The Brandeis Hoot 4/19/2013

Volume 10 Number 9

www.thebrandeishoot.com

Brandeis University’s Community Newspaper • Waltham, Mass.

Community mourns victims from marathon attack Students react to Boston tragedy

By Emily Belowich

April 19, 2013

Gunfire reported in Watertown

By Jon Ostrowsky

Staff

Students, faculty and staff gathered for an interfaith vigil at Chapel’s Pond Tuesday afternoon to console one another in solidarity with the victims of the Marathon bombing attacks.

“The world is not nearly as neat and organized as we want to believe it is,” Rabbi Elyse Winick ’86 said.

Coordinator of the Chaplaincy and Catholic Chaplain Walter Cuenin began his remarks by speaking about the importance of the Brandeis community’s unified assembly.

“We gather here in solidarity for those wounded, killed and their families, but also for the whole community of Boston to be in union with each other and to make a statement that love is stronger than evil, and we will not be conquered by this terrible, tragic event,” Cuenin said.

Cuenin’s words of comfort resonated among community members, as students and faculty nodded heads and embraced one another for comfort.

Winick spoke about the timing of the events, saying that community

Editor

members who live by a dual calendar, a Jewish calendar and a secular calendar, might find the timing of this event to be incredibly “awkward.”

Tuesday marked Israel’s independence day, Yom Ha’atzmaut, commemorating Israel’s declaration of independence. And Monday, the day of the attacks, was Israel’s memorial day, Yom Hazikaron, a day that is unofficially established in Israel for soldiers who have lost their lives in battle while defending Israel.

“It makes the experience of having a bombing happen so close to home for all of us feel that much more odd and being in multiple places in one See COMMUNITY, page 3

photos by nate rosenbloom/the hoot

vigil Father Cuenin speaks at a community vigil Tuesday afternoon by Chapels Pond.

BEMCo EMTs at marathon finish line unharmed after attack

By Dana Trismen Editor

Brandeis students, including three BEMCo EMTs, were in attendance at the Boston Marathon on Monday, when two bombs exploded in the crowd. All of the students were safe and unharmed after the blasts.

Hannah Goldberg ’13, director and supervisor of BEMCo, mentioned that volunteering at the

Boston Marathon is something BEMCo has done for years. While they usually have more volunteers, this year there were only three Brandeis EMTs. “They’re part of the speed team at the end of the Marathon,” said Goldberg. “They quickly assess each marathon runner, see if they look okay, look healthy and if some look dehydrated.”

Ami Merker ’15, who was present at the marathon, commented that

everything was going according to plan until the first blast. “At first, I couldn’t really believe it had happened. Everyone stopped moving and was just watching,” said Merker.

“Then the volunteers started to get people moving, we wanted to move people out of the area. I was also really worried because I knew that my friend was right next to the finish line.”

Of the three BEMCo students present, each stood varying distanc-

Univ police add patrols after marathon bombings

By Debby Brodsky Editor

Immediately following Monday afternoon’s bombings at the Boston Marathon, the university police increased security measures on campus after communication with Boston law enforcement officials.

Since Monday’s attack, additional police officers, both in uniform and in plainclothes, have patrolled the Brandeis campus. Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan said officers received instant communication of the bombings from law enforcement officials, as well as from extraneous websites.

“We are monitoring informational emails and bulletins from city, state

Inside this issue:

es away from the incident. “I was about two blocks from the explosion, one of my friends was about 100 feet and the other was a few blocks away and around the corner,” said Merker.

Goldberg recalls fearing for their safety.

“The other supervisor called me, but the phone lines were not working well, I spent an hour and a half See BEMCO, page 4

An MIT police officer was shot and killed in Cambridge Thursday evening and gunfire and potential explosive devices were reported in Watertown, according to media reports and audio on the local police scanner. The Boston Globe reported that one suspect in Monday’s marathon bombing had been captured while another was still on the loose in Watertown.

“There has been a shooting on the MIT campus with an officer wounded. There are multiple incidents with possible incendiary devices in Watertown,” Senior Vice President for Communications Ellen de Graffenreid wrote in a statement. “There is no threat to the Brandeis campus at this time. All students should stay inside their residence halls and off campus dwellings and report any suspicious activity. On campus, call 6-3333 or from a cell phone 781736-3333. Off campus call 911. Anyone in the Watertown area should stay inside and follow law enforcement instructions.”

Just before 2 a.m., MIT’s website reported that the shooting suspect was no longer on campus.

“MIT Police have determined that the suspect in this evening’s shooting is no longer on campus,” the website stated. “It is now safe to resume normal activities. Please remain vigilant in the coming hours.”

FBI agents and the Cambridge bomb squad arrived at the scene in Watertown early Friday morning, the Boston Globe reported.

On Twitter, university officials cautioned students in Watertown to remain vigilant.

“Incidents in Watertown should not affect Brandeis campus. All students stay inside per Waltham PD instructions,” one post stated.

‘I Love You Because’

and federal law enforcement sources in addition to information from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL),” Callahan wrote in an email. “We have reviewed our staffing levels and added officers to shifts for foot and vehicular patrols. We will assess the need to continue any additional staff deployments based on updates that we receive from law enforcement sources.”

University police are tasked with responding to national, state, local and campus safety concerns and must be prepared to protect students, faculty and staff alike on extremely short notice. For this reason, when the safety of Brandeis and the surSee PATROL, page 3

photo by nate rosenbloom/the hoot

musical Students dance during the musical ‘I Love You Because’ in the SCC Theater Thursday night. See page 8 for our review.

Art gallery Editorial: An agenda for Union reform Page 6 News: Rosen ’14 elected Union President Page 3 Dreitzer Gallery opens exhibit for Arts, Etc.: Ethics Center displays Bahraini art Page 11 post-baccalaureate program.

Opinion: Are internships really worth it?

Page 12 Arts, etc.: Page 9 Sports: Softball sweeps WPI Page 5

Sex segregation

Scholars discuss religious and cultural tensions around gender differences.

News: Page 2

news

2 The Brandeis Hoot

April 19, 2013

Student founds innovative event organizing tool

photo from internet source

By Rachel Hirschhaut Editor

Most Brandeis students are involved in many groups and activities, and know firsthand the challenges of planning and promoting a large event without being certain of the amount of people that will actually attend.

This is where Ethan Stein ’15 and two of his high school friends, Gabriel Schwartz and Nathan Shams, saw an opportunity to make the event planning process more efficient and successful.

Their online startup, EventLeaf, is focused on transforming the experience of hosting and attending events, and addresses “the three major headaches of planning ticketed events” according to Stein: financial risk, promotion and marketing, and organization and administration.

Financial risk is a problem for every event because event planners run the risk of selling too few tickets and falling short of profitability. “Before EventLeaf, the event host would take hundreds or thousands of dollars out of pocket, put it toward the expenses of his event, and pray that he sells

enough tickets to be profitable. With EventLeaf, the event host can know in advance whether his event will be profitable or not,” Stein said.

The host determines the costs and target profit, posts the event to the site, and utilizes the “all-or-nothing crowdfunding model” to finance the event. If they sell enough tickets to reach their financial goal within the timeframe established, the attendees’ credit cards are charged, the monies are transferred, and the event happens as planned. If, when the funding period expires, the host hasn’t sold enough tickets to cover the costs

and make a profit, the cards are not charged and the event is canceled.

“With EventLeaf ’s all-or-nothing model, we offer guaranteed profitable events—either the host makes money, or the event doesn’t happen,” Stein said.

The second common problem is promotion and marketing. “No event planner or institution is excited by the prospect of surrendering whole chunks of their treasured profits to promoters, nor are they dying to do the marketing legwork themselves,” Stein said.

As a result, EventLeaf has a built

in marketing platform called Leaf Rewards. When one pledges money to an event, they receive their own unique URL that they can promote by sending to anyone. For every person who pledges money through that URL, they get a leaf. Leaves correspond to different rewards, determined beforehand by the event host. “With Leaf Rewards, every attendee becomes a promoter—giving the event host access to social demographics he would otherwise have no access to and helping him sell more tickets more quickly,” Stein said.

The third most difficult problem in planning events is organization and administration. Independent organizations do not generally have the luxury of administrative bandwidth like offices and secretaries, making it difficult to collect money, manage marketing efforts, and track progress. But with EventLeaf, “the hectic experience of event coordination, promotion and money collection is organized onto a uniform platform where the host can easily manage their event.”

“Our infrastructure is intimately crossed with Facebook and other social media, guest lists are converted seamlessly into printable PDFs, and money transfers happen effortlessly by virtue of our website’s partnership with PayPal,” said Stein.

“With EventLeaf.com, the risk of losing money is virtually eliminated, marketing becomes a non-issue and the various aspects of management are dramatically simplified.

EventLeaf.com promises to revolutionize the way we host and attend events,” he said.

Scholars speak on religious tensions of gender differences

yishay garbasz HBI artist in residence, Yishay Garbasz, was present at the “Trends in Sex Segregation” event.

By Jaye Han Staff

HBI Project on Gender, Culture, Religion and the Law (GCRL) hosted a panel on Monday for the Gendered Rights conference, titled “Trends in Sex Segregation: Israel, America and Beyond.”

Sylvia Barack Fishman, the co-di-

rector of HBI, moderated the panel, and Elana Maryles Sztokman, executive director of Jewish rthodox feminist alliance, began the panel by discussing gender discrimination in public spaces.

Maryles explained that the takeoff times for planes at the El Al Airline get delayed because the flight attendants are busy switching around seats in order to accommodate the needs

photo by nate rosenbloom/the hoot

of men who don’t want to sit next to women.

Just a few months ago, she said, she was scolded by the wife of an American Orthodox Jewish man for sitting next to him on the plane.

“What about the needs of average people?” Sztokman asked. “Why are they accommodating the needs of men who don’t want to sit next to women, but not all of ours? How

about us?”

She went on to say that just a few weeks ago, authorities of a gym drove the women out because a group of men said they didn’t want to be in their presence.

“The fault here is not necessarily in the ultra Orthodox Jews. The fault is in the secular society that empowers this kind of thinking. Thinking that men’s desire to not sit next to women is a legitimate desire that needs to be met,” she said. “The only way to stop religious radicalism from spreading is to unravel that kind of rhetoric amongst the secular society.”

Ilan Fuchs, a research associate at HBI-GCRL, followed by speaking about women’s education in context of a unique group called “Satmar,” a Jewish community in New Jersey.

Fuchs explained that this community considers women’s access to text, to the literal meaning of opening a book, dangerous.

A book written by Satmar Rabbi, “argues that the difference between the two kinds of women, the naïve and the promiscuous, is knowledge,” Fuchs informed the audience, “the study will transform her from naïve and pure to seductive and promiscuous woman.”

