The Brandeis Hoot 9/27/13

Volume 10 Number 16

www.thebrandeishoot.com

Brandeis University’s Community Newspaper • Waltham, Mass.

September 27, 2013

Sexual assault conference educates faculty

By Iona Feldman Staff

photo by matt brondoli/the hoot

Ambitious first year starts Quaker worship

By Dana Trismen Editor

There are only around 86,000 Quakers in the United States of America. In fact, the highest concentration of members of the religion is in Africa, with around 134,000 Quak-

ers in Kenya.

Here at Brandeis, there is at least one Quaker: Jake Silverman ’17. A first-year new to campus, Silverman was so desperate to find a place to worship, he created one himself.

“I missed the quiet and time for reflection,” Silverman said this past week. “I came up with the idea kind

Lemberg celebrates groundbreaking ceremony

By Victoria Aronson Editor

Celebrating the creation of a new child care facility to be built on South Street, President Fred Lawrence cut the ribbon at the groundbreaking ceremony for Lemberg Children’s Center this past Tuesday. The proposed center will address the increasing demand for child care services by both the Brandeis and Waltham communities.

With waiting lists of over 60 children, the current center is no longer able to satisfy the needs of professors or families in surrounding areas. According to Howard Baker, executive director of Lemberg, the new facility will be able to provide care for approximately 70 children, more than doubling the current capacity of about 30 children.

Baker further revealed that the new facility will be equipped to incorporate an entirely new demographic: infant and toddler care. Previously, the center has been only able to provide care for children between the ages of 22 months to 6 years. Given the state of the old facility, Baker said “we couldn’t set up a classroom that would be safe for them.” The current facility lacks handicap accessibility as well, an ongoing issue which will be corrected in the new center.

Hoping to resolves these issues with the new facility, Baker claimed

Inside this issue:

“our goal is to continue to have very exciting early child care program, internationally and nationally highly regarded” Currently providing care for approximately 30 children according to Baker, and employing roughly 80 students from Brandeis University, the center is brimmed to capacity.

The establishment of a new facility will not only practically double this capacity, but provide opportunities for part time care as well.

The implementation of a new center could potentially provide additional job and experiential opportunities to undergraduate students as well. Of the the 80 students currently employed by Lemberg, Baker estimates approximately 50 to 60 of the students work between 8 and 12 hours a week.

Beyond providing work study employment, the expansion of the Lemberg Center will enable Brandeis students to further supplement their course work. Barker reveals “We want to expand our synergies with the university departments.” The new facility will incorporate observation areas, where undergraduates can observe teaching methods, conduct research for developmental psychology, or witness speech and occupational therapy.

“Part of our work is to try to help them to become good teachers,” BarkSee LEMBERG, page 2

Editorial: Rights and responsibilities upgraded Page 10 Page 1 News: Faculty gets schooled in assault Page 3 NEWS: Cheating scandal hits Harvard Page 7 Arts, Etc.: Students rock the ballroom Page 12 Opinion: Does Coke belong on campus?

Page 11 Sports: Men’s soccer seizes victory

of in the middle of the summer, when I realized how much I missed Quaker meeting.

“I was like you know what, its not really hard to get a bunch of people

Brandeis hosted one of two state government sponsored conferences on sexual and domestic violence prevention on Tuesday, Sept. 17. Over 300 individuals from many institutions of higher education in the area attended the event at Sherman Function Hall.

The conference featured two panels, one of which addressed the relationship between alcohol and sexual violence and the other which spoke of the Coordinated Community Response Team, a possible tool for handling sexual assault on campus. A diverse group of people spoke, from university administrators and government representatives to students.

The conference was co-sponsored by the Governor’s Council to Address Sexual and Domestic Violence and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Along with its partner conference at UMASS Amherst on Wednesday, it was intended as a response to a letter that Lieutenant Governor Tim

Murray wrote in May. Opening with the greeting of “Dear President,” the letter was sent to all Massachusetts college and university presidents. The letter drew attention to cases of “sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking” happening on the campuses of the 133 institutions of higher education in the commonwealth. The lieutenant governor’s letter was actually a response to a 2011 letter from the federal Department of Education, addressing the same issue.

Representing the Department of Public Health was Marci Diamond, director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Survivor Services Unit and a Brandeis alumna. In an email, Diamond expressed her gratitude for Brandeis’s involvement.

“As a Brandeis alumna who began my professional work in sexual and domestic violence as a sophomore, volunteering at Waltham’s REACH Beyond Domestic Violence, I am especially appreciative of student leaders’ contribuSee PREVENTION, page 3

See Quaker, page 2

Waltham group outreach resonates with students

By Iona Feldman staff

On the weekend of Sept. 20, a group of 21 students went on a trip to VINE Sanctuary, an animal refuge in Springfield, VT, through the Volunteer Vacations program from Waltham Group. The students performed various jobs around the sanc-

tuary, which is home to a very diverse group of animals. Some were rescued from the meat, dairy and egg industries, while others include former fighting animals and pets that could no longer be supported by their owners. The students spent the two nights at a local church and returned to campus late on Sunday afternoon.

The acronym VINE stands for Veg-

anism is the Next Evolution, and it refers to the sanctuary’s position against human consumption of all animal products. In addition to providing a home for animals, the staff at VINE devote energy towards research and advocacy, on the local, national and international levels. While seated in See ANIMALS, page 4

‘24-Hour Musical’ charms

twenty four hours later Students take the stage after no sleep this weekend.

noodling with words Author Tess Taylor will speak at Brandeis on October 10.

Arts, etc.: Page 6

talking syria Pundits discussed courses of action.

NEWS: Page 5

photo by matt brondoli/the hoot

news

2 The Brandeis Hoot

September 27, 2013

Quaker student creates his own quiet space QUAKER, from page 1

“to sit in silence somewhere, I wouldn’t really need funding. It was something I really wanted to do.”

Silverman prefers a kind of service called “waiting worship” where people gather to sit in silence. According to statistics gathered by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain in 2012, today 89% of members practice programmed worship with singing and a message from an authority figure like a pastor. Only 11% of Quakers practice “waiting worship.”

“In silent meeting or waiting meeting, you sit down and you are quiet for however long the meeting is and you focus on your inner light,” said Silverman. “Quakers believe that everyone is capable of doing great things through their inner light. God is whatever it means to you, it is a personal connection.”

After arriving on campus, Silverman contacted religious figures, such as Reverend Walter Cuenin, the Catholic chaplain, and Matthew Carriker, the Protestant chaplain. Silverman found many people were willing to help him hold services.

“The fact that this school has a Jewish culture so well established but I can go and say hey, I want to start a nominal Christian meeting and be met with nothing but support says a

lot about this school,” said Silverman.

Carriker comments that there are many religious authorities on campus who want to meet the needs of students, from Imam Talal who runs the Muslim Prayer Space in Usdan, to a Hindu Spiritual Advisor who will soon be hired.

Silverman hosted his first meeting Sunday, and will be arraigning them bi-weekly for the rest of the year and beyond. Meetings are held in the Protestant Chapel.

“It’s because it is the plainest of the three chapels,” said Silverman.

He explained that one of the core fundamentals of Quakerism is simplicity. “Meeting houses are very plain…with no adornments or stained glass, no pulpit, very old and simple, and the meeting is silent.”

Carriker explains that technically, Quakerism is a form of Protestantism.

“Most Quakers consider themselves to be Protestant, but it is difficult to universalize. Quakers are considered Protestant, since at the time of their founding they were breaking away from the established Church of England,” Carriker said. He also mentioned that a Quaker last held his current post as Protestant chaplain.

Silverman was inspired to become a Quaker after hearing a high school teacher of his speak. Originally raised Jewish, Silverman had a bat mitzvah.

His brother is an orthodox Jew. But Silverman sought out a different path

photo by matt brondoli/the hoot

jake silverman

after attending a Quaker high school.

“One of my teachers who is a Quaker gave a speech in Meeting, and he talked about how rare it is to have quiet in your life, and have that silence as a time for peaceful quiet reflection,” said Silverman. “I thought about that, and was like yeah, that’s true, and ever since then it has started meaning more and more to me.”

While Silverman still attends High Holidays with his parents when at home, he considers himself fully Quaker.

“Quakers are all very nice people, in living your life they say be a good person, work hard and help people.

They’re so welcoming, so nice and so respective,” he said.

Carriker notes it is a positive thing to have a diverse array of religions represented on campus. “Various Christian groups have different emphases, beliefs and traditions…the challenge, and yet the ecumenical invitation, is to live into Jesus’ injunction in the gospel of John ‘that they may all be one.’” Carriker went on to explain that this signifies that “we act with love and compassion, even when we disagree.”

While only two people attended Silverman’s last meeting, he plans to advertise more and continue promoting the Quaker Meetings. “We sat for half an hour and it was quiet,” he said.

