The Brandeis Hoot - March 9, 2012

Volume 9 Number 7

www.thebrandeishoot.com

Brandeis University’s Community Newspaper • Waltham, Mass.

Univ overlooked criminal record in hiring Ross terminated, found drunk in car on campus

By Connor Novy Editor

Found unresponsive and allegedly inebriated in a car parked in Tower Lot, Pippin Ross, who has been teaching the Journalism in Broadcast Media class this semester, was taken into custody by Brandeis Police and transported to the Waltham Police Department for holding, the Justice reported on Tuesday. The following day, she was arrested by the Barnstable police for operating a vehicle under the influence and without a license.

Dean of Arts and Sciences Susan Birren fired Ross on Feb. 28, a day after she was initially discovered alone in a vehicle with a Brandeis faculty parking sticker. Public Safety asks parking-pass applicants to present a Brandeis ID, vehicle registration and operator’s license, according to their website.

When asked whose name Ross’ vehicle was registered under, Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan replied that permit applications are confidential university documents.

University officials say they had no knowledge of Ross’ criminal record or drinking problem—her license was revoked for life after four OUI arrests

during the 1990s and she has served three years in prison—when they hired her as a replacement professor for the journalism class this spring.

Ross was interviewed on NPR’s “The Story” program about her rape while working on a story and subsequent descent into alcoholism, which ultimately landed her in jail for multiple drunk driving charges; she spent three years at the women’s prison in Framingham.

Ross has been writing a memoir of her time in prison, titled “Crash Course: A Reporter’s Journey into Prison,” since her release. Neither Professor Maura Farrelly (JOUR), who recommended Ross to fill the open adjunct position, nor Birren were aware of the memoir, excerpts from which are posted on her blog, which is the first hit when entering her name into Google.

Ross spent five days in McLean Hospital in a court-ordered attempt at sobriety in 2004, but was kicked out for sharing vodka with another inmate, according to the MetroWest Daily News. The following year she was sentenced to a year at the Western Massachusetts Correction Center.

A few days prior to release, she was again indicted for altering court documents pertaining to the number of her drunk-driving convictions. She was charged with “before the fact aid-

March 9, 2012

Court to hear affirmative action case

By Jon Ostrowsky Editor

Below is a copy of the e-mail obtained by The Hoot that Pippin Ross sent to students in her broadcast journalism class following an incident on Feb. 27.

From: Pippin Ross, Date: Tue, Feb 28, 2012 at 12:04 AM Subject: Yikes!

Hi everybody. At about 11:00 a.m. I had a seemingly benevolent car crash on the Brandeis campus! I wasn’t even driving! I got knocked out.

Word is---a concussion. It’s (strangely) a good plot, we’ll talk about it.

I just got home after a day at Tufts Medical. I’m strangley delighted that I never knew I was there until a woke up 7 hours later. I was tested/ released. The car lost only a tail light. The driver unscathed.

What is up with Brandeis bringing me a spate of colds/flu/injuries?

As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear a case of affirmative active in college admissions standards, it is unlikely any decision will radically change procedures at Brandeis, Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel said.

Even though Brandeis is a private university, it receives federal funding; therefore, the court’s decision in Fischer v. University of Texas, in which two white students claim the school rejected them because it unfairly favored minorities, could impact how Brandeis weighs race as an admissions factor.

Arguments will not begin before October yet college administrators across the country are closely watching the case because it would reverse the 2003 decision in Grutter v. Bollinger. In the case involving University of Michigan Law School, justices ruled that a point system is unconstitutional but that it is legal to consider race as a factor in decisions.

“It would be impossible for me to

See E-MAIL, page 3

See ADMISSIONS, page 6

pippin ross

photo from internet source

In e-mail to students, Ross gives her side

See ROSS, page 3

New pool brings new competition

$20,000 artifacts to return home after smuggling investigation

By Marissa Budlong Staff

photos by paula hoekstra/the hoot

intramural water polo begins Students compete in intramural water polo at the new Linsey Pool this week.

One year ago, eight Mayan pots were held suspect, unknown in legitimacy and legality, but on March 1, the artifacts were finally returned, with the help of Professor Charles Golden (ANTH), to the Guatemalan Embassy at a repatriation ceremony in Washington.

Two of the eight artifacts, identified as authentic by Golden, made their way all the way to the Skinner Auction House in Marlborough, Mass. Once the artifacts were bought and the seller was unable to present import documents, they were handed over to the authorities. The other six were caught at customs in the luggage of a passenger heading to Houston, Texas.

Golden identified two of these eight artifacts as legitimate Mayan pots, with a high probability that the artifacts originated from Guatemala.

Golden described them as 1,200- to 1,300-year-old cylinder pots, which are painted and include various positioned figures—possibly that of Mayan warriors, nobles or kings.

Golden was able to tell that these were, in fact, not imitations by the poor paint job. Often, he explained, smugglers will paint over the original design to make the artifacts look preserved so they will be able to sell the artifact at a higher price.

“When you dig these things out of the ground, they’re damaged, so what people tend to do is to paint over them to try to make them look nice so they can sell them. They just want them to look nice for sale,” Golden said. “In this case, the pots that were painted over were done badly, so I could tell what was original and what was painted over, and that actually helped me figure out that these were real.”

Golden has been working in the Maya area of Mexico and Central America since 1993. His area of research is Mesoamerican archeology, specifically that of pots. When authorities required a local expert on the subject, the state department asked Golden to inspect the validity of the artifacts.

These pots were not particularly expensive. Combined, the pots would have only gone for $20,000, a fraction compared to some individual pots that can be sold for as much as $30,000.

The investigation of the artifacts is still ongoing. Not only do investigators have to prove that the smuggler is guilty, but they also have to prove first the validity of the object itself. This makes it extremely difficult to convict anyone of theft or even that the object was illegally obtained.

The auction houses and the indiSee GOLDEN, page 6

NEWS

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March 9, 2012

Female genital mutilation reversible; biography of pioneering doctor presented at WSRC

By Aly Schuman Staff

The Women’s Studies Research Center presented a reading and discussion on Wednesday on a recently-translated book titled “Undoing FGM: Pierre Foldes, the Surgeon Who Restores the Clitoris.” Translator Dr. Tobe Levin and author Hubert Prolongeau spoke about the continuation of the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) and what measures are being taken both to stop and undo the maiming of about 130 million women worldwide.

The custom of FGM takes on many forms. An excisor (one who performs FGM) can cut either the inside or outer skin of the female genitals as well as amputate the clitoris. The practice originated in African countries as a way to transform girls into womanhood.

“Girls undergo the procedure at six or seven years old, or sometimes just weeks or months old,” Mei-Mei Ellerman, resident scholar at the Women’s Studies Research Center (WSRC), said. “The psychological terror that the girls go through is indescribable.” Ellerman outlined the process in which girls are held down without any understanding of what is happening to them.

Immigrants from Africa wish for their daughters to undergo this process, but the practice is forbidden in many countries, including France.

To skate around the issue, “[the parents] send their children back to their home country to get procedure done, unbeknownst to them,” Ellerman said.

FGM can lead to numerous health problems. Inexact surgical tools are often used, which can sometimes cut into the rectum or urethra, causing incontinence. Hemorrhaging or infections often result, and urinating can be difficult and painful. Birth is an excruciating expe-

rience that can lead to death. The process is often performed without anesthesia.

“All in the name of purity, cleanliness and chastity,” Ellerman states.

Paris-based surgeon Pierre Foldes gives hope to many women afflicted. Almost by accident, Foldes came up with a solution when he was examining a patient. He originated a procedure in which he cuts away the scar tissue that obstructs the clitoris. He then is able to pull the clitoris forward from where it can be stuck to the bone, since the organ is much larger than anyone had previously realized. The procedure lasts only about a half an hour, is very straightforward and requires little anesthesia. Women can therefore experience sensation in their genitals again and derive sexual pleasure. Best of all, Foldes does it all for free.

“He says he can’t bear to see suffering,” Ellerman says simply.

Other surgeons from Burkina Faso, Switzerland and the United States have found ways to undo FGM, but none are the same as Foldes’ method because these surgeons wish to charge their patients. Foldes refuses to do so, although it has created complications in funding, and subsequently makes it more difficult for him to train others in his technique.

Instead, if Foldes’ patients wish to thank him, he requests a music CD. “He puts the women at ease during appointments by playing music from their homeland,” Levin explains.

The experience can be difficult for women Ellerman elaborates, “The women must swallow shame and dignity and muster up the courage to approach him. Part of the healing process is for them to voice what is wrong and ask for help.

Women who would never dream of approaching a male doctor feel safe with him. He completely changes their lives and gives them their lives back.”

Prolongeau, the author of “Undo-

“

People have tip-toed around the ritual [of FGM], but now it is being looked at in a human rights view and as a health issue.

Mei-Mei Ellerman

ing FGM,” agrees. “[Foldes] tries to not make it merely a medical act.

The medical part is not the most important. He tries to work on the psychological connection as well.”

His humanity, which Prolongeau immediately recognized when he happened upon Foldes’ work, was part of what moved him to write a book about the surgeon’s efforts, which have restored 3,500 women since the early 90s. He first published the book in his native France in 2006, including a preface by Bernard Kouchner, the founder of Doctors Without Borders.

Later, advocate Tobe Levin read the book. Levin had long been involved in the fight against FGM. She started an organization called “FORWARD” in Europe, which strove both to bring the practice of FGM to public attention and to partner with leaders in Africa to advocate for policies to prevent the practice.

Since then, Levin has allowed others to take charge of the organization so that there would not be unfortunate implications associated with a white European woman seeking to change an African custom.

Levin took it upon herself to translate Prolongeau’s novel into English, a feat that took her a year a half, completed in October 2011.

She had created her own publishing company, Uncut/Voices Press, dedicated strictly to ending and promoting awareness of the practice of FGM. “Undoing FGM” was the second book it published; the first

was a memoir called “Blood Stains”

by Khady with Marie-Thérèse Cuny, which was also translated by Levin.

As a continuation of the mission to spread awareness, Levin and Prolongeau teamed up on a six-stop book tour in which they read passages and discussed the issues raised in “Undoing FGM.” Levin had previously worked at the Haddassah-Brandeis Institute as a resident scholar and contacted the WSRC again in hopes to stop here on the tour. The WSRC had previously started its own program, Gender and International Development Initiatives (GaIDI), which strives to expand the view of the WSRC to a more global platform. The tour exemplifies the kinds of issues GaIDI wishes to promote.

Of particular interest to the group at Brandeis was the issue of cultural relativism. Cultural relativism is a term for the anthropological belief that foreign practices should be viewed in the context of their own culture. Some anthropologists believe that all practices of a culture have intrinsic validity and should therefore not be judged by our Western bias. The discussion at Brandeis had a clear outlook on the issue.

“At the center, we defend the rights of children and women to not have this forced upon them …

People have tip-toed around the ritual [of FGM], but now it is being looked at in a human rights view and as a health issue,” Ellerman maintained.

”

“People sometimes show the cultural relativist view that ‘it’s their culture and we should not get involved,’” Levin said. “I accuse them of complicity. There are some absolute human rights standards. It is against international human rights law to cut something off of a child.”

Certain strides have been made; countries in Africa and Europe have outlawed FGM, yet it is still practiced.

To rectify this, Levin said advocates must “engage directly with the African community. The practice is strongly defended by those who continue it.”

“It is done for the sake of genital beauty. There is this notion of beauty and ugliness which helps perpetuate the practice.”

Levin summarizes the message she and Prolongeau hope to send.

“The point of the tour is [the] same as [the] point of the book, which is to give this topic far better exposure than it has had: to force policy makers and politicians to make change. [FGM] has been called torture, and it goes against the U.N. An Inter-African Committee of 28 nations defines this as torture. We want to raise public awareness, which in turn influences policy.”

Prolongeau expresses the hope Foldes gives FGM victims in his book. “We wish to raise awareness and show that [FGM] is not irreversible. It is important to have people know this so they can change.”

There’s no debate: BADASS ranks third in nation

By Emily Belowich Staff

The Brandeis Academic Debate and Speech Society (B.A.D.A.S.S.) is now ranked third in the nation, following victories at the Providence College and University of Connecticut tournaments last weekend.

Brandeis trails behind only Columbia and Yale in the national rankings.

At the Providence College tournament last weekend, B.A.D.A.S.S. prevailed with wins from Keith Barry ’13 and Michael Perloff ’12.

Richard Weisbach ’13, Brendan Fradkin ’12 and Russell Leibowitz ’14 reached the quarterfinals, earning Brandeis’ debate club its third place national ranking.

At the University of Connecticut tournament on Feb. 24-25, Barry and Leibowitz teamed to win first place in the final round of the competition. Ranked fourth, Leibowitz and Barry, also won the Harvard Championship and Syracuse Invitational earlier this year.

Individually, B.A.D.A.S.S. placed three team members among the top 20 competitors in the country,

including Leibowitz in 10th place, Barry in 15th and Fradkin in 20th.

The club meets twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the school year, B.A.D.A.S.S. Director of Public Relations David Altman ’15 said.

“One of the nice things is that there’s a lot of variation. Some people may only debate a few times a year and practice only once or twice before they compete. Other people practice every day. But it is definitely a commitment nonetheless,” Altman said.

“We have a Google Doc that is being updated constantly where we put our rounds up.”

The club is entirely student-run but is under the guidance of Coach Ryan Cross. Altman says that Cross will give feedback and watch rounds but instructing and mentoring is peer-led.

Brandeis is part of the American Parliamentary Debate Association (APDA), which fosters an “off-topic, extemporaneous form of competitive debate which stresses rigorous argumentation, logical analysis, quick thinking, breadth of knowledge, and rhetorical ability over preparation of evidence.”

The APDA consists of more than

50 of the nation’s top universities and colleges, including all Ivy League institutions.

In each round, teams of two students compete for 45 minutes.

Each side delivers two constructive speeches and one rebuttal.

“It’s a complicated system,” Altman said. “But I have no doubts that Brandeis will send four to five different teams to nationals, if not more.”

“Brandeis has built one of the strongest novice (first-year debater) classes in the country,” Altman said in a press release this week.

Altman and Brad Burns ’15 won the novice finals at the UConn tournament. So far this year, B.A.D.A.S.S. received 27 novice speaker awards in addition to 23 novice team awards.

This spring B.A.D.A.S.S. will participate in five additional regular season tournaments before heading to Nationals in April. To qualify for nationals, B.A.D.A.S.S. must earn 14 qualification points.

This weekend, B.A.D.A.S.S. will travel to Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, to compete against 15 to 20 other East Coast schools. photos from internet source

(Top) Michael Perloff ’12;(bottom) Brendan Fradkin ’12 and Andrew Husick ’11.

March 9, 2012

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Test curving customary in the sciences

By Zach Reid Staff

Curving grades is a common practice for certain science classes at Brandeis. Science professors often explain that this is done due to the class’ high level of difficulty, meaning that, if these tests were not on a curve, students would do very poorly.

Despite the apparently helpful nature of this practice, however, it remains unclear whether this is beneficial to students.

Some classes, such as Biology Lab, use the “bell curve,” which comprises the majority of grades resting around the “B” region, which is generally assigned as the class average. There are, however, outliers on any curve; in a class, these outliers take the form of very high or very low grades, such as

scores of 40 percent or 97 percent.

Through this system, a class average of 72 percent can be made into a “B,” and any student who earned an 80 percent would earn either a B+ or an A. Many students and teachers believe the curve system to be both effective and necessary, including Professor Melissa Kosinski-Collins (BIOL).

Kosinski-Collins told The Hoot that, due to the ever-expanding nature of collective scientific knowledge, “expecting students to learn everything is impossible and completely unfair.” Additionally, she stated that she “provide[s] a realistic target of knowledge level” for her students, instead of 100 percent of the knowledge she teaches them.

Biology Lab is by no means, however, the only class that uses a curve system. Exams given in General

Chemistry, taught by Professor Claudia Novack (CHEM), are also curved for the benefit of students. Samantha Daniels-Kolin ’15 said that she feels that “the curve system most definitely helps me in class,” since she usually “floats around the average of the class.”

