Volume 9 Number 18
www.thebrandeishoot.com
Brandeis University’s Community Newspaper • Waltham, Mass.
September 14, 2012
New policy released on student-staff relationships By Jon Ostrowsky Editor
President Fred Lawrence approved a new university policy prohibiting consensual sexual and romantic relationships between students and faculty or staff that create the possibility of unfair power dynamics or conflicts of interest. Three situations last spring involving inappropriate interactions, but not relationships, between instructors and undergraduate students probably inspired the new policy, a university official who asked not to be identified told The Hoot. Lawrence notified the community of the new policy in an email on Wednesday, distinguishing between instructor-student and staff-student relationships. “Romantic and sexual relationships between members of the staff and students—even if consensual— undermine the possibility of such a community by introducing the specter of favoritism, abuse of power, and conflict of interest, all of which compromise the ability of faculty and staff to carry out their responsibilities to both students and the University as a whole,” the policy states. Lawrence approved the new policy
after the University Advisory Council subcommittee on Consensual Relations, chaired by Professor Marion Smiley (PHIL), reviewed policies of peer institutions including Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Tufts, Harvard, MIT and Northeastern. Human Resources also reviewed the policy, along with feedback from Arts and Sciences chairs, who then sent it to the University Policy Review Committee. The policy states that students may feel pressured by the unequal power hierarchy and thus be unable to provide consent to a relationship with instructors. “Power differentials between students and those in a position to instruct, advise, supervise, evaluate, mentor or coach them bring into question the student’s ability to give consent meaningfully to such relationships,” according to the new policy. “Even when the Instructor and student act with integrity, others may perceive partiality and bias.” The policy also outlined that relationships are acceptable as long as they do not create a conflict of interest, with one member having authority over the other. “The pedagogical relationships See POLICY, page 2
remembering 9/11 Fom left to right, Hameedi, his brother Jamal, and Salman at Jamal and Salman’s
Alum with perished loved one remembers 9/11 attacks By Victoria Aronson Editor
As Tuesday marked the 11th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks on Manhattan’s World Trade Center and the destruction of the twin towers, commemoration services honor the lives of those who were lost, serving as an eternal
Crown Center hosts Middle East forum By Debby Brodsky Editor
The Crown Center for Middle East Studies hosted its opening event Thursday afternoon, celebrating the generous support of the Crown and Goodman families, the inauguration of the Charles (Corky) Goodman Chair in Middle Eastern History, and a panel discussion with highly
published faculty about current hot topics concerning the Middle East. Following Lawrence’s introduction, Dr. Steve Goldstein ’78, Brandeis Provost, invited the event’s main speaker, Naghmeh Sohrabi to accept her place as the first incumbent of the Corky Goodman Chair in Middle East History. Sohrabi did so tearfully, and then proceeded to speak of her youth in Iran and how she came to study Middle Eastern
history. Sohrabi described how as a 10-year-old, she decided that she wanted to win the Nobel Prize in the sciences, and as a back up plan, she thought she might win a Nobel Prize in the humanities. By 13, Sohrabi decided she had to go to MIT, however, as a child living in Iran this plan did not seem possible. By chance, three See CROWN CENTER, page 20
photo by nate rosenbloom/the hoot
Inside this issue:
News: Camp for transgender children Features: Interim Protestant chaplain arrives Sports: Men’s soccer advances to top 20 Impressions: Every move you make Arts, Etc.: Commemorating 9/11 in art
Page 4 Page 6 Page 8 Page 14 Page 17
photo courtesy usman hameedi ‘12
graduation.
reminder of the tragic event. Usman Yasin Hameedi ’12, a recent Brandeis graduate who lost a close friend in the attack, asserts that the anniversary “should be a day for us as a nation to come together in unity.” At the mere age of 10, Hameedi suffered the loss of a close friend, Mohammad Salman Hamdani, who perished selflessly, sacrificing his life
to help others while serving as a first responder to the scene. Hameedi expresses the depth of his loss, revealing “Sal and I didn’t need to be kindred through blood for us to be brothers. Sal is my brother. I remember very vividly in my childhood, I would go to his parents’ store See 9/11, page 4
After tragedy, campus continues to look for answers By Connor Novy Editor
Nearly two weeks after Akshay Venkatesh took his own life on campus, just days after classes began, his professors, friends and family said they are still questioning what went wrong with such a passionate and intelligent student, returning to school for his junior year. “I don’t know who reached out to him and who didn’t, but I never considered the possibility that he was pre-suicidal,” Professor Don Katz (PSYC) said. Katz’s sentiments were echoed by others on campus. Katz was disappointed that despite his expertise, he failed to diagnose Venkatesh at the time. He was not purposefully removed from society, Katz said. “He took it on himself to try to get to know me,” he said in an interview with The Hoot. Katz did not consider himself a mentor, but because his class was one of the first that Venkatesh took in the neuroscience and biology fields, Katz believes Venkatesh was committed to doing well, having decided early in life that
he was going to pursue a career in the fields. Venkatesh pushed himself to be active in class, and sought out Katz during office hours in the semester he was his student. They kept in contact briefly after the class ended, but the communication fell through during the summer. Venkatesh was already set on a major in science, despite having only begun his courses in biology when he took Katz’s course. “Like many Brandeis students,” Katz said, “he made the decision to do science before he could find out what he was good at.” According to friends, Venkatesh was both driven and gifted in his chosen field. “I’ve met very few people as passionate as he was about what he was studying,” Isaac Rabbani ’13 said, who lived on Venkatesh’s floor in previous years, “and with the intellect to match.” Katz said he is still searching for answers. “I keep using the present tense,” he said. The final few posts on Venkatesh’s Facebook page include a status that says how excited he was to return to Brandeis.
Awareness falls flat
Under the sea
Impressions: Page 13
Arts, Etc.: Page 16
Zoë Kronovet compares awareness events and the process of actually spreading awareness.
See VENKATESH, page 3
In just 24 hours, students put together a Brandeis version of “The Little Mermaid.”
news
2 The Brandeis Hoot
Annual Waltham day showcases summer’s end
The city will hold the annual Waltham Day festival Saturday on the Common, featuring an assortment of attractions and information booths for local civic organizations. Both the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America will highlight the event, as will the fire department and other groups that will promote health and safety for the children attending. The event, which will also feature a watermelon-eating contest and live music, is free and will be held regardless of the weekend’s weather. source: boston globe
September 14, 2012
GOP state senate hopeful gets treasurer’s nod
Council considers contested development
Hit-and-run suspect ran from police
Local family finalists for free vets’ wedding
Former State Treasurer Joe Malone has endorsed Republican nominee Sandy Martinez of Waltham in the state senate race for Middlesex County’s 3rd district. Malone listed Martinez as someone who would “fight for more jobs rather [than] an extreme liberal agenda” in explaining his endorsement. Malone is himself a Republican, and so the endorsement is not as shocking as the recent Democratic defections for U.S. Senator Scott Brown. The former treasurer was the failed Republican nominee for Congress in the 10th federal district in 2010.
The feud over a proposed apartment complex drew more than 100 Waltham residents, including both opponents and supporters, to a Sept. 10 City Council meeting. The proposed developer would need to convince the Council to re-zone the property for business interests and would then have to obtain additional permits before construction can begin. Proponents argue that the complex would be better than alternative businesses, while opponents worry about excess traffic and lack of parking space on the street if the space’s zoning is changed.
A Waltham man was arrested this week after crashing his car in Newton and attempting to flee the scene. A police K-9 unit tracked the scent, and led police to believe that the suspect had doubled back behind the investigators. Osvin Gonzalez, 22, was arrested after emerging from the street, a dead end, with the crashed car and received additional charges for attempting to flee the police.
A Waltham couple have been named finalists in a competition to offer a military couple an allexpenses-paid wedding. In the second running of the FOX competition “A Military Wedding to Remember,” Vanessa Vega, of Waltham, and her fiance Jonathan Valentin, would win the free nuptial at Boston’s Westin, at Copley Place. The wedding would be held on Veterans’ Day, and will come with a honeymoon at the Puerto Rico Sheraton Hotel. The competition is the network’s gesture to honor active-duty troops and their families.
source: wicked local
source: waltham patch
source: waltham news tribune
Warren, Brown campaigns engage college students
College Notebook
Report cites BU ‘sex entitlement’ culture
By Rachel Hirschhaut Editor
Many Massachusetts students, including Brandeis students, are working to support Massachusetts’ two candidates for United States Senate, Elizabeth Warren and Scott Brown. Warren is a first-time candidate who worked as a law professor at Harvard University for 20 years. Brown is the current Massachusetts junior senator who took over the late Sen. Edward Kennedy’s seat. Before getting elected in 2010, he served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and State Senate. Jake Weiner ’13, is taking this semester off to work full time at Warren’s campaign headquarters in Somerville, about 20 minutes away from campus. In a letter to the editor of the Waltham Patch, Weiner applauded Warren for supporting the upholding of the Affordable Care Act. She said that “every American should get access to high quality, affordable health care and fair treatment from insurance companies.” The Brandeis Democrats (Deis Dems) have been active in supporting Warren this year. According to Adam Rabinowitz ’14, secretary of Deis Dems, the group is working closely with Gabe Frumkin, the field organizer for the Warren Campaign in the Waltham area, in addition to Brandeis organizers in order to stage canvassing efforts, phone banks, and other opportunities throughout the Boston area in the next three months. The night of Sept. 5, when Warren spoke at the Democratic National Convention, ’Deis Dems brought a group of students together to watch the speech. Many other colleges in the Boston area, such as Boston College and Boston University, also hosted viewing parties.
source: boston globe
By Connor Novy Editor
warren Elizabeth Warren, visiting Waltham business, Café on the Common, on July 28, 2012.
This past Saturday, Sept. 8, they displayed strong support for her campaign effort as they sent a contingent of members to Warren’s kick-off rally in Waltham Common to celebrate the Democratic Party’s Day of Action. When asked why he supports Warren, Rabinowitz responded, “I think that Elizabeth has a primary interest in addressing the concerns of the middle class in Massachusetts. She brings a wealth of fiscal experience from federal and academic work to the table in addressing chief economic concerns. Warren understand the onerous burden of college and will work rigorously in Washington to alleviate this burden for students after college. She is a firm advocate for women’s rights, further improvements to our health care system, and other key social is-
sues that are in our best interests as Brandeisians.” Sara Fried ’15, who interned for Warren this summer said, “I am the campus organizer for Brandeis, so I am coordinating our team of interns and volunteers. We are working to register students to vote and get more people interested in volunteering for the campaign. We have so far hosted registration drives outside Usdan, and we’ll continue to work on helping students get information on how they can vote. We have also contacted a lot of students to let them know how they can help out the campaign by volunteering now and on election day to get out the vote.” Fried added that Warren has a personal connection to college students. “Brandeis should support Elizabeth
photo from internet source
Warren because she is looking out for students. She put herself through college and law school on her own, so she knows how difficult it is for students to afford their education. She is also dedicated to creating jobs here in Massachusetts—a major concern for me and a lot of other students after graduation.” Meanwhile, the Massachusetts College Republicans are working to support Sen. Scott Brown’s reelection. Last week, a few members of the Brandeis Libertarian-Conservative Union (BLCU) tabled for Brown outside of the Shapiro Campus Center, in an effort to gain volunteers for his campaign. Brown has a campaign field office in Waltham, and Waltham City Councilor Joe Giordano recently endorsed him.
Relationship policy cont POLICY, from page 1
between Instructor and student must be protected from influences or activities that can interfere with learning and fair evaluation,” according to the policy. Similar language is applied to staffstudent relationships. “The Brandeis community often encourages students and Staff members
to work together,” the policy states. “Trust and fairness in these relationships are essential. Given the inherent power differential, Staff members in such positions might not perform their duties effectively if they become romantically or sexually involved with students for whom they are responsible.” The new policy, however, is separate from procedures for addressing
claims of sexual harassment or assault. Possible policy violations are handled by the appropriate dean if the person is an instructor, and by the Vice President for Human Resources Scot Bemis if the person is a staff member. Rights and Responsibilities outlines specific policies for inappropriate relationships or interactions between undergraduate students. Lawrence’s email applauded the
new policy for its effort to create a fair and professional environment for students, faculty and staff. “In my view, this is an important step to assure students that the University is committed to supporting them and to maintaining a fair, professional and respectful environment so necessary for a thriving academic community,” he wrote.
According to a recently published report following last April’s assault scandal, Boston University’s ice hockey team has a culture of “sex entitlement” among some of its players. University Provost Jean Morrison told The Washington Post that while at most large schools a portion of the student body treats athletes as celebrities, the university found that greater oversight is needed. The report stated that since onethird of Boston University’s ice hockey team was already drafted into the National Hockey League, BU leaned toward “a culture and climate in which players may not be fully engaged in the academic, intellectual and extracurricular activities that are routine for the broader student body.” Some athletes had standardized test scores and grades below the university’s admission averages. The committee was formed after last year’s multiple sexual assault and hazing charges. Corey Trivino, one of the team’s star players who planned to attend NHL training camp, pled guilty last month to charges of assault and battery upon forcing himself, while heavily intoxicated, upon a female BU student in her dorm. In the same year, the Boston University fraternities were charged with cruel hazing practices, including covering pledges with fish sauce and partially shaving their heads in the basement of an Alpha Epsilon Phi house. Police who came to investigate a reported party at the universityunsanctioned AEP home found the pledges standing in their underwear, taped together, covered in red welts, as well as chili sauce, coffee grounds, honey, mustard, hot sauce, flour, and empty sardine cans, according to a police report. The boys did not respond when asked by police whether or not they were OK. The university opened its own investigation into the assaults, which violated their student conduct and responsibilities. Charges were later dropped or modified for most of the charged students. By June, only two of the nine originally charged still faced the court with charges of assault and battery, hazing and failure to report hazing.
September 14, 2012
NEWS 3
The Brandeis Hoot
Posttragedy, looking for solace VENKATESH, from page 1
“I wonder what transpired on that plane,” Katz said, referring to the plane flight on which Venkatesh returned from his summer research internship in Singapore. “That flight from Singapore is a long flight and I wondered what went through his head then.” His parents say that he also had a philosopher’s mind, instead of neuroscience. “You came into this world without anyone’s knowledge, and you slipped away without telling anyone,” Venkatesh’s family said in a statement to The Hoot. “My friend philosopher and guide, you should have taken philosophy as a major instead of neuroscience. We laughed and cried and made fun of the world together. Whatever the world may think, mummy knows you were the bravest, funniest and smartest human being around.”