He suggested, “Satmar refuses change but is forced to change because the world outside changes.

They’ve become more and more extreme as the world changes more, and to do so they need to reinvent the past to justify what they’re doing. Which is reform, in some sense, but it’s a re-

form on the right side of men.”

Afterward, Lisa Anteby-Yemini, who is a Scholar in Residence at HBI and Universite De Alx En Provence spoke about gender discrimination in rituals of Muslim and Jewish women.

In 2005, she summarized, an American Muslim woman led a mixed congregational prayer and gave the Friday Sermon for the first time in New York City. A huge debate followed and the radical view called her actions non-Islamic and asked that she be ostracized by all Muslim societies. “She never did this again in public space and she was seen as a transgression and a blasphemy,” Anteby-Yemini said.

Another occurrence was in 2012 in France, when a Jewish Orthodox female scholar led a Torah reading for women in a Synagogue. Both the chief Rabbi of Paris and France severely disapproved of this and told the Rabbi of the Synagogue who supported this to “never allow it to happen again at the risk of being fired,” Anteby-Yemini said.

She theorized, “I think some of the reasons that were in the debate in France was that this was too brutal a change or too brutal an innovation in the customs of French Orthodox Synagogue space or ritual.”

“Many rabbis said this was a threat that would bring even more serious consequences to the split in the community and also that this would erase the difference between them and the non-Orthodox in France,” she said.

April 19, 2013

NEWS 3

The Brandeis Hoot

College Notebook

Student Union election results Manhattan Institute bashes announced

By Rachel Hirschhaut Editor

Ricky Rosen ’14 was elected the new Student Union President, according to an email from the current president Todd Kirkland.

Senator At Large Charlotte Franco ’15 was elected vice president. Class of 2015 Senator Sneha Walia ’15 was elected secretary, and off-campus Senator Sunny Aidasani ’14 was elected treasurer.

Daniel Novak was elected junior

representative to the undergraduate curriculum committee; Alex Thomson was elected junior representative to the board of trustees; Flora Wang and Joseph Robinow were elected to the Brandeis Sustainability Fund Representatives; Aliza Kahn, Teresa Fong, Mohamed Ali and Bronia Goldman were elected to the F-Board and Xiaoyue Sun was elected Racial Minority member of the F-Board.

Two amendments proposed by the Student Union were also passed this

week. Sixty-seven percent of voters voted in favor of the removal of instant runoff in elections. Eighty-seven percent voted in favor of a formal special elections process to fill an empty Student Union seat, in the event of a tie, a vacancy, or if abstain wins the election.

Proposition 3 was voted down by a majority of 66 percent. It proposed that only students with a year of Student Union experience would be eligible to run for president.

Pachanga runs without chaos

By Theresa Gaffney Staff

Pachanga: the myth, the legend, the dance of the year took place last weekend, after two years in the “time out corner,” as Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer said in his warning email to students before the event.

There has been a buzz about the event stirring all year.

The last time the event was held, two students were arrested for assaulting university police officers and nine were transported to the hospital for alcohol intoxication. This year saw six reported alcohol cases treated by BEMCo on Saturday night, including four hospital transports, according to the university police media log.

“There were several alcohol related response concerns but fewer than the last Pachanga,” Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan wrote in an email. Only four students were sent to the hospital—less than half than were sent the last time Pachanga took place. A Cataldo Ambulance crew stood by with BEMCo at the event,

evaluating students, keeping them until they were ready to be released, or sending them to Newton Wellesley Hospital for future care.

Interestingly, four of the reported cases were also females, three of whom were identified as 19-yearolds. The fact that more than half of the logged cases consisted of younger students may be evidence of the effect that the rumors of Pachanga have had on students during the course of the year as its return became definite.

“I think people made it seem more crazy than it actually ended up being,” said Fay Laborio ’16 who attended the event.

The party is known for the recklessness it induces and encourages extensive drinking before the event.

“I heard a lot of people just saying, “It’s Pachanga, it’s all OK!” said Laborio.

Despite the changes made to make sure the event was not a repeat of last time, students still enjoyed Pachanga.

“I think Pachanga lived up to my expectations, even though it wasn’t as wild. It was definitely fun!” said La-

borio.

The International Club had to work hard to ensure that it would be a safer environment than the last time that the event was held.

“There was a lot of preparation . . . and discussions to make sure that we made Pachanga safer than last time and we were practical about everything so that the incidents that happened two years ago wouldn’t happen again,” said Patricia Amselem ’14, an administrator for the International Club. “And it didn’t happen, so I guess we did a good job.”

Callahan continued to say in his email that the Division of Student Life, the Health Center and their staff, as well as the ICC staff and Community Living hosted educational and social events before Pachanga.

This year’s event was much safer than the last time it was held, due to the extra safety precautions taken.

While plans have not been made for next year, Amselem says that she believes they will be able to hold Pachanga again.

photo courtesy nicole bortnik

Campus adds police presence PATROL, from page 1

rounding community is threatened, plainclothes officers are deployed in order to act as “additional eyes and ears for the Department, and patrol on foot and report about any concerns,” Callahan wrote.

According to Callahan, campus security measures have increased since September 11, 2001, in response to direction from law enforcement sources.

“Public safety at Brandeis is an

evolving system where we review all safety related concerns which may impact our community. We are always proactive in our approach with public safety in addition to communicating with our community,” Callahan wrote.

The Boston Marathon has been a widely celebrated event since its start in 1897. With strong international and local support, the city of Boston remains resilient in lieu of Monday’s attack.

In an interview with The Hoot, President Fred Lawrence spoke about

Brandeis’ security, ensuring that all community members should continue to feel safe.

“I think our security here is quite good. You try to be as careful as you can. We live in dangerous times. Who would have thought this would have happened yesterday?” Lawrence said.

“We are taking extra steps with our public safety to step up the security, and as always, we want to reexamine our communication and make it even better the next time to put information out as fast as possible.”

Bowdoin College in report

By Charlie Romanow Staff

A bizarre situation has arisen at Bowdoin College, which is shedding a negative light on the elite liberal arts school and others that share the same educational and cultural ideals. This month, a report titled “The Bowdoin Project” was released under the direction of Thomas Klingenstein, an investment professional and board member of the National Association of Scholars (NAS). The report was championed by the conservative Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.

This 360-page study took 19 months to complete and cost more than $100,000. It details criticism and perceived faults in the academic, social and cultural aspects of the school. Despite being a study of only Bowdoin College, the report analyzes characteristics that many world-class and well-known colleges share.

What makes this affair even more interesting is what seems to have precipitated the study. Klingenstein and Bowdoin President Barry Mills played a round of golf together in the summer of 2010 as a way to raise funds for the school and attract donors. Klingenstein reportedly told Mills while the latter was in the middle of his swing that, “I would never support Bowdoin—you are a ridiculous liberal school that brings all the wrong students to campus for all the wrong reasons . . . And I would never support Bowdoin or Williams because of all your misplaced and misguided diversity efforts.” This bold statement is credited by the fact that Williams College is Klingenstein’s alma mater.

Mills then “walked off the course in despair,” according to an article in the Wall Street Journal.

President Mills repeated the statement said by Klingenstein during that year’s convocation address, although he did not mention Klingenstein by name.

The report states that “this is a campus dominated by a progressive ideology that is rather hostile to American nationhood, and certainly to Western civilization.”

The report goes on to say that Bowdoin does not teach, “Intellectual modesty. Self-restraint. Hard Work.

Virtue. Self-criticism. Moderation. A broad framework of intellectual history . . . tolerance towards dissenting views. The predicates of critical thinking. A coherent body of knowledge. How to distinguish importance from triviality. Wisdom. Culture.”

“The Bowdoin Project” includes detailed criticism of the perceived liberal closed-mindedness of the Bowdoin community, prevalence and promotion of promiscuous sexual activity, and the school’s focus on less conventional courses and topics, in addition to many other subjects.

The report was prefaced with a message from Klingenstein purporting that the project was not the result of a personal vendetta against President Mills. Despite its great volume, the report used many indirect resources such as course catalogs, minutes of meetings and student newspa-

per articles. The researcher contacted approximately 100 current members of the Bowdoin community, but the vast majority declined to comment or only spoke off the record. Only three interviews were conducted with Bowdoin students for the report, and one of the three participants has already requested to have his name and interview removed from the report.

Mills took the week after the report was made public to look at the document in its entirety and put together an appropriate response. He did not argue with the group’s right to publish the report, stating, “we encourage open discourse on the effectiveness of American higher education and because we support academic freedom, which is the essence of a liberal arts institution.”

Yet, Mills believes that the report is mean-spirited, personal and includes exaggerated and misrepresented claims about the school. He also said that he does not believe that those involved in the study have spent enough time on the Bowdoin campus to experience the school. In his statement he did not address every detail of the initial report, but provided a brief overview of Bowdoin’s opposition to it. Members of the college’s community and beyond have taken to social media to voice their concerns—so much so that the Bowdoin Daily Sun had to close the comments section on their website.

Major concerns that Mills expressed were about the accusations that the school is un-American, that history majors are not required to take a single course in American history and that the school does not offer any courses devoted to the overall political, military, diplomatic and intellectual history of America. Mills cites numerous courses that Bowdoin offers that deals with these subjects and states that although not required, 98 percent of graduating history majors have taken an American history class on their own.

In addition to the previously mentioned Wall Street Journal and Boston Globe covering the issue, conservative pundits Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh have also publicly voiced their opinions. The report comes at a sensitive time in the college admissions schedule with many high school students currently deciding what school to attend. Bowdoin Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Scott Meiklejohn, has stated the report does not seem to be impacting enrollment levels for the Class of 2017.

Mills’ response to the report was followed by a response by the group that put together the report. Klingenstein was pleased that the president responded, but believed Mills’ defense to be “inaccurate or unresponsive” and that “he didn’t respond to the major points. There are certain things, what I would call foundational ideas, where Bowdoin is not open to competing points of view,” according to The Bowdoin Orient.

The 360-page report can be viewed on the NAS website. The Bowdoin Orient stated that “now that the report has been addressed by a series of national media outlets, one might hope that this saga—now well into its third year—will finally be put to rest.”

4 NEWS

The Brandeis Hoot

Community holds vigil

April 19, 2013

BEMCo members safe after marathon BEMCO, from page 1

trying to talk to them. It was pretty scary. I just wanted to make sure everyone, especially the people I knew, were alright,” she said.

Merker described his initial reaction of shock and disbelief.

“I think that I am quite shocked by it. I still can’t really believe that I was there to witness it.”