Some students, however, feel that the curve could harm them. Esther Mann ’15, a student in Organic Chemistry—class and lab—and Biology Lab said she believes “the curve system has harmed me in the classes I have taken because people are competing against each other.”

Additionally, some students raised the issue of how using a curve can negatively affect the letter grades given in a class. Mann commented that she believed putting many students “in the B- range hurts every single one of us who need GPAs of at least

3.5 to apply for medical schools and graduate programs.”

Many students understand both points of view of the curve debate.

Daniels-Kolin commented that she understood “the benefits of being graded without a curve,” but also said: “If you don’t need the curve, then … it shouldn’t bother you.”

Mann also stated that she believes “the curve system is fair for some people but not others.”

The use of a curve system at all depends on a number of factors, including the professor’s teaching philosophy and the class being taught, according to Professor Susan Parker (MATH). In a phone interview with The Hoot, Parker said that throughout her teaching career she has “adjusted her exams so the median grade is almost invariably between a 70 and an 85.”

Professor fired after OUI arrest ROSS, from page 1

ing an attempted escape,” and spent nine months fighting the charge before pleading out at the advice of her attorney. She was then sent to Framingham, where she stayed until March 2009, according to The Daily News. Until the end of that year, she was staying at a sober house in Malden, Mass.

Her husband, Philip Austin, claims that Ross was not inebriated, but suffering from a neurological disorder that caused her to be unresponsive, the Justice reported on Tuesday. Austin told the Justice that university police reacted inappropriately to the situation. The university was not previously aware of any neurological condition, Senior Vice President of Communications Andrew Gully wrote in an e-mail.

A woman who answered the phone Wednesday evening at the Austin residence listed on Nantucket declined to comment.

When The Hoot asked to speak with Austin, she referred reporters to the local police station and

insisted it was the wrong number.

Students questioned odd behavior from the beginning of her class. According to Barbara Soley ’15, she came into class on the first day with bruises on her face.

Students claimed that one day she came smelling of alcohol.

According to one student, who asked to remain anonymous, “She once said ‘I’m what they would call sober now,’ and would talk about alcohol a lot and, like, make hints.” She was often very excited, and sent “very rude e-mails” and “cursed all the time.”

Sivan Levine ’13, who was also in her class, said that often, “she didn’t know what she was doing,” but that the students “brushed it off as her being a character.”

After she was released from custody on Feb. 27, Ross sent an email to her class that explained she had been “knocked out” in an accident and incurred a concussion: “I just got home after a day at Tufts Medical,” wrote Ross in her final e-mail to students, “I’m strangley (sic) delighted that I never knew I was there until a woke up 7 hours

later. I was tested/released. The car lost only a tail light. The driver unscathed … Thanks for (hopefully) understanding my absense (sic).”

There is no similar accident report in the Brandeis or Waltham police logs.

Ross was an emergency hire at the beginning of the spring semester, to fill a sudden vacancy in the Journalism minor curriculum. “Hiring of adjuncts differs somewhat from hiring of long-term faculty,” Birren explained, and is not as formal as the methods used for tenuretrack appointments, which require national searches. Often, according to Birren, adjuncts are hired through academic contacts or known personally by members of the department.

No background inquiries were made, though one is not required for hiring at Brandeis. Birren said that Brandeis University hiring policy is “in line” with other colleges nationwide.

Until her termination, the university was not aware that Ross had multiple convictions. She

was interviewed twice over the phone, and Farrelly listened to her work on NPR. Ross was initially recommended to Farrelly by a mutual contact in the journalism world.

While she was unaware of Ross’ criminal history, Farrelly did know her reputation of reportage: “When a former colleague who now works for New Hampshire Public Radio recommended Pippin to me, I recognized her name immediately because I had heard her reports on WBUR this past fall, when the state Legislature was considering the legalization of casino gambling,” Farrelly wrote in an e-mail to The Hoot.

“I also recalled her coverage of the tornadoes that hit Massachusetts last summer. In short, she is well regarded for her work in the public broadcasting arena. In addition, she had an article in an edition of Commonwealth magazine that arrived in my mailbox the week that I learned I was going to have to find a replacement to teach the class.”

The implementation of a curve itself can often confuse students even more about their grades. Parker also told The Hoot that “students have different, sometimes hazy ideas about what it means to curve,” and that the professor of the class should explain their curving policy.

The curve system isn’t perfect, but it does seem to be something students can live with. Mann said she thought she would be doing better in class “if there were another system, but definitely not if we were given our raw grades.” While the system does provide more benefit to students who do poorly than who do well (an F to B jump is much larger, for example, than a B- to a B+ jump), it does help the majority in such intensive classes such as Biology Lab, General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry.

Professor discusses absence in e-mail E-MAIL, from page 1

Who knows, maybe it’s me.

I’m wanting to assume you’re happy that your prof. never showed up for no reason and you got a day off! (Hope you felt that way.)

I’m bummed to the point that my husband has said, “You got hurt, stop worrying about them!”

Still, I had a packed class planned. I even brought candy!

Let’s do it this way: Let’s essentially remain on program. Prof. Farrelly told me I needed to slow down for your sake of learning this stuff very well, anyhow. If you’re willing, I would love to knock a couple things off my ever-growing list before our field trip next week. Anyone willing to do the usual class start at 2:00?

Check out the up-dated syllabus.

Okay. I need to go back to sleep. I’ll communicate tomorrow.

Thanks for (hopefully) understanding my absense.

Prof. Pippin

4 NEWS

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March 9, 2012

Fifth Russian Culture Week brings community together

By Justin Burack Staff

In the works since the beginning of the year, the fifth annual Russian Culture Week aims to increase the visibility of the Russian-speaking community at Brandeis through a combination of talent, high culture, activism and free food.

“When I was a freshman, Russian Culture Week was really more like a day, where we just had a single day talent show for International Women’s Day,” former Russian Club Vice-President Matt Kupfer said in a phone interview. “Every year it gets better and better and every year we get more events in, and more organized,” he continued.

International Women’s Day, the holiday which provides the backdrop for the week’s festivities, was originally a socialist holiday that called for the “emancipation” of working women celebrated throughout Europe and established as a national holiday in the Soviet Union on March 8, 1917, before becoming a working day off in 1967.

It is currently observed worldwide as a way to promote women’s rights (with the exception of a few countries, including the United States).

“March 8 is not a holiday that is recognized in the United States even though March is Women’s History month, but there are no holidays that just celebrate women,” Professor Irina Dubinina said in an interview. “It is a very significant holiday in Russia—people get a day off and the parents of many of the students here grew up in this culture and as such the holiday has significance to the students as well, so I suggested to them that they organize a concert where they can showcase their talents and give visibility to that part

of the world.”

It was apparent from the events themselves and from Dubinina’s further statements that Russian Culture Week was not simply intended to represent ethnic Russian culture, but anybody sharing a linguistic, cultural and historical connection to Russia. The former Soviet Union consisted of a large plurality of ethnic groups and nationalities that shared a common affiliation through language, many of which were represented in Russian Culture Week without lying within the boundaries of the modern-day Russian Federation.

“What I always care to mention in all my speeches is the complexity of the word ‘Russian,’” Dubinina said. “In America, ‘Russian’ actually means ‘former Soviet’; it means ‘Russian’ as a language-identity … as in you can be Ukrainian or Jewish and still be ‘Russian.’”

The first event took place on Tuesday in Rappaporte Treasure Hall, when anti-Putin activist Olga Golovanova gave an informal, albeit spirited, account of the recent protests against alleged fraud in Russia’s elections. Following a slideshow explicating the full range of political ideologies behind the protests, from hard-left communist to borderline fascist, a question and answer session took place followed by free food.

Wednesday’s event in the Lown auditorium was a viewing of the classic 1967 Russian war film “Ivan’s Childhood” (Ivanovo Detstvo), a heart-wrenching and symbolically heavy dramatization of a child’s wartime trauma by director Andrei Tarkovsky. The film was preceded by a speech by Dubinina about the atrocities experienced by everyone in the territories carved out of the USSR by the Nazi invasion, and fol-

photo from internet source

lowed by a discussion of the film’s symbolic motifs.

The highlight of Russian Culture Week was the fifth annual talent show showcasing Eastern European, Caucasian, Central Asian and Russian emigre culture in Rappaporte Treasure Hall. Greeted immediately by large bowls of Russian salads and appetizers, the atmosphere was generally convivial. Classical instrumentalists performed wellestablished pieces in the repertoire, including Bach’s Allemande from the Cello Suite No. 3 and Rachmaninoff ’s Piano Sonata in C-sharp

Minor, while others sang Russian and Soviet folk songs with occasional audience participation adding to the sense of nostalgia. Kupfer demonstrated traditional Kazakh instruments followed by a recitation of “The Knight in the Panther’s Skin,” a Georgian 12th-century poem. The concert ended with a series of presentations by Dubinina’s various Russian classes and a few encore performances.

“In terms of financially and administratively supporting the events we do work with the Brandeis Genesis Institute and the Russian Studies

Program,” referring to the scholarship fund sponsored by the university meant to support and educate leaders of the Russian-speaking Jewish community. “It has become a three-way partnership between the BGI, the Russian Studies Program and the students themselves; but the drive is from the students and I can’t repeat it enough.”

“Russian Culture Week has changed over time since I’ve been here, but we really hope to make it a tradition since it just gets better and better every year,” Kupfer said.

Presenters teach lessons to students as part of Health Week

photos by ingrid schulte/the hoot

Deidre Hunter, a lecturer for the Brandeis Women and Gender Studies and Division Director at Justice Resource Institute, speaks at the Brandeis Symposium on Intimate Partner Violence on March 8 in the SCC Art Gallery. Students host events as part of Health Week organized by the Student Union and Brandeis Health Services.

lessons for health week

photo by nate rosenbloom/the hoot

March 9, 2012

NEWS 5

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Search, now in third week, continues for BC student

By Rachel Hirschhaut Staff

After another week of thorough searches, police still have no information on the whereabouts of missing Boston College student Franco Garcia.

Garcia, 21, a chemistry major who lives at home with his parents in West Newton, has not been seen since the early morning of Feb. 22, when he attended a BC Mardi Gras celebration with friends at Mary Ann’s, a bar in Brighton. Security camera footage from a nearby bank shows him walking alone toward the BC campus at 12:18 a.m.

Both Newton Police and Massachusetts State Police continue to search Newton and the Chestnut Hill area. Last week, state police officers searched the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, to which his cellphone records indicated he was close, by dragging a sonar scan device across the water.

On March 2, divers returned to the reservoir to conclude the search and still found nothing.

Officials also searched the Garcia home and his belongings. They are currently examining security footage from businesses in the vicinity of where Garcia was last seen.

In addition to the police, the Garcia family has hired private investigator Justin Billard, who lives near the reservoir, to assist in the search. Billard is now focusing his search on the

Cleveland Circle area, where the bar is located.

“Somebody saw something,” Billard told NECN. “You don’t walk out of an establishment and turn into a cloud.”

He believes that “maybe people saw something and had information on day two, and they had that information, but they thought maybe on day three Franco would come home or be found … They have that information still and they feel maybe they’ll be questioned as to why they didn’t come forward earlier,” Billard said.

Both of these searches have turned up nothing, which leads people to hold onto hope and believe that Franco Garcia is alive, as his father Jose Garcia told The Boston Globe.

Garcia’s disappearance has become a cause for public concern. On March 6, his family held a two-hour public vigil for him at Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in East Boston.

Later musician Bruce Springsteen, whose son is a classmate of Garcia’s, posted this message on his Twitter: “Help find Boston College student Franco Garcia. Last seen 2/22/12 in Brighton, MA. Call 617-796-2100 [the number of the Newton police] with any info.”

In a statement to the Boston Globe, State Police spokesperson David Procopio emphasized that the case “remains a missing persons case. There is no evidence to indicate foul play though foul play has not been ruled out.”

search continues Police discuss procedure for the search for the missing BC student last week in Newton.

photos by alex patch/the hoot

Jazz and Live Music Night at Ollie’s artists perform (from top left) Alex Bargar ’12, Sam Chussid ’14, Anneke Reich ’13, Ell Getz ’13, Josh

Goldman ’11, and Marlee Rosenthal ’14 perform at Ollie’s on Thursday, March 8.

photo by ingrid schulte/the hoot

6 NEWS

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March 9, 2012

Golden helps return artifacts to South America

Give a Hoot, Join The Hoot!

The Hoot is looking for writers, editors, photographers and illustrators this spring semester.

charles golden

GOLDEN, from page 1

viduals who sell the artifacts make huge amounts of money of the sales.

The countries from which the artifacts are taken are hurt an even great-

photo from internet source

er amount.

“You’re destroying all of this heritage and all these potentially valuable archaeological sights that could draw tourists and make money for the local communities. You’re destroying

them in order to get one object, and the people who dig them up are paid $20 to $100 for these objects because they have to feed their families. It’s a big scam from the beginning to the end,” he said.

Golden describes the artifact smugglers’ routes to be similar to that of the routes often used by smugglers of drugs and other illegal objects. According to Golden, the trade in illegal antiquities is just behind that of drug trafficking in profit. The problem not only affects the people in the area, but the site itself.

“The best way to think of it is, I think, like a puzzle piece, and if you’re trying to build a 40- to 50-piece puzzle. You get down to the 48th, 49th, 50th piece and they’re missing, then what do you do? What happens is when you destroy that archaeological sight to get that one pot? You’re not only taking that puzzle piece away, you’re knocking the rest of the puzzle off the table. They’re individually important because they fill in the blanks in the picture we’re trying to fill,” Golden said.

Affirmative action case unlikely to change policies ADMISSIONS, from page 1

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say that race is not a factor, but it’s also a bit of a misleading concept to say that race is a direct factor because in reality what we do is evaluate applicants very comprehensively and holistically,” Flagel said in an interview with The Hoot Thursday morning.

“Unlike University of Michigan and some others, where it’s a very overt effort to fill a certain number of requisite slots with a certain number of students from different backgrounds, that’s not been the case [at Brandeis].”

At Michigan, Flagel said, a point system rates several components of a student’s application including GPA, test scores and essays. The 2003 ruling prohibited schools from using a point system to rank race.

In Grutter, the court ruled that factoring race into admissions was acceptable to create a diverse community.

“The Equal Protection Clause does not prohibit the Law School’s narrowly tailored use of race in admissions decisions to further a compelling interest in obtaining the educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body,” O’Connor wrote in the court’s majority opinion.

If the Supreme Court reverses its 2003 decision, it would impact Brandeis on some level and likely produce new guidance from the Department of Education on how to comply with the law. Yet regardless of the how the court rules, there are other ways to maintain diversity even if race is no longer a factor in admissions procedures.

Socio-economic diversity and recruitment of racially diverse students are two ways universities can maintain a high percentage of minority students.

“One of the things that Brandeis should be about is outreach and ac-

cess in making sure we are recruiting students from every background and representation,” Flagel said.

Flagel emphasized that at Brandeis academic achievement is the most important factor in determining which students to admit, explaining that while a vast majority of decisions are fairly straightforward, a small percentage of decisions are extraordinarily difficult. In the select group, every applicant has distinguishing characteristics.

“Quality of academic record is by far the most important factor,” Flagel said. “Race is certainly not an overt factor.”

In determining students that stand out in a pool of academic talent, Flagel said that admissions officers seek examples displaying not only extracurricular achievements but more so qualities such as and leadership and passion.

EDITORIALS

March 9, 2012

“To acquire wisdom, one must observe.”