Memories from the Venkatesh family Akshay, your name means “never ending” in Sanskrit. I’d like to imagine that you are there somewhere, in essence, spirit or DNA, never ending. You came into this world without anyone’s knowledge, and you slipped away without telling anyone. My friend, philosopher and guide, you should have taken philosophy as a major instead of neuroscience. We laughed and cried and made fun of the world together. Whatever the world may think, mummy knows you were the bravest, funniest and smartest human being around. You never backed down from an argument. Always on a quest, like the characters of a fantasy lore or Skyrim that you loved so much. You had beliefs, very strong ones, and I respected those. You said you respected me for respecting you, something not very common in Asia for a parent child relationship. I’ll miss you showing me stuff on Youtube, all the trending knowledge out there. I wonder who is going to fix my PowerPoints, and take care of the million and one things that you did for me. As for your sister, I can’t even begin. I suppose I’ll have to write the book that tells you how much she is going to miss you. But she knows you loved her, and she will love you in her own unique way. I’d like to think that you are out there somewhere fulfilling a quest for knowledge, justice and peace. Bye my baby, I’ll always love you.
“Akshay-baby” as I used to call you: and you used to call me “Chamma”, a short form of “Sanju Mama” (Uncle in Hindi language). You were the first baby of the family, and I got to spend a lot of time with you when you were a kid. I still remember the “annabett”(Animal alphabet), tt (Tape recorder), thhia (TV) . You used to love watching MTV, and [were] one of my only audience [members] during my early days of guitar-playing. If you didn’t listen to my playing then, I don’t think I would have ever played on stage. You always spoke from your heart, and stood for what you believed in ... a person who didn’t have two faces and was a true human being. This is not a loss to just the close family members. The world has lost a good citizen and a person who could bring a difference to [it]. Akshay, my little baby and cross-grained fellow. You always liked to have sparring matches with your Dad, right from the time I saw you in the ultrasound when you were in Mum’s tummy. The way you glared at me when the nurse placed you as a newborn in my hands; gave me hell as though I was torturing you when Mum wanted to have a break and go out; made me walk up and down a flight aisle as a four-month-old; and the list never ends, just like your name. Akshay, I had the strength to carry you on my shoulders for the long and untiring walks when you were a kid. God give me the strength and strong shoulders to carry on with life while missing you. May you rest in peace, wherever you are ... Akshay, you have taught me a lot in life. How never to give up, getting a kite to fly on a windless day as an 8-year-old boy; [and] by pursuing your dream in neuroscience while keeping your passion alive for Skyrim. We wonder why you gave up on life when you had so much to give, and took all the answers with you.
New Chabad house opens in Waltham By Rachel Hirschhaut Editor
With nearly 2,000 Jewish students on campus, and an active Hillel and lively Chabad house, Brandeis is already a hotbed of Jewish life. Chabad, however, seeks to expand and enrich its presence even further by opening a second house. This new program marks the beginning of the “Bat Mitzvah Year” for Chabad at Brandeis. They have many programs and surprises planned to celebrate their success in the twelve years since Rabbi Peretz and Chanie Chein became the leaders of Chabad at Brandeis. Their home at 57 Turner Street is open to anyone as “a home for Jews of all denominations to learn, thrive and most importantly, to connect” and to establish “a deep connection to one another and to Judaism.” The second house on 132 South Street will be run by a new couple, Rabbi Ilan Fuchs and Sarah Slone Fuchs ’05. They plan to begin hosting their own events after the Rosh Hashanah break. They have two children, Dina, 4, and Asher, 1. Ilan received his rabbinic ordination from the Israeli Chief Rabbinate and holds a PhD in Jewish law. He has taught Jewish and Israel studies courses at Tulane University and the University of Calgary, according to Chabad’s email to the community. Sarah is a Brandeis alumna who served as the first president of the Chabad Student Club during her time on campus. The new house is not a separate entity, but an extension of Chabad at Brandeis. It will be located on South Street, near the Ninety Nine restaurant. This location is geographically more convenient for those who live on upper campus, or off-campus in
the Dartmouth Street area. It does not seek to compete with or replace the Chabad house on Turner Street, Rabbi Peretz Chein says. Rather, it is a “satellite campus” that will provide students with a choice between the main house or a smaller, closer-knit place to celebrate holidays and engage in Jewish learning. As many as 150 students attend popular Friday night Shabbat dinners or major holiday celebrations on Turner Street, still a small number compared to Hillel dinners that host hundreds of students. This creates a vibrant community, but may be overwhelming to new students who arrive knowing only a handful of people. “Chabad, as an organization, is about finding personal direction in an intimate environment. That is somewhat lost in our much larger Turner Street environment,” Chein said. “This new house is a chance to reclaim that intimacy.” Reclaiming an intimate environment is Chabad’s mission at Brandeis this year. Their iLearn program, a semester-long focused exploration of topics from Jewish texts to “Judaism in a Semester,” will offer a “boutique” option. Boutique classes will be limited to only 10-15 students, rather than unlimited participants. Specifically, Shabbat dinners will be limited to 20-30 people, to foster relationships between students and their Jewish mentors. “We look forward to offering a more intimate Shabbat experience where we can really get to know the students around our table, and where they can get to know us. Developing close relationships with students is such a rewarding thing, and at our smaller meals we’ll be able to focus on the people in our
photo by nate rosenbloom/the hoot
chabad Chabad house opens on South Street.
home rather than “the program” that we’re orchestrating,” Fuchs said. Student reactions have been positive, as many people are excited about new opportunities. “This is a fantastic idea. I personally enjoy dinners with a smaller group of people because it makes me feel like I am at home, sitting around a table with family members,” student board member Ralph Azrak ’15 said. “That is not to say that the present Chabad doesn’t give me that feeling, but a smaller setting is a bit more home-like. I also think that people who are shy or intimidated to come to the pres-
ent one may feel more comfortable in a smaller setting.” Ariel Barnehama ’13, another board member, says “Chabad has been an integral part of my years here at Brandeis, offering me a home away from home. So my hope is that all Brandeis students get to experience the energy and excitement that exists within Chabad, whether it is on Turner Street or South Street!” Fuchs approaches Chabad from the dual perspectives of a leader and a former student, and her warm undergraduate experience at Brandeis influences what qualities she wants to see this year. “Reflecting on my time as a stu-
dent, I remember my friends being passionate and engaged. I remember students who really cared about creating a vibrant Jewish community on campus. I also remember how nice it was to have a home-cooked meal once a week. I’m excited to give back to this community now; to open my home to students who want to talk about life, about Judaism. And of course, to ladle out bowls of hot soup on cold, Shabbat nights,” she said. “I think that our presence at Brandeis can help students understand that there are so many legitimate paths to finding meaning in Jewish life,” Fuchs added.
4 NEWS
The Brandeis Hoot
September 14, 2012
Heller PhD candidate founds camp for transgender children By Debby Brodsky Editor
Nicholas Teich, a social worker and doctoral candidate at Brandeis’ Heller School, has founded nonprofit Camp Aranu’tiq, the U.S.’s first and only camp for transgender and gender-variant children aged eight through 15. Teich, who is a transgender male, founded Camp Aranu’tiq in 2010 after making it known that he had decided to begin the gender transition process. Teich was subsequently told he could not return to a camp in Maine that he had previously attended as a girl for 13 years. “Growing up I attended a camp in Maine that I absolutely loved,” Teich said. “I went for eight weeks every summer. I was a camper, counselor and member of camp leadership for a total of 13 summers. I always wanted to be a boy and looked like one until adolescence when I grew my hair and tried to “fit in” more, though I nev-
er felt like I did. Because the word “transgender” wasn’t in the vernacular until the last decade or so, and resources were scarce, I didn’t realize that there were others like me and that what I was going through was more than just a “feeling” of being male; it was real! I transitioned at age 24 [five years ago].” After recovering from his anger, Teich decided to found Camp Aranu’tiq. Since it’s founding in 2010, Aranu’tiq has welcomed many children for its annual oneweek sessions in its locations in Connecticut and California, where half of the campers identify as boys, and half as girls. For the safety of its campers and counselors, the exact location of Aranu’tiq is not disclosed. “I founded Aranu’tiq because I realized that kids who know they are transgender or gender-variant at a young age are very often rejected from overnight camps,” Teich explained. “Camps separate kids in terms of ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ and when a kid transitions from one gender to another, or is in-between genders, there is no space that allows for that. I wanted to create that space that would be safe and also give these kids friends who were going through the same thing they were.” When first forming the camp, Teich chose “Aranu’tiq” for its name, because it is an indigenous Alaskan term that describes a person who embodies both male and female spirits. Teich and other Aranu’tiq
staff members work entirely on a volunteer basis, and have received extremely positive feedback from campers and parents alike. “I have received amazingly good feedback from parents and campers,” Teich said. “Many parents tell me that the experience has changed their child’s life. The vast majority of our campers keep in touch with each other on a regular basis and some of them tell me they ‘live for the week of camp.’ It’s pretty powerful and it’s wonderful to be able to create and maintain a space where the life-changing effects are able to be seen immediately.” In an interview with The Boston Globe, Teich further explained that 100 percent of transgender children are bullied back home, and before the existence of Aranu’tiq, many parents feared their children would never be able to attend a camp due to bullying from other children. “People demonize these kids,” Teich told The Globe. Aranu’tiq offers a typical camp schedule, including meals, five activity periods, rest periods and singing circles. The most important part of Aranu’tiq to campers, counselors and Teich alike, is that all campers feel safe and accepted in Aranu’tiq’s highly unique environment. Camp restrooms are not designated for boys or girls, instead they are designed to be used by all campers and counselors alike. Bunks on the other hand are segregated by the “gender spectrum, the
photo from internet source
masculine spectrum or the feminine spectrum,” Teich said to The Globe. In addition to founding Aranu’tiq, Teich wrote “Transgender 101: A Simple Guide to a Complex Issue” in March of 2012. “I wrote Transgender 101” because I felt that there was a lack of literature out there for ‘beginners’ or anyone who wanted to learn more about the topic. There are plenty of clinically-oriented books and autobiographies of transgender people, but nothing that explained things thoroughly without dragging on, and nothing that started from the beginning. So, I decided to write it,” Teich explained.
In “Transgender 101,” Teich offers a straight-forward and conversational approach to discussing exactly what it means to be transgender, the etymology of the word “transgender,” and how to come out to oneself. Teich concluded by expressing one powerful hope. “I think in the future there will be [other camps] like [Aranu’tiq] because of the demand. My hope is to someday not need a camp like Aranu’tiq because all camps will seamlessly accept transgender youth into their programs.”
Aramark to encourage employee incentives By Rebecca Leaf
Special to the Hoot
The day only begins for most students when a cafeteria employee hands them the food they need to fully regain consciousness. These are employees of Aramark, Brandeis’ food service provider and a company that says it plans to make sure their employees get more recognition in the coming year. Aramark has also made changes for the coming school year to their ever-developing menu. Aaron Bennos, director of Brandeis’ Dining Services said that Aramark is constantly changing their menu based on student surveys, feedback, current trends and regular meetings with the student dining committee and members of student government. Recent improvements Aramark has made to the menus of facilities on campus include the introduction of nachos, two-taco combo, portobello mushrooms as a protein choice, and a la carte bean, taco and queso cheese at Usdan’s Tortilla Fresca station. Ollie’s also added tofu scrambles and veggie sausage for vegan and vegetarian options. There is also most notably the addition of the Gluten Free Corner to both Usdan and Sherman, as well as the coffee shop in Goldfarb Library that will soon have its grand opening. Aramark Corporation is an American foodservice, facilities and clothing provider supplying businesses, educational institutions (like Brandeis), sports facilities, federal state prisons and healthcare institutions. Aramark was even listed in Fortune photo by nate rosenbloom/the hoot
Magazine several times as one of the World’s most admired companies. Aramark was founded in 1936 but began under the name Davidson Brothers. In 1959, one of the founding brothers, Davre Davidson partnered with William Fishman to establish Automatic Retailers of America (ARA). The company took the name Aramark, which most of us now know it by, in 1994. In more recent years, Aramark has taken action to build an image of social responsibility. In 2008, Aramark started its Aramark Building Community, a company-wide volunteer initiative that was created to help rebuild neighborhood community centers. On its website, Aramark says it works to provide community centers with hospitality, food, facilities and uniforms. They also said that their hope is to educate community center members about ways to live a healthier lifestyles through cooking classes taught by Aramark nutritionists. Another act of social responsibility that started in 2008 was Aramark’s decision to halt the use of trays in their cafeterias (alongside other catering giant, Sodexo) in order to reduce food waste, energy consumption and water use. The largest Aramark distributors are SYSCO and Sid Weiner. During this time of year, Aramark mostly gets produce from local farms while they outsource to a farm in Maine during the winter. Also, most of Brandeis’ baked goods are derived from its own campus bakery in Kutz Hall. Bakery items (including kosher goods) are made fresh daily. Bennos explained that Aramark uses incentives to promote their employees’ well-being. They have
monthly awards and each semester they hold a dinner for exemplary employees, as well as holiday parties. In the coming year, Aramark hopes to bring greater acknowledgement to employees who have earned awards for their excellent service. New students were asked on the Class of 2016 Facebook group about what they think of their new food choices. Several people were greeted with an applause of likes when they announced in several different ways that the food caused digestive issues. There were more detailed criticisms from concerned students who felt that only limited healthy options were available, and felt that the considerable availability of less healthy treats made making healthy choices difficult. “From my experience with Sherman, I would conclude that they need to make fruit more prevalent and diverse,” wrote Shimon Mazor ’16. “Other than that, I of course disapprove of the fast food that is given (i.e. hamburgers, pizzas and ice cream) … I would at least limit fast food to weekends and holidays, but most certainly not keep them as a daily treat.” There were other new students who made much more positive comments about Sherman and Usdan. “There’s a wide array of food, and plenty of options for those of us who are kosher, gluten free or looking to be healthy,” said Dana Freitas ’16. “We do encourage feedback and suggestions,” Bennos concluded. “There is the student dining committee that has been a great avenue to sit down with and discuss each location,” Bennos said.
