Skinner initially received a tip from a Western diplomatic source, he replied, “You’ve gotta be nuts. New Zealand? ‘100 percent pure’—that’s their tagline.” But a comprehensive report by University of Auckland Business School “uncovered numerous cases of abuse and coercion

among the 2,000 fisherman on New Zealand’s 27 foreign charter vessels.”

In the six-month investigation, Bloomberg Businessweek found cases of debt bondage on at least 10 ships that have operated in New Zealand’s waters. Although national labor laws state that human trafficking is punishable in New Zealand by up to 20 years in prison, fishing company lawyers and New Zealand officials consider 12 to 200 miles offshore “murky legal territory.”

Following the story of Indonesian fisherman, Yusril, (not his actual name; Skinner changed it to protect his identity), the report exposes the conditions that was found on one of these vessels, Melilla 203. After paying a $225 fee to the agent, Yusril was See SKINNER, page 3

will be helped if he is seated higher up. He is not the most gifted athlete, but he is one of the hardest workers and will compete at a high level against all of his opponents,” Shipman said.

In an exclusive phone-interview with The Hoot, Morehouse explained the pressures that an Olympian faces during the qualification period.

“Imagine the stress of a final exam,” Morehouse said. “You spend

Audience dies for ‘Titus’

‘titus andronicus’ Actors perform Shakespeare play on Thursday. For more, turn to page 20.

photo by nate rosenbloom/the hoot

NEWS

2 The Brandeis Hoot

March 2, 2012

Lawrence taps Wachter ’73 to head Rose board

By Connor Novy Editor

President Frederick Lawrence has appointed George Wachter ’73 the new chair of the Rose Museum’s board of overseers. Wachter is currently the chairman of Sotheby’s North and South America, the world-famous New York auction house.

Wachter is not “entirely sure” what the job entails, he said, as he’s “never done it before.” But he says he is looking forward to the challenge. The plans for the museum are not finalized, nor has Wachter spoken to the other Rose administrators.

William Dawes, director of museum operations at The Rose, said he is pleased that “Mr. Wachter is well-known in the art world and is greatly respected,” and despite having yet to meet the new chair, is looking forward to “working with him to ensure that the Rose can grow into it’s full potential.”

Wachter is an expert in 1800s art and the Old Masters and regularly lectures on the subject. He has been employed at Sotheby’s Old Masters department since his completion of the company’s Works of Art Course and graduation from Brandeis with a degree in art history.

According to Wachter, his cursory, personal plans involve an “invigoration of The Rose.”

The collection’s largely mid-century and contemporary art is one of the “most significant in America,” says Wachter, “and certainly New England.”

He is excited by the eminence of the collection and said the artists featured, which include Warhol, Lichtenstein as well as other popular modernists, “are the names people are interested in.” He bemoaned the lack of student interest in the museum, despite the popularity of the artistic movements today, and believed they would be excited about the resource “if the students understood what was there.”

What former university President Jehuda Reinharz described as a “hidden jewel,” Wachter believes is underexposed resource to the university. He hopes to bring wider acclaim to the museum, not only among Brandeis’ student body, but the greater Boston and New England area as well.

After the wave of bad press following the attempt to sell pieces of its collection, some have questioned President Lawrence’s appointment of a Sotheby’s employee, the same firm that was to auction off the pieces. Wachter believes he holds an advantage, however, because of his connection to the commercial art world, as do some of his colleagues. “I’m very involved in the art market. I think I can help Brandeis in a clever, creative way.”

The new chair assured that there are no plans to rent parts of the collection, which the university may have briefly been considering. Brandeis and Sotheby’s had been exploring potential long-

photo by nate rosenbloom/the hoot

rose art museum

term loans of the Rose’s artwork, but the period of counsel expired in December 2011, according to Andrew Gully, senior vice present for communications.

While an acquisitions budget does exist, Wachter says, it is very small and there are no plans to expand the collection through purchase. Rather,

he hopes to solidify support for The Rose and “strengthen the confidence, which is shaky right now,” so that trustees and donors will contribute more art and general support. The position was previously held by Stephen R. Reiner, a trustee board member who lauded Wachter’s energy for the job, according to BrandeisNOW.

2012 again highlights housing problems

By Marissa Budlong and Aly Schuman Staff

This upcoming academic year will especially put pressures on the already limited housing arrangement since the class of 2015 is the largest class Brandeis has seen thus far.

Although it varies year to year, Rosenthal typically fills up once the housing lottery reaches number 50 and the Village is filled by around number 115, explained Community Advisor Jessye Kass ’13. Additionally, the last East single is taken by around 800. But with the increasing demand for housing,

new spaces will be opened up in the Village for sophomores, including A house and the first floors of B and C. Another strain on the process is the number of juniors studying abroad.

“For this upcoming year 99 more students than usual studying abroad,” Kass said, which will take a toll on space in the Village, where there is typically room for 100 midyears come spring semester.

In the past, 50 of the suites in Ziv were relegated to upperclassmen and six were reserved for study abroad, but with the added demand, there is speculation that more suites may be set aside for those who choose the latter option.

Each year, a housing number dictates where a student will live the

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following year, which often leads to disappointment in the lower numbers. “We encourage students to have multiple options chosen in advance,” Jeremy Leiferman, senior director of Community Living, said. “I wouldn’t advise becoming concerned about specific room numbers, but focusing rather on room types and locations.

Limiting yourself to one or two specific [options] might [leave you] disappointed.”

The Department of Community Living has not yet been unable to accommodate all of Brandeis’ student body. If a student cannot select housing at their appointment time, they will automatically be placed on the housing waitlist over the summer. Waitlisted students have always

been able to find housing in previous years.

Some students, like Fiona Dean ’15, expressed frustration at the policy determining that if a student has been unwillingly placed in a single due to an arbitrarily assigned lottery number, he or she will still be forced to pay the rate of a single. There may be hope, Leiferman explained. “We can work with you over the summer to reassign you if space is available.”

What is more foreboding for the future is when the current sizable firstyear class becomes juniors. “Housing will be tricky,” Kass said, conceding that this problem will likely appear again, but with even greater demands placed on the housing options that are being quickly outgrown.

Heller student attends U.N. women’s advocacy conference Heller School graduate student McKenzie Strobach participated this week in the United Nations annual meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women, a program that focuses on addressing issues of gender equality with delegates and NGO representatives.

Strobach was one of 20 women students selected in the country to attend the series of workshops on multilateral engagement and coordinated action.

Activities this week included attending official and non-government organization (NGO) sessions. The Practicum on the Commission on the Status of Women is sponsored by the Center for Women’s Health and Human Rights at Suffolk University, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, and the National Women’s Studies Association.

As part of the program, Strobach must develop an advocacy project after returning to campus. “We teach the women how important citizen engagement is,” Laura Roskos, president of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom said in a press release. “They figure out the ropes, learn how to network with NGOs, meet government officials and participate in turning specific proposals into documents that can be adopted by U.N. bodies. This success empowers them to engage in successful civic campaigns in their home environments.”

— By Hoot Staff

The Rose is still down a director, though a search committee is working to fill the position. The chair position was appointed directly by the president. According to Director of the Arts Scott Edmiston, the search is in “the thick of things right now and at a confidential stage,” but they hope to have “more to share” soon.

Third student death of the year at MIT

By Zachary Romano Staff

A 21-year-old MIT student was found dead in his dorm room last Monday, according to university officials. Brian G. Anderson, a Minnesota native, was a management student and member of several organizations including the wrestling team and the recently banned fraternity Beta Theta Pi, according to The Tech, MIT’s student newspaper.

Information on the cause of death is still unknown. Cambridge and MIT police have said that there was no foul play connected to the death. Chancellor Eric Grimson wrote a letter to students on Feb. 20 telling them not to speculate about the cause of death and added “there is no strong indication that Brian’s death was the result of suicide.”

MIT has already faced the deaths of two other students this year, both of which were ruled suicides. Satto Tonegawa, a first-year from Chestnut Hill, Mass., was found dead in his MacGregor House dorm on Oct. 25, 2010, from asphyxiation.

In a memorial article from the MIT news office, Tonegawa was described as an intelligent scientist, a skillful musician and quite humorous. He was also the son of an MIT professor.

Similarly, Nicolas Del Castillo, a sophomore from Bogotá, Colombia, was found dead in his East Campus dorm room early in September. Castillo was an aspiring math major and masterful at karate. The loss of Castillo and Tonegawa both came as painful shocks to the MIT community.

The cause of Brian Anderson’s death will remain unknown to the MIT community and his family members until the Massachusetts State Medical Examiner’s Office releases the autopsy reports within the next week.

MIT will hold a memorial service in honor of Brian Anderson on Saturday, March 17, at 2 p.m. in the MIT Chapel, with a reception following.

March 2, 2012

NEWS 3

The Brandeis Hoot

Strategic planning groups focus on identity of Brandeis

By Victoria Aronson Staff

Established at the commencement of the 2011-12 academic year, the strategic planning initiative is designed to “position Brandeis for mission success in the future” according to Elaine Kuttner, a consultant from Cambridge Concord Associates who is collaborating with the university on the effort. The committee, led by Provost Steve Goldstein, encourages participation from alumni, student, faculty, staff and trustees.

According to the publicized summaries of input sessions, “all groups

found that the institution’s greatest strengths were often simultaneously its greatest weaknesses.” Faculty sessions identified that “most often cited was the desire for an interdisciplinary creative arts building that brings all the creative arts together in one place.”

The sessions focused on central attributes of Brandeis, including the social justice focus, the combination of research facilities within a liberal arts education, Jewish identity and economic challenges. Although it is acknowledged that the university’s connection to the Jewish community was central to its progress and a key

aspect of its roots, the report surmised “there is also a deep and profound need, often voiced by faculty, staff and students, for Brandeis to be recognized, and branded, not solely as a Jewish institution but as an open, diverse scholarly institution.”

Kuttner expanded upon the goals of the committee, acknowledging the challenges presented by the current economic situation. She asserts the need “to ensure that the cost of a Brandeis education does not become prohibitive, and that students continue to have access to the highest quality education possible.” Regarding the planning process, she stresses

the need to address questions such as: “What can we do to make Brandeis a place where an excellent education is affordable to students and at the same time ensure the institution’s financial health and sustainability?”

Although the focus of the committee is centralized to the next five years, the plan incorporates an extended vision for the future of Brandeis. Proposed initiatives included the creation of a Brandeis law school, the development of stronger links with corporations, global collaboration and an increased emphasis on diversity, among numerous others.

When questioned as to her insider

view on the potential of the process, Kuttner said, “From what I can see it has a great chance of succeeding …

The information gathering sessions and the quality of input by students, staff, faculty, trustees and alumni has been excellent and has already had a strong impact on the steering committee discussions and thus the direction of the plan.” To her understanding, approximately 600 students have become involved in the initiative so far, and thus “by taking the time to contribute their viewpoints and ideas, they are giving a gift to future generations of Brandeis students.”

Skinner speaks on illegal labor servitude

e. benjamin skinner

SKINNER, from page 1

rushed to sign a contract comparable to debt bondage. “In addition to the agent’s commission, Yusril would surrender 30 percent of his salary, which

photo from hoot archives

IMS would hold unless the work was completed.

He would be paid nothing for the first three months, and if the job was not completed to the fishing company’s satisfaction, Yusril would be sent

home and charged more than $1,000 for the airfare. “‘Satisfactory’ completion was left vague.” According to New Zealand law, the minimum pay is $12 per hour, but crew members were averaging $1 per hour.

On the ship on which Yusril worked, the officers “compelled the Indonesians to work without proper safety equipment for up to 30 hours straight, swearing at them if they so much as requested coffee or a bathroom break … 16-hour workdays were standard.”

Many of the companies who provide seafood to U.S. restaurants and stores buy fish from these vessels.

United Fisheries, the eighth-largest seafood company in New Zealand, bought and processed fish from Melilla 203 and other suspect ships. The United States imports 86 percent of United Fisheries’ seafood. U.S. retailers that buy fish from United Fisheries include Costco and P.F. Chang’s China Bistro.

Another seafood exporter, Sanford is a “$383 million New Zealand company and the country’s second-largest seafood enterprise,” and exports to the United States through at least 16 seafood distributors, according to Sanford CEO Eric Barratt. Sanford also supplies food to Whole Foods Market. Ashley Hawkins, Whole Foods spokesperson, spoke on background. “For proprietary reasons, we cannot reveal who we source

from our exclusive brand products,” Hawkins said.

Soon, grocery chains might have to reveal their sources. “Regulators are beginning to pay attention to the conditions under which that food is caught,” Skinner wrote in his report, “As of Jan. 1, the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act requires that all retailers with over $100 million in global sales publicly disclose their efforts to monitor and combat slavery in their supply chains.”

The experience on the Melilla 203 was not unique. Yusril experienced similar working conditions on the Dong Won 519, sponsored by Sanford. Yusril and his crewmates experienced both physical and sexual violence.

“The thing you have to understand about the socioeconomic context here is that these individuals in these fishing villages, the only way to make a sufficient living is to get on these boats and haul fish. The alternative, frankly, is begging,” Skinner said in a phone interview with The Hoot.

“The whole thing creates a climate a fear. The only time that Yusril overcame that fear was when he was presented a document that laid out his rights.” These sources are vulnerable to recruiters who can blacklist them if they speak about their experiences.

Considering this climate of fear, Skinner admits that the biggest risk involved in investigative reporting

was in protecting his sources. “We make every effort to get informed consent, but just because they gave informed consent, doesn’t mean the burden is off the journalist to protect your source. You know, the first rule of journalism is to seek truth and report it. The second rule is to do no harm. But if you forget the second one, the first one isn’t worth it.”

In response to Skinner’s report, the New Zealand government released a Foreign Charter Vessels Inquiry report, which was made public Thursday.

The government has resolved to adopt a stricter stance on the operation of foreign charter vessels in New Zealand waters, said Primary Industries Minister David Carter and Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson.

The recommendations include updating the Code of Practice and strengthening the immigration approval process—both of which will help ensure better conditions for workers on FCVs,” Wilkinson wrote in the report.

“We will also be adopting a recommendation that the New Zealand fishing companies chartering foreign vessels have to show the Code is being followed.

“This is a significant move as it puts the onus on those companies, rather than the Department of Labour, which currently has to prove the Code has been breached,” she wrote.

4 NEWS

The Brandeis Hoot

March 2, 2012

Expert poses unified Israeli–Palestinian state ISRAEL, from page 1

and universal.” He went on to say that “these are all things that people in [the United States] have fought and died for”: such protections Americans now have such as habeas corpus, laws against voting disenfranchisement, separation of church and state, etc.

The separation of church and state is the most galling for Abunimah, who argues that it is impossible for Israel to be both Jewish and democratic. “The claim that Israel should be a Jewish state can be asserted, not defended—not legally, politically or ethically,” Abunimah said. “Israel has reached a moral, political and ethical dead-end. The notion that Israel can be both Jewish and democratic violates the rights of Palestinians, which is fine if you don’t see Palestinians as humans, but, if you do, it is wrong.”

Abunimah is pushing for the onestate solution because it would declare Israelis and Palestinians to be equal whereas, not only does a twostate solution fail to assert equality, but seems less and less likely to occur given current circumstances. “The two-state solution is increasingly in the realm of political science fiction,” Abunimah explained.

“Nobody likes being called an apartheid state but the good news is that apartheid can end,” Ali Abunimah said. “Giving up your privileges does not force you to give up your identity, your culture, language or religion.” Defending the use of the word “apartheid” when describing Israel’s behavior toward the Palestinians, Abunimah explored the 1994 abolition of South Africa’s apartheid.