Editor-in-Chief Jon Ostrowsky Managing Editor Yael Katzwer 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 Victoria Aronson Deputy Features Editor Dana Trismen Deputy Features Editor Juliette Martin Deputy Arts, Etc. Editor Morgan Dashko Deputy Copy Editor Destiny D. Aquino Senior Editor Sean Fabery Senior Editor Savannah Pearlman Senior Editor

Volume 9 • Issue 7 the brandeis hoot • brandeis university 415 south street • waltham, ma

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 Sam Allen, Rick Alterbaum, Emily Beker, Alex Bernstein, Emily Breitbart, Marissa Budlong, Justin Burack, Adam Cohen, Haley Fine, Jeremy Goodman, Rachel Hirschhaut, Paula Hoekstra, Adam Hughes, Gabby Katz, Josh Kelly, Samuel Kim, Zoe Kronovet, Arielle Levine, Ariel Madway, Estie 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, Yi Wang, Sarah Weber, Rachel Weissman and Linjie Xu

connect

Necessary repairs require immediate attention

O

ur campus is falling apart— plain and simple. Walking around outside, the campus looks very nice. We have various new buildings sprinkling the campus and drawing attention away from some of the drearier buildings.

It is not until one enters one of these drearier buildings, however, that one truly realizes how poorly kept these buildings are. There are holes in ceilings, chipping paint, flickering lights, mangled desks, destroyed blackboards and a bevy of other issues.

The biggest problem is that these buildings are no longer safe. This school seems only willing to spend money to fix problems cosmetically rather than devoting some resources to fixing problems truly. For example, there is a chair in the Olin-Sang auditorium that has been broken for more than a semester; the entire chair has collapsed in on itself. Every week, however, the chair is made to look fixed, even though it is not. All it takes is a small amount of pressure—either from someone leaning on it or sitting in it— to realize that the chair is still broken.

This is dangerous. Earlier this week a professor fell in Olin-Sang; and by fell,

F

our DUIs and chronic alcoholism were just the start. Ross escaped from jail and broke a friend out of jail in her past. And how does anyone know? She wrote about it on a blog, easily available from a quick Google search.

No one took the time to ask basic questions. Who was this new hire?

What was her history?

Now, students in Writing for Broadcast Journalism have lost a professor and any semblance of a cohesive curriculum. We call on administrators to consider refunding the tuition these students paid for a class that no longer represents the fundamental Brandeis commitment to excellence.

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we mean, face-planted. She was luckily fine but she could have been very hurt.

This brings us to another point. This professor fell due to a severely broken chair right in front of a visiting professor. Two Mondays in a row, visiting lecturers spoke in Olin-Sang 101 and commented on the broken chair. This makes the university look very bad.

Not only is this not the image we want to project to visiting professors but it is also not the image we want to project to prospective students.

The chair in Olin-Sang is hardly the largest problem. Upperclassmen remember the ceilings collapsing in Usen Castle two years ago; just because we are not seeing ceilings collapse right

now does not mean the festering mold in them is gone. The basement rooms in Shapiro look more like prison cells than dorm rooms, with pipes—which burst on occasion—crisscrossing the space. Brown looks like it is from the 1950s, with holes in the ceiling and wires hanging dangerously lowly. Even the new buildings are not quite as shiny as they once were; Mandel is plagued by computer glitches and flickering lights in the auditorium.

It is time Brandeis stopped adding—unless it is more dorms and not offices—and focused on what we have, which is buildings that are falling apart and desperately in need of some reparative attention.

Unfit for teaching position

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The Brandeis Hoot 7

Retraction Due to reporting errors, we retract the article “Class of 2015 mirrors diversity of past years” published on Dec. 2, 2011. It contained inaccurate quotations and information attributed incorrectly. We also retract the article “San Francisco composer wins first Lyndian grant” published last week because it was not original work.

These errors have been addressed through personnel changes.

Newspapers, and people make mistakes. We recognize ours, apologize for them and look forward to continually earning the respect of the community that we serve.

While Maura Farrelly (JOUR), who will assume the class’ teaching responsibilities, will be an apt replacement, this does not erase the first half of the semester, during which an unfit teacher ran this sham of a class. Students reported that Ross, before her arrest and subsequent firing, was an unreliable teacher with extremely unorthodox teaching methods.

This was to the students’ detriment and they should not be forced to pay for this disgrace. The university failed them and needs to own up to that.

The university failed all its students when it hired a professor who clearly had no place in a classroom. Had the university spent even a few moments

Googling Ross, they would have discovered her long list of past felonies.

Not only did the school hire a woman who had a past run-in with law enforcement, they hired a woman who had a long rap sheet with serious offenses.

Ross did not just break the law; she displayed a clear disregard for the law and those who serve to enforce it. Ross is writing a book bragging about these escapades.

Brandeis seriously needs to reconsider its hiring practices when it allows such a clearly unacceptable teaching candidate past the resume-submission phase, let alone lets her become a professor at our university.

Sound Off! Contribute to Hoot impressions.

To submit your opinion, send us an e-mail: letters@thebrandeishoot.com

SPORTS

8 The Brandeis Hoot

March 9, 2012

Three men’s basketball players recognized by UAA

By Brian Tabakin Editor

Three members of the men’s basketball team earned all UAA honors this past week. Guard Vytas Kriskus ’12 was selected to first-team AllUAA while guard Tyrone Hughes ’12 and center Youri Dascy ’14 earned All-UAA honorable mentions.

Kriskus led the Judges in scoring during the season averaging 13.0 points per game while finishing second on the team grabbing six rebounds per game and third on the team in three-point shooting with 43.2 percent . Kriskus was also first on the team with 115 field goals made while shooting 48.3 percent, second on the team with an 80.9 percent mark from the free throw line and tied for fourth on the team with 16 steals.

Furthermore, Kriskus finished in the top fifteen in three different UAA statistical categories. For the season, he was eighth in free throw percentage, tied for ninth in rebounding and 11th in scoring. In solely UAA competition, Kriskus was fourth in rebounding, eighth in scoring and sixth in free throw percentage.

In the regular season Kriskus played in all 25 games, starting the final 17 games. He scored in double figures 16 times during that 17 gamestretch, including 10-straight games to close out the season, and often kept the Judges in games with his scoring.

photos from brandeisnow

He led the team in scoring eight different times highlighted by a 31 point performance in a 97-89 overtime win against Chicago in January.

Additionally, Kriskus tallied four double-doubles on the season and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds in his final game as a Judge against NYU on February 25th. Kriskus finishes his Brandeis career with 1,029 points, 28th on the all-time scoring list, 156 3-pointers made, fifth in program history, ninth in three point percentage at 39.4 percent and tenth in free throw percentage at 80.6%.

Hughes, a captain for the second

straight season, completed the season fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 7.2 points per game while leading the team and placing third amongst all UAA players with 5.3 assists per game.

Additionally, Hughes was 23rd among all NCAA Division III players in assists per game and 63rd in assistto-turnover ratio with a mark of 1.96.

Hughes also led the Judges with 22 steals on the season and was tied for fifth on the team with 2.5 rebounds per game.

In the regular season, Hughes led or shared the team lead for assists in

24 out of the 25 games, all of which were starts. He dished out at least six assists in 12 games, including a career-high 11 assists during an overtime win against Chicago in January.

Furthermore, in that same game, Hughes recorded the first triple-double in program history with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. For his Brandeis career, Hughes finished fourth on the all-time steals list with 143 and assists with 380 while finishing second in total-games played with 109.

Dascy finished tied for second on the team with 10.7 points per game

and secured a team-leading 6.7 boards per game. He also led the Judges with 27 blocked shots on the season and all starters with a 52.6 percent field goal percentage. Furthermore, Dascy scored in double figures in 17 games, including the final five games of the season, while notching four doubledoubles on the season. On November 19th against Becker he grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds and scored 16 points in a 77-76 overtime win. He led the Judges in rebounding 12 times and tied for the team lead three times, while leading the team in scoring four times.

Saints’ bounty program leaves black mark on sport

By Brian Tabakin Editor

The National Football League (NFL) finds itself in the midst of a scandal that threatens to alter the face of the sport on every level: professional, college, high school and pop warner.

Reports surfaced last week that the New Orleans Saints ran a bounty program from 2009-2011. While bounty programs have frequently been rumored to exist in the NFL, the fact is the Saints got caught and the extent and scope of their bounty program is staggering.

Former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, now with the St. Louis Rams, is reported to have instituted the bounty program with the Saints in 2009. An extensive 50,000page investigation compiled by the NFL found that from 2009-2011 between 22 and 27 defensive players received bounty payments.

It is important to clear up any distinction between a bounty and a hit.

Football is inherently a violet sport.

Injuries are part of the game. Nobody likes to see anyone injured, but sometimes an ankle bends the wrong way or a knee buckles. In stark contrast, this bounty program promised financial rewards to players for intentionally injuring opponents.

If a player was knocked out of the game, the player who knocked him out was paid $1,500 and if a player had to be carted off the field the player who inflicted the hit was paid $1,000. Yes, during those injury timeouts where everyone is on the field praying, Saints players were being rewarded money as others wondered if the injured player would be able to step onto the field again.

The report details that before the 2009 NFC championship game Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma offered any defensive teammate $10,000 to knock out Brett Favre. Even more

damning is audio picked up by an on field microphone. After an unflagged high-low hit on Favre resulted in a high-ankle sprain an unnamed Saints defender was heard saying, “Pay me my money.”

This information comes to light at a particularly sensitive time for the NFL. Scientific evidence has come to light recently that points to football causing irreparable brain damage and shortening life spans as a result of concussions and violent hits. With retired players already suing the NFL for brain damage incurred while playing the game, some have speculated whether the sport may be facing extinction.

This is why Roger Goodell has made player safety his primary focus

during his tenure as NFL commissioner. Goodell is trying to change the perception of the sport, because in essence football is barbaric. Men are out on the field trying to knock each other out. As if this was not enough, the allegations against the Saints now paint football as a blood sport.

College, high school and pop warner football all emulate the NFL. Whatever, the NFL does, all other football teams will follow. The college landscape was alerted to the dangers of concussions and head trauma in October 2010 when Rutgers defensive tackle Eric LeGrand attempted a headfirst tackle at full speed and injured his neck and spinal cord leaving him paralyzed.

Football will always be a violent

sport; there is nothing we can do to change that. Players will get injured, that is just the way of contact sports.

However, we can protect these players from those that would intentionally try to injure or maim an opponent for a small financial gain. It is for this reason only that Goodell must come down on the Saints with unprecedented penalties and sanctions.

When the Patriots were caught using video cameras to tape opponents signals, Goodell stripped the team of its first round draft pick, fined Coach Bill Belichick $500,000 and fined the organization $250,000. What the Patriots did was wrong, but it did not result in players being injured and careers being altered. At the time retired NFL coaches admitted they had

photo from internet source

done what the Patriots had done and the only thing the Patriots had done wrong was getting caught.

In the case of the Saints, no one can condone bounty payments for attempting to break a player’s leg to knock him out of a game. Roger Goodell must come down hard on the Saints.

He must make an example out of the Saints that this type of malicious intent will not be tolerated. At the very least, Williams should be suspended half a season, the Saints should lose multiple draft picks and be fined at least $2,000,000 and players should be suspended. For the continued health of football and its players, Goodell must bring the hammer down on the Saints.

March 9, 2012

SPORTS 9

The Brandeis Hoot

Two women’s basketball players honored

By Brian Tabakin Editor

Two members of the Brandeis University women’s basketball team earned all-UAA honors this past week. Guard Morgan Kendrew ’12 was named second-team all-UAA selection while Diana Cincotta ’12 MA earned an all-UAA honorable mention.

Despite missing five games to injury this season, Kendrew finished the year as the team’s leading scorer averaging 12 points per game while shooting a team-best 28.6 percent from three-point range.

Kendrew also finished first on the team in free throw percentage at 83 percent while averaging 3.4 rebounds per game.

Amongst UAA competition, Kendrew finished seventh in scoring, 11th in 3-pointer made with 26, 12th with 3-point shooting at 28.6 percent, and she would have been second in free throw percentage at 83 percent, however, she did not shoot enough free throws to qualify.

Kendrew played in 20 games during the season, starting in 17 of them.

She scored in double figures 13 times, including three performances of 20 points or more. Kendrew led the team in scoring 12 times, including a span

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

Men’s tennis

photos from brandeisnow

of games where she led the team in scoring 11 out of 12 games. Kendrew’s scoring prowess often kept the Judges within striking distance in games.

Kendrew scored a season-high 22 points in a 67-56 win over Carnegie Mellon on January 29th.

She finishes her career with 974 points, 10th on the all-time scoring list, an 81.3 percent free throw percentage, second in program history and fourth in 3-pointers with 113.

Furthermore, Kendrew was selected to play in the New England Women’s Basketball Association (NEWBA) Senior All-Star Classic.

At the conclusion of each season,

NEWBA sponsors the game as a way for seniors to close out their collegiate careers with a memorable event.

Coaches and Sports Information Directors from around the region nominate their players. All coaches then select 22 participants through a vote.

Kendrew will be playing at the contest hosted by Western New England University on Saturday March 24th at 1 PM to close out her collegiate career.

Cincotta finished the regular season as the team leader in 3-pointers made with 42 while finishing second on the team in scoring with 8.2 points per game, a career high.

Additionally, she finished second

Tyrone Hughes ’12: Plans after Brandeis basketball

on the team with 26 steals. Cincotta finished tied for fourth in the UAA in 3-point field games finishing 13th in 3-point shooting percentage.

Cincotta started all 25 games in the regular season scoring in double-figures 11 times which included a streak of five games that featured four straight wins for the Judges. Cincotta scored 20 points in a 75-59 win against Daniel Webster on December 3rd to begin the streak.

Cincotta led the team in scoring four times while tying for the lead once. Cincotta finishes her career having played 92 games and is fifth in program history with 107 3-pointers.

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

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

Brown and Warwick head to nationals

By Brian Tabakin Editor

Chris Brown ’12 and Kate Warwick ’12 will represent the Judges at the 2012 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field championships this weekend at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. Warwick will be running in the 5,000-meter race while Brown will compete in the mile run. Both runners will be seeded third in their respective events.

This is the second appearance in the NCAA championships for Warwick in 2011-2012. She first qualified for the championships in the 2011 Division III Cross Country meet, and finished 48th overall, 13 spots and roughly 12 seconds behind AllAmerican status. Warwick’s best time of the season in the 5,000-meter race came at the Boston University (BU) Valentine’s Day Invitational when she finished with a time of 17:03.44.

Her time was the fourth-best of the season, but one of the athletes ranked ahead of her is not able to compete.

Additionally, Warwick won a UAA title in the 3,000-meter run earlier this season. Warwick will have to wait to the end of the championships to compete as the 5,000-meter race is the final event of the meet.

Brown will be making his fourth career NCAA championship appearance but his first appearance this year.

He reached three straight Division III Cross Country championships meets from 2008-2010 as a member of the Brandeis team entry. Brown’s best time of the season also came at the BU Valentine’s Day Invitational when he finished the mile run with a time of 4:05.98. His time was the secondfastest in school history and is one of the top-10 fastest finishes in Division III indoor track and field history.

Brown won the UAA title in the event this season and will look to win the overall title this weekend.

Hall of Fame class announced

By Brian Tabakin Editor

photo from brandeisnow

By Brian Tabakin Editor

The collegiate career of guard Tyrone Hughes ’12 will come to an end this May. Hughes, a native of Dorchester, MA has been on the men’s basketball team for all four of his years at Brandeis including as a captain these past two year.

In addition to being a fundamental member of the Judges these past four years, Hughes is also majoring in sociology with a minor in economics.

Furthermore, he is heavily involved with the Haiti Club raising money and hosting events such as the annual student-faculty basketball game.

Unlike many college students, Hughes has a wide array of options as he nears graduation. Hughes says, “I plan on working with Cisco in a marketing finance job. I have an interview

with the northeast regional recruiter coming up. If that doesn’t work out, I also am looking into an internship with McMaster-Carr, an industrial product company out of Chicago, that will allow me to check out the business side of the company.”

In addition to these two job opportunities, Hughes is also working on starting his own business called 2eucefam. “I’ve been working on this with my friends since 2006. It’s an event planning business based out of Boston. We’re currently writing up a business plan and we already have a few investors.”

Finally, Hughes commented, “I’m also thinking about exploring overseas basketball next year.”