Silverman plans to host these meetings for all four years he is at Brandeis.

September 27, 2013

Faculty, students, staff unite on sensitive issue PREVENTION, from page 1

tions—including my 2 current Brandeis interns—and of Brandeis’ leadership in hosting this important event.”

Diamond also explained some of the other ways that the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) combats sexual violence.

The MDPH works with and directly funds the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, an organization that offers free services to anyone affected by any form of sexual assault.

The MDPH also has a program that gives survivors prompt access to nurses qualified to handle sexual assault cases.

Brandeis staff and professors played key roles in the event. Professor Bernadette J. Brooten (NEJS) was largely responsible for bringing the conference to the Brandeis campus.

Brooten is the founder and director of the Brandeis Feminist Sexual Ethics Project, which promotes sexual ethics “based on the full dignity of all persons,” through a religious lens that comes to terms with past tolerance for slavery and sexual abuse.

There were also representatives of the Brandeis administration present, including President Frederick M. Lawrence and Provost Steve A. N. Goldstein ’78 MA ’78. In his opening remarks, Goldstein appealed to the philosophical ties that unite professors.

“That we are all gathered here for this forum is cause for concern and for hope. It is cause for concern because we need events like this one.

“All of us who work in higher education are attracted by the ideal of a community in which the only force exercised is the force of reason; Violence, therefore, has no place in our communities. But all of us are here today because we are painfully aware of the reality of sexual violence on our campuses.

It is that awareness—awareness coupled with a commitment to confront the issue—that is cause for hope.” Goldstein also called on professors to treat dealing with misconduct, including sexual abuse, as a duty just as important as teaching in their subject areas.

Staff from other nearby institutions were present at the conference.

One of them was Michelle Bowdler, MSPH, the senior director of Health and Wellness Service at Tufts University. Bowdler also sat on the governor’s

NEWS 3

The Brandeis Hoot

council that planned the conference, which gave the many institutions of higher learning in Massachusetts an opportunity to work together on this critical issue.

In a telephone conversation earlier this week, Bowdler highlighted the relevance of sexual assault to all college students, pointing to the statistics about the prevalence of sexual violence.

According to a 1990 study by Kathleen Hirsch, one in four women will be the victim of a sexual assault during her academic career.

Also, a study done by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that four percent of college men have been raped in their lives.

“We all need to pay attention to it, we need to understand that it’s real, and we need to do everything we can to prevent it, respond to victims and survivors, to hold people accountable and to educate our student body about what perpetration is, what consent is and to have them understand that this is crime,” Bowdler said.

As an alumna of the class of 1982, Bowdler also expressed pride to see that the issue of sexual assault is recognized at Brandeis by the most senior leadership of the university.

While recognizing the importance of student activism, she believes it to be a good sign that the administration is taking a leadership role on this issue.

Current Brandeis students also played a critical role planning the conference. Caitlin Taborda, an MA student in the Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies Program, did much work for the conference in her role as project coordinator for the Feminist Sexual Ethics Project.

In an email exchange earlier this week, Taborda highlighted the contributions of the many graduate students that worked on this project.

She also offered advice to current students seeking to get involved in these kinds of issues. The Heller School has a Gender Working Group, and undergraduates can get involved with the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, or can contact campus advocates such as Brooten.

The conference showcased the underlying collaboration that now exists among the government, non-profit institutions, professors, administrators and students to tackle one of the most pressing issues on college campuses today.

College Notebook

Aftermath of Harvard cheating scandal brings few repercussions

By Charlie Romanow Staff

The dust is beginning to clear after dozens of students suspended during Harvard University’s cheating scandal have returned to the school.

Nearly one hundred and twenty five students enrolled in “Government 1310: Introduction to Congress” were investigated after a teaching fellow noticed similar answers on the take home final exam, including some with verbatim responses. The incident brought up questions related to staff privacy, academic collaboration and honesty, transparency and the handling of student incidents.

In December 2012 punishments were handed out to nearly half of the students in Introduction to Congress, a course that was notorious for being an “easy A.” Punishments ranged widely: students who met with others but wrote their own answers were given a stern lecture, while those who used others’ answers were forced to withdraw from the class.

According to The New York Times, one accused student claimed that Professor Matthew Platt even stated at the beginning of the semester, “I gave out 120 A’s last year, and I’ll give out 120 more,” as well as saying that attendance is not essential. Past students said that student collaboration was tolerated and in some cases encouraged in the course as well as across the school despite the proceedings that took place after the incident began. Since the initial investigation’s conclusion, the school is taking steps

to prevent such a situation from occurring again. Professors have been instructed to be clearer about ethical standards, and presentations about cheating will now be given to incoming freshman. Course syllabi must now include detailed information about what sort of group work is allowed. Administrators are also discussing the possible implementation of an honor code.

The case brought up issues of privacy as there was a gray area in searching the emails of university staff. A separate investigation is underway to draft a new policy to protect the privacy of employees.

Despite the changes, some students and faculty have shown skepticism toward the practical effect of these alterations. Students point out that it can be difficult to implement an honor code and to quickly remake the culture of an entire university. Some students have noticed that cheating policies were discussed more during the first class meeting, but others have said that this is not the case for all classes.

An undisclosed number of students have returned to campus. One of the anonymous returning students stated, according to the New York Times, “It’s weird because I think everybody knows why I was gone, and it’s what they were talking about the whole time, but nobody says anything to my face.”

Many of the students and their advocates feel resentment toward the school for not publicly acknowledging Professor Platt’s role in the incident.

After the privacy invasion of staff emails, Harvard commissioned an independent review, which concluded that the email searches were done in good faith and that only the subject lines of emails were read. The review also concluded that those who ordered and conducted the searches believed that they were following proper policies. Changes will need to be made, though, as the report cited inadequate university policies governing the privacy of email communications which in some cases overlapped and contradicted one another.

Cheating by college students has become more common with the surge of pressure and technology according to experts such as Donald McCabe, professor at Rutgers University Business School and Howard Gardner, professor at Harvard Graduate School of Education. A survey done by the Yale Daily News found that the majority of students have witnessed cheating during college but that only 15 percent of students admitted to knowingly cheating themselves. Most of the students surveyed were found to have not read the university’s regulations on academic honesty and many were not aware of some situations that constituted cheating.

Harvard faculty members have stated that Professor Platt has been denied promotion from assistant to associate professor since the incident and will likely have to leave Harvard.

The course has not been offered since the Spring 2012 semester. Despite some students having legal aid, none have brought suit against the school for the punishments given.

Breaking ground LEMBERG, from page 1

er said.

The center does not solely provide care for the children of faculty and staff members, but further provides services to lower income families in the Waltham areas as well. A portion of the children attending the center are English language learners.

Stressing the importance of establishing ties between the university and Lemberg, Barker comments on the possibility of expanding programs led by undergraduates.

The music department, for instance, would have the ability to introduce children to a greater selection of instruments, enhancing supplementary educational opportunities offered.

“We learn while doing things we love—that’s basically something we want college students to take to heart

by doing hands on activities with the children,” Baker explains, urging clubs and organization on campus to become involved with the students.

He states, “if you’re into sculpting, throw the clay on the pit and watch them build with it.”

The new facility is expected to open within six to eight months. In the meantime, the current location will continue to serve as the Lemberg Children’s Center.

Discussing the advantages of this strategy, Baker comments on the ability to place money that would have been used toward funding for a temporary space toward the design of an entirely new facility.

In anticipation of the new Lemberg facility, Baker states, “the field of early childhood education is recognized more and more for the foundation of childrens’ learning, their success in school and for being socially competent.”

photo from internet source

scandal Harvard students, previously suspended due to a cheating incident, return to school to new

policies.

4 NEWS

The Brandeis Hoot

September 27, 2013

VINE sanctuary hosts Waltham group ANIMALS, from page 1

a cozy farmhouse living room amid several dogs and cats, the students watched a video highlighting the worst abuses exhibited towards pigs, cows, chickens and fish. Although only some of the students on the trip identified as vegetarian or vegan, the video encouraged everybody to think about how much of our food is produced.

For most of Saturday and the first part of the day on Sunday, students performed various tasks around the farm. These included painting chicken and pigeon coops, clearing undergrowth away from fences and picking up sticks. This last task was done for the benefit of the sanctuary’s two emus, Tiki and Breeze, who had once been bought as pets by a retired dairyman for his grandchildren. The birds walk together in the woods by the sanctuary’s fence, an odd sight in a Vermont forest.

There were many other animals that the students got to meet over the course of the trip. One of the most beloved was Jack the cow, with whom the whole group took many pictures. He is very friendly to people and would allow the students to pet him and scratch him often. The cows at the sanctuary include both former dairy and beef cows. Since the agricultural industry has intensively bred them to best fit their function, some of the beef cows are very large to the point where their life expectancy is greatly diminished by inevitable heart problems.