Abunimah explained that, right up until apartheid ended, the white minority in South Africa was opposed to integration. Based off of opinions polls conducted in the ’80s and early ’90s, Abunimah said that the “vast majority of whites completely reject-

ed the one-person, one-vote system, convinced it would lead to bloodshed.” Israeli President Shimon Peres made similar comments in 2009 regarding a one-state solution for Israel.

While Abunimah admits that there was incredible violence in South Africa while apartheid was being phased out and that there would be violence in Israel, this does not mean that apartheid should have remained in place in South Africa, nor should it remain in place in Israel.

He referred to the 1948 Palestinian exodus—called by Palestinians “Naqba,” which is Arabic for “calamity”—as just one of the reasons that apartheid needs to be stopped; in 1948, more than 700,000 Palestinians were relocated from Israel with the use of violence.

Many people—some of whom were in the audience—deny the severity of the forced relocation. “Denial is an admission in a sense that if Naqba were true, it would be an unconscionable moral stain on Israel,” Abunimah said. “We must condemn Naqba denial as strongly as we must condemn Holocaust denial.”

Abunimah also spoke about how important he believes this topic to be and how discussions must continue no matter how uncomfortable. “I think it is important these questions are being asked at Brandeis …” Abunimah said, citing Justice Brandeis’ devotion to free speech. “I wholeheartedly believe in the values of this community.”

For speaking out about these issues, Abunimah has endured “defamation, demonization and outright lies.” He is especially bothered by “the antiSemitism against Jewish students participating in the discussion. We must stop the anti-Semitic smears against students who are just doing what this university is about—speaking freely.”

Abunimah particularly took offense at a column that Alan Dershow-

photo by nate rosenbloom/the hoot

ali abunimah

itz published in The Huffington Post about the conference taking place at Harvard this weekend to discuss the one-state solution. Dershowitz called the conference an “anti-Israel hate fest” and wrote that Harvard should not allow such a one-sided conference to be held at Harvard just because of “free speech and academic freedom.”

Abunimah brought up Martin Kramer, an Israeli scholar who Harvard made a senior fellow to discuss Middle Eastern issues despite having, according to Abunimah, suggested that, in order to stem the growing Palestinian population, Israel should limit the food supply. “Harvard got him because of ‘academic freedom’ but Alan Dershowitz believes discussing a one-state solution does not

fall under ‘academic freedom’ and is unbecoming of a great university like Harvard,” Abunimah mocked.

Reactions to Abunimah’s lecture varied; looking around the audience, many seemed positive, although there were a few displeased people.

“I think many of the things that were said were said in a way that conveniently left things out or gave a macro level of the conflict and not a micro level—at some points they were even factually incorrect,” Ariel Baron ’15 told The Hoot. “An example would be his reference to the ‘wall.’ I hope he knows that this ‘wall’ of which he speaks is a separation barrier of which 3.4 percent is a brick wall and the rest is a fence … This is important because the connotation a

fence makes in people’s mind is very different from the connotation that a wall makes.”

“I really found Abunimah’s talk to be very illuminating and convincing,” Scott Oglesby ’12 told The Hoot. “His ideas were something that I really like a lot, and are sometimes well thought out, but I do have some questions about natural biases that occur with people who are passionate on either side of the debate.”

Oglesby’s reaction is precisely what Abunimah wanted to result from his lecture. He wants “to provoke discussion and thought and to engage people in how to bring justice,” Abunimah said. “I hope it will be resolved in a peaceful way that will recognize the humanity of everyone.”

Charlie Brown Coffee House takes over Chum’s

photo by nate rosenbloom/the hoot

students perform at chum’s on thursday

March 2, 2012

NEWS 5

The Brandeis Hoot

BC student now missing for two weeks GARCIA, from page 1

he left Mary Ann’s, a popular BC bar in Cleveland Circle, without me and my friends and did not tell us he was leaving.”

“It didn’t seem unusual that he didn’t leave at the same time as us, but we did notice that we didn’t see him specifically after around 12:30,” Rachele Reis, a BC senior who is in the marching band with Garcia, told The Boston Globe. “The bar was kind of crowded, big. We figured he was talking to somebody else, that he was on the other side of the bar.”

His disappearance was reported Feb. 23 to the Boston College police by Corteselli and to the Newton police by Garcia’s parents, Jose and Luzmila. The Garcia family became concerned after they were unable to reach their son at home, where he lives rather than the dorms; the family was vacationing in New York with their two other children. An aunt went to the house and could find no sign that Garcia had returned home.

“I first became alarmed about Franco’s disappearance on Thursday, Feb. 23, at around 2:30 p.m. when his mother called me saying that he had not been home,” Corteselli told The Hoot. “Prior to then I figured that Franco had just taken a cab home, which he has done in the past. When his mother called me, I instantly became worried because it’s not in his character to not go home. I immediately when to check if his car was still where he parked it Tuesday nights and to my dismay it was.”

The police—including Newton police, who are leading the case, and Boston, Boston College and Massachusetts State police—have been searching high and low for Franco, using missing-person signs; police dogs and police academy recruits to search wooded areas; police officers going door-to-door; aerial searches via helicopter; and sonar and divers to search in Chestnut Hill Reservoir, which is located between Mary Ann’s and the BC campus.

Police began searching the reservoir on Monday and searched for three straight days, finding nothing.

They took a hiatus Thursday due to the inclement weather but plan to return today to continue searching the reservoir. Using a mixture of sonar and divers, the police are searching for any evidence of either Garcia or his possessions.

“This is just a logical place to search,” David Procopio, spokesperson for the Massachusetts State Police, said at the reservoir Tuesday morning. “We put our state police divers in the reservoir yesterday. We’re also running a search by ground of the woods around here using dogs.” He continued, “His cellphone was pinged nearby here. There is no other reason why we are focusing on this area and nothing has developed. We are running this as a very vigorous and active investigation.”

Jose Garcia told The Globe: “If he’s not here, there’s more hope that he’s alive.”

Procopio has made it clear to media outlets that while foul play is not

search continues Police search woods for Garcia. Garcia was last seen wearing a black North Face

photos by ingrid schulte/the hoot

jacket, jeans, and a striped blue and white shirt.

suspected in this disappearance, it has not been ruled out either.

“The last ping from his cellphone is from 1:17 a.m. and locates him around Moore Hall, a building on campus that is relatively close to the Chestnut Hill Reservoir and surrounding area,” Corteselli said. “State police have come to search the reservoir with a sonar system and divers, and have not found anything.”

Police also searched the Garcia home on Tuesday hoping to find anything that could lead to Garcia’s whereabouts but came up empty.

Although Franco Garcia is a BC student, Brandeis students have had the opportunity to meet him. “Franco actually works at a CVS in Waltham pretty close to Brandeis (the one next to Wendy’s),” Corteselli said.

Additionally, Brandeis student Asya Bashina ’12 has a personal connection with Garcia. “Franco and I were in English class together in 10th grade at Newton North High School,” Bashina told The Hoot. “We did a lot of group projects together. We were not super close friends but we were friendly and we would occasionally sit together at lunch. He was a very sweet kid—he was amicable, caring and fun to be around. I haven’t spoken to him in a few years, however.”

Franco Garcia. Last seen 2/22/12 in Brighton, MA. Call 617-796-2100 with any info.” The telephone number belongs to the Newton police.

By informing people about Garcia’s disappearance, Corteselli said, “We’re hoping that if anyone knows something or saw anything that night they will speak up. Cleveland Circle is very populated at night, so I truly believe that someone had to have seen something.”

“Newton police and BC police are talking to the young man’s friends,” Procopio told The Hoot. “His photo has been well-publicized. If the public sees him or has any info, they should call the police.”

“I would just advise people to keep their eyes open and alert,” Bashina said. “I’m sure he’s still alive, so just be on the lookout. My other advice is directed at the safety of Brandeis students: When you go out with friends, be aware of your surroundings and of your friends’ surroundings. Ensure the safety of yourself and your friends by walking with a friend late at night after a party, just to be safe.”

If the public has seen Franco Garcia or has any information pertinent to his disappearance, they are encouraged to call Newton police.

Bashina found out that Garcia was missing through their mutual friends on Facebook. Since then, she has been posting missing flyers to Facebook in the hopes that someone will see it and be able to help find Garcia.

While the police are searching Newton, Brighton, BC and other areas, Garcia’s friends have taken the search to the Internet.

“The best way for the Brandeis community to get involved is with social media,” Corteselli told The Hoot.

“We have made a Facebook group called ‘MISSING SINCE 2/21-Franco Garcia’ and a twitter account @ FindFranco. We encourage everyone to share, like, forward, re-tweet, etc. about Franco to spread the word. This has helped so much.”

The Facebook group had more than 2,600 members at press time. Many posts on the Facebook page urge people to reach out to celebrities in order to spread the word about Garcia’s disappearance.

“Just this morning Bruce Springsteen (whose son is a senior here at BC) posted on Facebook and tweeted about Franco’s disappearance which has reached over two million people,” Corteselli told The Hoot.

Springsteen tweeted the message: “Help find Boston College student

San Francisco composer wins first Lydian grant

By Nathan Koskella Editor

The award-winning San Francisco composer of classical music Kurt Rohde won the university’s first-ever Lydian String Quartet Commission Prize.

Chosen from an international field of 430 composers, Rohde outpaced twice the number of entries that organizers expected to compete.

The $15,000 prize was established in 2011 by Brandeis Computer Science Professor Emeritus Martin Cohn and his wife Marjorie to enhance string quartet awareness and literature.

Rohde will compose a longerscale, about 15 to 30 minutes, original work to be first performed by the Lydian String Quartet next spring.

“It is gratifying that so many members of the arts community see Brandeis and the Lydian

String Quartet as focal points of the art world,” President Fred Lawrence said. “The university considers the performing, visual and cultural arts to be foundational elements of a true liberal arts education. We thank the Cohns for helping provide composers a source of support and encouragement for their work.”

Rohde is an already accomplished composer with a preexisting list of awards, and he has received the Charles Ives Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a Guggenheim Fellowship.

“When I write music now, I tend to write for people I want to write for,” Rohde said from his office at the University of California­‑Davis, where he is a music professor.

“When I saw the Lydians were sponsoring the competition, I wanted to enter because I felt it was time for me to really try

and compose a string quartet I was happy with, and I especially wanted to compose a new work for them. I am elated to win this prize.”

Although the competition was anonymous, with composers submitting CDs and application forms separately to preserve confidentiality, the Lydians actually ended up choosing a winner they knew. In 1998, Rohde won a competition for young composers that the quartet sponsored.

“It was an utter shock to us that Kurt was the winner,” said Lydians violist Mary Ruth Ray, chair of the music department at Brandeis. “It shows the affinity that we have for his work. He clearly understands strings and string instruments.”

The award was established last year by the Cohns, who plan to provide additional funding to sponsor future prize competi-

tions.

“We are so grateful for Jerry and Marty’s generosity,” said Lydian second violinist Judith Eissenberg. “They came to us and said, ‘What would you like?’ We couldn’t think of anything more worthwhile than creating a prize to support new work. It’s like having a child; it’s a stake in the future.”

The Cohns’ statement to BrandeisNOW read: “We had two objectives in establishing the prize: to re-affirm to Brandeis and the larger community the value of the Lydians, and to foster the composition of new chamber music and to reward its authors. We thank Judy for the concept, and Mary Ruth for its execution.”

The first round of judging was conducted by three composers on the Brandeis faculty: Yu-Hui Chang; Eric Chasalow, the Irving Fine Professor of Music;

and David Rakowski, the Walter W. Naumburg Professor of Composition; and three outside composers: Derek Hurst, Keeril Makan and Scott Wheeler.

Each of the six first-round judges chose up to three works, which were forwarded to the members of the Lydian String Quartet for final judging. Together, the Lydians listened to the 17 finalists before reaching a unanimous decision to award the prize to Rohde.

Rohde already has some thoughts about the work that he will compose for the quartet.

“In this particular case, I’m thinking of writing a piece that might focus on musical interests of the particular players,” Rohde said. “I know Dan [Stepner] is interested in early music and Judy is interested in music from Asia. Those types of things will play into the piece directly or obliquely.”

6 NEWS

The Brandeis Hoot

March 2, 2012

College Notebook

Sexual assaults rattle three college campuses

By Emily Belowich, Staff

Boston University Boston University junior Max Nicastro was arrested last week and charged with raping a student.

Nicastro is a defenseman on the men’s hockey team. He is the second BU hockey player charged with sexual assault this season. The cases have produced an uproar of controversy after comments made by Head Coach Jack Parker in an article published in The Boston Globe last week.

“It’s certainly different than it was in the ’70s.

Sexual mores have changed,” Parker said. “There’s girls on every floor; there’s no men’s and women’s dorms. The idea that hooking up is OK—I don’t think that term was even used in the 1970s …

Ninety-nine percent of these problems start with alcohol and sex. That’s a bad combination.’’

Clark University

Wheaton College

It has now been more than a week, but students at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., are still shaken up after hearing about a female student who was sexually assaulted walking home in the middle of the night on Feb. 23 from a latenight study session.

Students have been warned from professors, police officers, and other university officials not to walk around by themselves and to always travel in groups, especially at night.

According to the police, a 20-year-old woman was walking on Clifton Street, a street close to some of the university’s dorms, at 3:30 a.m. when men in a vehicle approached her and began talking to her. After attempting to ignore them, a man in the back seat forced her inside the vehicle, sexually assaulted her and took her purse. Eventually, she was released a block away and went to a local hospital for a routine evaluation.

The escort service offers walking escorts 24 hours per day and van services from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. during the academic year within a quarter mile of campus.

Clark Vice President of Government and Community Affairs Jack Foley released a statement last Thursday: “We’re deeply troubled to learn of this reported sexual assault, and our thoughts are with our students at this time. University police and Clark officials are working closely with the Worcester police.”

Clark is located at 950 Main St. in the south area of the city. A student who works for the Safety Escort Service described it as “one of the more dangerous areas around here.”

A Wheaton College student was sexually assaulted at an offcampus business known to the study body. The name of the establishment has not yet been released, but officials say that an employee of that business sexually assaulted a student at that establishment.

Few details have been released about the incident—identity of the student or the nature of the allegations—but students at the college received a public safety alert last Thursday morning “We sent out a public safety alert letting people know about what happened off campus,” Wheaton spokesperson Sandy Coleman said. “The safety of our students is of the utmost importance to us.”

The incident is still under investigation by Norton police and officials provided no further information about the incident.

Wheaton officials are warning students to take extra precautions when going out.

“Basically, the message is: be safe, be aware of your surroundings and take care of yourself,” Coleman said. “Whenever something like this happens that involves a student, it’s our duty to let them know this occurred so they can be aware.”

Morehouse training for London 2012 MOREHOUSE, from page 1

“He was good right away, but wasn’t a high school star,” William Shipman says, who is now in his 31st season as head coach.

A high school graduate of Riverdale Country Day School, Morehouse was interested in attending UPenn, but after a visit to Brandeis, Morehouse felt at home here and soon made the decision to attend.

Shipman, who described Morehouse as a “late bloomer,” said that Morehouse worked incredibly hard to earn the recognition and attention that he did.

Shipman says that he started fencing more off-season entering his sophomore year, and it was at this time that he qualified for the NCAAs and competed against some of the best fencers in the country.

In an interview with The Hoot, Shipman spoke highly of Morehouse and reflected on his time here at Brandeis.