“People just stopped,” said Merker, continuing to describe the ordeal. “After a while, as we were leaving the scene and around other parts of Boston, people were acting relatively normal. I found it interesting that my friends and I were trying to leave Boston, and others were just leisurely walking around,” she said. Merker and the other EMTs were not officially evacuated.

Merker praises the police and their dedication. “The police officers were asking everyone to clear the streets so that ambulances and other officers could come to the

COMMUNITY, from page 1

time,” Winick said. “There is a word for what it means to experience joy and sadness simultaneously. There is a word for tragedy and celebration happening simultaneously. And that word is life.”

Winick concluded her words with a prayer for the victims and their families.

“May healing come quickly—physically, spiritually, emotionally—for all those who have been hurt. May there be comfort for the families and may there be comfort for all of us because it is our linked arms that will bring an end to evil,” she said.

President Fred Lawrence commented about the impact of the events on the Brandeis community and what steps the community should take in moving forward.

“This has added yet another one of those moments in our lives when none of us will forget where we were the moment that we heard,” Lawrence said.

On Monday, Lawrence was at a conference in Washington, D.C., for all of the major research university presidents. The moment he read about what had happened, he immediately called his office to ensure that the Brandeis family was safe.

scene,” she said. “It really is impressive, the togetherness the emergency responders showed in order to save as many lives as possible.”

Both Merker and Goldberg praised the efforts that the people of Boston are making to honor the victims, such as the “Wear Red for Boston” or “Walk for Boston” movements.

“We live right outside of Boston and I think that it is important to show our support to this great city and the people that were injured and the families of those killed,” said Merker. “The walking and running for Boston is a great idea to show the terrorist that events like these will bring the people of Boston and other parts of the country together to help each other.”

Goldberg echoed Merker’s sentiments.

“Tragedies bring people together, and the story about the blood drives being packed the next day was great.

Tragedies make us appreciate things we take for granted.”

Hoot wins second place in regional contest photos by nate rosenbloom/the hoot

Lawrence said he was grateful that no community members were harmed, “but we all mourn for those who were killed, injured and their families.”

Lawrence talked about having little or no control over the circumstances that society faces. But he urged the community to understand the “infinite” control over how they can respond. That understanding, he says, will allow students to draw strength from one another.

“I have to tell you the strength that I draw just from looking around here makes us realize that it is impossible to go through these things alone, but it is very possible to go through them together,” Lawrence said. “We have to reach out to each other in the coming days. Don’t be alone.”

Since the events on Monday, Lawrence and other faculty have sent numerous emails to the Brandeis community, urging students to reach out to resources on campus via the Psychological Counseling Center, or for the faculty, through the university’s Employee Assistance program. The emails also advised students to keep close contact with their families.

Many students have expressed their thoughts and gratitude for the university’s response to the events.

“I think the community is doing a great job and they should continue to promote the Mailman services for those that need it; especially because we are one of the happiest colleges in the U.S.” Ethan Levy ’15 said.

Other students expressed the difficulty of fully understanding the events because of Brandeis’ proximity to Boston.

“I think it’s hard because it feels like we’re so far away. We’re really not

that far, but it feels like we aren’t really there,” Charlotte Franco ’15 says.

“Franco mentioned that even though it feels far, Brandeis is playing an active role in helping the victims by hosting the blood drive this week.

Blood drive coordinator Rachel Weissman ’15 spoke about the impact of Monday’s events on this past week’s blood drive. She said that there was a significant increase in donors, which has positively affected the event.

“We still have all of the same people that have always come out, but this drive I have noticed a lot more first-time donors. It seems like what happened Monday was the extra push a lot of people needed to come donate. We have had about 20 more successful donations this drive, compared to drives in the past, which is great,” Weissman said.

Weissman noted that the increase in the donors has had a positive effect on the blood drive, but she wishes it didn’t take something like this to get people to donate.

“As far as our effect on the event and our contact with the Red Cross, the Red Cross has told us that they have met all current need caused by the event at this time, which is absolutely amazing,” Weissman said.

“Nothing makes me happier then to see first-time donors come out and donate and I hope that they continue to come back.”

Lawrence said he believes the community will continue to draw on its common ties of unity and love in the coming weeks.

“We have to move forward. The power of love is always stronger than the power of hate. This community is a special place that way,” Lawrence said.

For the second consecutive year, The Brandeis Hoot has been awarded with the second place prize in the New England Society of Newspaper Editors’ annual contest for College Newspaper of the Year. The award is given to college papers in recognition of “the quality of their reporting, use of photos, design and presentation, online offering and overall utility and value.”

The NESNE award is unique in the industry in that its jury is composed of panels of newspaper readers, rather than industry insiders or other less objective parties. Editors watch the deliberations in order to “glean strategic insights” of reader responses to the provided material.

The award will be presented May 2 at the office of the New England Newspaper and Press Association.

sports

April 19, 2013

The Brandeis Hoot 5

Softball sweeps WPI with back to back wins at home

By Dani Chasin Staff

The softball team had yet another successful weekend, defeating Worcester Polytechnic Institute in a doubleheader on Saturday on their home turf. Improving their season record to 19-10, the Judges managed a tight 3-2 win against WPI in the first game and a 4-1 score in the second game.

This is the first doubleheader in which the Judges have taken both games since their matchup against Lasell the previous weekend. Both Wheaton College and Endicott managed to split doubleheaders with Brandeis before the Judges faced off against WPI. Starting pitcher Melissa Nolan ’14 says that her team’s approach to Saturday’s doubleheader against WPI was simple.

“We look at every team the same way, whether they are ranked number one or number 100,” she said.

In the first game of the day on Saturday, the scoring for both teams did not come until the third inning.

Center fielder Amanda Genovese ’15 started the play by reaching base on an error and then stealing second.

Second baseman Danielle Novotny ’16 hit a double to right center, earning an RBI and sending Genovese to

home base, securing a score of 1-0 for the Judges.

Next, third baseman Madison Gagnon ’16 lined out to right field, allowing Novotny to advance to third base. Stepping up to bat, Nolan hit a home run for her fourth time this season, earning two RBIs, and carrying both Gagnon and Novotny home to make the score for the Judges 3-0 at the top of the third inning.

The bottom of the third inning saw a reaction by WPI as the Judges took the field. The Judges’ pitcher for all seven innings, Casey Ducinski ’13, gave up one run in the bottom of the third and allowed two consecutive hits in the bottom of the seventh inning. Although the WPI Engineers squeezed in another run in the seventh inning, Ducinski managed to strike out the last hitter, leaving two runners on base, and closing out the game for the Judges at a score of 3-2.

The second game saw more batting action by the Judges and an early run for the Engineers. Nolan, pitcher for all seven innings, allowed WPI an early run in the bottom of the first, granting the opponent a 1-0 advantage. Overall, Nolan faced 30 batters throughout the second game.

Securing two runs in the top of the third inning, the Judges began to pick up some momentum against the Engineers. Genovese started the third

photo by allison clears/the hoot

with a single up the middle of the field, followed by Novotny grounding out to second base and Genovese advancing to second. The run, sending Genovese to home base, came off a double struck by Gagnon, securing an RBI and evening the score to 1 Nolan, next to bat, hit a single to center field, advancing Gagnon to third base. Shortstop Anya Kamber ’15, who went 4-4 at the plate for singles, recorded an RBI that sent Gagnon to home base, which brought the score to 2-1 in the Judges’ favor.

The Judges’ last two runs were not made until the sixth and seventh innings. At the top of the sixth, Ducinski stole second after getting on base by an error. Genovese, hitting a single and advancing to second on the throw, recorded an RBI as Ducinski took home, raising the score to 3-1

for the Judges.

In the top of the seventh inning, a single to left field by Kamber, who then advanced to second on the error, allowed Gagnon to score on a fielding error by the left fielder, finishing off the game with a score of 4-1.

After the Engineers’ run in the first inning, Nolan shut down the WPI for the rest of the match. Nolan, who recorded two hits apiece in both games, struck out six batters and walked four when she took the mound.

When asked how she felt her personal performance has improved since her first year, Nolan said, “As a junior, I’m starting to feel like my time is running out. I’ve been playing for 16 years and knowing that I only have a season and a half left is pretty hard to grasp. What I didn’t realize freshman year is that I have nothing

to lose by giving everything I’ve got.”

Ducinski, the pitcher in the first game, allowed nine hits and four walks, but successfully struck out four batters.

Although Nolan admits that the season started out rocky, she credits her team’s newfound consistency and Coach Johnson’s support for their success.

“We had a slow start to the season but we finally seem to have things figured out. From day one, Coach Johnson has pushed us to be our best and always give 100 percent of what we’ve got. Her confidence in each and every one of us is motivational,” Nolan said.

Hoping to continue their two-game winning streak, the Judges look forward to next weekend where they will take on Clark University at home on Saturday.

Judges split doubleheaders on the diamond

By Charlie Romanow Staff

The baseball team entered competition last weekend 7-15, looking to move up in the UAA conference standings. They move into the latter part of the week on a mixed note after going 2-2 in their home doubleheaders against Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and Johnson and Wales University (JWU). The Judges also fell to Roger Williams 8-1 on Thursday.

The Judges’ most recent pair of games took place on Tuesday with games against Johnson and Wales.

The second game left Brandeis with a 6-3 loss. The Judges were able to get on the scoreboard early with a run in the first inning as a result of a throwing error and RBI single. The Wildcats quickly answered with a two-run home-run and maintained the lead from then on, scoring an additional four in the fifth inning.

Brandeis came close multiple times, having the bases loaded with one out in the third and fourth innings. They were stopped by the clutch pitching of JWU’s Lane Compton who was able to get out of the situations by striking out the final two batters in the third, forcing the runner at home

out and striking out the final batter of the fourth inning. The Wildcats’ strong fifth inning was successful due to playing small ball, accumulating three singles, three bunts, three walks, three steals and a wild pitch in the half-inning.

The Judges’ offense was led by pinch-hitter Pat Seaward ’13 who went two for two. Starter Elio Fernandez ’15 leaves with a loss, moving to 0-2 on the season. Stefan Weiss ’13 ended the game for the Judges with 2 1/3 innings of no-hit ball while striking out two. The Wildcats’ Jake Hocking went two for four and Alex Pezzuto and Pete Rosa each drove in two runs, with Rosa’s resulting from a home run.

Compton lasted five innings on the mound, allowing seven hits on three runs, all of them unearned. Aaron Fenstermacher earned his second save of the season, closing the game with two innings without allowing a base runner.

The Judges began the day on a strong note with a 5-0 win against JWU. Brandeis began the game with a three-run first inning, putting them comfortably ahead of the Wildcats.

The home team was led by Kyle

Brenner ’15 who pitched his first career complete game shutout, allowing only five hits and zero walks while striking out five during the seven inning game. Brenner improves his record to 1-5 on the season. He also contributed offensively with two hits, one going for extra bases.