A similar story may be told of the sanctuary’s chickens. A few sit in smaller enclosures, namely those that required special treatment for physical and mental injuries. But most

going vegan The sanctuary is a haven for animals that would have been slaughtered.

wander around relatively openly, in the same areas where the handful of much larger turkeys can be found.

While some of the birds were bred for eggs or meat, there was also a former fighting cock, with its comb shaved off. Miriam Jones, one of the sanctuary’s founders, explained that this is done to prevent the fighting cocks from ending a fight after a light wound to the head, instead forcing them to cause more serious injuries.

One of the most interesting things at VINE sanctuary was the way in which very few of the animals were enclosed, instead wandering and interacting with humans at will. This meant that a cow would be bumping against a pickup truck running around the main barn, several geese would range past the turkey and a sheep would be trying to eat an apple that was dropped during a vegan lunch that included cheeseless vegetable pizza and potatoes.

For the two nights of the trip, the

students slept in sleeping bags in the second floor rooms of a local church.

Several older women from the church prepared breakfast both mornings, which included vegetarian and vegan options. For dinner, the students prepared meals for themselves both evenings, a significant portion of which they prepared from scratch. For example, they cut up vegetables to make salad, prepared their own chili to dip chips in and ground up chickpeas to make hummus. The students that didn’t participate in the cooking took on the role of washing, drying and putting away dishes after the meal.

The trip gave the 21 Brandeis students, representing all years, the opportunity to get to know each other.

There were some unforeseen problems, such as the flat tire on the way to Vermont that delayed one van while waiting for help to arrive. The experience, however, provided students a great chance to volunteer in an environment very different from

photos from internet source

Brandeis. In addition to the yearly VINE trip, Volunteer Vacations has a trip during February break to different locations. Past trips have gone to

Pennsylvania to support youth literacy, to Maryland to work on sustainable agriculture and to Louisiana to build houses and preserve the bayou.

Alumni win at Boston 48 Hour Film Festival

By Jess Linde Staff

This summer, the annual 48-Hour Film Festival returned to Boston for the eleventh consecutive year. The Festival, a competition in which independent filmmakers must write, cast, shoot, edit, and finish a short film within forty-eight hours based on a genre, a character, a prop, and line of dialogue, took place in May, and the competition winners were an-

nounced in June. Among the winning films was “Love Hurts,” produced by independent Boston film collaborative Malarkey Films.

“Love Hurts,” an action-packed fairytale/romance, was awarded best use of character, best actress, and best fight choreography, which went to to Brandeis alumna Meron Langsner ’04, who co-wrote the film. The film also features actress and Brandeis alumna Arielle Kaplan ’10. Langsner, a playwright and fight choreographer by trade, was first introduced to Ma-

larkey Films in 2011 after acting in a web series of theirs and cultivating a friendly relationship. 2013 marked the first year Langsner worked with Malarkey Films in the 48 Hour Film Festival, as it was the first year that the event corresponded properly with his schedule.

“We [the Malarkey team] had decided that we would work within the rules of the festival to make a fightcentric movie,” said Langsner in an email to The Hoot, “I started casting actors out of people I knew could

handle fight scenes with this in mind.”

By doing so, Langsner was able to communicate well with the film’s director and cinematographer, who in turn were able to handle the production of the film properly. They knew exactly how exactly everyone involved wanted to make it.

The film, which features fantastical warriors and an guitar powered by evil magic, is only eight minutes long, but features impressive editing, direction, and of course fun and well-exe-

cuted action scenes. All these features are especially impressive considering that it all was required to be shot and put together in two days.

“We were in a race against the sun,” says Langsner, “the greatest challenge was actually logistics more than aesthetics.”

They were able to overcome their challenges, as “Love Hurts” went on to win three awards and further the careers of the talented people at Malarkey Films.

photo from internet source

September 27, 2013

The Brandeis Hoot

NEWS 5

Crown Center illuminates Syria conflict

By Julie Landy

Special to The Hoot

This Wednesday, Sept. 25 the Crown Center for Middle East Studies held its annual opening event. The topic was “The Syrian Catastrophe: Regional Implications,” focusing on the Syrian civil war which has been fought for the last two years. The speakers included Joseph Bahout (professor of Middle Eastern Politics at Science Po., Paris), Eva Bellin (Myra and Robert Kraft Professor of Arab Politics in the Department of Politics and the Crown Center for Middle East Studies), Shai Feldman (Judy and Sidney Swartz Director, Crown Center for Middle East Studies and Professor of Politics), Frederic Hof (Senior Fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East) and Mona Yacoubian (Senior Advisor for the Middle East Program at the Stimson Center and Project Director of Pathways to Progress). The beginning of the talk

focused only on Syria, eventually stretching out to the war’s effects on all the surrounding nations.

The Syrian civil war began in the series of Middle Eastern uprisings known as the Arab Spring of 2011 as series of peaceful protests, which were violently responded to by the government.

Since the war’s beginning, there has been a death toll of over 100,000 people and 6.2 million people have been displaced because of it. The surrounding nations have taken in over two million Syrian refugees since 2011.

Recently, there has been increased international backlash due to allegations that the Syrian government used chemical weapons against their people on Aug. 21, killing almost 1,500 people and injuring at least 3,600. This is in direct opposition to the global prohibition of chemical weapons.

So far, there has been no direct action taken internationally against the Syrian government.

photos by mariah beck/the hoot

6 The Brandeis Hoot

arts, etc.

September 27, 2013

Poet explores history and family lore

By Dana Trismen Editor

An author who describes her own process as “noodling with words,” Tess Taylor believes writing is a calling, not a career. Taylor’s work has appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, Times Literary Supplement, The New Yorker and on NPR’s All Things Considered. Released in August, her lyric debut “The Forage House” has begun to attract attention, due to its tense themes of racism, history, and family stories. Taylor will read from this text when she visits Brandeis on Oct. 10.

“It’s a mixture of historical research and family lore. Some of the poems are about my grandmother and stories she told me, and some are about a falling down family house in Maine and some are about missionaries that went to India and some are about Thomas Jefferson and the fact that I’m also descended from him,” said Taylor in an email interview this past week.

While Taylor always knew she wanted to write, the medium of poetry became a passion of hers in high school, and later on in college. Taylor majored in English and Urban Studies at Amherst College; her thesis project was concerned with cities and their public spaces, published with ten poems and three translations.

“When I graduated I didn’t know how I was going to make a living so I started writing freelance pieces for magazines and websites for money and reading a lot of poetry and trying to write that when I could,” said Taylor. “For me that was really my first experience trying to understand, on a daily basis, what it meant to “be a writer”.”

While “The Forage House” may attract readers who love to learn about Thomas Jefferson, it is also a more intimate tale. “The book is also about family stores and the intimate and blurry places where we come to understand ourselves, and about how we try to sift through memory and history and artifact to make sense of the past—and the present,” Taylor said.

In addition to poetry, Taylor currently writes journalism and long form essays. One, titled “Remember-

tess taylor Writer explores family history through poetry.

ing the Randolphs” was published in the Virginia Quarterly Review this past summer. Running at around 6,000 words, Taylor comments, “It was fun to have a big space to explore the ways an essay can leap and turn.”

Taylor is not afraid to share advice and tips with aspiring writers. “Read a lot. Don’t be afraid to copy things you like,” she said. “Write long letters to friends, even if they don’t write long letters back. Give yourself permission to be obsessed by books even if other people aren’t. Give yourself permission to spend a lot of time alone working on what you love.”

In terms of writing exercises, Taylor recommends taking a beloved poem and listing the things that are positive about it, and copying them down. “If there are special languages in your home dialect or the way your family speaks, try to make notes of these and put them in poems. Read a book and try to write it as a play.

Watch a really good movie and stop it in one place and write a poem that describes the film still,” Taylor said.

Her most important piece of advice is simple: “Keep going.”

For Taylor, a topic she finds very inspiring is the landscape. “Often I like to sit in a place and think about what the landscape was like before this place was what it was,” she said.

A resident of a new suburb in California, she often muses on how the Ohlone Indians may have used the land in ages past. She also considers the lives of Spanish and Mexican immigrants, the Japanese people who got sent to internment camps during World War II, shipyard workings and first generation store owners. “I guess I sometimes think about the other chapters of the life of the place I am now,” she stated.

When Taylor comes to speak at Brandeis, she looks forward to seeing her good friend Liz Bradfield (ENG), Brandeis’ Poet-In-Residence and John Burt (ENG), whose work she admires.

“And I always hope for students with really good questions!” she said.

The School of Night, Brandeis American Studies and History Department will sponsor Taylor’s reading. It will occur at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 10, in Mandel Reading Room 303.

photos courtesy of elizabeth bradfield

the forage house Taylor discusses issues of race relations.