“His enthusiasm for the team was extraordinary,” Shipman said. “It is rare to see that in an individual fencer, but he was all about the team.”

Morehouse fenced for all four years of his Brandeis career.

During his collegiate career, he was a three-time NCAA qualifier, earning all-America status each time. A saberist all four

years, Morehouse was named NCAA saber Fencer of the Year as a senior in 2000. In 2009, Morehouse was inducted in the Brandeis Hall of Fame.

Upon graduation, Morehouse returned to his hometown of Washington Heights, where he taught in a middle school with Teach for America. Morehouse trained in the evenings and traveled the world on the weekends.

After earning a spot on the U.S. saber squad, he won a silver medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, becoming Brandeis’ first Olympian.

Morehouse was ranked the number one U.S. Men’s Saber Fencer in 2009-1010, being a four-time Pan American Team Champion (2005-2009); twotime Pan American Individual Silver Medalist (2007-2008) and Team Gold Medalist (2010); National Team Champion (2004); and gradually ranking within the top-15 in the world (20072009).

Morehouse has written a book about his journey of being a fencer entitled “American Fencer: Modern Lessons from an Ancient Sport.” The book will be released next month. As one of the four original Olympian sports, fencing dates back to the 18th century. Even through its many technological changes, fencing is still a very traditional

sport and Morehouse highlights these challenges in his book.

Written with bestselling author Garth Sundem, the book details the challenges that Morehouse and all other fencers must overcome in this unique sport.

He describes his book as a “fun, biographical book with a lot of history on fencing.” He also says that many chapters include his time from Brandeis and share the stories of his teammates, coaches and personal experiences.

“I loved Brandeis,” Morehouse said. “I had great friends, teammates, professors and still have a great relationship with Coach Shipman. We talk often.”

Morehouse received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and fondly remembers many of his professors, including Professor Hackett Fisher and Professor Kapelle from the history department.

“I had a fun time with my classes. And everyone at Brandeis is pretty focused on getting things done. It really helped me to be in that kind of atmosphere.”

Morehouse is still very involved in the Brandeis community. He chaired the class’ 10-year reunion, where he was able to reconnect with many of his classmates.

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IMPRESSIONS

March 2, 2012

The Brandeis Hoot 7

The Katzwer’s Out of the Bag

Santorum is the ‘snob’ barring success

By Yael Katzwer Editor

I am going to be bold for a moment: Rick Santorum is a hypocritical jackass. Most of the things he says, I just ignore because I already know he is a hypocritical jackass. As a college student and as an American, however, I cannot ignore some of the things he has been saying about preparing high school students for higher education facilities.

In case you missed this media storm, Santorum has attacked President Obama’s position that education beyond high school should be more affordable and that students should be better prepared to acquire it. In New Hampshire to a crowd of his supporters, Santorum raged against Obama, saying: Who are you? Who are you to say that every child in America go … I mean the hubris of this president to think that he knows what’s best for you. […] I have seven kids. Maybe they’ll all go to college, but, if one of my kids wants to go and be an automechanic, good for him. That’s a good-paying job—using your hands and using your mind. This is the kind of, the kind of snobbery that we see from those who think they know how to run our lives. Rise up America. Defend your freedoms.

There are so many things wrong with this statement.

First of all, Obama has never said that everyone should pursue a college education. Obama has been very clear many times that there are multiple kinds of higher educations. During a joint session of Congress in February 2009, Obama said: “It will be the goal of this administration to ensure that every child has access to a complete and competitive education […] And so tonight, I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of

Engrossing

graphic by donna vatnick/the hoot

Pennsylvanian has access to higher education. Rick Santorum has supported legislative solutions that provide loans, grants, and tax incentives to make higher education more accessible and affordable.” How elitist!

What a snob!

This new position seems to stem from a paranoid delusion that colleges are bastions of brainwashed lib-

erals who have been forced to relinquish God and religion. I don’t know about you, but I have never been strapped into any kind of brainwashing device—I picture it quite like the one in “A Clockwork Orange”—and my religious affiliation and connection to God is still intact.

In a recent interview with Glenn Beck, Santorum said, “I understand

why Barack Obama wants to send every kid to college—because of their indoctrination mills, absolutely. The indoctrination that is going on at the university level is a harm to our country.” He went on to say that “62 percent of kids who go into college with a faith commitment leave without it.”

See SANTORUM, page 9

A very Gross guide to snow-day shenanigans

By Morgan Gross Editor

it.

higher education or career training.

This can be community college or a four-year school; vocational training or an apprenticeship.”

Obama understands that a fouryear college is not for everyone and has never said anything contrary to that fact. Santorum clearly does not realize that one does not just become an “auto-mechanic”; that requires either vocational schooling or an apprenticeship—two of the things for which Obama is pushing.

Also, when he is campaigning Santorum likes to pretend that Romney is just like Obama because they are both elitists. Oh look, Romney has money! You know what: Santorum did not grow up in a cardboard box.

His father was a clinical psychologist and his mother was an administrative nurse—occupations that both require higher education. And Santorum is no slouch in academia either.

Santorum graduated with honors from Pennsylvania State University in 1980; received his MBA at the University of Pittsburgh in 1981; and received his law degree—again with honors—at the Dickinson School of Law in 1986.

If Santorum had the chance to attain higher education, why shouldn’t other people? It is far more elitist to want to restrict higher education and create such a large divide in this country’s workforce.

This current position is even more hypocritical because, back in his 2006 bid for senatorial re-election in Pennsylvania, one of Santorum’s platforms was his commitment to higher education. Although Santorum is trying to pretend that never happened, the Wayback Machine has archived a snapshot of his website from Oct. 5, 2006. It reads: “In addition to Rick’s support of ensuring that primary and secondary schools in Pennsylvania are equipped for success, he is equally committed to ensuring the every

This week has been a mess.

There has been no getting around

Something about the first few days after a break are always rough and our return from February break is always particularly challenging. Midterms are in full swing, lottery numbers are freshly released and housing wars are in high gear. As an added stressor, the deadline for students studying abroad in the fall to apply to their external programs and scholarships was also in the past few days.

After four essays, two deadlines and a whole bunch of housing drama, it is an understatement to say that this week has been one of serious work, stress and sleep deprivation.

Fortunately, that is not the focus of this article.

In the midst of this stressful week, it was nothing less than a gift from the gods to look out the window of the green room last night—as I entered my seventh straight hour in the library—to see flurries falling over Chapels Field.

This article is a formal expression of my excitement that there is finally snow on the ground here at Brandeis.

Inspired by nostalgia and the pos-

sibility for a day off from classes, snow always transports me back to childhood. Every time a school cancelation seems possible, I stay up late and wake up early to check my e-mail for news.

I cannot overstate how happy this weather—though somewhat unseasonable—has made me and how excited I am to spend the weekend frolicking.

Ever since the months shifted into double digits and the air turned chilly, for the first flakes to fall—and, more importantly, stick—and coat campus with frosty goodness.

Some people complain about the snow and its accompanying cold and wet. Let me be clear in saying that I am one of those people.

I hate the cold and wet too. My interest in snow is—almost—entirely aesthetic. While I am excited to have a snowball fight or two, I am mostly just glad for the chance finally to utilize my view from Rosie North and stare out the window at Chapels Field.

I love snow and all of the activities that come with snow. So—in honor of the winter weather—I have compiled a list of activities to make your weekend of snow sweet: 1. Go sledding Duh. There is no activity more evoca-

tive of first year, than sledding down the hill by the library when the first snow falls. Even though it only snowed a couple of times last winter, I have crystal clear memories of sledding—read: falling— down the hill and climbing—read: falling—back up to meet my friends (... actually, maybe I’ll sit out on the sledding this year).

Go ahead and get nostalgic with your friends.

Bundle up, steal some trays from Sherman and hit the slopes!

You might only end up sledding down once or twice before first-years overtake the territory— and you remember that there’s a reason why you generally like your pants to be dry—but it’s worth it for the chance to relive the memories 2.Have a sleepover Whether school has already been officially called off or you have decided to make your own snow-day, get together with a group of friends, find an available suite and occupy the common room!

Camp out, watch movies, order take out and take the opportunity to

photo by nate rosenbloom/the hoot

be lazy.

Feel free to stay up super-late and—when the walk from Rosie to East seems a bit precarious—make popcorn, borrow pajamas, grab some blankets and pass out on the couch.

Sleep all day 3.This is kind of self-explanatory, but I feel like it needs to be said.

If your week has been anything like mine, then there is really only

one way to spend a lazy snow day.

Nothing sounds better than a day filled with pajamas, tea and a long, long nap.

However you choose to spend your snow days, just make sure that you take a few minutes to hang out and appreciate how lovely campus looks in white—even if your observation is through the window in the green room.

8 IMPRESSIONS

The Brandeis Hoot

March 2, 2012

To recognize or not to recognize: here’s the answer

By Peter Wein Staff

There has been a lot of talk around campus recently surrounding articles published in both the Justice and The Hoot regarding Greek life.

While The Hoot’s editorial was interesting and well conceived, I would like to take a second and give my perspective on a few points raised in the Justice’s editorial “Recognize Greek Life.”

The first issue that the article raises is the recognition of Greek life on campus and how recognition can bring regulation. As a member of a fraternity, I can say that there is a majority opinion in my organization against recognition for that very reason. We, as an organization, have had to grow and evolve into what you see (and don’t, for that matter) without the supervision of a big brother-like figure to determine our boundaries. What has resulted in this tumultuous process is a group of people who can—with enough will and hard work—truly determine the future of our organization. While I cannot speak for any other Greek organization, I am positive they have undergone a similar process. By enabling the university to regulate what we do, all of this work will have been for naught. What my organization desires, more than anything else, is enough recognition to rent out certain locations on campus for philanthropic events, to be at the same level as improvisation groups or a cappella groups.

As one would expect, I must now discuss the regulation that would come with recognition of Greek life.

As the article briefly states—if you rush at Tufts University, you are almost guaranteed a chance to join at least one organization. This seemed to imply that exclusivity is, by nature, a bad thing for Brandeis (or on a larger level, society). You will, however, be hard-pressed to find a student who does not at least know someone who was denied membership to one of the many other exclusive organi-

Sexcapades

By Susannah Feinstein Special to the Hoot

In our world of technology and instant communication, sentiments often get lost in cyberspace. In fact, there’s a whole website devoted to some of the crazy mishaps that can occur during texting. But when texting is successful, I can confidently say that one of its most common (and more recent) uses as a means of hooking-up and conducting relationships.

Some of my friends use text messaging in order to conduct their booty calls in college. If you meet someone at a party and exchange numbers, a text conversation is sure to ensue in the hopes of ultimately having a sexual encounter. One of my friends told me that if she is planning on meeting up with someone that she has been casually texting, she will continue to text until she enters the dorm room or meeting location where they will physically connect. This notion of texting as foreplay is one that is worth our time and consideration because it is perfect for the busy college student.

In the world of the text message, there are a series of unspo-

graphic by diane somlo/the hoot

zations. It is a very sad fact, but exclusivity is one of the great divides between the good and the great; it is why you attend Brandeis and your lazy friend from home who nearly failed high school attends a college with lower rankings. I am not implying that any organization is great by the simple virtue of exclusivity; it is, however, an important factor that is not inherently good or bad.

My next question is for anyone who wants to answer: What are the perks to becoming a recognized organization on campus versus a

non-recognized organization? I have already mentioned the most prevalent one that comes to mind, and the only other I can think of is funding (which would be redundant, since we are a member-funded group). So now, if I were to make a benefits and disadvantages list, the disadvantages would greatly outweigh the benefits.

All of this, of course, implies that the administration would not simply create regulations that completely eliminate what Greek organizations do. Once these floodgates are open, the possibilities are only limited by

the signatures of a few important people.

The last point that arises in the Justice’s article is aligning the values of Brandeis and Greek life to allow a more cohesive system. According to the dean of student life, Brandeis’ core values are: Citizenship, Integrity, Respect, Civility, Lifelong Learning, and Embracing Diversity (CIRCLE). It seems to me, unfortunately, that the Administration and much of the student body have forgotten that embracing diversity is not limited to race or gender. Our own website em-

phasizes the importance of embracing diversity as “because our lives are richer the more we are exposed to a full range of people and experiences, we celebrate human diversity, and strive for the broadest representation of perspectives in all that we do.” It is impossible to align any goals on either side of the debate if our administration actively neglects the very goals it seeks to promote. How do we solve such an ingrained issue in the system? The answer to this problem is as easy as defining the similarities between a raven and a writing desk.

Doing it digitally: the art of the text ken rules that we follow. These obviously differ a bit by location and within social circles, but basic guidelines remain constant.

Proper texting protocol can be quite confusing as far as who should initiate the conversation, the use of emoticons, how long to wait between texts and the overall tone of the message. In the case of texting as it relates to hooking-up, however, all of this texting is ultimately foreplay— simply a song and dance leading to sex.

Although texting is often considered the best way to set up a hook-up, it presents some difficulties. With texts, you can be all of the things you want to be in public when attempting to get your game on: a blend of humor that is direct yet still erotic. Texting results in just the right level of invasiveness that allows you to come off as simultaneously interested yet detached. Painfully shy people, who may not be able to express private sentiments about a person they like, now have a means of expressing their inner kinky selves.

There are, however, pitfalls.

The limited space of a text can just as easily be sexy and flirty as

it can be confusing and hurtful.

There are no voice intonations or sarcasm options in texts and, sometimes, a winky face simply won’t suffice. Being rejected or rejecting someone via text is much easier to do than vis-a-vis a real conversation. Sexting and other forms of texting can also be the source of lots of drama in relationships. Where then is the line drawn between texting a potential partner socially and engaging in destructive behavior?

Texting isn’t just for hookups, though, even in a romantic context. Couples also use texts as a way to keep the spark alive during the day and to let their partner know that they are thinking about them. During class and across campus, I constantly see people holding their phones with smirks or wide grins across their faces—it’s easy to guess what kind of text they might be reading.

There are obviously a lot of pros and cons to texting as it relates to the way our generation conducts romantic relationships. What do you think? How has texting played a role in your hook-ups, relationships or romantic encounters of any sorts?

photo from internet source

March 2, 2012

IMPRESSIONS 9

The Brandeis Hoot

Altered Consciousness

Candidates need to keep it real

By Rick Alterbaum Columnist

One of the trends that I’ve noticed in regard to the 2012 presidential race is the constant attempts by both the Republican candidates and President Obama to portray themselves in an ideal, and it seems, unattainable and unrealistic light.

For Republicans, this ideal would be a conservative with a clear and consistent conviction on social, fiscal and national security policy. This conservative would never have held liberal, or even moderate, views on any major issues, and he would emphasize the importance of principle and values more than compromise and pragmatism. He would never have served in Washington; would be untainted by association with lobbyists or special interest groups; and would run in opposition to the Washington “establishment,” insiders in Congress, the media, the party apparatus and other organizations. He would have experience and a proven track record in the private sector and perhaps will have spent a limited time in local government. Finally, he

would have the charisma necessary to inspire the base and embolden his supporters.

Each of the four remaining Republican candidates has sought to convince the primary electorate that he matches this archetype perfectly, yet cannot do so credibly.

Mitt Romney wins points because he’s a businessman who has never served in Washington. In many ways, he is the antithesis of the conservative ideal. He has been running for president essentially for six years now. He has changed a number of his previously-held beliefs, garnering the moniker of flip-flopper and the accusation that he lacks a core. He fails to enthuse voters who may perceive him as out-of-touch and distant.

