The Brandeis Hoot - March 25, 2011

Vol. 8, No. 9

www.thebrandeishoot.com

Brandeis University’s Community Newspaper • Waltham, Mass.

March 25, 2011

Fundraising for Japan IBS’ Magid back from trade

trip with governor

By Nathan Koskella Editor

photo by nafiz “fizz ” ahmed/the hoot bracelets for japan Members of the Japanese Student Association sell bracelets, the proceeds of

which will be sent to Japan, in the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake. For information on students studying abroad in Japan, see page 16.

With Lawrence, univ combines development and recruitment

By Jon Ostrowsky Editor

Florida. San Francisco. Long Island. Westchester. Newark.

Manhattan. Boston. Philadelphia. Washington. Miami. Los Angeles.

These are the stops on the meet Fred Lawrence tour—the university’s campaign to combine both development and admissions recruitment as it introduces its new president to a community of alumni, parents, students and friends.

“He hit the ground running because he didn’t have to learn Brandeis,” said Senior Vice President for Institutional Advancement Nancy Winship, who began working with Lawrence the first week in August.

“What comes across when he speaks is that Brandeis fits him like a glove,” she said during an interview in her office Thursday afternoon.

The university is on pace, as planned, to raise at least $8 million in unrestricted funds by June for the College of Arts and Sciences’ operating budget. Next year, the university plans to raise $11 million specifically in unrestricted funds for the Arts and Sciences operating budget.

Yet only a portion of the university’s fundraising goes towards

unrestricted funds in the operating budget. Gifts to endowment or capital for example, are separate.

Additional funds raised, which in the past have ranged from $60 to $85 million, go towards supporting the Heller School, International Business School, academic programs, athletics and many other departments in the university. But sufficient funds in the operating budget are crucial for the university to function.

Winship, who has been raising funds at Brandeis for more than 16 years, said that the chief fundraising goal now is student financial aid.

When a university president steps down, fundraising typically declines from previous levels because donors are less willing to give when they know a president is leaving and unsure of his replacement, Winship said. During the beginning of a presidency, it takes time for supporters to meet and become acclimated with a new president.

That pattern has played out at Brandeis, Whinship said, but the roll-out events are intended to introduce Lawrence and to build a foundation of connections with donors and supporters.

The foundations from roll-outs See LAWRENCE, page 2

International Business School Dean Bruce Magid returned this week from his role on Governor Deval Patrick’s trade mission to the United Kingdom and Israel, where he represented Brandeis and Massachusetts higher education abroad. The governor himself will speak at campus Tuesday, April 5 to keynote a summit at the business school.

Magid was invited on the mission to “talk about opportunities for the state to collaborate” with businesses abroad, he said. Clean energy, intellectual property and other overlap areas are special of interests of his and were discussed overseas.

“I provided counsel to the governor’s staff, served as a resource to the media,” Magid said, “and worked to establish university relationships with both Israel and the U.K.” The governor’s trip included some of the state’s most powerful business leaders and prominent employers. New England Patriots owner and CEO Robert Kraft, in particular, is well-known is Israel, where he owns the famous football stadium. Other leaders included the

heads of Massachusetts General Hospital, the Technology Leadership Council and Flybridge Capital group.

Magid and the incoming head of the University of Massachusetts system, Robert Caret, represented the focus of higher education on the future of state investment.

“I was selected because I serve on the board of the Massachusetts International Trade Office, and have been providing counsel to its executive director and the rest of the governor’s staff on a strategic plan for promoting investment,” he said.

Other Brandeisians, including alums Mark Sherman and Kraft’s wife, Myra, a trustee, attended and helped to broaden the business group’s connection with the university specifically.

The overall goal was the “promote Massachusetts as a destination for foreign investment,” Magid said, and “promote Massachusetts exports. I see share of mind as the same thing as share of market.”

Magid said the state even competes against the likes of Silicon Valley for headquartering of international corporations. Missions like the governor’s this month, according to Magid, “demonstrate the commitment of the public sector to private sector growth.”

Top Obama adviser addresses citizenship

photo by nafiz “fizz ” ahmed/the hoot

By Ariel Wittenberg Editor

Director of President Barack Obama’s Domestic Policy Council Melody Barnes spoke about the importance of service and being an engaged citizen at Brandeis University Wednesday.

“Citizenship, in my opinion, is a verb,” Barnes said to an audience of 200 in

Levin Ballroom, advocating that citizens should play an active role in their communities.

In a time when the nation is trying to overcome an economic crisis while potentially cutting service programs like Americorps, Barnes said the role of community leaders was crucial to help the nation prosper.

“We could let the economic parade of

horrors paralyze us, but this is not a time for tepid measures,” she said. “We have an opportunity to position America to win the future, and if past is prologue, we will,” despite the nation’s tough times.

Citing the examples of Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, who respectively started the New Deal and the Peace Corps during times of national strife, Barnes said times of trouble allow the government the opportunity to create “sweeping expansions.”

“We are not simply going through the motions when it comes to national service,” she said. “The government is building a foundation for a better future.”

Barnes emphasized that though the Obama administration has taken measures to encourage public service, like the president’s signing of the Senator Edward Kennedy Serve America Act within his first 100 days in office, it is up to the American people to take up the cause as well.

“The government can’t solve all of the problems we have, nor should it,” she said. “For all the work we do in Washington, it is the active, engaged citizenship that is going to leverage that and work towards our dreams.”

Barnes spoke at an event to honor Eli J. Segal ’64, a Brandeis alumnus and entrepreneur who worked with President Bill Clinton to found the Corporation for National and Community Service. Present at the event were members of the Eli J. Segal Citizen Leadership Program and many of the fellows the program funds each summer to participate in public service programs and internships.

Barnes said students should use Segal See BARNES, page 2

2 The Brandeis Hoot

NEWS

March 25, 2011

Obama adviser on citizenship BARNES, from page 1

photo by ingrid schulte/the hoot

eetta prince -gibson

Jerusalem editor explores journalism in Israel

By Yael Katzwer Editor

Monday Eetta Prince-Gibson, the editor-inchief of The Jerusalem Report, spoke in Rapaporte Treasure Hall about the obstacles that Israeli journalists face when covering the issues within their own country and explained some guidelines she has imposed at The Jerusalem Report in order to deal with these obstacles.

Although Prince-Gibson has a degree in social work, she left that field to pursue journalism because she felt that it would be a challenge and that she could create more change in that role.

She sees both fields as complementary; “Journalism and social work both are service professions,” Prince-Gibson said.

Prince-Gibson explained that since The Jerusalem Report is a bi-weekly magazine, the articles tend to be longer, with in-depth investigative reporting. After working for The Jerusalem Post, a daily newspaper, Prince-Gibson recognizes the importance of both “quick, short and dirty” reporting and the lengthy articles printed

by The Jerusalem Report. The Jerusalem Report, as opposed to The Jerusalem Post, prefers to analyze social trends and motivations rather than just report on the basic facts. “The Jerusalem Report focuses a lot more on the social than the political because that won’t be relevant tomorrow in a volatile place like Israel. It changes tomorrow,” Prince-Gibson said. “You need to know [the politics] but you get it from the electronics or the dailies.”

Prince-Gibson tackled five topics that she confronts daily as the editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Report: objectivity, criticism of Israel, the tendency to over-simplify, the use of controversial words and morality.

Prince-Gibson explained that objectivity does not exist and that it is not a goal to be strived for.

“There is no such thing as the view from nowhere, from nobody,” Prince-Gibson said. “I can’t tell a writer ‘Be no one from nowhere’—it’s not doable. Views are shaped by what we know, where we stand, what we see. Those of us who think we know what is going on in Iran have to remember that cell phones take pictures in this [front] direction, not that [left] direction and not that [right] direction and not that [back] direction.”

She complained that journalists often mistake fair and accurate reporting with distant and dispassionate reporting. She explained that if the reporters are not passionate about what they are reporting, then they will not dig deeply enough to find people and stories. “Dispassionate and distanced are things we don’t want. You [the readers] don’t want that,” Prince-Gibson said.

“If someone didn’t care about medical malpractice, then we wouldn’t know about people being abused.”

Prince-Gibson identifies herself as a “feminist, Israeli, progressive Jew, Zionist, working

mother, wife [and] friend” and believes that this does not prevent her from remaining unbiased but helps her to see the nuances of her stories.

“When my children were younger, I noticed if young children were at a demonstration,” she said. “I see soldiers differently now that my daughter is in uniform.”

In order to avoid confusing passion with bias, Prince-Gibson tells her reporters to reconsider their story’s worth. She reminds them that “just because I care doesn’t mean it’s worthy.” She also asks them to bring doubt to every story; “I tell the interns ‘Doubt if your mother says she loves you. I want it confirmed by at least two sources and Wikipedia doesn’t count as a source.”’

Another problem she and The Jerusalem Report face is that sometimes remaining fair forces them to criticize Israeli policy, which is often misconstrued as criticizing Israel as a whole.

Prince-Gibson’s policy at The Jerusalem Report is that you can criticize Israel but not its right to exist. “We are overly sensitive in the Jewish community to criticism of Israel because we sometimes see it as criticism of Israel’s right to exist,” she said. “We can be critical of our country at the same time that our country is criticized.”

Prince-Gibson conceded that, as Israelis, she and her reporters feel connected to Israel and therefore find it difficult sometimes to be critical. “We’re taught to feel connectedness and responsibility to the state,” she said. “We want to feel safe and secure and comforted; it is hard when it feels like your country is being attacked.”

While the urge to protect Israel from journalistic criticism is sometimes strong, PrinceGibson always stops to consider if the criticism is necessary. Prince-Gibson becomes irritated when an Israeli news source criticizes the rest of the world and the Palestinians but had only nice words for Israel. “We will not be apologetic for Palestinians or the state of Israel. Are they wrong? Are we wrong? And yes, we say ‘we’ and ‘they.’ We are an Israeli paper,” she said.

Another way that The Jerusalem Report remains faithful in their reporting is by avoiding simplistic ideas and analogies. Prince-Gibson explained that politics in Israel are contentious, resulting in many sides to each discussion. She tells her reporters, “Try not to use ‘but,’ use ‘and.’ Just because one person says ‘yes,’ another doesn’t necessarily say ‘no.’”

Prince-Gibson said that it is a journalist’s responsibility to explain what is happening in an intelligent way that does not confuse simplified with simplistic. “We will not pander to or comfort our readers,” she said. “We’ll simplify but we won’t dumb down, won’t use simplistic analogies.” Relating The Jerusalem Report to competing news sources, Prince-Gibson continued, “We do not equate Jews settling in Arab places with African-Americans settling into white neighborhoods. One is civil rights; one is nationalist. It’s different.”

While discussing The Jerusalem Report’s use of controversial words, Prince-Gibson asked for audience participation. She gave them information and asked for a headline. The story she told was that a man walked into a cafe and blew himself up; now 16 people are dead. After people suggested saying that a “man” blew himself up or that there was a “suicide bombing,” PrinceGibson jumped back in.

“We call him a terrorist,” she said. “We use it in one way only—Israeli, Palestinian, Martian—anyone who goes into a public place and wantonly murders a bunch of people is a terrorist. We use the word. The Washington Post does not; they use ‘militant.’” Prince-Gibson then lambasted CNN for using phrases like “allegedly,” “according to” and “were killed” in reference the murders of the five members of the Fogel family in Itamar on March 11. “The people who slit the throat of a three-month-old baby were terrorists,” she said.

Prince-Gibson attached an addendum to using the word “terrorist,” however, while discussing moral absolutes. “An 11-year-old brandishing a gun did not make an independent choice,” she said. “We don’t think children are terrorists; we think they can be abused and turned into terrorists.”

While it is important to provide a complete discourse, “there are views we don’t print and we are open about it,” Prince-Gibson said.

“There are moral absolutes. Gender equality is not up for grabs, religion is not up for grabs, human rights, minorities. We credit all denominations of Judaism. We call women rabbis ‘rabbis.’ Not everyone agrees with thinking women can be rabbis. We don’t care.” She reminded the audience, however, that while some things, such as child abuse, are moral absolutes, other things that some people find reprehensible are not considered reprehensible to others. “We hold [everyone] to the same moral standards; everyone is treated equally on their own merits,” Prince-Gibson said. For example, when writing an article on Palestinian honor killings, PrinceGibson interviewed a Palestinian woman to make certain that she was not imposing her own thoughts and feelings on the issue.

In everything she does, Prince-Gibson seeks to promote “peace journalism,” which she defines as good, thoughtful journalism that looks for solutions to problems. She said, “Peace journalism is simply quality, journalism that goes beyond ‘if it bleeds it leads.’” The event was presented by the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism, Women’s Studies Research Center and Hadassah-Brandeis Institute and co-sponsored by the Interfaith Chaplaincy; International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life; J Street U Brandeis; Journalism Program; Near Eastern and Judaic Studies Department; Office of the Provost; Peace, Conflict, and Coexistence Program; Schusterman Center for Israel Studies; and Women’s and Gender Studies.

as an example of how to lead lives of service.

“If there were a picture in the dictionary beside the word ‘public servant,’ it would be of [Segal],” she said. “He showed how ordinary citizens can be change agents in their town, in their country and in our world.”

During the question and answer period, one student questioned the ability of public service organizations to help communities at a time when organizations like Americorps—which Segal himself helped found—are on the chopping block as the United States Congress attempts to balance the national budget.

Barnes said that the maintenance of Americorps was a priority to the president and that she was not concerned with the outcome of the battle over the budget, which has not been finalized, and attributed the student’s concern to the way new media has changed politics.

“Nowadays, because of the Internet, people see the sausage making up-close and personal and there is visceral reaction to it,” she said. Citing last year’s passage of national health care reform, Barnes said, “the system does work, has worked and will continue to work.”

Part of what makes the system work, she said, is willingness to compromise.

“It is important to have a strong sense of where you want to go, where is your North Star,” she said. “But you also need to know when to cut a deal, when you will take half your loaf of bread today so you can have the rest someday.”

Lawrence travels for development LAWRENCE, from page 1

will lead to more individual meetings between Lawrence and interested supporters, many of whom will become donors. The university, after a series of roll-outs, will continue to hold annual alumni and outreach events in major cities.

Traveling the country to promote and fundraise for Brandeis today, Winship finds a far different environment than the climate she traveled in during 1994, with former university President Jehuda Reinharz.

When Reinharz began in 1994, total annual fundraising resulted in $22 million. Under his presidency, it expanded in recent years, to a range of $72 to $80 million.

“We went everywhere to see anyone to get a check as a gift,” Winship said about the 1994 fundraising campaign.

Brandeis is unique among other institutions because the majority of its financial support comes from “friends” or non-alumni of the university. The average age of a Brandeis alum is 41, Director of Development Communications David Nathan said.

But the concept of making alumni outreach events not just about development is new. Lawrence always attends each “roll-out” event with Dean of the Hiatt Career Center Joseph Du Pont and Dean of Admissions Mark Spencer, in addition to Winship and his wife Kathy.

“We never integrated Alumni Development events with admissions [before],” Winship said.

“Alumni Relations is now working very seamlessly with admissions.”

Now, admitted students are invited to come meet Lawrence. After every roll-out event, the following morning, Lawrence also attends a breakfast with local high school guidance counselors.

The university plans to increase its focus and outreach in Southern California, and specifically Los Angeles, Winship said.

There are growing numbers of students from the area and Lawrence has also expressed interest in expanding the university’s film program.

His wife, Kathy grew up in Los Angeles, and her connections have helped to promote Brandeis on recent trips.

Lawrence has already hosted two roll-out events in Los Angeles in just three months as President.