Touche Amore continues to blur lines of hardcore

By Jess Linde Staff

In late 1999, Jacob Bannon, artist and frontman of the legendary metal-core band “Converge,” formed Deathwish Inc., an independent record label dedicated to promoting small bands through the classic punk rock DIY method. Most of the label’s releases can be classified as part of the hardcore, punk and heavy metal genres. “Converge” guitarist Kurt Ballou frequently acted as producer.

Deathwish has cultivated a sound that constantly pushes the boundaries of extreme music with bands that incorporate new ideas and techniques into their styles.

The label has been on a bit of a roll lately, with this summer’s highly acclaimed “Sunbather” by San Francisco shoegaze/metal act Deafheaven, and the recent reunion album “Fever Hunting” by Iowan hardcore stalwarts Modern Life is War. Touché Amoré, a Los Angeles-based post-hardcore band whose blend of Pixies-style indie rock and classic

touche amore Band releases new album.

punk, stands out among their more extreme peers. Their latest album “Is Survived By” is the first of theirs that I’ve bought, and it has definitely made me a fan.

“Is Survived By” opens with “Just

photo from internet source

Exist,” a one-two punch of blasting drums and grungy power chords. The album slowly becomes louder and fiercer with “To Write Content,” and the softer “Praise/Love” which segues into the slam-bash “Anyone/Any-

thing.” Vocalist Jeremy Bolm’s lyrics are bitingly personal and soul baring which gives the songs a gritty realism and intensity. “I don’t know anyone/I don’t know anything/So stop expecting everything from me,” he screams

on “Anyone/Anything.”

“DNA,” “Harbor” and “Kerosene” showcase the instrumental skills of guitarists Clayton Stevens and Nick Steinhardt, adding blistering feedback and dueling solos. “Blue Angels” and “Social Caterpillar” discuss emotional alienation and personal struggle, and the instrumentation shows a clear influence of classic post-hardcore such as Fugazi and Envy. “Non Fiction” and “Steps” bring the intensity and emotional reality higher and higher, before finally letting it soar with the title track. The eponymous song is the apex of the album musically and lyrically, and is perfectly placed at the end.

While Touché Amoré may not be as wild or loud as their contemporaries in the “core” scene, it would be a huge mistake to write them off for that reason. They are as honest and real as it gets, and that should outweigh the amount that a singer shreds their vocal chords. “Is Survived By” is a collection of great songs by a band that continues to push itself with each release. As a new fan, I am happy to just sit on the side and listen.

September 27, 2013

ARTS, ETC. 7

The Brandeis Hoot

Beyond glitz and glamour: ballroom dance team shines

By Vinh Nguyen Staff

It’s hard to resist the flare of a ballroom dance performance. Originally developed in Europe, the early form of ballroom existed as a noncompetitive social dance that was literally intended to take place inside a ballroom.

Since then, ballroom dance has grown to incorporate exhibition ballroom dance, competitive ballroom dance, as well as a standardization of various styles such as “International Style” and “American Style.”

Encompassing a wide range of dances on stage, the combination of music, partnered movement and exquisite costumes make the practice of ballroom dance an activity both exciting to do and fun to watch.

An amazing example of the wonderful drama of ballroom dance is Brandeis’ own Ballroom Dance Team.

The Ballroom Dance Team has been a rich source of performance art within the Brandeis dance community.

The club functions to provide an outlet for anyone interested in dance, and welcomes students from all types of backgrounds.

For students not only experienced with dance as well as those wanting to learn more, the Ballroom Dance Team instructs newcomers on the standard styles of dances such as Cha-Cha, Rumba, Tango, Foxtrot, and the Viennese Waltz along with myriad other dances.

“Aside from newcomer lessons led

by Brandeis students, the team conducts lessons in Waltham’s Supershag Dance Studio taught by professional instructors,” general team member, Iris Lee ’15 describes. For the offcampus classes, the members often take the BranVan together. The classes themselves are broken down into

photo courtesy of stephanie anciro

striking a pose The ballroom dance team merges discipline and passion.

newcomers, bronze, silver, gold and open, with each progressively being more challenging.

The club’s treasurer, Stephanie Anciro ’16, who joined the Ballroom Dance Team last fall, started out by going to the beginner’s lessons and soon fell in love with the sport. “I told myself that when I got to college, I would explore my interests a little more, and that’s what I did! After the first day at the Supershag Dance

Studio, I fell in love with it,” Anciro explains. Since then, Anciro has continuously gone to the lessons and is now a member of BDTeam’s Ballroom Formation, which is a smaller part of the team that competes with other couples.

Brandeis Ballroom Dance Team regularly competes throughout the year at other colleges such as Harvard, Tufts and Brown.

On top of this, the team can be seen

wowing the stage of Levin Ballroom with their sharp formations in major events like Fall Fest, Dance Marathon, and Culture X. In past years they have also danced alongside professors at “Dancing with the Brandeis Stars.”

But before you think Ballroom is all glitz and glamour, at the end of the day the genre of dance requires great discipline and commitment, as Anciro ’16 attests to.

“We’d come home sore from prac-

tice solely because of a technique workshop with the instructor. It’s interesting to learn how small elements like hand motions and whatnot can impact how the team looks altogether.”

Indeed, Ballroom Dance can be challenging and technically demanding, but as the members of the team will tell you, it’s even more rewarding to share with audiences a passion for dance and performance.

“We’re the Millers,” a comedy that pulls on heartstrings

By Robin Briendel Staff

If you’re looking for a great comedy to brighten up your day or relieve stress from the impending doom of midterms, look no further than “We’re the Millers”. The movie, released in mid-August, features Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis, Emma Roberts and Will Poulter. With raunchy and mildly offensive humor at times, the movie is guaranteed to have you laughing out loud.

The movie begins by focusing on the life of David Clarke, a low-level marijuana dealer and his interesting set of neighbors: a stripper (Aniston), a nerdy kid (Poulter) and gutter punk (Roberts).

After being robbed of his entire stash, David’s supplier and drug lord Brad Gunslinger (Ed Helms) forces him to go to Mexico and smuggle marijuana across the border in order to erase his debt. Recognizing that this feat would be too risky for him alone, Clarke assembles his eclectic group of neighbors, hiring them all to be his fake family to venture to Mexico and return with the marijuana in a rented RV. The movie follows the four as they develop a familial bond, are pursued by Mexican drug thugs and encounter a true all-American family that comes up several times throughout their journey.

The story progresses as the “family” faces a series of conflicts. The two main plotlines involve obtaining the drugs and bring them back to the United States, and the developing relationships among the members of

photo from internet source

drug dealing gone awry “We’re the Millers” garners laughs.

the Millers. Just as the viewer thinks the Millers have faced all obstacles one could possibly face on this ridiculous journey, another hilarious twist is thrown their way, leaving the viewer unable to breathe between laughs.

The Millers end their journey a new group of people than when they first began their trek to Mexico. Having endured being chased by drug thugs, a crazy swinger couple and the tumultuous experience of spending

every moment with each other in the enclosed space that is their RV, the Millers emerge with a strong bond as opposed to the vitriolic and selfish attitudes with which they began their journey.

The actors form a great team, with Sudeikis portraying the selfish money-hungry David, while Aniston displays a dichotomy of rough around the edges stripper trying to get by and innate motherly figure in her charac-

ter Rose. Poulter displays nerdy and dim-witted Kenny very well, with hilarious reactions to unbelievable situations such as having a tarantula crawl into his shorts and being taught how kiss by making out with his fake sister and mother simultaneously.

The movie is further supplemented by its guest stars. Helms portrays the effeminate drug lord, Gunslinger, and Nick Offerman portrays an allAmerican father and undercover

DEA agent.

While billed as a comedy, one can’t but help develop a desire for the “Millers” to form a cliché mushy familial bond. Through all the ridiculousness that ensues, I could not stop rooting for the quartet to develop the bonds and relationships they all seemed to lack in their real lives. As a bonus, the chaos that ensued on the screen had me laughing so hard my stomach hurt.

8 The Brandeis Hoot

arts, etc.

September 27, 2013

Missed cues and makeshift costumes culminate in another imperfectly perfect 24 Hour Musical

By Michelle Kim

Special to The Hoot

Every year at Brandeis, Hillel Theater Group produces a performance of the 24-Hour Musical. Within one day, actors learn songs and lines, dancers practice and crew members make costumes and craft stage decorations.

This year’s musical was “Beauty and the Beast: Tale as Old as Torah.”

Much of the musical was just like the original, but there were a number of Jewish touches to the show. Lumiere, for example, is a menorah rather than a candelabra. Belle’s father wears a kippah, which a character named Lefou finds and remarks, “Finders kippahs!”

The musical is in no way supposed to be perfect; Instead, the imperfect performances are what makes the 24 hour musical so charming. “It was a great opportunity to laugh at yourself.