As a captain of the basketball team the past two years, Hughes believes, “I’ve been able to facilitate being a team leader. I’ve become more accountable for my actions. These past

two years people have looked up to me. It’s allowed me to mature faster and become a better man. I have to know everyone’s weaknesses and understand their strengths. Being a captain has allowed me to become a more diverse person and will allow me to become a professional at whatever I desire.”

Hughes has been with the basketball team for four years; however, one memory clearly stands out to him above all others. “It’s definitely making the elite eight of the NCAA tournament my sophomore year. We only had eight or nine guys on that team. It was a surreal experience.”

Hughes has top-class leadership skills and a striking charisma to all who meet him. From drawing upon his experiences with the Brandeis basketball team, he should be able to succeed at whatever he decides to do when he graduates.

On March 31st, six former Brandeis athletes will be inducted in to the Judges’ hall of fame.

Porter Bernstein ’57, a part of the 1956 basketball team that went undefeated with a record of 13-0, will be introduced in the contributor category. Bernstein has been a pioneer and supporter for women’s athletics at Brandeis since their beginning.

Harold Zinn ’61 founded the Brandeis Golf team as a sophomore in 1959. He was the team’s number one player for three years and was instrumental in recruiting future members of the team. Sadly, Zinn passed away in 1991.

Robert Nayer ’70 was a pillar on the men’s basketball teams of the late 1960s. Nayer scored 1,000 points in his career and grabbed 993 rebounds, finishing just seven boards short of the illustrious 1,000-1,000 club. His 993 rebounds still rank second on the

all-time list.

William Carpenter ’81 starred for the baseball team in the late 1970s and early ’80s. Upon graduating, Carpenter held 12-different single season and career records. As a senior, he was drafted by the Red Sox in the 19th round of the draft and played in their system for two years.

Geoff Getz ’99 ran for the track and field and cross-country teams. He was a three-time NCAA Division III champion in the 800-meter run and a six-time All-American in the event.

As a senior, Getz earned the Harry, Joseph and Ida Stein Memorial Award as the outstanding male athlete.

Maya Marx ’04 will be the youngest ever inductee. She was a star for the swimming and diving team and holds records in five individual events and is part of four-record holding relay events. Marx was a three-time AllAmerican in the breaststroke, earned four All-UAA honors and six All-New England honors She also earned the James W. McCully Memorial Award for an outstanding student-athlete..

FEATURES

10 The Brandeis Hoot

March 9, 2012

View from the Top: Noah Fields

By Noah Fields

Special to the Hoot

Like most students who come to Brandeis, I signed up for many clubs my first year that I never went to. At least for me, however, there were several clubs that I both sought out and remained involved with throughout my time here at Brandeis.

These clubs have enabled me to become involved with other students, reduce stress from all my work and explore my own abilities. While many clubs affected me, the two greatest impacts were caused by the Brandeis Orthodox Organization (BOO) and the Juggling Club.

It is very common with the number of Jews and religious people on campus to become involved in some amount of religious activity. For me, I decided to enter into this community and I have greatly benefited from doing so.

I have forged many meaningful friendships and discovered a place where I feel that I can practice as I believe. Most importantly, I have found a way to explore my passions and take an active role in the community.

My earliest contributions were my articles in BOO’s weekly publications.

This engaged me with my community, developed my religious life and improved my writing skills.

I am still a staff writer and occasionally enjoy writing religious articles. While neither journalism nor English has ever appealed to me, I en-

joy delving into a religious discourse; I enjoy the process of asking questions to find meaningful answers.

In complement with my writing, I even had the chance to deliver a number of religious speeches. Paired with this aspect of religious involvement, I also became involved with the Jewish Education programs that BOO offers.

I took up a subject very dear to me: mussar, or ethics. This topic is diverse and connects with my love for positive psychology. While I heavily drew on Jewish sources, I firmly believe that many of the messages within mussar are universal.

Through my involvement in this group, I was able to connect with a segment of the Brandeis community significant to me.

In addition to BOO, I became involved with Juggling Club early on in my Brandeis career. Like BOO, Juggling Club encouraged me to construct meaningful relationships and explore my passions. I recall specifically looking for a juggling club in my first rounds at the annual Club Fair.

Since then, I have been a dedicated member of the club and now serve as its president.

For me, juggling has become a means of expression and a form of stress relief. I learned how to walk on stilts, pass juggling clubs, spin staff and how to employ standard juggling tricks.

There is far more I still would want to learn, if only I had more time at

photo courtesy of noah fields

Brandeis.

While I enjoy the learning and the playfulness of juggling, I truly relish performing as well. I enjoy impressing my friends and simply sharing one of my passions with anyone who wants to watch.

Perhaps my favorite part of Juggling Club is getting and playing with new props. Last semester, for instance, we got glow clubs, which look fantastic—

when they work—and are a blast to play with. This semester we are looking forward to getting even more awesome equipment.

Acting as president this year has also given me a significant outlet for my passion. I assumed various responsibilities and endeavors in order to share my experience of the Juggling Club, including creating a new website, launching a YouTube

account (BrandeisJugglingS) and performing whenever possible in various venues.

While I would love to reach out and pull other people into the clubs I love, I recognize that each one of us has a different set of passions. The time one spends at Brandeis is a wonderful time to pursue, explore, enjoy and share these passions, whatever they may be.

The board of trustees: two members and their devotion to Brandeis

By Victoria Aronson Editor

Frances Bermanzohn

photo courtesy of alumni relations

Frances Bermanzohn (left), a Brandeis graduate of 1978, with President Fred Lawrence.

photo courtesy of alumni relations

Dan Jick (second from left) is a Brandeis graduate of 1979.

Describing Brandeis as “an idyllic campus on a hill,” trustee Frances Bermanzohn ’78 fondly recollects her memories as a student. Recently elected as a trustee member in May of 2011, Bermanzohn describes the “emotional experience of being able to come back in this new capacity” as overwhelming and inspirational, causing her to “reflect on her own life.”

Originally from the Bronx, she attended a New York City public high school before embarking upon her career at Brandeis University as a scholarship student at the age of 16.

She “had no idea what direction her life would take” and that she never envisioned her future in finance. During her sophomore year, she recalls sitting on the steps outside East on a beautiful spring day studying, as male peers from a neighboring dorm synchronized their cassette players. Since this experience, she has noted distinct physical alterations within the campus, but identifies the “energy level, student accomplishments and broad world view” as defining characteristics that linger to this day.

Currently managing director and deputy general counsel at Goldman Sachs, a leading investment firm, she asserts: “Brandeis students are at a great institution that will enable them to do great things,” a fact which she understands can be easily forgotten amid intense exams and the rigor of day-to-day activities.

As a trustee member, Bermanzohn has incorporated skills derived from her career to continue contributing to the university. Last year, she organized an event in which approximately 40 alumni members at Goldman

Sachs met with President Lawrence.

In order to foster a “closer connection” with the firm and students, she has also sponsored career days in which panels of alumni members spoke about the details of their profession and the manner in which they achieved such a career. Beyond simply fostering this relationship, she said, “we seek to hire really smart people, and Brandeis produces them,” encouraging future employment opportunities for students.

Upon returning, Bermanzohn has been “immersing herself in understanding Brandeis as a trustee,” finding skills she has derived from experience with the investment firm as translatable to her involvement with the university. As a trustee, she asserts the need to “identify the strategic vision,” garnish adequate funding, and navigate changes in the future among other responsibilities.

When questioned if she had any advice for students continuing to pave their way at Brandeis University, she identified attitude as an essential attribute to success. She acknowledges that although “Brandeis provides the required intellectual skills, it remains up to you to bring personality.”

Dan Jick For trustee Dan Jick ’79, Brandeis is a family tradition. Connections with the university led Jick to create a scholarship in honor of his father, Leon, who served as a professor of Jewish History. Asserting the crucial and lifelong friendships that can be established during these years, Jick married a fellow Brandeis graduate (Elizabeth, class of 1981). Currently, his son Josh is a senior, pursuing a major in Economics and a minor in Business, while his elder daughter Jamie graduated in 2009 with a degree in Economics and Art History. Jick described his experience at Brandeis

as a “wonderful time” in which he “took advantage of the university’s small size to get to know professors and become involved in extracurricular activities.”

Having majored in Economics himself, Jick went on to graduate from Harvard Business School before embarking on his career in finance.

Upon his graduation, Jick obtained employment with Goldman Sachs, where he was involved in both the Boston and London offices. He served as co-founder and CEO of HighVista Strategies, an experience that warranted skills applicable to his role as trustee.

Initially elected to the Board of Trustees in 1996, Jick has co-chaired the Investment Committee, which is involved with managing of the University’s endowment. On an annual basis, he hosts the Greater Boston Alumni Club’s New Student Send-Off to connect students.

Jick remarked on his former involvement with the Student Service Bureau and fondly recollects the free shuttle bus to Boston.

Upon returning as a trustee and inevitably witnessing alterations to the university through the attendance of both his son and daughter, Jick asserts that “the quality of students has certainly increased, while the environment has become more academically challenging.”

Yet, certain fundamental aspects of the Brandeis community still linger from his days in the class of 1979 to the present. Among these, he cites “the culture and spirit” of the student body, and the “focus on undergraduates within a relatively small research university.”

Jick urged students “to get as much as possible out of the experience, through academics, activities and building friendships that will endure throughout life, and to forge a lifelong connection to the Brandeis family.”

March 9, 2012

FEATURES 11

The Brandeis Hoot

Cheerios: A sweet analysis of the popular breakfast cereal

miliar sticky-like paste with which people use to thicken food.

Honey According to “Contemporary Nutrition” written by Dr. Gordon Wardlaw and Dr. Anne Smith, honey “is a product of plant nectar that has been altered by bee enzymes.” Since bee enzymes are required to break down the nectar’s sucrose into glucose and fructose, honey cannot be synthetically made. Like the sucrose in table sugar, it is used for energy. Excess sucrose molecules get stored as glycogen.

Brown sugar syrup Sugar is sucrose. Sucrose is made out of glucose and fructose. Now, the sugar is brown. And it’s a syrup. The brown sugar comes from molasses in addition to sucrose. Water helps form the syrup. By now, you probably have a lot of excess sucrose, so it will be stored for later use as glycogen.

Salt The common table salt is made up of sodium chloride, NaCl, which can be readily dissolved in water to form the ions Na+ and Cl-. Sodium ions (Na+) actively participate in sodiumpotassium pumps present in the cells.

These pumps drive many transport processes and convey electrical signals within the body. Chloride ions (Cl-), by contrast, counteract much of the positively charged ions such as Na+ in the cell. The chloride-controlled channels inhibit some of the electrical signals sent by the sodium ions, according to my cell biology textbook by Alberts.

Tripotassium phosphate According to the FDA website, tripotassium phosphate is used as an emulsifier. Emulsifiers are able to mix two liquids that normally do not dissolve in each other, such as water and oil, together into a stable form.

graphic by suzanna yu/the hoot

cheerios The ingredients are broken down into their most basic parts.

By Suzanna Yu Editor

found on the nutrition label of Honey Nut Cheerios:

Honey Nut Cheerios commercials boast about the cereal’s ability to lower your cholesterol, but do you really understand all of the ingredients on the food label that claim to have this effect on your body? Do you, in fact, even look at the food label?

I know this task may seem annoying at first or that this would require an extra effort, but as Dr. Elaine Lai (BIOL), a professor of two nutrition courses here at Brandeis—Diet and Health (BIOL 55B) and Food, Nutrition and Health (BISC 4B)—confesses, “Reading food labels has become an automatic habit of mine. It is now second nature to pick up a food item at the grocery store and start reading the food label.”

She even admits that once we “learn how to read food labels, it can actually be a fun and instructive exercise that leads to choosing a more nutritious diet and therefore a healthier lifestyle.”

Ingredients “are always listed in descending order by weight on a food label,” Lai explained. The next step is actually to understand the ingredients.

The following ingredients are

Whole grain oats (includes the oat bran) The American Association of Cereal Chemists International (AACCI) defines whole grain as an “intact, ground, cracked or flaked caryopsis,” which is a fruit—a general term for the ripened ovaries of a plant—with all three of its anatomical parts fused together. The caryopsis must be present “in the same relative proportions” as that of the normally intact one before processing.

Oat bran, also defined by AACCI, is “produced by grinding clean oat groats or rolled oats and separating the resulting oat flour” from the mixture in such a way that less than 50 percent of the original starting material is oat bran.

From this oat flour there must be “at least 16 percent betaglucan,” a soluble fiber calculated into a requirement that “one-third of the total dietary fiber” be “soluble fiber.” The remaining fiber can be insoluble fiber, which cannot be dissolved in water.

Since soluble fiber can be dissolved in water, a gel-like liquid forms that helps slow down digestion and helps you feel fuller for longer. With whole

grain oats, it’s like a two-for-one deal: You get both the insoluble fiber from the whole grain and the soluble fiber from the oat bran.

Sugar Table sugar, also known as sucrose, is made up of both glucose and fructose. The body metabolizes both of these sugars in different pathways but both use them to produce energy for the cell. Any excess glucose that is not needed by the cell is stored as glycogen in the liver and muscle cells.

Modified corn starch Corn starch, a type of starch extracted from corn, can be chemically modified in several ways such that it can withstand the conditions of food processing, according to a research article by Huijun Liu. Since various chemical alterations to the corn starch molecule can be made, the modified corn starch from one food product may be different from that of another. Starch itself is a carbohydrate in which plants store excess glucose.

Each glucose unit can be arranged in a straight chain or in a branched-like structure. These different connectivities allow for potential cross-linking, which strengthens the bonds between each glucose unit and creates the fa-

Canola and/or rice bran oil According to an encyclopedia article by Uebersax, “refined rice bran oil possesses a low content of linolenic acid (highly unsaturated) and a high content of tocopherols.” Canola oil is also highly unsaturated. Unsaturation describes a molecule that does not possess all the hydrogens that it could possibly have. This allows for fluidity in the cell membrane, thereby keeping it in active motion as opposed to being inhibited from movement as is the case with saturated fats.

Natural almond flavor According to the Food Marketing Institute, natural, as opposed to organic (which has stricter requirements to be labeled as such), “applies broadly to foods that are minimally processed [and] are not subject to government controls beyond the regulations and health codes that apply to all foods.”

Therefore, anything that is organic is natural, but what is natural may not necessarily be organic. Almond flavor arises from benzaldehyde, which, when naturally extracted from apricot kernels, can be potentially dangerous because of the generation of hydrocyanic acid, as summarized in “Biocatalysis for Green Chemistry and Chemical Process Development” edited by Junhua Tao and Romas Kazlauskas.

Vitamin E (mixed tocopherols) Vitamin E is a family of alpha, beta, gamma and delta tocopherols. It is regarded as an antioxidant because it “protects fatty acid[s found in the

cell membrane] from degradation through oxidation,” according to the textbook “Organic Chemistry” written by Dr. Paula Bruice.

Since vitamin E is a lipid, it can mingle with the other lipids in the cell membrane and react with oxygen molecules faster than the other fats.

In this way, it behaves similarly to those crazy early bird shoppers during Black Friday who are able to get their hands on the best deals before the “slowpokes” (i.e. the other fats in the cell).

On the bright side, vitamin E gets rid of something you don’t want anyway (unless you like wrinkles), and according to a book called “Vegetable Oils in Food Technology” edited by Frank Gunstone, “a single molecule of tocopherol can protect about 1,000 to 1,000,000 molecules of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the living cell!”

As noted in the label, vitamin E was “added to preserve freshness,” which might seem odd if you haven’t take an organic chemistry course before, but vitamin E (or similar structures) can have antioxidant effects in both living and nonliving things.

Calcium carbonate According to the FDA, calcium carbonate, a white powder, is used as an anticaking agent and for color. An anticaking agent, as explained in a book

by Fennema, is able to absorb excess moisture, which allows the food to maintain its granular and powdered form.