The other candidates suffer similar problems. Despite his prominent social conservatism, Rick Santorum—as the last debate plainly illustrated—is a typical Bush-era Republican who supported the expansion of government on a number of fronts and seems too sympathetic to labor interests. Newt Gingrich, contrary to what his rhetoric may suggest, is the quintessential Washington insider who has served as a Congressman then lobbyist for more

graphic by linjie xu/the hoot

than 30 years.

Ron Paul may be the closest fit in relation to the conservative ideal. His isolationist foreign policy views, age and underwhelming presentation, however, are flaws that undercut such an advantage.

President Obama seems to be in a similar state of cognitive dissonance.

Obama seeks to return to the image that he presented during his 2008 campaign: an outsider who embodies hope, change, promise, optimism, and an end to polarization, division and partisan warfare. The fact that he has been at the epicenter of Washington politics for the last three years, that the economy still is struggling, that Republicans and Democrats are at each other’s throats and that he has in fact adopted many of President Bush’s policies as his own, particularly on the national security front, all go against these themes. Furthermore, seeing as how he can’t run on his own record, he will have no choice but to employ extremely negative campaign tactics in the general election.

My ultimate message to the candidates is enough already: Stop presenting yourself as something that you clearly are not. Recognize the reality of the situation as well as your own limitations and flaws, in addition to your strengths. The voters, most of whom are already sick and tired of this election cycle, would appreciate the honesty and sincerity.

So, for instance, if you are in fact a creature of Washington, admit it and then turn this bit of experience into a positive. Alternatively, if you are actually a moderate in your views and disposition, don’t say you are a diehard or “severe” conservative. If you believe that you can convince Iran to halt its nuclear weapons program, then surely you can persuade voters that you can win the election based on your own merit without obscuring the truth.

This would be a positive first step in making this election a bit more bearable for the average voter.

graphic by sindhura sonnathi/the hoot

Santorum against education SANTORUM, from page 7

Yet again there is so much to say.

Let’s start with that percentage; where did he get that? He has been asked by quite a few reporters now where that figure came from and he has been unable to give an answer. I’ll tell you where it came from: his imagination.

By making this one of his reasons for standing against Obama’s desire to make higher education more accessible—a desire he once touted—he is only telling America that he is unable to abide by a separation of church and state.

While I think it’s great that he is a religious man, there must be boundaries. To deprive a young person of higher education that could result in a better life because of the off-chance that they may diverge from religion is flimsy and somewhat cruel.

As quoted earlier, he said of Obama: “This is the kind of, the kind of snobbery that we see from those who think they know how to run our lives.” And Santorum does not believe that withholding education in order to instill religion places him into the category of “those who think they

know how to run our lives.”

To be fair to Santorum, the idea that liberal arts colleges are nothing but indoctrination machines is not a new one.

Fox News said it about Brandeis two years ago when we had a guest lecturer come to discuss the dangers of the Tea Party movement. But, just as it was then, it is a deeply flawed idea. Are some colleges more liberal than others? Yes. But, just from what I have personally seen, kids who enter college as liberals tend to leave as liberals and kids who enter college as conservatives tend to leave as conservatives.

These last couple weeks should convince anyone still teetering between Santorum and Romney that they do not want Santorum to win the election. While Romney may be a flip-flopper, at least he doesn’t flop to the dumbest position possible and then come up with incredibly weak reasons.

Santorum needs to realize that while radical statements may get him media coverage and may get him some primaries, they will not get him the presidency. No one wants a president who refuses to help them achieve a better life.

A savvy student’s guide to eating well: the battle between wallet and palate

By Claire Arkin

Special to the Hoot

From the first primordial barbecues of our apish ancestors to the rustic grub of the early farmers, the Apicius to the “Joy of Cooking,” the mortar and pestle to the food processor, it’s clear that cooking is one of the greatest and most progressive achievements of mankind. Keep this in mind, then consider the average college student, whose cooking prowess spans the two feet between the freezer and the microwave. Oh, how far we have fallen.

We all know that the above statement doesn’t tell the full story. Too often the college student has been typecast into the role of the serial cereal eater, the cup o’ noodles stacker and the late-night pizza glutton. For many of us, these stereotypes are ungenerous to say the least.

Brandeis students care about food.

We have clubs devoted to it, activist groups campaigning about it and whole events centered around it. The student body spans from farmers market junkies to ethnic food enthusiasts, with a whole range of avid foodies in between.

Yet there’s something that we all

have in common, or—more aptly—we all lack in common: time and money.

No wonder we all flock to the midnight buffet and similar events: Free food is the best kind of food and second to that is cheap, easy food.

And for those of us not on a meal plan, anything is better than succumbing to the misery of paying exorbitant sums for mildly nauseating Aramark food.

For the student foodie, there is a constant battle between palate and wallet, and the wallet always wins.

And so I’ve devised some ways to keep our gastronomical integrity even under the strain of frugality, business and, let’s be honest, laziness.

Here are some collegiate classics with a twist that is certain to jazz up any meal-on-the-go.

1. The Ramen Noodle In my first year, my neighbor had a barricade of ramen reserves about two feet high. I myself am guilty of several noteworthy ramen binges, which led me on an exploration of ramen recipes.

First, ramen doesn’t have to be just soup. It can be fried or boiled and turned into a stir-fry. You can add pretty much anything you want to it, like leftovers in need of a makeover.

I admit to putting some pretty weird

stuff in my ramen.

Hot sauce! Soy sauce! Any kind of sauce, really! You can make a Thai or Indian-themed stir-fry and add powdered curry, coriander, fennel or turmeric—really anything on your spice rack.

Adding veggies to ramen is lovely, but the peeling and cutting is time consuming. If you’re in a rush, just add a frozen vegetable medley. My personal favorite is ramen soup with a poached egg.

It’s a bit tricky, but if you get it right it’s really tasty. When the water is boiling, stir it quickly until it makes a whirlpool, and then crack the egg into the middle. Keep stirring to make sure the egg forms a tidy ball (usually a not-so-tidy one) and then after a minute or two, add your noodles and bam! Dinner!

2. The Mac ’n’ Cheese I know some are loyal Easy Mac fans, but I myself am an Annie’s Mac person hands-down. No matter what your preference, here’s some ways you can dress it up: Add meat! Tuna, sausage, bacon, chicken, ground beef, etc. Also, if you have any kind of cheese, go ahead and add that. Goat cheese, sausage and baby spinach is lovely. If you’re really pressed for time, once again, spices,

spices, spices. Rosemary, cayenne, curry or go crazy.

3. The peanut butter and jelly The holy trinity of bread, peanut butter and jelly is not one with which to be tampered, according to PB&J purists.

If you are one of these people, the following will be deeply upsetting to you. For those of you nonconformist sandwich makers out there, read on.

We can all agree that anything tastes better fried. PB&Js are no exception. If you want to take it to the next level, there’s PB&J French toast.

What I like to do is fill these babies with Nutella on one side and peanut butter on the other (and you can add bananas too, or any other fruit for that matter), and then de-crust the bread and pinch around the perimeter to form a sort of sealed sandwich pillow.

Dip both sides in beaten egg, and fry it! Serve with powdered sugar, maple syrup or, as I do, with more chocolate.

Hopefully these tips will expand your mind out of the realm of the microwavable box and back onto the track of culinary innovation. We are not merely ramen-eating automatons but also insta-food pioneers.

graphic by rachel weissman/the hoot

FEATURES

10 The Brandeis Hoot

Junior an author for Huffington Post

By Nathan Koskella Editor

The Huffington Post published an article last month in their religion section with a byline that is familiar even to Brandeis students who do not frequently read the left-wing tilting, Web-only newspaper.

Erica Shapps ’13 wrote a blog post on Feb. 24 on the New York Police Department’s occasional monitoring of college students involved in Muslim student associations. She condemned the practice as discriminatory, recollecting her own experience with faith and interactions with students of different religious backgrounds.

The organization Interfaith Youth Corps, which Shapps called a group “devoted to promoting the culture of religious pluralism, interfaith dialogue and faith-related service projects on college campuses,” solicited posts from students previously involved with the group and said their responses had the potential to be picked up by The Huffington Post.

This week, Shapps was invited to write for The Huffington Post’s religion section on a regular basis. “They just sent me a log-in and said to write on interfaith blogging,” she said.

Shapps, a founder of the Brandeis Interfaith Group, has been a student fellow with the IYC since high school.

When she got their e-mail about blogging, she was initially hesitant, though it was in her area of passion.

“At first I didn’t like the idea, it’s just not my thing [journalism, blogging], but I ended up really enjoying it,” she said. “I’ve always loved writing, but I’d never really shared it with others before.”

But the invitation to write “on the intersection of interfaith work with college life and my own experiences and service work,” could not be passed up. So now, she will be writing for HP recurrently.

It took even longer, Shapps said, to decide about which topic in the interfaith realm to blog.

“I really struggled with it for a while, this was probably the most

public forum I was ever going to get,” she said. “Originally, I started with contraception,” and the recent furor over the Obama administration’s rules on employers’ providing it.

“I wrote a draft of that,” Shapps said, “but just wasn’t the type of passionate article I had been looking for, so I started reading The Huffington Post religion section itself for ideas.”

The NYPD watch story was, for Shapps, “one of the stories that make you want to write about it, and that’s one of the ways you know you should—it pulls at your emotions, that’s why its worth writing about it,” she said.

And because of its focus on college students and a minority faith, it was “very relevant to my life and experiences,” Shapps, who is Jewish, said.

Shapps will not be paid for her posts in the future—no bloggers for Huffington are—but she will get the audience the famous site provides. As she put it, “From Bill Clinton down to me, we don’t get paid.”

March 2, 2012

You know we’re right Dear Leah and Morgan, I hate Brandeis. I want to transfer. This place is stifling me like an elephant in a zoo, like Bilbo in the Shire. My transition from loving this place to hating it has come so swiftly that I hardly know what to do. I thought that this would be the place for me; that I would truly fit in. I got my acceptance letter with open arms and was even excited to find that several of my friends were accepted. We spent all summer preparing for our journey to the great East Coast. I arrived and was bewildered by the shimmering pond, the massive science complex (enthralled by the idea that I would be spending most of my bio-major days in those hallowed halls) and the close proximity to Boston. My classes started off well and I was overwhelmed with work in the most exciting way possible— memorizing equations and chapters of cell theory. Slowly, my zeal faded, however, and I came to hate the weather, my egregious brick dormitory, my professors and the environment here as a whole. It is now clear that I should have done more research during my college search. But there is no looking back now. Alas, my feelings upon arrival were turned upside down and I am now bearing the consequences.

I know both of you must be baffled at my dislike of Brandeis; I know it is not an opinion often heard, but I can’t change my feelings.

My decision to transfer only came months after trying to hide my displeasure—thinking I could fool myself into being happy here. As you probably know, this did not work and only prolonged my suffering. For most college students who feel unhappy at their university I would think that it’s natural to avoid what is bothering them most and continue with their studies. But I am lost. Do I stay? Or do I go? My challenge is not whether or not I can excel at a different university. The problem is in my unique lifestyle. I keep Kosher and have severe allergies and don’t know of many universities that will accommodate me. I know that neither of you are college-search experts but I was hoping you could help me in my struggles. Do you think it would be best to stay and work through the next four years—the outlook not being so good—or try and find a different institution of higher education?

Sincerely, Bolting Brandeisian Dear ’Desian, We are sorry to hear that Brandeis has not been a great home for you, during the past few months.

It may come as a surprise to you but the unhappiness that you describe having felt is something that both of us have experienced during our time at Brandeis.

While we are both very happy at the university, there have been moments—and sometimes, extended stretches of time—when campus has felt suffocating, work has seemed overwhelming and classmates have been unfriendly.

If you’re truly unhappy at the university, it is good that you are being proactive and taking responsibility for your own happiness.

That being said, it is important to remember that you chose Brandeis for a reason and that the reasons for your choosing the university originally are still at play.

The first step to making a decision on the question of whether or not you should escape your unhappiness at Brandeis by transferring to another university, is to identify the source of your unhappiness here.

It could be social, academic, atmospheric or none of the above.

It may seem silly to focus on the negative this intensely, but with this insight, you can see if your problems here are inescapable or, if it is possible to be happy here.

Fight to fix If the source of your unhappiness is social, then seek out other groups of people at Brandeis who are closer to what you’re looking for. During a student’s first year at Brandeis, it is easy to become isolated within your floor, residence hall or extracurricular group. Breaking out and discovering new groups can sometimes be helpful in fostering new happiness in familiar surroundings.

If the source of your unhappiness is academic, then take advantage of the resources that the university offers. If you’re overwhelmed, seek tutoring. If you’re uninterested, change your area of study to something that something that is more interesting.

No matter what is making you unhappy at Brandeis, it is important to look at the situation objectively and come to an understanding of whether or not you can overcome what is bringing your experience down.

If you can find a way to make it better, then act and enjoy.

If not, then act quickly and don’t waste time being unhappy here.

Take care of yourself Ultimately, the most important factor in your decision whether or not to transfer is your happiness.

Sometimes, there is nothing that can be done to accommodate a bad fit. If you feel like Brandeis simply isn’t the place for you, then the only thing to do is transfer.

Don’t waste any time worrying if you’re making the wrong decision, as you’re sacrificing your own happiness, time and college experience.

Brandeis is not for everyone, and students make the decision to transfer every semester. If that is the path that you ultimately pursue, we’re glad that you’re being proactive and are doing all that you can to be happy and successful in college.

Good luck making what we know will be a difficult decision.

Peace, love and good advice, Leah and Morgan

photos courtesy of erica shapps

interfaith Shapps and friends further religious dialogue.

Have questions that you want answered by the lovely ladies of The Hoot? Submit your questions to advice@thebrandeishoot.com or at formspring.me/leahandmorgan! They will be answered by Leah Finkelman ’13, Production Editor, and Morgan Gross ’14, Impressions Editor.

We’re so excited to hear your questions!

March 2, 2012

FEATURES 11

The Brandeis Hoot

View from the Top: Stacy Handler

photos courtesy of stacy handler/

long-term brandeisian Stacy Handler sits with her father, a ’71 Brandeis graduate, and they both model their Brandeis sweatshirts;

Handler stands in the Great Mosque of Cordoba, a place in which Handler could embrace the love of art history she found at Brandeis.

By Stacy Handler Special to the Hoot

One of my most beloved pictures is of my dad and me wearing matching Brandeis sweatshirts. I was two years old and sitting on his lap with my cereal bowl not far away. Sometimes I look at this picture and think how amazing it is that this otherwise unremarkable baby picture ended up predicting the next 20 years of my life, which is why I make a point to buy Brandeis clothing for all of my baby cousins.

If this picture is any indicator, Brandeis has always been an important, yet subtle part of my upbringing.

My father came to Brandeis in 1971 to escape the daily anti-Semitism of his small Missouri town where his was one of the only Jewish families.

Brandeis was a transformational experience that exposed him to diverse people and ideas for which he has always been grateful.

Through my father’s experience, I grew up with Brandeis values of social justice, inclusion and academic

excellence. I don’t recommend that people do this, but Brandeis was the only school to which I applied and, two years later, my little brother followed in the family tradition. With all the family members who have gone through here, I joke that one day there should be a Handler family bench in some inconspicuous location.

While choosing to come to Brandeis was easy, very little about my Brandeis experience has been so clear-cut or straightforward. The most formative parts of my Brandeis experience have been unexpected, including the personal relationships I’ve built; studying abroad in Spain; and my extracurricular involvement in The Blowfish, Hillel, English Language Learning and PERC (Peers Educating about Responsible Choices). But perhaps the most radical change during the last four years has been the transformation of my lifelong love of art from avocation to a serious career path.

