The Brandeis Hoot, September 30, 2022

“To acquire wisdom, one must observe”

www.brandeishoot.com

Brandeis provides Harvest Table updates

By Cooper Gottfried editor

In an email exchange with The Brandeis Hoot, Brandeis’ Vice President for Campus Planning and Operations Lois Stanley gave insight into Harvest Table’s operations over the first few weeks of the Fall Semester.

Stanley mentioned that there were some “growing pains in addressing and overcoming the challenges in transitioning a campus dining operation where thousands of students eat multiple times per day from one food service vendor to another. Some challenges were to be expected but others challenges were significantly exacerbated by the labor market and supply chain issues coming out of the pandemic.” She cited “staffing,” “technology,” and “kitchen turnover” as exam-

ples of these difficulties. The Vice President for Campus Planning and Operations explained why the staffing transition hasn’t been easy: “a lot of time was (and still is) needed for hiring and training both management and union staff; there are still many open positions.” Stanley also mentioned that the technological changeover between two companies had its difficulties too: “the technology behind multiple systems like the robot deliveries, the menu displays, mobile ordering, catering orders, etc. needed to shift from Sodexo’s systems to Harvest Table’s, all linking through Brandeis’ network. That wasn’t easy, even with a lot of help from Brandeis ITS.” Finally, she discussed the details of kitchen turnover: “there is minimal to no turnover time of the kitchens between food service vendors. For example, Harvest Table needed to supply and serve food two weeks after assuming

control of the Usdan kitchen.” Stanley also wrote that Brandeis and Harvest Table will work together through these problems.

“Harvest Table leadership and Brandeis leadership (in University Services, Finance, Campus Ops, IT, Communications, Student Affairs, etc) have been and will continue working together to address issues as they come up, while also building our ongoing relationship.

This is a significant and highly worthwhile investment of our collective time, energy, and resources,” she added.

Several parts of Brandeis’ administration have been working in conjunction with Harvest Table, and “it’s nearly an all-handson-deck for Campus Ops,” Stanley added, “University Services allocates nearly all of its time to the many details of this transition; University Events partners with Harvest Table on matters

See HARVEST, page 2

Student Union fall 2022 election results announced

By Mia Plante editor

On September 16, Student Union secretary, Ashna Kelkar ’24, announced the results of the recent election to the Brandeis community via email.

Voting opened on September 14 at 12:00AM and closed 24

hours later at 11:59PM, explained the voting email sent by Kelkar.

Overall, 583 students voted in the election, with the Class of 2026 making up over half of the voting body, with 59.35 percent of the votes. The Class of 2023 made up the smallest number of votes with only 43 individuals voting, making up 7.38 percent of the vote.

29 total seats were up for elec-

tion including 24 Senate seats, three Judiciary seats, and two Allocations Board positions available. Overall 16 Senate seats were filled, all Judiciary seats were filled, and one of the Allocations Board positions was filled. Both positions for Class of 2026 Senators were filled, with Fiona Wang ’26 and Tyler Hupart ’26 winning against Ste-

phen Gaughan ’26 and Bryan Jiang ’26. Wang won with 31.87 percent of the total vote, with Hupart and Gaughan neck in neck with 22.16 percent and 20.7 percent of the votes respectively.

Both winning students noted a significant connection to building community at Brandeis in their candidate bios, Wang stating that “your complaints are my top

priority; my goal is to grow with Brandeis.” And Hupart noting the importance of students in the political process, writing, “at the end of the day, you are Brandeis’s prime asset, irrespective of race, gender, course of study, personal beliefs, or any other possible dividers one could imagine, and

See UNION, page 3

The Caterpillar Lab comes to Brandeis

By Roshni Ray editor

The Caterpillar Lab, an educational non-profit organization that bolsters public support for nature, came to Brandeis to showcase the biodiversity, adaptations and beauty of caterpillars. Expert naturalists set up the caterpillar displays on Fellows Garden and answered questions from Brandeis community members regarding the large range of caterpillar species indigenous to North America as well as a few non-native species. The event was hosted by the Year of Climate Action and the Environmental Studies

Soccer Ties

8 Page 7 Page 9

Brandeis Men’s and Women’s teams tie in first matches.

SPORTS: PAGE 6

program. In addition to casual viewing, students also incorporated The Caterpillar Lab into their coursework for the week. Professor of Biology Melissa Kosinski-Collins took her Plant Biology class to the event, where students made observations about the caterpillars, asked the staff questions and took photographs. They then synthesized information about caterpillars with core concepts in plant biology, such as the parasitic relationship between animals and plants, and examined the evolutionary adaptations used by either organism to survive through their News and Views assignment.

In an interview with The Hoot, Kosinski-Collins described key

takeaways from the event and her experience incorporating The Caterpillar Lab with her Plant Biology class. “All too often when we are teaching at the college level, we lecture to students assuming they can absorb information in a very traditional format. We forget about the importance of allowing college students to…engage with material in a new and exciting way,” she wrote.

Kosinski-Collins noted that many students were “struck by the mechanisms caterpillars use to attach to, prey upon or blend in with plant tissue” and learned about the adaptations plants use in order to fight invasion, such as

Ashley Young ‘21 paints mural for first year class.

ARTS: PAGE 15

Brandeis celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

By Roshni Ray editor

The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) recently announced their recognition and support for celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month at Brandeis in an email to the Brandeis community. This national observance starts on Sept. 15 and proceeds till Oct. 15. During this time period, the Brandeis Latinx Student Organization (BLSO) and individual student performers showcase and uplift Hispanic culture.

The BLSO is a “group dedicated to exploring the political, social and cultural differences of the Hispanic/Latin@ community,” as described by the Hispanic Studies program. The group recently celebrated the event Carne Asada, where participants shared a

meal of traditional Brazilian food, games and music. On Oct. 15, the BLSO will host their annual cultural showcase Incendio at the Levin Ballroom. There will be numerous student performances, Hispanic and Latin American food and raffles. Tickets can be reserved for free for Brandeis students at the Shapiro Campus Center. The theme for Incendio this year is the “Garden of Culture.” More information regarding BLSO events can be found on their Instagram page. In addition to BLSO events, the Brandeis International Business School is sponsoring a performance by Mariachi singer, musician and Latin American folkloric dancer and choreographer Veronica Robles along with her all-female Mariachi band on Oct. 14 in the school’s World Court. Robles is

the founder of the first female-only Mariachi band in Boston and is the co-founder and director of the Veronica Robles Cultural Center that “supports community action and economic growth in East Boston and offers Latin American arts and programming and provides jobs for youth,” according to her business website.Furthermore, Robles was recently recognized for her work as a Latina artist, receiving the national 2021 Changemakers Award presented by the Institute of Non-Profit Practice. She is also the 2019 recipient of the Ohtli Award, which is one of the highest and limited distinctions given by the government of Mexico.

The DEI also highlighted that the University Archives and Special Collections has curated numerous materials and arti-

facts both digital and hard-copydocumenting the experiences of former Hispanic students at Brandeis. One such example is a webinar panel recorded in 2021 that chronicles the lives of alumni and students at Brandeis of Hispanic heritage. The webinar addressed questions of implicit bias, community and belonging and gave alumni a space to share their thoughts on questions such as how their interactions with the non-Latinx community compared and contrasted to their interactions with the Latinx community. The discussion was organized by alum Elsie Morales Ramos ’72, whose mission is to “[promote] Latinx history at Brandeis and… connect Latinx alumni with each other and with students,” as described in an article from the Brandeis Alumni Association.

The Student Activism Collection documents the efforts of Grito, a student organization run by Ramos during her time at Brandeis that served as a resource and a community for Latinx students at Brandeis. Furthermore, the Brandeis community can view course materials from the Hispanic Studies program that are a part of several Brandeis faculty collections, including but not limited to papers written by former chair of European Languages, Romance and Comparative Literature Denah Lida and founder of the American Studies program at Brandeis Lawrence Fuchs.Overall, Brandeis students, faculty and staff are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month not only through the cultural celebrations of current students, but also through the commemoration of alumni experiences in the past.

University alumna and activist dies at 80

By Victoria Morrongiello editor

Meredith Tax ’64, a writer and political activist, passed away at 80 years old on Sept. 25. Tax was involved in multiple causes including anti-war movements and social feminist organizations.

After graduating from the university, Tax spent four years in London at Birkbeck College, according to her Wikipedia page.

Tax attended Birkbeck on both Fulbright and Woodrow Wilson Fellowships. During her time at Birkbeck, Tax discovered activism and became part of the anti-Vietnam War movement. Tax did not finish her dissertation at Birkbeck and instead returned to the Unit-

ed States in 1968 to pursue movement work and writing in place of an academic career, according to her biography page. Tax continued her anti-war activism in the U.S. as a part of Bread and Roses, according to her biography page. The Bread and Roses movement was established in the late ’60s forming from a coalition of smaller, regional groups, according to Chapter 3, “Learning about Racism: White Socialist Feminism and Bread and Roses” in The Trouble Between Us, on white and Black feminist movements. Bread and Roses was composed of social feminists who were also fighting for anti-capitalism and anti-racism, according to the chapter. The movement attended to build an interracial movement however ultimately

failed in creating solidarity between women of different races and classes.

Tax became the leader of Bread and Roses and she made it a point that, “[Women] can not talk of sisterhood without realizing that the objective position in society of most of us is different from that of welfare mothers, of the black maids of our white mothers, and women in 3rd World countries. Sisterhood means not saying this is our fight, but making it our fight.”

Tax acknowledged in her activist work that despite being put at a disadvantage on the basis of her sex, she was at an advantage due to her “class and race created privileges,” according to a journal article on white and Black feminist movements. Bread and Roses was

an organization primarily composed of wealthy white women, many of whom were educated and raised in segregated regions, according to the chapter. Tax argued during her time in the organization that they must consciously raise awareness about class and race, in addition to their arguments on the basis of sex. These key points were what Tax tried to integrate into the organization’s political activism. Tax went on to leave Bread and Roses to join a “Marxist-Leninist ‘pre-party formation,’” according to the chapter. Tax was also a member of the Chicago Women’s Liberation Union and was the founding co-chair of the Committee for Abortion Rights and Against Sterilization abuse (CARASA)—a group focused on

reproductive rights.

Tax also was a founding chair of the International PEN’s Women’s Writer’ Committee—a group that promotes issues in the world written by female writers. She was also the founding president of Women’s World Organization for Rights, Literature and Development (WORLD)—a global free speech network active until 2009 aimed at bringing attention to the silencing of activists speaking of gender inequality. Tax was also a co-founder and chair for the board of the Centre for Secular Space—a think tank and advocacy group.

Tax graduated with a degree in English as a part of the university’s 12th class.

Updates on dining services complications

HARVEST, from page 1

relating to events; Capital Programs is advising Harvest Table on potential renovation plans; Sustainability is already a close partner with Harvest Table’s sus-

tainability lead; and Facilities Services has been on call for needed repairs. … Brandeis Information Technology Services was an enormous help in getting the many technology-based systems operational on our network with a mix of the software Harvest Table brought to Brandeis … and

software that we already use.… Student Affairs shares student and parent feedback directly with Harvest Table and University Services for follow up.”

Stanley also specified how student feedback is processed, writing that “feedback gathered through the napkin wall, two

portals on the Brandeis Hospitality website, and email is reviewed daily by the Harvest Table team and shared with University Events.

Together (and with the help of other Brandeis groups as needed), they investigate the feedback, resolve problems as needed,

and follow up (if there is contact info).” She also mentioned that feedback from the chosen “students and representatives from Brandeis Hospitality and University Events” on the Dining Committee will begin being collected next month.

Rose Art Museum celebrates opening

By Madeline Rousell editor

The Rose Art Museum celebrated the opening of a new exhibit on Wednesday, Sept. 21, with an event open to the Brandeis community and beyond. The exhibit, called “Peter Sacks: Resistance,” is the first solo exhibition for Sacks, a South African artist, according to the Rose website.

The collection features more than 90 “never-before-seen portraits of individuals who have resisted political, racial, or cultural oppression over the past two centuries,” according to a page on the Rose website about the exhibit. The portraits, done in a collage style that incorporates different textures and texts written by the individuals, highlight figures such as Frederick Douglass, Nelson

Mandela, Audre Lorde, James Baldwin and Hannah Arendt. Excerpts from texts produced by the portrait subjects will also contribute to an “audio collage” as part of the exhibit, according to the exhibit’s page. According to remarks made by Sacks at the event, about 70 prominent figures in contemporary politics, culture and literature were asked to choose a resistor in Sacks’ collection and submit an audio recording of themselves reading from the chosen figure’s repertoire.

According to Sacks, they received “about eight hours” of audio recordings, even though the initial call was for about two minutes from each person.

These recordings were curated into “four thematic soundtracks” which, while not present at the event, will typically be played throughout the exhibit, accord-

ing to Sacks. They will also be available on the Rose Museum’s website and app if viewers want to hear the audio recording for a specific figure.

In his remarks at the end of the event, Sacks explained that “Resistance is the theme [of the exhibit] but gratitude is very much at the heart.” He thanked contributors to the curation of the exhibit, including those who had submitted audio recordings. Sacks then described the process of creating the portraits, which he said was in response to forces of increasing oppression in the United States that reminded him of growing up in South Africa in the ’50s and ’60s under apartheid. Sacks began with figures which had been important to him—and whose images and words were banned—during that time, such as Frederick Douglass, Nelson

Mandela and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But these figures soon “began to call on others, so that people started to arrive, almost as visitations,” Sacks explained.

Although Sacks declined to pick a favorite figure, he wanted to highlight one person that he felt was important “right now”: Nasrin Sotoudeh, an Iranian human rights lawyer who has been imprisoned for speaking out for women’s rights, according to Amnesty International.

Sacks closed out his remarks with “five lines” that he felt summed up the commitment to resistance that was one of the themes of the show. The first four lines came from a poem from the Russian poet Osip Mandelstam, which addressed Joseph Stalin: “You took away all the oceans and all the space, and you gave me my shoe-size in earth with bars

around it. Where did it get you? Nowhere. You left me my lips, and they still shape words, even in silence.”

The last line came from Rosa Parks, as she responded to threats from protesters who said they would burn down the hall in which she was to speak: “Then I will speak upon the ashes.”

Henry and Lois Foster Director and Chief Curator of the Rose Art Museum Gannit Ankori, President Ron Liebowitz and Tim Phillips, a member of the museum’s Board of Advisors, also gave remarks at the event.

“Peter Sacks: Resistance” will be available for viewing in the Rose Art Museum until Dec. 30, 2022.

Brandeis University hosts the Caterpillar Lab

LAB, from page 1

such as “producing toxins deadly to caterpillars or producing chemicals or colors to attract parasitic wasps to prey on the invading caterpillars.”

Her overall sentiments towards the events were, “I really thought this event was fantastic…Given we are celebrating the Year of Climate Action, this exhibit stressed the importance of caterpillars to

our ecosystem…[My students’] smiles and excitement in response to the experience and how plants are involved will last longer in their memory than any lecture ever could.”The Caterpillar Lab was founded by Samuel Jaffe, who drew from his personal fascination with nature to build an organization centered around sharing the same experiences he had. After graduating from Brown University in 2008, Jaffe undertook a personal project photographing caterpillars found in New En-

gland and displayed his work in local galleries, and in 2011, he enlisted the support of his friends and family to host a caterpillar exhibit at the Boston Children’s Museum. On the organization’s website, Jaffe described how at this point, “[his] work with caterpillars had entered the realm of ‘we’ rather than just ‘I.’ It felt right.” In 2013, Jaffe had launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a summer full of caterpillar-related activities with his peers from Antioch University. Concurrently,

the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) had indicated interest in filming these caterpillar showings. Jaffe writes, “We filmed with the BBC for three weeks and became fast friends as we worked day and night to bring our vision to life.” This was the first time the group’s work was denoted “The Caterpillar Lab.”