Zinc and iron, vitamin C, vitamin B3 (niacinamide), vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin B2 (riboflavin) vitamin B1 (thiamin mononitrate), vitamin A (palmitate), folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin D3 According to MedlinePlus, zinc is needed for proper immune system function, “cell division, cell growth, wound healing, and the breakdown of carbohydrates.” Iron and vitamin B12 form complexes with protein that are required “for the synthesis of hemoglobin, which is the major protein in red blood cells,” according to the textbook written by Dr. Bruce Alberts called “Essential Cell Biology.”

Vitamin C, like vitamin E, is an antioxidant, but unlike vitamin E, it dissolves in water. Therefore, you have vitamin C working in an aqueous environment and vitamin E in the fatty areas. MedlinePlus explains that vitamin B3 is “required for the proper function of fats and sugars in the body and to maintain healthy cells.”

It also explains that vitamin B6 is important in antibody formation, normal nerve function, hemoglobin formation, protein degradation and glucose regulation. Additionally, as described in Medline, vitamin B2 “is required for the proper development and function of the skin, lining of the digestive tract, [and] blood cells;” whereas, vitamin B1 is “required by our bodies to properly use carbohydrates.”

Furthermore, vitamin A, another antioxidant, may be involved in “vision, bone growth, reproduction” and the immune system; whereas, folic acid helps “make healthy new cells.”

An encyclopedia entry titled “Control of Gene Expression by Vitamin D Receptor” by Dr. A. Konev describes that vitamin D3 is important in calcium regulation, bone formation and cell division.

Are you still curious as to whether or not Honey Nut Cheerios can lower your cholesterol? The answer lies in the food label. Maybe you will be like Dr. Lai and have fun deciphering it.

Impressions

12 The Brandeis Hoot

March 9, 2012

A walk through my neighborhood

By Adam Hughes Staff

Note: To protect the privacy of my neighbors, I have changed the names of all streets, towns and businesses.

Everything else is only as true as my memories.

The house at 4 Cherry Rd. is a faded, ruddy salmon, a rather homely color. When I first saw the house, I worried that it would be an easy target for my friends—no seventh-grade boy wants to live in “the pink house,” particularly not while he tries to acclimate to a different neighborhood in different state.

I moved to Redgrove, Conn., in late summer. Six weeks later, I stared in stunned silence at the television screen in my math classroom as the Twin Towers collapsed. Along with a new school, a new community and a new millennium, I now had to contend with a new geopolitical order— one that would deepen the alienation I already felt from my classmates. As we strove to make sense of the attacks in the next day’s social studies class, I remember wanting to mention the impoverished state of the Middle East and suggest that the United States may not be blameless in inviting such hatred; hearing the justifiable anger and surging patriotism of the class, I wisely held my tongue.

As I walk out my front door and across my sloping lawn, I turn left on Cherry Road. There is no reason to turn right; the road ends in a sweeping cul-de-sac. A hallmark of suburban security, the dead end protected our after-school kickball games and let our cats roam free. We almost never saw unfamiliar cars or people walking near our house; when we did, it was usually cause for caution. The only black family I knew in Redgrove lived several houses down from us; they moved away soon after

their son, who often played basketball with us, got expelled for bringing a BB gun to school.

Cherry Road soon becomes Birch Street, and a shallow right opens onto East State Street, Highway 54.

Turn left and travel far enough and you reach Gulfwood, which means either the opulent houses of the hills or the low-income apartments across the river. Horror stories of the projects wafted through the halls of my middle school: gangs ran rampant, murders were common, my best friend’s father had his tires slashed.

Continue right, and you eventually pass a run-down auto shop. A row of rusty pumps sit in front, unused; until the recent surge, the tall sign still stuck on over $4 per gallon dated the station as a victim of the 2008 energy crisis. My mother filled almost every tank there when we first moved to Connecticut; the attendant was friendly and always made small talk.

One day, he mentioned that he avoided conversation with black patrons.

We never stopped at the station again.

Farther down the road, a beautiful wooden building houses Donneville Ice Cream. Established shortly after I moved, the creamery co-opted the property of a hundred-year-old inn.

Several years ago, it was bought out by a family of Albanian immigrants on the strength of the profits from their pizza restaurant several towns away. My mother and grandmother eat there every Friday; the staff knows us well and greets me warmly every time I go. Sam’s Deli stands on a cross-street a block away from Donneville, and the contrast with the antique inn is marked; the paint is chipped, the sign is faded and trees grow unchecked in the back yard. In high school, my friends and I would visit Sam’s Deli after every sleepover and the proprietors would prepare our standard order as soon as they saw us arrive. We’d always get a bacon,

photo from internet source

egg and cheese sandwich and a can of Arizona ice tea. The total cost was only $3; we called it “the breakfast of champions,” more a nod to Vonnegut than to the Wheaties box. The family that owns Sam’s Deli moved from Vietnam, and three generations live in the upstairs apartment and run the store. I’d occasionally hear my classmates mocking the overgrown

foliage in the back, calling it “Little Saigon.”

East State Street eventually leads to Redgrove’s tiny downtown, passing under a rusted iron bridge that carries Metro trains into New York City. A vacant, gutted building on the right housed John Child’s antique shop, until a fire shut it down two years ago. Child was also a real estate

agent, and he sold us our house when we moved. He and his son, who was one grade behind me at Redgrove Middle School, were the only Jews I knew in the town. John was active in the town Democratic Party, and the joke around the school during his unsuccessful run for First Selectman in See NEIGHBORS, page 15

Altered Consciousness

Afterthoughts on Israeli Apartheid Week

By Rick Alterbaum Staff

Last week, several clubs and organizations at Brandeis University, of all places, organized and hosted Israeli Apartheid week.

Firstly, the apartheid accusation has been proven time and time again to be false. There are Israeli Arab Knesset members, Supreme Court justices, professors, lawyers, doctors, etc. Arabs are afforded equal status and civil rights to Jews under the law. Arabic and Hebrew are the official languages of Israel. Also, the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are not under the jurisdiction of the Israeli Government but of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, respectively, which are autonomous bodies responsible for their own territories.

Are there ethnic tensions, economic inequality and other social problems affecting Israel? Yes, and the Israeli government is working to ameliorate these issues. But this is a far cry from the institutionalized racism and discrimination that characterized Apartheid South Africa.

Secondly, the organizers of this event, in my view, don’t truly view human rights concerns as the most important issue—contrary to their rhetoric. The brutal massacres in Syria, the civil war in the Congo, the

persecution of Middle Eastern Christians, the plight of the Kurds, the repression in places such as Iran, Tibet and Saudi Arabia are all far worthier causes in which many more lives are at stake but which are completely neglected.

Even within the Israeli-Arab context, what about the human rights of Israeli Jews? Do the organizers of Apartheid Week realize that thousands of Jews have died in the last decade at the hands of Arab terrorists? Do they take into consideration the fact that hundreds of rockets and missiles continue to be shot at school buses, kindergartens, hospitals and homes in Southern Israel? Judging by the one-sided nature of this event, I wouldn’t be so sure.

Thirdly, the supposedly brilliant idea of the week not only at Brandeis but also at Harvard is the “one-state solution.” What the individuals who propagate this notion, including Ali Abunimah, the founder of the virulently anti-Semitic website The Electronic Intifada, will not tell you is that if such a plan were to be implemented, it would lead to the destruction of the Jewish state. Like it or not, Israel’s identity is dependent upon having a Jewish majority. Israel will no longer be able to serve its role as a safe haven for the Jewish people if it is flooded by hostile Palestinians who will transform Israel into another cor-

graphic by linjie xu/the hoot

rupt, dysfunctional, conflict-ridden Middle Eastern country as opposed to the prosperous liberal democracy it currently is.

Fourthly, I simply find the timing of this entire event to be obscene. Iran, the worldwide leading sponsor of terrorism whose rulers are determined to wipe Israel off the map, is reportedly only months away from developing a nuclear weapon. The world—which

includes college students, Jewish or otherwise, left-wings or rightwings—should be united against the fanatical, twisted Iranian regime instead of Israel.

Finally, if you truly do care about the Palestinian cause, you should work to pressure Fatah and Hamas to come to the negotiating table with the Israelis without preconditions to implement a two-state solution.

The Palestinian leadership’s intransigence, refusal to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, glorification of terrorism and armed struggle, insistence on the refugee return and unwillingness to make concessions are the real obstacles to peace and not anything Israel has done.

Organizers of last week’s event need to quit demonizing Israel and get their heads straight.

March 9, 2012

iMPRESSIONS 13

The Brandeis Hoot

Casting a critical eye on ‘Kony 2012’

graphic by rachel weissman/the hoot

By Zoe Kronovet Staff

I woke up one morning and the Kony 2012 video was all over my newsfeed.

It started with one person and then it spread like the bubonic plague, every friend posting the video, every status a plea for viewership. In the course of two days the discussion on the situation in northern Uganda was put in the spotlight and Invisible Children was handed the microphone.

In case you’ve imposed a Facebook moratorium on yourself, Invisible Children—an organization that, according to its website, is committed to using “film, creativity and social action to end the use of child soldiers

in Joseph Kony’s rebel war and restore LRA-affected communities in central Africa to peace and prosperity”— produced a 30-minute video that gives a quick history of the organization including the life of its founder, Jason Russell, and its mission to bring Joseph Kony to justice for the crimes he’s committed.

Joseph Kony is the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, a rebel group that started in Uganda (but is no longer present there) that engages in violent campaigns and is responsible for abducting “more than 30,000 children and displac[ing] at least 2.1 million people” based on Invisible Children’s definition. The slogan of the video “Kony 2012” now decorates the

walls of the elevator in my dorm and the whiteboards outside of rooms, and a friend of mine running a charity organization at a large state school is discussing rerouting her raised funds to Invisible Children.

This afternoon at lunch I overheard someone asking those around him if they had seen the Kony 2012 video.

When his friends replied in the affirmative, he responded, “Good. Its important.” The Kony 2012 video is important. It brings awareness to the heinous atrocities Kony has committed. While one could argue that the understanding of the conflict in Uganda has been simplified, dissolving ignorance is never a bad thing.

Instead I worry about the lack of

resolution. In two weeks from now, when the Kony 2012 video has faded into our generation’s virtual collective memory, the problems in Africa will continue to exist. As Kate CroninFurman and Amanda Taub wrote in their article, “Solving War Crimes With Wristbands: The Arrogance of ‘Kony 2012’” in The Atlantic, “treating awareness as a goal in and of itself risks compassion fatigue—most people only have so much time and energy to devote to far-away causes— and ultimately squanders political momentum that could be used to push for effective solutions.”

The first wave of viral campaigning took place and now the second wave of cynicism seems to be settling in.

From disdainful Facebook statuses to YouTube videos attesting inaccuracy in Invisible Children’s representation of the conflict, it is hard to tell what is fact and what is fiction when it comes to modern-day campaigns against foreign injustice. Scarred into everyone’s memory are past fads that have swept the nation that were proved to be false. The Central Asia Institute and the fame it found through Greg Mortenson’s books is now irrevocably damaged due to the outing of the mismanagement of his organization’s funds and the lies he wrote under the banner of truth in his memoirs.

Although I struggle with the potential blowback when Kony isn’t brought to justice in the American community that bought the wristbands and watched the video, I can’t help but wonder why American teenagers are so quick to focus on the injustice happening thousands of miles away instead of on the horrifying events taking place just around the corner. The Annie E. Casey Foundation recently reported that in our nation’s capital three out of every 10 children live at or below the poverty line. Perhaps, it is easier to try to fix a problem with which we will never tangibly deal rather than take a look at the own harsh realities that our country faces.

It is my hope that these Ugandan children no longer remain invisible, but the horrors and tragedies that Kony has committed come to light and the truth spread to all. I just hope that as American college students search for something greater in which to involve themselves, to maybe try to make to sense of the overwhelming crises we face today as a generation, to create change in the world they do so with their eyes open and their naivete blinders removed .

Rick Santorum’s party: against college but for state-mandated vaginal probes

By Sam Allen Staff

During the past month—as it has become apparent that the economy is starting to recover, thereby buoying President Obama’s reelection chances—the Republican Party has gone absolutely off the deep end talking about social issues.

In Virginia, the state Republican Party attempted to pass a bill requiring women to get an ultrasound before they could get an abortion, even if the ultrasound had to be done using a vaginal probe. The absolute hypocrisy of a political party that says they are for small government trying to legislate government-mandated vaginal probes is striking. While Virginia Republicans have scrapped this outrageous bill, Alabama Republicans have decided to pursue the same law.

At the center of this social issue storm has been Rick Santorum, who has been leading the charge about changing the national discussion from the issues, such as unemployment and the cost of gas, to ridiculous topics such as access to contraception and President Obama’s theology. In a 2010 interview with caffeinated thoughts—an evangelical Christian news blog—Santorum was quoted as saying, “One of the things I will talk about that no president has talked about before is, I think, the dangers of contraception in this country, the whole sexual libertine idea … It’s not OK because it’s a license to do things in the sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be.”

Rick Santorum believes that every American who practices safe sex or woman who uses the pill is immoral.

This of course is coming from a guy who wrote a book where he wrote

that a woman’s proper place is at home, not in the workforce. Santorum also voices homophobic comments by comparing homosexuality to polygamy and bestiality.

Now, one would think that a candidate who is against premarital sex between adults, contraception and working women would be just about the worst candidate imaginable for young voters. But no, there is more.

Rick Santorum is also against college. He recently called the president a snob because of Obama’s view that every American should aspire to get some form of higher education, whether it is at a four-year college, a community college or a technical school. This means that Rick Santorum believes that any American who wants their children to go to college is a snob.

Since it is likely that the majority of American parents feel this way, logically Santorum must believe they are all snobs. This means that many Brandeis students are snobs according to Rick Santorum because many of us expected to go college.

We are also an immoral bunch in Rick Santorum’s mind because most Brandeis students believe women should be allowed to work outside the home and think birth control is a responsible thing to use. And, because most Brandeis students don’t believe homosexuality is equivalent to bestiality, in Rick Santorum’s mind our theology is all wrong. In short, Rick Santorum is against modernity, something that Brandeisians of all stripes believe in.

The United States needs two serious political parties for our governing system to be effective. Right now though, the Republican Party has been taken over by ultra right-wing ideologues obsessed with legislating

morality. It is telling that the mainstream Republican Party position on abortion has shifted from allowing exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother.

Now, the new position for the Republican Party is no exceptions for

abortion except if the woman is going to die. Our generation isn’t interested in fighting the culture wars like Rick Santorum is. It appears the Republican Party is heading toward another drubbing among young voters much like 2008. As older generations pass

away, where is Rick Santorum going to find votes? That is a question Republicans must ask themselves as more members of the Millennial generation enter the electorate. Unless the Republican Party changes, political wilderness awaits.

graphic by linjie xu/the hoot

14 IMPRESSIONS

The Brandeis Hoot

March 9, 2012

The Weekly Jelly

Examining attitudes surrounding domestic abuse

By Josh Kelly Columnist

As more and more women pour into colleges across the country and the wage gap between men and women steadily decreases, it is evident that society is making progress toward greater gender equality. There is a long road ahead, yet one cannot deny that in many ways things have improved. With this improvement, however, comes one of the classic debates between men and women.

This is the debate of equality versus chivalry.

I recall an episode of “Seinfeld” which illustrated the idea very well.

Elaine was traveling on the subway and happened to be standing next to an older lady. The two began conversing about how men never gave up subway seats for women anymore like they once did and Elaine said—to paraphrase it—“it’s kind of sad. We’ve gotten equality, but we’ve lost some of the nice, little things.”

The important thing to note is that they are little things generally. It is about the boyfriend who no longer feels the need to buy his girlfriend’s movie ticket and about the businessman who no longer holds the door for his female co-workers. Some women will complain about the loss of these little things but, in essence, it is the natural corollary of equality. If a man would not use exceptional manners for another man then why would he do so for an equal woman?