Nick Cortese ’13 put up an additional two hits as Tom McCarthy ’15 drove in two runners. Only three JWU players were able to reach base with Zach Boyes and Pete Rosa each going two for three. Gian Bianchi was saddled with the loss after going five innings, giving up five runs on nine hits. Remy Cohen ended the game for the Wildcats with one inning, which saw no players reach base. JWU currently stand at 23-11, 10-2 in conference and are in contention for the title of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference.

Brandeis began the weekend with two precarious games against WPI on Saturday. They ended the day with a close 2-1 loss. The latter game had the Judges get off to a quick start, scoring in the first inning but the Engineers then scored runs in the second and third innings.

The game did not feature much of-

fense but the runs were able to come home through small ball. Brandeis’ first run was propelled by Chris Ferro’s ’13 leadoff single and then advancing to second and third on a bunt and a grounder before being driven home by a Brenner single.

WPI then scored by a walk, bunt, error and infield single. The Engineers then took the lead after a single, walk and error. The game featured only nine hits, led by Kyle Brenner with two and the Engineers’ John Caliri contributing two of his own.

Each pitcher performed well with Brandeis’ Mike Swerdloff ’13 pitching a complete seven innings, allowing only one earned run and striking out six. Taylor Landry got the win with a complete game allowing one run on four hits.

The day began with a 5-3 win for the Judges. The game started similarly to the following game with Brandeis coming out early with three runs in the first and WPI responding with three of their own in the second. This was all of the runs that the Engineers would score though. This game also featured some mistakes on defense with each team benefiting from the others’ errors.

The Engineers had a chance in the fourth by getting their first two batters on base but were silenced by a pickoff and double play. Chris Ferro led the Judges with a walk, run, steal, RBI and two hits, including the only extra-base hit of the game. Dylan Britton ’13 earned his team-high fourth win of the season after completing his second complete game of the season, allowing seven hits on two earned runs and striking out four.

Britton ended the game by getting nine of the opponent’s final 10 batters out. WPI’s Anthony Capuano earned two hits.

The Engineers’ pitcher Mark Bentson also pitched the entire game, allowing three earned runs on six hits and striking out four. WPI is currently 12-21 overall and 4-11 in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference.

Brandeis sits at the bottom of the conference standings at 9-18 despite playing well this past week and outscoring opponents 14-11. They get ready to enter a busy weekend with a game Thursday at Roger Williams, a doubleheader Saturday against Springfield at home and a re-scheduled doubleheader Sunday at Colby.

6 The Brandeis Hoot

editorials An agenda for Union reform

“To acquire wisdom, one must observe.”

Editors-in-Chief Jon Ostrowsky Emily Stott Victoria Aronson Arts, Etc. Editor Dana Trismen Arts, Etc. Editor Lassor Feasley Opinion Editor Morgan Dashko Copy Editor Nate Rosenbloom Photography Editor Jun Zhao Graphics Editor Katie Chin Online Editor Rachel Hirschhaut Deputy News Editor Senior Editors Debby Brodsky Suzanna Yu

Volume 10 • Issue 9 the brandeis hoot • brandeis university 415 south street • waltham, ma

Founded By Leslie Pazan, Igor Pedan and Daniel Silverman

staff

Shota Adamia, Emily Beker, Emily Belowich, Dani Chasin, Gilda DiCarli, Ben Fine, Theresa Gaffney, Evan Goldstein, Jaye Han, Maya Himelfarb, Paula Hoekstra, Brittany Joyce, Ari Kalfus, Sarah Sue Landau, Rebecca Leaf, Nathan Murphy Needle, Aliya Nealy, Alexandra Patch, Max Randhahn, Zach Reid, Zoe Richman, Charlie Romanow, Alex Self, Alec Siegel, Diane Somlo, Sindhura Sonnathi, Jennifer Spencer, Matthew Tagan, Alison Thvedt, Coco Tirambulo, Yi Wang, Shreyas Warrier, Pete Wein, Linjie Xu

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.

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April 19, 2013

T

his editorial board congratulates all incoming Student Union officers, including the newly elected President Ricky Rosen ’14. The incoming administration will face a multitude of issues affecting the student body. The following agenda includes the items we believe should be a priority for new officers in the coming year.

First, as Rosen has already demonstrated, the current dining contract with Aramark presents students with fewer options than they deserve. Given the prices students pay in dining each year, hours should be extended further, particularly on Friday and Saturday evenings; points should not be valued at a significantly higher rate than dollars and the quality of food should be upgraded.

Rosen has advocated for beneficial policy changes in his time as senator.

We hope he and his Union colleagues will continue this work and incorporate student feedback through surveys and meetings with dining staff.

Second, we believe student government and the student body at large could benefit greatly from increased interaction with trustees. In addition to a student representative to the board, granting club leaders access to meetings and small group sessions with trustees would ensure better communication.

Issues related to tuition increases, dining contracts and campus infrastructure should accept more student input.

Third, the current club restructuring proposal can be addressed by discussing the core of the issue. It’s not about club organization but instead about financing. Rather than reorganizing the current system, we suggest the Union and administrators review clubs receiving an excess of funding. If the university is serious about an efficiency campaign when it comes to finances, they should not cut funding across the board but target student clubs wasting resources by simply requesting extraneous funding in hopes of receiving a larger percentage.

Fourth, the Student Union must

take this opportunity to rebuild its relationship with the student body, engaging in weekly or monthly discussions with club leaders. In previous years, Union officials have spent time with administrators and formal committee meetings but they have been lacking more frequent informal opportunities for students to voice their concerns with Union officers.

Fifth, we hope the Union will launch a new awareness campaign about student safety on campus, and in particular regarding sexual assault. Brandeis is not alone in its handling of this issue and the existence of sexual assault on its campus. While administrators can form committees to investigate campus policies, students are more aware of what happens and how it can be prevented.

Certainly, the newly elected officers will have a number of issues to tackle when they assume office. We hope they will consider these and ask other students what matters most.

April 19, 2013

sports

hoops for haiti Students took on staff at the annual Hoops for Haiti basketball game, a fundraiser for ETE Camp in Hinche,

Haiti.

The Brandeis Hoot 7

photos courtesy amanda pereira

arts, etc.

8 The Brandeis Hoot

April 19, 2013

‘I Love You Because’ misses the mark

By Victoria Aronson Editor

Directed by Brian Huangs ’15, the production of “I Love You Because” presented by Tympanium Euphorium intertwined humor and the classic hardships of romance. Although the choreography and singing capabilities were mediocre, performers playing secondary roles truly stole the show.

The musical itself, “I Love You Because,” portrayed the need to cast aside any plans in pursuing love, since the act of directly searching for commitment only leads to heartache. Simultaneously projecting the ideal of falling in love unexpectedly and condemning any predetermined plans to find “the one,” the show nevertheless followed a highly predictable trajectory.

Tracing the heartaches of Marcy Fitzwilliams (Tamar Forman-Gejriot ’16) and Austin Bennet (Nick Maletta ’13), the play casts the two together initially as friends who slowly begin to fall in love. Embodying the classic notion that opposites attract, Marcy is a free-spirited, liberal soul dedicated to aiding the highly structured, rigid personality of Austin in his desperate attempts to win back the heart of his ex-girlfriend. Yet, through the process, the two inevitably fall in love.

In a moment of humor, the scene portraying the initial meeting of Marcy and Austin appealed directly to the predominantly Jewish environment at Brandeis University. Marcy’s close friend, Diana Bingley (Bethany Adam ’15) arranged for the two single women to meet two strangers at a bar through the online dating service Jdate, although none of the characters are actually Jewish.

Among outbursts of laughter from the audience, Jeff Bennet (Ray Trott ’16) tore open his shirt to reveal the words Brandeis splayed across his chest.

Despite humorous moments such as these, it seemed Forman-Gejriot struggled to hit the high notes, while the chemistry between Marcy and Austin fell short in comparison to the blossoming romance between Diana and Jeff.

Despite attempts to evoke a sense of sexual tension, scenes between Marcy and Austin lacked intensity and intimacy.

Intriguingly, Trott’s portrayal of Jeff Bennet only improved throughout the play, as his enthusiasm and humorous delivery of lines conveyed a sense of enthusiasm and dedication that had

“i love you because” Student actors engage in a dance performance.

been lacking in the choreography.

As this was his first production, Huangs said, “I wanted to keep one main idea in mind: make people laugh. I have a strong feeling that art as a form of entertainment is often overlooked for finding deep, analyzed meaning.”

In particular, Adam delivered a standout performance, demonstrating a natural affinity for acting, which lended itself to her convincing rendition of the character Diana Bingley.

Dramatizing the conflict of feelings arising in strictly friends with benefits scenarios, Adam was comical in her mathematical proofs of the amount of time necessary to rebound from a failed relationship. Her timing was precise and her embodiment of the character was truly believable, while the chemistry developing between the amusing character of Jeff and herself was clearly evident. Encapsulating sexually explicit scenes, the play incorporated humor as Jeff strained his back and was unable to be intimate with Diana without experiencing excruciating pain. Performing mathematical problems on his abacus, Jeff

sporting a brandeis tshirt The couples arrange to meet using a Jewish dating service.

emerged as a truly ridiculous but lovable character.

Although the orchestra was excellent, the singing capabilities of the performers fell short in several instances, as they sought to strike notes outside of their vocal ranges. Rita Cot ’15, playing the part of a restaurant manager, possessed one of the best voices in the performance, despite her role as minor character.

The set itself was well designed, depicting the brick buildings of New York. When they changed the set mid performance, however, it drew attention away from the actors on stage. It was further distracting to see members of the production moving furniture during the solo of one of the central characters.

Despite initial impressions of mediocre singing capabilities and choreography lacking enthusiasm, the musical “I Love You Because” improved as it progressed, using humor to its advantage. “Some people really just need a nice night out to have a good time, and that’s what I hoped to be able to do with this show,” Huangs said.

photos by nate rosenbloom/the hoot

romance blossoms The relationship between Jeff and Marcy heats up.

April 19, 2013

ARTS, ETC. 9

The Brandeis Hoot

Students share their creativity through gallery opening

By Dana Trismen Editor

This past Wednesday, Dreitzer Gallery held its second opening reception for the students in the post-baccalaureate studio program. The gallery exhibited the works of talented and enthusiastic students and was packed with people discussing the artistic themes.

The works mainly consisted of paintings and oil on canvas, but there were a few sculptures scattered throughout the gallery. Each artist held a distinctive style, so each of them had their own space, which was located in the alcoves and corners of the gallery.

One standout artist was Shona McAndrew. Her paintings consisted mainly of nude women looking desperate and in distress. These women etched onto the canvas were unafraid to look the viewer straight in the eye.