March 25, 2011

The Brandeis Hoot

NEWS

3

Ogletree discusses book on Henry Louis Gates

photo by yuan yao/the hoot

By Debby Brodsky Staff

Charles J. Ogletree, the Jesse Climenko Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, and Founding and Executive Director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, spoke Tuesday evening, about the publication of his new book, “The Presumption of Guilt: The Arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr., and Race, Class and Crime in America.”

Ogletree was introduced by Anita Hill,

Brandeis professor of social policy, law and women’s studies at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, and by Brandeis President Frederick Lawrence. “Charles Ogletree has been a giant of the legal system,” Lawrence said, “and he is someone who understands that law has a role to play in the myriad of problems we face as a society.”

Ogletree’s book discusses the July 2009 arrest of Macarthur Fellow and Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., by Cambridge police sergeant James Crowley. Oglegree asserts that

the arrest of Gates for attempting to break into his own home, highlights America’s tensions between black and white, police and civilians, and upper and lower class citizens, and how everyone is subject to profiling. “There is no such thing as the presumption of guilt,” Ogletree said.

“In law you presume innocence. But I called my book that because people so often make presumptions based on class and race.”

According to Ogletree, Gates was arrested on the charges of crimes against chastity, morality, decency and good order. Following Gates’ ar-

rest, when President Barack Obama identified with Gates as his friend, he became known as a black president. “It blackened him,” Ogletree said. “The president received an enormous amount of criticism, mostly from whites. Even in the 21st century, race trumps class. People have not been successful at trumping race.”

Additionally, Ogletree asserted that in the arrest of Gates, there was a big difference between what people said and what happened. He also said that if Gates or Officer Crowley had been a woman, the matter would have been solved differently, and called the arrest a battle of testosterone. Due to instances such as Gates’ arrest, Ogletree declared America “not post-racial.”

Ogletree continued to describe the aftermath of the arrest and his shock upon finding that the largest group that reached out to him were black professional men, who recounted their past experiences in facing the same racial profiling as Gates. “How do we get rid of presumptions based on how people dress and where they are?” he asked. “What do we do now that we have a black president? We have one black man in the White House and one million black men in jail.

America is not post-racial.”

“The ability of Americans to learn acceptance as opposed to rejection of difference,” Ogletree said, “is crucial.” Since inclusion is the essence of society, Americans must learn to first see similarities among one another, rather than differences. Ogletree then discussed the relevance of racial profiling on college campuses. “Even at Harvard there is a problem with people being judged by the color of their skin. These issues on a college campus require people to speak out, yet too often people don’t complain.”

In his final remarks, Ogletree spoke of how important he believes it is for successful black professionals not to remove themselves from the race. Rather, they should work to lift the whole community out of class oppression. “If we are going to be successful as a society,” he said, “we have to lift the bottom up.”

Brandeis Haiti Initiative presents…

Hoops for Haiti Second annual students vs. faculty/ staff charity basketball game

Monday April 4th • 5 – 7 p.m.

Gosman Athletic Center

Sponsored by Office of Students & Enrollment, Hiatt Career Center, Academic Services and Student Union

4 The Brandeis Hoot

You Know We’re Right

Are midterms putting a strain on your relationship?

Dear Leah and Morgan, I am feeling so overwhelmed by school work right now that I can’t seem to make time for my boyfriend. I don’t want to seem insensitive, because I really do love him and love spending time with him, but when push comes to shove I can’t afford to get a bad grade on any of my papers or midterms. I can feel myself growing further apart from my significant other as a result, but I just don’t know what to do.

Am I a horrible person? Should we just break up until I can make time for him?

Sincerely, In Love but Overworked Dear Overworked, Balancing love and a workload is tough— especially during midterm season (on that note, has anyone at Brandeis figured out why midterms last from the third week of the semester to the third to last?). But while this time of the semester may make you more busy than usual, there are always going to be obstacles that get in your way. You need to learn how to compartmentalize and make time for your significant other so that, no matter what you have on your plate, you have quality time together. Sure, some weeks will be busier than others, and cutting down on the amount of time you spend with each other in those weeks is completely understandable. But college lasts for four years, and you need to make sure you do not totally push people out of your life every time you have an exam.

Here are some connections to make sure you stay connected: Talk it out.

Make sure your boo knows what’s on your mind. Once you explain why you haven’t had as much time to spend with him, he might feel the same way. Even if he doesn’t, at least you’re on the same page.

Study together.

If it’s midterm season, your significant other is bound to have something to study for as well, so cozy up together in a corner of the library and hit the books. Look at it this way—study breaks are the perfect length for a quickie in the stacks.

Take a break.

Everybody’s got to eat. If you can’t find time to just hang out, at least share a meal or two.

You’ll be able to catch up on each other’s days and encourage each other while remembering that soon it’ll be over and you’ll be able to spend quality time together again.

Keep in touch.

Text each other, Facebook chat, Skype for 10 minutes. While you will not be physically together, this way your significant other will know they are on your mind, even as you cram your brain with all those obscure facts that professors expect you to know.

Set a date.

Make plans to go for a romantic date on the weekend, and catch up on lost time. Not only will this give you a reason to finish up all of your work by the time Shabbos is over, but you will also be able to get off campus and forget about your work. The light at the end of the tunnel is a great motivator.

Good luck!

Peace, Love and Great Advice, Leah and Morgan Have questions that you want answered by the lovely ladies of The Hoot? Submit your questions to advice@thebrandeishoot.com or at formspring.me/leahandmorgan! They will be answered by Leah Finkelman ’13, Features Editor and Morgan Gross ’14, Impressions Editor. We’re so excited to hear your questions!

FEATURES

March 25, 2011

On the run: the story of a Holocaust survivor Brandeis student retells her grandmother’s harrowing and tragic story after finding old home videos

By Alana Blum Staff

My grandmother, Helen Nachtigal, stared shyly ahead as I introduced her to a mass of eighth graders. At 4’7”, Helen was not much taller than her audience. After all, she was their age when the Holocaust started, and the subsequent years without food had severely stunted her growth. She was standing in front of these eighth graders to talk about just that: the Holocaust.

As Helen began her story, her voice was soft and she spoke slowly.

Her thick Polish accent was apparent in her speech as I watched the video of that day.

After her death last semester, I found a video tape of her visit to my class all those years ago.

I can still hear her voice gradually growing stronger as she relived her tale.

It was 1939. Adolf Hitler, the chancellor of Germany, had decided to invade Poland.

Helen, age 13, was living in Lodz with her grandmother, mother and four older brothers when the bombing began. “They were bombing and bombing all night long. People were scared and running. In the morning, thousands of people were dead on the street. It was terrible,” she described. Poland was conquered. Soon, truckloads of German soldiers came in, bringing their anti-Jewish policies to Helen’s town. At first, the Jews were instructed to wear yellow bands around their forearms to mark them as Jews. A week later, that was not enough. Now, they also had to wear yellow stars.

A couple of weeks later, the Nazis burned down the Lodz synagogue. People from all around had come to watch, as if it was a show put on by the Nazis. The Nazis took crying Jews and threw them into the fire. It was at this point in Helen’s story that her voice gained determination. Looking around the room, Helen continued, “My mother was crying so hard, and I said ‘stop crying, because they’re going to kill you.’ I was afraid.”

Helen began experiencing something more gripping than just fear. Hunger became an everyday reality. As food ran out, grocery stores began closing until none were left. Soon only the bakeries remained open. Yet the lines were so long that by the time Helen reached the front there would be no bread left. Helen and one of her brothers decided to stand in front of a bakery for an entire night. When it opened in the morning, they would be one of the first in line. At six in the morning, the bakery opened. Nazi soldiers entered, announcing “Jews out. No bread for the Jews.” Helen started to shake with fright, and instructed her brother that she wanted to leave. But hunger overcame their fear and the two siblings remained in the bakery. Another Jewish girl was also determined to stay. Unlike Helen

Loving couple Helen with her husband Sam.

‘A beautiful family’ Helen with husband Sam and grandchildren.

and her brother, the young girl had worn her yellow star, and the Nazis easily detected her Jewish identity. “She had long pigtails,” Helen explained, “and because she didn’t want to go out—because she was hungry—the Nazis took a razor and shaved her whole head. She passed out and it was terrible. I had pigtails, and I started to open them up quickly.” Helen and her brother finally received their bread, but by the time they arrived home they had finished the entire loaf. “My mother asked, ‘Where’s the bread?’” Helen laughed. “We were so hungry.”

I see my brother’s wife with the little baby. She was crying. She said, ‘Yaakov was hanged.’ He was caught and he was hanged.

He was my older brother and he was hanged.

– Helen Nachtigal

One day Helen heard a shot in her apartment. She ran into another room to discover that her grandmother had been murdered in her bed. She was 83 years old, and had refused to get out of bed at the Nazis’ request.

This was enough grounds to shoot the elderly woman. The grandmother’s defiant nature would prove to run in the family. When the Nazis planned to relocate all of the local Jews to the Lodz ghetto, Helen’s mother had other ideas. Perhaps it was due to the burning of the synagogue or the lack of food. Perhaps it was due to the fact that the Nazis were willing to shoot a sick woman in bed. Her mother’s exact motivations were unclear. However, she certainly sensed that if the situation was bad now, it would only worsen in the ghetto.

Helen’s mother, Leah, decided it was time to leave.

Leah’s husband had died 12 years earlier.

Fortunately, he had been Russian, which meant that he left Leah with Soviet documents.

She decided she would use those documents to flee to the Soviet Union with her children.

If they had stayed and relocated to the ghettos, chances were that they would have been among the thousands of Jews deported from Lodz to the Chelmno killing center, never to be heard from again.

Leah’s instructions to her children were simple: “Remember, we’re Russian. We’re not Jewish, we’re Rusphoto courtesy of alana blum/the hoot

photo courtesy of alana blum/the

sian.” Nevertheless, the entire family was stopped as they arrived at a train station near the Soviet border. As German soldiers began interrogating Helen’s family, one of her brothers tried standing up to them. They grabbed him and two of his brothers and hit them into the wall until they started to bleed. The youngest brother remained untouched, but he stood there shaking with fear. A higher officer intervened, and the family was finally released after Leah assured him that her husband had been Russian. However, when Helen and her family arrived at the border, they were stopped by the Russian patrol. “They told us we have to go back,” Helen explained. “They said, ‘If you come back, you will be shot as spies.’ We knew we were in trouble.” The family ran into the woods to hide, knowing that they would have to find a way to cross the border into the Soviet Union. With no food available, Helen and her family were scared and hungry.

After a few nights of hiding, someone glimpsed a small house in the distance. They went up to the house and knocked on the door. An elderly couple answered, and decided to hide Helen and her family in the stable overnight. As the elderly woman handed soup and bread to the tired guests, Leah stated, “I don’t have a lot of money, but we are going to pay you.” The couple refused, saying, “We like to help. We have a God.” The following morning, the elderly man placed the family into a wagon and covered them with hay and chickens. He then took the family across the border. “He’s probably dead by now,” Helen stated. She then paused, and added, “God bless him and his soul.”

After their arrival in the Soviet Union, the family went from town to town, searching for jobs and food. In 1941, Germany violated its pact of non-aggression and invaded the Soviet Union. The local Jews were to be rounded up and killed. Helen and her family knew that it was time to flee once more. However, Helen and her mother were separated from her brothers. “My brother told my mother, ‘We are going to stay somewhere during the day, and at night we will come to see what you are doing.’ He never came,” Helen said to the students. “Then I see my brother’s wife with the little baby. She was crying. She said, ‘Yaakov was hanged.’ He was caught and he was hanged.” Helen paused and then repeated herself. “He was my older brother and he was hanged. So I knew my brother was dead.”

Helen did not know where her other brothers were. She did know that if she stayed she would be killed as well. Taking her mother, Helen ran into the woods. In hiding, she encountered a group of young Jews. “They asked me who I was because they were afraid.

I said ‘I’m just like you.’” Helen proceeded to describe how they would wait until they heard a train whistle. Since they could not afford a train ticket, they would run to the train and grab onto the sides, holding on for dear life. They would then go wherever the train took them.

Helen suddenly stopped her speech for a moment. She then said something quietly See SURVIVOR, page 5

March 25, 2011

This Week in History

‘Digital get down, just you and me’

Brandeis

2003

2008

FEATURES 5

The Brandeis Hoot

Bomb threats disrupt classes and research on two occasions causing locations on campus to evacuate.

Students enter the realm of online dating with OkCupid

Brandeis participates in the National Geographic Genographic Project.

Massachusetts

1638

1845

Anne Hutchinson is expelled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony three years after arriving in Boston.

The Massachusetts legislature guarantees that every child in the state will have access to a public school.

United States

1973

1989

1889

1979

Two months after the signing of the Vietnam peace agreement, the last U.S. troops leave South Vietnam.

One of the worst oil spills in U.S. history begins when tanker Exxon Valdez runs aground in Alaska.

World

The Eiffel Tower is dedicated in Paris in a ceremony presided over by Gustave Eiffel, the tower’s designer.

Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin sign a historic peace agreement.

‘Can we get connected?

I need some love and affection baby’ photo by nafiz “fizz ” ahmed/the hoot

“I would swim up the Amazon with 45-pound dumbbells tied to my scrotum and Ellen DeGeneres’ queef as my air supply if it meant I could eat a seafood dinner with you over Skype on a dial-up Internet connection.”

By Leah Finkelman Editor

“I would swim up the Amazon with 45-pound dumbbells tied to my scrotum and Ellen DeGeneres’ queef as my air supply if it meant I could eat a seafood dinner with you over Skype on a dial-up internet connection.

Not serious … Kinda serious …” read the message a Brandeis sophomore received on OkCupid, one of many online dating sites that have recently become popular with college students.

She is one of many students who have turned to the Internet to find new people to talk to and potentially date. OkCupid, which markets itself as “the best dating site on Earth,” is one of many online matchmaking sites marketed towards Generation Y that has risen in popularity over the past few years.

Most college students will eventually settle into a committed partnership or marriage, but few are looking for that right now. Instead, many are on dating sites to casually meet people they can chat with and get a laugh out of funny experiences.

Jen Abidor ’11 joined OkCupid at the beginning of the school year mostly as a joke, but she kept in mind that she might meet someone with whom she connected. After a while, though, she became bored and decided

that trying to find someone she clicked with wasn’t worth digging through the “creepy” guys that messaged her.

A 2010 survey by Match.com, another dating website, claimed that one in five single people have dated someone they met on a dating site, and one in five people in a newly committed relationship met on a dating site.

Despite the rise in use of online dating sites, a stigma still exists, to the point that several students asked that their names not be used in the writing of this article.

The stigma caused one OkCupid user to ask, “why is meeting someone in a bar more legitimate than meeting them online?” But, unfortunately, thinking there shouldn’t be a stigma doesn’t just make it go away.

Online dating has been associated with men and women who are desperate but can’t get a date, people who are trying to make themselves appear better than they are in real life and the Craig’s List killer.

Despite the stigma, online dating is a trend that continues to grow, especially among college-age singles. According to a Pew poll, close to 40 percent of college-age students had signed up at one point for an online dating site.

“I wasn’t expecting to meet someone special when I signed up for OkCupid, but I’ve stumbled over a few that surprised me,” one

sophomore said. “I’ve given my number to two guys who I text and talk to on the phone when I have the time. That’s the key to online dating—it works on your schedule,” she said.

“Personally, I’m still not 100 percent comfortable with the idea of online dating … In a few years, though, I think that will change.

It’s just another way to put yourself out there … you never know how and when someone special might come along.”