I’ve thought about this issue and argued about it on many occasions, and yet it fell from my mind until last night. Reading a comment on a Facebook post related to this idea has gotten me thinking that I should take a closer look. The comment read: “Women make up this whole ‘equal rights’ aspect but still expect people to follow gender norms like [p]aying on the first date, or not hitting a wom[a]n, or not sexually harassing her.” When I consider the idea in the comment, it seems very disjointed.

On the one hand, you have the concept of paying on the first date being a little silly, with which I could agree,

but then on the other hand there are comments suggesting that for some reason wanting not to be hit or sexually harassed are unreasonable expectations.

As is completely natural when someone posts something like that, I was getting locked and ready for an avalanche of comments in refutation.

What I got, however, also didn’t sit completely right with me. One person wrote: “Yes I do think you should pay on the date and hold my door open … and at the same time respect me as an equal on the job. [W]hat is wrong with that?” Reading that, I cannot help but think that it’s built on flawed reasoning. To be given benefits that someone else does not get is inherently unequal.

By expecting men to hold open doors and pay the bill at restaurants, women, whether they intend to or not, are putting themselves at a fundamentally unequal position. Obviously each person has free will and if a woman wants those small perks and if her partner wants that too then it is totally fine. Each couple should do what makes them comfortable and happy. It does not change the fact that it promotes inequality. Perhaps it is a less malicious form of inequality than others, but inequality nonetheless.

That obviously, however, is not the major issue. The big issue is the attitude concerning the comments about physical abuse and sexual harassment. Once again, I was not satisfied with the response. The same responder from earlier continued: “I also am totally against domestic violence … I am not for women abusing men whatsoever … but I am DEFINITELY not [fine with] a man lay[ing] a finger on a woman.”

Domestic abuse and sexual harassment are wrong. They are wrong regardless of gender, and I am therefore rather irritated at both the original commentator’s point and this point.

The original comment espoused the idea that abuse is not a big deal because men hit other men and therefore women should be OK with it. While I like the idea of full equality—even with negative things like losing the benefits of having doors opened or having movie tickets purchased—the

graphic by diane somlo/the hoot

idea of being OK with assault simply is not OK with me.

The other commentator, however, indicated their inherent sexism in their comment. While including the idea that it is wrong for women to abuse men, they then continued on to make it clear that it is worse for a man to abuse a woman.

Not only is the word “definitely” capitalized, but the writer indicates that the threshold is so incredibly low. A woman needs to abuse a man to be guilty of anything, and yet a man needs only to lay a finger on a woman to be culpable. Obviously, this is just an expression, and laying a finger on a woman implies something much more serious, and yet the tone remains.

We should try to cultivate an attitude of greater equality across the board, while trying also to change our standards about what is OK regardless of gender. If I want to pay for my girlfriend’s movie ticket because I’m in a good mood, then that’s totally within my right, and it’s absolutely within her right to be OK with it. That many expect it as a given fact, however, indicates an inequality in the system. If we are to achieve general equality then we must also achieve not only equality in the workplace, but also the less tangible social equality. This means being able to see women as not always the ones to be covered on date night. Perhaps some nights she feels like paying, and perhaps some nights the couple splits the

check down the middle. It does not matter. The whole point is to separate holding doors and paying for things from gender.

Still, we must correct this notion of the woman as the defenseless victim of abuse whom we must place above men in our priorities of distribution of justice. I am not saying at all that we should not take a woman suffering domestic abuse seriously. I am merely saying that when we think of men as rough guys who can get hit and who can hit each other because they can take it, it contributes to persisting sexism in our society.

We should make it clear that abuse is wrong. Sexual harassment is wrong.

It does not matter whether it is a man or woman in the slightest.

Brandeis’ commitment to social justice threatened

By Michael Pizziferri and Danielle Bellavance Special to the Hoot

On March 5 an article titled “BZA sponsors campus events for Peace Week” printed in the Justice misrepresented the Brandeis community and distorted the mission of the institution itself.

The article focused solely on the Faces of Israel event, which featured five individuals who discussed their experiences living in Israel. The only quotation taken from the panelists in this article was that of a man referred to only as “David of Georgia” who stated, “Yes, we are Jews and it is a good thing; Jews are the diamonds of God. Like diamonds we are brilliant, like diamonds we have to have the press and the heat but finally we [become] the strongest element that nature can give.”

As non-Jews in attendance at the Faces of Israel event, we found much of the dialogue to be non-inclusive.

At an event promoting diversity, we were expecting the speakers to cater to an audience of varying backgrounds. We found, however, that

much of the rhetoric was directed only toward the Jewish population and failed to inform others. Despite the fact that offense was taken to certain comments, the event did provide some important insight into Israeli life and culture. The few offensive comments that were made were beyond the control of BZA and were solely the opinions of the speaker.

The event was intended to highlight the diversity of Israeli culture, but this quotation did just the opposite. It elevates a specific group of people and such language alienated many in attendance. Now that it has been published in the Justice, the quotation, originally a minor divergence from the otherwise engaging event, has become representative of the Faces of Israel event itself. As a result, it destroys the evening’s intended message.

Even more toxic, the author goes on to connect the quotation to the entire Brandeis community by stating that, “Responses from the student population to the Faces of Israel were enthusiastic.” This statement is a sweeping generalization that misrepresents the student body and connects the institution to a quote that is clearly abhorrent. Regardless of personal sentiments or political beliefs,

such language is inflammatory and offensive.

As graduation approaches for high school students across the country and acceptance letters begin arriving, many students and their families are visiting college campuses in order to make their final decision. Students who have received or are awaiting an acceptance letter from Brandeis have no doubt been exposed to the school’s commitment to social justice. This main tenet of the school may even be the reason why many ultimately choose to come here.

The student newspapers often of-

fers a glimpse into the nature of the student body to these prospective students. This makes what it is printed in the newspapers even more important. The news section should be reserved for objective pieces that attempt to report on an event as it actually happened. There is no room for an author to make a comment on the entire student population and it is the editor’s duty to ensure that these pieces remain balanced and factual.

Upon reading an article such as this, the student may cast doubt upon the university’s reputation and question the values that our community holds.

This quotation is in no way representative of those members of our community who are committed to social justice.

As members of the Brandeis community, we must do everything in our power to reject falsehoods such as those expressed by “David of Georgia” and that are presented as representative of the student body. For those who express a desire to preserve the nature of our institution and want to encourage a diverse environment on campus, we must defend Brandeis’ commitment to “ethnic and religious pluralism.”

graphic from internet source

March 9, 2012

IMPRESSIONS 15

The Brandeis Hoot

My life as a Diet Coke enthusiast and connoisseur

By Leah Finkelman Editor

Four words, one question, and it’s enough to make me cringe.

“Is Diet Pepsi OK?” My response is simple, just four more words.

“I’ll just have water.”

I’m not sure when I first became an avid Diet Coke drinker. I wish I could tell you a story about my first can, a story about how I knew with that first sip that my life had been changed.

All I have is a story about the time when I was 13 years old and my parents went on a diet. Micah and I weren’t required to go on the diet, but they tried to keep banned foods and beverages out of the house—and no aspartame meant no Diet Coke.

I don’t consider myself an addict (more on that later) but Diet Coke has been, for as long as I can remember, my drink of choice.

Not having Diet Coke in the house just wasn’t going to fly. Little Leah didn’t want to ask her parents to be tempted by the evils of aspartame, so what did I do? Grabbed my wallet and my babysitting money, walked to the grocery store (only a few blocks away, but it was the middle of summer and I’d never had to walk there before), and bought a 12-pack. And hid it in my closet. Sipping one glorious can each day after school up in my room alone, until my mom found out. I’m pretty sure she laughed for days and offered to reimburse me.

From then on, the house always had Diet Coke.

The most controversial moment of my life? I was at Solea for dinner last fall with my mother and two of my friends. The waitress brought me a glass of what was supposed to be Diet Coke. I took one sip, and set it down. The next time the waitress walked by, I called her over, and very politely said: “Excuse me, I ordered a Diet Coke, I think this is regular Coke.” For the record, I did not think it was regular Coke.

She looked at me, smiled, and said she was “pretty sure” it was Diet, but she would get me a new one.

My face retained its nice, Ohioborn smile, but around me, the jaws of the three people who know me best fell to the table.

As soon as the waitress was out of earshot, I turned to them as they audibly exhaled. “Regular Coke?”

I asked them. “Please. I can tell you if my Diet Coke came from a can, a fountain, a large bottle or a small bottle. I know the difference between Coke and Diet Coke. That.

Was not. Diet Coke.” As it turned out, the second glass she brought me was Diet Coke, and everything was fine.

NEIGHBORS, from page 12

2009 was that his goal was “to steal Christmas.”

This was the cultural milieu in which I spent my teen years, and these social dynamics built my understanding of inter-ethnic relations and small-town America. You might say I was an East-Coast-universityeducated liberal elitist in training; having not spent my childhood in Redgrove, I was free of any romantic idealization of the town and could judge it with the dispassion of an outsider. After two years at the

I know a lot about Diet Coke. I follow it on Twitter (@DietCokeUS), I know that phenylketonurics can’t drink it (but not what phenylalanine is) and I have a list in my head ranking Diet Coke by country to which I’ve traveled—Iceland was the best, followed by the USA, Canada, Israel, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. Boom. Italy and Germany don’t count because they sell Coke Light—similar to our Coke Zero.

As soon as I got to Brandeis, I was a running joke among my friends. My North Face backpack, luckily, had pockets on each side, and more often than not I had a bottle in each pocket. Sometimes a third in my hand or in my backpack. I vividly remember the day I discovered the one liter bottles at the C-Store. People swore they’d been there forever, but I just don’t know how I could have missed it.

I’ve been called a Diet Coke lover, addict and aficionado. I approve of the first and the last, but not the second. I firmly hold that I’m not an addict and I can easily make it through the day without one. I’m quite adamant about this, but everyone was still considerably shocked last summer when, after throat surgery, I didn’t drink it for three days.

I’m not a caffeine addict either. I don’t get headaches if I go without.

It’s actually quite a vicious cycle: I choose Diet Coke over water 99 percent of the time, so I get dehydrated … and thirsty … and I drink more Diet Coke.

When I go out to eat, I rarely bother to check the menu for Coke or Pepsi products. I just order, hoping for the best, and usually that works in my favor. Every once in a while, though, I hear those four dreaded words.

“Is Diet Pepsi OK?” No. Diet Pepsi is not OK. Let me clarify something. I am not a high maintenance person. If a restaurant doesn’t have Diet Coke, I get something else. There have been a few times when I played BYODC, but that’s beside the point.

Let me clarify something else.

Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi are not the same and they are not interchangeable. This might be baffling to those of you who don’t drink a lot of “sparkling low calorie soft drink with vegetable extracts with sweeteners” (thanks for that description, Coca-Cola U.K.) but for those of us who do, the taste difference is clear.

Did you know that the NinetyNine serves Pepsi products? I didn’t. Until the waitress brought me a Diet Pepsi. My Ohio charm prevented me from sending it back, so I chugged it and, of course, pulled a bottle of Diet Coke out of my purse and poured it into the

diet coke enthusiast Leah Finkelman ‘13 dressed up as a Diet Coke product for Halloween..

glass of ice. True story. The waitress never knew.

If you’re buying a car and asked for a Honda Civic, the car dealer wouldn’t say, “Is a Volkswagon Jetta OK?” (I’ve never purchased a car, I can’t confirm this.) A toy store sales clerk wouldn’t say “Oh we don’t have Monopoly, is Clue OK?” With these and countless other examples I could make up with enough time, the person selling you the product wouldn’t just assume that the other was OK. So why are waiters surprised when I don’t want Diet Pepsi?

I did the math, and I think I spent about $700 worth of points on Diet Coke last semester. When you devote the kind of time and energy to something like I have, you earn the right to be discerning. That said, I don’t really know where I want to go with this column, and I’m impressed if you’re still reading.

More likely than not, my love of Diet Coke will probably be my lasting legacy among my friends, but I’m more than OK with that.

photo courtesy of leah finkelman

photo from internet source

Memories of a suburban childhood public middle school, I happily left for a private high school, severing almost all my ties with my former classmates. And why shouldn’t I? I heard the veiled racism and saw the lack of diversity, and I’m proud that I reacted so strongly against them.

But reality is seldom so cut-anddried, and a middle-schooler armed with the stereotypes of vapid suburbia can be a dangerous thing. Yes, there were insidious undercurrents of discrimination, and it was probably for the best that I found my true

home outside of my actual hometown. But 2012 is not 1950, and my neighbors are not the close-minded rednecks I once imagined. John Child didn’t lose the election because he was Jewish; he lost because he was a Democrat, and that’s what happens to Democrats in Redgrove.

Sam’s Deli still teems with “the regulars,” our name for the older, uniformly white men who sit at the counter every day with coffee and the paper. They just want food at a reasonable price and good conversa-

tion, and they don’t care if it comes with a thick foreign accent. Donneville’s walls are decorated with photos of the state champion Redgrove Middle School softball team, thanking them for their generous sponsorship; families and teenagers flock to it every hot summer day. I may have heard the occasional unsavory comment—but anecdotes are not data, and the data suggest that Redgrove is open for everyone’s business.

As I walk down East State back home, I once again pass the weath-

ered gas station sign, its failed business contrasting with the burgeoning downtown. Maybe my initial conjecture was right, and the high cost of gas was what drove it into the ground. But maybe the manager just spewed his vile invective at one too many conscientious consumer, and his business paid the ultimate price for it. The world is changing quickly these days, and everyone—even the suburban, white conservative—is changing with it.

Arts, etc.

16 The Brandeis Hoot

March 9, 2012

APAHM celebrates Asian-American culture

photos courtesy of max xu

By Emily Beker Staff

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) hosted their opening ceremonies with the theme “Marking Our Mark” to honor the recent accomplishments and contributions from the Asian and Asian American community. This year marks the Brandeis Asian American Student Association’s (BAASA) 40th anniversary and the 20th anniversary of the ICC, Intercultural Center (ICC).

Cultural performances filled the atmosphere in the room with lights strung along the balcony in Levin Ballroom and fake candles set a pleasant mood for the viewers. The strong attendance reflected the impact BAASA has had on the Brandeis community during the past 40 years.

The diversity of acts made the show fascinating to watch because there was always something new happening on the stage, showcasing the variations of Asian culture. One particularly interesting event, which featured ribbon, handkerchiefs, swords, martial arts and umbrellas, kept the audience intrigued throughout the

program.

“The Crystal Heart,” the modernized Vietnamese tale of finding love presented by Southeast Asia Club (SEAC), was humorous, featuring the occasional Brandeis jokes that allowed people to relate even if they were unfamiliar with the initial story line. Swan Lee ’15 was a convincing lead and he was enjoyable to watch.

There were points in the skit that could have been rehearsed more thoroughly to make the presentation smoother. While the skit provided effective comic relief from the first few musical performances of the night, it was at times unclear.

The musical numbers were all very enjoyable, including a rendition of “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” that effectively captured the crowd’s attention.

Rooftop Pursuit, a live band that traveled from Washington D.C. for this event, exceeded expectations with their songs. The band played well together and their song choices transitioned from the slideshow immediately after the intermission.

Their cover of “A Thousand Years,” originally done by Christina Perri as heard in “Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part I” did not live up to the beloved

original. Still, I was pleasantly surprised by their selections, along with the talent and energy of their live performance.

The slide-shows, which immediately followed intermission, exemplified the organizing work by first-years in BAASA. “Graduation” by Vitamin C was slightly cliche for the senior slide-show. The slide-show, however, was heartwarming and enjoyable to watch as an outside viewer.

The distribution of free Chinese food helped raise awareness for BAASA and APAHM. The food itself was received well by the crowd, but there was a lack of commentary and entertainment while the food was being served.

The emcee of the overall event left some to be desired. Though some of the jokes made between acts were funny, others seemed somewhat forced and did not elicit much laughter. The emcee did succeed in keeping the audience focused during transitions between acts.