The organization continued to grow, moving into a new space in the Colony Hill Marketplace building in Keene, NH and attracting new nature-enthusiasts

over Facebook. In 2015, The Caterpillar Lab officially became a non-profit corporation and has since been conducting numerous outreach programs to “increase [their] audiences’ excitement for and investment in their local natural surroundings.”

Moving forward, the company indicated their interest in supporting natural history pastime in New England and serving as a space to facilitate the work of other natural history professionals, artists, educators and scientists.

Student Union welcomes new members after election

UNION, from page 1

the Student Union would be foolish to not employ said resource.”

Canadian student, Koby Gottlieb ’26, won one of the positions of International Student Senator in an unopposed race. Writing in his candidate bio, “I like to embody the stereotype that Canada is one of the friendliest countries in the world.”

The position of Class of 2024 Senator was another unopposed race, and was won by Sahil Muthuswami ’24, with one open seat for the position left.

Muthuswami emphasized his history in the Student Union in his candidate bio, as well as to “expect clear communication, determination, and consistency” from him in the role.

The three Associate Justice positions open were filled by Farishta Ali ’24, Alyssa Golden ’26 and Zachary Miller ’25 who won against the other two candidates Maxwell Weiner and Jenna Lew-

is. Ali obtained 17.06 percent of the vote, Golden won 24.45 percent of the vote and Miller won with 17.77 percent of the votes. Noteworthy write-in options for the position included one student submitting “Louis D Brandeis” for the role.

In her candidate bio, Ali wrote that she will “strive to uphold the standards of the Student Union Constitution” as a member of the Judiciary. Golden promised to “provide accountability and transparency” as Associate Justice in her bio and Miller highlighted his extensive legal knowledge in his bio.

Erica Hwang ’25 and James Brosgol ’25 won the two open seats for Class of 2025 Senators against Andrew Zweiler ’25. Hwang won about 44.98 percent of the vote and Brosgol won 38.86 percent.

In her candidate bio, Hwang noted how she wants to implement “more services that promote campus accessibility” while working on the Senate. Brosgol noted his previous expeirence in the Brandeis Student Union, and

wrote that he “will serve with unwavering commitment to the truth and to integrity” within his bio.

Chana Thomas ’25 won the seat for Skyline/Rosie Senator. Thomas ran unopposed, and wrote in her candidate bio, “I would like to be a person that students can comfortably go to, knowing that their voices will be heard and cared for as my own.”

Nicholas Kanan ’23, won the Charles River Senator seat, also running unopposed.

Zachary Moskovits ’26 won the Massell Quad Senator seat, obtaining 46.73 percent of the vote against competitors Chloe Doonan ’26 and Summer Coronesi ’26. Moskovits noted in his candidate bio his history of student advocacy, and wrote that “when a fellow classmate needs a loud voice on their side, I am always ready for a fight.”

The seat for North Quad Senator was won by Eve Begelman ’26, with 48.15 percent of the vote against Liam Spilker ’26 and Parteek Kanmadikar ’26, despite the election form spelling her name

incorrectly. Begelman wrote in her bio that she looks “forward to making the North Quad a friendly and comfortable environment for all.” One of the two open Allocations Board seats was filled by Cameron Sherman ‘26, who ran unopposed for the position. Many students opted to write in candidates though, notable writein options for the position included “my buddy eric”, “God, the one true allocation board member” and a common one: “kanye”.

Rachel Gao ’25 and Divam Gupta ’26 won the two seats for Racial Minority Senator, obtaining 42.41 percent and 41.14 percent of the vote respectively. Both students highlighted their experiences as students of color and past diversity equity and inclusion work in their candidate bios.

Eamonn Golden ’24 won the seat for Ziv/Ridgewood Senator, running unopposed. Golden “want[s] to hear what everyone has to say,” according to his candidate bio, in order to effectively represent the quad.

Jahkhi Waters ‘26 won the Myra Kraft Transitional Year Program

(MKTYP) Senator seat. Waters wrote in his candidate bio that he’s “been specially gifted to have [his] voice heard in a world that would sooner ignore it,” and that he “would like to give back to Brandeis University” through this role. The seat for Off-Campus Senator was won by Kelly Lei ’24. Lei hopes to help off-campus students through working on Bran Van awareness, commuter parking practices and fostering a community of off-campus students, according to her candidate bio.

Kai Kibilko ’25 won the Village/567 Senator seat, running unopposed.

Kibilko wrote in her candidate bio that democratizing the decision-making process between administration and students is an important goal of hers in this position. Kelkar ended the email announcing the winners by noting that a special election will follow in the weeks to come “to fill remaining vacancies.” And that “those who ran in this election but were not elected are more than welcome to run in the upcoming special election!”

DEI officer speaks on Breonna Taylor Tribute

By Victoria Morrongiello editor

LeManuel Bitsóí spoke with The Brandeis Hoot on his reasoning behind the movement of the Breonna Taylor tribute from the entrance of Sherman Dining Hall to the Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion (ODEI). The memorial was assembled by community member in 2020 after the death of Breonna Taylor by police force, according to a previous Hoot article.

“For anyone who has perished, memorials alone do not keep legacies alive. Therefore, we should

actively engage in political efforts that provide equal rights to women of color in the legal system, in the workforce and beyond,” Bitsóí wrote to The Hoot.

Bitsóí explained his fear that the memorial may be taken down at the end of the last academic year. According to Bitsóí, the buildings undergo a cleaning at the end of each academic year, where all postering is taken down. Bitsóí consulted with multiple offices on campus including the Department of Student Affairs and the Intercultural Center (ICC) before making the decision to have the the memorial disassembled and brought to the ODEI for preser-

vation. Bitsóí explained that the intent of moving the memorial to ODEI is so that the components of the meoiral can be preserved by the Univeristy Archives— a service which acquires, preserves and provides access to primary materials in various formats, according to their page.Bitsóí shared with The Hoot that after receiving the job at the university in the spring 2022 semester he toured campus and came across the memorial and was “struck by it”. He reached out to different groups of campus to try and discover the community members responsible for creating the memorial but no one knew of its conception.

The memorial, according to Bitsóí, represented the “tragedy of Breonna Taylor’s death to underscore the ways in which Black women and other women of color are overlooked in the American legal/ justice system.” Bitsóí noted the importance of the memorial given the institutions founding principles in social justice. Community members, according to Bitsóí, “should be vigilant in [their] advocacy for racially minoritized people, and help to raise awareness and galvanize others to hold our policial leaders, insitutions and legal systems accountable.” In the interview, Bitsóí offered a note on the collective goals

of ODEI to strength the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs on campus. Bitsóí noted that, “we all need to advocate for the safety and equal protection of people of color and other marginalized people in this country.”

Bitsóí wrote that ODEI is working to ensure that across the university community members can “access safe spaces and program events that will directly impact them and their communities.”

ODEI is composed of multiple offices across the university working to support community members across dimensions of diversity, equity and inclusion, according to their page.

Updates on dining services complications

By Victoria Morrongiello editor

Brandeis Communications and Community Living announced a room decorating competition for community members, according to the university’s social media webpage. The competition has monetary prizes for the selected winners.

Students are invited to share pictures and/or videos of their decorated dorm room to win the competition. There will be one winner picked from each quad in

addition to one “Grand Prize ‘cool room’ winner,” according to the page. Quad winners will receive a $50 gift card per room and the “Grand Prize ‘cool room’ winner” will receive a $100 gift card and a feature piece on BrandeisNow.

Community Advisors (CAs) are not allowed to enter in the competition, though the CA of each quad winner selected will receive a separate prize from the Department of Community Living (DCL), according to the page.

Students can submit their entries to social-media@brandeis. edu between Oct. 12 and Oct.

19. In the entry students should include the room occupant name(s), their quad of residence, their building and room number and multiple photos of the room or videos. In addition to these requirements, students must also write: “By submitting an entry, I am agreeing to allow these photos/videos to be used for promotional publications, room selection, the DCL/ Brandeis website, DCL/Brandeis social media accounts and their projects.”

When applying for the competition, students should be aware that photos shared by the finalists

for the “Grand Prize ‘cool room’” will be featured on the university’s Instagram. The university’s Instagram viewers will be the ones to vote on the winner for the “cool room.”

In the entries, students should include multiple photos of their room, preferably with the featured photos taken during the day when the room is well lit. According to the entry details, students should not include prohibited items in their photos. Items that are prohibited by DCL include but are not limited to: alcohol, cannabis, spcae heaters, candles and pets.

A full list of prohibited items can be found on DCL’s webpage. Students are invited to feature fellow students and peers in their photos highlighting them hanging out in the room. For students living in double or triple spaces, they will enter the contest as one entry, according to the page. Each roommate will receive an individual prize if they are selected as a winner.By entering the competition, students should understand that their photos may be used for promotional publications on the university’s website and various social media accounts.

Volleyball goes through balanced stretch SPORTS

By Francesca Marchese staff

Over the last two weeks, the Brandeis Judges volleyball squad traveled to St. Louis, Missouri to compete in their first University Athletic Association (UAA) Round Robin of the season, in addition to frequenting Maine to compete against the top teams in both the New England Small College Athletic Conference and North Atlantic Conference. After starting the season 3-0, undefeated in all nine sets, the Brandeis Women’s volleyball team faced their toughest competition yet in the UAA Round Robin. The Judges recovered, though, and successfully ended their twoweek stretch on a three-game winning streak, topping host Bowdoin College and Maine Maritime in four sets. The Judges are 8-5 on the season thus far. While the Judges brought their A-game to WashU to face off Carnegie Mellon and NYU in the first UAA Round Robin, the Brandeis volleyball squad fell short to both opponents by 3-0 scores. All three games against the Tartans were incredibly close (25-23, 25-22, 25-23); in the first and second set, neither team led by more than three points, but the Judges were unable to hold on to their late advantages. In the third set, the Judges survived two match points at 24-21, but couldn’t force extra points in a 25-23 loss. In the second match of the day, the Judges remained competitive against the NYU Violets, but were unable to secure the win in another close match; the Judges fell to the Violets in three sets (25-21, 25-20, 25-19) as they were un-

able to recover from early leads in the first two sets. The Judges were determined to establish an early lead in the third, spearheaded by grad student Sydney Bent (GRAD); unfortunately, though, Brandeis was unable to recover from a six-zero Violets run.

In the first UAA Round Robin of the 2022-23 season, Bent was the offensive player of the game for the Brandeis Judges; she totaled 20 kills and four service aces on the day; defensively, Bent led the Judges with 18 digs in the first match and 14 in the second. First year Anna Erischek ’26 gave her squad an offensive edge, finishing with eight kills in each match, while hitting .208 across both matches. Ines Grom-Mansenecal ’24, the Judges veteran setter, rounded out the box score with two double-doubles—21 assists and 13 digs against the Tartans and 17 and 16 against the Violets; individually, Grom-Mansenecal had a career high six kills against NYU.

Before returning to Waltham, Massachusetts to prepare for their Maine trip, the Brandeis volleyball squad faced WashU in their final match of the opening UAA Round Robin tournament. Unfortunately, WashU utilized their home court advantage to defeat the Judges in a 3-0 decision; set scores were 25-22, 25-10, 2520. Sophomore Lara Verstovsek ’25 helped her squad offensively with seven kills, while libero Ella Pereira ’24 tallied 13 digs. While the Judges were unable to pull out a win in the UAA opener weekend, Grom-Mansenecal finished with her third-straight double-double, 25 and 13, and her fifth in the last six matches.

In a double-header in Lewiston, Maine, the Judges split with Colby and Bates, earning a

much-needed win after falling 3-0 in conference play just a few days prior. In the first set against Colby, the Mules extended their early 4-0 lead over the Judges to 6-2, and never trailed for the remainder of the set. The second set was hard fought, as the Judges secured the win; Arianna Jackson ’25 capped off a six-zero run for Brandeis with a forceful ace. The Judges held the lead the rest of the set and Verstovsek’s block followed by a kill closed things out for the Brandeis squad. The Mules took the next two sets, defeating Brandeis 3-1 (25-19, 22-25, 25-22, 27-25), but the Judges remained focused and determined to snap their four-game losing streak; and that they did against Bates College.

In three sets, the Judges defeated Bates with set scores of 25-23, 25-17, 25-15. Against the hosts, the Judges found themselves playing catch-up after the Bobcats raced out to a 13-5 lead, which they quickly extended to 19-10. Senior leader Stephanie Borr ’23 remained composed at the service line, serving 11 straight points, including a pair of service aces, to gain the Brandeis lead, 21-19. The teams traded the next eight points, but the Judges closed out the comeback, 25-23. The Bobcats took an early lead in the second set, but the Judges went on a 10-2 run, highlighted by a pair of Verstovsek aces to make it a 20-14 lead; the Judges never trailed again in the remainder of the match.

Scoring 28.5 points in the two matches, Verstovsek executed on both ends, finishing with a match-high 14 kills against Colby and nine against Bates; she also tallied four aces against the hosts and three block assists across both matches. Defensively, the Judges executed at the net

accounting a season-high for 13 blocks against Colby. Rita Lai ’24 had a season-high eight-blocks, one shy of her career-high, while Bent tallied five and Jackson finished with four. Ertischek got in on the action against Colby, too, with 12 kills and three blocks. Bent led the team with 16 digs against the Mules and Borr finished with 16 digs against Bates; she also had five service aces. Ines Grom-Mansenecal continued her incredible play with 35 assists and 14 digs against Colby and 23 assists and nine digs against Bates; she was one dig shy of her fifth consecutive double-double.

On the last leg of their road game stretch, the Judges picked up two non-conference wins in Brunswick, Maine to improve their season record to 8-5. The Judges won a pair of four-set matches, topping host Bowdoin (20-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-19) and Maine Maritime (25-19, 27-25, 21-25, 25-18).

After falling to the Polar Bears in the first set, the Judges led for the entire second set, taking an early 4-2 lead and never looked back. In the third set, Brandeis found themselves trailing again, but Verstovsek’s two kills and Bent’s two aces gave the Judges the 1614 advantage they needed. Tied at 17-all, Jackson stopped Bowdoin’s momentum with a kill and three straight service points; the Judges successfully closed out the third set and defeated the Polar Bears 3-1 in the final set.

After dropping the first point of the match against Maine Maritime, the Brandeis Judges never trailed again. The second set was a back-and-forth affair, but timely blocks by Jackson and Ertischek gave the Judges an early 8-6 lead. After tying it up once more, the Judges went on an-

other run sparked by Ertischek’s kill. The excitement and suspense continued in Bowdoin’s arena, as MMA responded with a 5-1 run, tying things up 15-all; neither team scored more than two straight points for a stretch, but Maritime did gain a crucial 23-21 lead late in the game. Verstovsek and Bent answered with back to back kills to tie things up at 23all, but MMA earned set point. Verstovsek would not let her team fall without a fight, though, and she answered MMA’s kill with one of her own, sparking a 4-1 run that gave Brandeis a 27-25 win. While not as suspenseful, the Judges secured the last set, 25-18. Against Bowdoin, Verstovsek set a team-season high and career high with 19 kills; she also added 12 digs for her first double-double of the season and the seventh of her career. On 42 attempts, Verstovsek made just five errors for a .333 hitting percentage. Clearly, Lara Verstovsek came to play. Bent added 11 kills and 20 digs for her third double-double, while finishing with a team-high four service ace. Junior setter Grom-Mansenecal had another impressive game with 40 assists and nine digs. Against Maine Maritime, Grom-Mansenecal recorded her eight double-double of the seasons with 45 assists and 16 digs. Teammates Borr and Bent finished with 15 and 14 digs, respectively. First year Ertischek paced the offense with 18 kills, a career best, with only 3 errors in 32 attempts for a .432 hitting percentage. The Judges look to increase their three-game winning streak against Clark University on Thursday, Sept. 29 at 6 p.m. in their first home match in nearly a month.