At the first Shabbat at Brandeis, the upperclassman assigned to my table at Hillel dinner asked us to go around and say what we hoped to ac-

complish at college. I said somewhat naively that I hoped to find what I was passionate about and what I was good at, which I hoped would be the same thing, and do that. At the time, I wasn’t quite sure what that meant or where it would lead me, but a part of me thought it meant ending up at law school. Four years later, I still don’t quite know what I am going to do, but I will pursue what has always made me truly happy, which at the present does not involve law school.

It wasn’t until my sophomore year that on a whim I took my first art class, High and Late Renaissance Art in Italy with Professor Unglaub. I ended up loving the class and the discipline of art history. That class inspired me to take another art class and then another, which put me on track for an Art History minor.

While I was studying abroad in Madrid, I visited the Prado, the finest museum in Spain, at least once a week, and I traveled to Italy with the explicit purpose to see all of the pieces I studied in class. I was so moved by the experience that tears came into my

eyes when I entered the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican and the Uffizi in Florence. When I returned to Brandeis that spring and started seriously to think about plans after college, I realized that the times I had been happiest during the past year were when I was studying art.

I decided that if art was something I truly loved then it was worth pursuing, even if it was outside of the doctor/lawyer dichotomy modeled by my professional parents.

Of course, no serious study of art is complete without hands-on experience. I strongly believe that everyone should take a studio art class. Ever since I was a first-year, I wanted to take a drawing or painting class but never thought I had enough time or talent. It was not until I was at Brandeis this past summer that I took my first drawing class with Sean Downey, and I am so glad that I did.

I am currently in my fourth studio art class, and I regret not taking studio art sooner because what I’ve learned from these classes has not only changed the way I think about art, but

has also made me a more confident, observant person.

I’ve learned that art, as with any other skill, is not something that happens overnight but rather is the result of years of practice, experimentation and making mistakes. You have to draw something and then erase it and draw it again, and each time you do, you get better. You need many, many layers of paint built up in several sessions to create a work that is rich and dynamic. I’ve learned that great artists always feel a little unsatisfied, a little ambivalent with their work and are always pushing themselves to do better, which as a deeply self-conscious person myself, I find incredibly reassuring. Moreover, great artists must also be conscious of what has come before.

As with any other discipline, you need to be well-versed in its history before you can contribute to its future.

Life is short, and college is even shorter, so I would encourage all of you underclassmen to spend your college years taking chances, following your passions and being honest about what you truly want.

Desi Fest

photos by nate rosenbloom/the hoot

henna Artists draw body art at Desi Fest on Feb. 28.

12 The Brandeis Hoot

“To acquire wisdom, one must observe.”

Editor-in-Chief Jon Ostrowsky Managing Editors Yael Katzwer Nathan Koskella Alex Schneider Editor Emeritus Connor Novy News Editor Morgan Gross Impressions Editor Candice Bautista Arts, Etc. Editor Brian Tabakin Sports Editor Ingrid Schulte Photography Editor Nate Rosenbloom Photography Editor Emily Stott Layout Editor Steven Wong Graphics Editor Leah Finkelman Production Editor Gordy Stillman Business Editor Suzanna Yu Copy Editor Morgan Dashko Deputy Copy Editor Destiny D. Aquino Senior Editor Sean Fabery Senior Editor

Volume 9 • Issue 6 the brandeis hoot • brandeis university 415 south street • waltham, ma

EDITORIALS

T

March 2, 2012

Housing a recurring embarrassment

he annual on-campus housing headache is upon us once more.

The Friday of winter break, like clockwork, the Department of Community Living sends out each student’s personal, randomly chosen lottery name.

But each successive year is another reminder of the many, myriad problems with the university’s residence life.

Each year numbers get less and less powerful, as more and more students are forced to live off campus. The university’s decision several years ago to increase the number of admitted students for four years was not coupled with any reasonable housing plan to accommodate that number.

More and more buildings are ceded to the underclassmen—who are guar-

anteed housing—every year; more of the Village will be given to sophomores this year, once used exclusively for study abroad students.

So on top of the confusion over what a given number will get a student, the numbers that will grant a student a space get fewer each year. And living off-campus is thrust upon a student very quickly.

That is one of the reasons the entire ordeal should be shortened. Four weeks from now students will line up and anxiously get or fail to get suitable living space, but the time should be cut to about two weeks. Students who need hurriedly to find space off campus—and let’s face it, the number grows higher all the time—need the earliest notice

possible if they are to compete for offcampus apartments.

The university knows it needs to expand housing options. We recognize the expense of new dorms or extensive renovations but there are cost efficient ways to improve housing. Renovating dorms with new carpets, fresh paint and modern furniture can make dorms such as Ziv more attractive to juniors and seniors, for example.

The renovations to Charles River were an effective and appropriate use of university funds.

Limited housing options is one problem. But Brandeis should also know it needs to smooth the number system and the anxiety that comes with it. In the meantime students are paying.

Founded By Leslie Pazan, Igor Pedan and Daniel Silverman

Mission As the weekly community student newspaper of Brandeis University, The Brandeis Hoot aims to provide our readers with a reliable, accurate and unbiased source of news and information.

Produced entirely by students, The Hoot serves a readership of 6,000 with in-depth news, relevant commentary, sports and coverage of cultural events. Recognizing that better journalism leads to better policy, The Brandeis Hoot is dedicated to the principles of investigative reporting and news analysis. Our mission is to give every community member a voice.

SUBMISSION POLICIES The Brandeis Hoot welcomes letters to the editor on subjects that are of interest to the community. Preference is given to current or former community members and The Hoot reserves the right to edit or reject submissions. The deadline for submitting letters is Wednesday at noon. Please submit letters to letters@ thebrandeishoot.com along with your contact information. Letters should not exceed 500 words. The opinions, columns, cartoons and advertisements printed in The Hoot do not necessarily represent the opinions of the editorial board.

STAFF Senior Staff Nafiz “Fizz” Ahmed Alana Blum Debby Brodsky Savannah Pearlman Sam Allen, Rick Alterbaum, Victoria Aronson, Louis Berger, Alex Bernstein, Emily Breitbart, Adam Cohen, Haley Fine, Jeremy Goodman, Rachel Hirschhaut, Paula Hoekstra, Adam Hughes, Gabby Katz, Josh Kelly, Samuel Kim, Zoe Kronovet, Sarah Sue Landau, Arielle Levine, Ariel Madway, Estie Martin, Juliette Martin, Adam Marx, Anita Palmer, Alex Patch, Lien Phung, Zachary Reid, Betty Revah, Zach Romano, Ricky Rosen, Aaron Sadowsky, Jessica Sashihara, Sarah Schneider, Alex Self, Naomi Shine, Diane Somlo, Sindhura Sonnathi, Ryan Tierney, Alan Tran, Dana Trismen, Yi Wang, Sarah Weber and Linjie Xu

connect phone • 781-330-0051 e-mail • editor@thebrandeishoot.com online • thebrandeishoot.com twitter • twitter.com/thebrandeishoot facebook • facebook.com/thebrandeishoot

Correction Due to a reporting error, a Feb. 17 news article titled “Student misconduct rarely brings consequences” incorrectly attributed information about a 2010 campus police officer assault to Dean Gendron. We regret the error.

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SPORTS

March 2, 2012

The Brandeis Hoot 13

Men’s basketball fails to send seniors off on high note

By Brian Tabakin Editor

This past weekend the Judges’ men’s basketball team had a disappointing finish to a promising season, dropping their final two games to Chicago, 80-66, and NYU, 65-63. If the Judges had been able to win their final two games, they would have had a chance at making the NCAA Tournament; however, the Judges were unable to play with any consistency down the stretch of the season, so they failed to make the postseason. The Judges finished the year on a two-game losing streak with a record of 13-12 (7-7 UAA).

Against Chicago this past Saturday, guard Vytas Kriskus ’12 scored 19 points to become the 30th player in Brandeis history to reach 1,000 points in his collegiate career. Unfortunately, the Judges could not get the win to go along with Kriskus’ accomplishment.

Unlike in past games, the Judges were able to start quickly, gaining an early 12-6 lead. Like the story has been all season, the Judges were not able to play a consistent 40 minutes of basketball. The Maroon quickly went on a 19-8 run to erase the Brandeis lead and ceased to relinquish their lead for the rest of the game.

The key statistic for this game was the Judges’ inability to defend the three-pointer. The Maroon shot a staggering 46.2 percent (12-of-26) from beyond the arc, which accounted for 36 of their 80 points. In contrast, the Judges only shot 30.8 percent (4-of-13) from downtown.

Another crucial statistic was turnovers. Brandeis committed 13 turnovers compared to just eight turnovers from Chicago. Furthermore, while Brandeis only scored five points off of Chicago turnovers, the Maroon scored a whopping 22 points off of Judges’ turnovers.

Finally, the last noteworthy statistic was bench scoring. The Judges’ bench has been a strength all season; however, against the Maroon, the bench was severely outplayed with Chicago’s bench outscoring Brandeis 40-21.

Guard Ben Bartoldus ’14 commented, “The loss to Chicago was really frustrating. If we had won we’d have a chance to get into the tournament.” Bartoldus continued, “Once we lost to Chicago, our confidence went down a little. Not making the tournament was just frustrating.”

Kriskus finished the game 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. He also ended up with eight rebounds, a block and a steal. Center Youri Dascy ’14 finished with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting to go along with five rebounds. Guard Tyrone Hughes ’12 finished with five assists, while forward Ishmael Kalilou ’15 led the bench with seven points.

Following their disappointing loss to Chicago, the Judges hosted NYU a week later on Senior Day. Kriskus once again led the Judges with 21 points and 12 rebounds. After his final collegiate game, Kriskus finished 28th on the all-time scoring list with 1,029 points.

Additionally, Hughes finished the game with seven points and six assists. In his final and 109th career game, which is the second most alltime in program history, Hughes finished his career with 380 assists and 143 steals, which both rank fourth on the Judges’ list.

Unfortunately, the Judges could not send their seniors off with a win as they fell 65-63 to NYU. Brandeis appeared to be in control with 5:50 remaining in the game and up eight points on NYU; however, NYU mounted a furious comeback in the final minutes of the game to erase their late deficit and come away with a win.

After NYU took a two-point lead with 33 seconds remaining in the game, Brandeis had two chances to tie or take the lead again. The Judges were unable to convert an alley-oop lob play that they had successfully executed earlier in the game. Fortunately they got a stop on the defensive end to give themselves another chance with 12.2 seconds left.

After back-to-back time-outs by Brandeis coach Brian Meehan and

photo courtsey of adam levin

Seniors and their parents

NYU coach Joe Nesci, the Judges decided to run an isolation-play for Hughes. NYU was called for a reachin foul on Hughes with 2.7 seconds left in the game sending Hughes to the line for a one-and-one to attempt the game-tying free throws; however, Hughes’ first foul shot was off the mark and the Violet grabbed the rebound to secure the victory.

Aside from Kriskus, Dascy was the only other Judges’ player to finish in double figures with 11 points, hitting on 3-of-5 from the field and 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Guard Jay Freeman ’13 led all players with four steals.

Brandeis suffered its first loss of the year after taking a lead into half-time.

The key stat in this game was NYU’s field goal percentage. Brandeis shot 43.6 percent (24-of-55) from the field but allowed NYU to shoot 50 percent (25-of-50) from the field. In such a close contest, the Judges can not just allow their opponents to shoot 50

percent or better.

Bartoldus added, “It’s going to be tough filling in for Tyrone and Vytas.

We’re losing two seniors. Vytas could score and Tyrone set up the offense.

Jay will probably step up and facilitate the offense next year in place of Tyrone, but everyone’s going to need to step up next year.”

Bartoldus continued, “The team was very inconsistent this year. We beat Amherst, the number-one team in the country and the number-one seed in the NCAA tournament, pretty handedly early in the season, but we just couldn’t put a consistent body of work together. Our main goal next year is to make the NCAA tournament.”

Next year, the Judges will have to make up for the key losses of Tyrone Hughes and Vytas Kriskus. The Judges will primarily consist of juniors next year. The team will have enough talent to compete with anyone next year; however, someone will need to

step up and fill the void in leadership that the loss of Hughes and Kriskus will create. The Judges have clearly stated their goal for next season. The Judges have the means to accomplish their goal but to do so they must play consistently next year.

Men’s basketball

Team

UAA

All

Washington

11 – 3

19 – 6

NYU

9–5

20 – 5

Emory

8–6

19 – 6

Rochester

8–6

17 – 8

Chicago

7–7

14 – 11

Brandeis

7–7

13 –12

Carnegie Mellon

4 – 10

9 – 16

Case Western

2 – 12

10 – 15

Box Scores Chicago

Loss

80 – 66

NYU

Loss

65 – 63

Women’s basketball ends tough season with a win on senior day

By Alex Bernstein staff

After losing to the University of Chicago last Sunday, the Brandeis women’s basketball team defeated NYU on Saturday in their season finale, snapping a six-game losing streak. It was just the second game that the Judges had won since Dec. 31, a span that saw the team lose 12 of its final 14 games. The Judges ended the year with a record of 9-16 overall, and 2-12 in UAA play.

Last Sunday, Brandeis faced the second-ranked team in the nation— undefeated University of Chicago (25-0). The Maroons got off to a quick start in the game, in which they never trailed, taking a 14-0 lead early on.

The game’s final score was 77-50.

The key statistic in this game was undoubtedly field goal percentage.

The Judges shot only 31 percent on 19-of-60 shooting, while the Maroons shot a whopping 58 percent from the floor, going 29-for-50, including 11for-17 from downtown. In addition to having less assists then the Maroons (24-10), the Judges were outscored in the paint by a total of 28-10.

Forward Shannon Hassan ’12 led the Judges with 12 points off the bench, going 5-for-10 from the field. Guard Diana Cincotta M.A. ’12 scored nine points, all on threepointers, and guard Hannah Cain ’15 added four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Cain explained some of the Judges’

problems with handling the undefeated Maroons.

“I think our biggest struggle was our execution on the offensive end,” Cain said. “We did a particularly good job on defense … but our shots weren’t falling on the other end. We weren’t aggressive enough on offense.”

Looking to end the season on a positive note, the Judges faced NYU Saturday night, in what was the last career game for several Brandeis players.

The Judges were able to come out victorious, winning 62-55, despite turning the ball over nine more times than the Violets (16-7).

A big reason that the Judges won can be attributed to them out-shooting the Violets, especially from threepoint range.

While Brandeis went 5-for-13 shooting the three, NYU went just 5-of-28 from beyond the arc. The Judges also got to the line 12 more times than NYU, going 17-of-19 from the charity stripe, an excellent percentage.

“Before the game we talked about setting the tone and being the ones to hit first,” Cain said. “We set the tempo from the beginning and held our composure throughout the game, even when NYU went on a run. We were able to execute on offense and attack the paint. It was a total team effort and it was awesome to see everything finally fall into place.”

For the game, guard Morgan Kendew ’12 led the Judges with 21 points, including 13 points in the second

Seniors and their parents

half, in what was the final game of her Brandeis career. She went 6-for9 from the field, including 3-of-5 from downtown, while making all six of her free-throws. Kendrew leaves Brandeis with 974 career points, putting her at number 10 on the Judges’ all-time scoring list.

In addition, her .813 free-throw percentage is good for second alltime, and her 113 career three-pointers put her tied at third all-time. Forward Erika Higginbottom ’13 added 18 points, going 8-for-12 from the floor and coming down with nine boards.