Now, with the permeation of social networking into daily life, online dating provides an alternative for students who don’t have the time to go out and meet new people. Simply by answering a questionnaire, busy students can easily be matched with and communicate with potential romantic interests with the click of a button and a few keystrokes.

“You have to go on OkCupid laughing a bit at yourself and taking everything with a grain of salt,” one sophomore said.

“I’m on it partially for the entertainment.

Then, if something good does come of it, all the better—but it’s not an expectation I have.”

Users simply need to remember that finding a soulmate online is just as difficult as it is in real life, and that online safety precautions are extremely important. As long as they remember those two things, there’s no reason for them to be judged.

My grandmother’s story of escaping the Holocaust SURVIVOR, from page 4

to her daughter (my mother), Rose, who had brought her to the event. Nodding, Rose turned to the group of students and explained, “We went on a train last year. My mother freaked out. She couldn’t handle it.

I couldn’t understand why and then she explained that her memory of trains is holding onto the railing for dear life. Can you imagine?”

Soon, Helen was deep inside the Soviet Union. It was winter and she had no shoes.

Her feet were swollen and lice covered her head. Food was scarce. But she was alive.

Making sure always to stay one step ahead of the Nazis, Helen never stayed in one place for too long. If she felt the Nazis were near,

she would grab hold of a passing train again.

Through this method, she eventually ended up in Georgia. She found a job working at a factory there that produced thread. One day Helen noticed that the other factory girls were putting spools of thread into their dresses.

They explained to her that they were stealing the spools in order to sell them and use the money for food. “We’re hungry, aren’t you?” they asked. Helen began stealing the thread as well. One day, as she left the factory, a worker grabbed her and asked, “What do you have there?” She had been caught stealing.

She was told to go see the director of the factory. “For one spool of thread, a year in jail,” Helen clarified. “I had four,” she said laughing.

Fortunately, the director’s son had taken a liking to her and requested that they let her go free. “He said, ‘You can go now, but don’t take

anymore.’ I took more,” Helen laughed.

It was 1945. The war was over. “I don’t know how I got through. I don’t know,” exclaimed Helen. It took her a year to return home.

When she finally reached Poland, Helen was taken in by a Jewish agency. She was given new clothes and new shoes. Upon arrival, she immediately inquired as to her family’s whereabouts. She was overjoyed to discover that her mother and two of her brothers were alive. Her extended family had been comprised of 60 people—aunts, uncles and cousins. None had survived.

“Everybody else was dead,” Helen said somberly. “But I got married, and I had …” she paused for a moment and then looked over at her daughter and smiled. “A beautiful family,” one of the teachers in the room exclaimed.

“Yes, now I have a beautiful family.”

6 FEATURES

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March 25, 2011

Hail to the chief: A brandeis history of inaugurations

By Jon Ostrowsky Editor

When Fred Lawrence delivers his inaugural address Thursday afternoon inside the Gosman Athletic Center, the Brandeis community will gather in a far different context than it did on an October evening 63 years ago inside the walls of Symphony Hall to hear Abram Leon Sachar, the first university president, deliver his.

The times have simply changed.

The Nuremburg trials, Vietnam War and Civil Rights Movement are no longer the context in which a new university president assumes the leadership of Brandeis.

Sachar’s words echo differently than they did on Oct. 7, 1948 inside Symphony Hall.

“A new institution must move slowly and modestly as it seeks a place in such a company; the first president of such a new institution must pray for strength and wisdom and courage as he is admitted to such a faculty,” he said.

Amid the pace of life in the 21st century, the university seeks to promote change and grow as an institution at a quicker pace, with different risks than the ones it inherited in 1948.

But in many ways, the themes that have defined inaugurations from Sachar to Reinharz remain constant, reminding a community that the pillars of its university are rooted in history and a common devotion to the future.

“An institution which is built on such principles – on the integrity of learning and research, on the passion for service, on the right of equal opportunity – only such an institution will be worthy of the intellectual and spiritual mantle of Louis Dembitz Brandeis whose name it is to bear,” Sachar said.

The university as government The rhetoric in the speeches of presidents from Sachar to Reinharz emphasizes the role of the university as an imperative function in society.

On Oct. 5, 1972, Marver Hillel Bernstein, who served as a budget examiner for the federal government and dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs before assuming the presidency of Brandeis, said that the university plays a necessary role in society.

“The university not only undertakes a unique function in society; it also has a fascinating organizational character that differentiates it from other institutions,” Bernstein said.

“It depends more strongly on shared values and mutual understandings than any other human organization.”

Bernstein said that the most significant goal for Brandeis in 1972 was to strengthen “the quality of education,” which “requires a process of full communication and meaningful participation in making difficult choices.”

Urging students, faculty and trustees to participate in Brandeis as an

organization, Bernstein admitted that making decisions to build and grow a university requires disagreement and compromise.

“Sharing in the responsibility for governing, however, is sobering. It requires hard, continuing effort,” Bernstein said.

Samuel Osiah Their, who served as president of Brandeis from 19911994 and later president of Massachusetts General Hospital, conveyed the same tone that universities have always held a critical function for developing change among individuals and society.

“Universities, as established in the great medieval cities of Europe, are among society’s most enduring creations,” Their said on April 10, 1992.

Their told the community that universities should be considered in a separate group when budgets are cut because their contribution to society is difficult to measure.

“The punitive approach to the expenditure of public funds for research, which calls for arbitrary formularistic reductions, threatens the already-weakened infrastructure of the universities,” Their said. “And society does not yet fully realize that weakening the research universities is a direct threat to the social and economic future of this country.”

Joining Their at his inaugural festivities for an academic lecture that week was Morris B. Abram, who served as Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the European Office of the United

Nations in Geneva, and president of Brandeis from 1968-1970.

Abram’s service to the United Nations embodied a generational value to Charles Irwin Schottland, the third president of Brandeis, who also served as Commissioner of Social Security in the Eisenhower administration.

It was the baby-boom generation, the parents of the Vietnam protestors who “resisted territorial ambitions of others during World War II” and “created the United Nations as the symbol and protector of the costly victory they had won.”

Several Brandeis presidents advocated for the values of government and public service and the lessons they provide for Brandeis.

Former President Jehuda Reinharz embraced the analogy to government in his inaugural remarks on April 9, 1995.

“A university president is not unlike the mayor of a small city, who is involved in education, construction and facilities maintenance, snow removal, housing, dining services, security, athletic and entertainment programs, business and transportation services, and, of course, parking,” Reinharz said. “And always there are budgetary concerns. Like a city, we, too, have elections, a council – actually many councils and governing groups – numerous competing interests all vying for the same finite resources.”

Reinharz, who served as president during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression,

said more than a decade before that Brandeis as a university, would not be immune from economic reality.

“No, ladies and gentlemen, this is not the ivory tower; this is the real world!” he said.

Brandeis, like all private universities, relies on the federal government for funding of loans, scholarships, fellowships, research grants and stipends, yet for decades it has been forced to deal with the reality of budget cuts.

“The Federal government has assisted private colleges and universities in many ways,” Schottland said in 1971. “But these and other grants are now being reduced and the private college is struggling to adjust to decreasing federal support.”

In 1968, Abram also explained the comparison of a university to a government, suggesting that politics depends on education of citizens and their responsibility to participate.

“A university is a community of scholars. It is not a church nor a political party. It does not itself vote.

It should be crammed full of people who think, vote and participate in every level of life, including politics,” Abram said in 1968.

The role of government has been recognized in the honorary committees for inaugurations. In 1995, the committee included Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Senator John F. Kerry and Massachusetts Governor William Weld, among other politicians.

For Lawrence’s inauguration, both Kerry and Governor Deval Patrick are members of the honorary com-

March 25, 2011

mittee.

A Brandeis culture of diversity From its founding, Brandeis and its presidents have embraced ideals of diversity and openness to new ideas and backgrounds in their inaugural speeches.

For Reinharz, an immigrant who arrived with his family in New York in 1961, he emphasized the university’s desire to include others in his inaugural speech in 1995.

To Reinharz, like many other Brandeis presidents, Brandeis represented the resilience of the Jewish people.

“The founding of Brandeis University in the immediate aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust was a reaffirmation of the extraordinary vitality of the Jewish people who began rebuilding wherever Jews were dispersed,” Reinharz said.

“After the long darkness of the European right, what could be a more powerful symbol of freedom and light than a Jewish-sponsored university, open to all, regardless of race, creed, gender or economic means. The founding of Brandeis was a singular act of courage and faith,” he said.

Sachar said that advocating rather than hiding diversity would fulfill the Brandeis mission and create a legacy for other leaders and students.

“The precious groups that have come to these shores must not disappear into an assimilative cauldron; they must retain their uniqueness which has come out of their special heritage,” Sachar said in 1948.

“They must play in harmony with all the rest, else there is a dreadful cacophony. But playing in harmony, the very diversity of instruments adds richness and profundity to the symphonic effect.”

When Coretta Scott King visited Brandeis on Oct. 4, 1968 to deliver an address in the spiritual service before the president’s inauguration, she discussed the connection of discrimination between Jews and African-Americans.

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“As [African-Americans] are striking back sometimes in irrational anger, towards the white power and too often domination, they collide with the Jews as the white adversary,” King said in 1968. “If Jews and [African-Americans] cannot work this out with a maximum of understanding, it will be unfortunate because there are no two groups in our society at a point of confrontation who have greater understanding of each other than Jews and [AfricanAmericans].”

King said she believed that Jews and African-Americans, despite tensions, shared a journey of discrimination and that the “the [AfricanAmerican] struggle has been aided by the long Jewish fight for equality.”

But diversity, to the presidents of Brandeis, has also been about economics and financial well-being.

Reinharz, who arrived in America with little money and knowing no English, along with the fact that none of his immediate family had gone to college, used education as the tool to improve his quality of life. Specifically, in his inaugural address, Reinharz said it was scholarships that had transformed his life.

“Without full scholarships throughout my undergraduate and graduate years, provided both by private and government sources, combined with paid jobs during the school year and vacations, and without faith in me by my professors, I never would have made it,” Reinharz said.

When he began his fundraising campaign shortly after assuming the presidency, Reinharz said it was his desire to give back to the advantages available to him that motivated his travels.

“One of the reasons I accepted the Brandeis presidency was to ensure for others the same opportunity for a quality education with which I have been blessed. This is one of the reasons I have spent a good part of my first nine months in office traveling throughout the country and abroad, trying to raise scholarships funds for our students,” Reinharz said in 1995.

Openness to debate For all its idealism, Brandeis’ leaders also stressed the need, even when uncertainties of reaction loomed, to allow for free and open debate.

Referring to the Vietnam War, and the student protests that filled the nation, Abram said in 1968 that the students had a right to respond to the war, even if it made others uncomfortable.

“I can give no answer about a riot. The right of students to protest seems to me to be a right and not a privilege,” Abram said. “The right of students, faculty or anyone else to disrupt the learning process is no right at all. It is a wrong. And I will do everything I can to resist it.”

Reinharz also embraced open debate, reminding his audience in 1995, that universities are founded in order to foster dialogue.

“The world has undergone enormous change since 1948, not always for the better. Universities, however, remain islands of hope in a world that all to frequently fails to appreciate calm reason, open-minded dialogue, and respectful dissent,” he said.

Evelyn Erika Handler, the only female president of Brandeis, who served from 1983-1991, said that it was the students who hold the power to enact change, and the faculty who should motivate them.

“It is the responsibility of the faculty to demand that you grow intellectually. But it is your responsibility, however, to reach, to stretch, to find opportunities and also to take risks – for without risk-taking there can be no growth.”

On Thursday, President Lawrence will deliver his inaugural speech. He will be speaking not just to the community but to the leaders and legacies of the Brandeis history.

The Brandeis mission will not be told in the halls of Symphony Hall. Instead, it will be told inside a Brandeis building. It is a building that is part of a campus, a university and a vision that Sachar dreamed to imagine in 1948.

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EDITORIALS

8 The Brandeis Hoot

Established 2005 "To acquire wisdom, one must observe."

Alex Schneider Editor in Chief Destiny D. Aquino Managing Editor Nathan Koskella News Editor Jon Ostrowsky News Editor Leah Finkelman Features Editor Morgan Gross Impressions Editor Alex Self Impressions Editor Sean Fabery Arts, Etc. Editor Gordy Stillman Sports Editor Leah Lefkowitz Layout Editor Vanessa Kerr Business Editor Yael Katzwer Copy Editor Savannah Pearlman Copy Editor Ariel Wittenberg Associate Editor Photography Editors Nafiz “Fizz” Ahmed Ingrid Schulte Alan Tran

Senior Editors Bret Matthew Kayla Dos Santos Max Shay

Volume 8 • Issue 9 the brandeis hoot • brandeis university 415 south street • waltham, ma

Founded By Leslie Pazan, Igor Pedan and Daniel Silverman

STAFF Rick Alterbaum, Candice Bautista, Alana Blum, Chris Bordelon, Debby Brodsky, Emily Breitbart, Haley Fine, Emma Chad-Friedman, Jodi Elkin, Andrea Fishman, Paula Hoekstra, Adam Hughes, Gabby Katz, Josh Kelly, Christina Kolokotroni, Anthony Losquadro, Ariel Madway, Estie Martin, Alex Norris, Alexandra Patch, Lien Phung, Andrew Rauner, Alexandra Zelle Rettman, Ricky Rosen, Nate Rosenbloom, Imara Roychowdhury, Morgana Russino, Aaron Sadowsky, Jessica Sashihara, Aliza Sena, Emily Stott, Brian Tabakin, Ryan Tierney, Steven Wong, Yuan Yao and Suzanna Yu

Mission The Hoot is a community student newspaper of Brandeis University. Produced entirely by students, The Hoot serves a readership of 6,000 with in-depth news, relevant commentary, sports and coverage of cultural events. Our mission is to give every community member a voice.

SUBMISSION POLICIES The Hoot welcomes letters to the editor on subjects that are of interest to the community. Preference is given to current or former community members, and The Hoot reserves the right to edit or reject submissions. The deadline for submitting letters is Wednesday at noon.

Please submit letters to letters@thebrandeishoot.com along with your contact information. Letters should not exceed 500 words.

The opinions, columns, cartoons and advertisements printed in The Hoot do not necessarily represent the opinions of the editorial board.

connect On the Web http://thebrandeishoot.com http://twitter.com/thebrandeishoot http://facebook.com/thebrandeishoot General Inquiries Phone: (781) 330.0051 E-mail: eic@thebrandeishoot.com

March 25, 2011

WTF, OED?

T

hursday evening, the esteemed Oxford English Dictionary (OED) admitted three new “words” into its hallowed hardcover: “LOL,” “OMG” and “<3.”

Yes, apparently <3 is now a word.

There are no words, OED approved or otherwise, that could begin to describe the absolute horror that rippled through our office when this news was discovered. After all, as students who spend the great majority of our time piecing together words in an effort to relay the news, any language-based decisions hit us close to home.

The reasons the OED’s decision is ghastly are numerous. First, not one of the three newly admitted “words” are, in fact, words, according to the OED’s

own definition of a word as a “ speech, utterance [or] verbal expression.”

While “OMG” may be making its way into the audible vernacular, when was the last time you heard someone say “LOL”?

The admission of “<3” is another issue altogether, because not only is “<3” impossible to say, it is a concept that, when written out, doesn’t even include letters.

There is, of course the slight chance that the OED added these words in an attempt to be “hip” (and yes, we do mean hip, because that is how out of touch the dictionary must be). But let’s be real, OED, that’s just not the role you are meant to play.