You would physically and psychologically deteriorate in front of your castmates, but that was the point. It was all in great fun, and once it was over, you’d feel as though you could accomplish anything,” said Chris D’Agostino ’17 who played Lumière.

The show was a smashing success before it even started. The lineup for tickets began an hour before the tickets were sold, as students lined up outside the SCC to secure their tickets. People walked by the SCC during the 24 hours before the show to see what was going on inside. When the doors finally opened, there was a mad rush for seats inside.

Throughout the entire show, there was constant laughter and cheer. The mistake-free parts gave the audience the opportunity to see how talented Brandeis’ actors and actresses are.

Even the flawed parts, like the performance of “Be Our Guest,” were hilarious and equally as fun to watch.

Because the audience understood that the musical was learned and rehearsed in only a day, it was easy to appreciate the show. It was amazing to see how much could be done in 24

photos by matt brondoli/the hoot

a culinary cabaret The enchanted objects of the castle belted out “Be Our Guest.”

hours.

Margot Grubert ’17 and Steven Kline ’14 shined as Belle and Beast, respectively, as the audience watched their characters fall in love.

There was excitement all around as familiar songs such as “Belle (Little Town),” “Something There” and “Tale as Old as Time.” However, the true star of the show could have

been Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel who played the witch that casts the enchantment on the prince and his household. I’m usually not a knee-

beauty and the brute Belle (Margot Grubert ’17) tries to fend off Gaston’s (Levi Squier ’14) advances.

slapper when I laugh, but when the witch unveiled herself (or himself, in this case) I doubled over. Another comical character was Jason Kasman ’16, who played a traditional obser-

vant Jewish narrator.

There was thunderous applause for the entire cast, production staff and tech crew. The musical was, by all means, imperfectly perfect.

a sight to remember Left, Lumière (Chris D’Agostino ’17) was not a candelabra but rather a menorah,

while Cogsworth (Ian Carroll ’15) did not have any Jewish twists.

September 27, 2013

dinner and a show Dancers front and center during “Be Our Guest.”

The Brandeis Hoot

ARTS, ETC. 9

photos by matt brondoli/the hoot

the welcoming party Mrs. Potts (Miriam Goldman ’15), Chip (Rita Coté ’15), Chiplets ( Jess Plante ’16 and Ramona Wright) and the Wardrobe (Elena Glen ’17) welcome Belle’s father (Zach Marlin ’16) to the Beast’s castle.

making trouble Gaston’s Schmucks, Lefou (Bethany Adam ’15) and Gaston harass Belle.

taking it to the streets Villagers socialize during the opening scene.

10 The Brandeis Hoot

EDITIORIALS

September 27, 2013

Rights and responsibilities need to be read

“To acquire wisdom, one must observe.”

Editor-in-Chief Emily Stott

Lassor Feasley Managing Editor Victoria Aronson Managing Editor Dana Trismen Managing Editor Morgan Dashko Copy Editor Theresa Gaffney Copy Editor Suzanna Yu Copy Editor Nate Rosenbloom Photography Editor Jesse Zeng Photography Editor Jun Zhao Graphics Editor Katie Chin Online Editor Rachel Hirschhaut Deputy News Editor

Volume 10 • Issue 16 the brandeis hoot • brandeis university 415 south street • waltham, ma

Founded By Leslie Pazan, Igor Pedan and Daniel Silverman

staff

Shota Adamia, Emily Belowich, Dani Chasin, Mia Edelstein, Ben Fine, Evan Goldstein, Jaye Han, Maya Himelfarb, Eli Kaminsky, Rebecca Leaf, Vinh Nguyen, Alexandra Patch, Zoe Richman, Charlie Romanow, Sasha Ruiz, Emily Scharf, Alec Siegel, Naomi Soman, Diane Somlo, Sindhura Sonnathi, Jennifer Spencer, Alison Thvedt, Coco Tirambulo, Yi Wang, Shreyas Warrier, 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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We welcome unsolicited submissions from members of the community sent by e-mail to eic@thebrandeishoot.com. Please limit submissions to 800 words. All submissions are subjected to editing.

O

n Sept. 20, Jamele Adams sent the 2013-2014 copy of Student Rights and Responsibilities to the entire campus. While some updates were minor wording changes, we commend the university on the creation of the position of Sexual Assault and Prevention Services Specialist.

The description, in Section 3, is written as follows: “The position of Sexual Assault and Prevention Services Specialist will join the Brandeis Community in the autumn of 2013. This role will provide services to survivors and to coordinate prevention efforts in the campus community. In the role of Sexual Assault Services & Prevention Specialist this person will coordinate advocacy services for survivors of sexual assault, relationship violence, and stalking, complying with the VAWA Federal Campus Security Act and Title IX regulations,

serving as a liaison to student organizations, and conducting outreach and education events to promote a healthy campus environment.”

After multiple allegations of sexual assault cases at Brandeis in the past few years, along with two assaults reported in the police log this semester, it is the administration’s duty to increase support services and awareness on campus.

We are especially pleased with the clause that mandates that the Specialist conduct “outreach and education events to promote a healthy campus environment.” Some students may not know what constitutes an assault, which can perpetuate harmful stereotypes or cause victims not to seek help and support.

While we applaud the university for their proactive additions to Rights and Responsibilities, we do have some reservations concerning the document

in general. Some parts could be summarized and consolidated, such that students might be more likely to actually read it. If administrators are to continually expand the document, it could become too unwieldy to actually remain relevant to students. If the Brandeis community is to be well informed of their expectations as well as the standard of conduct to which the university hold them to, it is key that this document remain concise and accessible.

Overall, however, we believe that Brandeis Rights and Responsibilities is an ideal platform from which the administration can take a proactive stance against sexual assault. We look forward to the appointment of the Prevention Service Specialist, who will hopefully take full advantage of the mandate that the university has bestowed upon that position.

September 27, 2013

sports

The Brandeis Hoot 11

Judges sweep Wentworth 6-0 after first loss of season

kicking balls and taking names The Brandeis men’s soccer team convened on the field to face the Leopards.

By Dani Chasin Staff

Coming off a loss against Tufts that broke their seven-game winning streak, the Brandeis men’s soccer team reclaimed their confidence with a 6-0 sweep against Wentworth. The showdown on Wednesday night took

place on Gordon Field, as the Judges improved their record to 8-1 while the Leopards fell to 1-7.

Ranked #25 in the nation by the NCSAA and #9 by D3soccer.com, the Judges dominated the non-conference game against visiting Wentworth where five different Brandeis players scored. Junior forward Tyler

photo by mariah beck/the hoot

Savonen ’15 scored two goals, the team’s second and fifth of the game.

With his second multi-scoring game of his career, Savonen earned the 27th position on the Judges’ career top 30 scoring list with 17 goals and 12 assists, securing 46 points in total. His 16th career goal came in minute 25 in the first half and goal 17

came in minute 53 of the second half.

The first goal came in the 11th minute by junior forward Michael Soboff ’15. Soboff, a transfer student to Brandeis, nailed his third goal of the season and his Brandeis career as the game’s first shot on frame for the Judges. Rookie forward Evan Jastremski ’17 exhibited some fancy footwork and made a cross into the box where Soboff, in good position, one timed it into the goal.

Savonen’s first goal came in the game after Brandeis regained possession in the 25th minute after a shot by Wentworth that got blocked

by Brandeis goalkeeper Kenn Fryer ’16. Senior defender Ben Applefield ’14 worked free at the top of the box and fed Savonen the ball around the 10-yard line. Savonen’s strike into the back of the net signified his second goal of the season.

The third goal came in minute 35 off a corner kick by Applefield that found forward Sam Ocel ’14 for a diving header. Ocel’s second goal of the season came when the floater by Applefield reached Ocel in position to lunge forward and dive to head the ball into the net. Though the Judges had another close opportunity to score in the first half when a shot by forward Tudor Livadaru ’14 hit the crossbar, the Judges went to halftime with a 3-0 score.

The next two goals for Brandeis came within two minutes of each other early into the second half. The fourth goal came in minute 52 following a corner kick by midfielder

Kyle Feather ’14. The ball deflected by a defender got recovered by Feather who split defenders and ripped a shot from 12 yards into the right netting of the goal.

A minute later, Savonen scored his second goal of the game and the fifth goal for Brandeis. Assisted by Soboff, who earned three points for the game, Savonen’s third goal of the season was struck from just inside the box.

The Judges had a close call in the 65th minute when the Leopards had a near scoring opportunity. Following two corner kicks that put Fryer and the Judges under pressure, one shot by a Wentworth player hit the crossbar and nearly cost Brandeis a goal.

The final goal for the Judges came in minute 79 of the game. After just being substituted into the game, rookie forward Zach Viera ’17 scored the first goal of his career off a feed by forward Michael Chaput ’16. The pass

by Chaput found Viera just inside the six-yard box where he took a shot that got deflected into the far corner of the net.