September 14, 2012
NEWS 5
The Brandeis Hoot
Mathematics department wins GAANN grant By Debby Brodsky Editor
The Brandeis mathematics department won a $533,000 GAANN (Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need) grant from the Department of Education. The grant was awarded to the mathematics department for three years, and is designed to support four graduate students per year. “The grant has a very defined purpose,” Professor Daniel Ruberman (MATH) said. “It funds graduate students, and the rest goes to pay the university for expenses incurred on behalf of those students like tuition waivers and medical coverage.” According to Ruberman, the mathematics department has applied three times for the GAANN grant, dating back ten years ago in 2002. The GAANN applications are scored, much like a test is scored, and each time the Brandeis mathematics department applied for the grant prior to winning, they received a score on their application from the Department of Education. From this score, the mathematics department was able to learn how to raise their eventual application score. After the third application, their efforts paid off, and the mathematics department received the GAANN grant. “Each time we did the application we were able to change the application to raise the score,” Ruberman said. “Having the GAANN
grant is good for business, and it makes a nice atmosphere to have more students around.” Ruberman explained that each year, the mathematics department and the graduate school hold a discussion in order to learn how many graduate students Brandeis can accept per year on a certain budget. When sources of external funding are available, Brandeis can accept more graduate students. Often, external graduate grants offer higher stipends than the stipends Brandeis offers, which directly benefits graduate student recruiting efforts. “Accepting more students is the main point for us,” Ruberman said. “The GAANN grant’s higher stipend is pretty attractive, and can help us attract any number of good students. Regular graduate students in the sciences gets support from a university stipend, which is just one form of support.” The Department of Education awards the GAANN grant annually to academic departments in colleges and universities that provide courses of study that lead to the highest degree of education in an area of national need. At the moment, areas deemed of “national need” are the sciences, including nursing, chemistry, computer and information sciences, mathematics, just to name a few. In order to make it possible for graduate students to study in these fields without having to worry about the expenses associated with graduate school, each year the Department of Education awards GAANN
grants between the amounts of $100,000 and $750,000 to colleges and universities nationwide. Although this is the first GAANN grant that has been awarded to the Brandeis mathematics department, the department is no stranger to National Science Foundation (NSF) awards, among other forms of external financial support. “We’re used to dealing with the NSF, which does the mass amount of funding,” Ruberman said. According to the NSF webpage, since 2007 the Brandeis mathematics department has won 10 NSF Department of Mathematical Sciences (DMS) grants ranging from $115,175 to $385,512. Ruberman mentioned the recent NSF grants saying, “for the last three years Brandeis has had an NSF-funded post doctoral student. Postdocs are people supported by grants, and the lab sciences are full of postdocs. Math is different, it’d be very nice if we could get more grant support to fund postdocs.” “We’d be silly not to apply for another GAANN grant when the three years are up,” Ruberman concluded. “Relative to most of the world, we are a very small department holding our own and doing very well. The fact that we’re able to get grant support like this says something fairly strong about the way in which the outside world sees us. We’re pretty proud of that. It’s a very Brandeis style, like the little engine that could.” photo by nate rosenbloom/the hoot
Heller professor to lead Columbia’s Beijing campus
photo courtesy the heller school
By Dori Cohen
Special to the Hoot
Joan Kaufman, acclaimed Heller School professor, has been named the new director of Columbia University’s Beijing Center, filling the position for the first time in over two years. She chose to leave Brandeis for Columbia after almost a decade at the Heller School of Social Policy and Management. “I did not have an easy time at the Heller School,” Kaufman explained. “I did not enjoy it there, and so was forced to look for a new job.” “This new position is an exciting opportunity for me,” Kaufman noted. “It’s a better fit for me, and a better use of my talent than the work I did at the Heller School.”
Her new appointment, she feels, is a better fit. “I do have a personal connection to China,” she explained, “I worked in China previously for 10 years, first working for the UN in the early ’80s (as the first international UNFPA program officer for China from 1980-84) and then dealing with health programming. I have two degrees in Chinese and much of my research dealt with the area.” Her work at Heller was less geared toward China: “I taught for the last nine years a course on AIDS and public policy,” said Kaufman. “I also taught a course for the past three years about international global health, which is coursework for the Heller School’s masters degree in International Health Policy and Management.”
Kaufman’s experience will serve her well in China. With her work on both AIDS and China, the locale is a perfect fit. There are currently around 740,000 people living with HIV in China. Although China’s HIV epidemic remains one of low prevalence overall, there are pockets of high infection spread out along the country, and danger of the epidemic spreading further into the general population persists. This became particularly evident in 2009 when China reported that for the first time AIDS had become the country’s leading cause of death among infectious diseases. The Beijing Center is designed to “assist Columbia University in the development and execution of its various research and teaching programs in China and the East Asia region, as well as serve as a regional base, enabling the Columbia University academic community to interact on a local level with students, faculty and alumni,” according to its website. The other centers are located in Istanbul, Turkey, Nairobi, Kenya, Santiago, Chile, Amman, Jordan, Mumbai, India, and the main school in New York City. “The Beijing Center is one of eight global centers commissioned by Columbia University,” Kaufman said. “The initiative of these centers is global learning—to get people from all over the world to engage in education.” Due to the long absence of a director for the Columbia Beijing campus, her duties so far are undefined. “I only started a week ago, so I’m just getting up to speed. For now, I’m an intellectual leader for the center, that’s what I’m going to work on myself.”
Strategic planning panel to seek feedback in October By Dana Trismen Editor
Having convened multiple times throughout the summer, Brandeis’ strategic planning forces are set to release a draft framework to the Brandeis community on Oct. 9. Announced in 2011, this potential five-year plan has been praised by President Lawrence as ”an exciting time for all of us. It is a chance for us to build on the great strengths of this university and, working together, to envision a defining future for Brandeis and to reach for it.” The Strategic Planning Steering Committee is composed of faculty from different quarters of Brandeis academia, from Heller and IBS to those in the arts and sciences. This plan will seek to ensure Brandeis’ future success, something Provost Steve Goldstein is confident it will achieve. He sees it as a time to “come together with a description that encapsulates the energy of the students, the faculty and the staff as we go forward.” Goldstein explained that this draft, set to be released on Oct. 9 will include some details but not all. “The mission, the goals and the large strategies will be there, but in the framework, which is what’s coming out first, it will not be filled out with the details in the way that a plan is,” Goldstein said in an interview last week. “A
healthy plan is a way of making choices because the world keeps changing in front of you. We will be talking about specific things but more importantly we will be talking about strategies and principles.” After its release Oct. 9, students will be invited to participate in six feedback sessions that will occur on campus between Oct. 10 and 17. The Board of Trustees will then evaluate it at its meeting on Oct. 30 and 31. Feedback on the plan will be available in December, with the final draft presented in front of the board on Jan. 23, 2013. Students are encouraged to contact the Strategic Planning Steering Committee with questions at any time. In regard to what this draft will entail, Goldstein describes it as not entirely revolutionary. “I don’t think it is going to be new. Brandeis is about inclusion, social justice, excellence, individual potential and preparing for the world. The core mission of Brandeis, what we have achieved after the first 64 years is going to be embodied in the statement of the strategic plan. It is based on those strengths and distinguished accomplishments that we are going to go forward.” Goldstein cites the plan as “a unique moment where I get the opportunity and we as an institution get the opportunity to define what it is we want to have as our identity.”
features
6 The Brandeis Hoot
September 14, 2012
New interim chaplain affirms Protestant community By Dana Trismen Editor
The new Interim Protestant Chaplain Matt Carriker recently took the job previously held by long-time friend Alexander Kern and is embracing his new position on campus. Hailing from Natick, Carriker attended Bates College before entering the seminary. He spent three years in Belize and then traveled to Haiti, welcomed by Jesuit volunteers. Now an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, Carriker plans to serve part-time at Brandeis with the rest of his time spent as an associate pastor in South Natick. Carriker admits that his is serving an interim post. “I had known the previous Protestant chaplain for a number of years; we ran a Christian camp together. I was familiar with the mission and vision of Brandeis, and when Alex left there wasn’t quite enough time to do a more formal search process.” Long-time Catholic Chaplain Father Walter Cuenin also comments on Carriker’s status as an interim. “We do need to have a search committee to define the job and involve students in that process as well.” Serving at Brandeis for eight years, Cuenin certainly has a presence on campus. Carriker is hoping for the same, in terms of gaining a more permanent position. “I would love to stay here. When they do a more in-depth, formal search process I’ll put my name in the hat. If they think I’m a good fit I’ll be delighted.” Carriker’s plans for Protestant services and fellowship are both traditional and open to new ideas. “Part of what I’m doing is continuing what has been done, not trying to reinvent the wheel but preserving the traditions and then asking students what would serve them the most,” Carriker said. “I want to preserve what we have and look at the meaning and value in it, and see how we can make it more meaningful and serve the Protestant community in other ways.” Currently, Carriker’s services, titled “Soul Feast” are held every oth-
er Wednesday night. “I think there’s a sense that you would want any kind of spiritual community to ‘fill your cup.’ There are a lot of different ways to do that through worship, prayer and song, so we do a combination of that.” Carriker admits that leading services applicable to all sects of Protestantism is a challenge. “Protestantism is a very different breed of religion from Catholicism. When I was in seminary they said there were about 37,000 estimated numbers of Protestant denominations. Catholics can go anywhere in the world and have a Catholic service, but every single Protestant denomination is different.” Cuenin added that there are other obstacles. “I think college is a time when you explore your roots and who you are, and do you want to stay with the religion you were raised in, or explore something different,” he said. Carriker’s plan is to focus on what the different sects have in common. “Interfaith means many faiths coming together, we can celebrate what we have in common and have dialogue about the places where we disagree. There’s a huge spectrum of Christianity and it is difficult to meet everybody’s spiritual needs, but that’s what a Chaplain tries to do.” When talking about “centering prayer,” Carriker firmly believes in the ability humans possess to communicate with God. “When people think of prayer they think of a pastor talking out loud, but I see it as more of a conversation, talking to the divine. Then there’s the other part, which is listening, which is just as important. I think centering prayer and meditation creates a really sacred place where you can listen to God and fill your own cup.” Cuenin believes Brandies wields a certain draw because “the commitment to religion on this campus is very strong. I think the interest in exploring religion is really strong here.” Carriker also comments on how “it is nice to get to know a lot of the students and the staff. It is a wonderful community.” Both comment on how Brandeis’
brandeis chapels Representing Brandeis’ commitment to the IFC
roots in Judaism are not a challenge or obstacle to being Christian on campus. Cuenin believes that the Brandeis chapels are a “beautiful sign of Brandeis commitment to the Interfaith Chaplaincy,” and jokes about how some students call him “the chief rabbi.” Carriker understands that “each university has their own unique history and a Christian university would have their own challenges, as does Brandies, but it is a beautiful thing that it is historically Jewish.” He comments, “In the early Christian community, Christians were the minority. It makes it more intimate.” Brandeis may be facing challenges in the future in regards to students whose religions do not fall under the Abrahamic traditions. Cuenin questions, “How are we going to deal or support kids from other religious traditions we are not familiar with? It is one thing to talk about Protestantism, Catholicism and Judaism but we are moving into an era where there is more than that.” Cuenin mentioned that when he had to say Hindu prayers in Akshay Venkatesh’s honor, he first had to look up Hindu prayers on the Internet. Carriker also mentioned Venkatesh. While Brandeis may have to expand its offices and staff in regard to other
matt carriker .
religions, Carriker insists that the community joined together to mourn and celebrate Venkatesh’s life. “Our theme last week was supposed to be gratitude, but when we learned about the death we decided to switch it because gratitude wasn’t really in peoples hearts and minds. We changed it to a theme of when storms come, as storms and challenges always do
photo from internet source
photo courtesy of matt carriker
come in life, and how we together deal with those storms and challenges.” Carriker insists small Christian meetings can have large benefits. “It’s a more intimate service, which was good I think because we all do some sharing. Given the structure we have now, the more intimate nature works well.”
Brandeis postdoc discovers potential neurological breakthrough By Dana Trismen Editor
Shulin Ju, a Brandeis postdoc under the direction of Professors Gregory Petsko (BCHM) and Dagmar Ringe (BCHM), aided in a study that has found a potential use for the previously rejected drug latrepirdine, a discovery that may eventually help millions of people with neurodegenerative conditions. In collaboration with researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, Ju’s work was published in August in “Molecular Psychiatry.” John Steele, a graduate student in the Gandy group, Lenard Lachenmayer, a postdoc in the Yue lab and Ju share the first authorship of this new publication. Having worked at the Rosenstiel Basic Biomedical Research Center for the past seven years, Ju was originally drawn to Brandeis because of his appreciation of the projects, great support from PIs, and outstanding training environment in the Petsko-Ringe lab. Ju explained that latrepirdine was initially used in Russia as an antihistamine. “People also found that this compound has neuro-protective func-
tion. Based on its effects on cognition in rodents and its highly favorable safety profile, the compound entered clinical trials in the U.S. for both Alzheimer’s disease and Huntington’s disease,” Ju said. Yet, the trials failed. Ju and his collaborators reexamined the issue. “We were trying to identify molecular targets of the compound, so we can understand better the contradictory results from trials in the U.S. and in Russia.” Using yeast models of several neurodegenerative disease associated proteins, Ju discovered that latrepirdine does have its merits. It can specifically reduce the toxicity of alpha-synuclein by inducing autophagy. Autophagy is a tightly regulated process performed by the cell, during which the cell “self-eats” its own proteins or damaged organelles. Mount Sinai Researchers, led by professors Sam Gandy and Zhenyu Yue, showed a similar finding in cell culture and in the brains of mice. If proven useful beyond yeast and mice, this compound “might yield clinical benefit for synucleinopathies, the hallmark of which is accumulation of alpha-synuclein, including Parkinson’s disease, Lewy body dementia, rapid eye movement (REM), sleep disorder and/or multiple sys-
tem atrophy,” as reported in “Molecular Psychiatry.” Ju explained that one likely reason the trials with latrepirdine did not work in the U.S. is that they were testing the wrong patients. “They most likely used the wrong sample for the clinical trials. If a subgroup of patients that had accumulation of alpha-synuclein in the brain had been chosen, the result might be different.” Ju also said that as this study moves forward it may be subject to improvement, including the design of a more specific and effective compound. Ju also published in “Molecular Psychiatry,” his other work with latrepirdine. While less involved with this study, Ju played a role in the discovery that latrepirdine can improve cognition and arrest progression of neuropathology in an Alzheimer’s mouse model. For a compound previously labeled as a failure, Mount Sinai and Brandeis researchers have helped prove that it may eventually be a valuable addition to the field of medicine. Ju described that successfully navigating the science world is time consuming. While this article was published this August, “this study was initiated years back by Mount Sinai Researchers.”
latrepirdine compound
While these discoveries may potentially benefit people worldwide, it has also helped Ju personally. “My career goal is to be a professor, to do research in lab, and to teach students
photo from internet source
in a classroom. With the addition of this published study, I hope I am one step closer to have my own independent lab, continuing my research on neurodegenerative disease”.