The OED is meant to be the premier

example of what the best of the English language is. It was founded in 1857, which in Internet years means it’s been around FOREVER. It is a dinosaur. And while dinosaurs are certainly good for some things, like eating other dinosaurs and making sure you use words that actually exist, they certainly are not good at being cool—the OED has a type of comma named after it, for heaven’s sake.

The OED including these three Internet-born quasi-words is like The New York Times using emoticons in its headlines. It is like bouncers at bars letting in everyone without checking their ID. It is like Harvard admitting preschoolers.

So do yourself a favor, OED, stick to what you know and STFU.

Letters to the Editor Send letters to letters@thebrandeishoot.com

Brandeis University Hillel’s recent decision to reject Jewish Voice for Peace’s (JVP) membership application represents the most recent manifestation of a frightening trend permeating the Jewish communities in both Israel and the United States. Judaism has long been committed to freedom of expression and open debate, a tradition dating at least as far back as the Talmudic period. Recently there has been a shift in the opposite direction. In Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government’s launch of investigations into left-leaning organizations is eerily reminiscent of Cold War McCarthyism. This trend has manifested itself locally as well. Several months ago, an event planned by the left-leaning American Israel-Jewish organization, J Street, which was to be held at Temple Beth Avodah in Newton, Mass., was canceled just days before the event due to objections by a small number of board members. According to reports, these members objected to the political leanings of the organization, and therefore sought to exclude them from the public debate surrounding some Israeli policies within the Jewish community.

Rick Alterbaum’s column in the March 18 issue of The Hoot typifies the thinking of those who advocate for a more exclusionary approach to dialogue within the Jewish community. According to Alterbaum, individuals and organizations that advocate non-violent resistance to Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories “must be refuted to filter out the public discourse.”

This is to say that those who refuse to accede to Alterbaum’s view of what political positions are appropriate or inappropriate must be silenced so as not to “muddle” the public discourse. Such an undemocratic approach seems to be completely alien to both the values we hold as Jews and as Americans, and it is therefore difficult to understand how Alterbaum could defend such a position.

Alterbaum also makes a provocative assertion that groups that support political positions outside of the “mainstream” should be excluded from the larger community. In this case, Alterbaum argues that Hillel was justified in rejecting JVP’s membership application on the grounds that “JVP takes positions that are completely

out of the mainstream in relation to the pro-Israel community.” However, history is rife with examples of unpopular positions that we now judge to be not only just, but universal. Should the voices of those who fought for civil rights in the American south have been excluded from the public discourse because their ideas weren’t “mainstream” enough? Clearly we should not judge a concept, movement or policy based on its level of popularity.

Today, even in Israel, opinions range the entire spectrum from right to left. Having served in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) I can personally attest to the open debate raging even within Israel’s defense establishment. Should young people who risk their lives to protect their country, but hold political positions contrary to Alterbaum’s, be excluded from the public discourse? Should the American Jewish community attempt to silence those who support such positions?

Such moves fracture the Jewish community by alienating young liberal American Jews and in turn weaken Israel internationally.

—Danielle Einhorn

Attention club leaders Want to publicize an event? We have solutions for you: Special spring 2011 offer:

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ARTS, ETC.

March 25, 2011

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9

Almond brings joy to reading of stories

By Sean Fabery Editor

Author Steve Almond read excerpts from his short stories and essays on Wednesday at an event sponsored by the creative writing department. After the reading, he discussed his approach to his frequently comic work and his decision to begin printing some of his works outside the world of mainstream publishing.

Almond has had six of his books published professionally, including three books of essays and two short story collections. In addition to his writing, he frequently writes for The Boston Globe and previously served as an adjunct professor at Boston College. He famously resigned his professorship through an article published by The Globe in which he criticized the university’s decision to invite Condoleezza Rice to be the university’s commencement speaker.

Almond began the event by reading “Summers of Love,” a sun-drenched story of summer love that was touching in its frankness, laying bare the physical and emotional mechanics of a relationship destined to die young.

He did not confine himself to his fiction; he also read excerpts from his self-published “Letters from People Who Hate Me,” a collection of letters he received from readers angry with his articles. He included humorous responses to each one as part of the work.

As a writer known for his humor, Almond discussed humor writing at length. He cautioned aspiring writers

against believing that all comedy is superficial and that all profundity is the domain of more serious fare.

“That’s a real false dichotomy. The comic impulse is directly linked to the tragic impulse,” Almond said.

He described the two as being interconnected, with tragedy revealing causes for sorrow and comedy in turn giving instruction in how to best deal with sorrow.

“You have to grant a moment of forgiveness,” he said. “That’s what a joke is.”

He also noted the important role of comedy in forwarding the dramatic agenda, turning to “King Lear” for an example.

“The Fool gets to speak honestly to the king,” Almond said, also citing Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert as modern equivalents.

Almond also discussed the role of politics and sex in literature.

He defended writers like Kurt Vonnegut who incorporated political themes into their work, noting that all people should cultivate something of a political stance. He made the point that all writing is, in a sense, political, as good writing should “make you feel more than you did before.”

He also bemoaned the reluctance of many artists to incorporate sexuality into their works.

“That’s where a lot of interesting, human things happen,” Almond said.

Almond also described his own writing process.

“I usually stay very close to what my obsessions are and try to examine them,” he said.

When it comes time to actually write a story, he cited the value of

photo by alan tran/the hoot

almond joy Author Steve Almond read excerpts from his short stories and essays on Wednesday. He recently began independently publish-

ing some of his works.

precision and then beauty.

“It doesn’t matter how pretty it sounds if it’s not precise,” Almond said, noting that writers must carefully select the language most appropriate for their work.

“If [the words] are really true, then usually it’s beautiful,” he continued, later cautioning that “self-consciousness is the death of art.”

Almond also spoke at length about his recent involvement with independent publishing.

Having had six books released by major publishing houses—with his most recent, “Rock and Roll Will

Save Your Life,” having hit shelves only last year—Almond is hardly against traditional publishing, which he characterized as “an artist go[ing] into a partnership with a corporation.”

“I have nothing but gratitude for them,” he said, “but that world is contracting.”

Realizing that he was having trouble enticing publishers to print “certain weird, idiosyncratic books [he] wanted to put in the world,” Almond turned to nontraditional avenues of publishing.

Using the Harvard Bookstore’s

Espresso Book Machine—a device which allows customers to print their own works—Almond has printed three books: the aforementioned “Letters from People Who Hate Me;” the essay collection “This Won’t Take a Minute, Honey”; and “Bad Poetry,” which collects some of his worst poetry in a single volume. He sells these works exclusively at his book readings.

Thus far, he’s enjoyed his sojourn into independent publishing.

“Writers can create smaller, more personal books that serve as artifacts rather than merchandise,” he said.

Radiating danger: radiation in our everyday lives

By Gabby Katz Staff

Last week, we examined the negative effects radiation can have on the body and discussed the recent scare in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.

Again, our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan, and there are still many ways you can help, such as by donating to the American Red Cross. As a continuation of this discussion, I thought I would further investigate the radiation exposure we encounter daily and if this leaves us at risk of any negative effects. Moreover, I will dispute many of our radiation myths. So, let us begin with some of the main sources of radiation around us.

According to the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC), the main sources of radiation in our daily lives result from medical procedures, naturally occurring radiation in the soil and atmosphere, and radioactivity in our food. However, scientific discussion also points to exposure sources like security devices, household products and industrial buildings. The key to understanding these risks is to realize the amount of radiation emitted from each of these sources, as well as by understanding how much radiation we can tolerate safely.

The USNRC notes that medical procedures account for nearly 96 percent of human exposure to manmade radiation. Of these offending procedures, x-rays, mammography, CT use and nuclear medicine account for the majority of this radiation. A chart on the USNRC website reveals that a typical x-ray gives a dose of about 0.01rem, a mammogram gives 0.072rem, a full body

photo from internet source

danger Scientists remain uncertain to what degree radiation from cell phones can affect

mobile phone users.

CT scan gives 1rem and nuclear medicine emits about 0.4rem. What do these units mean? They indicate that about two x-rays can lead to genetically-modified Glowing Green Monster Syndrome or can make you climb walls and shoot spider webs out of your palms; Spiderman and The Hulk can attest. Of course, I’m just kidding. According to the Britannica Encyclopedia, rem is a unit of radiation dosage that is equivalent to the dosage of radiation in rads that will cause bodily damage of gamma rays. As a baseline for effects of the amount of rem received in a short

period, 1 rem is safe, 10 rem is safe but may slightly increase risk of cancer, 100 rem may cause health effects that are recoverable and may slightly increase risk of cancer and 1,000 rem will cause immediate detrimental health effects and can likely cause death. Comparing this to your average x-ray, the risk of experiencing effects caused directly by radiation seems fairly minimal and unrealistic.

If you are having many radioactive medical procedures, the amount of radiation to which you are exposed can increase quickly in a short space of time, so it is always important to

ask your doctor if the prescribed test is necessary and your best option.

One resource I stumbled upon is the website www.xrayrisk.com, which calculates your risk of radioactive effects by having you input your gender, age, number and type of exams, which it then compares to data about your estimated lifetime risk of death. I really like this because it not only estimates your overall lifetime risk of developing an invasive cancer based on known averages, but it puts into perspective the little risk of actual effects from medical procedures.

Looking at another type of radioactive source—our food—I was similarly unconvinced that we are truly at biological risk for radioactive exposure. Again the USNRC discusses that all organic matter contains small amounts of radiation from radioactive potassium and isotopes, as well as from water, which contains tiny amounts of uranium and thorium.

Another chart on their website reveals that the average person receives about 0.03 rem a year from foods like bananas, Brazilian nuts and white potatoes; these three are the top offenders. A process called food irradiation uses high doses of radiation to kill bacteria and parasites in processed and packaged foods; however, this does not leave us at significant risk of radiation exposure. So you can consume with ease, as it’s proved unlikely that any significant exposure will stem from your banana split.

Looking at the overall picture, the NRC says average Americans receive a radiation dose of around 0.62 rem a year, half of which comes from natural background radiation. Naturally occurring radiation comes mostly from soil, space and radon in the air we breath, and 0.31rem of the 0.62 comes from manmade sources of radiation. This yearly dose has proven

to not cause any harm in humans, so you can put away your lead jacket.

One recent study concerns the question of whether cell phones produce a significant amount of radiation. According to the National Cancer Institute, this concern stems from the kind of ewnergy that is emitted by the radio frequency waves of cell phones; this is called radiofrequency (RF) energy, a form of non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation. X-rays produce ionizing radiation, so there is yet to be strong conclusive evidence that indicates that non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation poses a cancer risk.

There have been suggestions from a few studies that it can slightly increase the risk of certain types of brain tumors, but this has yet to be adequately proven. There is, however, the notion that many of these studies are inconclusive due to variations in how and when people talk on their phone. This is complicated by the relatively short existence of cell phones, the possibility of carcinogenic exposure from other sources and the lack of information about RF energy exposure over a long period of time.

Whether or not using your cell phone is actually dangerous, people are exposed to radiation via the antennae on their phones; to reduce risk, one could use speakerphone rather than holding it up to your head.

With all the hype concerning radiation in the news recently, it’s easy to get caught up in the media and begin fearing contracting radiation poisoning. As proven by my research, our actual risk is very low and quite unlikely to result from biological effects. As always, tune in for more health tips and send me an e-mail at gkatz10@brandeis.edu with any health-related questions you may have.

10 ARTS ,ETC.

The Brandeis Hoot

March 25, 2011

Tympanium gives ‘Rent’ new lease on life

rent The cast of Tympanium Euphorium’s “Rent” recreated the magic of the wildly popular original musical. The show featured a diverse array of characters, ranging from starving artists to drag queens.

By Kayla Dos Santos Editor

Tympanium Euphorium took on the wildly popular musical “Rent” in a joyful and energetic production that celebrated the high and low points of the bohemian lifestyle. Featuring powerful solos and impressive character acting, “Rent” was one of the most polished shows I’ve seen at Brandeis thus far.

“Rent” is about a group of artists struggling to live in NYC; it tackles heavy issues from AIDS to homelessness, but also features moments of hilarity. One of the reasons that “Rent” is so appealing to young audiences is because the characters’ hopes and fears reflect our own.

Will we get lost in the crowd when

we live in a big city? Will we give up our dreams for cash? Will we love?

Will we cheat? Will we be loyal to our friends? All of these questions make “Rent” significant for those (especially seniors) contemplating life after college.

What makes “Rent” most fascinating is its vibrant cast of characters, which the Tymphanium Euphorium production makes the most of through their nearly spot-on casting choices. Jason Dick ’14’s take on Angel, the drag queen with a quirky sense of humor and a generous soul (she croons “Today for you and tomorrow for me”), is a sensitive and engaging one. There is no irony in his performance; he makes Angel into a real, hopeful person. Darlene Zephyrine ’12 as Joanne, a strong woman trying to cope with the way-

ward eyes of her life, is smart and passionate. It’s clear to everyone that she knows that Maureen (Zoey Hart ’13) is bad for her, but it’s equally clear that she’s in love with her as Zephyrine softens her facial expressions whenever Maureen enters the room.

Acting paired with superb singing was another high note for the production. Dotan Horowitz ’12 and Harrison Bannett ’11 as the roommates and fellow starving artists Roger and Mark had such good chemistry that it was easy to believe that they were best friends. In each of their duets they harmonized almost frighteningly well; “What You Own” in the second act was an especially powerful performance. Their harmonizing combined with their natural chemistry made any scene

photos by ingrid schulte/the hoot

bohemian rhapsody At left, Mark (Harrison Bannett)and Joanne (Darlene Zephyrine) dance to “TAngo Maureen.” At right, Roger (Dotan Horowitz), a former rocker, attempts to write a song.

featuring the two actors together a pleasure to watch. Horowitz’s rockand-roll tinged solos were also among the strongest of the night; his “One Song Glory” beautifully displayed his range.

Ellyn Getz ’13 gave a great performance as Mimi, a wild-child with a crippling addiction to drugs.

Getz provides her edginess with a streak of vulnerability. Yet sometimes Getz’s acting interfered with the quality of the song. In “Out Tonight,” she gives the song a rough quality perfectly in line with her character, though perhaps at the sacrifice of fully exhibiting her vocal range. During “Goodbye Love,” Getz sobbed in a convincing display of grief, but at the cost of breaking up the flow of the song.

Similarly, Robert Orzalli ’11 played a convincingly laid-back Collins, but seemed to struggle with the vocals at times. His duet “Cover You” with Zephyrine was somewhat disappointing as the two singers couldn’t seem to harmonize.

The ensemble songs were excellent. The familiar “Seasons of Love” was made fresh with superb male and female soloists from the company. “Another Day” was so good that I felt chills. It highlighted one of the triumphs of “Rent” which is to seamlessly interweave two narratives: Mimi trying to convince Roger to go out with her and enjoy himself, and a HIV group meeting and talking about their struggles.

This was, in part, due to the setup of the stage. Roger and Mark’s apartment is raised in the left corner of the stage, a small cramped space.

The rest of the stage is left open for the company, the inhabitants of the city, to walk around. The stage emphasized one of the play’s strongest themes, the existence of an individual story within the life of a community. Roger’s struggle to enjoy life in spite of his disease echoes those of the support group. His apartment represents his self-imposed isolation from the community and simultaneously shows that his personal

photo by ingrid schulte/the hoot

struggle is part of a larger narrative of a problem impacting a group of people. “Rent” is preoccupied with exploring an individual’s relationship with a community. The musical is constantly questioning: in a large city, how much do you owe to your landlords, your neighbors, your friends and your fellow bohemians?