Holding the Leopards off for the rest of the game, the Judges had a total of 18 shots for the game, 10 of which were on goal, compared to the Leopards who only had one on frame.

Fryer was only forced to make one save for the match, compared to the Wentworth goalkeeper who had to make four.

The Judges will try to continue their new winning streak next Tuesday in another non-conference matchup against Wheaton College on the road.

Mariano Rivera retires from Yankees to fan adoration

By Charlie Romanow Staff

Few athletes in recent memory have been as universally praised and level headed throughout their career as New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. The soon to be 44-year-old has played 19 seasons in the Bronx and is retiring at the end of the season. He is the all-time saves leader and is commonly thought of as the best closer of all time. Despite receiving such praise from fans and opponents alike, “Mo,” as he is commonly referred to, did not take the routine path to becoming a dominant future Hall of Fame pitcher.

Rivera’s successes can be attributed to his demeanor on and off the field.

In front of the media, fans and teammates, he has always remained calm after winning a big game or blowing a win.

Rivera grew up in a poor village of Puerto Caimito, 25 miles southwest of Panama City, the capital of Panama, his home country. His father was a ship captain in the fishing industry, and after Rivera graduated high school at the age of 16, he worked six days a week catching shrimp and sardines on his father’s ship. As with many future baseball players who grew up in Latin America, Rivera did not have access to stellar equipment.

He used milk cartons for gloves and tree branches for bats. After his uncle died in a fishing accident, he consid-

photo from internet source

perfect pitch Mariano Rivera is in his last season of pitching for the New York Yankees.

ered becoming a mechanic but managed to join a local amateur baseball team, interestingly not as a pitcher, but as a shortstop.

With no prior formal pitching training, Rivera later eagerly stepped onto the pitcher’s mound when his team was in dire need of a pitcher.

After previously being overlooked by Yankees scouts as a shortstop, they decided to bring the young Panamanian boy to America, although he spoke no English and had never left Panama.

Initially, he was not a relief pitcher in the minor leagues but was a starter.

His first game with the Yankees was over three and a third innings and

he gave up five runs. Fortunately, he continued to push through and earned a spot on the major league team. His most famous pitch (infamous to opposing batters), the cutter, was discovered by Rivera accidentally when throwing the ball around with a teammate in the bullpen.

The song known as Rivera’s entrance music, “Enter Sandman” by Metallica, was actually chosen by staff at Yankee Stadium. As with all things that have come his way, he graciously accepted what lay before him and served his team in any role that he could, to whatever music prompted his entrance.

The entire 2013 Major League

Baseball season has included tributes to Rivera from New Yorkers and opponents alike. In a 50 minute ceremony at Yankee Stadium, past teammates spoke of their experiences with the great closer. His number 42 jersey was hung up with a bronze plaque at the Yankees Monument Park where tributes to the greatest players who have worn pinstripes remain.

The 42 jersey was retired by the league in 1997 in honor of Jackie Robinson, but Mariano was allowed to continue wearing the number throughout his career. Robinson’s widow and daughter joined Rivera at the ceremony.

In a surprise show, Metallica performed “Enter Sandman” live for the crowd and Rivera. Gifts that came throughout the season from opponents included a watercolor painting, a custom-made guitar, an original seat from Yankee Stadium, a live performance of “Enter Sandman” by the Boston Cello Quartet, a rocking chair made of splintered wooden bat barrels caused by Rivera’s cutter, gold records of “Enter Sandman,” a hose nozzle from a New York City fire truck and a call box given by the commissioner of the Fire Department of New York.

From his home of New York, he received $100,000 for his charity, the Mariano Rivera Foundation, another rocking chair made of baseball bats, a visit from the president of Panama

and an honorary Mariano Rivera Day courtesy of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. In Texas, Rivera gave a pep talk to the Panamanian soccer team before they upset Mexico in the Gold Cup semifinals. A plane bearing his number, signature and pinstripes was also dedicated at JFK International Airport by Delta Airlines. In his outgoing tour he threw out the first pitch at many opposing stadiums and met with opposing media, fans and staff. Twenty companies have gained licenses to make 150 different retirement items for Rivera, including Nike, New Era, Rawlings, Fathead, Highland Mint and Steiner Sports.

Mo made his last appearance on the September 22 against the Giants and will finish his career on a threegame road trip to Houston. This appearance closed the game that Andy Pettitte started, concluding the most prolific starter-reliever duo in history.

For a young Panamanian boy who did not have a baseball bat or glove as child, to having multiple chairs constructed from bats and a crystal replica of his glove, Rivera has come a long way.

His calmness and serenity have frustrated opponents throughout his career, and his ability to keep steady through the inevitable highs and lows has separated him from others. When asked what his job entails, he said, “I get the ball, I throw the ball, and then I take a shower.”

opinion

12 The Brandeis Hoot

September 27, 2013

The young grasshopper’s guide

Brands invade Brandeis lawns

graphic by Janet Jun Zhao/the hoot

By Lassor Feasley Editor

It’s a beautiful day. The sun is shining, the grass is green, the fish are jumping and the cotton is high. You jauntily stroll across Brandeis campus, luxuriating in the lush green lawns and meticulously manicured foliage. “What could possibly mar such a clean and wholesome undergraduate experience?” you cheerily ask yourself, lost in the sheer ecstasy of the refreshing fall breeze that now lightly tussles your majestic mane of flowing blond hair, which is common to all Brandeis students.

What indeed. As you pass Usdan,

you notice a strange inflatable structure protruding from the otherwise pristine quad. A large Coca-Cola truck rolls up onto the lawn, spewing thick smog in its wake. You notice a bluebird chick descending from its nest, experiencing flight for the first time, only to find itself inundated in the exhausts. It drops dead on the spot. Dumbfounded, you pause to reflect. What unspeakable depravity could result in the senseless murder of so innocent a creature?

Suddenly, you feel a light tap on your shoulder. “Hello,” says a healthy young twenty-something. “Would you like to try some Dasani Drops Water Enhancer? You haven’t tasted

water until you have!” You squint at this stranger’s face, shining so brightly you think the glare might burn right through your soul. His demeanor is so hopeful and earnest that you have no choice but to accept the sample.

He pours a dollop of thick, neon colored syrup into a bottle of water and thrusts it upon you. As you tentatively quaff the concoction you ponder the origins of this bizarre operation.

It appears that the Coca-Cola company has struck a deal with Brandeis administrators to occasionally erect a miniature monument to their various brands on campus. Every week, attractive young brand representatives set up shop outside Usdan and

promote a variety of products to the students of Brandeis. But why? Why would the University allow product placement befitting of a two-bit network television show to appear on our esteemed campus?

In exchange for a few dollars, the university is allowing Coca-Cola to tap into the purchasing power of its students. It’s truly embarrassing. Can you imagine Coca-Cola brand representatives swarming Harvard Yard?

No one would stand for it. Brandeis is a top tier university, and its time administrators conduct themselves as such.

Not only is this invasion of the brands distasteful, it’s disrespectful

to students. It sends the message that the University sees us as a resource that can be sold to the highest bidder.

Our decision to attend Brandeis is a massive investment in the Brandeis brand—four years and hundreds of thousands of dollars. But rather than leveraging this brand to promote scholarship and good works, the trustees governing the direction of the University have instead decided that Brandeis stands for…soft drinks.

Our brand has become as diluted and weak as a bottle of water polluted

by Dasani Strawberry Kiwi Flavored Drops.

Its humiliating. It is a clear sign that few are looking out for the integrity of the Brandeis mission. Ah, those noble goals which govern our academic lives and shape the fabric of our community: research, the pursuit of knowledge, social justice, diversity and, now, the economic security of the soft drinks industry.

I guess we might as well embrace the providence of our corporate overlords; there’s no use fighting it.

I mean, who doesn’t want a piece of the Brandeis name. We had thought Brandeis was looking out for our health and well being, but now they are trying to get us hooked on sugary drinks. Usdan Dining Hall might be renamed the IHOP Center for Culinary Excellence. The SCC could be the Disney Fun Hall. Perhaps we might rename Goldfarb Library the Amazon.com Kindle Center for Learning, with the Center for Judaica Studies renamed as the Haliburton Coalition for Peace Through Aggression.

Or maybe we should take a step back and reevaluate what this school really stands for. Conspicuous displays of corporate striving seem to clash with the deeper mission of the school. At the very least, Brandeis management should think hard about how visitors will perceive a school which resorts to cheap tactics to raise a little cash. We look desperate and we can do better.possible and do not

Debunking pre-conceived notions

By Michael Wang Special to the Hoot

There are few things about this school I have come to appreciate more than how characteristically diverse it is. When I first came, I expected to be greeted with a sea of kippahs strewn across everyone’s heads, hearing a constant susurrus of Boston accents buzzing through the air. I had heard that a large portion of the student body at this university was Jewish, and that it was one of your standard private East Coast universities. I, who never really thought about college before actually attending it, had imagined it occupied by a much more homogenous, plain body of people than it actually was.