When asked about the importance of ending the season on a high note, Cain emphasized the improvements that the Judges had made through-

photo courtsey of adam levin

out the year, regardless of finishing the season with a losing record. “We worked hard all season and, despite our struggles, never made excuses or gave up. This win, especially on Senior Night, felt so good and I’m happy that we were able to come out on top for the seniors.”

Cain said the Judges hope to use the win as momentum heading into the off-season.

“Ending the season on a positive note gives us confidence heading into the off-season because now … we know that we’ve gotten better over the season. We’ve worked hard for the past six months and were able to beat a very respected team. But it can’t stop here—we’ll build off that win and continue to work in the off season.”

Women’s basketball Team

UAA

All

Chicago

14 – 0

25 – 0

Washington

10 – 4

20 – 5

Emory

9–5

18– 7

Rochester

8–6

19 – 6

Case Western

8–6

15 – 10

Carnegie Mellon

3– 11

9 – 16

NYU

2 – 12

10 – 15

Brandeis

2 – 12

9 – 16

Box Scores Chicago

Loss

77 – 50

NYU

Win

62 – 55

14 SPORTS

The Brandeis Hoot

March 2, 2012

Baseball ends relentless seven-game trip with 4-3 record

By Brian Tabakin Editor

The Brandeis baseball team started their season with a trip to Florida for the Russ Matt Invitational, finishing 4-3. The Judges started off the trip with a matchup against Warner; starting out with an early lead, the Judges scored seven runs in the first two innings and never looked back.

Starter Colin Markel ’14 earned the win in 3 1/3 innings of work, during which he gave up no runs on four hits and walks. Warner scored a run in the seventh inning and added two more in the ninth inning to avoid getting shut out.

In their second matchup of the season, the Judges faced Augustana in a double-header. In the first game of the double-header Augustana pounded starter Mike Swerdloff ’13, scoring seven runs in the first two innings.

Augustana added a run in the third and fourth, and three runs in the fifth dominating Brandeis in a 12-0 shutout. In the second game of the double-header, the Judges rebounded behind starter Kyle Brenner ’15. In his first collegiate start, Brenner pitched a complete game scattering nine hits and allowing just a single run as he picked up his first career win 3-1.

The following day, Brandeis faced Augustana once again. The Judges only mustered two runs on home runs from Chris Ferro ’12 and Sean O’Hare ’12 as Augustana once again pounded the Judges 16-2. Augustana scored runs in every inning including five runs in the first, four in the third and three in the sixth.

Unlike Brenner the day before, Elio Fernandez ’15 did not have success in his first career start as Augustana quickly jumped on Fernandez in the first inning taking advantage of four hits, a walk and two hit batters.

The next day, Brandeis continued their relentless schedule with a double-header against Farmingdale State. The Judges split the doubleheader, falling 11-7 in the first game and winning 14-6 in the second game as their bats erupted for 13 extra base hits in the double-header. O’Hare finished the double-header 5-of-8 with four doubles, four RBIs and four runs

photo from brandeisnow

kenny destremps ‘12 launches a solo shot

scored while Pat Nicholson M.A. ’12 added a solo home run and Brian Ing ’14 cranked a three-run shot. Ing took the loss in the first game while Swerdloff evened his season record at 1-1, winning the second game.

In the final game of the road trip, the Judges looked to get above .500 with a win against the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. The Judges eked out a close 3-2 victory behind the effort of catcher Kenny Destremps ’12 and another stellar start from Brenner.

Brenner pitched another complete game and now has two complete games in his first two career starts and Destremps hit a game-winning solo home run in the sixth inning to break a 2-2 tie.

O’Hare, one of the senior captains, commented on pitching saying, “There’s been a change in bat types the past year from a BESR model to a BBCOR model. The BESR model has more exit-speed when contact is made while the BBCOR model plays

more like a wooden-bat and has less exit speed giving an advantage to pitchers.” O’Hare continued, “We have a lot of freshmen pitching that are ready to contribute in the starting role and in relief.”

When asked about the team’s approach at the plate, O’Hare added, “There’s a good mix of power and singles on the team. Everyone’s capable of hitting the long ball but as a team we’re looking for line drives to keep the ball low and in play.”

O’Hare also said, “The team is capable of much more this year. I feel like there’s better chemistry on and off the field. Last year we finished 2419 but I feel we lost focus down the stretch losing five of our last seven games.”

“Our goal this year is to make the NCAA tournament. I feel that this is the best team I’ve been on in my four years on the team. But at the same time it’s hard to make the tournament. Since we’re in the UAA we don’t get an automatic bid so we have

to compete for an at-large bid with other local powerhouses like Tufts and Wheaton.”

O’Hare wasn’t concerned with the 4-3 start to the season in Florida adding, “I wanted to do better, but I wasn’t disappointed. We typically start slow every year. It’s hard when you can’t practice on the field. There’s definitely a disadvantage for us being in Waltham. With the weather problems we can’t practice on the actual field and have to practice hitting and grounders in the gym.”

“It’s a big difference from the gym to the actual field. Southern teams have an advantage since they can practice on the diamond while we’re stuck inside.”

“The only advantage I can see for us is that it lets us rest our arms at the beginning of the season since we aren’t having to throw full distances on the diamond during practice.”

Brandeis will return to action March 11 when they travel to Florida for the UAA tournament.

Baseball Team

UAA

All

Case Western

0–0

3–1

Brandeis

0–0

4–3

Emory

0–0

5–5

Washington

0–0

1–3

Chicago

0–0

0–0

Rochester

0–0

0–0

Box Scores @ Warner

Win

7–3

@ Augustana

Loss

12 – 0

@ Augustana

Win

3–1

@ Augustana

Loss

16 – 2

@ Farmingdale State

Loss

11 – 7

@ Farmingdale State

Win

14 – 6

@ Rose-Hulman

Win

3–2

Men’s tennis starts season off with disappointing road trip

By Brian Tabakin Editor

photo by paula hoekstra/the hoot

When the 24th-ranked men’s tennis team traveled to California on a road trip last week to begin their season, Steven Milo ’13 won three matches at No. 1 singles. As a team, however, the Judges dropped three of the four matches to begin the season 1-3.

In their season opener, the Judges faced Occidental College and gained only two victories. Milo and Michael Secular ’15 accounted for the Judges’ wins as they fell 7-2.

Milo won the No. 1 singles match in straight sets 6-1, 6-4 while Secular out lasted his opponent for the win in the No. 6 singles match 7-6 (12-10), 6-3. The Judges lost all three doubles matches and the remainder of singles matches.

In the second match of the season, Brandeis faced 20th-ranked Cal Lutheran University. In doubles action, Alec Siegel ’15 and Secular gained the Judges’ first doubles win of the season with a late service break to eke out an 8-6 win.

The Judges dropped four of their six singles matches in straight sets. In the No. 1 singles match Milo lost the first set 5-7 before winning the next two 7-6 (6-0) and 1-0 (10-6). In No. 2 singles, Josh Jordan ’13 won the first set 7-5 but then dropped the next two sets 6-3 and 1-0 (10-6). The Judges lost the match 7-2.

In the third match of the season, the Judges gained their first win, defeating Chapman University 6-3.

Milo won his third straight No. 1 singles match while the Judges also got wins in No. 2, No. 4 and No. 6 singles, and No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. Jordan, Siegel and Secular—in addition to Milo—also earned singles wins.

The pairs of Ezra Bernstein ’12 and Dave Yovanoff ’13 and Milo and Jordan accounted for both of the Judges’ doubles wins, giving the team a 6-3 victory.

In the final match of the Judges’ West Coast road trip, the Judges faced 15th-ranked University of Redlands.

Jordan earned his second win of the season at No. 2 singles 6-4, 4-6 and 1-0 (10-8) but the Judges fell 8-1 as Jordan garnered the only win for the

Judges. Milo lost his first No. 1 singles match of the season 6-0, 6-4.

The Judges will return to action March 9 and 10 at the Middlebury Invitational.

Men’s tennis Team

UAA

All

Emory

0–0

6–0

Carnegie Mellon

0–0

5– 2

Washington

0–0

3–2

Case Western

0–0

5–4

Chicago

0–0

1–2

Brandeis

0–0

1–3

NYU

0–0

0–0

Rochester

0–0

0–0

Box Scores @ Occidental

Loss

7–2

@ Cal Lutheran

Loss

7–2

@ Chapman

Win

6–3

@Redlands

Loss

8–1

March 2, 2012

SPORTS 15

The Brandeis Hoot

Women’s tennis starts season on fire, sweeps road trip

By Brian Tabakin Editor

The 30th-ranked women’s tennis team began their campaign with an undefeated five-game West Coast road trip.

The Judges opened up the season against Cal Lutheran University. Car-

ley Cooke ’15, Faith Broderick ’13 and Allyson Bernstein ’14 led the Judges in singles winning the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 singles matches in straight sets 6-1, 6-0; 6-1, 6-1; and 6-1, 6-0 respectively. Additionally, Cooke and Broderick teamed up to win the No. 1 doubles match 8-2 while Alexa Katz ’14 and Nina Levine ’12 earned an 8-1

photo from brandeisnow

victory in the No. 2 doubles match.

Katz also earned a win at the No. 6 singles match in straight sets 6-2, 6-4.

In the second match of the road trip the Judges faced Occidental College, taking the match with a 9-0 sweep. Once again, Cooke, Broderick and Bernstein won the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 singles matches 6-2, 2-6,

10-8; 6-1, 6-0; and 6-2, 6-1. Furthermore, Broderick and Cooke won the No. 1 doubles match 8-2 and Katz and Levine won the No. 2 doubles match 8-2. Katz won the No. 4 singles match 7-5, 4-6, 10-6 while Simone Vandroff ’15 won No. 5 singles 6-1,61 and Dylan Schlesinger won No. 6 singles 6-4, 2-6, 10-7. Vandroff and Schlesinger also teamed up to win No. 3 doubles 8-1.

Brandeis next faced 18th-ranked Chapman University where they pulled out a close 5-4 win. Cooke, Bernstein and Katz won the No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5 singles matches 6-3, 6-2; 6-4, 6-2; and 6-3, 6-3 respectively.

Vandroff won the No. 6 singles match 3-6, 7-5 and 6-4. On the doubles side Cooke and Broderick won the No. 1 doubles match 8-2. While Brandeis eked out a 5-4 win, the game wasn’t as close as the final score indicated: The Judges were two tiebreakers away from winning the match 7-2.

In the fourth match, Brandeis faced Whittier College where the team continued their hot start with a 7-2 win.

For the fourth straight time, Cooke, Broderick and Bernstein won the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 singles matches 6-1, 6-1; 6-4, 6-2; and 6-1, 6-0. Katz won the No. 5 singles match 6-3, 6-0 while Vandroff won the No. 6 singles match 6-3, 6-2. Cooke and Broderick won the No. 1 doubles match 8-4 and Vandroff and Schlesinger won the No. 3 doubles match 8-3.

Brandeis completed their five-game California road trip with a 5-4 win against 28th-ranked University of Redlands. Cooke and Broderick won the No. 1 and No. 2 singles matches

6-3, 4-2 and 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (5) respectively. Vandroff earned a victory at No. 6 singles 6-1, 6-3 while Cooke and Broderick won No. 1 doubles 8-5 and Levine and Katz won No. 2 doubles 8-5.

The Judges have started the season on fire with stellar performances from every member of the team. The Judges are now 6-0 on the season with the first win coming back in September. The Judges will look to stay undefeated when they return to action March 9 and 10 at the Middlebury Invitational.

Women’s tennis Team

UAA

All

Brandeis

0–0

6–0

Chicago

0–0

2– 0

Washington

0–0

1–0

Rochester

0–0

1–0

Carnegie Mellon

0–0

6–1

Case Western

0–0

6–2

Emory

0–0

3–2

NYU

0–0

0–0

Box Scores @ Cal Lutheran

Win

6–3

@ Occidental

Win

9–0

@ Chapman

Win

5–4

@ Whittier

Win

7–2

@ Redlands

Win

5–4

Fencing puts scares into top-seeded teams in post-season play

By Brian Tabakin Editor

Both the men’s and women’s fencing teams competed on back-to-back days this past weekend at the New England Intercollegiate Fencing Championships at Vassar College on Saturday and the U.S. Collegiate Squad Championships on Sunday at NYU. At the New England Collegiate Championships, the teams finished fifth overall with 135 points, though the men finished in second with 68 points. Both the saber and foil men’s squads finished in second place behind eventual champions Sacred

Heart. On the women’s side, the saberists were the top finishers placing fifth overall.

On an individual note, Julian Cardillo ’14 earned a bronze medal in foil competition while Adam Mandel ’15 and Alex Powell ’12 finished fourth and fifth in saber and epee competition respectively.

On the women’s side the Judges had a ninth place finish in each weapon: Vikki Nunley ’13 in foil, Zoe Messinger ’13 in saber and Leah Mack ’14 in epee.

At the U.S. Collegiate Championships, they used a similar format to that used in the Olympics, in which squads compete in a relay-style match to 45 with fencers rotating each time

they reach a multiple of five. The Judges reached the quarterfinals in two weapons after pulling off upsets in the round of 16. The 10th-seeded men’s foil squad claimed victory against seventh-seeded Brown 45-43, behind Ethan Levy ’15 who outpointed his initial opponent, 10-5, giving the Judges a 15-13 lead. Additionally, Cardillo who had a 9-3 edge on his second time through the rotation gave the Judges a 30-28 lead that they would not give up. The Judges lost in the quarterfinals to second-seeded St. John’s, 45-18, with Cardillo earning half of the Judges’ points.

In men’s saber action, the 10thseeded Judges were the only lowerseeded team to advance to the round

photo from brandeisnow

of 16 as they defeated seventh-seeded Brown 45-37. Mandel had a strong performance, gaining 24 of the Judges’ 45 points.

While the Judges were unable to pull off the upset in the quarterfinals, they put a good scare into second-

seeded St. John’s, losing only 45-40, behind a 10-point effort from Jess Ochs-Willard ’15.

Both the women’s saber and foil squads dropped first round matches to Fairleigh Dickinson and Sacred Heart respectively.

Brown and Warwick win their first UAA titles at UAA Championships

By Brian Tabakin Editor

At the UAA championships hosted

by NYU, two Brandeis runners took home titles while two others finished as runners-up. Both the men’s and women’s squad finished in seventh place.

Chris Brown ’12 and Kate Warwick ’12 ranked top among all UAA runners. They entered in the top five of Division III going into the championship meet for the mile run and 5,000-meter run respectively, each claiming their first conference titles.

Brown won the mile run with a time of 4:15.38, nearly three seconds faster than NYU’s Matt Turlip. Warwick won the 5,000-meter title with a time of 9:57.86.

On the men’s side, Vincent Asante ’14 finished in second place in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.09 seconds, just .09 seconds behind NYU rookie Jonathan Simon, to claim all-

photo from brandeisnow

UAA honors. Alex Kramer ’13 earned his second all-UAA honor with a time of 8:32.56 in the 3,000-meter race.

Additionally, Jeffrey Maser ’15 also

had a strong outing in the high jump with a height of 1.9 meters (6’ 2.75”).

On the women’s side, Lily Parenteau ’12 finished fourth in the high

jump with a height of 1.6 meters (5’ 3”), just two inches away from a topthree finish.

Brandeis will return to NYU again

on March 2 for the ECAC championships, which will be the last chance for individuals to qualify for the NCAA championships the following week.

Arts, etc.