Of course, the show wasn’t perfect, but the flaws were few. Sometimes the orchestra played too loudly and overwhelmed the singers’ voices, and Mark and Roger’s apartment sometimes made it hard to see what was going on, especially towards the end.

Putting on a show that has been extremely popular and has the cultural importance of Jonathan Larson’s “Rent” is both a benefit and a challenge. Since “Rent” is a fairly well-known musical, it was probably name recognition that brought many people to the door (and many people came; I was at the third soldout show), but it was talent that made them stay.

The challenge of putting on “Rent” is that it has become a phenomenon.

Many people love the show. The challenge is that this love then creates pressure to produce the show in a certain way, which could stifle a production’s creativity.

This was clearly on the director’s mind. Andrew Litwin ’11 wrote in the show’s program that his music director said “there is ‘Rent’ the phenomenon and ‘Rent’ the show.”

Litwin’s goal was to (as he puts it) “bring you ‘Rent’ the show.” There is the risk of losing some creative control over the direction of the production.

Did Tymphanium Euphorium’s “Rent” succeed in being the show and not the phenomenon? I’m not entirely sure. It was entertaining.

It was an impressive display of talent. The director, producer, cast and production staff should be proud of pulling off one of the most enjoyable shows at Brandeis. Yet the original “Rent” casts a long shadow and one can’t help comparing the two.

March 25, 2011

The Brandeis Hoot

ARTS, ETC.

11

Creative Writing

‘Storrs, Connecticut will fall off the face of the earth’

By Josh Kelly Staff

Sitting slumped against the window, I was fully aware of just how impossible it is to actually sleep comfortably on a bus. They have those foot stands for you, the ones that fold out and click into place, but let’s be real: you can’t sleep on a bus that easily. No one really sleeps; they just trance. They sit on the bus and, maybe if they’re exhausted enough then, they fall into a sort of halfasleep, half-awake state. It’s the funny zone where dialogue slips in and you can’t be sure if it’s real or if it’s a dream. Maybe something goes off in your brain that’s so real that you feel it has to be actually happening at that moment. That’s all that can be managed, and that’s the state I was in for a good part of the ride down.

Of course, I had brought a book with me, something for one of my classes. But somehow whenever there’s work to be done, that’s the best time to sleep. You never sleep as well as you do when you shouldn’t be sleeping.

Regardless of whatever tests I had coming up the next week—I don’t even remember at this point—I was fully intent on having an awesome weekend. After the past few weeks, I really just wanted to go down, visit my best friend, do some illegal shit, maybe find a girl at his school, maybe have sex with that girl at his school, and make my way back fully rested and ready to move forward.

But to be honest, I didn’t even know direction forward was anymore. I knew what backward was. I’d been going backward far too much. That definitely had to change.

“We’re different people you and I.” I jolted up and saw the trees outside, soaked in rainwater crashing down to the hard and dirty pavement.

One of those highways that’s barely a highway. Maybe it was a highway 25 miles ago, but here it’s just trees on either side of the fullest, darkest green with maybe a country-style wooden sign saying that you’ve entered a town you’ve never even heard of, and that they’re very glad to have you in addition to its vast and growing population of 1,700.

Her black hair was perfect, soft and long, curly with a few strands here and there that didn’t quite fit.

Bad hair day to her, not to me. Those strands just made the picture better.

She had character, and yet she tried to stifle it, tried to apologize for it. I didn’t want to hear it. I just wanted to look at her. I just wanted to stroke her cheek, enticing her already inviting lips to want mine as badly as mine wanted hers. Just like it was a thousand times before. So it would be tonight. Or, this afternoon on the bus, I thought in my half-awake trance.

But it wasn’t so. Before I knew what was going on, she was crying.

Don’t bother crying, just stop this from happening. Tell me you’re sorry and that you wish you could take it back. And mean it. I don’t want to do this, I don’t want to end us.

You’re forcing me to.

Thunder clapped overhead. You might think that this would jolt me awake, but not this one. This time I came back slowly, and gently became aware of the strangers around me, and the glass my face was rather awkwardly pressed up against.

“UConn!” the conductor announced to the passengers. I looked around and saw everyone stand-

graphic by ariel wittenberg/the hoot

ing up around me. I then grappled with all of my stuff. Had to get the book I was trying to read back into my duffle, smushed in with my laptop, charger, pair of jeans, polo and pineapple boxers. Yes, that’s right. I said pineapple boxers. I can imagine at this point a significant amount of jealousy might arise in any average reader. Who wouldn’t want boxers with pineapples on them? I could have left that out, but I really just wanted to tell the story as accurately as possible. Once I had my stuff together I zipped up my jacket and made my way off of the bus to wait for my friend in this strange land.

BUZZBUZZ. My phone went off.

Probably my mom. Yep, it was my mom. “Hi! Sorry to bother you, and I won’t bother you again this weekend, just wanted to make sure you made it down there alright! Don’t ignore me. That would be very rude.

Love … Mom” I texted back: “Yep. I’m here.”

Sometimes I felt bad about being so curt with my texts but c’mon; was it really necessary for me to tell her every step of the way where I was?

Look at it this way. I’m in college now. I can do nearly anything without her knowing, provided I don’t get into trouble with the school or the police. Or I suppose the school police, but that would just be kind of a joke. Like “Hey BranPo! You really trying to get me in trouble? Really?

Is this happening?! Ha!,” and then I just walk away chuckling quietly to myself. The point is, though, that if I hadn’t told her that I was going down to UConn for the weekend, then she wouldn’t have had any idea that I was going at all. She’d have assumed I was just chilling out in my dorm, safe and sound. Solid argument for just not telling parents stuff, but then again, I guess it’s good to communicate with parents.

I just wished that she wouldn’t force it. BUZZBUZZ. “OK, have a great weekend!”

“You, too, Mom!” Man, it was freezing out there.

The crisp, windy Storrs air was definitely getting to me. I texted my friend. “Hey man, I just got here!

Your campus is way too cold, and I blame you fully for this. Please consider inventing something to make it warmer with your intense engineering brain!”

BUZZBUZZ. “Haha, I’ll see what I can do. Where are you exactly? I’m coming to find you. Hold tight!”

“Yeah, I’m by the Co-Op,” I said, as I read the sign above the nearest building.

I walked in, found a nice little castiron chair and grabbed a seat. The campus seemed kind of quiet, but then again, it was Friday at around 7 p.m. What campus isn’t a little quiet around that time? It’s like the quiet before the storm. Surely later there would be parties, random drunken escapades, maybe someone running down the sidewalk naked chanting “Common Sense” by Thomas Paine to the tune of “Friday” by Rebecca Black (well, not really by Rebecca Black, but you get what I mean). As I sat down I went into trance-stage again. I was, after all, pretty tired.

“Hey! Ya know what would be fun?? If we went to a movie together, and you were dressed as Indiana Jones, and I was dressed as Princess Leia.”

I smiled. You’re awesome, ridiculous … and awesome. “Hmmm I’m not sure how that would work out.

I feel like we’d get a lotta odd looks.

Plus why would you be Princess Leia and not … hmm, I don’t even know who the main female character is in any of the Indiana Jones movies.”

“Exactly! No one knows! Princess Leia is like 10 times stronger of a character than any dumb Jones bimbo!”

“Bimbo … ?”

“Hey you sonuvabitch!” I was violently brought out of trance by my best friend. He had somewhat of a

coarse sense of humor. Don’t get me wrong, we got along and still do. Everything flowed with him. Just saying, sometimes he didn’t know when to stop.

I smiled and stood up, grasping him in a hug. “Good to see you man!

How you been?”

“Awesome, orchestra’s driving me crazy, but it’s all good. Dude, this is my roommate Jerry.”

Jerry had a goofy look about him.

He was wearing a hat that literally looked like a squirrel. Not squirrel fur molded into something hat-like, but actually a real-live, nut-eating adorable critter. And he wore it like it was nobody’s business. I admired that. I shook his hand. Then I picked up my stuff and at my friend’s word we took off toward his dorm.

The moon was a tiny little crescent in the sky, providing very little light. But, through the miniscule amount of illumination, I could make out the general surroundings.

I was atop a brick sidewalk, next to a road that looked like maybe it was used as a main road at times, but was really just meant for college people.

On both sides there were solid brick buildings. Not old brick. These buildings were obviously new, not decayed quite yet, and with classy iron plaques indicating the names.

In a way, they screamed both “New England” and “I just made a lot of money off a research project involving rhesus monkeys so I donated it to my school to get a building named after me!” at the same time and in perfect balance.

“I hope you’re ready to get fucked up Dude!”

“Sounds damn good to me, Bro, I’ve had a hell of a week.”

“Aw, I’m sorry man, what happened?”

“Eh, we can go into it later.”

“On the bright side,” my friend started, somewhat ignoring the fact that I did in fact have a rough week, “my friend Jessi has someone visit-

ing tonight. Get it in!”

I can’t deny I was a bit intrigued.

The prospect of any new girl, even just for a night, was inviting to say the least. “Haha, sweet. Sounds good, but first I gotta get some food.

I’m starving.”

“Aw, yeah, no problem, Dude.”

So off we went to his favorite dining hall. I feel I should stop the story here just to clear up some possible misconceptions. It’s natural to read this opening of a story and come to some basic conclusions. For example, a reader might conclude that it is a standard story of some 18-ish kids searching for ways to intoxicate themselves, finding said ways and then proceeding with wild, stupid adventures. A reader might also conclude that this is a story about some sad-sack trying to get over a girl, or a few girls who didn’t treat him that well. Maybe he’ll complain a little bit and then have some magical epiphany. A reader might also conclude that Jessi’s friend is going to be central in the coming pages. She’s a new girl, and it’s perfectly logical to think “Oh, the main character’s had some rough times, and now he’s going to get just the rebound he needs. Jessi’s friend will probably be the perfect sweetheart to inspire the main character to move on and believe in himself again.”

I just needed to clear these up because frankly, all of those stories have been done multiple times in many different ways, and, if I were a reader, I’d be a little tempted to just stop reading at this point. Let me assure you though, this story, while it will include elements of what has been mentioned above, will be something unique. It will go places unexpected and do things perhaps a little controversial. Be prepared.

To be continued in a future issue of The Hoot ...

Submit your creative fiction, poetry and personal essays to The Hoot! E-mail arts@thebrandeishoot.com today!

12 ARTS ,ETC.

The Brandeis Hoot

‘Gaze’

March 25, 2011

Two paintings by Christina Kolokotroni ’14

Recipe: Orzo with Sautéed Vegetables

By Alana Blum Staff

Ingredients: • 1 red bell pepper, 1” diced • 1 yellow bell pepper, 1” diced • 1 orange bell pepper, 1” diced • 1 yellow onion, peeled and 1” diced

• ½ pound orzo • 1 teaspoon of olive oil • Salt and ground black pepper (optional)

For dressing:

• 1/3 cup olive oil • 1/3 cup lemon juice (you can also substitute balsamic vinegar for the lemon juice) • Salt and ground black pepper (optional)

Directions: 1. Sprinkle one teaspoon of olive oil into a frying pan. Toss in the diced onion and sauté over medium heat for about three-to-five minutes. Add the bell peppers to the frying pan and sauté the vegetable mixture for another five to ten minutes, until the vegetables are cooked throughout.

2. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a rolling boil (add salt if desired). Add the one-half pound of orzo and let it cook for about seven-to-nine minutes, stirring occasionally. When the orzo is tender, drain and transfer to a large bowl.

3. Combine the one-third cup olive oil and one-third cup lemon juice (or balsamic vinegar) and pour the dressing over the pasta. Add the sautéed vegetables while mixing. graphic by steven wong/the hoot

4. Serve hot or at room-temperature.

Arts Recommends

Not everyone has the time to see the latest films or read the newest bestseller. We make some recommendations that you can pick up at the nearest library.

Film ‘Inglourious Basterds’ A band of Jewish Americans embark on a plot to kill as many Nazis as possible in Nazi-occupied France. That would be a pretty audacious plot for any film, but Quentin Tarantino pulls it off beautifully, balancing his penchant for killer dialogue with a stellar ensemble cast (surprisingly, the Basterds prove to be the least engaging characters in the film). The film has come under fire for switching the historical role of the Jews and Nazis. However, it’s hardly that simple, as there are actual consequences for their drive for vengeance. And Tarantino, always the cineaste, also makes “Inglourious” a commentary on the potency of film; it’s not a coincidence that some of the most prominent characters are cinema owners, movie stars and film critics.—SF photo from internet source

IMPRESSIONS

March 25, 2011

Book of Matthew

By Bret Matthew

The Brandeis Hoot

13

Scenes from Brandeis’ past, part three: Aramark’s arrival

Editor

If you checked your mailbox recently, you probably found a small ballot with some ideas for dining reform on it. Go ahead and fill it out, if you haven’t already. It’s courtesy of the Justice League, Brandeis’ friendly neighborhood activist group, which plans to hand-deliver all the ballots to President Lawrence.

This sort of thing happens a lot at Brandeis—maybe not the random ballots, but the idea of rallying for dining reform. Once again, students want Aramark, our dining provider, to change or get out.

But one question has, for the most part, gotten lost in the flurry of ballots and banners: How, exactly, did we get saddled with these Aramark guys in the first place?

For the answer, we’ll have to travel back to the 1997-1998 academic year. Up until that point, Brandeis dining had been run by the university itself, through Dining Services.

It had some problems. Meal plans were inefficient and some of the most expensive in the country, choices were limited, and it was generally agreed among students that food quality left much to be desired.

One student said in a 1998 Justice interview, “It would be great if we got better food because then we wouldn’t have to go home reeling ill after every meal.”

Not exactly the best way to sell a product.

Sometime in 1997, administration officials decided that it was time for something completely dif-

Engrossing

By Morgan Gross Editor

Wednesday morning, I walked into my 10 a.m. class, fresh off of an all-nighter, groggy, waiting for the caffeine coursing through my veins to reach my brain (because that’s totally how it works) and generally hating the world.

The week had been too much already. Twenty pages of writing, a midterm, extracurricular work, housing drama and interpersonal tension had left me completely drained and utterly miserable.

Pondering my unhappiness, I took my seat, turned on my computer and went about my pre-class rituals.

I checked my e-mail, pulled up a fresh Word document on which to take notes, surveyed Skype—simply for the purpose of seeing who I could complain to about my horrendous week—and finally opened Safari to check my Facebook to see what had happened in the 20 min-

ferent.

On Nov. 25 of that year, they announced in that day’s Justice plans to take bids from private companies for control over the university’s dining operation.

Brandeis Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President Peter French told the Justice that he hoped contracted food service would allow Brandeis to improve the “variety, customer service, and quality” of campus dining, without raising meal plan prices.

By January 1998, four companies responded to the university’s requests for proposals (RFPs): Sodexho Management Company, Marriot Education Services, Chartwell’s and, of course, Aramark Corporation.

Brandeis Dining Services also made a bid, in an attempt to keep control over dining.

Almost immediately, the decision to outsource became controversial.

“They’re selling us down the river,” said one anonymous Dining Services employee in a Jan. 20, 1998 Justice article about the proposed change.

Many long-time employees worried that a restructuring of dining by a private company would cost them their retirement benefits, health insurance, sick time or even their jobs.

Though the administration promised dining employees that they would be offered jobs with equivalent benefits packages under any circumstances, some workers— and students—were not convinced.

Justice columnist David Nurenberg, writing in the Jan. 20 issue, worried that nothing would prevent a private company from laying off workers once Brandeis handed

them the keys. In his column “Outsourcing has its price,” he cited a layoff that occurred at MIT in 1995, for which Aramark was responsible.

According to a report by MIT’s student newspaper, The Tech, the associate director of food services at MIT claimed to have no say in how Aramark hired or fired workers.