Cross country competes at UMass Dartmouth

By Justin Leung editor

In their second competition of the year, the men’s and women’s cross-country teams traveled to the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Dartmouth on Saturday Sept. 17. Last year the women’s team finished in second place, while the men’s team finished in 10th. After starting the season with first place finishes at the Wellesley College Invitational, the two teams looked to continue their strong start to the season.

For the varsity women’s 5K, the women’s team was led by senior Bridget Pickard ’23. She finished in 20th place with a time of 18:38.19. It was the first time Pickard had broken the 19-minute mark as she beat her previous best 5K time by 24 seconds. Firstyear Katriona Briggs ’26 finished right behind her with a time of 18:39. She also broke 19 minutes for the first time and improved on her first run by 34 seconds. Then came junior Juliette Intrieri ’24 who finished just behind Briggs with a time of 18:39.21. It was also the first time Intrieri broke 19 minutes as she improved on her previous best by 28 seconds. Junior Lizzy Reynolds ’24 was the next Judge to finish, as she placed 52nd with a time of 19:13.75. Sophomore Zada Forde ’25 finished in 76th with a time of 19:35.47. Junior Katie Lyon ’24 finished her second race of the season with a time of 20:05.91

and in 111th place. Sophomore Kyra Au ’25 improved her time from her first run this season, as she finished with a time of 20:20.60. Overall, the women’s cross-country team finished in seventh place with 189 points.

In the junior varsity women’s 5K, the Judges were led by freshman Ella Werkentine ’26. She finished in second place with a time of 19:24.54 in her first-ever run of the course. Junior Adah Anderson ’24 was the next runner from Brandeis to finish. She placed 29th, with a time of 20:59.86. Freshman Cali Morvay ’26 finished shortly after in 31st place. Her time was 21:08.73 on her first time running the course. Senior Matthew Dribben ’23 led the way for the men’s team in the varsity men’s five mile competition, as he finished in 36th place with a time of 25:48.50. Junior Willem Goff ’24 was close to 20 seconds behind him, as he finished with a time of 26:19.27 in 55th place. This was Goff’s first time running at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational. First-year TJ Carleo ’26 was the next Judge to finish as he placed 103rd with a time of 27:02.34. Sophomore Lucas Dia ’25 and Daniel Frost ’25 rounded the top five for Brandeis as they finished in with times 27:12.94 and 27:36.39 respectively. They were followed by junior Samuel Kim ’24 and sophomore Dashiell Janicki ’25. Kim finished in 205th with a time of 29:12.54, while Janicki finished shortly after with a time of 29:39.77 in

214th place. This was both of their first times running at the invitational. Overall, the men’s cross-country team finished in 17th place with 421 points. In the men’s junior varsity five mile competition, junior Henry Ngyuen ’24 was the first runner from Brandeis to fin-

ish. He finished 32nd with a time of 28:03.99. Senior Taylor Diamond ’23 followed in 97th place with a time of 31:02.55.

Both teams will next run at the Keene State Invitational on Oct. 1. Last year the men’s team finished in second place overall with Dribben leading the way.

The women’s team finished in first place in the competition. These two teams will then run one more race at the Connecticut College Invitational on Oct. 15 before the University Athletic Association Championships in Atlanta. Editor’s Note: Editor-in-Chief Victoria Morrongiello ’23

Men’s soccer play last game before UAA matches

By Justin Leung

After a solid start to the season, the Brandeis men’s soccer team played a tough stretch of games to end the month of September. Their first game was against Wesleyan University on Sept. 17. Wesleyan was having a very good 3-0 start to the season, so it was set to be a tough matchup for Brandeis. The Judges had the first shot of the game in the second minute. Freshman forward Elan Romo ’26 had a shot on target, but it was saved by the Wesleyan goalie. A few minutes later, they were back on the attack with two corner kicks from freshman midfielder Rainer Osselmann-Chai ’26 and a shot from senior forward Sancho Maroto Tobias ’23, however his shot sailed high. Wesleyan proceeded to flip the script as they started pushing their offense. They had a few shots on target, but senior goalie Aiden Guthro ’23 made sure that none would go into the net. Guthro was doing everything he could to start the game, as he played phenomenally to stop the potent Wesleyan offense. However, something had to give, and eventually Wesleyan scored a goal to take the lead in the 34th minute off of a corner kick. The first half ended with Brandeis being behind 0-1. Wesleyan was dominating on offense even though

they were only winning by one goal. The Judges only had one shot on target in the first half of the game. It was clear Brandeis needed to get their offense going early in the second half to get some momentum on their side. However, Wesleyan made sure that they had control over the game. Wesleyan had two shots within the first two minutes of the second half. Guthro, continuing to have a great game, saved both of them. Freshman midfielder Nico Beninda ’26 had Brandeis’ first shot of the second half, but it was saved. Junior forward Max Horowitz ’24 followed with their first shot on target since the second minute of the game, however it was saved by the Wesleyan goalie. Wesleyan continued to pour on the shots, and finally got their second goal in the 60th minute. The Judges still could not get anything going offensively, as Wesleyan sealed the win in the 77th minute with their third goal of the game. Neither team would score for the rest of the game, making the score 3-0 in favor of Wesleyan.

Wesleyan had 27 shots in the game, including 16 in the second half. Brandeis on the other hand could only get 10 shots off, but seven of them were on target. Even though Wesleyan had significantly more shots than Brandeis, they only had eight corner kicks compared to Brandeis’ five. Guthro had an incredible game. Even

though he let in three goals, he had 14 saves. This tied his previous career high he had last year against Emory University. Maroto Tobias led the team in shots with four, as two of them were on target. After the tough loss, the Judges looked to bounce back in an away game against Wheaton College on Sept. 21. The two teams last faced off in a game in 2019 that ended in a 0-0 tie. This year, the game was the complete opposite. Maroto Tobias got an early shot, but it sailed wide right. Wheaton countered with two shots of their own, but they were stopped by the Judges’ defense and Guthro. The two teams traded shots early, before Brandeis got the first goal of the game in the 13th minute. Osselmann-Chai sent a corner kick into the box where senior back Forrest Shimazu ’23 had a shot that deflected off the post. Horowitz took advantage of the rebound and put the ball into the net to give the Judges the lead. Osselmann-Chai was awarded his fourth assist of the season and Shimazu was given his first assist of the season and career. This was Horowitz’s second goal of the season and fourth of his career. It didn’t take long for Brandeis to add onto their advantage, as Beninda scored a goal in the 15th minute to give the Judges a 2-0 lead. This was Beninda’s second goal of the season and the second of his career. Wheaton quick-

ly answered with a goal of their own in the 19th minute to cut their deficit to 1-2. After playing two halves and two overtimes in their last matchup without a goal, these two teams combined for three goals in under 20 minutes. The rest of the first half had less action. Each team had a few shots, but nothing went in. Wheaton outshot Brandeis 10-6 in the first half, but only two of those shots were on target. Brandeis had an early scoring opportunity to start the second half off of an Osselmann-Chai corner kick, but a shot from Beninda was blocked. In the 49th minute, Wheaton threatened to tie the game, but Guthro had two big saves to conserve the lead. The Judges’ defense played well in the second half as they didn’t allow Wheaton to tie the game. Brandeis ended up winning their rematch 2-1, after all the goals were scored in the first 20 minutes.

Wheaton ended up outshooting Brandeis 18-11, however Guthro was great throughout the game as he had eight saves. Five of those eight saves came in the second half. The two teams were even in corner kicks with five. Beninda’s goal was his first game-winning and unassisted goal of his career. Horowitz led the team in shots with three, with two of them being on target. Three days later, the Judges had their first home game in two weeks. They faced Eastern Nazarene College (ENC) on a Saturday afternoon in their first game since 1997. The game took a surprising turn in just the first minute, as the ENC starting goalie was injured following a corner kick from Osselmann-Chai. A few minutes later, the backup goalie made a great diving save on the Judges first shot of the game from Maroto Tobias. The Judges got plenty of shots off in the first half, including a header from sophomore back Andres Gonzalez ’25 in the 37th minute. However, every shot on target was saved. ENC didn’t even get a shot on target in the first half.

At the end of the first half, the game was tied 0-0. Brandeis was clearly dominating on offense, with 12 shots compared to ENC’s two, however nothing was going into the net. It seemed like something had to fall for the Judges at some point soon. Even though ENC had very limited offense in the first half, it took them just 23 seconds to score the go-ahead goal. All of the sudden, after Brandeis clearly dominated on offense in the first half, they were behind. Beninda and Maroto Tobias quickly responded with a shot of their own, but they were saved. The Judges kept the pressure on with hopes of quickly tying the game. Finally, in the 57th minute they broke through after a cross from Horowitz came from the left side of the field and found Gonzalez. Gonzalez took the opportunity and buried the ball into the net for his first goal of the season. The assist from Horowitz was his second of the season. Brandeis had a chance to take the lead in the 80th minute after a cross from Osselmann-Chai and a header from Gonzalez, but the ENC defense held strong. ENC also nearly took the lead in the 82nd minute but their shot hit the post. The Judges’ final opportunity to win the game came in the 87th minute from another cross by Osselmann-Chai, but Maroto Tobias’ header went wide right. ENC got two shots off in the 89th minute but neither were on target. The final score of the game was 1-1.

Brandeis clearly dominated on offense in the first half as they

outshot ENC 12-2. However, in the second half the shooting was a lot more even as Brandeis had another 12 shots, but ENC also had nine. The Judges had more corner kicks with nine compared to ENC’s three. Gonzalez’s tying goal was the second goal of his career. Guthro and senior goalie Max Blacker ’23 split time in goal, and neither one of them made a save as ENC only had one shot on target. The all-time series between these two teams continues to favor Brandeis, as they are now overall 2-0-1 against them. In the team’s last game before University Athletic Association (UAA) games are played, they faced Clark University for an away game on Sept. 27. Last year, the Judges narrowly beat Clark with a go-ahead goal in the 48th minute to break a 1-1 tie. To start the game off this year, the Judges put pressure on the Clark goalie early. Beninda and Maroto Tobias both had early shots on goals that were saved by the Clark goalie. The two teams traded shots, but both goalies played very well in the first half to keep the game scoreless. At half time Clark was outshooting Brandeis 11-9, however seven of Brandeis’ shots were on target compared to Clark’s four. Although there was a lot of early offense, neither team could find the net as the game was tied 0-0 at half time. The Judges finally broke through in the 53rd minute after Clark could not clear a shot attempt from Gonzalez. The ball ended up in front of Maroto Tobias and he proceeded to score the first goal of the game. This was Maroto Tobias’ third goal of the season and Gonzalez’s first assist of the season and of his career. Clark tried to answer, but instead they ended up conceding another goal to the Judges. In the 62nd minute, Osselmann-Chai took advantage of a Clark turnover and took a shot from 20 yards out. The ball was deflected by the Clark goalie, but still went into the goal. This was Osselmann-Chai’s first goal of the season and of his career. The Brandeis defense held strong for the rest of the game, as they limited Clark to just two shots for the remaining 28 minutes, as the final score was 2-0. Although the Judges were outshot in the first half, overall, they outshot Clark 20-14 with a dominant second half performance as they allowed Clark to just take three shots. Maroto Tobias led the Judges in shots with seven, with four of them being on target. His game-winning goal put him in first place on the team for goals scored with three. Although Osselmann-Chai’s goal was just his first of the season, he is now in second place on the team in points as he has four assists this season. Guthro had another strong game with five saves and a shutout. It was his third shutout of the season and ninth of his career. The Judges’ record now sits at 4-2-2. In their first UAA game of the season, the Judges will travel to Case Western Reserve University for a game on Oct. 1. Last year Brandeis lost the matchup 0-2 in a tough-fought home game.

Brandeis men’s and women’s tennis compete at respective invitationals

By Jillian Brosofsky staff

Men’s tennis was in Vermont this week for the Middlebury Invitational. The event also marked the beginning of their 2022-2023 season. It’s the first match following the coaching split this summer regarding former associate head coach Christo Schultz’s new position as the head coach for the men’s team.

Simon Kauppila ’23 began his senior season with a run to the finals in Vermont. While his first

match started off rocky, he pulled out a clutch win 2-6, 6-4, 10-8, prevailing in a tight super tiebreaker. He won his next two rounds 6-2, 6-4 and 6-4, 6-3 respectively before falling in the finals 4-6, 0-6.

Hunter Levine ’23 beat the first seed in the second round 3-6, 6-2, 10-6 and continued into the semifinals losing there with a tight 6-7 (3-7), 6-1 match. Teammate Aaron Bayse ’24 also made it to the semifinals losing 0-6, 6-4. Haidyn Green ’26 won his first round match 6-4, 6-3 but fell in a close second round match 4-6, 6-1, 5-10.

In the doubles, Kauppila

and Levine partnered up for a run to the semifinals. While they beat the second-seeded team in the first round, they lost in their final match 1-8. In the opening match of the women’s season, their trip to the Wallach Invitational in Maine resulted in many late-round wins and finals, including a thwarted all-Brandeis final matchup. Anastasia Sia ’25 grinded through three tight matches, involving an upset of the third-seeded player in the second round. She found her way to the final where she and her teammate Rebecca Suarez ’26 were

scheduled to compete, but they canceled the match to save energy for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Championships.

Other Brandeis winners from the event include Phoebe Tamaoki ’26 who reached the semifinals of the B singles flight and Ella Subramanian ’24 who reached the finals in the C singles flight.

In the doubles flights, Suarez and Bhakti Parwani ’25 won A and Subramanian and Tamaoki fell in the semifinals of B.

In the ITA Championships, the Suarez and Parwani pairing proved the most successful of

the Judges’ matches. They were the only match to reach the second day, falling then as Suarez dealt with an injury from her singles match from which she retired the day before. The partners reached the third round. Looking forward, the men’s team plays the ITA New England Regional Championships at Bowdoin on Friday and the women’s team is scheduled for a home match against Nichols Oct. 15.

Women’s soccer extends unbeaten streak to six

By Justin Leung editor

After a solid start to the season, the Brandeis women’s soccer team looked to continue that success as their next stretch of games consisted of three home games and one away game. Their first game was against Emerson College. Last year, the Judges traveled to Emerson and beat them 2-0. This year, Emerson traveled to Brandeis for a game on Sept. 17.

The game did not start well for the Judges. It took just 32 seconds for Emerson to score a goal and take the lead. Brandeis responded a few minutes later as they ran down the field and had the first corner kick of the game. Junior forward Sydney Lenhart ’24 followed with a header for the first shot of the game for the Judges, but it was blocked. The Judges kept the pressure on and were awarded with a goal from senior forward Juliette Carreiro ’22 in the 12th minute. She was assisted by sophomore defender Rachel Watler ’25. It was the fourth goal of the season for Carreiro in just six games. It was Watler’s second assist of the season and career. The two teams were aggressive on both ends as Emerson threatened to take the lead again but were stopped short by a save from sophomore goalie Hannah Bassan ’25. Brandeis also almost took the lead after backto-back shots from Carreiro and sophomore defender Morgan Collins ’25. Ultimately Carreiro’s shot hit the crossbar and Collin’s shot sailed high. Neither team proceeded to score before half time, so the score remained 1-1.