Although the confrontational position of the women could potentially make the view uneasy, McAndrew created strong, bold pieces that moved the viewer to both pity the woman and to applaud her bravery. In one painting in which the woman is painting her nails, the bright red of the nail polish was the standout and focal point of the artwork. McAndrew excelled at attracting attention: The upstairs section of the gallery housed a picture of a girl making a face with her mouth wide open and one eye squinted. While the picture looks normal, and the fact that the human face is unmistakable, there were flashes of green, orange and pink in it. This is a painting of a crazy release—a sort of explosion of emotion—and these strange colors only add to it.

Many artists played with color, using bright and unnatural colors to attract the eye. Pam Jorgensen’s part of the exhibit contained landscapes: paintings of serene scenery created with complementary colors such as

purple and orange or a farm painting with orange and yellow grass.

This exhibit housed other examples of the utilization of color—notably the depth of color. “Untitled,” by Shoshanna Rosenfield, is a beautiful oil on canvas painting of trees and a lake. The colors were very dark—the kind of landscape that is only seen at the early hours of the morning. The darkness of this painting created an atmosphere of danger but one that was simultaneously alluring.

Daniel Friedman’s section of the exhibit was also intriguing, consisting of multiple paintings of rooms.

These rooms were incredibly cluttered and claustrophobic but colorful and glittery. He created not only a children’s room, but also a pink room with a shimmering couch. Each of these paintings was a full room, but all seemed to extend into the outdoors— a window to another world.

The gallery also exhibited abstract pieces. Farnaz Gholami created a notable piece, titled “Hope?” that consisted of many interlocking blocks and shifting colors. As the colors slid into each other, viewers were forced to examine where the lines between sec- pieces but with the doll as the constant tions of the painting blurred with each centerpiece.

The Dreitzer Gallery lends a cerother and how one section seamlessly tain atmosphere and professionalism moved into another.

Gholami also exhibited a great image in the downstairs gallery where he created abstract buildings with human feet in bizarre colors coming out of the background. Although it is difficult for the viewer to determine exactly what Gholami meant by this block landscape interspersed with the human body, it is still fascinating to examine.

Sascha La Fave’s artwork was also incredibly creative. She used doll images repeatedly, posing them next to tanks and hawks and mice, perhaps meant to illustrate the loss of innocence associated with childhood.

These were also somewhat abstract

curiosity Student’s explore and examine artwork.

photos by allison clears/the hoot

photos by katie chin/the hoot

to the artwork of these students, creating a setting in which the students can proudly display their works to the Brandeis community. Through

shona mcandrew McAndrew excells with her use of color.

experimentation with color and abstraction, the artists in the post-baccalaureate studio program displayed quality work.

10 ARTS, ETC.

The Brandeis Hoot

April 19, 2013

Visiting professor explores the artistic in the scientific

By Victoria Aronson Editor

Debbie Chachra, materials scientist and associate professor of materials science at Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, presented the final lecture of a three-part series titled “Art of Science.” She discussed the vast realm of technological innovations that have permitted scientists to explore 3D printing, buildings without right angles and inspiration from the intricate structures of human bone, and explored the evolution of organic architecture. Chachra is currently researching biological materials herself.

Chachra described the ease with which it is possible to distinguish between natural and synthetic design, explaining that in nature there is essentially only one right angle.

This vertical right angle is manifested through the vertical growth of trees and vegetation toward the sky and the erect posture of human beings when standing. Synthetic design, in contrast, is highly categorized by the prevalence of right angles and geometric patterns.

Expanding on this notion, she asserted the ability “to exploit the fact that liquids are smooth” within design, specifically within the production of glass. She referenced early attempts to capture the unique patterns emerging in nature, such as the cracks in a snake’s skin to artistic renditions of the structure of sea creatures. Chachra pointed to the potential to “mathematically model the morphology of living things,” tracing attempts by biologist D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson in 1917 to project the forms of fish species onto grids.

By mathematically describing the distortion of the grid to correspond to the bodily form of each species, he could mathematically describe their different morphologies as well. This correlation between the intricacies of biological life and their implications within the realm of synthetic design gradually manifested within the field

of architecture.

Tracing the emergence of an affinity for organic shapes, she referenced the curvature of tables by designer Noguchi. Confined to smaller scale projects, the complications associated with curvature in design may not be immediately evident.

Chachra jokingly described frustrated homeowners who struggle to arrange furniture in curved rooms, and pointed to the prevalence of right angles in everything from plywood to couches. She discussed the struggle of becoming accustomed to the characteristically curved streets of Boston.

When organic design is manifested on a grand scale, Chachra asserted that “people find it disorienting; some become physically nauseous.”

Another potential drawback of organic design is the relative lack of efficiency, and tendency for materials to be wasted in comparison to modular, geometric designs.

Chachra discussed emerging technological innovations such as 3D printing, and the usage of mathematical algorithms to model biological patterns. As a relatively new technology still in its infant stages of development, 3D printing is being further investigated for serious implications in the field of health care and design.

Scientists are seeking to explore the possibility of printing 3D organs for patients, which could revolutionize organ transplants if successful. Tying back again to organic design, Chachra pointed out the possibility to print buildings using this technology as well.

Chachra further alluded to the distinction between natural and synthetic design by elaborating upon the ability of biological materials such as proteins to self-assemble and form more complex structures. This, she explains, starkly contrasts with the methodical, orderly techniques used by computer programs.

Considering the negative attributes of organic designs, whether it be loss of efficiency or complications arising from curvature rather than

photo by allison clears/the hoot

debbie chachra Olin College professor speaks on biological inspirations for design.

modular geometric shapes, an audience member posed the question of whether there were any definable advantages to this approach beyond a

purely aesthetic desire to soften the hard edges of traditional design. Responding to the question, Chachra pointed out her desire to neither dis-

miss nor condemn such views, but maintains that these innovations are about “people pushing the envelope in order to make a statement.”

‘Game of Thrones’ leaps into its third season

By Shreyas Warrier Staff

The third season of the hit HBO TV show “Game of Thrones” aired on March 31. It was one of the most highly-anticipated season premieres, having met more than 11.3 million viewers during the second season.

The series, based on George R.R. Martin’s fantasy series “A Song of Ice and Fire,” has been nominated for 13 Emmy awards in 2011. The second season won six of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. The third season was released one year after the end of the second season, and is comprised of 10 episodes, each about five to seven minutes longer than earlier episodes.

The reason for the one-year gap was rumored to be the simultaneous filming of third and fourth seasons.

The director, however, stated that though efficient, the required scope of writing would make this impossible. Production and shooting were delayed because of an unfortunate accident endured by Kit Harrington (the actor who plays Jon Snow). He fell and broke his ankles while attempting to jump from the bannister of an apartment, thus preventing the filming of the scenes north of the Wall until he could walk again.

The third season of the show saw

4.2 million live viewers, while many more people watched it on demand.

The season started off slowly, as the first episode set the background and tone instead of jumping straight into the storyline.

The two episodes that followed plunged into the war for the Iron Throne, a war still raging between three great armies.

The third book in the series, on which the season is based, is full of action, as it is right in the thick of the war. Viewers can therefore expect a great deal of action and drama throughout this season. The third episode begins with the power of Daenerys Targaryen’s growing dragons, as she willingly trades one of them for an army of eight thousand castrated slaves. Both her advisors, Ser Barristan the Bold and Ser Jorah Mormont, tell her that this is a foolish trade. However, she ignores them and does it anyway.

The savvy viewer can tell with her slight smile that she hints at the fact that she has a plan in hand. Jaime and Brienne have been captured by Roose Bolton’s sellswords, and we see a change start to creep over Jaime: he grows into the character he is seen to be in the novels, changing shape and becoming a caring, moralistic individual.

Robb Stark’s battle continues, al-

daenerys targaryen Daenerys enlists an army to take over the iron throne.

though it reaches a turning point when his uncle foolishly destroys his battle plan by attacking Ser Tywin Lannister’s banner men and forces them away from their destination. We see Stark grow more and more kingly, willing to take control and make decisions and to chastise and castigate his followers for their mistakes. This is a change from his somewhat subdued manner in the earlier seasons, when he depended on his mother and his banner men’s advice to make his choices.

Tyrion essentially stays the same.

In this season, he is taken from power and jousts with his sister, father and

nephew for control. He is placed as Master of the Coin after Littlefinger’s promotion, and is expected to cure the woes and debts of the entire kingdom. Peter Dinklage plays the part of Tyrion brilliantly, showing his condescending and satirizing wit in perfect concord with the novels.

During the third season of “Game of Thrones,” the audience starts to see a real change in the younger characters.

Daenerys returns back to her role from the first season, showing strong leadership and less of the little, lost girl. During the second season, she spent much of her time wandering

photo from internet source

around, saying that things cannot— that she will not—let them happen, simply because she has the family name Targaryen. In the third season, we start to see her become more assertive, just as Robb does. She is more confident, able to make decisions and plans to achieve her goals. She still listens to her advisors, but does not follow their whims as easily as she did before.

As the third season takes off, favorite characters continue to develop while others suffer danger and even death. Following the path of its precedents, the show continues to entrance millions of viewers.

April 19, 2013

ARTS, ETC. 11

The Brandeis Hoot

‘Behind the Pines’ fails to entertain

By Shreyas Warrier Staff

“The Place Behind the Pines” is a movie that no one should watch. It boasts a star-studded cast, including Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes and Bradley Cooper; but it was a cast that walked about the set looking as if they would have rather been anywhere but there, if it had not been for the fat paycheck at the end of filming. In fact, Gosling had his character killed off halfway through the movie so that he no longer needed to bear the awfulness that was all around him.

The movie opens by focusing on Luke Glanton (Ryan Gosling), a stunt motorcyclist in a circus. After an extraordinarily long opening sequence where all the audience sees is Gosling’s back, he gets on a bike and dare-devilishly zips around a spherical metal cage, weaving in and out of the other two riders in the cage with extreme ease. He then stands outside the circus tent, smoking a cigarette while signing autographs for a group of kids. He is then approached by Eva Mendes, who proceeds to tell him that the one time they had sex more than a year ago, he impregnated her.

She makes it clear, however, that she has a boyfriend with whom she is madly in love, and that he can’t follow her around, or be the father that he wants to be. Obviously, she’s not meant to be listened to, and Gosling decides to continuously stalk her house.