16 The Brandeis Hoot

March 2, 2012

Unraveling ‘The Secret World of Arrietty’

By Juliette Martin Staff

“The Secret World of Arrietty” first premiered in Japan, its home country, in 2010 and arrived in the United States last week. It has received glowing reviews from critics and viewers alike after receiving the equivalent of an Academy Award in Japan for “Animation of the Year.” “The Secret World of Arrietty,” which is the latest film out of Studio Ghibli (best known in the United States for producing Hayao Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away”), is an adaptation of a fairy tale first published in 1952 by Mary Norton called “The Borrowers.” “Arrietty” presents an impressive directorial debut for Hiromasa Yonebayashi, who has worked for years in Ghibli’s animation department.

The film tells the story of the Clock family, doll-sized people living in the shadows of a regular-sized house, and the conflict that unravels as a friendship between the family’s daughter, Arrietty (voiced in the U.S. version by Bridgit Mendler), befriends the normal-sized Shawn (David Henrie), putting her family at risk as they are discovered by a villainous housekeeper.

In the classic fashion of many Studio Ghibli movies, “The Secret World of Arrietty” portrays the beauty as well as the challenges of youthful friendship and affection. Both children are notably lonely, as Arrietty has only her parents and no companions her own age, and as Shawn is frighteningly ill. The friendship is portrayed with sweetness and poignancy as the two children slowly come to understand each other. I am consistently

photo from internet source

arrietty The miniature Arrietty climbs onto normal-sized Shawn in the newest Ghibli film “The Secret World of Arriety.”

impressed with Ghibli’s ability to portray the depths of friendship and love without delving into any kind of romantic set-up.

Though “The Secret World of Arrietty” is most openly marketed as a children’s movie, it does have some serious elements to be appreciated by an audience of all ages (a fact shared by a great many Ghibli movies), most notably Shawn’s struggle with loneliness and acceptance in the face of a serious illness that threatens his life and Arrietty’s fear that her family may be the last of their kind. This loans a sense

of emotional weight to the story as a whole, as our childish protagonists struggle with real, adult problems and fears. It honors the depth of emotion in children in ways that reverberates in the hearts of children and adults alike.

The animation of the film is nearly flawless, with characters moving in front of gorgeous, painting-style scenery. Though certain scenes (in particular the views inside a decadent dollhouse) appear rather gaudy, overall the imagery is quite stunning. The palette is largely soft and colorful, in

contrast to some of the studio’s older, darker movies such as “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind” and “Princess Mononoke.” The animation pays incredible attention to detail, very carefully portraying the way tiny Arrietty views the world. A viewer can see the surface tension on the outsides of water droplets, which tend to be the size of Arrietty’s head, and each individual blade of grass in the yard she explores.

The film is highly reminiscent, both in style and subject matter, to Ghibli’s “My Neighbor Totoro” in its emphasis of the way children deal with their

problems, and to “Kiki’s Delivery Service” in the way it portrays a young woman’s desire for independence and coming of age. The return to more layered issues is certainly welcome, as the preceding movie “Ponyo” was notably lacking in the dark themes that longtime Studio Ghibli fans have come to expect even in their children’s movies.

Despite the movie’s many strengths in theme, plot, characterization and

See ARIETTY, page 19

A show for which to stay ‘Awake’

By Yael Katzwer Editor

It has been an eventful year for television viewers who love sci-fi and fantasy. We were given the fun and captivating “Grimm,” yet we were also given the underwhelming “Once Upon a Time.” We were given the somewhat promising “Touch,” yet we were also given the same “Touch,” which somewhat promises disappointment. NBC is doing everything within its power to jump onto this bandwagon, especially with its new show “Awake,” which premiered last night.

“Awake” had a very good premiere, no question. Often new shows in the sci-fi/fantasy genre do not offer good pilot episodes as they are often too complex truly to draw in a viewer without making them feel either that the show has no depth or that it has too much depth. There is a fine line between overwhelming density and underwhelming banality, yet “Awake” seems to be toeing the line.

The show follows police detective Michael Britten (Jason Isaacs) as he struggles to solve cases and to decide whether or not he has gone mad. Britten has just returned to work after a devastating car crash in which he lost one member of his family. Here’s where it gets intriguing though: He lives in two realities and switches between them whenever he goes to sleep; in one reality his son died but his wife survived and in the other his wife died but his son survived.

Although there are other differences between the two “realities,” this is the main one.

While this could get very confusing very quickly, the show avoids confusion with some crafty color-coding.

Britten wears a red wristband in the

photo from internet source

am i putting you to sleep? Michael Britten ( Jason Isaacs) arrives at a crime scene with Efrem Vega (Wilmer Valderrama) in the new NBC

show “Awake.”

reality with his wife because it is her favorite color and green in the reality with his son because it is his favorite color. Additionally, the scenes shot in the reality with the wife are redtinted while the scenes shot in the reality with the son are green-tinted.

Although this could have been very irritating, it is subtly done and merely prevents the viewer from becoming confused.

I was seriously just blown away by how good this pilot was. The writing was impeccable, the storylines were fascinating and the acting was spoton. While this show could have fallen into the gimmicky dialogues that plague many similar shows, the writ-

ers avoid that error with believable dialogue. There was even one meta moment in the pilot in which Britten’s partner in “green world,” Detective Freeman (Steve Harris), reminds Britten that they are in the real world and not on a television show.

Although Harris is not his partner in “red world,” Britten is still a cop and was working a second case in the pilot episode. Halfway through the show I was wondering if the only tie between the two realities would be Britten and told myself that, if that were the case, I would not watch the show again.

Luckily, that was not the case, but I will not tell you how the two cases related—watch and find out!

I mentioned the acting before but need to delve back into it. Jason Isaacs plays Michael Britten superbly; he gets the perfect mix between grief that he has buried a member of his family and joy that he will see that person again that night in his “dreams.” One of the strongest points of the character, in fact, is his acceptance that he lives in these two worlds. While I am sure Isaacs would have performed well had the show begun at the time of his accident when he discovered these two realities, the character would not have. Often shows make the pitfall of having the main character struggle with a sudden change in his/her life in the pilot; this is a mistake because

the viewers do not care about the protagonist yet. In the pilot for “Awake,” we got to see everyone else struggle with this idea that Britten has already embraced. Additionally, viewers will almost certainly recognize Jason Isaacs as the bad guy from “The Patriot” and as Lucius Malfoy from the “Harry Potter” films.

One of the show’s strongest accomplishments is its pairings between the worlds. For example, each world has a detective partner for Britten; “green world” has the friendly and weathered Harris while “red world” has untrustworthy rookie Efrem Vega (Wilmer Valderrama). Harris plays the buddy perfectly while Valderrama plays the new guy well. While the audience knows that the police captain paired Detective Vega with Britten to keep an eye on him, we are not sure if he will indeed snitch on Britten’s questionable psyche or if he will become like Detective Freeman and be a valued friend. Also, Valderrama is thankfully not doing any of his trademarks from “That ’70s Show”; that would be unforgivable.

Two psychiatrists are also juxtaposed; B.D. Wong plays the hard-hitting psychiatrist in “red world” while Cherry Jones plays the nurturing psychiatrist in “green world.” Although both approach Britten’s problems with differing views and attitudes, they both say some truly insightful things and, while Britten may not question the “truth” of these two realities, the viewers are forced to question which one they believe is real. Or are they both real? Or is neither of them real?

Oh, so many questions!

Cherry Jones—also known as that woman who played Allison Taylor on See AWAKE, page 19

March 2, 2012

The Brandeis Hoot

YACHT’s show sails smoothly

photos by nate rosenbloom/the hoot

yacht party Synth-pop band YACHT played at Chum’s on Feb. 27. Clockwise from top: singer Claire L. Evans; drummer Jona Bechtolk

takes his turn singing up-front; Brodsky at the drums; and a close-up of Evans.

By Dana Trismen Staff

Last Monday night, WBRS sponsored a free concert and brought YACHT, a synth-pop band to Chum’s.

Formed in 2002 in Portland, Ore., Yacht was originally a solo experiment for band member Jona Bechtolt.

In 2008, he was joined by now-lead singer Claire L. Evans, and in 2010 by Robert “Bobby Birdman” Kieswetter and Jeffrey “Jerusalem” Brodsky. The name choice originally came from the alternative high school in Portland called Y.A.C.H.T. that Bechtolt himself attended when he was 16.

Their music is reminiscent of The Talking Heads on-stage and Evans possesses the vocal and stage presence of Chrissy Hynde. Brandeis was a stop on their Shangri-La Tour 2010, a seven-month tour spanning the United States and Europe. The inspiration from this album supposedly came from a two-month stay Evans and Broadskey spent in the West Texas desert, where they often would sit on the roof of their car and stare at the stars above. These lights inspired much of the songs on the album, but also apparently changed YACHT’s view on the world by bringing them closer to the universe.

YACHT preaches that they are a band and a business, but they claim also to be a belief system. All people are encouraged to become members of YACHT. In order to join YACHT, one should explore the meaning of

words and create new ones, engage creativity and spiritually, and believe there are no limits on the mind.

YACHT members also believe in the existence of Extraterrestrial Intelligence (ETI), and the importance of acknowledging the possibility of life other than on Earth. YACHT does not undermine a person’s religion, it is supposed to enhance it, or provide an alternative community. YACHT defines God as the universe. If members are confused, YACHT has released a book on their philosophy, “The Secret Teachings of the Mystery Lights: A Handbook on Overcoming Humanity and Becoming Your Own God.” YACHT also strongly encourages tattoos. YACHT’s symbol is the triangle that normally replaces the A in the word itself. Yet, as a member of YACHT, there are rules that must be followed if proceeding with acquiring a tattoo—it should be placed in the forearm, hand, upper arm, neck, ankle and lower back, and nowhere where there could be negative energy in the body. The wearer should also understand the importance of the triangle symbol, and then place their own importance onto it. Whether a person believes that YACHT’s membership system and philosophy is something they truly believe, or purely a persona, it is seemingly left up to interpretation.

Despite the event’s scheduling on a Monday, the turnout for YACHT had an impressive student turnout. Upon entering Chum’s, hands were marked with YACHT’s symbol, also drawn in

chalk on the walls inside.

Evans would often go into the audience, walking along the bar by Chum’s.

She would drag the microphone behind her, as audience members jubilantly reached out and lifted the cord up. Evan’s dance style includes robotic and ethereal moves. With pale skin and bleached hair, she herself seems otherworldly. Yet, with music so haunting, her stage persona is completely in sync. She is also intuitive.

She used the set to her advantage, at one time walking into the audience to screw in a light bulb into the socket in the middle of Chum’s. The other band members’ voices backing up Evan’s were very strong. Even though there were many spoken lyrics instead of sung, they were constantly on the beat and speaking in unison. Bechtolt also sang a few of his own songs. He seems to be Evan’s equal, for they compliment each other.

Toward the end of the show, YACHT began to play fan favorites, such as “Dystopia (The Earth is on Fire) and “Shangri-La.” YACHT’s live shows are much better than their recorded versions. At best, their recorded songs are marginally above average, the beat seems to get lost in between Evan’s voice and auto-tuning. Yet live versions of these hits songs are nothing at which to be disappointed: They are a clever combination of a catchy pop beat that does not get drowned out by electronic sounds. Live, they sound more like animalistic punk, something even Brandeisians long to dance to.

ARTS, ETC. 17

18 ARTS, ETC.

The Brandeis Hoot

March 2, 2012

The Head and Heart has plenty of heart

By Alan Tran Staff

The Head and the Heart sings with a style reminiscent of other, more well-known bands on their label like The Decemberists and Death Cab For Cutie, but the deeper voices of Josiah Johnson and Jonathan Russell (also the band’s founders) indicates the darker emotional underpinnings beneath their songs. Though bright at times, they inevitably return to the darker side of sweetness and the more yearning, lost side of youth in a confusing and discouraged world.

On their website, their bio says their songs will get “even the jaded humming along by the second listen”—if that’s to whom they’re appealing, it would certainly explain a lot.

The band originally self-released their self-titled album when they debuted in 2009, and re-released it with re-mastered and additional tracks after signing with Sub Pop Records.

Each song is artfully crafted, and this care is extended to the shape of the album. It’s meant to be listened to from beginning to end, and is more easily appreciated this way, each song transforming and evolving from the last to the next. The album begins with 15 seconds of drumstick-tapping leading the first, playful song, building up toward the album’s strongest songs in the middle and only gradually receding to its emotional farewell track.

Throughout the album the instrumental parts are tightly composed and performed with such precision and balance you might not guess they’re being played by a six separate people. Johnson and Russell both play guitar, whose acoustic atmosphere blends well with Kenny

photo from internet source

hip in trees The band The Head and Heart’s self-titled album has an artfully crafted album, with much care taken to its shape.

Hensley’s piano-playing and Chris Zasche’s bass. Tyler William’s drum beats are simple and effective, though sometimes can come out too strongly.

On some tracks the piano dominates with a swinging, jazzy feel, and in others the violin, played by Charity Rose Thielen, and tambourine make cameo accompaniments. When the group backs up the vocals, it has that casual companion-like touch that makes them sound not just like musicians but friends as well.

The most powerful song of the album is clearly “Down in the Valley,” which is also the longest track at just more than five minutes and the reason why drummer Tyler Williams joined the band at all. It begins softly and ends with a light touch, but within that journey it takes the listener soaring skyward, when “I saw your face in the crowd and you came out / Just like the sun and the moon and the stars at night.” The song builds on nostalgic guitar strumming, its sweeping piano

chords and vocals so heart-heavy you wish Johnson would just shout to release some of the emotional pressure being built up. The first three songs build up to this flagship piece and, while some of the rest also stand out, they still follow in its wake.

That said, “Honey Come Home” also stands out, both because of its strong upbeat tempo and because it’s heartbreaking once you pay attention to the lyrics. A plea from one lover to another to return, lyrics like, “The

kids say hello / to us in our separate homes” are carried away by a tambourine jangling out a quick beat and stirring piano progression, and the high point of the song repeating “Just wanna die with the one I love beside me” is all too ironic. “Lost in my mind,” contains a similar irony, beginning poignantly but circling round to those self-same lyrics getting sung louder and louder until they take on an almost euphoric quality.

The first three tracks are less memorable, though the dog barking in the opening song “Cats and Dogs” always makes me smile. “Ghosts” feels especially dark and somewhat out of place, with the piano creating an almost theatrical feel, but at least it’s an interesting contrast. “River and Roads” has a nice slow swing, which, if anything, might be a tad too slow and emphatic. Still, they manage to make “I miss your face like hell” sound poignant, not overly dramatic or dry, and the chorus is somehow catchy in all its drawly-ness. We also get to hear Thielen sing solo vocals, which is a nice switch.

“Winter Song” is a beautifully reflective song, with solo vocals shared between the three singers. It would have been even more touching if they’d trusted in the delicate sentimentality of its lyrics, and not built up crescendos with every “had.” And the final song, “Heaven Go Easy On Me,” sounds a bit confused. Whether it’s ironic or fatalistic is difficult to say— it almost sounds like it’s trying to be encouraging, but hasn’t quite settled on a way to do that while singing things like, “Can’t live this way forever

See HEART, page 19

‘Mass Effect 3’: a new type of video game

photo from internet source

By Zachary Reid Staff

On March 6, the third and final installment in Bioware’s epic “Mass Effect” trilogy will hit shelves in retailers across America, and legions of fans will conclude the five-year story arc that has spanned not only three video games, but numerous books and graphic novels too. This game will represent more than a great way to spend time though—it represents an incredible leap forward in story-

telling for the entire video game industry.