In the second half, Emerson quickly started with a shot that went wide right. Shortly after, the Judges had their first scoring opportunity of the half, but Carreiro’s shot was saved. Carreiro had another shot 10 minutes later, but it was again saved. As the game approached its end, the Judges had one more big opportunity to take the lead. Carreiro once again had a solid shot but was once again stopped by the Emerson goalie. The game ended with a score of 1-1, after both teams scored their goals in the first 15 minutes. Brandeis outshot Emerson 11-7 and had four more shots on goal. Bassan had three saves with the single goal allowed. Brandeis had seven corner kicks compared to Emerson’s zero. Carreiro’s goal was her 20th for her career as she became the 19th player in school history to reach the mark. She also moved to 16th in total points for the school with 57. Three days later, the team trav-

eled to Bridgewater St. University for their next game. In their matchup last year, the Judges defeated Bridgewater 2-1 after a close game. From the start of the game this year, Brandeis was all over the Bridgewater defense.

Junior forward Yasla Ngoma ’24 had two shots within the first 20 minutes. Over the next three minutes, forward Bailey Cullen (GRAD), Lenhart and Carreiro all had shots, but none of them were going in. At the end of the half, the Judges were outshooting Bridgewater 11-0. The Brandeis defense was strong so Bridgewater could not get their offense going. Brandeis, on the other hand, had plenty of shots but no goals. The Bridgewater goalie was phenomenal in the first half with seven saves. In the second half, the Judges again had plenty of offense. It took seven minutes and six shots before they finally scored. Lenhart scored an unassisted goal for her third goal of the season. Finally, the tie had been broken. This lead did not lead to Brandeis holding back. They continued to push their offense and in the 58th minute, Ngoma scored to put the lead to 2-0. This was Ngoma’s first goal of the season and was assisted by Carreiro’s third assist of the season. The Judges continued to attack for the rest of the game but could not score another. After beating them last year 2-1, this time the Judges defense didn’t even allow a single goal.

Brandeis outshot Bridgewater 23-3 and had 12 more shots on goal. First-year goalie Ella Thomson ’26 had two saves and her first career clean sheet. The Judges also had seven corners compared to Bridgewater’s zero. Lenhart’s goal was her third game-winner of the season and the eighth goal of her career.

On Sept. 22, the Judges faced Roger Williams University for their fourth home game of the season. Their unbeaten streak was sitting at four games after going 1-2 in the first three games of the season. It was evident early in the game that the offense from their previous game against Bridgewater was carrying over into this one.

Ngoma and freshman defender Briar Grady ’26 both had shots within the first 10 minutes. After four more shots from the Judges, they got their first goal of the game from another goal from Carreiro in the 29th minute. It was her fifth goal of the season and was assisted by Grady. This was Grady’s first assist of the season and career. A couple fouls from both teams before the first half came to a close.

Brandeis was clearly dominating on offense with nine shots compared to Roger Williams’ zero.

Ngoma got the second half started with a few shots, before Carreiro scored again. In the 59th minute, Carreiro notched her sixth goal of the season. The goal was unassisted and gave Brandeis a 2-0 lead. Brandeis’ defense continued to play well as they held the shutout until the 76th minute. At that point, Roger Williams made a good run before scoring a goal to cut their deficit to one. All of a sudden the Brandeis lead wasn’t so comfortable. However, the Judges put all the doubt away when senior Morgan Clark ’23 scored a goal in the 78th minute to bring back the two-goal lead. It was Clark’s first goal of the season and third of her career. Her goal was assisted by Watler’s third assist of the season. Roger Williams almost closed the deficit again with a goal in the 88th minute but was called offside after a deflection into the goal. Brandeis continued their unbeaten streak to five with a 3-1 victory.

The Judges offense and defense were once again very strong. Brandeis had 24 shots compared to Roger Williams’ two. Eleven of the Judges shots were on target as Roger Williams’ goalie had eight saves. Thomson had one save and got her second win of the season. Brandeis had six corner kicks compared to Roger Williams’ two, however the Judges had three more fouls than Roger Williams. Carreiro helped lead the team to victory as she scored two goals in a game for the third time in her career. She continues to move

up the Brandeis leaderboards in points and goals. Her 22 career goals now put her 16th and 62 career points has her in 14th alltime. Her first goal was also her ninth career game winning goal. In their final game before University Athletic Association (UAA) games are played, the Judges faced Lesley University for a home game on Sept. 27. Last year, the Judges beat Lesley in a thrilling game that saw Brandeis take the lead in the 85th minute to win the game 2-1. This year’s game started off similarly as Brandeis got on the board early with a goal by Ngoma in the 10th minute of the game. Ngoma was assisted by a cross from Hunt, for her second goal of the season. It was Hunt’s fourth assist of the season and 11th of her career. The Judges kept the pressure on with constant shooting. They broke through after a fast start from a free kick allowed Brandeis to get into position to score. Swan and Carreiro combined to get the ball into the box for sophomore midfielder Dominique Paglia ’25. Her shot attempt was put into the net by senior midfielder Jess Herman ’23. Carreiro had her fourth assist of the season and Paglia had her first. This was Herman’s first goal of the season and fifth of her career. The score at half time was 2-0 in favor of Brandeis. They had complete control offensively as they were outshooting Lesley 11-2 in the first half. The second half had more back and forth. Lesley was more competitive offensive-

ly, while the Judges continued to take shots on goal. Brandeis added the final goal of the game in the 83rd minute off a great free kick from Swan. Collins was able to take advantage of the free kick, as she scored a header to make the score 3-0. It was Collins’ first goal of the season and of her career, while this was Swan’s third assist of the season. Lesley could not get any offense going within the last seven minutes, as Brandeis won the matchup again 3-0. The Judges nearly had three times the number of shots Lesley had with 22 compared to Lesley’s eight. However, only nine of those 22 were on target. Carreiro led the team in shots with five overall and two on goal. Bassan had a very strong game with five saves and a shutout. It was her second shutout of the season and fifth of her career. Brandeis had 10 corner kicks in the game, while Lesley had zero. Brandeis will travel to Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) next for their first UAA game of the season on Oct. 1. Last year, CWRU took the lead in the 47th minute and beat the Judges 2-1. However, this Judges team is different. Their overall record is 6-2-1 and they have not lost a game in six consecutive competitions. Their last loss was all the way back on Sept. 7 against Babson. Since then, they have had five wins and one tie. Four of those five wins were won by two or more goals. The Judges will then return home to face Carnegie Mellon University for homecoming on Oct. 8.

Behind Fresh Check Day, the first mental health awareness promotion fair at Brandeis

By Jenny Zhao editor

On Sept. 9, the Univ. had its first Fresh Check Day in history, which was a mental health promotion and suicide prevention fair that contained 10 booths, including support from multiple departments and student organizations, peer education, free food and giveaways. More than 17 departments including the Office of Health and Wellness Promotion and Department of Student Engagement have participated in the event. The Brandeis Hoot sat down with Bella Doulas ’24, Bridge to Wellness (BTW) peer health education coordinator, and Leah Berkenwald, Director of Health Promotion and Wellness Initiatives, to get to know more behind the successful execution of Fresh Check Day.

This was the first year that Fresh Check Day happened. Why did you come up with the idea? What were the challenges you’ve had?

Doulas: Fresh Check Day isn’t a Brandeis idea, it’s based on a program called the Jordan Porco Foundation. Fresh Check Day existed at other campuses, but it was never adopted into Brandeis. This was the first year we did that, just because we felt like mental health obviously is a huge issue, and more attention is being put into it from a lot of universities. Brandeis kind of wanted to hop in on that because there are a lot of students here at Brandeis that struggle with mental health issues. The whole point of the event is just to serve as an uplifting fair, where there are many stations

where kids can just learn and feel comfortable to start conversations about mental health.

Why did the committee think it was important to organize Fresh Check Day at Brandeis?

What was the thought process like?

Berkenwald: Mental health is a critical issue at Brandeis and beyond, yet mental health (and suicide prevention in particular) can be tough to talk about. Fresh Check Day aims to create a compassionate and uplifting environment to encourage learning and dialogue about these sensitive topics. It was important to set an approachable, accessible tone at the start of the year with respect to mental wellness and campus resources, as well as establish a Brandeis tradition that communicates our values and builds community.

What was the greatest challenge in coordinating this event?

Doulas: I think the biggest thing, though, was coordination with the other departments, like making sure that there were enough representations from each department, because each department would have a booth …. Getting enough people to be responsible for their own booth was probably the most difficult part because it was a lot of coordination. The most difficult part was making sure that you were communicating the information in a sensitive way. And listening to some other people who were not really uncomfortable talking about it.

There was a mandatory booth that we were selected to do because we were students, [and] it’s more relatable to talk to oth-

er students about this. The booth was called Nine Out of 10. The reason why it was called that is because one out of every 10 college students contemplate suicide. The whole idea of the booth is to be one of the nine of the 10 to stand up, and be an ally to those who may be showing symptoms, which could be isolating yourself, skipping classes and giving away possessions.

Berkenwald: Time! Early September is a busy time of year, and the summer was a busy time of planning for a number of programs for this academic year. While we felt it was important to add this new program, coordinating committee meetings, planning a large-scale event and avoiding conflicts with other programs that day all presented challenges, but we worked together as a team with our colleagues to manage time effectively and provide a great experience for stu-

dents.

What was your greatest takeaway?

Doulas: I honestly wasn’t expecting so many people to be open about themselves. There were a lot of people that were really interested in all the booths. They asked a lot of questions and I was really surprised at how supportive people were. Definitely a handful of students came after the booth and they would be like, oh, thank you so much for doing this. This meant a lot. I felt like I really left an impact.

Berkenwald: One student/volunteer said that this was their favorite thing Brandeis has done! We saw attendance and engagement with the program from across class years and involvement experiences. The booths were staffed by student organizations and campus departments. This event was a great representation not only of our communi-

ty’s values of care and support but also of how groups at Brandeis collaborate to enhance the student experience on campus. Are you going to do it again next year? If yes, what would you have done differently?

Doulas: Yes. I mean, the plan is to do it again next year, and we are hoping to make it an even bigger thing so we can get even more people. Maybe more people from different groups. We already have people from different departments like department chairs. It was very much a lot of adults, but [we are hoping] maybe more student leaders of clubs, so they are more connected with the student body.

Doulas wanted to thank the university for being willing to make Fresh Check Day possible, as well as the Brandeis student body for how open they were in sharing their experiences with the volunteers and other peers.

Secrets revealed behind Brandeis Chungles, the unofficial univ. meme account

By Jenny Zhao editor

@brandeis.chungles has been the go-to meme account for hundreds of Brandesians. As an anonymous meme account that posts Brandeis-specific jokes, it has gained 553 followers with 70 posts at the time of publication. To reveal the secrets behind the daily memes, The Brandeis Hoot spoke with Brandeis Chungles in an exclusive interview.

Why did you start @brandeis. chungles?

We started this account during the second semester last year for the purpose of spreading happiness and joy throughout Brandeis.

We saw a problem with the amount of negativity at Brandeis and wanted to do something about it, for in the words of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov “Always wear a smile. Then the gift of life will then be yours to give.”

How do you come up with your memes?

The Chungles team is very small but mighty; we develop the ideas together [by] just joking around.

They are usually very stupid and we just decide to post it and see how it does. They are all our original ideas, [so] we usually do not take people’s submissions.

What’s the best part of running the account? What’s the

worst part?

The best part is when people enjoy the memes and seeing when some people share them on their stories. The idea that our jokes can positively affect a person we don’t know, even a little bit, is really cool. Also, it gives us that sweet nectar of validation that we crave so desperately. There are no bad [parts of running the account,

so if we had to choose,] maybe the pressure of posting every day.

What’s been the most memorable part of running @brandeis. chungles?

It’s always funny to see who does and who doesn’t know that we are brandeis.chungles. There have been many a meal with our friends where they talk about the new post, but don’t know our

dirty little secret. What a rush. How does it feel to be “Brandeis famous?”

Imagine that you are a slightly successful meme page at a small liberal arts school, living in forever secrecy and never receiving the praise that we work for in person.

As Barack Hussein Obama once said, “to become God is the loneliest achievement of them all.”

Interviews with the university’s academic leadership: the Fine Arts department

By Cooper Gottfried editor

The co-chairs of Brandeis University’s Fine Arts department, Professor Peter Kalb and Professor Susan Lichtman, sat down for an interview with The Brandeis Hoot to shed a little light on the department, its future and themselves. This interview is part of a series of interviews with the chairs of a plethora of different academic departments and programs at Brandeis.

Editor’s Note: This interview was recorded during the spring 2022 semester.

Why did you choose to come to Brandeis?

Professor Lichtman: I was a figurative painter, and so I think that’s why I was chosen, but I was the first woman who was hired to teach full-time in the Fine Arts department. This was back in 1980, when there was a push to bring women into art departments [everywhere]. Most of the art students were women, but most of the professors were men throughout the country. So I was the first woman hired and it was a great opportunity.

Professor Kalb: This job came up and it was the only job I applied to that year. I didn’t need it, I just wanted it because the Rose Art Museum was here and I knew that there were [enough] students majoring in art. So this was a place that fit what I wanted.

I think that there was a moment of “this seems like the right place and I’m gonna try to choose it.” As Susan said, there are a bunch of other people who were trying to choose Brandeis, but ultimately Brandeis chose me. There was this sense of “here’s a place where people are gonna want to talk about art.” There’s a great museum and great colleagues. Everything worked out well.

What do you think the benefits of having those studio art and art history combined into one department are?

Professor Kalb: From the faculty side it creates a sense that there’s a lot of people thinking about art in different ways. There are people making it, there are people studying it and there are people who know what paint does. For me as a modern and contemporary art [historian], I want to know how oil paintings work when I’m looking at an oil painting. I can tell my students [to talk] about paint and half of them can tell the rest of the class what’s going on with the paint. They can talk about conceptual art and what they’re trying to make and what it means. [The combination of studio art and art history] changes a classroom dynamic in a really great way. I think it’s good for our art history students to have the connection to studio art and vice-versa.

Professor Lichtman: You wouldn’t be a creative writer if you didn’t read. I just can’t imagine how anyone would be a good

artist without knowing the history of art. So we require our [studio art] majors to take art history and we loosened up the requirements somewhat, but I honestly think the best deal is to be either a double major … or at least a studio major with a art history minor, because then you really have a great foundation to do creative work. There’s been some really nice partnerships between the two sides of the department.

How involved is the Fine Arts department in the Rose Art Museum?

Professor Kalb: So the museum is a museum like any other museum; they do their curating, programming and fundraising independently from the Fine Arts department, but they are in conversation with us about what types of things students may be interested in. I’m on the board of the museum … and there is always a faculty member on the advisory board. There is some formal connection there, but for me, I just send folks over for all my modern and contemporary classes for work.

Professor Lichtman: It’s not a museum that has a permanent collection up all the time, it’s a big gallery that shows that move through. There’s been a great exhibition of the permanent collection this year that frames the paintings in different ways. We never know what’s gonna be there or how our courses will use it, but we try to get the Fine Arts students to go over there. When I

walk into the Rose Art Museum I never feel like I’m at Brandeis, I feel like I’m in this other world of art. … Everybody feels inspired after they go over there. It’s just really hard to get students in there. … This spring [there will be] a show called “My Mechanical Sketchbook” by Barkley Hendricks was in the Museum … I can’t wait to see how that might change the way students think of their own photographs as source material for [other forms of art].

Why is architectural studies only a minor?

Professor Lichtman: I don’t see it as a glass half-empty. We’ve always had students from architecture school, I know some architects who are Brandeis students from the ’70s who are now major architects, and all they took was architectural history. … Architectural graduate programs are happy to take a B.A. student who’s really smart who has physics and calculus and architecture history, then they’ll teach them how to make plans and so on. We’ve always had students like that. Recently, we’ve started offering classes in architectural drawings. So I just think “wow, we’re really doing even better than we were before.” I think we’ll have more and more students who can get into really good architecture programs. … We don’t offer a BFA degree either, but our strength is [outputting] well rounded, liberal arts students who can go on to specialize.

Professor Kalb: What she said.

Professor Kalb, what can you tell me about your Apollo Program research project?