From here on out, the plot starts to loosen and unravel in the most fantastical way. Gosling decides that the best way to support his child is to quit his job. When he tells his exlover, she rightfully stares at him as if he is crazy. He takes up a part time job as a mechanic with a random man that he meets in the forest, and proceeds to alert the man about his entire personal life. The man, magically enough, used to be a bank robber and suggests to Gosling that he aid him in robbing banks around the area. Gosling refuses, but after being

shunned by Mendes’ character and her boyfriend yet again, clearly missing the hint that he’s not wanted, he decides to acquiesce. That’s all the push he needs to rob a bank—being told that it wasn’t smart to quit his job for a lower paying job in order to support the child he never knew about.

The two start robbing banks, Gosling acting as the least intimidating, most insane bank robber of all time.

He robs banks with a squeaky, Mickey Mouse type of voice that would make people want to hit him rather than dive down and stuff large sums of money into his bag. After robbing two banks with extreme luck, he decides to rob two banks in one day. It’s like crack cocaine to this character, and he just got hooked in a matter of days. Gosling’s acting in this movie is horrendous as he does not give any reality to his work or his role other than the tattoos painted on his body.

The dialogue gives no reason for any of the characters to exist, let alone act in the way that they do.

The speech is completely disconnected, and the characters seem to answer questions that were never asked, yet should have been, leading to a full disconnection from the movie. The soundtrack is jarring and does not fit the movie, proving to be extremely distracting and at times it even drowns out the actors’ speeches, which would have been good had it not been for the terrible choice of songs. The reality of the movie is also extremely questionable; Gosling hits Mendes’ boyfriend in the eye with the sharp part of a hammer after he invades their house to build a crib, and the audience is shown the bloody eye almost falling out of its socket. Yet the next time the boyfriend is shown, there is absolutely nothing wrong with his eye, despite the fact that at most, two months have passed. The damage shown would not have been repairable. However, time lapses in the movie are not well worked out, and the audience is never shown any indication of the amount of time that has passed, adding to the air of confusion.

photo from internet source

ryan gosling This indie movie is not a hit for Gosling.

It takes close to an hour for Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper), to come into the movie. One would expect Cooper’s role to lift the plot at least a little, based on his acting in “Silver Lining Playbook.” He is, however, given a role of stupidity equivalent to Gosling’s. Cooper acts as a rookie cop, who chases Gosling down after he robs two banks in one day. Gosling gets hit by a car and runs into a house, instead of simply jumping the fence of the house’s backyard and making his escape.

Cooper then can’t decide whether or not to follow him, evacuates the residents, forcing them down at gunpoint, and runs around the house multiple times looking for a way in, not realizing that the door is wide open.

Finally, he kicks it down, but nobody knows how the door has magically closed, since the house’s owners ran out screaming, leaving it wide open. He then walks in, waving his weapon, wondering where on earth Gosling is, though he was just told that the man was upstairs. He walks in and shoots immediately, refusing to follow officer protocol. Gosling

falls out the window and shoots at the same time, managing to hit Cooper.

Gosling is now dead, released from the terrible movie.

The plot then focuses on Cooper’s family and work life. He is hailed as a hero by the police department, and finds himself in a moral dilemma when he finds out that half his police force is corrupt when they go to Eva Mendes’ house and search it for money that could have been from Gosling.

They find it and take it, giving Cooper the “lion’s share” as he was the one who was shot.

His wife is seriously upset about Cooper’s injury, and wants him to retire from his job. He is supposed to chase down criminals, even if it puts his person in danger. It is known that this is his first year on the police force because he is consistently referred to as “rookie.” At the same time, he is portrayed as a 36-year-old with a child, so why is he a rookie cop?

With the way that he acts, it is easy to guess that he probably failed the police academy’s courses multiple times over.

The movie then switches time frames again, following Cooper’s

child, who is caught up in drug trouble. Cooper’s character is separated from his wife, presumably because he didn’t retire after his first six months on the job. Conveniently, Cooper’s son AJ is best friends with Gosling’s son, Jason, who does not know who his father is. Both of them get arrested for drug possession, and Cooper gets both off the hook. Predictably, he tells his son to stay away from Jason, knowing who Jason’s father was even though he was raised without his criminal father. Jason continuously wants to know who about his real father, and upon finding out, gets into a fight with AJ, who beats him up to the point where he is taken to the hospital. After his release, Jason heads to AJ’s house and takes Cooper hostage and drives him to the woods. Cooper begs for his life in front of a 15-yearold, who relents and lets him go. A predictable ending closes a truly terrible movie. There are no themes that are explored by this completely disconnected movie, which attempts to be thoughtful and eloquent. The style of the movie is horrendous, and leads to more confusion than clarity. It was a waste of a movie ticket. Stay away.

Choosing peace in Bahrain: using the arts to unite

By Vinh Nguyen Staff

An annual celebration of community and creativity through the arts, “Bahrain/Brandeis: Ulafa’a Reconciliation Art Project Recasting Reconciliation through Culture and Arts” was performed in Pearlman Lounge last Tuesday as a part of the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts. Presented by the Ethics Center and sponsored by both the Brandeis Peacebuilding and the Arts program and the U.S. Embassy in Bahrain, the celebration welcomed 10 young Bahraini artists of the Ulafa’a Project to give insight into their journey of using the arts as a way of opening a dialogue of peace.

The Arabic term, “Ulafa’a” means a group of people who have familiarity and common feelings with one another. As such, the name of the group is inspired by their shared will to foster reconciliation through the arts, especially in the wake of the Bahraini Uprising in 2011. As the Ulafa’a artists described, the ancient Greeks once called Bahrain “paradise” and thought this island country off the coast of Saudi Arabia to be the fountain of youth. Since then, the once-called peaceful paradise has experienced numerous internal conflicts between its two religious groups, Sunni and

Shia Muslims. Civil unrest stemming from Bahrain’s governing monarchy also often accumulates into violence and hate.

The artists of Ulafa’a Initiative believe that the violence and turmoil experienced by Bahrain today can be addressed in a peaceful way. For them, art is not a means of saying what is right or wrong; rather, they envision art as a way of getting people thinking and involving themselves in the greater conversation of peace.

For one of the artists, Tamadher Ali, art is how she “asks questions about culture and identity without having to answer.”

The Ulafa’a Initiative utilizes photography, films, print, calligraphy and painting to make public and interactive street art to engage the community. By engaging the community, they hope to create a dialogue about what peace means to each individual to disrupt the cycle of violence. One project that they organized was “Our Freej.” They launched a nationwide campaign on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram, asking people to take pictures of sights, neighborhoods, faces and communities of Bahrain. They then displayed the pictures for everyone to see, encouraging interaction with the photos by allowing them to write tags on the picture and captions.

ulafa’s reconciliation art project Bahraini artists discuss art as a dialogue for peace.

photo by katie chin/the hoot

opinion

12 The Brandeis Hoot

April 19, 2013

Relax, it’s only an internship

photo by Jinjie Xu/the hoot

By Lassor Feasley Editor

As summer approaches, many Brandeis students are mobilizing to partake in an entirely non-academic pursuit. The long, balmy days, the shining sun and temperate weather, the budding leaves and birds, timidly greeting the new season can only

Self Shelf

mean one thing: its time to kick back, take a deep breath, and... start searching for a summer internship.

Remember the days when summer meant months of leisure, an escape from the violent ebb and flow of the rigors of collegiate life? Those days are gone. The college student who squanders his time on such frivolous activities is seen as a slacker and a

deadbeat. Today, a good internship can be as difficult to attain as entrance to an elite school.

I started applying to internships in the creative development side of film production over February break. I called twenty firms in New York and Los Angeles, was able to send a resume and cover letter to ten of them, and was contacted to interview at just

one, which fortunately was successful.

It just so happens that that company is minutes away from my apartment, but many students are willing to travel across the continent if it means finding work at a prominent firm.

Recently, several newspapers have run columns debating the economic effects of these internships, many of which are unpaid. The conclusions they often reach are largely negative.

The reasoning goes like this: the many internship positions being created across the country stifle employment, by coercing interns to do work that salaried employees would otherwise conduct. Further, they claim, with some justification, that underprivileged students without the resources to support themselves during unpaid internships are effectively locked out of the game, creating social and economic disparity.

To some extent, this is tempered by fellowships and grants which Brandeis awards to some students who would not otherwise be able to intern. But is this really the best way for students to be spending their summers? After all, we will have our whole lives to work in professional environments, and our leisure time is comparatively finite. Even so, we often feel compelled to intern for several reasons. Resumes start to look dated after even a few months without new work experiences. How can we justify a summer of relaxation when our peers all seem to have their noses to the grindstone?

In a way, we have created an internship arms race. When we graduate, our competitors from other elite universities across the country will be touting credentials that will include multiple internships in relevant industries. Employers who don’t want to take a chance on an inexperienced employee won’t have to, even if they’re hiring fresh-faced 22 year olds. It’s not easy to project the perfect Athenian men we are expected to be through a one page resume. But to remain competitive, we must attempt to do so nonetheless. It’s not enough to triple major and double minor. It’s not enough to be president of your club

and captain of your team. To make it in the real world, young grasshopper, you must prove you have what it takes to successfully maneuver in a professional environment.

It’s hard to gauge just how seriously employers take internships in their personnel decisions. As previously suggested, the presence of unpaid internships on a resume is just as likely to indicate social and economic class as it is likely to indicate ambition or achievement. Whether or not employers are aware of this skewing effect toward those of a higher social status, it will never hurt to have additional experience under your belt.

Here is the bottom line. No one should ever go into an internship with the sole intent of resume building. By the time the summer is out, I will have had four internships since I turned 19. I look at these internships as exploratory forays into industries I wouldn’t otherwise have access into.

I have worked in private equity, national government, the set of a music video, and now, the creative development side of independent filmmaking. Some of those industries I will never return to under any circumstances. For others, I may one day return to them. If I had not taken every opportunity I had to intern, I would be learning all this well into my professional career.

Remember that an internship should be something you do for yourself, not just to pad your resume, but to build a working knowledge of a particular industry. If you are already committed to a specific career path, internships have a limited value for you. Half the internships I’ve participated in did not actually help me build marketable skills. Those experiences, however, I do not regret; without them, I would not know how to manage the more substantive opportunities I might encounter in the future. If you miss the internship boat this summer, don’t beat yourself up.

In the long run, the world will forgive you for taking it easy for a summer, it happens to the best of us.

Responding to the tragic events in Boston

By Alex Self Staff

I still remember getting the first text. It was around three o’clock when a friend I had not texted within months asked me if I was all right.

The message was quite unexpected at the time. I wondered if someone had hacked my Facebook to create some fake crisis, or if perhaps people were overly concerned about my militaristic efforts to tackle my thesis. These thoughts seemed ludicrous to me but, then again, so did the text. As I scrambled to make sure someone had not posted an R.I.P. on my Facebook wall or whatnot, a friend informed me of the explosions in Boston. At this point, I checked the news and realized what nearly everybody else already knew—there had been two unexplained explosions at the Boston Marathon.