Though a small fraction of the people I have met over the past few weeks have fit the original mold I expected, I found that many more of them have surprised me by just how sharply

they deviated from my initial (albeit ignorant) expectations. Apart from the considerable fraction of students from New England, I’ve met students from Washington, Oregon, Alabama, Missouri, Kentucky, Georgia, California and Minnesota. Such a varied melange of different backgrounds and ancestries can sometimes lead to otherwise unlikely, surprising interactions.

Consider the ultra-liberal Texan and his Muslim roommate or other uncannily sitcom-worthy housing combinations that have occurred.

Consider me and my roommate. For instance, I consider myself, more or less, to be a thoroughly Americanized guy of Chinese descent. My roommate, however, embraces his Chinese ancestry.

I’m glad he is my roommate. He is polite when navigating through the cultural differences that separate the US from China and he has, along with a few other international

students, agreed to help me improve my Chinese in light of how I currently possess the vocabulary of an eight-year-old. Since rooming with him, I’ve also learned that he knows kung fu and once attempted to bring a broadsword aboard a plane. He acted as my dorm hall’s pastor and read a psalm from a Chinese Bible during the funeral of my hall’s community fish, somberly paving its ethereal passage into heaven in one of the most surreal episodes of my life.

Aside from my roommate, the rest of the international presence here is incredibly prominent. Greeks, Kenyans, Spaniards, Panamanians, Venezuelans, Indians, Iranians, South Koreans, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Italians, Americans and, of course, mainland Chinese, are all shuffling about the same space and bumping into each other. It’s something I enjoy immensely. Since coming here, See DIVERSITY, page 15

photo from internet source

September 27, 2013

OPINION 13

The Brandeis Hoot

Do days off reflect multiculturalism?

By Rachel Hirschhaut staff

photo from internet source

We all know that Brandeis students were generously given two days off to observe Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year and the first of many fall holidays that resulted in days off.

But did you know that the Ethiopian New Year took place just five days after Rosh Hashanah? Or that this year, Sukkot, the fall agricultural festival, started on the same day as the Chinese Moon Festival, which also celebrates the autumn harvest? All of these holidays remind us that different cultures celebrate the same, or very similar, seasonal events. But I can’t help feeling that we’ve missed the opportunity to bond over these common holidays.

The wide variety of ethnic student organizations at Brandeis -- Jewish, African, Pan-Asian, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, and more -- all produce wonderful programs, but I believe that we, as students and leaders of these organizations, could do more to educate and unite different groups around common cultural themes, and build lasting relationships.

As a whole, Brandeis students are an interculturally curious group.

Most of us genuinely enjoy exploring the global humanities, arts, and social sciences through our required nonWestern courses. Our Anthropology

and International & Global Studies departments are particularly strong, as a result of this, and on average, 40% of juniors study abroad.

Outside of academia, most of us make friends of other backgrounds, and experience other cultures through campus activities that are right at our fingertips. We’ve already had the chance to sample Russian, Mexican, Indian, Chinese, Korean, and Taiwanese cuisines at complimentary events this semester, and 2000 students attended the communal Break The Fast on the Great Lawn after Yom Kippur. Yet how much do we actually understand about our peers’ cultures?

Free food may be the best way to attract hungry college students to events, but it is not the only action necessary to build meaningful intercultural bonds. It is only the beginning. I believe that dialogues and meaningful events between different cultural groups need to take place more often, because telling your unique story is the most compelling way to teach others about your culture. Maybe cultural clubs should even be required to co-sponsor one event each semester with another club, to build consistent relationships. Collaborating with a common goal in mind, like community service or fundraising projects, could also help.

The Brandeis Interfaith Group (BIG)’s weekly dialogues are some of the most enlightening programs I have experienced at Brandeis, because they unite people from different backgrounds around a common theme. Everyone brings their own unique perspective to BIG, and comes with the purpose of learning from others. By discussing a complex issue that many groups struggle with, we learn about not only other faiths, but each other, and that is beautiful. We bring out our differences and our commonalities at the same time. In this way, BIG is a great model for intercultural relations at Brandeis.

Diversity is not ten students of different ethnicities sitting together at a cafeteria table in a glossy admissions brochure, or the statistics that Brandeis students represent 70 countries and 5 continents. It is a way of life, a way of thinking, learning, and expanding your mind through understanding the ideas of another culture.

So, next time you attend an event hosted by a cultural group, try to do more than partake in the food. Instead, find out what it all means. Ask questions and take it upon yourself to learn something new about every culture you experience. It will make you a more interesting, well-rounded and curious person in the end.

Activities fair puts students under pressure

By Andrew Elmers Staff

We have all been taught the dangers of peer pressure for items such as cigarettes, alcohol, illicit drugs and the like. DARE programs in our youth told us to stay vigilant in saying no to the forces that could transform our innocent little lives into something dark and scary. Whether we listened or actually partook is not important; The point is that we were aware of this notion that at some point in our lives, someone we knew would try to pass us a joint.

Maybe I have not lived, but I can honestly say that I have never felt as if I was in one of these “peer pressure” scenarios—until I went to the activities fair. Like a scene from some sort of alley off of skid row, hundreds of people tried to lure wide-eyed, impressionable students to sign up for their listserv or audition for their a cappella group.

The fair earlier this month was particularly obscene with the festivities moved inside Levin Ballroom, and everyone jammed into a room too small for so many people. Club

leaders were incessant in their desire for fresh blood, and they tried their hardest to get new members to commit.

Say that one of these students, a first-year who has arrived to a completely new place only a week prior, decides to go to the first meeting for some club that interests them. It is there that they learn more of what they can do for the club, and maybe sign up for some event.

This is where they sign away their next four years for the duty of this club or team. They are ruled by

weekly emails describing upcoming events. Other members try to coax them into doing more for the club, even if they might have homework to do that night, or might be a bit tired of this certain club, and want to do something else with their lives.

The problem is, however, that these students might not want to disappoint anyone by not continuing with club functions. Remember, these are people in a completely new situation who hope to make as many friends as possible and do not want to do anything to give off a bad im-

pression of themselves. So instead of possibly telling a club to step off, they continue to just go with the flow without really expressing their feelings or desires. They might not be happy in their situation, and might not have the confidence to look the club president in the eye and tell them that they will not be showing up any more, fearing that they will let them down.

If they do decide to stop showing up, it could seriously affect their selfesteem, especially if there is an upper see ACTIVITIES, page 14

photo from internet source

14 OPINION

The Brandeis Hoot

Eliana’s advice

September 27, 2013

A closer look at Miley Cyrus

By Malika Imhotep Special to the Hoot

photo from internet source

By Eliana Sinoff

Special to the Hoot

Living at Brandeis can be a challenge. We are daily faced with the mounting pressures of class, social upheavals, and culture clash. Fortunately, Eliana Sinoff is here to answer fits them. your questions and maybe make life a little bit easier. Although a first-year, Eliana has experience dispensing advice from her career as an advice columnist for her high school newspaper.

Dear Eliana, I’m a freshman and these first few weeks of college have been a whole new experience for me. One major problem I’ve been having is the whole showering thing. I don’t want people I barely know seeing me in the nude!

-Self-Conscious

Dear Self-Conscious, Towels are amazing. They are these huge pieces of cloth that dry you off and cover you after you shower.

Also, you could bring your clothes with you and leave them outside the shower to put on right when you get out. Another option is to shower in the middle of the night when most people are asleep and then you can pretty much let it all hang without a problem. I hope this has enlightened you.

-Eliana Dear Eliana, My roommate keeps leaving his dirty clothes all over the room and it’s driving me nuts. I don’t want to See ADVICE, page 15

Almost a decade after the peak of southern raunch-rap (a la The Hot Boyz, Ying Yang Twins, Lil John, etc.), Miley has shamelessly employed this legacy to uphold the shock-and-awe of her new image.

Summer 2013 has seen Miley Cyrus convulse in a manner that attempts to resemble the southern art of ‘Twerking’. Her honky-tonk-badonk-a-don’t has been on more computer screens this year than stages East Atlanta’s Original Twerk Team can ever hope to touch. She has been quoted as telling writers she wants her new project to “feel black” and after a clip of her in the studio with rapper French Montana surfaced and received much backlash she tweeted that she “knew what color her skin was” and that the “unfriendly reminders” weren’t necessary.

But dearest Miley, perhaps nothing was more unnecessary than being culturally and visually assaulted by your half naked ass-grabbing at this year’s VMAs. Black women, particularly those from the South, have long inherited a legacy of hypersexualized gender performance. A legacy long contested and continuously redefined by black women from artists to academics. A legacy dragged into commercialism on the back of ‘Hip-Hop’ that has landed black bodies much fame and notoriety in the mainstream.