Professor Kalb: I’m looking at the moon landing as a moment that encapsulates much of what we’re dealing with today. That was a moment when nationalism was starting to fail, when we were first developing technological networks that allowed global communication and then we had this thing where we went to the Moon. That seemed like it was like all about colonial exploration, and it kind of was, but it was also a moment for artists to look at all this change going on on the Earth and this new view of the world and think “what’s going on?” They didn’t find the answer exactly, but what they did find is quite informative for what we’re dealing with at this moment. So that’s what I’m looking at: what the artists found as they explored that perspective.

Professor Lichtman, which of your artistic works was the most challenging to create?

Professor Lichtman: Whatever the most recent painting is always the most challenging. … Each painting is a journey full of disappointments and some satisfactions, but I’m always looking to the next painting. … My art has gotten more complicated and I’m someone who loves simplicity, so I’m trying to distill things and not make them overly complicated.

Interviews with Brandeis University’s academic leadership: the Russian Studies program

By Jessie Yang Special to the hoot

The chair of Brandeis University’s Russian Studies program, Professor Robin Feuer Miller, sat down for an interview with The Brandeis Hoot to shed a little light on the program, its future and herself. This interview is part of a series of interviews with the chairs of a plethora of different academic departments and programs at Brandeis.

1. We know that you are the chair of the Russian Studies program. Can you talk about which courses you teach for this semester?

I teach courses mainly focused on Russian and comparative literature in the 19th and early 20th centuries. I am especially interested in the writers Chekhov and Dickens and, to some degree, other novelists and writers. This semester, I am teaching a course about short stories in Russia, and the course is called Russian Short Fiction. We read a bunch of different writers, starting in the early 19th century and going up to the

20th century.

Another course is teaching with Professor Susan Lichtman. She and I are doing a course called Drawing Upon Literature, which is half studio art and half poetry and literature. This is the fourth time we have done this course. It’s an inspiring course to teach since we read about poems and stories, think about them and think about their ideas through visual arts.

2. You have taught a lot of courses that intersect from literature, theater, Russian novels and humanities. Are there any similarities between these areas?

I teach a course about children’s literature. In those fairy tales, you see a lot of exciting children’s literature moving along a path that is similar to the way of literature that literature for adults took, which is interesting.

I think the similarity between literature, medicine and theater is that we need to look closely at—the story’s elements, trying to pay as much attention as possible to the details. Many things seem small, but they actually turn out to be very big.

3. We noticed that the Russian program has a podcast. Can you introduce the purpose or the content of this podcast to us?

The podcast is going to start this year, but the content isn’t sure yet. Last year, our UDR (Undergraduate Departmental Representative) interviewed our faculty in the Russian department and other affiliated departments. For faculty who are from other departments, they do not teach a lot but occasionally teach here. The purpose of the podcast is to get to know the faculty, and know things about what they are currently working on. For this year, all decisions will be made by the UDR, and I hope they can try something different.

Besides, the language used in this podcast is in English. And 90% of our literature courses, we talked in English, too, since we want to bring in students from the university. Russian is a language that takes a long time to be proficient enough to read and understand. We really want to attract more students to our courses.

4. What is the special part of the Russian Studies program compared to other language programs?

There are four faculty in this Russian studies department. Two of us are focused mainly on literature, and two others are focused on language and advanced language. We are collaborative, working together on programs and curriculum for each semester. Besides, we also work hard not to teach our courses simultaneously, so the students can take more than one of our courses.

We all respect each other and have different interests, which complement each other well. My colleague David [Powelstock] is knowledgeable about Russian poetry and 20th-century Russian literature. His interest [is] in Eastern European literature. Professor Dubinia is interested in contemporary literature, and she was a fantastic language teacher. We are small, but we can function. We all have different interests, but they coincide productively and collaboratively.

5. Can you tell us something about your research expertise? Are there any ongoing research projects?

I have three ongoing research projects. I just finished writing the introduction to the book on Chekhov. I’m working on a book about children, animals, minor characters and minor plots.

Then, I have two other projects. One is working with a Japanese colleague, Matthew Fraleigh. We have a book project called “Love in the Time of Upheaval, Kazuko Letters from Japan,” which will be a collection of letters we are editing.

My last project is with a colleague from Hunter College, Yasha Klots. Many years ago, when I was a kid, I was in Russia for six months and kept a diary. My father was there as an exchange professor in Moscow, and he also had a diary. Yasha thought that would be an exciting finding since this was gone so long ago. Yasha looked up both these diaries and figured out this is a fascinating view of Russia. Thus, Yasha is working with my diaries.

“To acquire wisdom, one must observe.”

The time for making excuses is over

Editors-in-Chief

Victoria Morrongiello

Thomas Pickering

Madeline Rousell

Managing Editor Mia Plante

Copy Editor Logan Ashkinazy

News Editor Roshni Ray

Arts Editors Rachel Rosenfield Cyrenity Augustin

Opinions Editor Cooper Gottfried

Features Editor Jenny Zhao

Sports Editor Justin Leung

Deputy Sports Editor Natasha Girshin

Editor-at-large Lucy Fay

Volume 21 Issue 5 the brandeis hoot • brandeis university 415 south street • waltham, ma

Founded By Leslie Pazan, Igor Pedan and Daniel Silverman

STAFF

Jonathan Ayash, Jillian Brosofsky, Vincient Calia-Bogan, Sam Finbury, Zach Katz, Sarah Kim, Joey Kornman, Josh Lannon, Kristianna Lapierre, Max Lerner, Rafi Levi, Francesca Marchese, Abigail Roberts, Sophie

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.

ADVERTISE

Advertising in The Brandeis Hoot helps spread your message to our readers across the Brandeis campus, in the Waltham community and beyond through our website. All campus organizations receive a 25-percent discount off our regular prices. To reserve your space in the paper, e-mail us at ads@ thebrandeishoot.com.

GIVE A HOOT, JOIN THE HOOT!

Writers, editors, photographers and graphic artists wanted to join The Brandeis Hoot, your weekly community newspaper. To learn more, send us an e-mail at join@thebrandeishoot.com, or visit our website http://brandeishoot.com/join.

We

We were willing to give Harvest Table the benefit of the doubt at first. It is only natural that when you are adjusting to a new work environment you hit a couple of bumps along the way. There was undoubtedly a slow start to the semester, but it was all errors that could be easily remedied with time. Like adjusting food proportions to meet the student population, fixing issues with the Starship app ordering system and advertising what foods are gluten-free and allergen-free. And for the most part, these issues were resolved, though there are still hiccups every now and then. But then, just as we thought the dust was beginning to settle, things started going astray again. This time with issues that are more concerning than food distribution. Harvest Table recently fired their only Black catering worker for reasons still not entirely known to the community members. News of the incident spread around social media platforms and because of this firing, the Brandeis Leftist Union (BLU) launched a petition to get the worker, Kevintz, reinstated. According to BLU’s Instagram page, when students were going to hand the petition to Harvest Table executive Clayton Groves, Groves escalat-

ed the situation by calling the police on said students. The BLU wrote in an Instagram post on Thursday that “upon seeing students, Clayton ran away.” After telling students to leave, they “promptly left,” according to the BLU, yet Groves called the police on students anyways. With the state of police involvement and police militarization in the U.S, calling the police on a group of students, that included students of color, is clearly harmful and anxiety-inducing for students on the scene. This action is particularly concerning as it shows that Harvest Table leadership is unaware of the severity and escalation that police involvement can create for students of color, culminating with the fact that the team fired their only Black culinary worker for non-specific, and therefore questionable, reasons. It’s also concerning when there are members of Harvest Table’s administration leaving the company after being at Brandeis for less than a month. Jessie Curran, Harvest Table’s dietitian resigned in early September. Curran had worked with concerned parents and community members in increasing the availability of gluten-free and allergen-free foods, even going so far as to go to the supermarket to grab gluten-free

foods for students to restock the fridge. What is happening in Harvest Table’s administration to make the work zone so toxic and unbearable? With this criticism though, it’s important to note that there is a lot of good that has come with switching dining vendors to Harvest Table. The food in dining locations is more flavor-diverse, there are many more options for students with dietary restrictions and overall the quality and flavor of the food on campus has increased. What must be the focus of our, and the student body’s, criticism is the management and leadership of Harvest Table. The staff who work directly with students are kind and the people who create the menus and make the food are knowledgable, but the leadership is failing to follow Brandeis’ expectations of social justice and is meeting understandable backlash with unnecessary police involvement. If Harvest Table really wants to turn their Brandeis experience around, they must be more receptive to Brandeis’ culture and student needs. What Brandeis students have demonstrated through their support of Kevintz and other dining workers is that many students' worries consist of what is best for the dining staff.

Salgian, David Shapiro, Matt Shapiro, Jamie Trope, V, and Alex Williams

A boy and his tractor: a love saga

By Thomas Pickering editor

What was once a simple idea to write a fun and informational article about the importance of good wheelbarrow design now seems to have taken on a new life. At the direction of the incredibly handsome Opinions editor here at The Brandeis Hoot I seem to have taken on a new project: a sort of column where I go over and talk about different farm equipment that I use. This week I have decid-

ed to talk about one of the most common and talked about pieces of farm equipment: the tractor.

As with most of my opinion pieces I will swiftly offer a disclaimer to this article being that I do not know where this article is going. It will be a journey for both me and you as the reader to discover where I am going with this. So let us begin shall we?

One of the few things in my life that has been a constant through and through is my family’s Ford 3000 blue tractor named “Semper Fi.” My grandfather in his young-

er days was a Marine during the Korean War and from that incredible act of service has come to value things in life which are dependable. When my family purchased the Ford tractor from another farmer my grandfather was immediately asked what he would name her. Brushing off his old “Semper Fi” sticker from his time in the Marines he told us that her name would be Semper Fi.

He was convinced that this tractor would never let us down because the tractor we had previously (of which I only have one memory) could only be considered consistent when measuring its inconsistency. Our previous tractor was an Economy single cylinder tractor. To start it there was no key, simply a pull cord you had to wind up and then yank as hard as possible to hopefully kick start the engine. You would rarely have a day where the old Economy would get started without a hitch. It was tough to manage and as time went on became less and less useful as it became more and more of a relic.

Therefore, my family sold it to a traveling antiques show in order to upgrade to the tractor I was raised on. Our old Economy tractor now travels the United States as a piece of farming history and on our farm in Canada we have used our Ford ever since. For any of our readers who have taken a U.S. history course you may be wondering how dependable the Ford is, since you may have heard either one or two acronyms to describe Fords: “Fix Or Repair Daily” and “Found On Road Dead” are both how people have described Ford’s inability to build an

engine which is truly dependable and long-lasting.

But our Ford has proven those old stereotypes to be long outdated and in need of changing. I began driving that Ford at a young age of only eight years old. Now I will include the caveat that I was sitting on my grandfather’s lap at the time so all I was truly controlling was the steering wheel. However, my love for that piece of metal began with a single cruise around our south blueberry field.

I was so enamored by the tractor that my parents even purchased a big wheel-ish bike that was shaped like a tractor to hold me over until I was a little taller and could really start driving the tractor around. So with some time came some height and before I knew it I was driving the tractor all by myself. For those thinking that it must be fairly easy to drive a tractor, that it cannot be that different from a car, you would be wrong. It is closer to driving a stick shift or manual car, but even then there are some differences. For one there is no gas pedal, simply a throttle which always provides the same dopamine kick every time you pull it down. Now I could go on and on about the differences between a car and a tractor but that is not where I am feeling this piece going. My entire life, Semper Fi waits for me to return to our farm in the summers and nothing comes close to the feeling of firing her up for the first time each season. Now, you may think of tractors as silly conversational pieces in highly generalized country songs.

“Big Green Tractor” by Jason Aldean immediately comes to my mind. In this song Jason attempts

to woo a lady by offering her a ride on his “big green tractor” (take notes Brandeis men, this is somehow a better attempt at picking up women then the shit you try to pull). His ride includes the fun action-packed moments of going both fast and slow and taking her out to the other end of the pasture. What a gentleman!

But tractors are not just something used to pick up country women, they are an extension of you. If you take good care of your tractor it will take care of you in the fields and down the logging roads. It is something you wake up to every day and know will be there for you. Now, did I expect this piece to be fairly emotional? Absolutely not! Did I think I was even this attached to my tractor?

Gosh no! But here we are; talking about a tractor like it is a family member. Its dependability is unrivaled and has thus earned the name Semper Fi. It is a good lesson to learn in being a good person to others—be like a tractor. Be dependable, sturdy and hard working! That is what mine has taught me.

An answering chord: ice cream is good

By Cooper Gottfried and Ben Breslow editor

Sun Tzu once said “If you know the enemy and know thyself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” Our enemy, in this case, is those who don’t enjoy our favorite frozen treat: ice cream. And if we had to fight 100 battles in defense of our favorite dessert, we have complete confidence we would emerge unscathed. If ice cream has 100 fans, we are two of them. If ice cream has 10 fans, we are two of them. If ice cream has two fans, it is us and us alone. If ice cream has no fans, we will no

longer be on this earth.

Joe Biden, the President of the United States, is an ice cream enjoyer. Before he became president, he proclaimed his love for “ice cream, aviators [sunglasses] & @Amtrak.” Very cool, Joe.

291.09 million Americans ate ice cream in 2020 and 96% of Americans liked ice cream in 2018. Despite a very vocal minority, ice cream is beloved by everyone. The only debate that should surround ice cream is what flavor is best. And for that, we have differing opinions.

Ben’s Opinion: For me, there’s nothing better than going and getting some softserve twist ice-cream. The ability to have both chocolate and vanilla in one cone mixed together—

with hard ice cream, you would have to do separate scoops—is something unique and makes it my favorite dessert. The lack of a soft-serve machine at Brandeis is one of the biggest flaws of our dining halls. Soft serve is special. You can’t get it at the store and most ice cream shops don’t even have it, making the times when you get it all the more special. And its texture is also unmatched. It’s ice cream that you can actually lick, and not have to bite in order to get a proper mouthful. And its simplicity is its strength. With only three options—vanilla, chocolate, and twist, you know that you’ll always be getting something amazing.

Cooper’s Opinion:

The best ice cream I’ve ever had was lavender ice cream from The Blue Pig, an ice cream shop in Croton-on-Hudson, New York. It tasted like a field of wildflowers smells, and I will never forget it. Despite this out-of-body-experience, pistachio ice cream is, undoubtedly, the best ice cream flavor. I’ve been asked why I don’t prefer more traditional flavors like chocolate chip cookie dough or strawberry, but I’ve got to be true to myself.

When I eat pistachio ice cream, I feel like I’m doing something healthy. Finding a healthy snack embedded in my frozen treat lets me trick myself into thinking that I’m actually eating something with real nutritional value. Pistachio is also consistent: it’s really hard to make bad pistachio ice cream, but it’s easy to make great

pistachio ice cream.

I’m also a big fan of chocolate peanut butter ice cream, mocha (chocolate-coffee) ice cream and at times even just vanilla ice cream. There are so many different flavors, why should I limit myself to just one? As for toppings, I’m a big fan of hot fudge and chocolate bonnet but I disapprove of sprinkles.

But, the most important thing to note here is that all ice cream is good. Some ice cream is better, but even the cheap stuff is amazing. All ice cream is good ice cream.

Getting straight to the pint:

Regardless of our differing opin-

ions on what the best ice cream flavor is, it’s clear that ice cream is the one thing that we can all agree upon. I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.

If you need local ice cream recommendations, you should check out Lizzy’s on Moody Street. They have dozens of flavors, and if you walk there with friends you can make a nice evening out of it.