September 14, 2012
sports
The Brandeis Hoot 7
18th-ranked women’s soccer posts two more shutouts By Evan Goldstein special to the hoot
Utilizing disciplined defense and clutch goal-scoring by Dara Spital ’15, the 18th ranked women’s soccer team improved to 5-0 on the season with a pair of 2-0 victories against 23rd ranked Springfield College on Saturday and Bridgewater State on Tuesday. When asked about her team’s performance, Head Coach Dellamora said that the Judges “didn’t play that well; it wasn’t a good game.” Like any other coach, she thought that there was definite room for improvement. Specifically, Dellamora added that her team “needs to have better composure under pressure,” especially for the Judges’ next match against Bridgewater State. Although Springfield was kept to a clean sheet, the Judges were put under pressure throughout most of the game. After the first goal by Spital in the 31st minute, Springfield was able to keep the majority of possession, limiting the Judges’ offensive pressure. Strong defense and aggressive midfield play, however, kept Springfield from breaking through. From the beginning of the match to Spital’s first goal, both teams had scoring chances and fair passing play. Springfield almost took control of the game early on when a good strike by Vicki DiNatale hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced dangerously near the goal line. While it was unclear if the ball had crossed, there was no call and keeper Francine Kofinas ’13 quickly fell on the ball to end the danger. The first goal was somewhat underwhelming compared to the plays that both teams had been executing in the first 30 minutes. Melissa Darling ’16 had a scoring chance when her shot was saved but then mishandled by the Springfield keeper Erin Greenstein. A scrum then ensued a few feet away from the goal line as every player close to the ball started feverishly hacking, both toward and away from the goal. Chelsea Van Baush ’16 managed to lightly push the ball out of the crowd towards Spital, who placed it into the back of the net to end the
photo by paula hoekstra the hoot
chaos. Afterward, the Judges placed an enormous amount of pressure on Springfield for two minutes. At halftime, the Judges had the upper hand in a game that wasn’t supposed to be in their favor. Springfield had been unable to develop an offensive rhythm and the Judges had all the momentum. The second half mirrored a drastic contrast to the first. Springfield kept trying to push the play on the the Judges’ side of the pitch but were thwarted many times by the defensive prowess of the Judges midfield and defensive line. Springfield, however, would always win the ball back soon after, as they were determined to keep pressure on the Judges. The entire second half followed this script except for a key save by Michelle Savuto ’15 and the breakout goal by Spital. Springfield had nothing to show for their sustained offensive pressure except for the discontent of Coach Dellamora. Spital’s two goals brought her season total up to five, making her the leading scorer for the Judges. Before the match, she had been tied with
teammate Holly Szafran ’16 with three goals apiece. Szafran was not silent during Saturday’s match as she had a disallowed goal with a brilliant header off of a volley in the box. Coach Dellamora’s decision to go with a two-keeper system this season, having Kofinas and Savuto each play a half, has worked out masterfully thus far. The Judges have not allowed a goal in four games against difficult opposition, much of it due to satisfactory goalkeeping. “We’ve had the ability to score goals and play good defense,” Dellamora said. When asked what she thought the advantage the Judges have had against other teams this season, Dellamora said, “Intangibles—we have heart. This is one of the best teams I’ve coached.” After entering the new week ranked 18th in the country, the Judges looked to continue their strong play when they traveled to Bridgewater State on Tuesday. The Judges stifled Bridgewater’s offensive pressure en route to their fifth straight shutout and an early plus 14 goal differential.
Szafran, said that the match was “extremely physical the whole game” as evidenced by the 22 combined fouls that were committed throughout the match. There were no cards awarded in the match but “there should have been,” she added. Physical play has been fast becoming a trend in the young season for the Judges, garnering positive results. There were barely any shots on goal but the two keeper tandem of Kofinas and Savuto made the necessary saves to keep the Judges in the match, even if there were only two shots on goal by Bridgewater State. This, however, has been how the Judges have been winning: playing the necessary soccer to achieve victory. The first goal of the match came late in the second minute off the foot of Mary Shimko ’14, who played a through ball into the middle of the box by Sapir Edalati ’15 and struck a low shot into the right corner. The match as a whole was in the Judges’ favor, and not just in terms of goals scored but also in terms of possession and set pieces. The Judges attempted 20 sets compared to Bridge-
water State’s 13. Take away the set pieces from fouls and that leaves 10 corner kicks to Brandeis compared to one for Bridgewater. It was obvious that Brandeis had the advantage in the overall flow of the match, regardless of the play’s physicality. Even with the 10 corner kicks, the two goals were scored off of efficient passing in the box. The first was due to the through ball, and the second resulted from the cross by Alyssa Fenenbock ’15 to Corinne Bortniker ’15, who in turn, one-timed the cross just inside the left post. The second goal, scored in the 43rd minute just before halftime, solidified a wellplayed half. The Judges entered the second half with a two goal lead; however, Bridgewater State failed to pose an offensive threat. Instead of the relentless pressure that Springfield had brought, Bridgewater State and Brandeis kept up the rough play, resulting in zero scores for both teams. At 5-0, the Judges could not have hoped for a better start to the season and have already put their name on the map as contenders.
Volleyball goes 4-1 on the week to continue early season success By Brian Tabakin Editor
The Brandeis volleyball team built upon their early momentum going 3-1 at the Brandeis Invitational with a pair of 3-1 wins over Babson and Rhode Island College, a 3-1 loss against Tufts and a 3-2 victory against McDaniel. Following the Invitational, the team hit the road and picked up a hard fought win at Endicott College. With their successful week, the team improves their record to 7-2, a substantial improvement from last season. On the first day of the Brandeis Invitational, the Judges split their games against Babson and Tufts. Against Babson, the Judges and Beavers split the first two sets 25-18 and 25-21; however, Brandeis eked out a close third set, 25-22, and then quickly put away the Beavers in the deciding fourth set, 25-13, scoring 11 of the first 12 points. Liz Hood ’14 led the Judges offensive attack with 13 kills and had just two errors on 27 attempts to finish with a .407 hitting percentage. Becca Fischer ’13 had a .467 hitting percentage and Yael Einhorn ’14 orchestrated the offense with 35 assists. On the defensive side, Elsie Bernaiche ’15 paced the team with 29 digs
while Maddie Engeler ’16 and Lauren Berens ’13 had six and five blocks respectively. In the night game, Brandeis faced Tufts. Brandeis pulled out a hardfought first set win, 27-25; however, Brandeis lost the second set to their Achilles heel: consistent execution. Leading the second set 11-10, the Judges let the Jumbos go on a 7-1 point run to take control of the set 1712 on their way to a 25-22 win. Tufts built on this momentum and took the next two sets 25-20 and 25-19. The Judges were unable to maintain the efficiency they enjoyed against Babson, committing 29 errors against Tufts compared to just 16 against the Beavers. Hood once again led the team with 12 kills while Si-Si Hensley ’14 finished with nine. Engeler finished with a .462 hitting percentage while Einhorn paced the team 30 assists and Bernaiche had a match-high 26 digs. On the second day of the tournament, the Judges opened play against McDaniel. The Judges struggled to find any offensive rhythm in the first set committing seven errors en route to a 25-23 loss; however, in the second set Hood and Bernaiche helped the Judges pull away with the set knotted at 17-17 to eke out a 25-20 win. Unfortunately, in the third set the Judg-
kills against two errors and 17 kills against three errors respectively.
photo by paula hoekstra/the hoot
es’ offensive inefficacy plagued them again as they committed seven errors, falling 25-18. Facing a 2-1 deficit, the Judges showed a mental toughness and fortitude that they lacked just a season ago. The Judges conducted a smooth and efficient offense in the fourth and fifth sets fending off McDaniel and rallying for a 3-2 win. Hood once again was the star of the Judges’ offense, finishing with 20 kills while Berens finished with 10 kills. Einhorn ran the Judges’ offense
registering 46 assists. Four different Judges tallied double-digit digs with Bernaiche leading the team with 16 while Susan Sun ’13 had 14 digs, and Hensley and Amaris Brown ’16 both had 11. In the final match of the tournament, the Judges faced Rhode Island College. Brandeis did not make the same mistake of getting off to a slow start as they built a commanding 2-0 lead, taking the first two sets, 25-19 and 25-17. The Judges were extremely efficient in the first two sets with 11
Rhode Island College pulled out a tough 25-22 win in the third set, as neither team was able to create any separation. The Anchorwomen built on their momentum in the fourth set, racing out to an 18-10 lead; however, once again the Judges rallied scoring the next four points to pull within 1814. The Anchorwomen responded, scoring the next two points to once again retake a commanding lead in the set, but the Judges took advantage of four errors by the Anchorwomen to close the match on a 11-1 run to win the set 25-21. For the fourth match in a row, Hood led the team with 16 kills while Hensley and Engeler each had 13. Einhorn tallied 45 assists while Bernaiche led the team with 17 digs and Sun finished with 11 digs. Following the Brandeis Invitational, the Judges headed to Endicott for their second true road game of the young season. Behind Hood’s first collegiate double-double, the team easily dispatched Endicott in straight sets, 259, 25-19 and 25-18. The Judges were never in any dan See VOLLEYBALL, page 8
8 SPORTS
The Brandeis Hoot
September 14, 2012
Russo helps lead men’s soccer to top-20 national ranking By Brian Tabakin Editor
After helping lead the 20th ranked men’s soccer team to an undefeated 5-0 record, Lee Russo ’13 earned UAA Athlete of the Week honors and for the first time in nearly a decade, the Judges have achieved a national ranking by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). After two more wins this weekend, the Judges moved up three spots from 23 to 20. “We’re excited about it but we can’t be complacent. I think its good we’re being exposed but it’s so early in the season. We really have to try to not think about it when we’re playing and just take it one game at a time,” Russo said. Russo, a politics major and business minor, is one of four senior cocaptains this year; however, his new role has not changed his approach. “I don’t really know if it really changes anything,” Russo said. “I think it gives us a certain kind of confidence, but it doesn’t change how we approach practice or anything.” This confidence has been on public display since the beginning of the season as the Judges have systematically dismantled the competition, outscoring them 22-5. Judging by the season thusfar, Russo has been the unquestioned star of the team. Already, he not only leads the team but also the UAA with seven goals and 16 points. Behind Russo, the Judges are now ranked at the highest point since October 1997 when they were ranked 18th.
As he entered college, however, it was not a sure thing that he would play for the Judges, as he was recruited by both Brandeis and UMass Amherst. Russo explained that he chose Brandeis because he “had a really good time in freshman overnights” when he came up and spent the night around the team to get a feel for the environment. Russo continued, “I really liked the guys. It was a great experience. Plus it was close to home so my parents get to see me play, and it’s a great school.” Russo credits the former captains and seniors for the team’s stellar play. “I really … think they helped a lot. They were able to get the best out of people. The entire team has been picking things up from the classes above us and I think they’ve helped us a lot to get to where we’re at now.” In addition to his former teammates, Russo credits Coach Coven. “He’s a great guy. He’s been around for a long time so he knows a lot about the game. I’ve learned a lot from him as a person and as a coach.” While Russo has played a crucial role in the team’s success, especially during this season as well as last season, Russo remains grounded, pointing to the performance of the team as a whole. “It’s not just me. We have a lot of great attacking players. If I happen to be scoring a lot of goals right now, good for me, but there’s going to be a point in the season where other people are scoring big goals. It’s just the nature of the game. All the guys are playing great this year. It’s not an individual effort,” he said.
plan of attack: Lee Russo sizes up his defender
During the course of the last two years, Russo has already tied and broken several Brandeis scoring and points records; however, he is not focused on any individual achievements. “I’m trying not to think too much about that. I want to score as many goals as I can so we can win as many games as we can. It’s not about the
points or anything.” Russo had his second career hat trick in the team’s most recent game against MIT, including the golden goal in overtime. When asked about his knack for always being in the right place at the right time in addition to his stellar performance, Russo simply smiled and stated, “As Coach Kostel once said, ‘Just put the ball in danger-
photo by paula hoekstra/the hoot
ous places and see what happens.” Russo plans to go to law school upon graduation. “I don’t know where, I may be a lawyer. I did an internship at a federal public defender’s office so we’ll see.” In the time being, however, Russo is leading the charge for a renewed Judges’ soccer team off to its best start in 15 years.
Russo sparks men’s soccer to three more wins as they improve to 6-0 By Brian Tabakin Editor
The 20th ranked men’s soccer team, nationally ranked for the first time in nearly a decade, continued their early season success, going undefeated this past week with wins against Clark, MIT and WPI. With the wins, the team improves their record to 6-0 and will likely begin next week with a higher ranking after their performance. In the Wednesday game against WPI, the Judges trailed at halftime, 1-0, for the first time all season; however, in the opening minutes of the second half, Jake Picard ’16 corralled the rebound off of a Russo miss and netted his first goal of the season and his collegiate career. The Judges built on their early second half momentum just 12 minutes later when Foti Andero ’15 headed the game-winning goal off of a perfectly placed cross pass from Sam Ocel ’13 for his first goal of the season. Keeper Blake Minchoff ’13 made a sensational save in the closing seconds of the game to preserve the victory when a long throw from the Engineers’ Christopher Murray was played by Chris Ciampa to the waiting head of Jason Hopkins near the box. Luckily, Minchoff tapped the ball over the crossbar as the horn sounded to keep the Judges in front. The Judges are currently ranked third nationally in goals scored (22) and points (59) while they rank ninth in scoring (4.4 goals per game). Earlier in the week, Russo’s second career hat trick gave the Judges their 4-3 overtime victory against MIT. With his scoring outburst, Russo moves into 13th place on the Judges all-time scoring list. Russo has 27 goals, 11th on the list, as well as well as 12 assists for 67 total points, tying him with Mark Moroney ’90. Russo opened the scoring with a
goal in the 29th minute converting a penalty kick after MIT was called for a handball in the box, giving the Judges a 1-0 lead entering the half. Russo scored the first goal of the second half in the 62nd minute when Joe Eisenbies ’13 kicked a long free kick towards the box where Ocel headed it towards the net. Russo quickly recognized the situation and then deposited it into the back of the net to increase the Judges’ lead to 2-0. The Engineers did not go away though. In the 72nd minute, Matthew Monheit played a cross to Ben Lewis who headed the ball into the back of the net to cut their deficit to 2-1. Brandeis quickly responded. In the 76th minute Ben Applefield ’14 maneuvered his way through the MIT defenders, ultimately passing the ball to a wide open Tyler Savonen ’15 who launched a rocket into the back of the net to put the Judges ahead by two goals; however, MIT responded just 52 seconds later as William Lee scored off of an assist from Monheit. MIT completed their remarkable comeback in the 79th minute as Sean Bingham launched a free kick 35 yards away from the box. The ball took an unlucky bounce off of a Brandeis defender and then into the net past Minchoff. With the game knotted at 3-3, the game headed to overtime where Russo once again played the role as the hero. In the 91st minute, Russo curved a perfectly placed ball from the right corner over the arms of the MIT keeper to complete the hat trick. In the first game of the week, the Judges faced Clark. Russo once again played a crucial role in the Judges’ offensive attack with a goal and two assists. Russo opened the scoring in the 12th minute when Kyle Feather ’13 picked up a Clark turnover in the defensive end and then played the ball ahead to an open Russo who scored
an easy goal. Russo set up the next goal lofting the ball from the left side to the far post where Feather was waiting to rocket it into the back of the net to put the Judges on top, 2-0. The Judges scored two more goals in the 32nd and 37th minutes to put the game out of reach; Russo was involved in both plays. In the 32nd minute, Russo started the action playing a through pass to Ocel in the goal box. The Clark keeper made the initial save but Ocel rocketed the rebound past the keeper on the second attempt. In the 37th minute, Russo once again created the offensive play. Russo slotted his free kick toward Eisenbies who headed the ball into the net. To Clark’s credit, they did not go away in the second half and tried to claw their way back into the match; however, the Judges’ four goal outburst in the first half was too much for the Cougars to overcome. Clark finally broke through in the 72nd minute to get on the scoreboard but it was too little too late. Clark registered a second goal in the 89th minute as Brandeis defeated them 4-2. Though the final score indicated a close and competitive game, the outcome of this game was never in doubt as the Judges controlled the tempo and play throughout the match. The Judges face Lasell College on the road on Saturday at 1 p.m. while their next home match will be on Wednesday against Babson at 7 p.m.
photo by paula hoekstra/the hoot
Volleyball’s improved consistency serving team well VOLLEYBALL, from page 8
ger of losing the match, only trailing twice in the entire match with both instances occurring early in the first two sets. Hood paced the team with 15 kills
and only four errors on 34 tries for a solid .344 hitting percentage while also matching her career-high with 12 digs. Bernaiche led the team with 13 digs while Einhorn tallied 28 assists leading the team to a .211 hitting percentage.