“How can we in good conscience agree to a plan that could throw current employees and their families into unemployment?” Nurenburg wrote. “Would we want our parents’ jobs put in that kind of jeopardy?”

Not all students shared these fears.

In a Jan. 27, 1998 Justice op-ed, Miriam Heller argued that even though the university is a business, it need not be in the business of food production. “Brandeis simply cannot be competitive in today’s market if it continues to operate like a Mom and Pop store,” she wrote.

A letter written to the Justice that same week pointed out that Dining Services was infamous for paying low wages and, as a result, had trouble attracting employees.

The letter suggested that there was little to lose by going private, and if the university did not like the results it could always let the new company go.

While this debate was going on, the administration held several open forums to try to address student questions about possible changes. The Justice, meanwhile, embarked on an investigation of all parties submitting a bid.

Reporters interviewed students and administrators from colleges and universities that had contracted out their dining services. In almost all cases, the results were almost

uniform: At each school, administrators were enthusiastic about their partnership with private dining companies, while students were considerably less so—in most cases, because of disappointing food quality.

At around the same time, Brandeis’ imperiled Dining Services made its last stand. At the end of January 1998, Dining Services managers proposed to students several changes that would occur of they maintained control of dining, such as a grill station in Sherman, madeto-order breakfasts, expanded vegan and vegetarian options, and an as-of-yet untried all-points meal plan.

They complained, however, that a “dearth of departmental resources” prevented them from raising Brandeis dining to its full potential.

Dining Services’ inability to fill necessary positions, they said, was the result of an overly strict budget.

The managers also warned of the consequences of outsourcing.

“There will be a price paid in terms of the sense of community,” said Mike Falconer, general manager of Usdan, at the presentation. “Is this what the university is willing to sacrifice for the bottom line?”

Their pleas earned sympathy from some students. One letter to the Justice following the presentation took the side of dining employees, while accusing the administration of being too quick to outsource, without attempting to solve problems within the structure already in place. The authors of the letter also not-sosubtly accused the administration of purposely restraining the ability of Dining Services to improve itself.

Nevertheless, on Feb. 27, 1998 the

university decided to outsource its dining and by September Aramark, the winning bidder, was running the dining halls.

Many of the fears that had been raised during the outsourcing process did not, thankfully, come to pass.

The second it signed its two-year contract, Aramark immediately hired all Dining Service employees and negotiated a deal with their union.

But beneath all the flashy renovations, not everything had changed.

Just before the final decision was made, in his Feb. 10, 1998 column “A genuine and official administrative blunder,” Justice columnist Lee Rubin pointed out that most of the changes that the bidding companies proposed involved either physical adjustment to dining hall layout or changes that had already been suggested by Dining Services.

One thing that was not guaranteed to change was food quality.

“The actual food may be very similar to the food served now,” Rubin wrote, “only it will be served under a pretty new sign with some neon lighting.”

Or, as Tywanna Taylor ’00 put it when interviewed for an earlier Justice article: “I’m not for it. I’ve spoken to friends who go to schools who have outsourced. It’s all good for a few months, then it changes.”

More than anything else, these last two predictions were the ones that eventually came to pass. Which is why after 13 years of an effective Aramark monopoly over student dining, students are still not satisfied with the food on campus and are still signing petitions begging for change.

From tragedy comes perspective utes since I left Shapiro Campus Center after a full night of being there.

At first, I saw nothing special.

I scrolled through new friendship notifications, announcements that Hannah was now in a domestic partnership with Emma and that Sarah and Jeff were TOTALLY over (it looked messy).

I set my status to something melancholy and continued to surf through the sea of song lyric statuses and birthday wishes, when suddenly I saw something that made my stomach turn.

A rabbi that I had met during a stay in Israel posted a status that read as follows: “As many have heard, there was a bomb placed next to a telephone pole in Jerusalem which injured 25 people (I heard the explosion at the synagogue).”

These simple two sentences caused me to break into a cold sweat, turning a bad mood into a frantic one.

With more than a dozen friends studying in Israel and seven or eight in Jerusalem—just blocks away from the central bus station that played host to this bombing—to say that I was panicked when I read this news is an understatement.

Within 15 seconds, I had scoured Google News for any scrap of information about the incident.

I learned quickly that there had been one fatality and 25-or-so injuries from the bombing.

Instantly, my heart began to race.

What if one of my friends had been a victim of the bombing, one of the 25 (or maybe even worse).

I began to compulsively check Facebook and make calls to make sure that everyone was safe.

Several hours later, once I had heard from everyone that I know, and was assured of their safety, I sat down in the library with a large cup of tea and let myself relax for the first time in several hours. In this moment, I had a realization.

W

ith more than a dozen friends studying in Israel and seven or eight in Jerusalem—just blocks away from the central bus station that played host to this bombing—to say that I was panicked when I read this news is an understatement.

I had been focusing so intensely on my life here at Brandeis, I had forgotten that there was a larger world outside of Waltham.

While Brandeis looks, feels and smells very much like the real world, it is fundamentally different and it is important to keep that in mind.

Wednesday was hell for me, but it might have been the most important realization at Brandeis so far.

I now understand that even on my worst day here at Brandeis, my life is still pretty darn good.

I gained a totally new and necessary perspective.

It is so easy to get caught up in— what my anthropology course refers to as—the imponderabilia of actual life.

We obsess about grades, friends, sex, work relationships and what Sherman is serving for lunch.

We allow ourselves to become immersed in all of the stresses that come with everyday life here and don’t realize that life exists beyond the Brandeis bubble.

14 IMPRESSIONS

Self Shelf

The Brandeis Hoot

March 25, 2011

Judging the judge selection process

By Alex Self Editor

In the status quo, there’s a problem in the United States judiciary system.

Currently, 39 states elect their local judges. While this may at first seem like a fine example of the democratic process, I believe there are severe drawbacks that hurt justice and the perception of the judiciary as a whole.

The first area of analysis I wish to focus on is the purpose of the judiciary. When the framers first came up with the idea of the judiciary, it was based on the idea that it would be an impartial check on the will of the people. While the legislative branches were entirely democratically driven, the judiciary would be the one to make sure that laws passed never violated the constitution. Arguably the most famous example of this is the Supreme Court’s power of judicial review which involves reviewing acts of Congress to ascertain whether or not they are constitutional. The problem with having judges elected is that it leads to the perversion of any kind of impartiality on the part of judges. If a judge wishes to be elected (and reelected), she must pander to the interests of the democratic will, which hampers her ability to be impartial.

Take the example of Minnesota judicial candidate Tim Griffith. Already, he has announced that he is running on a Tea Party platform and that he opposes the judicial decisions against banning abortion and prayer in public schools (Minnesota Independent).

He has turned the judiciary into a political soapbox. I’m not trying to argue that judges cannot have bi-

Altered Conciousness

By Rick Alterbaum Columnist

One pattern concerning the current administration is that President Obama simply cannot make a decision for his life.

Take Libya for instance. Initially, Obama equivocated, pouted and prevaricated. He said Colonel Qaddafi must stop the violence. He imposed some sanctions. He stated that the International Criminal Court should indict him, that the Arab League ought to help out and that the United Nations should get involved. Meanwhile, Qaddafi continued his murderous rampage.

Ultimately, after more than three long weeks, Obama did not make a decision on the matter; instead the United Nations Security Council did it for him.

There are good arguments for and against intervening in Libya. Advocates state that Qaddafi would massacre his own people and destabilize the region and the flow of oil. Additionally, the unhinged authoritarian could return to his old nuclear-weapons-building terrorism-supporting ways with a vengeance after the uprising is suppressed.

Furthermore, Qaddafi’s victory would encourage massive brutality from other beleaguered dictators and would signal a decline in Western credibility.

Conversely, promoters of the opposite view judge intervention as hypocritical, considering other humanitarian crises around the world. They also warn of mission creep, another Iraq, the possibility of an Islamist takeover

ases—this would be impossible—but instead that they should not be in the position of having to pander to their local electorate. It is difficult for a judge to be an effective check on the local legislature if they have to rely on the same votes of the people who elected the legislature. Finally, the idea of a judge doing what Griffiths has done—running campaign ads, going out to the people and promising them certain decisions—is quite alarming. A judge’s loyalty should be to the local constitution, not the local electorate. Judges campaigning publicly shatters the ideal of judicial impartiality.

The second huge harm of electing judges is the threat of special interests. Now that we have thrown judges into the political fray, it is only natural that special interests will want to sway judicial candidates by offering them campaign money. The same thing is considered a bad part of the electoral system with politicians but it is especially harmful with judges. To illustrate this point, I will provide an example. Imagine that the local gigantic company in your neighborhood lobbies the legislature and is thus able to get a series of lucrative dumping contracts, which results in toxic waste flowing through your backyard. Your recourse is to file for an injunction in your local county court. Unfortunately for you, the local company has also lobbied the judge and he delivers a partisan decision against you due to his interest in receiving funding for the next election campaign. The point is that the check on legislative interests is now just as susceptible to the harms of special interests as the legislature. At this point, it is hard to get an effective justice system. Addition-

ally, these measures can lead to companies trying to stack courts ideologically in their favor. If you don’t believe me, you can consult the example of a West Virginia Supreme Court judge whose campaign was sponsored by a coal company who refused to recuse himself when dealing with a lawsuit against the company. Naturally, he was the decisive vote in declaring the coal company cleared of all charges.

Finally, there is the danger of judicial candidates promising favors to special interests in order to get elected—it happens with politicians and it happens with judges in states that elect them. Thus, the judiciary, which is supposed to be the dam against the overpowering wealth and political capital of special interests, can be easily overrun by corrupt judges.

The final harm I wish to illustrate is to the perception of the judiciary.

When judges don the black robes, they are supposed to lose their identity as a citizen and take up that of an impartial arbiter of society. When you have judges running attack ads or campaigning desperately for votes, it severely harms this image. The dangers of the loss of face are paramount insofar as the judicial branch thrives on legitimacy. If I were a homosexual in a district where the judge campaigned on an anti-gay marriage platform, I’m not going to feel I can get a fair trial if I’m brought before him. This will lead to insecurity and that leads to a loss of liberty. When I feel that I cannot fully live my life the way I wish to because I cannot get a fair trial, it is a huge psychological harm. If I were to be charged with a crime, I should face an enigma, an embodiment of the authority of the law. Justice has no political party—our justices shouldn’t

graphic by leah lefkowitz/the hoot

it would be far better than the status quo. When justices wear the clothes of politicians, they cannot perform nor look the role of judges—it’s high time we made sure they wore the robes of non-bias that they are supposed to wear.

The Chosen Rosen

Decisively indecisive or further instability in Libya, and the notion that Arabs would view foreign interference as being imperialist in nature.

My point though is that Obama, as the leader of by far the most powerful country in the world, ought to have taken a stand, pro or con or neutral, stuck by it and acted upon it. This he did not, until his beloved international community pushed him into doing so.

Certainly Libya is not the first example of such behavior. In Egypt, Obama was all over the place: Hosni Mubarak should stay, go, make concessions, negotiate with the opposition, call for free elections, stay again, etc. Again, Obama did not make the decision; the people of Egypt rallying in Tahrir Square as well as the military, which feared the loss of legitimacy if they started shooting the protesters, did, without even considering the president the United States. We are witnessing similar murkiness in regards to the situations in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen, among other places.

Alternatively, if Obama does issue a pronouncement, it inevitably disappoints everyone. Back in 2009, after months of consultations, in-depth seminars, hearings and review sessions, he resolved that he would increase troop levels in Afghanistan and then draw them back a few months later. The subsequent reaction by most commentators was rightful confusion. Or remember the Park 51 mosque controversy last year? He stated that he valued the right to have religious freedom, but then questioned the wisdom of constructing

either.

So how do I propose that societies select judges? I believe it should be by a by-partisan commission of some sort—equivalent to the Gang of 14 in the Senate seems like a worthy model.

This may not be a perfect solution but

Shedding light on the Facebook frenzy

By Ricky Rosen the building near Ground Zero. People had the same reaction: which side are you on?

This vacillation is not limited to foreign policy. Obama left all of the dirty work involved with writing the health reform bill to Congress. And on the 2012 budget, he is once again letting Republicans and Democrats in the Senate and House brawl it out, rather than get too personally involved.

Like him or not, our prior president, George W. Bush, had convictions, a sense of moral clarity and purpose, hearkening back to Ronald Reagan.

When he stated that Saddam Hussein must relinquish all weapons of mass destruction or else, he meant it. When he declared that all human beings living under tyranny and despotism deserve individual freedom and the right to elect their own rulers, he truly believed it.

People elected President Obama in part because he was the antithesis of Bush and his perceived recklessness.

But instead of choosing a leader who makes judgments not on impulse but on carefully calculated reason, we got someone who seems perpetually paralyzed. You cannot run a country where the tiniest minutiae of every issue are analyzed ad nauseum, or where you fear that if you take a stand, it will be too offensive, politically costly or provocative. In short, you can’t vote present, like Obama did as a State Senator in Illinois 129 times.

So alas, I beseech our hesitant president: do something, the world is watching.

Columnist

F-A-C-E-B-O-O-K. Facebook: a word that has so many connotations and contexts that people forget it’s not even a word: (it’s a portmanteau!).

Who knew that one phrase could embody the heart of contemporary American culture and the manic obsession of our entire generation?

This is nothing new—for the last two years, people have written thousands and thousands of pages on the ground-breaking impacts of Facebook. History textbooks a hundred years from now will look back on our time and marvel at how one socialnetworking platform could reach so many different people within a society and across the world.

Besides being the most visited website in the world in 2010, Facebook has pervaded every aspect of our everyday lives. You know what I’m talking about—you’ve seen “The Social Network” (four times) and you’ve heard your friends using “Face-talk” on a daily basis, saying they need to “poke” so-and-so back, or “tag” someone in a photo, or “update their status,” or “check out their wall-to-wall” with someone. You know all this and yet you succumb to the allure of the Facebook craze— you hastily type in the eight letters that will calm your mind’s hunger for social connection. You type in your password and hit enter, waiting one extended moment to be accepted into the (not-so) exclusive Facebook universe. And finally, you’re in.

But just like dinner at Aunt Betty’s (or a horribly awkward first date), the problem isn’t getting in, it’s getting out. Upon entering the Facebook universe, you find yourself captivated by all the photos and statuses and applications. Your fingers become click-happy and guide you from page to page, from person to person, as you passively wait on the sidelines for the willpower to leave.

And once you do, you’re not gone for long—you find yourself having the urge to check your Facebook in class and in the bathroom and while waiting in line for food. Luckily, like all things, technology has kept pace with your needs, and you can now access Facebook from your Blackberry or iPhone or your TV at home. The frenzy never ends.

I personally have seen people on Facebook at the movies, at the mall, at the dinner table, while doing homework and at sporting events; and even if they’re not checking their Facebook while at these events, they log in the second they get back to a computer. It seems people no longer do things for fun anymore. People now view everything as a means to an end, and that end is Facebook.

Three or four years ago, things were not as dire as they are right now. Facebook was an above-average social networking site comparable to Myspace, Xanga, Tumblr, LinkedIn, LiveJournal or, if you were me as a teenager, Habbo Hotel. Back then, Facebook was just a website that people logged See FACEBOOK, page 15

March 25, 2011

Sexcapades

By Sophie Riese Columnist

Recently someone mentioned to me that they noticed I was writing more theoretical pieces these days, whereas before I was much more sexually focused. I explained that while I hadn’t thought of it before, it has something to do with the fact that

IMPRESSIONS 15

The Brandeis Hoot

My best friend’s ex-boyfriend?

graphic by ariel wittenberg/the hoot

I’ve been in a monogamous relationship since August, making the crazy stories few and far between, and making me reluctant to spill all the private details. This is perhaps unfair to my readers, however, and since there are only about five weeks more before I graduate, I’d love to hear from people and answer their questions.