And of course, if you want to stay on campus, a midnight C-store run is a time-honored Brandeis tradition. But they’ll probably be out of all the good flavors by the time you get there.

and special to the hoot

photo by thomas pickering

Bookstores in Boston and Brookline: a review

By Jamie Trope staff

Over my semesters at Brandeis, I have had the immense pleasure of wandering off campus and finding my way into the many bookstores speckled around the Waltham-Cambridge-Boston area. Though this review will only cover three bookstores, I encourage you to keep an eye out for the many bookstores in Boston and to please tell me if you find a new and interesting one. I would also like to note that all three bookstores are independent and to please always support independent bookstores (they are a dying breed, unfortunately).

Brookline Booksmith

At the top of my list is Brookline Booksmith. This bookstore has such a cozy energy to it, and it hosts regular author events and signings, making use of the theater across the street from the store. In the spring 2022 semester, I went with my friends to see Casey McQuiston speak (author of “Red, White, and Royal Blue” and “One Last Stop”). After the event, some people waited upwards of five hours to speak with the author and have their books signed. I would recommend Brookline Booksmith to the dedicated reader interested in seeing their favorite authors.

Though the bookstore is indeed lovely, it is only accessible from your own car or ride share service, so it is difficult to stumble upon unless you are already in the area. The bookstore keeps recently released books well-stocked, too. After a quick scroll through BookTok, you will be easily able to locate many of the books featured on Brookline Booksmith’s shelves. I would rank Bookline Booksmith as a 5/5 on coziness, a 4/5 on availability of science-fiction/fantasy books, and a 5/5 on having a good time in the store.

Trident Booksellers and Café

After venturing into Boston, you can much more easily find Trident Booksellers and Café. In fact, it is only a few minutes walking distance from the Brandeis Shuttle’s Boston stop. The two-story bookshop is a fantastic place to hunker down and do some schoolwork while also having some nice food and being surrounded by books. Their extensive menu may seem daunting at first, but I cannot recommend it highly enough. They are also good with managing food allergies when orders are taken. Trident Booksellers is a nice pit stop at the beginning or end of your journey through Boston—either for a quick bite to eat or to find a new favorite book (or why not do both? Trident Booksellers makes that easy).

The bookstore is cute

and cramped. It makes the most efficient use of the space available to them in the space. Indeed, the bookstore can become quite squished during rush hour, with people trying to reach their favorite section of the store or leave with a new purchase. I would rank Trident Booksellers and Café as a 5/5 on book to human ratio, a 5/5 on general warmth of atmosphere, and a 3/5 on the creaky sound their staircase makes when you walk up it.

Brattle Book Shop

If you continue walking down Newbury Street and Boston Commons, you will reach Brattle Book Shop. This bookstore focuses on rare and used books (I purchased three science fiction and fantasy magazine publications, all from the late 1940s); however, its main attraction is the outdoor carts of books available for $1$5. At night, the carts are rolled away and panels put up on the walls to imitate the appearance of a giant bookshelf. Brattle Book Shop is a bookstore for the reader who knows what they are looking for and who is interested in older works of literature. For me, I had a fantastic time wandering through the aisles and seeing all of the old and rare books. Many old books are sold to the store to then be resold, like a book that was previously a library book from Oregon—checked out for the first time on Jan. 24, 1956. If

you are looking for newer fiction, then Brattle Book Shop is not the place for you. This bookstore features that exact smell of old books that you wish newer books had (this smell comes from the lignin within the books’ pages). I would rank Brattle Book Shop a 5/5 on presence of old books, a 5/5 on the presentation of outdoor bookshelves, and a 3/5 on presence of newer literature. Brattle Bookshop is an anthropological museum in and of itself.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I have never regretted stepping foot in a single bookstore. Each one has a distinct personality and welcomes you in with such a personal touch. From bookstores I have visited with a dog greeting you by the entrance to a unique door chime, the entrance to a bookstore is a world to another world—one that I love to encourage people to step through.

Using rap lyrics in court: a rebuke of poetic license

By Jordan Godfrey special to the hoot

On May 9, 2022, rapper Jeffery Williams, commonly known by his stage name, Young Thug, was arrested due to his gang involvement and racketeering charges. The Fulton County District At-

torney’s office alleges Young Thug and one of his label mates Sergio Kitchens––also known as Gunna––have been using Williams’ record label, Young Stoner Life (YSL), as a front for an organized crime syndicate responsible for “75 to 80% of violent crime” in Atlanta since 2013. The indictment cites lyrics from 11 songs

from both musicians as evidence pointing to their alleged gang activities. Whether or not Williams or Kitchens are innocent remains to be seen, but the prosecution’s strategy in their respective cases opens up a larger conversation about the freedom of artistic expression.

The motif of violence has been portrayed in paintings, sculptures and literature since their inception to convey religious or political messages. Although artists may be criticized for gore in their work, it has never been distorted by the government to convict them of a crime. In more contemporary settings, no one thinks Freddie Mercury is a murderer despite his confession in “Bohemian Rhapsody.” On a similar note, all of Quentin Tarantino’s highly acclaimed movies glorify violence but no jury would convict him if something coincidentally similar to the climax of “Kill Bill” happened in the real world. Yet, according to the BBC,

rap lyrics have been used as evidence in more than 500 criminal cases around the U.S. So why is rap music viewed as an exception? Due to its grassroots history, the content of rap music is more reflective of the world we live in. The lived experience of many rappers––including Williams and Kitchens––are consequences of America’s failed war on drugs, lack of social safety nets and overall criminalization of poverty. Their lyrical content adequately illustrates the economic hardships, addictions, rampant crime and violence that afflicted their communities. But art does not solely rely on lived experiences. Creatives like Young Thug should be given the liberty to delve into their imaginations as well, without fear of being held legally accountable at a later date. Rather than viewing Williams’ and Kitchens’ artistic output in this context, it’s easier for prosecutors to cherry-pick threatening lyrics to play upon and perpet-

Letter to the editors: Year of Climate (lack of) Action editorial

By Prof. Sally Warner special to the hoot

Dear Brandeis Hoot editors,

First, I would like to acknowledge Mary Fischer, the Associate Director of Sustainability Programs in the Brandeis Office of Sustainability. She has been working incredibly hard for many years on sustainability initiatives on campus, including leading the effort to organize the Year of Climate Action. Her actions are having an important impact on campus. For instance, Brandeis

received the Campus Sustainability Achievement Award from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education in 2021. She is doing an amazing job!

Second, I disagree with the statement in your article, “...the true path to a greener Brandeis: divestment from fossil fuels.” It’s great that Brandeis students—and students across the country— have asked universities to divest from fossil fuels. However, this alone is not going to solve climate change. The biggest thing that Brandeis can do to help mitigate

climate change is to reduce its carbon footprint. This is a huge part of Brandeis’ Year of Climate Action. In fact, “The Brandeis Decarbonization Action Plan” is the first item on the Year of Climate Action website (https:// www.brandeis.edu/sustainability/year-of-climate-action/index. html). Once the expert assessment report is finalized in early 2023, there will be ample opportunities for Brandeis students to urge the university to adopt these green initiatives, which will reduce—and ideally eliminate—the greenhouse gas emissions from

the campus’ heating, cooling, and electricity usage. This will make a meaningful difference in the fight to mitigate climate change!

uate the preconceived notions many jurors already hold about the criminality of Black men. The official court indictment wrote incorrect lyrics for one of Young Thug’s songs (“Just How It Is”) which paints him in a more abrasive light and demonstrates the sheer unreliability of using any song’s lyrics in a court of law. Recently, a California bill passed in the state senate and assembly which prohibits the use of a defendant’s creative work in court unless it can be proven the evidence won’t “inject racial bias into the proceedings.” This should be the standard adopted by every state to ensure the creative liberties and free speech of all artists are protected. The beauty of art is its ability to be interpreted in a myriad of ways, but prosecutors are unfairly pigeonholing rap songs to look at their violent segments.

Sincerely,

Sally Warner Assistant Professor of Climate Science

photo by jamie trope

photo from vulture com

The downfall of Ned Fulmer and the myth of the wife guy

By Rachel Rosenfield editor

If you have been on Youtube for a while, I’m sure you’ve heard of the Try Guys. Started in 2014, this group of four guys. Eugene Lee Yang, Keith Habersberger, Ned Fulmer, and Zach Kornfeld, met at Buzzfeed and went on to start their own wildly successful channel. They have almost 8 million subscribers and over 2 billion total views on their channel. They now have their own podcasts, their own book, they’ve been on tour, and they just released a television show on the Food Network. To sum it up, they have been thriving. What made the Try Guys fun to watch was their unique personalities and their authenticity. At least, it appeared to be authenticity. However, after this week, it seems that appearances can be deceiving. Blurry pictures were released on the Try Guys subreddit earlier this week that appeared to be Ned Fulmer and one of the Try Guys’ producers, Alexandria Herring. People also noticed that he had been edited out of some videos recently and some staff at his company unfollowed him on

Instagram. The combination of all these factors lead fans to believe that something was up. And they were right.

On Sept. 27, The Try Guys posted on their Instagram and Twitter that Fulmer would no longer be working for the company. Shortly after, Fulmer posted on his own Instagram that he was involved in a “consensual workplace relationship” and he apologized to whoever he may have hurt. As I am writing this, Herring has yet to comment on the matter. This whole matter has brought the Try Guys in a spotlight they have never seen before. On the day of the announcement, they were a number one trending topic on Twitter and have been written up in Variety, The New York Times, CNN, and more. Normally, the group would have loved all of this attention, but not in this situation. The Try Guys weren’t just business partners. They were best friends, and this has really shook their dynamic. If any of the other guys were caught cheating, it would have also been a big deal, but it was a huge deal specifically when Fulmer was the one caught cheating. Why is that? Because Fulmer was a wife guy.

Ned Fulmer and his wife, Ariel Fulmer, have been married for a little over ten years. They met in their early twenties, got married fairly quickly, moved across the country together, and have always seemed like the perfect couple. They have had two sons together, Wes and Finn, and they own an adorable dog, Bean. While all of the other Try Guys are in relationships, Fulmer really made his brand about being married. If you asked someone who casually watched the Try guys to say what they know about Fulmer, they would probably say, “Isn’t he the married one?” Fan compilations have been made on youtube about everytime Fulmer mentions his wife. Similar to Borat, his unofficial catchphrase was “My wife.” And whenever Ariel was in videos, the two would be very lovey-dovey, basically the heart eyes emoji personified. They seemed like a dream team, the mom and dad of youtube. All of this made Fulmer a wife guy. That made this all the more shocking. Or maybe, that made it more expected. The title of wife guy is fairly self explanatory, it is a man who just really loves his wife and wants everyone to know it. When you see a lot of comedians from decades ago making constant jokes about their wife being a ball and chain, it can feel refreshing to see a guy who always wants to talk about his wife’s quirks in a positive manner. These are men that when you hear them talk about their wife, it is almost as if you can hear the smile in their voice. These are famous men that when their fans look at them, they think “I want what they have.” However, that persona has proven to not always be accurate. This is shown in the case of Fulmer for sure, but he certainly is not the first case of inaccuracy. A while ago, John Mulaney went through a similar

situation. Mulaney is a stand up comedian who would mention his wife, Annamarie Tendler, a lot in his routine. His fans really admired the couple. However, right after a stint in rehab, it was announced in the spring of 2020 that Mulaney was getting divorced from his wife. Less than a week after that announcement, it was announced that he was in a new relationship with actress Olivia Munn and then it was soon announced that they were having a child. Did Mulaney cheat? It has yet to be confirmed or denied. In more recent news, it was revealed that Adam Levine was cheating on his wife. He seemed to constantly praise his wife on social media and seemed to really be in love. Evidently, that was not the case. Levine’s mistress went on TikTok to explain everything this past week, and expose his unfaithfulness. This list of these fake wife guys goes on and on.

It is honestly much less suspicious these days to be just another married dude. Let’s compare Fulmer to the other married Try Guy, Keith Habersberger. Even though Habersberger was also married, people did not associate being married as a part of his personality. Habersberger and his wife, Becky, were seen as having a fairly normal relationship. We would see them bicker a little in youtube videos, jokingly criticize each other, and just act like two buds who also happened to be in love. The Fulmers tried to be too pristine. With Fulmer keeping up a whole identity of loving his wife and showering her with praise, it can make people think that he is compensating for something. He might feel the need to love bomb to prove a point. After everything that has happened, it seems that everything we knew about Fulmer was just an act.

These men put up personas that

BIGMODE Games: more dunkey

By Cooper Gottfried editor

YouTuber videogamedunkey is starting a new venture: creating a game studio. Dunkey and his wife, Leahbee, have formed BIGMODE Games, a game publishing company focused on providing “A passionate voice for quality, originality and fun in indie games.” I am beyond happy that Dunkey, who has showcased indie games on his channel for decades, is continuing to use his massive platform to promote, publicize and develop high-quality, passion-filled games.

In the announcement video for BIGMODE, Dunkey mentions that one of the core themes of his channel “has always been to slam dunk soulless cash grabs into the garbage can and lift up and praise the truly inspired works of art in this medium.” The video game industry has, unfortunately, become saturated with hollow husks of games-that-could-have-been and yearly franchises that deliver the same exact content each year. Cyberpunk 2077, for example, came out filled with bugs and was clearly rushed out the door in a laughable attempt to turn a profit. On release, the game had performance problems on PC, missing

NPCs (non-player characters) and crashes on console editions. Although the game has improved, it was so bad on launch that Sony pulled Cyberpunk from its online store and issued full refunds to customers who bought the game. Then, there’s games that come out yearly like Madden. These games are almost exactly the same every year, with only minor differences between different versions. One forum comment said it best: “With the exclusive rights, there’s no competition [and] therefore no effort is really needed, especially when people still buy the product anyways.” With no real competition in the area, EA and other sports-game companies like it get complacent. Take a look at the attached picture. Other than Cam Newton’s haircut, do you really see a difference between these two games’ graphics in this picture?

Don’t even get me started on the Pokémon series. Year after year, Gamefreak slaps a new coat of paint on the same ’mons, cobbles together an incoherent story and releases it to the public. The worst part is that I’ve bought a few of these games. I loved the nostalgia that I got from Pokémon Brilliant Diamond, but it’s still the same game they released nearly two decades ago. I won’t be buying

another one of these games unless they release something truly innovative (Dynamaxing is not innovative and neither is the new Grand Underground).

The lack of innovation that big companies like Gamefreak and EA show with every release is appalling. But, people still buy their mediocre products so they have no reason to create new experiences.

Indie games, on the other hand, can provide dozens of hours of truly unique gameplay to players. Celeste, for example, is an incredible 2D platformer. It’s challenging but fair, graphically stunning and has some of the best music I’ve ever heard on its soundtrack. Enter The Gungeon is, as the name suggests, a gunthemed dungeon crawler. It’s just so much fun; you use peashooters that literally shoot peas, a bullet that fires guns, a “Cold .45” that’s like a Colt .45 but it’s cold, and so many more goofy weapons that were all clearly made with care and passion. Both of these games have an unbelievable level of polish and love put into every pixel, and if you haven’t played them you are missing out.

That’s where Dunkey comes in: His videos are what inspired me to play those games. He’s always stuck up for the little guys in the

they are in these perfect loving relationships, and they are gone the next day. Fans cry that they can’t believe in love anymore and they never thought something like this would ever happen. However, it is not so crazy to believe when there is a pattern. One lying wife guy is a coincidence, twice is stranger, but when it keeps happening, it shows that being a wife guy is not always something worthy of praise. If they feel the need to constantly say how in love they are, then maybe that is not how they actually feel. They might just think the world needs to hear these words to cover up their problems and their betrayals. Fulmer was probably the most extreme case out of the group, and that just shows there is such a thing as seeming too perfect.