Apparently, “just being Miley” means joining the long line of Disney starlets who have sought to cast down their picture-perfect reputations in pursuit of a more ‘authentic’ and grown-up image. This is nothing new for those who reach the pinnacle of Disney tween girl royalty. Miley seems to be following in the footsteps of fellow Disney tween superstar,

graphic by Janet Jun Zhao/the hoot

Christina Aguilera. As illustrated by Aguilera’s 2002 hit-single, the key to cultural “authenticity” is found in getting “Dirty”. Rolling in the cultural dirt, where all things mature, sexy and (most importantly) black can be packaged into profit-rearing musical mudpies smushed onto the faces of the white American mainstream.

For the most part, America benefits. During these phases, our nation appears inclusive. White voices singing black songs seems to prove that at the end of the day we’re all human, right? But superficial blackness smeared across a white surface is just another way of saying minstrelsy. As cultures change, so does appropriation; it becomes trendy and hautecouture. In a nation so desperately clinging to post-racial fantasies, this new-aged minstrelsy is hauntingly praised by the industry, the consumers and the artist both black and white.

Just 24 hours after Miley flaunted herself in a nude latex bra-and-panties set, sticking her tongue out awkwardly and swinging her bleach blonde bantu knots, I scrolled through Ins-

tagram to find her tucked under the arm of Wiz Khalifa in a photo captioned “Young, Wild, & Free.” Wiz is not the only rapper to have stretched his personal brand to include Cyrus; she’s become besties with producer Mike WiLL and seemed right at home twerking on stage with Juicy J earlier this summer. And the recent release of Mike WiLL’s ‘23’ marked Miley’s first official foray into rap music. So who am I to ask Miley to take a culture seriously when her antics are being so shamelessly condoned by hiphop’s current front runners?

In short, Miley is money. She stands for controversy, attention and a sizzling plate of cross-over. What’s dangerous isn’t a 20-year-old white girl vying for attention and using black bodies to validate her sexuality. The real danger lies within the acceptance of black culture as White America’s favorite accessory, and white girls as the perfect compliment to a pair of J’s.

Imhotep contributes to the social media blog thegreatmvmnt.com, founded and run by Brandeis students Naya Stevens ‘15 and Aliya Nealy ‘15.

Escaping the hold of clubs ACTIVITES, from page 12

classman that might be disappointed by their absence. And with each successive email from the listserv, the student remembers how things ended and they feel poorly that they disappointed someone, perhaps someone they respected. The mental states of these students are resting on a bubble

created by the perceived acceptance from these clubs, but if they start to doubt and want out, that bubble will burst, possibly leaving nasty results.

Of course, clubs, teams and other extra-curricular activities are great ways to get involved on campus, meet new people, and build other skills that might not be evident in the classroom.

And when students sign up for these at the activities fair, there is typically some interest from the student in whatever they are signing up for, and they might discover a talent they did not know they had by signing up for something completely new.

People are not being lured into dangerous situations. We are all adults, and we should be able to han-

dle letting someone down or telling a team captain that we can not make every practice this week when we have a heavy workload. It is not that difficult to let our feelings out, and the other side of the conversation will typically understand and not take it personally.

First-years could end up pledging themselves to a club for their entire college careers due to just a miscom-

munication or irrational fear of disappointing someone, and that probably is not the best way to spend these few years between leaving home and taking on real responsibility. Clubs should realize that maybe they are not the most important thing in the world, and should take it easier on the new members who might just be looking into something to see how it

photo from internet source

September 27, 2013

OPINION 15

The Brandeis Hoot

Surviving freshmen year ADVICE, from page 14

start any problems with him because we generally get along well. How can I approach this situation without seeming like a bossy jerk?

-I Hate Messes Dear I Hate Messes, As far as I can see, you have three choices in this situation. 1) You can not confront him and learn how to deal with the mess 2) Ask him in a nice way if he could try to be a little bit neater in the future 3) Pick up and put away his laundry for him. Any of the above could be effective ways of dealing with this problem. Good luck!

-Eliana Dear Eliana, Since the start of the year, I have met a lot of new people. The only problem is that I keep on forgetting everyone’s name. It’s really awkward

to ask someone their name after they just told it to you a few minutes ago. I also want to friend everybody I meet on Facebook, which I can’t do without knowing their names. Do you have any tips for times when you are meeting new people and need to remember names?

-Too Many Names Dear Too Many Names, Many people, myself included, have the same problem as you. The upside about Brandeis is that there are lots of Jews so you can often just guess a typical Jewish name and the odds of it being correct are not too shabby. That, however, is probably not the best approach. One way to deal with this problem is to get to know a few people who pretty much know everyone, and just ask them when you get confused or can’t remember. Another idea is to connect the name of a person with a physical trait or an item of clothing they are

wearing (although people do tend to change clothes fairly often).

If worst comes to worst, you can always just ask again and hope they understand that there are tons of people to meet and it’s hard to remember all of that information. Odds are, if you don’t know someone’s name, they probably forgot yours also.

I hope this helps!

-Eliana Dear Readers, If you can’t already tell, this is an advice column and I’m here to help you with any questions that you might have! If you want more exciting questions, send them in and I will do my best to answer them. Whether it’s relationships, social problems, or just life in general—send them here.

I can’t wait to start hearing about everyone’s problems (how often do you hear people say that? Oh yeah, never).

Send questions to Elianasadvice@ brandeis.edu.

photo from internet source

Diversity creates an unique mosaic DIVERSITY, from page 1

I’ve been able to get a lot of progress done on a particular project I’ve been working on for the past year: learning how to say chicken in three hundred languages. I tell you, going to school here helped me out quite a bit. In fact, I came to an agreement with more than just a few international Chinese students in which I’d attempt to speak to them in my broken Chinese while they spoke in English—an arrangement I figured would make everyone happier.

There are also the different religious groups represented here.

Though many people here practice photo from internet source

Judaism, I’ve also met up with those who follow Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Confucianism or even Germanic Paganism.

I just had to learn more about the last one. I was lucky enough to bump into a student in my fencing class.

When I discussed his religious beliefs, I jokingly asked whether he sacrificed goats and drank their blood, to which he replied “We actually sprinkle the blood on ourselves instead.”

At first I thought he was joking, but then he went on to casually describe how he was part of a small community in America numbering around ten thousand dedicated to an extremely new, modernized “revival” of pagan

religion. These days, he says, most people make little tributes of wine or “really good tea” to gods like Woden in a ritual called libation - or the offering of consumable liquids to certain pagan gods - rather than sacrifice live animals. He also said he couldn’t really offer wine yet either, because he’s under twenty-one and can’t legally buy it.

I’ve met a quite a few fascinating people at Brandeis. Whether we’re of different ethnicity, nationality, religion or any other label, I can confirm that we’re like a mosaic of cultural harmony. Though we’re a small school, we certainly don’t fall short on diversity.

16 The Brandeis Hoot

Sports Women’s soccer now 6-1

September 27, 2013

photos by matt brondoli/the hoot

on fire on the field The Brandeis women’s soccer team wins yet another game on Sept. 24.

By Robert Xie

Special to The Hoot

Dara Spital’s ’15 thunderous shot found the back of the net. 3-0 Judges.

The Wellesley Blue proved to be no match for the dominant Brandeis women’s soccer team as the non-conference win secured the Judges’ sixth victory.

In what turned out to be a rout, the Judges advanced to 6-1 on the season. Forward Dara Spital thoroughly dominated the game with a gamehigh of five points. Spital found the back of the net roughly a minute into the contest and did so again in the 87th minute to seal the game.

This comes as no surprise considering the 2013 team has been on an absolute tear. Their six wins have been collected with a combined score of 19-2 with their one loss coming at the hands of Gordon College in a nailbiter, 3-2.

The team’s offense has been simply devastating for opponents, as the Judges have played with a lot of balance.

Aside from its opening 1-0 win over MIT, multiple players have scored and assisted goals in all of the following contests. Led by a pair of ball-hawking juniors, Sapir Edalati and Spital, the Judges have scored 21 goals in the season. With seven goals apiece, Edalati and Spital have cer-

taking the lead Sapir Edalati ’15 shoots for a goal.

tainly led the goal-scoring effort, but it does not stop there. Also getting in on the action are Cid Moscovitch ’17, Holly Szafran and Melissa Darling ’16, Kelly Peterson and Mary Shimko ’14.

What’s the trend here? Players of all classes are scoring goals. With this type of balance, this team will be extremely hard to defend on a game-togame basis, and the team will be set for seasons to come. As staggering as this sounds, the team’s #17 ranking will be put to the test next month.

They will face #9 ranked Emory University and #3 Washington University. Given how the women’s soccer team has played thus far, anything seems possible.