The Judges featured a balance attack with five different players registering at least five points. The Judges will return to action at home on Saturday with a doubleheader against Emmanuel and ColbySawyer starting at 12 p.m.
September 14, 2012
SPORTS 9
The Brandeis Hoot
Dara Spital named UAA Athlete of the Week By Brian Tabakin Editor
Dara Spital ’16, a transfer from Division I Central Florida, received UAA Athlete of the Week honors for her stellar performance this past week. Even as a first-year, Spital has been the unquestioned offensive sparkplug for the 18th ranked women’s soccer team. In both victories this week, Spital scored the game-winning goals in each game, scoring in the 12th and 47th minutes in the team’s 4-0 win over Roger Williams University on Sept. 5. She also scored both of the team’s goals against Springfield College on Sept. 8 in the 31st and 79th minutes. Last season, one of the Judges’ major problems was a lack of consistent scoring from their attacking forwards.
Men’s soccer Team
UAA
All
Brandeis
0–0
6–0
NYU
0–0
5–0
Washington
0–0
3–0–1
Carnegie Mellon
0–0
4–1
Rochester
0–0
4–1
Chicago
0– 0
2–1–1
Emory
0–0
2–3–1
Case Western
0–0
2–3
Box Scores @ WPI
Win
2–1
MIT
Win
4–3
Clark
Win
4–2
Women’s soccer Team
UAA
All
Brandeis
0–0
5–0
Washington
0–0
4–0
Emory
0–0
3–0–1
Carnegie Mellon
0–0
3–0–2
Case Western
0–0
3–1–1
Chicago
0– 0
3–2
NYU
0–0
2–2
Rochester
0–0
1–4
Box Scores @ Bridgewater St.
Win
2–0
Springfield
Win
2–0
Volleyball Team
UAA
All
Washington
0–0
10 – 0
Case Western
0–0
8–1
Emory
0–0
8–1
Brandeis
0–0
7–2
Chicago
0–0
6–2
Rochester
0– 0
6–3
NYU
0–0
4–3
Case Western
0–0
4–6
Box Scores @ Endicott
Win
3–0
Rhode Island College
Win
3–1
McDaniel
Win
3–2
Tufts
Loss
3–1
Babson
Win
3–1
Spital has quickly fixed this problem. She currently leads the UAA with five goals and 13 points and is tied for the league lead with three assists. With Spital leading the charge for the Judges, they are in line for a big year.
dara spital
photo from brandeis athletics
Nelson Figueroa ’98 leads Pawtucket Red Sox to first International League title By Brian Tabakin Editor
Nelson Figueroa’s magical journey with the Red Sox continued Thursday night. On the mound against the Charlotte Knights, the AAA affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, Figueroa tossed six innings, allowing just one run on seven hits while striking out five and not walking any batters. Behind Figueroa’s strong performance, the Pawtucket Red Sox completed their sweep of the Knights to win the Governor’s Cup finals for the first time since 1984. In his two postseasons starts, Figueroa is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA over 14 innings. In his two starts he has allowed only two combined runs and just nine hits. In a matter of months, Figueroa
photo courtesy of the pawtucket red sox
had gone from not knowing if he had a place in professional baseball to being the stabilizing force and ace of the Pawtucket Red Sox. Pawtucket now advances to the AAA National Championship Game
in Durham, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 18 against either the Omaha Storm Chasers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, or the Reno Aces, the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
10 The Brandeis Hoot
THIS WEEK IN PHOTOS
September 14, 2012
September 14, 2012
The Brandeis Hoot
THIS WEEK IN PHOTOS 11
12 The Brandeis Hoot
editorials
September 14, 2012
New relationship policy on track but questions remain “To acquire wisdom, one must observe.” Editor-in-Chief Jon Ostrowsky Managing Editor Leah Finkelman Associate Editors Nathan Koskella Emily Stott Brian Tabakin Connor Novy News Editor Debby Brodsky News Editor Rachel Hirschhaut Deputy News Editor Victoria Aronson Features Editor Dana Trismen Features Editor Juliette Martin Arts, Etc. Editor Zach Reid Deputy Arts, Etc. Editor Zoe Kronovet Impressions Editor Nate Rosenbloom Photography Editor Morgan Dashko Copy Editor Senior Editors Ingrid Schulte Suzanna Yu Business Editor Gordy Stillman
Volume 9 • Issue 18 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.
connect phone • (781) 330-0051 e-mail • editor@thebrandeishoot.com online • thebrandeishoot.com twitter • twitter.com/thebrandeishoot facebook • facebook.com/thebrandeishoot
ADVERTISE
Advertising in The Brandeis Hoot helps spread your message to our readers across the Brandeis campus, in the Waltham community and beyond through our website. All campus organizations receive a 25 percent discount off our regular prices. We also design basic ads for campus organizations free of charge. To reserve your space in the paper, contact us by phone at (781) 330-0051 or by e-mail at ads@thebrandeishoot.com.
GIVE A HOOT, JOIN THE HOOT!
Writers, editors, photographers and graphic artists wanted to join The Brandeis Hoot, your weekly community newspaper. To learn more, send us an e-mail at join@thebrandeishoot.com, or visit our website http://thebrandeishoot.com/join.
unsolicited submissions
We welcome unsolicited submissions from members of the community sent by e-mail to eic@thebrandeishoot.com. Please limit submissions to 800 words. All submissions are subjected to editing.
We were happy to read President Lawrence’s letter detailing the university’s official policy on faculty/staff-student relationships this week. The policy seems very straightforward, which is a good thing: Romantic or sexual relationships between students and their professors or administrators with direct authority over them are completely inappropriate. The university is quite right to note that these situations create a dangerous inequality. Even consensual relationships destroy the environment necessary for a student to be fairly evaluated, appreciated and educated. The policy does, however, appear to come out of the blue. There has been no publicly recorded incident of a problem arising from a consensual faculty-student relationship. It is heartening that the university is clear on their stance, but it currently lacks necessary context. The administration should now
provide a proactive implementation to accompany the welcome policy announcement. Students in pressured and unfair relationships that may appear consensual at first are unlikely to feel empowered enough to speak up without a lot of encouragement. And even more importantly, students or other community members who are victims of non-consensual sexual advances and contact can feel especially vulnerable. Even with the new guidelines released in Rights and Responsibilities that appoint a Special Examiner to oversee cases of sexual assault, students may not know where to take their complaints and concerns. Should a victimized student first contact Community Standards or Student Life or Human Resources if the complaint involves faculty or staff, or go straight to university police? Brandeis has gone to great lengths to
make known its disapproval of unequal relationships and condemnation of sexual harassment. We should be willing to go even farther to make sure these policies are implemented, with students not only aware but confident that their concerns can be addressed quickly and ably. Knowing that the university wants there to be no sexual wrongdoing is one thing. But for students and staff who encounter sexual harassment or inappropriate relationships, they need a central point of contact that will help them navigate the entire complaint and reporting process. We don’t doubt that the resources are in place. We just think students need to be more aware. The administration could start by increasing its outreach and context for these policies by creating a central point of contact for students, faculty and staff.
Letter to the Editor
Club leader defends Tea Party
In an article in last week’s issue titled “Tea Party values: Social Darwinism and lack of opportunity” the author implies that our ideology consists of “Social Darwinism and denying opportunity for the less fortunate.” He then claims that we believe “some people deserve special treatment because they [are rich].” For the purpose of space, I will skip to the very end, where he openly accuses the Tea Party Movement as “against opportunity for the less fortunate, but … for dictating moral values.” First of all, I was not contacted (I am the Tea Party President at Brandeis and therefore biased, which I admit), so I have no idea how these became the official opinions of the Tea Party. Secondly, there is no “pope” or “president” of the national Tea Party Movement, so there can be no official opinions. The Tea Party and I do not deny people opportunities. We love them. We want more of them. Opportunity, according to Dictionary.com is “a situation or
condition favorable for attainment of a goal.” Note how it does not say that it is guaranteed success. You can always try to get an A, but you are not guaranteed it. When the government gets involved, it guarantees them at a weaker level (everyone gets Cs, for example). Hence I do not like the government getting involved: it can overreach and take away our rights as delegated to us in the Constitution. If I get an A, I deserve an A. When the government becomes the protector and enabler of rights, those “rights” can be taken away with an election, as the author correctly implies when he accuses Tea Partiers of promoting “to ban [abortion] and to make [gay marriage illegal] in all 50 states” (I bracketed the last two subjects as his choice of words, “woman’s right to choose” and “marriage inequality” shows bias as much as “pro-life” or “pro-traditional marriage” does for the other side). If the government can give you rights, they can take them away.
That’s why the Constitution has listed rights, such as religious freedom and the right to bear arms. If the rights are permanent, held outside the bastion of governmental control, no one can make them go away. Not you. Not me. Not even Chuck Norris (who, I think, is the reason we are still looking for Waldo). But if the government holds the power to regulate what the people are allowed to have, then they can take them away. The only people intelligent enough to add rights are the people. If you want to learn about a world without rights, read “1984” or “Fahrenheit 451.” I do not have a problem with the publishing of that article. The author has a First Amendment right to freedom of speech, which he used. I used mine to delineate my thoughts.To quote Forrest Gump, “And that’s all I have to say about that.” Joe Lanoie President, Brandeis Tea Party Chapter
September 14, 2012
IMPRESSIONS
The Brandeis Hoot 13
Awareness events fall flat By Zoë Kronovet Editor
Throughout the year there are various weeks that recognize the ills and misfortunes that plague society. Here are a couple of the more well-known events: Suicide Prevention Week/To Write Love on Her Arms, Day of Silence, True Beauty Day, Bullying Prevention Month, National Child Abuse Prevention Month and National Coming Out Day. The advancement and promotion of these causes are admirable; there is no denying that fact. One of the obstacles that these events deal with is that in the face of so many days or weeks a year where the population is supposed to be commemorating, discussing, and promoting awareness, all these days become jumbled together into one, giant meaningless cauldron. Despite the good intentions of these various events, they fall short every time. While it is nice to think that every month our community can come together to sympathize with whatever societal problem the U.S. or the world has, these weekly disruptions don’t end up helping. In a sad twist, Brandeis lost one of its own only days before Suicide Prevention Week; yet, no initiatives have been seen on campus thusfar. Our society is pervaded with useless events that don’t fix problems in our society. We receive mass invitations sponsoring these events on Facebook; yet, they are nothing more than a shallow symbol. These events, while they may stem from good intentions, fall flat when applied to the real world. Clicking “attend” on the Facebook event too easily satisfies many people. When that fateful days rolls around, there is truly nothing to distinguish it from the rest of our days. Instead of simply promoting awareness once a year for a specific cause, it should be our goal, as a community, student body and younger generation to integrate these worthwhile causes into our daily routine. Once a year on True Beauty Day, instead of being told that I should
By Ariel Wittenberg Editor Emerita
Graduating from Brandeis is really difficult, especially if you loved your college years as much as my close friends and I did. I graduated a year and a half ago, and since then, many of my peers and I have had to struggle with the unique dilemma of what to do now that the most awesome phase of our lives has passed. Most of us cope in one of three ways: We try to recreate the connections we felt at Brandeis in the real world; we try to live vicariously through our friends still at the university we once called home; or we do some combination of the two. It’s not that our lives post-Brandeis are particularly horrible or troublesome: It’s just that Brandeis was such a life-altering experience that we find it difficult to let go. My personal coping mechanism of choice is living vicariously through my friends still at
love my body, no matter what shape I am, that message should become intertwined with our daily lives. We should stop seeing images of sickly models on our billboards. Instead of pretending to tolerate our bodies annually, we should try to embody
the spirit of what that day wants to accomplish—self-tolerance and the belief that you are beautiful no matter what your appearance. Today, more so than ever, it is our right and our duty to speak out against injustice. A day of silence to
commemorate and bring “attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools” is a juvenile attempt to bring awareness to our community. Instead of acting like children seeking attention by sealing our mouths with duct tape
photo by linjie xu/the hoot
Communication with alumni lacking in aftermath of suicide
The Hoot. I send them a barrage of emails almost bi-weekly with questions and thoughts about the happenings at school despite working at my own, real-world-job at a daily newspaper across the state. I read The Hoot and the Justice every week. I even read BrandeisNOW on a semi-regular basis. It was in one such email to The Hoot editorial board that I learned of the suicide of Akshay Venkatesh ’14. It was Monday night last week and one of my Facebook friends had a somewhat cryptic status saying that his prayers were with the Brandeis community. I sent an email to my Hoot cohorts, and they told me the horrible news. The tragedy was still very fresh, so I didn’t find it odd that the university didn’t send an email to us alumni. But then a week passed, and still no email was received. In fact, if you aren’t as obsessed with Brandeis’ publications as I am and if you’re not on campus, you probably don’t know about the suicide. During the summer, I, as a
Brandeis alumna, have received invitations to attend Boston Red Sox alumni games, to play kickball and to donate to our university. I also have an email telling me that The Rose Art Museum finally got a new director. The last notice I received from the university, dated the day after Venkatesh’s body was discovered, tells me about how faculty and administrators are “shar[ing] the joy of Brandeis and their disciplines with new students.” It includes obituaries of a Brandeis alumna who worked at CBS as well as a longtime trustee but no mention of Venkatesh. So here’s a word of advice to the Brandeis administration from a dedicated-to-the-point-of-obsessed alumna: If you are going to bombard me with emails that either directly ask me to donate to the university or that are crafted with the intention of giving me a favorable impression of the university so that I feel more inclined to donate at a later date, the least you could do is tell me that one of my former
schoolmates has died. I didn’t know Akshay Venkatesh but I have friends who are alumni and who did know him but didn’t know about his death until they heard it from me or from wordof-mouth. That’s inappropriate. We should be considered enough of a part of the Brandeis family to be worth telling actual news. More importantly, Venkatesh shouldn’t have to suffer the indignity of having his death shrouded in rumor because the alumni are stuck in a game of telephone due to lack of information. If you’re worried that informing me will give me an unfavorable impression of the school, don’t be. Not only does your inaction do more harm than good to your fiscal cause, but you should also know that I, having graduated Brandeis, am intelligent enough to separate out my own, wonderful memories from this recent tragedy. On the off chance that it was simply an oversight that alumni were not informed, that should be rem-
(as many do on this day), we should instead openly speak out about the disgraceful bullying and harassment that many of our LGBTQ friends experience. That means that instead of simply remembering those bullied on April 13 each year, our communities and schools should run anti-bullying programs year-round. We shouldn’t just kick it into high gear once April shows up. I understand that these days people are merely trying to raise awareness and do the right thing. Just because it is popular to wear yellow or write “love” on your arm during Suicide Prevention Week, doesn’t mean that for the remainder of the year it is OK to neglect to remember those in our society who face daunting challenges every day, challenges that trouble them and lead them to take drastic steps. As a collective, our society needs to stop buying into these annual events and instead become more active and partake in more worthwhile activities. The problem isn’t that we have the events, it’s that we only have the events. It’s not that these days are meaningless; they are needed for awareness purposes, to highlight problems that the ignorant among us might not know about. It is our response to these days; how we uselessly “attend” these events and then promptly forget about them the second the sun sets that is the real problem. There is such compassion, dedication and good intentions within our community. It is our responsibility to harness these intentions and turn them into something more than a 12-hour event. Many organizations on campus host one-day drives or weeklong events in the hopes that the student body will gleam a little bit of knowledge from their planned activities. These organizations should be cognisant of the fact that while they spend their time planning away in their corner offices in the SCC they are losing the big picture: to aim their everyday actions and thoughts at conveying the important messages of the causes they hold near their hearts.
edied. There is no reason why the same email that was sent to current students about Venkatesh’s death could not be sent to alumni. At the candlelight vigil held Monday night, President Frederick Lawrence said that Venkatesh’s death represents “a deep tear in the fabric of the Brandeis community,” according to reporting by The Hoot. As an alumna, I am part of that fabric. That’s why I used the first three paragraphs of this op-ed attempting to explain how strong Brandeis’ hold is even after we’ve left. Alumni are more than piggy banks: we are also members of the community. As Lawrence himself put it at the vigil, “there’s a tear in the fabric, and that’s a tear for all of us.” Ariel Wittenberg ’11 is former editor-in-chief of The Brandeis Hoot. She now works as an environmental reporter for The New Bedford Standard-Times in southeastern Massachusetts.