This immediately contextualized my friend’s fear—I had run in two marathons during college and had always wanted to run in the iconic Boston race. He must have known this fact and figured that I could be at the race. With that realization, a number

of other texts started to come in with a similar question. I immediately sent out responses and questions of my own, both to those I was concerned about and to those who I knew would be concerned about me.

My first reaction to the tragic event was a sort of hollow shock. Like many New Englanders, I had grown up with Boston as my political, cultural and (I suppose most directly) sports capital. Having lived less than an hour away from the city in a small town in southern Massachusetts, I often went to Boston, especially for sporting events. Brandeis only strengthened this connection. After going into Boston numerous times, I truly fell in love with the city. The atmosphere, people and the suburban metropolis feel of the city encompassed the perfect blend between the cul-de-sac charm of the town of my youth and the hopeful skyscrapers of my future.

Boston is the city where I wish to live and work in the future, the city I identify with the most. Boston is my city.

The attacks reverberated on a level that was unfamiliar to me. All attacks on the United States, whether against military personnel or civilians, cause

photo from an online sorce

me anger and grief. Yet this was different, this was personal. This time, someone had attacked my home.

As this shock took hold, the news coverage became more ominous.

Talking heads discussed reports of other bombs, other bombings, and general chaos in Boston. The fog of war continues to this day and no one yet realizes the full extent of what happened. The feeling, however, of watching the news for live updates on what was essentially a war zone was terrifying. As a situation tantamount to martial law clamped down on

Boston, it seemed that any ominous rumor was pregnant with deadly possibility. There were reports of suspicious packages found at the Harvard MBTA Station and various other locales around Boston. It was amazing how many rumors ran through the media and social networks. Everyone seemed to be waiting for some other disaster to take place. In the meantime, casualty reports and pictures of the carnage at the scene of the attack continually came in, showcasing the sanguinary effects of the disaster.

Many people discussed the paral-

lels of the event to 9/11. I will readily admit that I was far too young when the 9/11 attacks occurred to truly understand them or feel the weight of their impact. Having spent the day in elementary school, I was not even informed of the attacks until long after they happened. Even then, I could not truly understand the gravity of what had just occurred. I think one of the reasons it’s difficult to contextualize momentous events as a child is See BOSTON, page 14

April 19, 2013

SECTION 13

The Brandeis Hoot

Human goodness after terror

By Jon Ostrowsky Editor

Bombs explode at a marathon to kill three people younger than 30 and wound nearly 200 others. A deranged gunman open fires to massacre 20 children and six teachers at an elementary school. Another shoots down dozens of people watching a midnight premiere in a movie theater.

Acts of human evil leave us speechless. Filled with a growing complexity of emotions, we struggle for words to explain these horrific events.

The tragedies of Boston, Aurora and Newtown, however we classify them—as massacres or domestic terrorist attacks—leave our society with a multitude of questions and few an-

swers.

As investigations unfold, we learn the facts about possible motives. But those facts do little to answer the questions about human nature that remain.

Why construct bombs with nails and inflict the most excruciating injuries possible for those who survive?

Why kill first graders at point blank range? Why shoot people inside a movie theater on a quiet summer night? How can any one commit such atrocious, monstrous crimes?

We struggle to explain the brutality of these acts beyond the fact that evil exists in our world.

But if individuals demonstrated the existence of evil in our society this year, we can find comfort in the communities that overwhelmingly remind us about the goodness of compassion, selflessness and love in

response.

At an interfaith service Thursday, President Obama reminded a grieving city and nation that human goodness will triumph over evil.

“And that’s what the perpetrators of such senseless violence—these small, stunted individuals who would destroy instead of build, and think somehow that makes them important—that’s what they don’t understand,” Obama said. “Our faith in each other, our love for each other, our love for country, our common creed that cuts across whatever superficial differences there may be—that is our power. That’s our strength.”

The tragedies of recent months shake our personal sense of stability and calm, but they do not destroy our communities. At first glance, the headlines send us into a state of awe and shock. But then we hear about

the first responders and civilians who rushed toward danger, who ran toward gunfire or smoke, to aid their friends, family and strangers. And we see those stories continue to emerge, far outlasting the ones about the senseless culprits who chose evil.

Monday reminded us all too well that terrible things happen in our society for which we often can never truly understand why or how.

When appropriate, it’s our collective responsibility to work to prevent them by reforming what we can control. The Senate attempted reform this week with its plan for new background checks after Newtown but failed horribly. No, it would not be a full proof plan against gun violence, but it would be a common sense step in the right direction that 90 percent of the American people support.

But sometimes, like on Monday,

there is no security precaution or policy solution in response to evil.

Many say it was the symbolism of the marathon—the human story of triumph in a race of endurance along with the international context of the race—and the significance of Boston—its rich cultural history and civic spirit—that someone or some group sought to destroy on Monday.

But in their failed attempt, they only revealed the strength of the city. They only revealed the core character of a community they tried to defeat.

The lesson we are left with after Monday, the same one we learned after other senseless acts of evil this year, is that community spirit will prevail, however arduous the struggle.

Final thoughts: What I’ve learned at Brandeis

By Vicky Lee

Special to the Hoot

It’s true, what we heard at our first day of orientation: There is no experience quite like the Brandeis experience.

Growing up, my parents raised me with the traditional ideals of what many Chinese daughters experience: to be quiet and docile, to play the violin and piano, to achieve straight As in school, and to enter a prestigious college. They discouraged me from speaking my opinions, and believed that Friday nights should be spent hanging out with SAT books.

And I gave in to these expectations.

I learned to play piano and violin. I spent more time with SAT flashcards than friends. And I, to my parents’ delight, entered a top-tier university called Brandeis.

The first club I joined was the Brandeis Asian American Student Association because I wanted to meet other Asians since I grew up in a predominantly white community. Joining BAASA gave me a home away from home at the Intercultural Center. My peers encouraged me to share not just my culture, but to immerse myself in other cultures. The ICC gave me opportunities to develop leadership skills and to share my love for diversity and acceptance. Still, I remained the quiet Asian girl who rarely spoke and stayed in on Friday nights to write chemistry lab reports. Although I was achieving academically and was welcomed at the ICC, something was missing from my college experience: learning how to communicate what I was truly passionate about.

Two years ago, the ICC hosted a holiday party with the Greater Waltham Arc, which works to improve the lives of residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

During the event, I noticed a woman sitting by herself. I smiled gently and, taking her hand, led her to the dance floor. I slowly tapped my feet to the beat and hesitantly spun her around.

She smiled and I smiled back. I taught her how to do the shuffle, and she taught me how to swing my hips.

As a disclaimer, I was never trained in dancing—I’ve only tried to copy moves in YouTube videos and to look

super cool (yeah, I failed miserably).

Still, I saw how an alternate form of communication—dancing—allowed me to relate to someone who seemed very different from me. I was initially afraid to approach her because I did not think I could communicate effectively with someone with mental disabilities. Yet, we found that words were not necessary.

The idea that I could communicate with someone using a different medium took off when I met the Jubilee Project a few months later. The Jubilee Project is a trio who makes films for good causes. Each video educates and empowers the community to take action on various issues. When they came to Brandeis two years ago, I realized that YouTube was a simple yet powerful way to spread awareness about important, sometimes sensitive, topics. I saw that I did not necessarily need to verbally express my opinions but rather use another platform—social media—to communicate with and empower others.

With the Brandeisian call for social justice, my sister and I established the Brandeis Chapter of the Jubilee Project. I wanted to create this chapter to challenge myself to fight for something I truly believe in: to spread good—one act, one blog post, one Tweet and one cupcake at a time.

While I do not have skills in video production or editing, I wanted to learn how to use tools like Facebook and Twitter to express my ideas. Even though I have held various leadership positions, I was still that quiet girl who could not always eloquently voice her opinions.

Through the Jubilee Project, I acted using multiple platforms to share my beliefs. For example, in November we hosted a two-day Movember bake sale for men’s health awareness and fundraised for the Livestrong Foundation and prostate cancer research.

Our chapter raised more than $500.

We also participated in the “12 Days of Kindness Campaign” in December, where for 12 days we challenged ourselves to spread love and joy to others.

We realized that every day should be a day of kindness, regardless. Moving forward, we began a blog to share our experiences, and I opened a Twitter

photo by Jinjie Xu/the hoot

account to Tweet quotations, articles or videos that I find inspiring. We are also now working on our first short film to spread awareness about leukemia and the need for bone marrow donors, especially among minorities.

Because of this experience, among others, I gained self-confidence. Being able to share and educate others without having to be physically present is empowering. You know you’re doing something that may be affecting someone else’s life in a positive way, whether its someone in your

community, or a stranger across the globe.

I credit my Brandeis experience for making me realize that ordinary people like us—regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, class, educational background, or age, whether we’re the person who is the center of attention or the shy awkward person who keeps to themselves—can do extraordinary things with tools that we already have. If you believe in a cause deeply enough, by performing just the smallest acts you can make a difference.

You don’t have to be the face of an organization to set the stage. Your one Tweet, your one blog post, your one Facebook status, is being read by your friends, your family and maybe even by someone on the other side of the world. That can start a movement.

Thus, to my fellow Brandeisians, I encourage you to take a leap of faith and to find your own medium to express yourselves. Don’t be afraid to try something you never deemed possible. Who knows, that medium could set the stage to change the world.

14 OPINION

The Brandeis Hoot

April 19, 2013

Let’s be reasonable; an objective look at constitutional gun questions

By Toby Bern

Special to the Hoot

Recently in America, debates about gun rights have raged through social discourse. But why should so much debate over this issue exist? After all, the constitution does clearly say, the right to bear arms shall not be infringed. It shouldn’t be possible to argue with such an unequivocal statement. This commonplace paraphrasing of the second amendment, however, is nothing more than misleading context. The actual text of the Second Amendment reads, “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

Out of context, it appears that the founding fathers were declaring the right of individual citizens to own guns. But when read in context, the Second Amendment takes on a completely different tone. The term “well regulated militia” hardly gives the right for any citizen to own an assault rifle or thousands of rounds of ammunition. The closest entity to describe “a well regulated militia being nec-

essary to the security of a free state” would be a police force. The obvious question in response to that would be, who protects us from the police force?

This is a moot point, as nowhere in the Second Amendment does it say anything about protecting citizens from an abusive government. It is purely to maintain security in our free state. In fact, the very knowledge that the Second Amendment is the only amendment in the Bill of Rights that contains a reason for its inclusion should force us to respect the wording even more.