Being able to see the variety of the culture was eye-opening with the many different acts including “The Crystal Heart” helped show the values of the Asian Culture.

apahm 2012 Performers in APAHM 2012, from left, clockwise: Peter Yang ’12, Victoria

Lee ’13, Cathy Li ’14; Eva Chui ’14, Kelly Li ’15, Stephanie Chung ’14, Ben Wang ’15, Li-Ming Pan ’13; Adam Chow ’12, Stephanie Lee ’13, Victoria Lee ’13, Karen Hu ’12.

Raga musicians: a rare and valuable treat

By Juliette Martin Editor

This week, Brandeis welcomed three visiting musicians specializing in raga music, a form of Indian classical and folk music that uses templates to allow for improvisation rather than emphasizing specific compositions, and has also been long adapted into Afghani folk music. The trio is extremely diverse in origin, featuring Homayun Sakhi, a native of Kabul and the premier player of his generation; Ken Zuckerman, a Californian who has been playing raga music for 37 years; and Salar Nader, who is Afghani in descent but was born in Germany and raised in California, and is a leading performer of his instrument.

Their instruments, the rubab from Afghanistan and the sarod and tabla from India, are as beautiful in appearance as they are in sound. The rubab, a deep-voiced instrument, and the sarod, which produces a twangier sound, are stringed instruments with more strings than are easily countable, far more than one could find on a conventional Western instrument.

The tabla, meanwhile, is a percussion instrument, a pair of drums that produce a wide array of sounds.

The three are performing several times this week, including meetings with classes across diverse departments, including Music, Anthropol-

photo by nate rosenbloom/the hoot

salar nader on tabla Three raga musicians visited Brandeis this past Thursday.

ogy and IGS, in addition to a preview Thursday night at The Rose. Their stay here will culminate in a concert this Saturday night. At only $5 for students, it is undoubtedly worthy of attendance and a remarkable chance to be exposed to a beautiful style of

music that is widely unknown to American audiences.

Hearing these three musicians play together, it is almost incomprehensible that they have known each other for only one week. Because the raga style is based in templates and impro-

visation, it allows the three to unite in beautiful ways without actually having familiarity with each other’s specific music and despite the fact that they come from widely different places. They play in perfect sync, their sounds overlapping, responding and playing off of each other. It creates a remarkable performance, all the more so knowing that it is an improvisation based on classical templates. Listening to these three musicians is almost hypnotizing in it’s beauty.

Particularly of note is the clear passion in the performance. The musicians appear entirely engrossed in their art, focused but smiling at the audience and each other. There appeared an obvious passion and joy in the face of Homayun Sakhi, the most widely respected player of the rubab today. During one of the class meetings, I heard him speak briefly about being a musician under Taliban rule in Afghanistan. The Taliban outlawed music entirely and mandated that instruments be destroyed. The regime said that music was impure and unIslamic with the exception of vocal chants proclaiming the glory of the Taliban. With the fall of the Taliban in recent years, however, Sakhi told us that Afghani music is making a strong return to the lives of the public, a remark on its beauty and cultural importance.

Another interesting aspect about this particular style of music and per-

formance is that the musicians sit on the ground, the instruments in their laps or on the floor. This is highly unlike traditional western concepts of performance, where musicians stand above the audience on a raised stage, separated from the public. Having the performers on the ground, at the same level as those who come to listen to their music, aids in the listening experience. It fosters greater connection between the musicians and their captivated audience.

The opportunity we have been given here at Brandeis to be exposed to this style of music is not something to be taken lightly. It was surprising to me that the musicians did not all grow up in this musical tradition, particularly in the case of Ken Zuckerman, who is American-born and apparently of European descent, but who has long been an important figure in the genre. This is a demonstration of the music’s power and pervasiveness. It is capable of drawing listeners and players from cultures far removed from its birthplace.

Though raga may seem at first foreign or strange to many of those that will hear it here at Brandeis this week, it is nonetheless an experience that is culturally valuable and, more importantly, truly enjoyable. Enjoying the sounds of the visiting raga trio requires setting aside your ideas about how the performance of instrumental music ought to be.

March 9, 2012

ARTS, ETC. 17

The Brandeis Hoot

Author Scott Carney discusses ‘The Red Market’

By Dana Trismen Staff

Last Wednesday night multiple Brandeis groups ranging from the Department of Sociology, the Center for Ethics and the Student Union sponsored a lecture given by Scott Carney, a freelance investigative journalist who recently penned the book “The Red Market: On the Trail of the World’s Organ Brokers, Bone Thieves, Blood Farmers, and Child Traffickers.”

With a title like that, it is hard not to be interested in Carney’s gruesomeyet-fascinating topic.

Carney’s book and many of his more recent journalism articles center on the theme of the “Red Market,” markets that emerge when we “commercialize the human body.” Organ selling is a billion-dollar industry.

Carney spent six years researching these underground, trans-border dealings, investigating the dark side of the human supply chain. He described for instance, how human flesh moves up, not down the social hierarchy, mainly from the third to the first world; one does not hear of people in the United States donating their organs to a peasant in India.

Carney also dives into ethics, stating there are two sides to every story.

Many people want to believe the body is sacred, that our personhood is above the market, that we are special.

Yet, the flipside is, if we were dying in the hospital and desperately needed a kidney transplant, we would really want that kidney. Carney raised other

scott carney Scott Carney, author of “The Red Market: On the Trail of the World’s Organ Brokers, Bone

photo by ingrid schulte/the hoot

Thieves, Blood Farmers, and Child Traffickers” came to Brandeis this past Wednesday

interesting questions: Would you still be you without an organ? Can you cut away yourself? The argument Carney seems to be making is that technology is outracing our ethics. While medicine and science are advancing rapidly, our ethics in regard to the human body seem to be lacking. The book itself covers 10 markets for bodies or body parts. Since Carney’s lecture was slightly time limited, he was only able to describe some particulars of the

business of human flesh. Yet, what he did share was alarmingly fascinating, like watching a car crash, at once terrible but also impossible to stop paying attention to.

There are indeed horror stories.

Calcutta, for instance, used to be the primary exporter of human skeletons for medical schools. Up to 60,000 skeletons were being exported per year, until a case broke out of a man selling such a high number of child skeletons

(which sell for more money) that it was in no way possible he was acquiring them in any way other than murder. Yet, the trade in Calcutta exists to this day. India is a popular location for people who need kidney transplants: Instead of waiting up to 10 years in the United States for a kidney, it is available in a month in India at a muchreduced cost. This inspires people to kidnap passersby on the street, take out their kidneys and sell them on the

market. China is even worse, often executing political prisoners on demand if someone requests a kidney. Indeed, all political prisoners are blood-typed upon entering prison, in case the need presents itself. Carney even insists there is such a thing as execution by organ donation. The cause of all these horrors is dehumanization. Humans become mere commodities and it no longer matters if they feel any pain.

Carney personally got interested in this topic mainly because he was broke. A graduate student trying to get his PhD studying Bollywood music, he soon found he could not pay the rent. So he signed up for a clinical trial, where he got paid $2,500 to take erectile dysfunction medication.

While “hopped up on Viagra” he became interested in the other people who signed up for the clinical trial.

Some were prisoners hoping to make some money, but others were professional guinea pigs, traveling cross country and making up to $60,000 a year by participating in clinical trials.

Carney began to question if a clinical trial is a job, is metabolizing something equal to working? His interest soon lead him to research, and he learned that it is much easier to move clinical trials across the border, where making a drug there could save a third to two-thirds of the cost. Clinical trials coupled with worse health regulations in other countries leads to social side effects, namely human deaths.

Soon Carney found himself invested See CARNEY, page 19

‘Glee’ raises suicide awareness in season finale

By Alan Tran Staff

We don’t always ask or expect TV shows to consider serious topics, looking instead for easy entertainment that makes us laugh or cry, but afterward sets us back on our feet to go about our lives. So when a TV series does take on a current and significant issue it’s commendable, especially if it’s one that has previously escaped a mainstream spotlight. Fox’s TV show “Glee” did this recently in its season finale episode, casting a light on cyber-bullying and homophobia in high schools.

It’s especially timely for “Glee” to have brought these issues back to the forefront, as the trial against former Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi currently proceeds. In September 2010, Ravi and a friend covertly watched through a Webcam while his roommate Tyler Clementi was intimate with another man in their room.

Three days later Clementi committed suicide, bringing international attention to cases of cyber-bullying and LGBT suicide in the United States.

Jury selection for the trial began Feb. 21, the same day this episode aired.

Also, Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation, referenced in the episode, was officially launched a week later on Feb. 29 at Harvard University to help prevent bullying and empower youth.

For those who need a reminder, “Glee” is the musical-comedy-drama that features students at McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio. They join their high school’s glee club New Directions, finding support, friendship and belonging despite their different backgrounds, and compete in show choir competitions.

Faithful “Glee” followers will recall David Karofsky (Max Adler), a student at McKinley High who bullied Kurt for being gay, only to be revealed as a clos-

glee boys The last episode of season three of “Glee” involved serious issues such as cyber-bullying, texting while driving and suicide.

eted homosexual himself. Eventually he begins to come to terms with his sexuality, though it’s a slow process. In the season finale episode, titled “On My Way,” he’s at a new high school where he’s remained in the closet. He’s shown discovering his locker with the word “faggot” graffitied on it, and goes home to see further hateful messages posted online by other students. After a week of this, he decides to take his own life. Preparation for the Regionals competition is overshadowed as students and teachers question their actions, wondering if there was more they could have done, and determining to make new decisions to appreciate themselves and each other more fully.

A review of “Glee” wouldn’t be complete without also examining its music choices, and the scene where Karofsky realizes he’s been outed and prepares for suicide is juxtaposed with a cover of Young the Giant’s “Cough Syrup,” as sung by Blaine (Darren Criss). While some people take issue with “Glee” for changing the songs they love, Blaine’s voice is perfect in this song, having just the right inflections of desperation and exhilaration to accompany the scene.

It’s a song about the feeling of losing control and taking measures to reduce the pain temporarily. Ingeniously, however, a line from the song, “Life’s too short to even care about,” is transformed into a motto by charac-

ters Rachel (Lea Michelle) and Finn (Cory Monteith). The two characters say “Life’s too short” in order to justify their decisions to show their appreciation to each other and their competition, and “live every day like it’s our last,” though the message also comes with a warning not to dive into things too recklessly.

The rest of the song selections for the night are neatly re-appropriated into the themes of “Don’t let things get you down” (such as Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger”) and “Let’s appreciate each other” (“Here’s to Us” by Halestorm).

It’s difficult for “Glee” to go too far indepth with the issues that arise around suicide, especially when 13 minutes of the episode are devoted to music per-

photo from internet source

formances. They make the point that gay people can be bullies too with Sebastian’s character (Grant Gustin), and Quinn (Diana Agron) questions the selfishness of suicide. Some of the issues they highlight—for example, the role of teachers and administrators in helping to curb bullying—have no easy answers. But beyond the witty banter there are some poignant moments, and the overall message against bullying, and encouraging respect and appreciation, is clear.

According to Entertainment Weekly, after this episode aired, The Trevor Project, an organization dedicated to See GLEE, page 19

18 ARTS, ETC.

The Brandeis Hoot

March 9, 2012

‘GCB’ successfully replaces ‘Desperate Housewives’

By Emily Beker Staff

With “Desperate Housewives” soon leaving the air, ABC took the opportunity to premiere its new show “GCB” (Good Christian Belles) this past Sunday. The series follows Amanda Vaughn, played by Leslie Bibb, the widow of a Ponzi scheme artist as she moves back to her hometown of Dallas, Texas. She is immediately a character for whom the audience roots.

Having two children to care for after losing all her possessions and being forced to leave LA, she becomes the one for whom people sympathize.

When she comes back to Dallas, however, the history of her reputation as “queen bee” comes out.

No one character in the show has better lines than another. The directors’ casting of the typical Christian “do-gooders” was very well done.

Kristin Chenoweth, who plays Carlene Cockburn, seems a surprising choice but is the perfect actress for a good Christian Dallas girl and the new queen bee of Dallas. We quickly learn that some of the show’s other important characters—Sharon Peachman (Jennifer Aspen), Cricket Caruth-Reily, (Miriam Shor) and Heather Cruz (Marisol Nicholas)— were all victims of Amanda Vaughn in high school. This new fact removes some of the initial sympathy. Amanda Vaughn’s character, however, later falls back into our favor when she begins to attempt to repair the tarnished relationships.

The back and forth between these

previous enemies is reminiscent of the drama between the married women on “Desperate Housewives.” The show is also reminiscent of “The Stepford Wives” in the sense that all of the women seem to be identical on the surface: Christian and rich, as we are told they should be. Bibb’s character seems to return to her previous status in society in Dallas, as Aspen, Shor, Chenoweth and Nicholas’ jealousy snaps when the men begin to fawn over her.

This is when it becomes a show for a larger audience to appreciate than that which watched “The Stepford Wives” and “Desperate Housewives.” The show grabs the teenage audience and appeals to them with the drama that brews between the women and the ideal lives that these women lead, lives that teens can only imagine for themselves.

The fact that, as usual, the men involved in the show are all good looking is also a pull for viewers. Beauty is appreciated in audiences now, whether it is in the characters or in the setting, which in this case involves mansions, high-end retail stores like Neiman Marcus and expensive cars like BMWs. There is also a sense of humor to the show as the four other women try to figure out who has been helping Bibb’s character fall right back into the folds of their exclusive society. The gossip that is exchanged between them and their antics around Bibb’s character are entertaining to watch and spice up what would otherwise be a drama-filled story of a widow.

The other character that viewers will most likely develop a love-hate relationship with is Amanda’s mother Gigi Stooper (Annie Potts). The char-

good christian belles Jennifer Aspen and Marisol Nichols star in the new ABC show “GCB.”

acter does everything she can upon Amanda’s arrival to push Amanda and her children back into the wealthy life that they had left. The relationship between Gigi and Amanda at this point seems unclear, as there are moments when you see both love and hate.

Though “GCB” could be considered very similar to what is already on television, the fact that it appeals to most ages and that the content is familiar to the watchers of “Desperate Housewives” allows it to stand out. The moments of humor are

properly queued and allow the viewers to stay engaged. It also gives the viewer the feeling of anger when they miss one instant of an episode, a factor lacking in many shows currently on the air.

“GCB” has all the perfect components. It has the right setting, the right characters and the right amount of plot twists, many of which occur in the very first episode, which is already moving the show along at a nice speed. The pilot episode was successful because it allowed me to learn the basic premise of the show and made

photo from internet source

me want to keep watching. It offered characters I have already come to care about.

The humor of the show is also a big plus. With characters that all feel as if they are the only individuals who matter, it is expected to experience a lot of backstabbing. It will be important to the viewers to have the humor, so that the antics will come up as more funny than vindictive. “GCB” portrays the wealthy lives of Dallas’ high society women. It is an engaging and entertaining show that never fails to humor you from the first minute to the last.

Fiennes makes exciting, contemporary ‘Coriolanus’

By Sean Fabery Editor

A seething crowd, organized in columns like a ragtag militia, marches toward a city center. Many of them carry cellphones primed to take photos. All of them possess a deep anger directed at the government—they’re outraged by the power of the elites, their tin ear toward their demands.

No, this isn’t Tahrir Square or Zuccotti Park—it’s the opening scene of Ralph Fiennes’ adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus.” Though written around 1608 and filmed in 2010, it’s uncannily attuned to the developments of the last year.

Though originally set in the fifth century BCE, Fiennes has transported the play to an alternate version of present-day Rome—or, as the opening bills it, “a place calling itself Rome.”

These protesters are marching against Rome’s most celebrated general, Caius Martius (Ralph Fiennes), who represents the city’s 1 percent.

After repelling the protesters—we’ll soon find out he has a knack for repelling everyone—Martius goes off to fight Volscian guerillas, led by the fearsome Tullus Aufidius (Gerard Butler).