To get on topic, however, recently I’ve been thinking about the com-

plexities involved when friends or roommates have interests that overlap or collide. My roommate and I have completely different tastes in guys.

On the rare occasions when the same guy happens to be interested in both of us (even if it’s at different times), there’s pretty much a zero percent chance that if one of us is interested, the other will be too. The reason I say these times are rare is because we too

are very different, and I’m more the short and dark type, while my roommate is tall and bright, and so a guy pretty much has to have no type to be interested in both of us. We’ve been lucky because the fact that we have distinctly different types has meant we have never needed to fight over a guy. It is true, however, that, sometimes, the guy one of us likes is actually into the other one. We’ve also been lucky that we’ve never simultaneously dated guys who were friends or roommates, tying each of our relationships to the other’s.

But this isn’t true for everyone.

When I was but a lowly first-year, returning single from winter break, my friend endeavored to introduce me to a senior she knew, whom she thought I would like. I actually met the guy on my own at a party, we hit it off and the next day we went on the first of many dates.

Things eventually stalled, however, and I discovered that his roommate and best friend was also interested in me, making it difficult for him to take things further with me. For him, this may have been a moral dilemma (or a sudden lack of interest), but for his roommate, it certainly was not. No sooner were we done with the dates than did the roommate swoop in, eventually convincing me to carry on a sexual relationship that lasted long after he graduated.

Another common situation is one where a guy starts dating a girl and she starts bringing her friends around so that her new beau gets to meet them.

Eventually, his roommate(s) find that they might have a good chance with some of her single friends, and we all know what happens from there. But what happens when one of the relationships ends? Do they all have to end or can some remain while others fall by the wayside? Obviously, this probably depends on the maturity levels of all parties involved, but it can be difficult for people (guys or girls) to maintain relationships that are not amenable to their closest friends and/ or roommates.

So how complicated is too complicated? At what point are our friendships allowed to interfere with our relationships and vice-a-versa? In college, everything risks being temporary—both friendships and relationships—making it difficult to examine fully the trade-offs we have to make in tough situations. The truth is, however, that college is filled with all of these little traps. Especially at a school as small as Brandeis, eventually you’ll meet a friend’s ex and think he’s cute, something will start up, and then you’re all faced with the problem of “is this OK?” Personally, I’ve always been kind of easygoing, as long as enough time has passed, I’m not about to stop any of my friends from dating my ex, even if I’m still into him.

And I would want my friends to do the same for me—just because things didn’t work out for us doesn’t mean that my ex and my friend don’t have a chance at some sort of lasting happiness.

Facing the Facebook addiction FACEBOOK, from page 14

into from time to time to update their profile or talk to their friends when AIM wasn’t working. And not everyone had a Facebook back then.

Many of my friends resisted the trend and refused to conform. But they, like most of the world, eventually gave in to the hype. Nowadays, you’d be hard pressed to find a single person in high school or college in the United States who does not have a Facebook.

According to techcrunch.com, 85 percent of college students currently have a Facebook page. Facebook has become more than a website—it’s a division of our culture and our lifestyle. Everyone has a Facebook.

The problem with Facebook isn’t that so many people have accounts or even that 50 percent of all active Facebook users log in every single day (as noted by OpenCulture.com), the problem is the amount of time people spend on Facebook. Most of us do not log in once a day—we log in three or four times a day and we spend hours online. According to OpenCulture. com, all the users of Facebook combined spend more than 700 billion minutes each month on Facebook.

700 billion minutes. That’s 4.2 trillion seconds spent staring at a computer screen browsing through photos and typing messages to friends.

Think about all the other things you could be doing with that time.

For ourselves, we could be practicing good hygiene (chronic Facebook use is the cause of halitosis!) or watching a movie or playing hand-ball with friends. Or we could be doing things for others like listening to people who need someone to talk to or helping a friend learn calculus. And, as fun as all that sounds (especially the calculus part), the point is that these things would be a better way to spend our

time than sitting at a chair sluggishly for hours watching the sunshine fade into dusk.

And that’s exactly what people with Facebook do. They wake up in the morning and immediately think: “I wonder if I got any new notifications!” Not: “I wonder if my little sister got over her latest break-up!” or “I wonder if the situation in the Middle East is getting any better!” But they think about Facebook. OpenCulture.com verifies this, stating that 48 percent of 18- to 34-year-old people check Facebook when they wake up.

“So what”, you say. The pros of Facebook outweigh the cons? Let’s take a look at the components of Facebook, and then you can decide for yourself.

Facebook friends: The number of friends you have on Facebook usually corresponds to the number of social ties people make. And so, the more friends you have on Facebook, the more friends you tend to have in the real world. According to OpenCulture.com, the average Facebook user has 130 friends, but some people have as many as 2,500. This can cause problems, as people will feel obligated to add people they barely know, just to increase their friend count on Facebook. Facebook friendships are also trivial and insincere; they are slowly dissolving the meaning of the word “friend.”

Facebook relationships: Oh boy— we all know the story about Facebook relationships, which are currently displacing real relationships. It’s a common belief among teens that “it’s not real unless it’s on Facebook.” And Facebook is also the cause of many relationship problems. Some couples break up over something as silly as a suggestive comment posted on their boyfriend or girlfriend’s wall.

Facebook statuses: In theory, status updates are a novel idea—they can be used to let friends know where you

are at a given time. But people have abused status updates and posted what they’re doing at every single moment. It has made us superficial and constantly concerned about how we can frame our actions to cast ourselves in the most favorable Facebook light. And most of all, some people spend so much time documenting their lives, they stop living them.

Facebook photos: Photos are common on plenty of social networking sites, but Facebook has changed people’s motivation for taking photos.

Many of us currently take pictures with the intent to post them on Facebook. At a beach party, we snap shots of us with all our good friends, and instead of keeping it for future memories, we immediately need to post it on Facebook for the world to see.

Facebook chat: Like any form of Internet communication, it has its advantages and disadvantages. Yes, it allows you to talk to distant friends and family without the pressure of having to pick up a phone. And you can also talk to them online while doing 15 other things, which unless you were an octopus, would be pretty hard to do while talking on the phone. But the problem with Facebook chat is that it undermines traditional faceto-face communication. According to OpenCulture.com, 57 percent of people talk more on Facebook than they do in real life. Plus, when people communicate on Facebook, they are more dishonest than they are in person. A study in Britain by Optimum Research found that people are much more comfortable lying via Facebook than in real life.

Facebook games: As if the site alone weren’t wasting enough of our time, you can also play Jetman or Snake or Poker to squander away even more hours of your life. Some Facebook addicts even use applications like Farmville, Yoville, Petville, Fishville

or Mafia Wars—these people spend an entire day sitting behind their computer growing fake crops on a fake farm taking caring of fake farm animals instead of doing something as productive as going to the refrigerator and pouring a glass of milk. It’s really sad.

For us college kids, this is the time in our life when we should not be using Facebook every single day. The college experience is about experiencing real life for the first time NOT typing about experiences that you either have or have not went through on a Facebook status! Instead of playing Jetman, wouldn’t you rather seek out a jetpack and actually play with it? And instead of playing Snake, wouldn’t it be more enjoyable to play with a real snake? And instead of playing Mafia Wars, why not have real mafia battles (I was kidding with that one)? But you see my point.

And there are so many other disadvantages to chronic Facebook use.

Facebook is the single most significant form of procrastination and leads us to do worse in our academics. An MSNBC study found that Facebook use can lower grades by 20 percent.

Facebook also makes everything about our lives public knowledge— our relationships, our friendships, who we talk to, what we’re thinking— all things that were once private are now known to the entire world. Why bother keeping secrets anymore?

In addition, Facebook-stalking is unhealthy and encourages all sorts of obsessive behavior. It also generates a ton of unnecessary judgment—seeing someone’s profile picture and “About Me” section becomes representative of their entire character. It can lead you to love them or hate them within seconds, before you can even meet them in person.

Now before you discount this entire argument and return to your

Facebook page with a derisive grin on your face, take a moment to answer this question: How much time do you spend on Facebook every day?

Add up the half hour before class in the morning, the 45 minutes in the afternoon, and the hour and a half you spend on it at night while simultaneously listening to music and attempting to do your homework. That amounts to two hours and 15 minutes per day on Facebook—and it’s probably more than that on average when you add up the weekend and everything. So if we extrapolate that during the course of a year, we will spend 821.25 hours per year on Facebook, or 34 ¼ days. And that’s just in one year. Think about everything you could be doing with that time. You could complete an entire bucket-list (100 things to do before you die). You could audition to be on “American Idol.”, scale a building, grow a beard, catch a home run at a baseball game., learn to juggle, or talk to animals. You could do anything you want with that time.

And believe me, the Facebook addiction is rough. Psychologists have coined it the Facebook Disorder (FAD), according to SickFacebook. com. A lot of people are recognizing the detrimental effects that Facebook has on their lives and are either decreasing their use or deactivating their accounts.

I am not saying Facebook is useless, and I am not saying that all of us should delete our Facebook profiles.

(Charlie Sheen losing would be more unlikely). What I am saying is that at the rate we’re headed, Facebook will completely obliterate our real-life experiences and leave us with nothing but images on a computer screen.

We just need to realize this before it happens. And most importantly, we should recognize that there is a world beyond the blue and white vortex.

16 THIS WEEK

The Brandeis Hoot

Brandeis Briefs

March 25, 2011

This week in pictures

Students abroad in Japan to return Three students studying abroad in Kyoto, Japan will return to campus by the end of the week, Director of Study Abroad and Assistant Dean of Academic Services J. Scott Van Der Meid wrote in an e-mail.

The students who were studying on a Columbia University program will complete their work remotely at Brandeis and upon passing still receive credit for their semesters.

Three students who had yet to depart on their programs in Japan will not be returning to campus Van der Meid wrote. Those students are working on an individual basis with the office of Study Abroad and the registrar to create new plans that will still allow the students to graduate on time or a semester late.

In regards to a standardized system for dealing with these types of emergency systems, “Brandeis University and the Office of Study abroad has dealt with many situations over the years and have had emergency plans in place to assist students in the past as well as this time for Japan,” Van der Meid wrote.

These students were not able to be reached in time for print.

— Destiny D. Aquino, Editor

Governor to speak at IBS trade summit in April Governor Deval Patrick will come to campus April 5 to deliver the keynote address for Global Trade Summit 2011, entitled “Expanding Exports and Building International Partnerships,” according to a BrandeisNOW press release.

The event is sponsored by the Brandeis International Business School, and will be open to the public in Usdan. The summit comes after the business school’s dean, Bruce Magid, accompanied the governor on an “Innovation Economy Partnership Mission” to the United Kingdom and Israel where Patrick, Magid and leading business executives and top state officials met with counterparts and abroad with the goal of increasing investment, creating jobs and expanding partnerships between Massachusetts and the foreign nations’ investment.

Jim Taiclet, Chairman and CEO of American Tower, a leading operator of wireless and broadcast communication sites, will join Patrick as the business keynote speaker.

Session speakers will include state officials, represenatatives from the private sector and academic professionals.

According to BrandeisNOW, full information about the summit can be obtained by visiting the website.

The trade mission resulted in an agreement to foster research and development collaboration between Massachusetts and Israeli companies as well as a collaboration and cooperation agreement between the stem cell banks at University of Massachusetts and in the United Kingdom. The Brandeis Global Trade Summit will highlight specific opportunities for companies seeking expansion in Asia, Germany, the U.K. and South America. It will also closely examine opportunities for the state’s life sciences, clean energy and information technology sectors, as well as more established industries, to succeed in global markets and foster job creation in Massachusetts.

— Nathan Koskella, Editor

The annual selection

By Ingrid Schulte, Editor tough choice, no second chances Robert Dimenstein, Ameya Apte and friends choose a five person Charles River suite on March 25.

Presenting (EL)2

By Ingrid Schulte, Editor

Voices of Soul

By Ingrid Schulte, Editor student presentations A student shares her experiences studying abroad and Voices of Soul sing at a sushi reception on March 25.

March 25, 2011

SPORTS

The Brandeis Hoot

17

With two wins in two debuts the Judges return to Brandeis

By Gordy Stillman Editor

The Judges baseball team, after weeks of highly competitive play in Florida, returned to Brandeis last week to begin local games. In three games, collectively postponed twice, the Judges managed a close victory with a strong win in their home opener and a nail biter extra innings loss.

In their first game since travelling back from Florida, the Judges took a short trip to Bridgewater State, to face their first local opponents in their New England debut.

Scoring began as second baseman Sean O’Hare ’12 swung for a sacrifice fly ball to bring in a runner. Pat Nicholson ’11 followed suit with a powerful two-run double to tear open a three run lead.

The Judges continued their dominance into the fourth inning. Consecutive doubles from right-fielder Andrew Cohen ’13 and shortstop Dom Schwartz ’14 further improved the lead. After an out, O’Hare returned to the plate and brought in another run with a double of his own. After getting on base, he managed a run off of a single by third baseman Jon Chu ’12.

With a 6-0 lead, things were looking great for the Judges. Pitcher John McGrath ’11 had held Bridgewater to a hitless game until the fifth inning.

Bridgewater began to find holes in the Judges’ defenses as John Ferreira and Keane Costa hit consecutive home runs. Costa’s homerun was also the first inside-the-park homerun in Alumni field’s history.

Bridgewater added to their attempt to close the deficit in the eighth. With bases loaded and two outs, they managed to secure two walks to bring the game to within a point. Relief pitcher Nicholson, a utility player, managed to find his groove and forced Ferreira to ground out followed by a scoreless ninth inning.

Starting pitcher McGrath earned the win for his seven plus innings and seven strikeouts while Nicholson earned the save. Bridgewater pitcher Matt Melia got the loss after allowing

photo by nafiz “fizz ” ahmed/the hoot

all six Brandeis runs in the first four innings.

After a weather delay on Monday, the Judges made their Brandeis debut on Tuesday in a powerful 8-3 victory against Salem State. Right handed pitcher Dylan Britton ’13 earned his first win in a Brandeis uniform after seven innings.

While Britton had lost his previous five decisions, his play on Tuesday showed significant skill. In addition to a minor eight hits allowed, Britton had a career best seven strikeouts while allowing only three runs. Additionally, Britton worked his way out of a bases-loaded sixth inning and a seventh inning with two runners in scoring position.

On the batting side of play, Tony Deshler ’11 led the way from the leadoff spot in the lineup. In the first inning, he doubled and then scored off a sacrifice fly by Chu, and in the fifth also managed a double and was batted in by Chu. Three other players also managed multiple hits. Lelf fielder Nick Cortese ’13 managed three hits including an RBI double. first baseman Erick Rosenberg hit two of three at bats with a game-high three RBIs including a two-run single in the opening inning. Designated hitter Nicholson also went two for three with two RBIs and two runs scored. Chu managed the two RBIs above, along with two runs scored of his own.

Salem State’s rookie Ryan Hyjek

took the loss in his first game credited with the outcome. He may have struck out four Judges but heallowed 10 hits including all eight runs.

Maybe it was the loss of a break before Wednesday’s game, maybe it was because it wasn’t a debut, or maybe it just wasn’t meant to be when the Judges hosted the Wentworth Institute of Technology on Wednesday and suffered their first home loss of the season.

Teams traded runs in the third with both sides snagging one run apiece.