14 IMPRESSIONS
The Brandeis Hoot
September 14, 2012
Reich to the Rescue
The mystery of Paul Ryan’s marathon fib By Lila Westreich Staff
When Hugh Hewitt, a radio host on a syndicated Christian station, asked Paul Ryan last month if he ran marathons, Ryan answered that he used to but has since stopped due to back issues. Hewitt asked what Ryan’s personal best time was, to which he replied, “Under three, high twos. I had a two-hour and fifty-something.” Ryan never mentioned which marathon he ran and only added that it happened when he was much younger. For those of us who are runners, or consider ourselves runners, completing a marathon, 26.2 miles, in two hours and 50 minutes is pretty fast. For those of you who don’t make it your mission to devote time to punishing your body for twenty-six miles, you should know that the world record for the marathon is two hours and three minutes, set by Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya in 2011 at the Boston Marathon. So Ryan’s time was pretty darn good, considering he wasn’t a professional runner. Questions arose, however, fairly quickly. First of all, no professional or practical runner would ever forget their marathon time. We hold them up as goals, write them on our arms, stick them under our pillows and carve them into our desks. Times are the medals of running, and the fact that Ryan was so hazy about a fantastic marathon time naturally made me skeptical. Then,
photo from internet source
Scott Douglas, a well-known running journalist, dug through thousands of times to figure out that Ryan had actually run a 4:01 in the Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minn. in 1990, when he was a college student. To put another fact into perspective, a 2:55 in that race would have placed Ryan in 130th place out of 3,277 men.
A 4:01 put him in 1,919th place. Even those of us who don’t own a pair of running shoes understand the difference between those numbers. When contacted, Paul Ryan sent out a statement saying, “my brother Tobin … reminds me that he is the owner of the fastest marathon in the family and has never himself ran a sub-three. If
I were to do any rounding it would certainly be to four hours, not three.” Ryan acknowledged that he was wrong. Note, he mentioned ‘rounding to four hours.’ His statement insinuates that he ran an under four-hour time, when in fact it took him longer than four hours. While it may seem petty that I am delving so deeply into such a miniscule matter, a true runner never forgets the details, even if they are in minutes. Personally, I don’t think ‘rounding’ constitutes a decline in numbers. So was the mistake a purposeful lie, or a simple misstatement? Ryan was an athlete in high school and an athlete in college, and a smart one at that. That narrows down the options. If it wasn’t an accident, it means that Ryan purposefully reduced his marathon time. But why? Mixing up his marathon times doesn’t make Paul Ryan a bad candidate. It won’t affect how he would run the country; it won’t make a difference in our everyday lives. If the lie had gone unnoticed, that makes the potential vice president a liar. If the lie was purposeful, it makes him seem filthy and sneaky, which are not the qualities you look for in a vice president. When the media contacted Ryan’s campaign to ask where Ryan had run the marathon, they immediately responded with the exact date, place and time. If they had known that Ryan was going to be busted for fibbing, they would have dodged the question or apologized. Instead they were incredibly prepared, anticipat-
ing that the media would come back for a clarification about a blatant untruth. It makes you wonder whether they care more about the image they’re trying to project or the real truth behind the man. Ryan’s intention behind the fib is and will continue to be unknown. The fact that he would lie, however, about something as unimportant as his marathon time, induces voters to ask the bigger question: If he will lie about something this insignificant in the effort to make himself look better, what else will he lie about? I can understand the little embellishments that candidates and politicians make, especially in young campaigns where no one pays much attention. But Ryan was directly in the spotlight, and on his way to becoming a national figure. He must have understood that everything he said in that interview was going to be recorded, examined and picked apart beyond belief. And in that moment, he chose to state an unnecessary fact about himself that made him seem better, faster, stronger and yet, nowhere near the truth. In my view, he was either unbelievably naïve, thinking that no one would ever bother to check on this statement, or incredibly reckless and didn’t care if they did. Either of these options is unacceptable for a vice presidential candidate. It will be interesting to see where Ryan takes us in the coming weeks, and how many seemingly miniscule lies he is willing to make along the way.
Call Me, Tweet Me
Every move you make, everyone’s watching you
By Leah Finkelman Editor
Two weeks ago, I wrote a column that discussed the idea of learning from a liberal arts perspective, rather than receiving a seemingly more “practical” education. I mentioned learning things that seem totally irrelevant: “While I’ve certainly sat in class and wondered how learning about a honeybee’s waggle dance is ever going to be relevant, I know that I am in the right place at the right time.”
photo by sindhura sonnali/the hoot
I won’t say I haven’t been able to get honeybees off my mind since then, but I have thought about them a little bit, and I think I’ve figured it out. Yes, I’m probably never going to need to know the differences between a round dance and a waggle dance (but if you ask me, I can tell you all about them). It is, however, important to understand that if an animal as seemingly simple as a honeybee can communicate in such a complex way, using (apparently) only their body, then we must also put our communication methods into context by comparing humans to other species. That is, however, a whole different column. If bees can communicate with their bodies, so can we—and we do,
every second of every interaction we have. With every move we make, we broadcast signals about who we are, what we’re feeling, and our relationships with those around us. Being able to read these signals is a useful social skill, one at which most of us are mildly adept and a few of us are skilled. This past week in one of my classes, my professor reminded us that the syllabus clearly lists the laptop rule for class: We can use them for anything class-related, including note-taking and looking over readings. We are not, she reminded us, to be using our laptops for email and Facebook—not an unreasonable request by any means. I’m not sure if students think that professors don’t realize if and when we’re not paying attention, or if they don’t care, but if I spent multiple hours a week preparing for three hours of lecturing, I’d be offended if I saw my students looking at their computers, laughing at something. I’d know they weren’t chuckling to themselves about the rise of consumer culture in England during the Industrial Revolution, but rather at a humorous tweet instead. I sometimes notice that even if I am paying attention in class, I might not look like it, and I’ve collected some suggestions for making sure you look like you’re paying attention. I want it to be very clear that I’m not condoning the habit of ignoring your professor, nor am I giving you ways to pretend to pay attention in class, but I do want to share a few things that I’ve found are important to remember. The eyes are supposedly the window to the soul, and they’re also one of the ways your professor can tell in
a heartbeat that you aren’t paying attention, especially if you aren’t looking at something like your notes or your professor. Even if your eyes are pointed towards the person speaking, make sure they don’t become dull or unfocused. Definitely don’t try to catch your friend’s eye from across the room. I’m certainly not saying you should aim for constant eye contact with your professor. Please, please don’t do that. It’s creepy. Just look attentive. Your posture is the second of the two most important aspects of your body language that your professor is going to notice. You don’t need to be rigid, but don’t be slumped back in your seat and sprawled all over the place. If you’re tired, try to sit up straight, but don’t use your elbow to prop your head up. If you’re that tired, you will fall asleep, and your professor will notice your head lolling around on your fist. With that said, however, leaning forward with your chin on your palm and looking up at your professor is a sign of alertness. As long as you’re able to keep your eyes open, it is best to be in this position. Body language is extraordinarily complex, and everyone acts, responds and interprets differently. It is, therefore, important to be conscious of how others potentially perceive your body language, and also how you perceive others’ body language. For the rest of your life, you’re going to be put in situations in which your body language, combined with the rest of your communication skills, will determine the outcome. Job interview? If you look bored, they’re not going to be interested.
First date? If you’re checking your phone and looking around and looking like you would rather be somewhere else, they’re not going to ask you out for a second date. Words matter, but actions speak louder than words.
photo by diane somlo/the hoot
September 14, 2012
Weekly Kos
By Nathan Koskella Editor
I woke up Wednesday in the hopes of purchasing Apple’s new iPhone. It won’t be in my hand for another week, but I was ready to get my order in anyway. I’m a fanboy, so obsessed with Apple products that I watched the keynote address at work that afternoon, following dorky blogs for updates in real time about each new megapixel and inch of display. Google is at work on eyewear that
IMPRESSIONS 15
The Brandeis Hoot
Progress, but whose?
connects to the Internet. This Project Glass will present its wearer with webpage displays and instantaneous map directions, and of course the epitome of hands-free communication. Another gadget from Leap Motion, an up-and-coming tech company, will debut next year and bring us the three-dimensional touchscreen interface. Plug the device into your USB, and you can literally grab the air in front of your computer screen to do to it what people used to do with a mouse. All of these new inventions can
be overwhelming. They serve as a reminder that we live in exciting times. Today we see the production of not just new toys but new modes of communication, better transportation, and potentially lifesaving medical devices. I have a lot for which to be thankful and as I watched CEO Tim Cook unveil the iPhone 5 this week, it hit me that I also have a lot for which to feel guilty. The “we” who get to make use of all of this new brilliant hardware is shrinking. At about the same time that Cook took the stage, the Cen-
sus Bureau announced that income in the United States is waning, even years after the 2008 economic collapse. We know that poverty levels are stagnant and that families are struggling now more than ever. Next week, the iPhone 5 will set new records for sales, selling tens of millions and making dollars in the billions. Most of those waiting in line, very likely including me, already have the second-most powerful phone on the planet—but I sure want the new one. When I get it later this month, I can take advantage of the new and
larger screen that Apple says is perfect for reading e-books. In some U.S. states, schools can’t afford textbooks for all of their students, let alone digital readers. This isn’t some diatribe against general consumerism; the market is inevitable, and some will always be first. Nor am I going to beat myself or the reader with a moral hatchet, “woe unto me” and all of my friends who are tweeting while people are starving. I’m not going to stop using technology available to me just because it isn’t to others. At the start of the consumer holiday season, however, the vision of new technology that is always just around the corner should make us stop and think. The classic justification for such vibrant tech-fandom is that investments and research are producing life-changing efficiencies and lifesaving equipment all the time. A twenty-first century synthetic heart? Forty million Americans don’t have enough health insurance to pay for a Band-Aid, and at the current rate, won’t be able to get cutting-edge treatment until at least the twentysecond century. I want sunglasses that tell me the weather, and I want to control Facebook with my hands from across the room—and I will get the new iPhone. But the better our lives can be, the more we should consider those who are still trying to catch up. If we devote a tenth of the national attention and private resources to these problems, maybe—since there would be a greater number of healthy kids and more middle-class families—Apple will be able to sell even more iPhones when number six comes out.
’Tis the season for gold My journey to the Olympics
By Peter Wein Staff
The summer just ended, and it’s time to go back to the grindstone of classes and coffee. I can safely say that, in the small amount of time we’ve had classes, I’ve already begun to notice how little free time I’m going to have but would like to reminisce on summer. To preface this epic tale, I just want to mention that two years ago my parents moved to London, U.K. Naturally, my “visit” to London to see my parents for two weeks, just so happened to be at the same time as the Olympic games. Upon arriving at Heathrow Airport in London, and promptly napping in every intermittent location for six hours, I had become acclimated to the dreary and dark weather of London. The schedule of games followed a pretty basic procedure; I attended one Olympic soccer game every two or three days for the duration of my two-week stay in London. The surprise of this schedule, however, was that the final game was the women’s soccer final. At this point, the thought crossed my mind that I might actually see the U.S. compete. I learned soon after arriving, that the game was actually a double header. In other words, I got to see two qualifying-round games for the price of one. The only team of high-
light was the U.K. team, who managed to clinch a victory at the very end against the UAE. As we began to progress through the games, they began to get more intense and skillful. This was obviously due to the weeding process of a tournament, but the difference was black and white. The qualifying games, by comparison of even a quarterfinal game, were equivalent to the opening band for a concert. The next game of serious note, which I had to say was incredibly impressive, was the semifinal game of Japan versus France. Both of the teams are well known for their women’s soccer leagues and I knew this was going to be a good game, right from the start. With 95 percent confidence I can honestly say that the first 75 minutes of this game was some of the worst soccer I had ever seen. It seemed as though both teams had given-up on efforts of winning, and they hadn’t even really begun. Once the 75th minute clocked in, however, both teams threw it into overdrive. There were injuries, fouls, cards and goals left and right. The game came down to a missed penalty kick by the French team, giving the Japanese the win. With that victory under their belt, Japan moved to the finals. After the U.S. women’s team clinched the semifinal, I realized that I was going to see the U.S. play
Japan for the gold medal. Not too shabby for a two-week visit home. The final night of my trip would be capped-off with a fantastic soccer game. Our seats for this game were so close to the U.S. benches that we probably could have highfived one of the players if it didn’t mean going to prison for life. This game hosted 81,000 people, the highest attendance for any women’s soccer game in the Olympics. The game was intensely competitive and violent, even more so than the previous game I had seen. A few women had to be taken off the field in stretchers and the game ended with the U.S. grabbing the gold away from Japan. Immediately following the game, the medal ceremony for the top three teams was set-up on the field. The teams promptly stood on the appropriate platform and received their medals. Canada received the bronze, followed by Japan with silver and the U.S. with gold. So now you have seen the highlights of my summer. I know, it’s nothing too glamorous, but it’s just one way to live. Now that you’ve read this story, I hope this encourages you to travel and explore the world. If your explorations happen to coincide with the next Olympic games, there are worse things that can happen while traveling. photo by sindhura sonnathi/the hoot
16 The Brandeis Hoot
ARTS, ETC.