Martius and Aufidius are a perfect match; both lust for war. In Martius’ case, this has been instilled in him by his blood-thirsty mother, Volumnia (Vanessa Redgrave), who has spent all her life preparing her son to become a warrior, someone more dragon than human. Martius and Aufidius engage in hand-to-hand combat as the Romans conquer the Volscian city of Corioles, but Aufidius escapes. “If ever again I meet him, he’s mine, or I am his,” Aufidius declares.

Martius returns to Rome a hero, and the city bestows upon him the name Coriolanus. He soon finds him-

photo from internet source

self selected to be Rome’s consul, but he has a major problem. Despite the constant advice of his friend, the Roman senator Menenius (Brian Cox), he can’t seem to develop people skills. Rome’s scheming tribunes take advantage of this and goad Coriolanus into attacking democratic rule on a TV show—it allows “crows to peck the eagles,” he says.

Coriolanus subsequently finds himself exiled, forced to abandon his wife Virgilia (Jessica Chastain) and son Martius (Harry Fenn).

Of course, having lost the only thing he’s ever really cared about—the Roman state—Coriolanus sneaks into Aufidius’ camp and pledges to help destroy Rome. With the city no longer his, he’s decided to forge “himself a name i’ the fire of burning Rome.”

Though “Coriolanus” is among Shakespeare’s lesser known tragedies, Coriolanus himself is a fascinating cre-

ation. There’s no easy way to understand him and decode his psyche. He clearly despises the average Roman citizen and flouts the public will— not exactly a hero for our times. Yet he’s also strangely humble. When Menenius encourages him to show off his battle scars to garner public support, he refuses, reminding everyone that he had not “receiv’d them for the hire of their breath only.” In a way, he just wants them to like him for him, and that’s kind of admirable—though his fascist politics negate that.

This is Fiennes’ first film as a director, and he’s succeeded in guiding a handsome production. The aura of war pervades the entire film, which was shot in Serbia. When Coriolanus enters battle, it’s a real, modern combat zone, like images of Iraq or Libya or Bosnia lifted from the news.

Bombed-out buildings abound. Permanent grays shroud everything.

There’s a wonderful sequence in which the general emerges from the fog of battle, his face covered in rivulets of blood. He looks utterly possessed with a thirst for battle, carnage and gore. He’s a demon come to Earth and absolutely terrifying.

Indeed, “Coriolanus” is at its best when Martius is on the warpath. The film falters only when Coriolanus returns to Rome and begins politicking. Too many arguments ensue as to whether he’s ready for office and whether his personality can change.

In one sequence, he enters the Roman marketplace to ask for the people’s support, which they quickly give; two seconds later, the tribunes arrive and convince them to change their minds.

The quick progression of events just makes the crowd look dumb.

Though the film certainly benefits from a “Hurt Locker” aesthetic, it would be nothing without its outstanding cast. First among them is Fiennes himself, who unsurprisingly is superb. His Coriolanus is above all else a fierce man, a fact immediately discerned from his penetrating stare.

Fiennes has done well in selecting an excellent supporting cast, with the best performance among them coming from Redgrave. Volumnia is a great role—like Coriolanus, she possesses a thirst for blood, but hers is more trancelike and articulate. As she explains to Virgilia, she prefers war even to sex: “If my son were my husband, I should freelier rejoice in that absence wherein he won honor than in the embracements of his bed where he should show most love.” Volumnia and Coriolanus’ relationship is the definition of Oedipal; she goads him into conflict as though she’s seducing him into it. There’s a scene in which Virgilia watches Volumnia tend to Coriolanus’ wounds, her eyes ravenously taking in this killing machine she’s nurtured to maturity.

Butler, meanwhile, makes a worthy adversary for the general. In recent years he hasn’t been known for the quality of his acting—movies like “300” and “The Bounty Hunter” didn’t really demand any of it from him— but here he’s engaged in a kind of murderous, almost homoerotic tango with Fiennes.

Cox and Chastain also add to the film, though their presence isn’t as electrifying as that of Redgrave and Butler. Cox mixes pathos and a certain theatricality in his Menenius.

Chastain makes a great-looking trophy wife, but she otherwise has little to do here.

“Coriolanus has grown from man to dragon,” Menenius tells the beleaguered Romans—and oh, what a transformation it is.

March 9, 2012

ARTS, ETC. 19

The Brandeis Hoot

‘Hilarity Ensues’ doesn’t lie Carney analyzes ‘Red Market’

photo from internet source

By Gordy Stillman Staff

“Hilarity Ensues” is the third and final collection of short stories from the life of Tucker Max. Initially, I was concerned because the title seemed tame and I worried that this book would not be as ridiculous as the first two books: “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell” and “Assholes Finish First.” I first came across a Tucker Max story back in high school at a youth group overnight event. I don’t remember which story was read, only that it was disgusting, intriguing, offensive and hilarious all at once.

While there was generally nothing significant to gain from reading the stories, Tucker’s way with words allows the reader to picture the scene clearly, giving important details but enabling the reader to imagine the rest. Two of my favorite stories from the older books, “The Famous ‘Sushi Pants’ Story” and “Tucker Goes to Campout, Owns Duke Nerds” set a high bar.

The first was a story about a night he went out to dinner and brought along his recently purchased breathalyzer. The second was about the requirements to get season tickets to Duke basketball games as a law and graduate student.

Neither story sounds particularly amazing on its face, and yet both follow—for the most part—a believable progression of events that is very entertaining to read. I picked up the latest book at the airport as something to start reading on my flight back from February break and, as the plane took off, I was pleasantly surprised that hilarity did indeed ensue.

Part of what is so well done about the book is the storytelling. It is made up of short stories that can easily enough be read in the time between classes or waiting for the BranVan. Within the limitations of a short story, the scenes are incredibly clear. Max, for the most part strikes the balance between being overly vague and adding too many extra details. In one section— the word chapter does not fit—consisting of stories about his friend Hate there is a story about a dinner party. The gist of the story is that “Hate ” had not eaten for hours and the restaurant was extremely slow. Eventually “Hate” explodes in anger as Max and “Credit” watch and find the whole situation hilarious. Broken down to the bare basics of the story, it’s nothing exceptional, but reading the detailed story in the book, it’s easy to imagine the scene in all its detail.

Another part of the stories that I particularly like are the small passages of wisdom that occasionally appear. One such example is in a story from the early 90s about where he grew up and

how he liked southern rap. He describes a guy that used to play basketball at the same court as him, and discusses the guy’s car and speaker system. One day, the guy starts talking about how he was looking to sell his car, asking for $8,000 for the whole car or $3,000 sans-speakers. Max launches into a tirade about how the guy was living with his parents, and that if he had not bought the speakers in the first place he’d have been able to put a down-payment on a house of his own. I completely agreed with this for two reasons. Who in their right mind buys speakers worth almost double the value of their car, and who buys speakers with $5,000 at a time when that could get a house?

Max goes on to list three promises he made to himself, the important ones being that when he eventually would buy a nice sound-system, it not be worth more than the car, and that when he eventually would buy the car, to be able to pay in full without loans or financing.

An additional simple example comes from “The (Almost Banned, Now Complete) Miss Vermont Story,” where Max mentions the worst kind of idiot, who would say “I knew nothing, but thought I knew everything.” While philosophers have already been introduced to the idea of knowing nothing, it’s refreshing to have these elements injected into the stories. It makes them more enjoyable.

The book, however, is not without flaws. It is certainly not for the squeamish or those who do not want to read a book where the writer frequently talks about drinking and sex. Even if you can get past that, there are some details that are just unnecessary. One such example is the details about a time he was seasick, which was just uninteresting. It was funny to read how on a windy night at sea even that backfired, but it served no purpose and the story was interesting and funny enough without it. While Max is a self-admitted “asshole,” he does display a sense of personal morality through his loyalty to his friends, and his problem, in one story, with a guy cheating on his wife at a bachelor party.

While freaking out that a guy would cheat on his wife doesn’t single-handedly mean that Max has a good sense of morals, it serves as an interesting contrast to the lifestyle otherwise described in his books.

“Hilarity Ensues” finishes with a bittersweet finale. Max ends the book with an epilogue explaining his retirement from writing these types of stories. While the tales had been entertaining, there’s an odd sense of satisfaction knowing that they have come to an end. Max’s first two books were both great and “Hilarity Ensues” is a fitting final collection.

‘Glee’ analyzes adolescent themes GLEE, from page 17

providing suicide prevention services to LGBT youth, experienced three times as many phone calls and more than six times as much online traffic as usual. It’s a stark reminder that what is reflected on the television screen is still true in real life. LGBT high school students are nearly five times more likely to attempt suicide than straight students, according to the Massachusetts LGBT Youth Commission, and a survey by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Educa-

tion Network (GLSEN) reported that 84 percent of LGBT students experience harassment at school.

Some argue that the very presence of shows like “Glee” is evidence that conditions have improved for LGBT people in the United States— and that’s partly true—but there’s still plenty to do to improve the safety and acceptance of LGBT people and to stem the tide of bullying among youth, and this episode was a strong reminder of what needs to change and what people can do to help as well.

photo from internet source

CARNEY, from page 17

in all aspects of the human body, including organ harvesting, hair, illegal adoption, surrogate mothers, egg harvesting and selling of skeletons among other things.

Carney himself is a humble, funny man, who is so down to earth it is easy to forget he won the prestigious Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism in 2010.

Carney is also a senior fellow at Brandeis’ Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism.

This institute was the first investigative reporting center stationed at a university and is an independent reporting center allowing academic freedom for its reporters. For Carney, The Schuster Institute is a sort of “intellectual home base.”

Maybe due to his affiliation with Brandeis, or merely because of his journalistic skill, the turnout to see the Carney lecture was high

by Brandeis standards. Questions asked by Brandeis students after the lecture were highly

informed, indicating most students were riveted enough to pay very close attention. Carney is an excellent public speaker. He pauses for emphasis, speaks with convincing hand motions and his jokes were sometimes met with such laughter he was forced to stop the lecture for a moment. In a section where he read a piece of the book out loud, it was instantly clear he is as good a speaker as a writer. The words on the page, already lively and not at all just stating facts, came to life and became entirely relatable. His personable character makes it easy to understand how he could weasel his way into getting information out of the strangest people, from criminals to government mongrels.

A book signing following the question-andanswer only served to point to Carney’s sense of humor. He signed my book: “You have beautiful kidneys. Don’t undersell them.” While Carney may be discussing and investigating dark topics involving death and murder, his way of conveying such material is so entirely interesting that it sways people over to his cause.

Arts Recommends music

photo from internet source

‘Break It Yourself ’

Multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird’s newest album, “Break It Yourself ” does not fail to meet the already astronomical standards set by his previous albums. Textured and complex, Bird’s new work manages to stay away from saccharine shoe-gazing or melancholic ballads that were popular this year from other folk-pop artists. The songs are meticulously composed and performed, with an eye for poetry and obvious skill. Former violinist of The Squirrel Nut Zippers, the Chicago-based musician already has nearly a dozen albums.

“Break It Yourself ” maintains Bird’s longstanding vibrato whistling and masterful violin, but is more mainstream in its guitar and vocal patterns than his previous albums. While more largely accessible, Bird does not lose himself to any radio hits. The spinning speakers and complexly rhythmed rhymes pull the listener into the hallucinogenic, ethereal world of Bird. He still experiments and his experiments are successful.

connor novy, editor

ARTS FOCUS

March 9, 2012

bash ‘Bash: Latter Day Plays’ is being put on by Free Play this weekend. From top left, clockwise: Corrie Legge ’14 and Ben Gold ’\13 as a college-aged couple;

The Brandeis Hoot 20

photo by nate rosenbloom/the hoot

Legge posing; Gold looking demurely at the floor; Nicole Carlson ’14 smokes a cigarette.

Don’t ‘Bash: Latter Day Plays’

By Candice Bautista Editor

“Bash: Latter Day Plays,” put on

by Free Play this weekend, is a show that’s particularly hard to swallow.

On one hand, it is a show about Mormons and their sins that, given the background of Mormons, sounds terribly dull. As a result of the play, on the other hand, the writer Neil LaBute, was excommunicated, which is already an interesting enough backstory to any show.

The show itself consisted of three 30-minute acts, two of which were monologues. Interestingly enough, the show was put on in the Mandel Center third floor reading room, an area that’s usually used for studying.

This made the show much more intimate, particularly on opening night when less than 10 people showed up to see it. The actors were less than 20 feet away from the audience at all the times but the acoustics of the small room helped create the fourth wall.

There is definitely a very awkward feel to the room upon entering that is thankfully relieved by the time the second act begins.

The first act, however, was the worst part of the show. Julian Seltzer ’15 played a young husband who appears to be at a party of some sort although he insists he only drinks water. Seltzer’s presence was generally very awkward, which was amplified by the small room and the intimate setting. At first it is hard to determine whether he is supposed to be acting that socially inept. As he dragged on and proceeded to go almost nowhere within the first 10 minutes of “Uhh”ing, “Well...”-ing and nervous twitching, some semblance of a story began to unfold. Seltzer’s character tells the story of having a three-month old infant and how she died because he fell asleep while she was in their bed, and she smothered herself in their comforter. Later it is revealed that he actually had planned the entire thing, and had indirectly killed his daughter by coaxing her far under the comforter.

Though I feel that the first act could have been very moving, it was the least effective of the three acts.

Seltzer’s awkwardness (repetitive, but this may be the only word to describe accurately what was occurring onstage) was incredibly distracting.

If he was attempting to be a boring,

middle-class husband, he certainly succeeded. He paused frequently and oftentimes, his sentence would be lost or he would start his thought over to a very negative effect. In addition, Seltzer seemed to have forgotten his lines frequently and this was obvious by his frequent pauses.

After that attempt, the second act and the third act are very much worth watching. The second act feature a college-aged couple who are in seemingly madly in love and go to Manhattan one weekend to attend a party with some friends. It is portrayed in such a way that the couple, John (Ben Gold ’13) and Sue (Corrie Legge ’14), never completely acknowledge each other but speak only to the audience.

At first, it is to an endearing effect as they each recall their courtship, and frequently remind the audience that they are engaged. As the story unfolds, however, John tells of walking into Central Park, seeing a gay man cruising, and proceeding to beat him until unconscious. In the first act, the half hour dragged on and seemed wholly unnecessary because the feeling that the play is trying to convey is never fully achieved. Gold’s performance, though, is fully worth the build-up and investment into their

relationship and their characters. He was definitely the best actor of this four-person show, and as he laughed about how funny it was to nearly kill a man, it is hard to not be slightly terrified of him. His presence and flexibility in his segue from “great boyfriend” to “cold-blood murderer” is a smooth and disconcerting one, and is a performance worth seeing this show for.

After such a knockout performance, Nicole Carlson ’14 carried the show to the end. At this point of the show, the audience expects the characters to have killed at least one person, so it was a bizarre start as Carlson talks about her middle school teacher when she was 13. The flow of this story was also interesting, especially when juxtaposed to the second act, as it describes her affair with her teacher. When Carlson describes how it felt to kiss him, with her eyes shining, it is clear that something is definitely going to go wrong. In the end, Carlson’s character is pregnant and abandoned, and ends up killing her child after fourteen years of keeping him around. By the time she is describing this, chills are going down the backs of the audience members, and Carlson is standing on a table in this small room yelling with her arms

in the air. It was a very strong end to what began as a weak show.

The best part of the show is probably how the play and director Amanda Stern ’15 dealt with the Mormonism aspect of the play. It was very understated, and most of the time only indirectly related to the content of the play. Act one has a young man’s devotion to his wife and involves him choosing his wife over his child. This is not from any particular Mormon belief, it is only related in that his Mormonism created his own set of morals. The same is true for act two when John consciously decided commit a sin for what he believed was a greater sin. In act three, a woman chooses to kill her son because of the wrong that caused his existence, as well her keeping her part of a deal to her middle school teacher to never tell anyone about their affair.

In that way, “Bash: Latter Day Plays” was effective in its way to be somewhat complex. The performances overall were moving and the few characters in the show allowed them to have the time needed to have their characters sit and stew in the audience’s minds. In short, “Bash” has mixed performances, but is definitely worth seeing this weekend.