Obviously, I’m not saying men shouldn’t love their wives. We should live in a society where husbands are proud of the women they are married to and uplift them. However, we should retire the bit of the wife guy. We can leave that up to sitcoms, like Ben Wyatt from “Parks and Recreation” and Jake Peralta from “Brooklyn Nine Nine.” When it comes to real life, being overly expressive about your wife to the point that it becomes a big part of people’s perception can be a bad thing. As Jane Austen once said in her acclaimed novel “Emma,” “If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.” Even though this was written centuries ago, before the internet was even a concept, it still rings true today. It has not been announced if the Fulmers are getting divorced, but Ned Fulmer’s reputation is still tarnished and no one can trust him anymore. In conclusion, you should be a guy that loves his wife, but you shouldn’t be a wife guy.

gaming industry, and I think that BIGMODE Games is another foothold for indie developers to get their games the attention they deserve.

BIGMODE’s website says that Dunkey and Leah “love and deeply care about games, as well as artists and creatives in general. Bigmode is [their] way to foster and support those who are putting the effort and love into their projects to create the best they can— to give them the spotlight they deserve and see more of what we love in gaming.” I’m thrilled to see this description, because that’s exactly what the gaming industry needs: People who are passionate about playing video games, not massive corporations looking to

exploit a fast-growing market for every penny they’ve got.

Their website mentions that BIGMODE is meant to be a “unique & powerful way for great indie games to stand out in a crowded space, and our publishing contracts are designed to be the most developer-friendly possible.” Dunkey and Leah’s BIGMODE appear to be the perfect publisher: it has a charismatic frontman who knows the gaming industry inside and out and both founders are clearly passionate about good gaming experiences. I’m so happy to see that BIGMODE has come into existence, and I hope that this noble venture finds success.

By Alex Williams staff

“I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.”

This promise sprang from the lips of Princess Elizabeth on her twenty-first birthday in 1947. She had vowed, at the age of a university undergraduate, to commit her life to the service of her peoples in Britain and the Commonwealth, and never in the three-quarters of a century that since transpired did she desecrate the solemness of this obligation. For Elizabeth, as the first in line to the throne, it represented her public acceptance of a burden which was soon to thrust her upon the throne at the age of 25 and swing open the doors to a second Elizabethan age in English history.

On the eighth of September in 2022, that reign of seven decades drew to a close. Elizabeth II had acquired the Crown at a time when Winston Churchill had recently begun his second premiership; when the Korean War was at its midpoint; when the British Empire five years earlier had still possessed the Indian subcontinent. The second Elizabethan age drew to a close for England 70 and a half years later, which among all verified historical reigns only the infant-king Louis XIV could claim to surpass.

Throughout these seventy years the international order withstood disturbances of all varieties and resisted temptations of armed ideological conquest. The reign of Elizabeth II, which dominated nearly the entire period between World War Two and the present day, observed a rise and fall of nations as dramatic as during the Victorian era, these powerful actors declined to turn their guns upon one another and the world was permitted to flourish in unprecedented levels of peace.

Queen of ‘The Long Peace’

The ascendant position of Victorian England contrasted the imperial disintegration and post-imperial rebirth of Elizabethan England; and yet in both reigns, the United Kingdom occupied the forefront of profound economic transformation and cultural development. Under Queen Elizabeth, a remarkable array of traditions, literature, and technologies arose which spanned from James Bond, supersonic flight, “The Lord of the Rings” and the Internet. In her era the Commonwealth succeeded the Empire, the Soviet Union succumbed to the unipolar world, Japan and Germany restored their international positions, and China and India separately assumed paths of global consequence.

What of Queen Elizabeth herself? Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was no doubt in possession of many rare attributes. By all accounts she wielded a sharp intellect, a broad knowledge, a venturesome curiosity, a disarming humility, a profound kindness, and a charismatic connection with her subjects (both in personal and televised settings) that perhaps exceeded that of any English king or queen before her. No one could doubt the genuineness of her virtue, which impressed its deep themes of reconciliation, forgiveness, and compassion upon her most meaningful interactions, most notably in Ireland in 2011.

Unaware of her sovereign destiny for the first decade of her life, the Princess Elizabeth projected a human believability long before her mastery of television. The Queen deployed her wit and displayed her passions wherever appropriate to counteract her necessary stoicism, such that a grounded image came to materialize of a woman no different from any other in England, who was free to be swept off by the thrill of her passions, dress in the restless fashions of midcentury, and indulge in her interests in conscious view of the cameras. In

particular, I think of an occasion where Her Majesty sprinted onto the viewing balcony to catch sight of her favored horse as it sailed to victory; upon collecting her sixteen pounds in winnings afterwards, she couldn’t help but throw a delightedly satisfied smirk in the direction of the camera. In that instant the people of England might not have seen a queen, but an ordinary woman who in her element of excitement had revealed her inner girl. Yet never did she sacrifice her queenly dignity to betray such liveliness and dynamism, the visibility of which no previous reign could feasibly have displayed. Her easy smile and reassuring humor proved to be assets equally effective as her televised broadcasts marking Christmas, as well as those marking sterner tidings like the emergence of the pandemic. A delicate balance perpetually accompanied the first modern “people’s queen;” it is a balance which Elizabeth was able to maintain as skillfully as that of her political partialities. The cunning talent she required in order to maintain such a convincing neutrality over the course of seven decades can scarcely be exaggerated as well. Her reverence of faith and tradition perfectly complemented her willingness to recognize the merits of progress and innovation, particularly if it served as a means to reinforce her connection with her subjects. Her finger could read the pulse of public opinion with great acumen, and recover swiftly whenever this acumen failed.

Modernity was made to kiss the hand of tradition, and in the twenty-first century the popularity of Elizabeth II continually renewed and strengthened itself with the passage of time. By the 2012 London Olympics she had fully acquired her legendary mystique, which was to express itself again in the unprecedented jubilees of 2017 and 2022. For she had by that time become an icon that appeared as permanently associated with Britain as Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. The prospect that this icon might depart appeared as inconceivable as the crumbling of the Palace of Westminster itself, which by itself attests to the institutional importance of her role within the English nation. The universality of her popularity provided a unity which counterbalanced the bitterness of parliamentarian politics. Her capacity to draw upon the themes of essential consensus

furnished a transpartisan foundation which in America can only be compared, in importance and role, to the Constitution itself. Upon her passing all components of British society united in grief, in answer to the comfort and stability which monarchy afforded them.

The preservation of monarchical purpose, not least in the absence of existential war to bring together the population, under Queen Elizabeth is therefore nothing less than extraordinary; the strength of the monarchy at the time of her passing entirely owes itself to her queenly devotion and adherence to duty. Within this lay the heart of her universal respectability, on which rested the strength of her authority, and which far transcended the dynastic legitimacy of her crown. The breadth of her public service extended from Princess Elizabeth, with her public broadcast to the children of World War Two, to Queen Elizabeth who still resolved to appoint her last prime minister only two days before her passing at Balmoral.

One year earlier, a photograph captured her alone in black at the funeral of Prince Philip. Even in grief, she allowed herself no exception to the duties expected of her; and yet, the enforcement of social distancing had at last given physical expression to a symbolic isolation that accompanied her decades as Queen, in a position which no one else could possibly have understood enough to be able to sit alongside her in the rigid observation of her duties. Though she would not let herself be parted from Philip for long, she declined to relinquish her burden until only the final moment.

Yet this paramountcy of duty, in withholding the private sphere of the Queen’s life, assured that she maintained an enigmatic quality throughout her life. She betrayed nothing partial, expressed no frustrations, granted no interviews, and presented nothing incongruent with the public heart of Britain. Her reverence for tradition, family, and her faith, as well as her inexhaustible fondness of corgis and horses, would constitute the limit of her private life that which she was willing to impart upon her ceremonial life.

As the first state funeral since that of Winston Churchill unfolded, I found her portrait on streets and in shop windows. Britain closed its doors on Monday to not just its storefronts, but to her

historical period; it will inter her into the hall of sovereigns, after which her journey will reach its final resting place alongside the kings and queens of centuries past. The personal complexities of the Queen provide for a diverse memory of her qualities. Might she be called Elizabeth the Great? Elizabeth the Steadfast? The Fairytale Queen? The Millennium Queen? The Lady of the Corgis?

The era over which she presided may likewise prove difficult to name. The world endured such change as to complicate the ability of historians to identify any continuity which accompanied the continuous presence of Elizabeth herself. The future may yet present itself in a way that distinguishes the boundaries of Elizabethan times from past and present, and binds together the decades in closer harmony. Indeed, were it not for the apocalyptic emergence of World War One, historians may scarcely have identified what could render an era as long, transformative, and complex as Victoria’s cohesive as a timeframe.

It is more than conceivable that the order which arose after World War Two, and which endured to the present under the reign of Elizabeth, will increasingly approach some great trials in the future that will reestablish civilization, just as the early twentieth century had done for the nineteenth. The notion of peace will grow more precious as the world reassembles into a new geopolitical constellation for the twenty-first century. Against the new world, the second Elizabethan age may best be remembered for the longevity and intactness of the global peace in its time, while Elizabeth II herself may pass into history as the Queen of this Long Peace. Her promise at the age of 21 she kept throughout her lifetime, over an age in transition from one world to the next. No matter what will transpire hereafter, we know that she has already won the affections of all history to follow her.

By SSIS special to the hoot

Thank you for writing into the SSIS Hoot column! Plan B, also known as the morning-after-pill, does not have a limit on the number of times you can take it. Additionally, the frequency you use the pill does not alter the efficacy of the contraception. You can even take the pill up to three days after having unprotected sex! However, medical research does not show that taking two pills at the same time will increase its efficacy, and if you’ve already taken one dose, you will not need an additional dose the same day. Another note

on efficacy is that the pill becomes less effective for those who weigh over 160 lbs. For those who weigh over 160 lbs, pills such as the Ella are available via prescription for emergency contraception. Depending on the person, there may be side effects after taking the pill, such as nausea, headaches or some bleeding in between periods, but these are consistent with potential effects of the contraception. That being said, it is 100% safe to take the pill as many times as you need. You can find the pill for a subsidized price in both the vending machine of the SCC, or in our office! If you have any further questions about the pill, feel free to text our hotline (586-ASKSSIS) or stop by the office!

How many times can I take Plan B? If I’m using it a lot can I take two?

ARTS

The Great British Bake Off series 13: A sugary sweet recap

By Naomi Stephenson special to the hoot

Episode 1: A cakey delight

Another year, another September and another series of “The Great British Bake Off,” in all its bunting-wrapped, sugar-scented glory. There are no major cast changes this year, despite the fact that Prue is now 82 (yet still looks fabulous). The new bakers are a familiar bunch as well—Carole is this series’ chaotic grandmother, complete with pink hair, which Vivian Rothberg ’26 described as “looking like an abandoned poodle.” Sandro is the series’s eye candy, a boxing nanny whose “bite size of love” sandwich cakes are a tribute to his partner. We’re less than 10 minutes in and I would already lay down my life for Sandro.

Meanwhile, Dawn is this year’s wholesome grandmother, Maxy is the contestant who is unfairly talented and attractive and adorable Syabira is a veritable font of positivity. I want to be her friend. Polish Janusz has both a sausage dog named Nigel and (according to the Bake Off website) a statue of RuPaul, and James wears a kilt. All in all, it’s a good bunch.

After a brief “Star Wars” parody (the highlight of which is “Prue-bacca”) and some weak jokes from Matt and Noel, we are underway. The signature is sandwich cakes—which appears to just mean small cakes with frosting in between the layers, allowing the bakers to go in various different directions. Despite this, two bakers (Scottish Kevin and teenager Maisam) both decide to make pistachio, cardamom and rose sandwich cakes. Kevin’s go well. Maisam’s… do not go so well. Poor Will splits his buttercream, twice, the first of many signs that he is not long for the tent. Plant dad Abdul’s cacti sandwich cakes go down a treat, Carole’s bee-themed (yet sadly honey-free) ones do as well. However, the real stars of this round are Syabira, whose use of Southeast Asian flavors like pandan immediately won me over, and Janusz, whose sandwich cakes are neat as a pin and deemed “perfect” by Prue. The queers and the Asians are winning this year,

and as someone who is both, I cannot complain.

On to the technical!

Over the years we’ve had Jaffa cakes, malt loaves, angel slices, rum babas… so this year it must be something else Americans have never heard of, right? Wrong! The bakers are tasked with making red velvet cake. I must confess, I despise red velvet cake. It’s dry and always has a slight chemical note. That being said, it’s a fairly easy bake. “The thickness of the cream cheese is essential” is the most technical note Paul can give. Meanwhile, the amount of red food coloring his recipe requires makes it look like a minor murder has occurred in the tent, and the vinegar in the recipe causes some head scratching. Still, the bakers manage to produce 12 red velvet cakes, and none of them are crushed or have salt in the place of sugar (both of which have happened in past series). In 12th is James (ugly and short), 11th is Rebs (claggy), 10th is Maxy (undercooked) and ninth is Will (all over the place). It’s not looking good for Will. On top we have Sandro in second and Syabira in first. My initial favorites are doing so well! This never happens. Syabira’s heart is melted. I love her so much.

Going into day two, Will, Rebs and Maisam are in a bit of trouble, while Sandro, Abdul, Jannusz and Syabira are flying high. The question of whether the hosts and judges can pronounce non-Anglo names remains a hazy one.The showstopper, thankfully, is not the horrific cake busts or the complex edible illusions of years past. Instead, it’s a 3-D replica of the bakers’ homes. In cake. Absolutely adorable, and a reminder of why I love this show so much. After a couple descriptions of the bakers’ showstoppers, it’s clear that cakes with tons of layers are in this year. It actually does make sense—thinner layers means a quicker baking and cooling time, and more frosting means more flavor.

Impressively, Will remembers to set his timer. And then he splits his buttercream again. Oh, Will. We barely knew ye. Noel describes Paul as a “crusty roll” that’s “good with a little bit of butter,” and I contemplate muting the TV. Meanwhile, Abdul

watches his Star Baker dreams melt away after forgetting to turn his oven on for 40 minutes, while Sandro over-boozes his cake. Syabira is using milk tea and matcha (be still, my heart!) and constructs some distinctly phallic palm trees. But even her best efforts cannot stand up to the absolute modern art that is Jannusz’s creation, and he snatches Star Baker away from her. It’s okay, Syabira. I’m rooting for you.

Meanwhile, Maxy’s cake looks like it was made by a fiveyear-old, Reb’s cake is overbaked and Maisam’s is too dense, but it is Will, of the split buttercream and dry cake, who is the first to leave the tent. He takes it well, although I’m sure he’ll be cursing the buttercream gods for the rest of his life.

Next week: biscuits! Including what appear to be biscuit death masks. Rebs and Maisam both have quite a bit to prove, while Syabira will be chasing an already well-deserved Star Baker. Meanwhile, I’ll be avoiding red velvet cakes and Googling where I can buy Noel’s fantastic sweater.

Episode 2: It’s biscuits, b*tch

They say that there are only two inevitabilities in life, death and taxes, but I would like to add Biscuit Week and unnecessary Hollywood handshakes to that list. Biscuit week has been a staple of “The Great British Bake Off” since its humble beginnings, and the challenges are almost always the same. A classic. A highly decorated biscuit. And some sort of sculptural biscuit-y nightmare.

“But wait!” I hear you ask. “What exactly are biscuits? Why not just call them cookies?”

Good question. A biscuit is a distinctly British invention, a crunchy, flat sweet treat that either snaps or crumbles. By contrast, the American cookie is a softer, chewier variety of the same type of dessert. In the American spin-off of Bake Off, they have Cookie Week, which featured a truly immortal bit of culture shock when Mary Berry discovered what Snickerdoodles are for the first time (“Snicker-poodle?”).

On to the episode. Noel and Matt have their usual slightly painful opening sketch, and the 11 bakers who survived week one troop back into the tent. Some are excited for Biscuit Week. Janusz still can’t believe he won Star Baker. And Syabira would rather just buy biscuits from the shops.