September 14, 2012
‘Little Mermaideleh’ blows crowd out of the water By Zach Reid Editor
This year’s 24 Hour Musical performed “The Little Mermaideleh” on Sunday night, and was received by an enthusiastic full house in the Shapiro Campus Center Theater. Produced jointly by the Hillel Theater Group and Tympanium Euphorium, the show offered the audience the classic tale, The Little Mermaid, with a slightly Jewish twist. “The Little Mermaideleh” was directed by Viktoria Lange ’13, Ell Getz ’13 and Yoni Bronstein ’13. Within the show, Ariel (Caley Chase ’16), a mermaid who constantly longs for life on the surface, falls in love with the human, Prince Eric (David Getz ’15) on one of her regular trips to the surface to collect human artifacts with the help of Scuttle (Levi Squier ’14), an ill-informed but good-natured seagull. Her dream is vigorously opposed by her father King Triton (Zane Rutherford ’13), who after losing his queen and Ariel’s mother to humans in an unspecified incident, cannot see humans as anything other than murderous brutes. Determined to keep his daughter safe, Triton assigns his royal advisor Sebastian (Jason Dick ’14) and Ariel’s best friend Flounder (Kate Davis ’14) to watch out for Ariel, assigning them to keep her distracted from thoughts about humans. Ariel is soon contacted by the evil sea witch Ursula (Eliza Dumais ’14) who offers to make a deal with Ariel: In exchange for her voice, she will be given legs so that she may be with Prince Eric. In a contractual snare, Ursula tells Ariel that she must woo Prince Eric and kiss him within three days, or else Ursula will claim her soul. Despite this ominous prospect, Ariel manages to not only defeat Ursula’s magic, but also convince Triton to permit her to marry Prince Eric. The 24 Hour Musical is often praised for the freedom that the involved students have with the scripts—during the performance it’s perfectly alright for actors to improvise if they forget lines or lyrics, and directors sometimes make changes to the show overall, such as the Jewish theme of the show. It was not just the title that was changed, however, but other subtle aspects of the show as well, such as Prince Eric asking if Ariel’s name was “Rachel,” “Rebecca” or “Leah,” and Joey Rosen ’14 officiating the wedding as a Rabbi. Almost as anticipated as the title of the musical itself are the mistakes
made during the performance. Each musical provides its own set of muckups, missed cues and improvisation, and “The Little Mermaideleh” was no different. One of the best instances of this was when Getz ’15 accidentally used the word “whore” instead of “her” to describe Ariel—a slip of the tongue that had the audience roaring in laughter for a good 30 seconds. Additionally, the actors and audience alike had no qualms about breaking the “fourth wall” that traditionally exists between the two. This led to both entertaining exchanges and helpful interjections, such as when the entire theater attempted to warn Dick ’14 that he was about to be hit with a piece of the backdrop as it collapsed during a scene change. Seconds after he half-dove behind the curtain, he emerged to thank those who had warned him. The 24 Hour Musical is a yearly tradition at Brandeis in which students put on a musical in almost exactly 24 hours (there is, of course, an unofficial tradition of starting the show a bit late). Students spend a week auditioning for the show, and are only told what it is and who they are cast as at 8 p.m. the night before the show’s performance. Over the next 24 hours, they build sets, choreograph dances, learn songs, memorize blocking and
24 hour musical Students assemble and perform ‘The Little Mermaideleh’ in just 24 hours.
lines and try desperately to find time to grab a precious two or three hours of sleep. This chaos then culminates into an 8 p.m. performance the next day. The passion of the students involved in the show is matched equally by its audience’s dedication to have a seat inside the theater. As in years past, tickets were sold out within minutes of release to the public. Kelsey Segaloff ’15 seemed to embody this passion, as she waited in the SCC from 2 p.m. to get both a ticket and the best seat possible (the first few rows were reserved for faculty, reporters, techies and the show’s production crew). Despite her lengthy stay in the SCC, Segaloff told The Hoot that she believes [her] “experience was worthwhile,” explaining that the freedom actors have to make mistakes helped cement her appreciation of the 24 Hour Musical. To accommodate as many audience members as possible, the production crew set up a live streaming of the show in the Atrium outside of the theater, which according to stage manager Kelsey Strouse ’13, was paid for generously by Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment, Andrew Flagel. This allowed many more students to see the show than would have been possible, and was much appreciated by the student body.
photo by nate rosenbloom/the hoot
September 14, 2012
ARTS, ETC. 17
The Brandeis Hoot
Commemorating 9/11 in public art
By Juliette Martin Editor
In many ways, the attacks of September 11, 2001 have defined the tone of our society for the last decade in addition to permanently altering the lives of thousands of Americans. It has become a focal point of our culture, a meeting place of pain upon which all ethnic backgrounds and political creeds can unite, and a rallying cry for the common love of a flawed nation. As such a relatively fresh and poignant aspect of our history, one that has an effectively limitless emotional weight, it is no surprise that the outpouring of art in reaction to this tragedy has been of an overwhelming amount. From professional pieces, to novices seeking to express their pain, all the way down to the scribbles of frightened children, art has been used as a method of coping and sharing, expressing in a more pure form the emotions that no conversation can convey. The presence of this art is, of course, strongest in New York City. It started small: across the street from St. Vincent’s Hospital, where many of the wounded were taken, tiles painted
by children at a nearby elementary school decorated the fence of an empty lot. Still hanging over ten years later, when most of the children who painted them have long gone off to college, the tiles are mostly the same: American flags and towers that predominantly read “God Bless America,” along with scrawled signatures. The tiles are the art of the children who lived it, and similar public installations dot the city. Years later, these smaller and more personal memorials have dwindled, but a more official and more permanent one has come into fruition at the permanent memorial on what used to be known as Ground Zero. A shining new tower now climbs up over the city horizon, reflective glass shedding sunlight over the city during the day and bright lights illuminating the horizon in vivid color at night. One year ago on the tenth year anniversary, the National September 11 Memorial Museum opened at the heart of the new World Trade Center. The museum serves as an art installation and memorial, showcasing the lives of those who perished in the attacks and trying to represent
national 9/11 memorial museum Mayor Bloomberg and director Joe Daniels at the 11th anniversary ceremony, a museum exhibit called the Trident (middle) and the museum’s exterior (top)..
photo from internet source
not only the emotional struggle that those affected have personally gone through, but also the collective pain of a stunned and uncomprehending nation. On its website, the museum states, as part of its mission: “[To demonstrate] the consequences of terrorism on individual lives and its impact on communities at the local, national, and international levels, the Museum attests to the triumph of human dignity over human depravity and affirms an unwavering commitment to the fundamental value of human life.” This concept of attesting to the triumph of human dignity is reflected in the outpouring of art related to the events of September 11: Art has been used not only as a coping mechanism, but also as a way to proclaim our individuality, humanity, and strength in the wake of a new enemy, which would seek for us to be defeated and dispirited. Instead of giving in to such demands, the country speaks out and proclaims an undeniable spirit in the language of remembrance and art. “The Museum will be about each of us, about what it means to be a human being, and what it means to live in a complex, global community at the start of the 21st century. It will, we hope, be a place for understanding ourselves and the world in which we live, a place for promising the kind of world we want to bequeath of our children and grandchildren,” says director Alice M. Greenwald in her address to the public on the museum’s website. The museum is more than just a memorial; it is an open discussion of what it means to live in the post-9/11 era, and a message of hope for a better future. In addition to the physical museum at the new World Trade Center, there also exists the National 9/11 Memorial Museum Artist Registry. The registry is a public online space to which anybody can contribute art, in any form, so long as it was created as a result of September 11. The database is not formally curated, but is meant to reflect the sheer breadth of art produced, and as a collecting ground for the vast grief and overall cultural reaction. This public artistic forum is a brilliant method of bringing together a vast body of work that showcases the same themes and ideals, something that will certainly be looked to in future studies of the culture of a post9/11 America. The sheer concept of having a public database collecting all art, of all levels and forms is fitting: How else can we chronicle the cultural upheaval of such a traumatic event without looking at the art that was born of it?
18 ARTS, ETC.
The Brandeis Hoot
September 14, 2012
Brandeis student brings art class to the children of Ghana By Max Randhahn Staff
Alternative uses for art are becoming more and more evident at Brandeis, as is seen in the Attukwei Art Foundation, an organization cofounded by Jessye Kass ’13 that runs outreach programs in Ghana’s Accra region. Before coming to Brandeis, Kass took a gap semester teaching English at a Ghanaian orphanage. This gave her a firsthand look at how children in third-world areas are often beset by issues of education. Inspired by their plight, Kass received the Sorensen Fellowship and DoSomething. org grants and teamed up with Serge Cottey, a Ghanian artist with a similar passion, to found the Attukwei Art Foundation. The pair, however, underestimated the amount of effort involved in the project—they needed to publish a mission statement and create a website, and the organization was required to register as a nonprofit before volunteers could begin to work. Many of the art supplies come in the form of donations from the Brandeis African American Student Association, and volunteers seek grants to pay for their travel and living expenses. Despite these difficulties, the project has achieved fruition, and the foundation has already done excellent work teaching children. Kass said of her initial visit, “I [learned] how creativity helped not only the children, but also the teachers and the community. I dealt with the children’s painful memoir stories and beautiful clay pots and tacky spin art. When we started working with them, some of the kids didn’t even know how to open a marker, which was really sad
attukwei art foundation Co-founder and Brandeis Alum Jessye Kass with her students in Ghana.
to me. They have a hard time learning to be creative.” The children involved in the project gradually learn tasks as simple as passing paint to one another and creating murals as a team. In Ghanaian schools, emphasis is placed on competition, so concepts such as working together are foreign to children. Some children even consider it a great offense to make mistakes. But the founders have done an admirable job with over 800 children thus far. The project has taught Ghanaian children important virtues such as financial empowerment (by selling
their artwork) and using one’s imagination and creativity. Most importantly, the program teaches children how to play an active role in their society, and how to focus on bettering their world. The local schoolteachers have nothing but praise for Attukwei, especially in areas that lack the funding for special programs. Kass and Cottey have major plans for the foundation, which is now offering a musical theater program; Kass has expressed a desire to turn it into a proper school, hopefully reaching out to victims of HIV/AIDS and abuse, and special needs children be-
photo from internet source
fore the school year ends. As it stands, the project has already run festivals and reached out to street children not enrolled in school. Kass has brought her passion for helping others to Brandeis, as she is currently pursuing a double major in anthropology and African and Afro-American studies, and has plans to earn a graduate degree in arts education or school management. Four other Brandeis students are accompanying Kass on her fifth trip back to Ghana as interns: Alia Goldfarb ’13, Emily Balmuth-Loris ’14, Breanna Beberman ’13, and Malika
Imhotep ’15. Goldfarb, enrolled in the Peace, Conflict and Coexistence studies program with a concentration in applied theater for meditation and reconciliation purposes, thought the foundation would be a great fit for her personal goals. “Attukwei Art Foundation focuses more on the fine arts as a medium for education and expression. However, Jessye felt my approach with the performing arts could be a good fit to expand the programming AAF has to offer,” Goldfarb said. “Serge is a gifted artist and teacher, whom I hope to learn much from. Jessye has an inspiring, undying passion for her work and a deep connection to the country, which I hope to share.” With this new foundation and the World Stage project, a Brandeis documentary that highlighted the power of theater in conflict areas, it is clear that art therapy and general fine arts highly benefiting third-world areas. Ghana is a great example of this, as the country is experiencing civil unrest due to rapid industrialization. Urbanization has increased the amount of city slums and extreme poverty. A 2009 United Nations estimate states that around 70 percent of Ghanaians living in urban areas are inhabiting slums. The general theory behind art therapy is that expression of a story provides necessary catharsis for those living in areas of poverty and strife. The World Stage project seeks to do that specifically with theater for all, while the Attukwei Foundation focuses specifically on children in impoverished areas. And with the acclaimed documentary “Acting Together on the World Stage,” case studies are being drafted to discern exactly how art aids people in areas of strife and unrest.
Student Events to present unique musical mix By Zach Reid Editor
At the Student Events Wake and Shake on Wednesday morning the artists for this year’s fall concert were announced: popstar Santigold and rapper Theophilus London. Though these artists are unknown to many students, even a cursory examination of their histories and discographies reveal that they’re both very talented performers. Following last year’s performance by Guster, expectations are high for the Sept. 29 concert, but Santigold and London seem to be up to the challenge. Santigold, known as Santi White when offstage, grew up in Philadelphia and graduated from Wesleyan University. She began her professional musical career in 2003, when she was the lead singer for punk rock band Stiffed. From there she launched her solo career, originally using the stage name “Santogold,” changing it to “Santigold” in February 2009 due to a possible lawsuit from director Santo Victor Rigatusco over his film “Santo Gold’s Blood Circus.” Her music thus far includes a number of singles and two albums, “Santogold” (2008) and “Master of My Make-Believe” (2012). Both of her albums received critical acclaim, and have led to a number of concert tours. Despite her relative inexperience, Santigold has performed with a number of famous artists, including Coldplay, Jay-Z, the Beastie Boys, Kanye West and Red Hot Chili Peppers. She has also performed at Lollapalooza, a world-renown music festival that is known for exposing unknown artists to the general public and producers. Santigold’s musical style has often been compared to that of M.I.A., though she has stated that her music wasn’t influenced by the that of
her fellow artist. Rather, she believes her music is composed in a way that’s unexpected and genreless, according to 2008 interviews with Drownedinsound.com and Independent Television News. Given the recent release of Santigold’s album, “Master of My MakeBelieve,” her performance will certainly contain a large portion of songs from the album. When looking at the track list, three songs stand out above the rest: “Big Mouth,” “Disparate Youth” and “The Keepers.” “Big Mouth” contains a bongo-sounding drum line that helps to drive it forward, as well as distinguish it from the other pop-inspired tracks on the album. Likewise, the keyboard in “Disparate Youth” helps to make the song memorable, as well as one of Santigold’s most popular. In contrast to both of these, “The Keepers” provides haunting melodies, as well as grimmer subject matter compared to her other songs, discussing how “while we sleep in America, our house is burning down.” Even newer to the music scene is Theophilus London, who’s first EP was released in February of last year. He has performed previously, but it was this EP that started to garner him more widespread attention. He also gained substantial fame with a slew of performances in June of 2011. An article by the Montreal Gazette stated, “Theophilus London is going to be big. Very big.” Rolling Stone called his style a “hipster-rap” fusion in a review of his first album, which is called “Timez Are Weird These Days,” a name that seems to fit his style. Others have described his music as “genre-bending.” Hopefully he and Santigold will successfully complement each other. London’s only album, “Timez Are Weird These Days,” was released on June 19, 2011. It only received mod-
erate ratings from critics, but occupied the No. 21 spot on the Rap Albums chart during the week of Aug. 6, 2011. The song “I Stand Alone” was widely acclaimed by critics, and showcases angst and anguish on London’s part, a change from other
songs such as “Girls Girls $,” which as the title suggests focuses on a more lighthearted subject. A review on Djbooth.net stated, “the overall package is fresh, moody and energizing,” and rated the song a 3.9 out of five stars. “Love is Real,” provides a more tech-
santigold Coming to brandeis for this years’ Fall Concert.
no/electronic sound when compared to “I Stand Alone.” It is one of London’s better-known songs. The fall concert will take place in the Shapiro Gym in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center on Saturday, Sept. 29.
photo from internet source
September 14, 2012
ARTS, ETC. 19
The Brandeis Hoot
Though visually stunning, ‘Snow White’ flounders
photo from internet source
snow white Charlize Theron stars as the evil Queen Ravenna in the latest film adaption of Snow White.