Although I would argue that the Supreme Court has interpreted the constitution incorrectly, my opinion doesn’t matter. In America, the constitutional law spawns from the way in which the Supreme Court interprets the Constitution. Now that the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of private citizens owning guns, I have no problem with it. I even completely understand the appeal of owning guns. I have fired an M-16 at a shooting range. It’s an experience that I can only describe as a potent blend of exhilaration, fun and daring. So now that we have established that citizens are allowed to own guns, why is there so much opposition to gun regulation?

Why divest?

By Cameron Fen

Special to the Hoot

I better just come out of the closet and say it. I am a divestment campaign skeptic. For those of you who don’t know, the divestment campaign is an effort by a group of students to get Brandeis to stop investing in fossil fuel companies. This, supposedly, will pressure the oil companies to invest in greener technologies. Personally, I think this is a tall task. College investments in the energy sector make up such a small part of the whole sector overall, that divestment would barely have any effect on the industry. The combined endowments of every single college in the United States are equal in value to only around 6 percent of the cumulative value of the global energy sector (90 percent of which is gas, oil and coal).

Endowments, though, only allocate approximately 8 percent of their money, on average, to the energy sector. This shows the relative size of the industry compared to the global economy. By my calculation, the value of all the Exxon Mobil stock traded each month is greater than the total amount colleges today have invested in the entire energy sector.

Furthermore, if a large number of people decide to sell a stock for reasons not related to a stock’s fundamental earning power, reducing the price of the stock, value investors who will inevitably buy the stock will raise the price and in effect putting a floor on the price of the company. Combine this with the fact that even if the stock drops 10-20 percent during a period of a year or two, management, in all odds, would not be incentivized to cut back on fossil fuel production. But by all means, if you are passionate about divest-

ment, prove me wrong. Perhaps this idea catches fire and fossil fuel companies do change their ways and the world does become a better place.

The divestment campaign has succeeded in raising awareness about the issue of climate change, but if you are serious about preventing global warming you need to think about what you can do beyond asking the school to express their disapproval to the oil companies. You could bike places instead of driving, buy local produce, or drink tap water instead of bottled water.

I would like to highlight one green idea that I notice few people in the Brandeis community practice. Recently, I have started using plastic take out boxes instead of the paper boxes when getting food to go at Usdan. I think that students using any of these green initiatives will have a higher impact than divestment by the university.

I’m not saying protesting is wrong, be it through the divestment campaign or any other form. It is important to convince the people who have the power to make a significant impact—the congressmen, scientists or oil executives—to act.

I think it would be hypocritical, however, to spend all of your time protesting when there is an opportunity to make a difference with your actions. Fighting the problem doesn’t mean you have to become a tree-hugging hippie. I’d hope that if the divestment campaign succeeds, the members will move on to other noble efforts like making the signs for locally produced foods more visible, or campaigning to use tap water instead of bottled water. It would be deceptive to pat yourself on the back for divestment when even modest changes in your lifestyle could have made an even greater impact.

The adamant opposition to gun control stems from a fear of government. It is quite easy to understand the root of this fear. Throughout the course of human history, governments have abused their power against the very societies they are supposed to lead and protect. The nature of why the founding fathers created America makes it understandable or even obvious that Americans are weary of this.

That is what makes this country great.

There are always citizens who question the extent of our freedom and thereby allow us to remain in a perpetual state of improvement, forever striving for the ideals of justice and freedom. Or that’s the dream, anyway.

However, that does not mean this fear is always positive.

As of late, this positive fear has descended from a useful feeling of distrust to a crippling paranoia that stagnates progress that is desperately needed in this day and age. With that being said, the notion that guns will protect you from an abusive government is ludicrous. Does anyone truly believe that if tomorrow the U.S. government declared war on its citizens, an assault rifle would protect one’s family any better than a water pistol?

It was established in the Bill of Rights

that guns should be for the security of a free state, not to give Americans a false sense of security from tyranny.

Hardly anyone in this country believes that citizens should be allowed to own nuclear weapons, grenade launchers or tanks. So where do we draw the line? Certainly well before any weapon that would even hope to have a chance in a fight with the U.S. military.

It is very easy to say, “Well, if we ban guns, criminals will still be able to attain guns illegally, so what’s the point?” My response to that is simply that it depends on what we are looking to prevent. I don’t argue that if we control amounts of ammunition or ban assault rifles that criminals will be unable to attain them. However, it could very easily prevent James Holmes from stockpiling 6,000 rounds of ammunition in his apartment. It could prevent Adam Lanza from having easy access to a rifle that allowed him to murder nearly 30 children and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary.

I understand that Americans should have a right to protect themselves with firearms, but where do we draw the line? Surely, owning thousands of rounds of ammunition and an assault rifle is not necessary for self defense. If

a burglar invades your home, a simple revolver will work just fine if you are trained. It doesn’t make sense to allow the public access to weapons that are primarily for mass killings.

The concept of freedom does not imply that you are free to do as you please; it implies the exact opposite.

It dictates that each member of a free society has a responsibility to everyone else in society. It means that if I buy a gun, I must be properly trained so I have a minimal chance of causing an accident. Nobody would advocate that driver’s education isn’t necessary for someone to own a car. So why wouldn’t we require anyone who seeks to buy a gun to enroll in a gun safety and training class?

I advocate for gun safety courses and more extensive background checks for anyone who wishes to buy a firearm. In addition, given the context of the Constitution, there is no question Americans should be allowed guns. But if we are seeking to prevent tragedies that have become far too common, we must ban assault rifles, massive purchases of ammunition and do away with weapons that are necessary for our protection.

Reflecting on the Boston bombing

photo from internet source

BOSTON, from page 12

the simple fact that you have not had enough time on earth to understand what is or is not out of the ordinary.

I remember accepting my dad’s explanation that there had been a terrorist attack without much question and largely moving on to the question of how soon we would have our revenge. It was a naïve view of the situation and it would take years for me to realize exactly how much grief and tumult was caused that day. Yet, even now, the events of 9/11 feel slightly alien to me. The attack location itself still feels relatively foreign to me, and until yesterday, I always had the strong feeling that this sort of event could never take place where I was.

Terrorism was something that happened to other places—not to quiet, unassuming New England. This may have been a defense mechanism I employed in my youth to avoid an overarching fear. Either way, as the years

receded into the endless ocean of history, 9/11 became more of a closed off event. Despite attacks such as the attempted Times Square Bombing and the plane plots (both the Underwear Bomber and the-would-be water bottle bombers), the idea of a terrorist attack became more outlandish to me.

Thus, an attack within 10 miles of my location jarred me in a way that no prior attack had. Yet, there was another reason the attacks felt close to home besides mere proximity. I had always hoped to attend the Boston Marathon and almost undoubtedly would have gone this year if not for the titanic amount of thesis work that was due on Monday.

This connection as a runner spurred me to further empathize with the victims and I felt the attack almost as a personal attempt upon my life. My grief at the attack, however, quickly changed into anger and then resolve. As the panic of the fog of war slowly ebbed away, I realized that Boston was still standing, and stand-

ing stronger than ever. The city, along with surrounding areas, closed ranks and stood firm in the face of a more threatening future.

The general sentiment in the media, on social networks, and among my family and friends was one of grief and firmness in the face of fear. We would not let this attack paralyze us with fear—we would mourn the dead, pursue justice and proceed to live our lives. This would be the ultimate revenge. Later Monday night, I took a brief run to clear my head. As I was heading back to campus, I noticed a train going by. I realized that the city must have continued commuter rail services despite all of the attacks. It then hit me that this was what was going to happen—life in Boston would roll on. I don’t think that things will ever quite be the same in Boston now, but I do know that this event will not come to define us. We will move on as a city and when this trajesty has long been relegated to the history books, Boston will remain.

April 19, 2013

OPINION 15

The Brandeis Hoot

A different look at technology

By Charlie Romanow Staff

The progression and definition of technology have changed during the course of history, but the last couple of centuries may have seen the swiftest and most drastic shift in technology.

The wheel made it easier to transport materials, which, thousands of years later, allowed air and space travel to be taken for granted. The advancement of technology has helped save lives and has changed the way people live. It is also possible that the rise of technology caused some adverse effects on people’s lives.

Technology, and the institutions that advance it, are key to perpetuating our sophisticated lifestyles. Some of these inventions make communication simpler, such as the telephone, while others, such as vaccines and immunizations, protect the sustainability and longevity of life. Humans have managed to survive for many years, even without the advancements that we see today. It may have taken longer to do the same things, but this was not previously a concern, as people lived their lives not knowing what the future would bring.

As activities of daily living such as food gathering and providing for a household began to require less time to complete, a surplus of time existed that the individual sought to fill. To fill the unoccupied time, further technologies and inventions came to light. The mental and physical output of the past was dedicated to survival, but today we possess freedom that liberates us

from the anxiety that used to plague our choices. The ability to travel and connect distant places brought more options. The small insular world that individuals had lived through for generations became exponentially larger.

Isolated communities were forced to join together to form a larger society.

With the influx of changes came stress and anxiety for those in new circumstances. Life was once based on the routine and ignorance was bliss. The rise of inventions, however, brought the rise of competing inventions, which led to consumerism. After having shopped at only one location for goods, people now had the option to shop at many stores and each sold different products. Now, not only did they have choices about where to shop and what to buy, but they could also choose specifically what type of product to buy. In supermarkets and megastores, there are now often dozens of brands that sell the same product.

The ease of communication has also propelled the necessity for choices to be made as our circles of correspondence have grown vastly. Instead of being very close to one’s own immediate family and neighboring friends, the connection between people has been diluted throughout the dozens, hundreds or thousands of people with whom we each communicate. This has been compounded by the parallel spike of influence and accessibility of the media, including the popularity of social media. We constantly receive contradictory and incompatible viewpoints because we are exposed to so many ideas from the newfound

photo from internet source

ease of communication. As people are more easily able to correspond with one another regardless of geographic distance, they are also able to feel a greater connection to some people, despite the overall connection being diluted among many contacts. As one becomes closer to others, that person may simultaneously feel more distant from others. The apparent closeness

that exists may be artificial as communication is taken for granted.

New technology and advancements have changed the manner in which we live. The world has become much more interdependent but has also brought with it the intensification of violence and prejudice. We are all bombarded with more choices per day than we realize, and we face many

dilemmas and stresses because of these options. Despite saving countless lives and creating more tolerable existences for many, technology has complicated the simplicity and satisfaction of life. It is not that technology should never be utilized and choices should not present themselves, but it seems as if the rise of each can lead to uneasiness and anxiety among many.

16 The Brandeis Hoot

this week in photos

April 19, 2013

photo by nate rosenbloom/the hoot

tympanium euphorium Students present the musical “I Love You Because� this weekend in the SCC theater.

photo by Kkatie chin/the hoot

admitted students day Students advertise club activities to potential incoming first-years.