The signature bake is this year’s “highly decorated biscuit,” along with the iced and sandwich biscuits of years previous. It’s an illusion macaron. If you were worried that this year’s challenges would be too easy, worry no longer, because this challenge is ridiculous. Macarons are notoriously finicky at the best of times, and introducing things like unconventional shapes and multiple colors sends them into nightmare territory. It’s no surprise that two different bakers go for something that’s already macaron-shaped: the burger. Both, however, feature an inordinate amount of fondant. Meanwhile, all is not well in the tent, as poor Rebs has to re-mix her batter, Maisam doesn’t finish in time and Janusz’s watermelons are overbaked. Still, there are some successes. James’ raccoons are deemed excellent, and

Syabira’s peanut satay macarons go down a treat—can Paul Hollywood actually enjoy Eastern flavors?

It is time now to discuss the Hollywood handshake. Originally a casual but rare sign of approval, the Bake Off production team has turned the Hollywood handshake into something of a mockery of itself. There must be a round of applause after every handshake, and it’s not unusual to see two, maybe even three handshakes in a single challenge. And lo, the time for Series 13 has come, as both Dawn and Maxy received handshakes for their macaron efforts.

Maxy’s delicate daisies are delicate and summery, with absolutely gorgeous decoration. Despite my dislike of the Hollywood handshake, hers seemed as well-deserved as they can get. Dawn, meanwhile, has made yoyos. Do they look like yo-yos? Debatable. They’re a classic macaron shape with a swirly bit on top and a little string. Compared to the intricate designs of the other bakers, Dawn seems to have played it safe. But she gets a handshake, while I shake my head at the TV in disgust.

On to the technical! It’s Garibaldi biscuits, this year’s classic biscuit challenge, and another bake most American viewers have never heard of. My mother loves these biscuits, and buys them in bulk online, so I am quite familiar with them. Imagine some raisins sandwiched between two pieces of sweet cardboard. The national diversity on this series shows, as all the non-British bakers have never heard of Garibaldis. Not only that, but some appear to have not heard of feathered icing, as both Syabira and Abdul make literal chocolate feathers. Syabira’s feathers are little works of art. “Prue said don’t get creative!” she says. Oh Syabira. Never has anything good come of a contestant saying “instead of what the judges want me to do, I’m going to do my own thing.” Luckily for Syabira, Abdul’s Garibaldis are an absolute disaster, and he comes in a definitive last place. Dawn’s handshake glory is stymied by ninth place. James comes second, and Rebs manages to redeem herself with a surprising first place. “I don’t know how that happened,” she says in shock to the camera. “I really don’t know how that happened.” Me neither, Rebs.

The biscuit week showstopper is always some variation of a biscuit sculpture. We’ve had scenes, towers, dish sets, children’s toys and this year, it is a 3-D biscuit mask. A challenge no doubt inspired by Mawaan Rizwaan’s Paul Hollywood death mask from the celebrity series back in April. Paul says that he expects gingerbread, lots of flavors and lots of color.

Dawn reveals her wild side with a baroque-punk masque, Abdul is baking a tribute to his pet parrot “Chubby” and Maisam is keeping it simple with only two types of biscuit. At that moment, I get the sinking feeling that Maisam is doomed.

Meanwhile, Janusz and Syabira both create legitimate works of art, James makes a mask that wouldn’t look out of place in Monsters Inc. and Sandro is challenging toxic masculinity (I love him). Maxy’s beautiful biscuits make her a shoo-in for Star Baker.

It wouldn’t be biscuit week if someone’s showstopper didn’t come crashing down, and this year, it is Carole who suffers disaster. Her mask falls off its stand and cracks into pieces. In earlier series, she would have been sent home, but since the crumbled rocking horse debacle of 2021, bakers with broken showstoppers are permitted to stay. Instead, Maisam’s overly safe showstopper, combined with unfinished macarons and a mediocre technical, sends her home, and Maxy becomes the series’ second Star Baker.

Next time: the dreaded bread week! In which, judging by the preview, Syabira may try to, and succeed in, setting fire to the tent. Me too, Syabira. Me too. Will Noel’s sweater collection continue to wow us? Will Sandro finally win Star Baker? Will Carole redeem herself? And who’s dough will be overwerrrked? We’ll just have to wait and see.

photo from theguardian com

‘See How They Run’ is a classic cheesy murder mystery with delightful humor

By Rachel Rosenfield editor

“A who dunnit. You’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.” This is a line repeated a couple of times in the film “See How They Run” and is kind of a nod to the audience of what to expect from this film. Murder mysteries have been done to death by this point, pun intended. That is not stopping filmmakers from trying to reinvent the wheel with their version of the trope. “See How They Run” is the newest film in this genre. The film is a story of a man who gets murdered with everyone a suspect, and it is up to a pair of detectives to solve the mystery. What’s the twist? It is a murder mystery story that happens during a murder mystery story. All of the suspects were in a play of a murder mystery, so they are acknowledging all of the gimmicks as they are happening. I’m always a fan of a good dry comedy, and this certainly fits that bill. Even though the film is fairly predictable and not too deep, it is still a fun movie to watch and you will definitely be laughing the whole time. The year is 1953 and the location is London. Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap” is celebrating its 100th performance. The show is getting rave reviews and there are talks that it might soon get a movie adaptation. It should be a joyous night. However, it is also the night that film director Leo Kopernick (Adrian Brody) gets murdered. Kopernick was not the most wellliked man, so there are many suspects. Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) are on the case. Stalker is a bit of a beginner and is not always sure what she is doing, but she looks up to Stoppard.

He couldn’t care less about her, as his only focus is solving this case. As the movie goes on, we learn more about each of the suspects and their motives. We also learn a little bit more about our detectives along the way as their friendship blooms. The play serves as a backdrop for the mystery as there are many similarities between both, creating many tongue in cheek moments. You will be taken on many twists and turns throughout this film, but there is one thing that will stay on your mind: who killed Kopernick?

The key to success when it comes to a murder mystery is to have some fantastic characters. You need a good variety and people that you can connect with. This film succeeds really well on both of those accounts. And those characters would be nothing without the people who played them. Even though some characters were more important than others, this was really an ensemble cast. With that being said, I feel the need to single out Ronan’s performance. If you look at most of her filmography, you’ll see that she has mostly done serious roles. After watching this film, I have realized that it is a true shame. She has terrific comedic chops that help bring some energy into the film. Her character did not always know what she was doing, but Ronan’s sympathetic performance made her someone you wanted to root for. I hope to see her branch out to comedies again. I also felt that Rockwell did a great job with his performance as the inspector.

I do feel that the character needed a bit more depth, but I don’t blame Rockwell for that. His performance made this character fun to watch, as he played this totally competent detective a little goofily, which really fit the tone of this

film. He was able to toe the line of serious murder mystery and fun comedy with his acting, and that is why Rockwell is one of the greatest modern actors out there. I also have to mention Brody’s performance. He was not in the film for that long, but he certainly brought a lot of laughs. His role was the sole American around a bunch of British people, which made his part a little funny by nature. Brody is another actor who is not known for doing a lot of comedies, but he certainly nailed the comedic aspects of this performance. All in all, every single actor in this film deserved their part, and that is what made acting one of the strongest points of this film. This film would not be able to work if it was played seriously. It is the comedy that helps this film shine and separate it from similar murder mysteries. The humor is not filled with obvious jokes and slapstick comedy. Most of the jokes have a blink-and-you-missit quality, where they are seamlessly placed into conversations.

It’s the type of humor where if I wrote it down, the humor would not have the same impact, as hearing the jokes in the moment is what gets the laughs. Some of the jokes were a little corny, but a lot of them were fairly smart. A plain murder mystery would have you falling asleep. This screenplay had some excellent quips that kept me entertained. I will also say that the story itself was a little decent, but maybe a little predictable. It was hard for me to figure out the actual murderer, but there were other situations in the film that I felt were easy for me to figure out. That is kind of par for the course when it comes to murder mysteries, so I will say it did better than what you might expect from the genre. I thought having this film take place during the production of a murder mystery was pretty clever. The jokes they were able to make about that were great and it made for some lively and dramatic moments. This was the type of story that is absolutely timeless. I did love the

1950s setting, with its architecture and costumes. However, I feel that this is the type of story that you can enjoy no matter what year it is. It is also something that the whole family can enjoy. Besides murder, there is nothing too innapropriate for children, but there is also nothing too juvenile for adults. Sure, this is not the most unique or gripping film out there, but that does not mean the film is not entertaining. We could all use a film that is just some harmless fun and allows you to do a little problem solving. I thoroughly enjoyed this film and I would love to see more films like this in the future. So if you want to see the new twist of the murder mystery genre, or if you want a comedy that is not so in-your-face, go watch “See How They Run” today.

‘Insomniacs After School’ is an atmospheric dose of serotonin

By Brandon Wu

“Kimi wa Houkago no Insomnia” (“Insomniacs After School”) is an ongoing slice-of-life manga, written by Makoto Ojiro, centered around the lives of Nakami and Magari, two high school students struggling with falling asleep. After a chance encounter in the abandoned astronomy tower, they find that being together helps them fall asleep stress-free. The series follows the pair as they reopen the

astronomy club, and utilize their insomnia to explore star-gazing locations and go on hiking trips.

Vibes

This manga brings slice-of-life to its pinnacle. While the plot of the story can be easily picked up, almost half of your time reading will be spent just watching the characters as a fly on the wall. The dialogue is short and sweet; pages will often go by without a bubble of dialogue. However, the day still goes on. These pages capture moments without talking

or moments where the scenery and atmosphere drown out any idle comments. Combined with Ojiro’s detailed and beautiful drawing, it feels as if you are experiencing sunsets and lazy Sunday mornings in real time.

The Story

However, the story is far from lacking. From the very beginning of the manga, Ojiro has complete control of the story’s pace. Details in the backstory and the characters are given to us as they are revealed to the characters in the story. There is a kind of relaxing unevenness to the pace of the story. Whether it’s watching the characters cook food, hop across rocks on the river or gaze at the stars in the sky, you are always along for the ride. The balance between the slices of life and the plot is perfect because the plot never exists outside of the slices of life. There are no lengthy expositions nor clunky, drama-baiting new characters because they are not needed. The story emerges organically from the rich characterization and emotion carried by the slices of life.

Oh the artwork…

Neither main character is particularly beautiful or unique in

terms of character design, but they’re memorable; a factor that can be attributed to Ojiro’s incredible depiction of emotion in facial expressions and body language. Day-to-day scenes can be elevated simply by the look on a character’s face or the way they walk. Every character in the manga is effortlessly expressive, in an intimate and cozy way. In many chapters, successive panels are framed as if they were candid photos if given a much wider setting. This makes Nakami and Magari pop out all the more as lead characters, and also what makes them so believable. Every now and then, Ojiro

will interrupt the peace and quiet with an absolutely breathtaking double-page spread of the night sky around our protagonists, as if you were in their shoes. This manga is incredible, and it was really hard to describe what was so good about it without the panels themselves. Completely forgetting the mumbo jumbo about the art, dialogue, pace, etc., it’s just an incredibly wholesome romance manga, with two interesting and emotionally full characters. It’s all fluffer, no filler.

special to the hoot art by makoto ojiro

photo fromrottentomatoes com

‘Don’t Worry Darling’: Well, it surely was a movie

By Caleigh M. Abbe special to the hoot

It has not been a good couple weeks for men, as we watched Adam Levine clear his name— thanks to Adam Levine—in a brutal Instagram post, and one of the Try Guys… well, he didn’t try hard enough for his wife. Fortunately, “Don’t Worry Darling,” released in theaters on Sept. 23, was directed by Olivia Wilde, whose newest film perpetuated why we need to practice caution around men. The movie, starring Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, is set in a 1950s town that appears to simulate paradise. While all the men drive to work each morning in their bright and shiny cars, their wives stay behind to clean and cook, but also, to enjoy each other’s company in luxury, such as taking ballet classes and shopping endlessly. They have no reason to drive themselves nor save their drinks for after 5 p.m. Pugh, who plays Alice, is an enjoyer of such a lifestyle until the paradise begins to reveal what’s underneath.

The film’s visual aspects initially set a bright, cheery tone. Both the setting and costuming

are designed perfectly to depict a 1950s utopia and the movie is overall pleasing to the eye. The women, especially Pugh, wear big hair and fashionable dresses like many of us have probably worn to kindergarten graduation or Christmas Eve mass. The men are dressed professionally to assert their roles as providers and heads of the house, so this movie may be the tamest we ever see Harry Styles dress again. Alice’s morning routines with her husband Jack (Styles) are filmed and edited in such a way that one may feel like they’re watching a TikTok GRWM video (for those of you who aren’t caught up, that’s short for “get ready with me,” which means… you know what, that’s over my word count. You have access to Google). However, one cannot forget that “Don’t Worry Darling” is a psychological thriller. The movie sets a great tone shift as Alice begins to unravel the makings of her 1950s paradise. Audiences are left on the edges of their seats as the mood becomes eerie and unsettling through the use of black and white filters juxtaposing the innocent, feminine imagery of ballet, Marilyn Monroe hair and a Cinderella allusion. Just as any

movie in the thriller genre should, color theory is equally important, so red becomes a recurring visual across many of the characters’ costumes (Tumblr users should take some notes).

Leading up to its release, the psychological thriller was the center of controversy and gossip. The controversy ranged across various levels of seriousness, from tension between Wilde and Pugh regarding the director’s relationship with Styles, to Styles allegedly spitting on Chris Pine at the Venice Film Festival, to various opinions about Styles’ transition from singer to actor (even after all those lyrics across three solo albums and six years in One Direction, his best take on his own film was, “It feels like a movie.” One may wonder what he’ll sing about on HS4). Regardless, throughout the beginning of the film, Styles is seen to be taking some of his singing notes with him to set, such as a tease for his next hit single “Boiling the Potatoes” to practicing what he preaches in “Watermelon Sugar.” Audiences got to watch Styles dance alongside Pine as if standing (and screaming) in the front row at Madison Square Garden. While I’m sure a lot of

the movie-goers this weekend paid for their tickets due to their obligations as Harry Styles fans, the pop star is not the focal point of the film. Most of the attention rests on Pugh and her role as a breakaway 1950s housewife. While this film does not see success through a feminist lens, it is a win for Pugh. She was handed the challenging role of a woman forced to submit to the deceptive world of men around her and she rises to the top with her vibrancy. However, another challenge the actress faced was a one-dimensional character and a plot with many holes. The film can be seen as an attempted commentary on stark gender roles, but the execution was simply lacking: the ending was lackluster and left audiences with no answers or guidance, which could be seen as a metaphor for something larger (as if Wilde never listened to “Watermelon Sugar”). Key plot points such as a plane crash and recurring earthquakes are never explained. The character of Margaret (Kiki Layne) sets off Alice’s journey of discovery, but is forgotten almost completely not too long into the film. The film’s climax experiences an

unnecessary “girlboss” moment which I will choose not to spoil, but you’ll know it as soon as you see it, although its effects are never explored.

“Don’t Worry Darling” alluded to the Discord-to-incel pipeline using a key figure one would least expect to fill the role. But overall, there were many missed opportunities that could’ve made the film deeper had they been executed correctly, but most missed the mark. Except for the motif with the tune “With You All the Time,” the movie lacked elements that could’ve brought it to a critically acclaimed level. If you wish to watch a film while assessing it with nothing but a simple mind, then “Don’t Worry Darling” will leave you guessing with its unpredictability and shortcomings. You’ll still be able to enjoy the visuals and the talent of Florence Pugh. However, don’t expect to see much more than a few pretty faces living through a dystopia that expects audiences to accept its reality at a surface level.

from Left to riGht: ‘forest in the DayLiGht in acryLic by jennifer poDhorZer anD ‘camera in bLack pen’ by LaUren poDhorZer