The “Mass Effect” series centers on the player’s character, Commander Shepard of the Systems Alliance, the government of all human worlds in the galaxy. During the first game, Shepard discovers that a race of hyper-advanced machines, the Reapers, return from beyond the edge of the galaxy every 50,000 years in order to harvest all organic life, and that they are on the way. As Shepard navigates the galaxy in order to combat the Reaper threat, he or she builds up al-

liances, assists his or her squad-mates with personal quests, and ultimately works to protect all sentient life in the galaxy. In “Mass Effect 3,” the Reapers invade Earth, and the stage is set for Shepard to lead humanity and the galactic community through a war for their very survival. How that story ends, however, is almost completely up to the player, based on the decisions he or she makes throughout his or her Mass Effect career.

This innovative brand of storytelling, however, is simply the next step in the progression of the series’ devel-

oper, Bioware. Bioware is known for its decade worth of storytelling-based games such as “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic” and “Dragon Age: Origins.” Many of these games have been critically acclaimed, and “Knights of the Old Republic” and “Mass Effect 2” received incredible praise from critics, scoring 10/10 from most major reviewers.

“Mass Effect 2” imported many of the player’s decisions from his or her “Mass Effect 1” play-through, in order to give a more fluid sense of connection and continuity between the games. Such decisions involved major choices, such as which of the player’s squad-mates died in the line of duty, and other minor, comical choices, such as how to treat an obsessive fan of your character. “Mass Effect 3” is aiming to surpass the level of continuity in “Mass Effect 2,” and has been confirmed as importing more than 1,000 variables from both previous titles, according to Case Hudson, the project director for all three games.

Such a feat is virtually unprecedented in the world of video games.

While many Role-Playing Game (RPG) series have iconic characters that appear in multiple games (Cloud in “Final Fantasy” and Captain Price in “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare” to name two), decisions rarely affect the story of other games. As such, players gain a true sense of involvement in the world of “Mass Effect”, and many truly care how their decisions play out, thanks to these emotional connections to the overall story. This stands to revolutionize the industry, as “Mass Effect” is already considered a bar for other RPG’s to meet in order to receive high-quality reviews.

Depending on the success of “Mass Effect 3,” that bar could easily become the be-all and end-all of RPG games,

and be the bar to which all other games are compared based on their storytelling ability.

Another way the series has revolutionized storytelling-based games is its morality system. This system both allows the player to gain a reputation as good or evil, based on the type of actions and decisions he or she makes and enables non-player-controlled characters (NPC’s) in game to react in different ways to the player. While Mass Effect isn’t the first game series to use such a morality system (Bioware used the system years previously in “Knights of the Old Republic,” for example), the ability for the player’s morality and moral decisions to carry over between games gives yet another element of emotional investment in the games.

The games have also utilized a concept that has been present in RPG’s almost since the genre’s beginnings— creating in-depth relationships with your squad-mates. In both games, the allies that travel with you start to feel like truly alive characters as the games progress, and the player starts to think of them as such. Eventually, each character unlocks a personal quest, which provides even more insight to the character’s background and who they are. Through the player’s moral choices, these squad-mates will either come to like or hate the player, based on each of their own moral codes. The nerdy, shy Quarian Tali, for example, will actively voice her protest toward negative actions from the player, whereas Zaeed Massani, has no problem shooting his way through an entire platoon of enemy soldiers to enact revenge on his former comrade. It is aspects like these that make the characters feel alive, encouraging the player to care about them.

March 2, 2012

ARTS, ETC. 19

The Brandeis Hoot

‘Vampire Diaries’ something to write about

New NBC show keeps viewers ‘Awake’

photo from internet source

photo from internet source

elena under pressure Elena (Nina Dobrev) with vampire Damon (Ian Somerhalder) in a show that continues the

trend “Twilight” began of vampire -themed romances.

By Betty Revah Staff

Now that the “Twilight” movies are coming to an end, it’s a good thing we still have plenty of vampires to keep us company. “The Vampire Diaries,” based on the original book series by L.J. Smith and developed by Kevin Williamson, is the latest and most popular television show about vampires. Filled with teenage drama, love, lust and darkness, it has recovered some of the things “Twilight” lost with Stephenie Meyer’s colossal fourth book mistake. It’s Bella and Edward at its very best.

“The Vampire Diaries” tells the story of Elena (note the Italian name … remind you of Bella?) and her two boy-toy brothers, Stephan and Damon. Elena (Nina Dobrev), the good, beautiful and popular girl in school, lost her parents in a car accident. Every boy wants to date her and every girl wants to be like her (again, see: Bella) but her life is less than perfect. She lives with her suicidal, drug-addicted brother and her irresponsible aunt. Luckily, her boy-toys are willing to fight almost anyone (including each other) to keep her safe.

Damon (Ian Somerhalder) is the simply irresistible bad boy in the show. Besides being uncommonly handsome and extremely sexy (he looks like the kind of guy who would take candy from a baby), he can also be deadly sweet at the proper moments. On the other hand, Stephan (Paul Wesley) is the good, sweet and perfect—if not a little boring—guy for whom Elena falls.

The catch here is that Elena looks exactly like Katherine, Damon’s first and only love through the course of many centuries. By now you will have probably guessed that both Damon and Stephan fall in love with Elena and she ultimately has to choose between them (not without a few entertaining obstacles in the process).

The name of the TV show originated from the fact that the main characters keep journals (seriously, how else is Stephan expected to remember things that happened centuries ago?). Stephan even finds her journal and brings it to Elena (without reading it, of course) and we learn that her favorite writing place is the cemetery where Stephan stalks her. His excuse: “I know the risk but I have no choice … I have to know her.” He finally meets her in school when Elena’s friend Bonny points out his “hot back.” Things seem

to flow from there, we catch them occasionally staring in class, smiling at each other and finally kissing.

Although the story is very similar to “Twilight,” L.J. Smith wrote her books before Stephenie Meyer even had the dream of Edward and Bella in the meadow. “The Vampire Diaries” is much darker and more real than “Twilight.”

Edward’s virginity at 106 years of age can pretty much prove that Meyer is more interested in the romantic fantasy; Smith is much more concerned with the sexiness and darkness of a vampire. “The Vampire Diaries” is about the appeal of a vampire rather than the intensity of the unreal love affair. In the books, Elena and Stephan drank blood from each other and their love escalates to more sexual levels much faster than “Twilight.” It provides a greater sense of reality, even through its fiction.

As far as the acting goes, the vampires here are more believable. They do not sparkle, have snowy white skin or appear to be in pain constantly. The heroin is also not helpless or depressed and she plays the two most important (and contrasting parts) very well. As Katherine, Nina Dobrev is exquisitely evil and as Elena she is impressively sweet and good-natured. She can be both sexy and naive. We see her covered in blood while fighting, but we also see her giggling and gushing over boys with her best friends.

It might be worth noting that the chemistry between Nina and Ian Somerhalder is real, off the stage as well as on. The Elena-Damon moments are by far better than the Elena-Stephan moments. Ian is very interesting, like Nina he can be both terribly mean and outstandingly sweet and protective at the same time. I can almost hear every girl thinking: “I wish my boyfriend were more like him.” That said, Paul Wesley is also a good actor, nonetheless he needs to loosen up a little, even for his role as the good, philosophical vampire he is too serious.

Being the teen drama that it is, not everyone might admit to loving “The Vampire Diaries” but even this secrecy adds to its popularity. Every time the actors creep into a little dark corner you know what’s going to happen next and you cannot stop watching. The TV show is simply irresistible even if overly dramatic. For all the vampire-lovers out there, fear not, “Twilight” might be over but for “The Vampire Diaries,” it’s just the beginning.

‘Heart’ warms musical soul HEART, from page 18

/ Gotta make ourselves some money.” Among a number of songs that deal poignantly with somber realities, this final send-out just flops.

These songs aren’t meant for pop culture— they’re a little too complicatedly dark for that— and most don’t have the same power without being heard among the other tracks of the album. Unlike many bands’ names, The Head

and the Heart has some meaning they hold by, and each song carries some of that intention as well. Some tracks you’d want to dance to and there are few that you could sing without having passersby wonder what must be going on in your conflicted heart. But if what you’re looking for are some songs that let you reminisce about nights around campfires in the summer with friends, or autumn afternoons spent swinging on a front porch, you’ll find some gems here among the flint.

AWAKE, from page 16

“24”—is again very good. She is the kindly psychiatrist that Britten needs in the world without his wife; her justifications for why she is real and the other psychiatrist is not are very convincing. Similarly, however, so are B.D. Wong’s. We already know though that B.D. Wong can aptly play a psychiatrist—thank you “Law & Order: SVU.” The last pairing is that of his wife and son, played by Laura Allen and Dylan Minnette respectively. While they were both apt, they were not as good as the other pairings. This may be because the other pairings act as foils both of each other and of Michael Britten. These two,

however, are very much their own characters and it is impossible not to pity the woman who lost her son and the boy who lost his mother.

But this just takes away focus from Michael Britten, which I do not want.

All in all, I believe that this show will be phenomenal if it is given a chance. The writing is great, the acting is excellent and the idea is intriguing. All we need now is for NBC to give it a chance and not just yank it. The mid-season replacement premier is not promising, but that’s how “Buffy: the Vampire Slayer” started and that ended well. At least it isn’t on Fox, because then we would never see it again.

“Awake” airs on NBC at 10 p.m. on Thursdays.

So, although your day may have been tiring, stay “Awake” a little longer and catch this new show.

‘Arrietty’s’ success

photo from internet source

SECRET, from page 16

visuals, there is one distinct weakness in the portrayal of the film’s villain, Hara (voiced by Carol Burnett), the housekeeper of the home in which Arrietty’s family has taken refuge. Upon confirming the existence of the Clock family, Hara sets out on a quest to have them exterminated. Her motives, however, are notably unclear. One gets the sense that perhaps she has been complaining about these mysterious miniature people for some time. Perhaps she has been called mad for it and thus is eager to prove her sanity, or perhaps she just wants to prove her sanity to herself. These reasons are never quite filled out, however, making the character a rather flat villain who simplifies an otherwise com-

plicated plot. This may be due to challenges with translating the character’s dialogue from the original Japanese, but in the case of the Englishlanguage film, there are significant problems in characterization for this villain.

Even with this flaw, for those of us who grew up on the earlier films of Studio Ghibli as they first entered the United States, “The Secret World of Arrietty” is a welcome return to childhood. Like other Ghibli movies based on earlier books (most notably including “Howl’s Moving Castle”), it takes the concept of the source material and makes it very distinctly Ghibli’s own, bringing a unique style and spin. The film also deserves credit in the studio’s body of work as a whole for portraying strong female heroines, a pattern to which Arrietty is no exception.

ARTS FOCUS

March 2, 2012

The Brandeis Hoot 20

As grisly farce, ‘Titus Andronicus’ fetches mixed results

By Sean Fabery Editor

On the late, great “Arrested Development”—bear with me—GOB Bluth engages in a series of escalating dares with a strange woman that results in them robbing a convenience store and getting married.

William Shakespeare’s “Titus Andronicus” is kind of like that, with its characters engaging in a series of escalating actions that result in severed tongues and delicious people-pies.

Whoever said the Bard couldn’t be fun?

Hold Thy Peace latches onto this thought with its production of “Titus Andronicus,” playing this weekend, transforming this revenge play into a black comedy to decidedly tepid results.

Roman General Titus Andronicus (Andrew Prentice ’13) returns to Rome victorious after defeating and imprisoning Goth Queen Tamora (Stephanie Karol ’12). His nebbish brother Marcus (Aaron Fischer ’15) tries to crown him emperor, but Ti-

tus defers to the late emperor’s entitled daughter Saturnina (Gabrielle Geller ’12).

Saturnina in turn pledges to marry Titus’ daughter, Lavinia (Samantha LeVangie ’15), but Lavinia prefers Saturnina’s brother, Bassianus (Clifton Masdea ’15). So Saturnina shocks everyone—especially Titus—by settling for Tamora, Rome’s former enemy. Ruh-roh.

That’s where everything starts getting a smidge bloody. Tamora is none too happy with Titus—maybe it’s the defeat in battle or the son he ritually sacrificed upon returning to Rome— and she’s determined to get her revenge. With the help of her Moorish lover Aaron (Jonathan Plesser ’12), Tamora and family kill most of Titus’ kin, all the while making the Andronici look really dysfunctional.

It’s enough to drive a man insane— and oh, it certainly does. Titus isn’t particularly well-adjusted, killing one of his sons in the first act for disobedience. By the end, he’s absolutely bat-shit crazy.

The play’s critical reception has

varied wildly during the last 400 years. This stems from its laundry list of violent acts: human sacrifice, gang rape, cannibalism, mutilation.

In the 1580s, Shakespeare’s audience gobbled up all the gore he served; revenge plays were all the rage in England at the time.

Later audiences felt differently.

The Victorians found the copious cadavers and severed limbs troubling, while T. S. Eliot deemed it “one of the stupidest and most uninspired plays ever written.”

Today the violence seems excessive and over-the-top. The characters on stage can barely move around without stumbling across a dead body.

As Mel Brooks observed, “Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.” The subsequent decision to transform the play into a tragic farce seems natural, and this is exactly the inclination that seized this production, led by directors Carolyn Daitch ’14 and Ben Federlin ’14.

It works, except when it doesn’t, which is a lot. This approach proves

Photos by Nate Rosenbloom At top, Titus (Andrew Prentice, right) serves a grisly meal.

Clockwise from top right: Demetrius (Ryan Kacani) and Chiron (Sari Holt) choke Bassianus (Clifton Masdea) with a sasuage link; Saturnina (Gabrielle Geller) and Tamora (Stephanie Karol) enjoy quality time together; Lavinia (Samantha LeVangie) confronts a grisly sight; and Aaron ( Jonathan Plesser) gets angry.

especially shaky in the beginning, when the tonal dissonances between the serious and comedic are especially pronounced. In one instance, those wacky Andronici brothers Martius (Simon Cramer ’13) and Quintus (Jessica Pizzuti ’15) clumsily fall into a pit with the corpse of Bassianus. This is followed by a decidedly serious vignette in which Tamora’s sons (Sari Holt ’15 and Ryan Kacani ’15) rape her, cut her hands off and rip out her tongue.

Awkward! How are we supposed to feel about this? We don’t know and neither apparently does the production.

This tonal juxtaposition improves steadily throughout the production.

It’s in top form by the climax, in which half the characters get killed by rolling pins and plastic fish.

They say you’re only as good as your talent, and initially the show also suffers from some stiff, static acting in its opening scenes. Some overact, while others are in need of a pulse. Yet a fascinating transformation occurs during the show, as

everyone finds their footing. Pulses are found; the wild gesticulating is reined in.

A few actors capture the show’s dark humor with precision. Geller acts with her entire body, which combines with her pouty voice to convey Saturnina’s haughtiness and sense of entitlement. Once Tamora finds power, Karol assumes a campy, affected demeanor, speaking to everyone as though they’re simpletons.

She perhaps best handles the production’s farcical elements. Alex Davis ’15, as Titus’ eldest son Lucius, shows great timing as the play’s deadpan voice of reason. Plesser, meanwhile, knows how to join perfectly the play’s verse with lewd gestures.

Ultimately the comedy here feels unnatural, a few scenes excepted.

Hold Thy Peace should be lauded for its willingness to experiment with their recent productions, which have included a steampunk “Othello” and a recut rendition of the “Henry VI” trilogy. But comedy is notoriously hard to pull off and here it doesn’t quite work.