By Gordy Stillman Editor
This past year boasts a cultural fascination with Snow White. ABC’s hit show “Once Upon A Time” stars Ginnifer Goodwin as one interpretation of the classic role. On the big screen, Relativity Media released “Mirror Mirror,” a comedic take on the famous fairytale. Finally, “Snow White and the Huntsman,” a more serious adaptation, reached theaters in June and was released on Bluray and DVD this past Tuesday. Unlike the Disney version, “Snow White and the Huntsman” is a significantly darker film. When Snow White’s father, the King, wins a victo-
ry over the mysterious dark army, he asks for the hand of a woman named Ravenna (Charlize Theron) whom he rescued in the battle. On their wedding night, Ravenna kills the king and reveals that she is the master of the dark army. Her forces then take over the kingdom. Ravenna imprisons Snow in the castle, until years later, on the girl’s 18th birthday the Queen discovers that Snow is destined to destroy her. Ravenna also discovers that she must consume Snow’s heart in order to become immortal. When Snow escapes into the dark forest, where the Queen’s power holds no sway, Ravenna sends the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) who has previously survived a trip into the forest, after her.
Superb subs at Carl’s By Imara Roychowdhury and Aaron Sadowsky Staff
This week we went to Carl’s Steak Subs. It’s a take-out place on Prospect Street (close to the Hannaford stop or the 99 stop on the BranVan) but if you want, weather permitting, you can sit right outside. Even before entering, you’ll smell the aroma of carmelized onions and grease from approximately a block away. Enjoy it. When you walk into Carl’s, you have to squeeze yourself between the counter and the window. Once you’ve successfully maneuvered through the door, look up at the menu and figure out what you want. There are options such as, steak subs, chicken subs, burritos, sandwiches, quesadillas, salads and side dishes. Within each category, there are spicy and mild options for all tastes. Each of us ordered one item and combined, our order cost $20, including beverages. When you think about how much a meal might cost at a Brandeis food locale, this is pretty cheap. Especially since the amount of food they give you is definitely enough for two meals. On that note, for $1 more, an item can become a “large.” Take the option. Once you get your food, we recommend sitting outside in order to watch the cars watch you. Waltham residents are very interested in your lunch and
maybe your face, but mostly your lunch. Your food will come in a bag, so you can either eat there or take it to go. If you eat there, however, they will bring your food to the tables outside. On that note, the days of eating outside are numbered, so if you want to get some Carl’s in you while sitting outside, go now. Open up your food and take the first bite. Delicious. All of the food is hot on arrival and requires no thought as to how delicious it is. We tried the smokin’ chipotle burrito, which contained chicken (or steak if you so desire), rice, black beans, BBQ sauce, bacon, spicy Chipotle sauce, melted cheddar and jack cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. It was awesome. You know those burritos where you have to bite all of it to get the flavors? This was not one of them. Fear not, for you can bite the left half, enjoy it, and then bite the right half and enjoy it, too. We also tried the greco chicken sub (large) which contained: chicken cutlet, feta cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and Greek dressing. This sandwich was really good but you’ll need a rest at halftime because it’s a lot of food. It is, however, definitely conquerable if you’re hungry. Upon leaving, take your leftovers with you because they heat-up well the next day. We definitely recommend Carl’s to any Brandeisian who is looking for a quick and easy sub/ burrito.
carl’s menu Carl’s Steak Subs features tasty, low-cost food.
photo from internet source
But when the Huntsman learns that the Queen will not be able to pay what she promised him, the Huntsman switches sides, setting up a love triangle between Snow, the Huntsman and Prince William (played by Sam Claflin and better known in the original tale as Prince Charming). First and foremost, “Snow White and The Huntsman” is a spectacle. The visual effects, from the beginning of the movie with the battle between the king’s army and the mysterious dark army, to the final battle between Snow White and Ravenna, are above and beyond expectations. It is impressive to see visual effects when considering that the color palette for the film is overwhelmingly dark. Similar spec-
tacles, such as Avatar, are saturated with color, making “Snow White” a new and interesting take on how to create such a visually-based movie. Perhaps the greatest flaw in the film is its predictability. Granted, it is based on a common fairy tale, which means that the story will always take a certain direction. “Snow White” attempted to change the story into something more tailored for modern audiences, but in many ways the new plot was as predictable as the old. There were also failures in the movie’s attempt to tailor the story. For instance, while the addition of the Huntsman as Snow White’s romantic interest added drama to many scenes, it lacked depth and intrigue.
Another more subjective criticism is the pairing of Kristin Stewart as Snow White with Charlize Theron as Queen Ravenna. Whereas Theron makes an impressive shift from the sweet victim in her opening scene to pure evil moments later, Stewart’s portrayal is not as stunning. From her introduction as a prisoner on her 18th birthday, Stewart’s portrayal was subpar. For instance, her escape from a prison cell where she was held captive for at least five years, is simply improbable. Overall, her character development stutters throughout the film. While the title hints that the Huntsman will play a significant role in Snow White’s tale, Stewart’s Snow White makes it very unclear what that role is. Additionally, it is never made clear how Snow White is able to defeat the queen, and it seems to be presented as a “just because” scenario. Furthermore, Stewart’s casting, along with the movie’s darker tones made the movie feel as though the producers meant to liken the story to the incredibly popular “Twilight” franchise. On the other hand, Charlize Theron’s portrayal is chilling and multifaceted. At her introduction, a point where the audience knows she’s evil but the characters are unaware, it’s easy to forget that she’s supposed to be purely villainous. Later, after her true colors become apparent and more of her backstory is revealed, the complexities of her character become apparent. The visuals of “Snow White and the Huntsman” are stunning, holding the audience’s attention despite the fact that the movie retells a story that is well-known. While it sometimes suffers from a Twilight-esque portrayal. Charlize Theron’s version of the evil queen is chilling and helps to save the film. The story is certainly not original, but the visuals alone merit a rental.
Arts Recommends book
photo from internet source
‘The Hour I First Believed’ Published in 2008, “The Hour I First Believed” is Wally Lamb’s triumphant return to the literature world after a ten-year hiatus. The author of “She’s Come Undone” and “This Much I Know is True,” Lamb has been hailed as a favorite of Oprah and spent large amounts of time on the bestseller list. While Lamb habitually writes expansive works, “The Hour I First Believed” spans years of his characters’ lives and even spends entire chapters on letters written from previous eras. Lamb’s abilities especially shine in his creation of narrator Caelum Quirk, who is at once aggressive and tender. It is often difficult to spend time with Quirk’s messy thoughts but Lamb is successful in making readers care deeply about this character, despite his unlikable status. Lamb excels in this novel by once again tackling themes that are hard to stomach. Deeply connected to the issues of our time, Lamb presents the Columbine shootings, Hurricane Katrina and the Iraq War as parallel to the struggles of his characters. While Lamb is not an easy author to read, his characterization and connection to reality make it worthwhile. Lamb understands people, their motivations, and the fact that nobody is perfect. He grasps the implications that current events have on everyday, normal people. He believes ordinary people can have extraordinary lives, interesting enough for which to write a novel. Readers invest so much in Lamb’s characters that the end of “The Hour I First Believed” feels like parting with old friends.
dana trismen, editor
News
20 The Brandeis Hoot
September 14, 2012
Eleven years later, a first responder commemorated 9/11, from page 1
after work and hang out with him for hours.” Hamdani’s and Hameedi’s families immigrated to America from Pakistan together, leading to the development of their close bond. Hamdani, whose bright future as an aspiring doctor was snatched away at the age of 23, rushed to the scene of the twin towers as an off duty EMT to offer his services. “People talk a whole bunch. They say really powerful words without really understanding the implications of those words,” Hameedi said. “This wasn’t Sal. He embodied words like service and honor and dedication and empathy.” As a child raised in the wake of 9/11, Hameedi brings to light not only the emotional trauma associated with the event, but the consequent trials he faced due to the discriminatory atmo-
sphere that arose against Muslims. Just a mere few days following the attack and the loss of his close friend life, Hameedi recalls red meat being left on the stairs of his mosque, epitomizing the prejudices that still ravage the country in this modern age. Beyond his own personal experiences, Hameedi denounces the way in which political figures monopolize 9/11 to promote their campaigns or cause divisions within the country, asserting such individuals ought to be “rebuked and castigated for perpetuating modern day McCarthyism.” Comparing the bombing to the Pearl Harbor, Hameedi expands upon this metaphor, likening the marginalization of Asian Americans to the treatment of Muslim Americans today, stating “it is especially disheartening when other groups, such as Sikhs, are under attack because of people’s ignorance.” Since the original devas-
tation of the twin towers and the initial loss of approximately 3,000 lives, hate crimes continue to perpetuate the pain of 9/11, instigating divisions within the country. Rather than succumbing to the negative implications of 9/11, including his unique experiences enduring racial stereotypes as a Muslim American and his own personal loss, Hameedi maintains that “the terrorist attacks were an attempt to show how divided we are.” He urges “Lets prove those who think our will is weak wrong. We can be a community that can embrace one another and help one another through times of grief.” Gathering strength from his desire to honor Salman Hamdani’s sacrifice, Hameedi has dealt with the emotional trauma through his poetry and striving to become a physician in hopes of bearing a positive influence on the lives of those who surround him.
Having graduated in 2012 with a major in biology, Hameedi is currently employed as a research technician at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and plans to attend medical school in the future. As for his passion for poetry, Hameedi continues with performances and hopes to become an active member of the New York City Poetry slam circuit. Acknowledging recent events that have resulted in an outpouring of grief within the Brandeis community, Hameedi particularly stresses the need to not only commemorate such losses, but to celebrate life as well. While he knowingly accepts that pain and life are intertwined, stating “Yes, there is inevitable sadness” he continues on to confesses “But there is much beauty as well” and urges students to “Cherish this beauty and its power to shine through even the darkest of moments.”
Brandeis commemorated the 11th anniversary of 9/11 by hosting a peace vigil, an event which bears particular relevance to the lives of students from New York who may have more impressionable recollections of the attack. According to Father Walter Cuenin, the Catholic chaplain at Brandeis, approximately 50 to 60 individuals attended the service, which concluded with a moment of silence and singing. Although the majority of students in attendance were still enrolled in elementary school at the time of the terrorist attack, vivid memories of the event remain impressed upon their minds. Echoing Hameedi’s desire for unity and compassion, Cuenin described the vigil, stating “we talked about building a world, not just a memorial to the past but a world of peace and justice so this kind of thing doesn’t happen again.”
Naghmeh Sohrabi named first Charles (Corky) Goodman Professor of Middle East History CROWN CENTER, from page 1
years later Sohrabi’s parents decided to move to the United States, following the Iran-Iraq war. As luck would have it, Sohrabi attended MIT as an undergraduate biology major. One year later, she happened to meet Kanan Makiya, Brandeis Professor of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies. From that meeting, “the world of humanities opened up to me,” Sohrabi said. Sohrabi concluded by discussing three hot topics between Iran and the United States. First, Sohrabi spoke of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s presidency, and how Ahmadinejad is part of a generation defined by the Iran-Iraq war. Next, Sohrabi suggested that Iran’s hostility toward the United States may be strategic, rather than ideological. Finally, Sohrabi spoke of what might have been the real rupture behind the 1979 Iranian Revolution. “Iran’s security outlook is not mere ideology,” Sohrabi said. “It is much deeper. Perhaps what we are seeing is an ambition of political and national thought in Iran. It is likely that both Iran and the United States overestimate and underestimate each other’s abilities.” Students, faculty and visitors traveled from across campus and across the country to attend the highly anticipated Crown Center opening. The Crown Center’s research and academic accomplishments are possible due to the donations of two generations of the Crown and Goodman families. In attendance were Lester Crown and Corky Goodman, who each made brief remarks applauding the Crown Center for its great strides. “I was originally concerned about the information that came forth from other centers for Middle East studies,” said Crown. “These centers didn’t seem to be based on real research, and were promoting propaganda. Over a period of seven years, the Crown Center has accomplished what we hoped it would ultimately be able to do. It is respected by Washington, as well as by the non-academic world.” “The Center’s programs have crown center forum Naghmeh Sohrabi, the first Charles (Corky) Goodman Professor of Middle East History, delivers the keynote address at the Crown Center event.
photo by nate rosenbloom/the hoot
been powerfully balanced and effective,” added Goodman. “The younger members of the Crown and Goodman families will continue to support Brandeis University and the Crown Center.” “This is a very very special kick-off event,” began Shai Feldman, Director of the Crown Center. “This year we are celebrating both the hugely generous continued support of the Crown and Goodman families, and we are also inaugurating a new chair.” After a brief introduction, President Fred Lawrence spoke highly of the contribution the Crown and Goodman families have made to the Brandeis community as well as to the broader academic world. “The inauguration of an academic chair at a university is truly a great moment in the life of a research university,” Lawrence said. “To be involved in the creation of and dissemination of knowledge to our students, and the broader academic world is a testament to the Goodman vision that this chair should fall at the intersection of what it is that makes the Crown Center special.” Lawrence continued to say that the Crown Center is highly unique in the field of Middle East studies, because its goal is to avoid sheer advocacy, as well as extreme abstraction. The Crown Center prides itself on, above all, a balanced and dispassionate approach to the Middle East. Since the Crown Center began its journey as an academic research center seven years ago, Lester Crown and Corky Goodman have dealt with both President Lawrence and past President Jehuda Reinharz. Speaking on behalf of Reinharz, who was unable to make the kickoff event, Lawrence added “when we created this center, I promised Lester and Corky that this would be the best center in the United States. We would seek out the best experts in the field, regardless of their faith and point of view. We are blessed to have such enlightened donors.” Lawrence told Crown and Goodman on behalf of the greater Brandeis community, “Brandeis is deeply grateful for your contribution. You are eternal members of the Brandeis family.”