Wentworth’s Conner Flisnik scored the opening run while the Judges’ Chu responded with a run of his own.

Designated hitter Doug Papuga managed to bring in runs in the

fourth and seventh to take the lead further from the Judges’ grasp. Deshler pulled off a sacrifice fly in the seventh, which with a ground out RBI by Eric Rosenberg ’11, tied the game and forced extra innings.

Wentworth’s Mike Diodato delivered a two run double in the top of the 10th with two outs on the board.

Brandeis was just unable to overcome them, scoring one run but stranding the tying run at 3rd base.

Other than a game against Salve Regina on Thursday, the Judges’ next game will be Sunday as they Host Framingham State in a doubleheader starting at 12 noon. The Judges, not including Thursday’s game, stand at 9-8 in their overall record.

Brandeis beats Babson Beavers in this week’s tennis matches

By Gordy Stillman Editor

This past week both the men’s and the women’s tennis teams went 9-0 in their matches against Babson College. Both teams are also ranked 30th nationally among Division III tennis teams.

With the wins the men’s team improved to a 7-4 record while the women’s team rose to 7-3.

The men’s team started off strong on Tuesday with a 3-0 showing in doubles action. Starting off with Nick White ’11 and Simon Miller ’11, a pair ranked fifth in New England, started off strong with an 8-4 showing against a pair of Babson sophomores. The Judges’ own, Dave Yovanoff ’13 and Steven Milo ’13 had more success along with the pair of Ezra Bernstein ’11 and Josh Jordan ’13, all of whom won their matches to finish doubles play with an unblemished record.

In singles games Miller won his matches against Babson’s Mitchell Henry winning by at least four points in each round. White also had a nearly perfect match, going 6-0 and 6-1 in his match. Milo fought hard in two one point matches, going 6-7 in his first but coming back for a 7-6 victory and a 10-6 win in the tie-breaker.

Steven Neiman ’11 finished off singles matches with two 6-3 sets to close out the day.

The men’s Judges next play will be on April 2, after what Steven Milo called “a much needed” break.

The women’s team took to the court on Wednesday to show Babson just why they were ranked 10th in the region.

The doubles pairs of Rachel Rosman ’11 and Faith Broderick ’13 started off the sets with an 8-4 win. Nina Levine ’12 along with Mackenzie Gallegos ’11 earned the Judges’ largest doubles victory with a 8-2 rout of the opposing Babson Beavers. Marissa Lazar ’14 and Allyson Bernstein ’14 closed out doubles with a win of their own.

In singles, Rosman led the Judges to two wins over opponent Sarah Whitaker. Rosman, who is also ranked 11th in the region, set the standard for the rest of the team to follow. Broderick, ranked 23rd, followed suit defeating Babson senior Monica Mercer. Alexa Katz ’14 and and Roberta Bergstein ’14 closed out singles with two wins apiece.

The women’s team plays next on Saturday when they travel to New York to take on UAA rival NYU.

photo by paula hoekstra/the hoot

18 SPORTS

The Brandeis Hoot

March 25, 2011

Brian’s basketball rankings: Bulls on stampede

By Brian Tabakin Staff

1. Bulls (51-19): It’s not that the Lakers did anything wrong to be knocked off of the top perch; the Bulls are just too good. In their last two games they have demolished their opponents by an average of 36.5 points, with a 40-point beat-down on the Kings and a 33-point drubbing of the Hawks. This is also the first 50-win Bulls team since the days of Michael Jordan.

2. Lakers (51-20): The Lakers are seven games behind the Spurs for the number one seed out West, so the Lakers will have to concentrate on keeping the two seed away from the Mavericks, who only sit a game back.

However, with Andrew Bynum’s twogame suspension for a hard foul on Michael Beasley, it’s worth monitoring whether Bynum will tone down his recent tough play and revert to that dreaded word: “soft.”

3. Celtics (50-19): After getting blown out of the building by the Rockets last Friday, the Celtics have strung together two impressive 15-point comebacks against both the Hornets and the Knicks. Even better news for the Celtics is that Rajon Rondo appears to be coming out of his recent slump, dishing out 12 assists, scoring 13 points and getting two steals against the Knicks.

4. Spurs (57-13): While the Spurs have the best record in the NBA and are playing inspired basketball, their championship hopes flashed before their eyes on Monday night. Tim Duncan went down with an ankle injury and had to be helped off of the court by teammate Tony Parker. He was seen on crutches on Tuesday.

Without Duncan, the Spurs will not be going anywhere in the playoffs.

5. Heat (48-22): After their killer 11-game stretch against +.500 teams, the Heat salvaged a 5-6 record during that period despite losing the first five games of the series. The Heat have now eked back up to .500 at 20-20 against teams more than .500. Basically, Christmas came early in Miami.

6. Mavericks (49-21): I mentioned the rumblings of panic down in Dallas last week; now there’s full-blown

hysteria down in Dallas after they have suffered six-straight narrow defeats to the playoff bound teams in the West.

7. Thunder (45-24): The Thunder are currently 9-1 in the month of March despite newly acquired center Kendrick Perkins only playing in three of those games. The bad news?

That one loss came to the lowly Raptors.

8. Nuggets (42-29): The Nuggets are four games behind the Thunder for the fourth seed in the West. However, with two games left against the Thunder and with the Nuggets playing some of the best basketball in the league right now. The Nuggets have ample opportunity to grab that fourth spot.

9. Magic (45-26): As much as I want Kevin Garnett to win the Defensive Player of the Year, Dwight Howard has the award on lockdown.

While Derrick Rose appears to have the MVP award on lockdown, Dwight Howard has a small chance at the MVP if Rose falls back to earth. If Howard manages to win the MVP, he will become the third to garner both awards in the same season, placing himself in the company of Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon.

10. Trail Blazers (41-30): Things are looking up for the perpetually cursed team known as the Blazers. Gerald Wallace has been extremely productive since he was acquired from the Bobcats, Brandon Roy has successfully come back from surgery on both of his knees, and Nicolas Batum exploded for 25 points against the Lakers. Now if only they could get Greg Oden on the court instead of on the bench.

11. Grizzlies (39-32): A big blow was dealt to the Grizzlies this week with the news that Rudy Gay will require season-ending surgery. However, even with Gay’s injury they are still the team nobody wants to face in the playoffs.

12. Rockets (37-34): The Rockets have won 11 out of their past 14 games, including a home domination of the Celtics. Yet they still sit two games out of the playoffs. Remember when the Rockets were in the Eastern Conference? Their record would be

good for the sixth seed.

13. 76ers (36-34): The 76ers have now jumped in front of the Knicks for the sixth seed in the East. The 76ers would probably rather avoid the Heat in the playoffs since the 76ers like to use a small lineup and run with the ball, all things that would help the Heat. Still the matchup would prove to be interesting.

14. Hornets (40-31): The Hornets jumped out to a 15-point lead on the Celtics this past weekend. Then they took a nosedive and gave away the game to the Celtics.

15. Hawks (40-31): The Hawks just got the doors blown off their arena by the Bulls, who dominated them on every end of the floor, in a 33-point loss. Even worse? Their own fans were chanting MVP for Derrick Rose. Reminds me of the Jordan days.

16. Suns (35-34): Steve Nash has returned from his pelvic injury, but if his first outing down in New Orleans was any indicator, he still is feeling the effects from the injury.

17. Pacers (31-40): Since Tyler Hansbrough has been put into the starting lineup he has been on an absolute tear, averaging 19.7 ppg and 7.7 rpg. Once again Larry “Legend” Bird was right, after commenting that Hansbrough should have been starting since the beginning of the season.

18. Knicks (35-35): The Knicks v.

Celtics game Monday night should be nicknamed “There Will Be Blood” resulting in 12 stitches, three elbows to faces and two bleeding eyes. Oh yeah and the Knicks blew a 15-point lead to the Celtics including a ninepoint lead in the fourth quarter. The Knicks are going to have to exorcize the Green demons before they can be truly called a title contender.

19. Jazz (36-35): Any chances the Jazz had at the playoffs vanished in an 18-point loss to the Grizzlies in a must-win game. The Jazz are now just 5-10 since Jerry Sloan left.

20. Bucks (28-41): A week after scoring just 56 points against the Celtics, the Bucks have posted two 100+ point games in a row. I guess the Bucks found their offense on the back of the milk carton.

21. Warriors (30-41): If there were an award for most inconsistent play-

graphic by steven wong/the hoot

er, then Dorell Wright would have it on lockdown. In last Friday’s game against Phoenix, Wright scored zero points in the first half before torching the Suns for 30 in the second half.

22. Clippers (27-44): In games where there is a guy with a butcher knife on the court during pre-game workouts, the Clippers are undefeated at 1-0. Maybe the Clippers should hire that guy to be the mascot.

23. Bobcats (28-41): Want more evidence that the eighth seed in the East may be one of the worst playoff teams in NBA history? The Bobcats already have three more losses than they had all of last season and are still in contention for the final playoff spot in the East.

24. Nets (22-47): Remember that chance I mentioned of the Nets getting into the playoffs? It vanished this past week. However, Kris Humphries has posted 15+ rebounds in five consecutive games. Kevin Garnett is the only other player to accomplish such a feat.

25. Raptors (20-50): Before losing to the Nuggets on Monday night by 33 points, the Raptors posted their first winning streak (even if it was just two games) with wins against the Wizards and Thunder.

26. Pistons (25-45): Someone has it out for Detroit. Rip Hamilton revert-

ed into his championship form averaging 19.8 ppg on 52 percent shooting in the past four games. Then he had to leave the team due to a family emergency.

27. Timberwolves (17-54): It appears we found out why Kevin Love’s double-double streak was ended against a team, the Warriors, that doesn’t know what defense is; Kevin Love is out indefinitely with a groin injury that he may have been enduring in said game.

28. Cavaliers (13-56): I looked at the NBA scoreboard on ESPN this past week and almost choked on my dinner. The Cavaliers were down 30-0 to the Blazers in the first quarter. That about sums up their season.

29. Kings (17-52): The once-feared home-court advantage of Arco Arena is gone with the Kings being the only team out West with fewer than 10 home wins. Adding insult to injury, the Kings only have five games left at the arena before they ship out to Anaheim.

30. Wizards (17-52): In a season full of misery, the Wizards can take solace in the fact that Javale McGee posted 12 blocks in a game this past week becoming the first player to do so since the 2000-2001 season.

Brandeis Alumnus to start season with Houston Astros

By Ariel Wittenberg Editor

According to the Houston Astros’ website, Brandeis alumnus Nelson Figueroa ’98 will be in the starting lineup of the team this season, securing the final spot behind right-hander Brett Myers, left-handers J.A. Happ and Wandy Rodrigues, and righthander Bud Norris.

“It’s the first time I think I’ve been called in the office for a good thing,” Figueroa said in an Astros’ press release. “It was nice to get that reassurance to be the fifth starter, and I’m looking forward to it. I was excited about the opportunity coming into camp, and I had a good camp. I had that one bad inning and a half or two innings against Philadelphia, but you take that out and I felt I was really consistent and continued to get better as we’ve gone on.”

Figueroa, the first Brandeis alumnus to make it to the major leagues, will start his first game April 6 against the Reds­—the first time in his 15-year professional career that Figueroa will begin a season on the Major League roster. He went 5-3 with a 3.22 ERA for the Astros last year after being claimed off waivers in July.

Prior to playing for the Astros, the now 36-year-old Figueroa played for the New York Mets. While he never started for them, in 2009 he became the first Mets pitcher to throw a com-

plete game shutout at the team’s home park of City Field.

In October 2009, Brandeis retired Figueroa’s number “2” in honor of their home-grown major leaguer.

Figueroa spent last season with the Philadelphia Phillies, for whom he previously pitched in 2001. He has previously pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Figueroa took the slot of Jordan Lyles, the clubs top prospect who posted a 1.98 ERA in five games this spring. Lyles was reassigned to start this year in the Minors to get more seasoning.

The team cut their roster to 42 from 49 during spring training, also optioning pitcher Sergio Escalona to the Minor Leagues and reassigning pitchers Patrick Urckfitz, Fernando Rodriguez and Casey Fien and outfielders Drew Locke and T.J. Steele.

Lyles starting in the Minors could eventually benefit the Astros financially because he has yet to accrue any Major League service time and could remain under the control of the club for an extra year if he doesn’t make a Major League debut until late in the season, postponing the start of his arbitration clock.

The Astros will open the season

with a three-game series at the Phillies on April 1, with two of their three

starters being former Phillies. One of those two, Myers, will start opening day against Roy Halladay.

photo from internet source

March 25, 2011

UAA standings and over-all records

MLB power rankings: Rick’s picks

By Ricky Rosen Staff

Baseball Team

UAA

All

Emory

5– 1

15 – 9

Case Western

4–2

14 – 7

Washington

3–3

11 – 11

Brandeis

2–4

9–8

Rochester

1 –5

4–6

Chicago

0–0

4–1

Box Scores @ Bridgewater State

Win

6–5

Salem State

Win

8–3

Wentworth

Loss

5–4

Softball Team

UAA

All

Emory

8– 0

26 – 0

Washington

6–2

16 – 5 – 1

Rochester

3–5

9– 5

Brandeis

3–5

5 – 10

Chicago

0–0

2–1

Case Western

0–8

4 – 14

Box Scores Clark

Loss

2–1

Clark

Loss

5–4

@ Emerson

Loss

5–3

@ Emerson

Win

8–0

Men’s tennis

Team

UAA

All

Chicago

0–0

5–0

Emory

0–0

15 – 2

Washington

0–0

6–2

Carnegie Mellon

0–0

9–5

Brandeis

0–0

7–4

Rochester

0–0

7–4

Case Western

0 –0

5–5

NYU

0–0

0–3

Box Scores Babson

Win

9–0

Women’s tennis

Team

UAA

All

Chicago

0–0

6–1

Emory

0–0

11 – 2

Rochester

0–0

5–1

Washington

0–0

8–2

Carnegie Mellon

0–0

8–3

Brandeis

0–0

7–3

Case Western

0 –0

6–5

NYU

0–0

0–3

Box Scores Babson

SPORTS 19

The Brandeis Hoot

Win

9–0

1. Boston Red Sox: The signing of top free agent Carl Crawford and the trade for Adrian Gonzalez completes the best lineup in the AL—pitchers will have nowhere to hide from Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Crawford, Kevin Youkilis (the Hebrew Hammer), Gonzalez and David Ortiz (Big Papi). Their rotation is stellar with Lester, Bucholz and Lackey at the top, but Beckett needs to have a big year after an injury-plagued 2010 in which he posted a 5.78 ERA. The bullpen is terrific with the acquisitions of Wheeler and Jenks to set up for Papelbon. The BoSox are a clear favorite to win it all in 2011.

2. Philadelphia Phillies: Without a doubt, the Phillies have one of the best rotations in modern baseball history with Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels, but their offense, which was once their strength, is in question with Utley out with a knee injury and Werth going to the Nationals. Nevertheless, their pitching should carry them deep into the playoffs.

3. Texas Rangers­: Texas has one of the strongest lineups in the AL, with Nelson Cruz, reigning AL MVP Josh Hamilton and newly-acquired Adrian Beltre bringing power. Their rotation is still imposing even without Cliff Lee, and would get even better if Neftali Feliz became a starter. Either way, look for Texas to dominate the AL West.

4. San Francisco Giants: The defending world champs still have the second best rotation in baseball behind the Phillies with two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, Madison Bumgarner and Barry Zito. But the Giants will struggle offensively unless Pablo Sandoval returns to his Kung Fu Panda form.

5. New York Yankees: Even with a more than $200 million payroll, the Yankees cannot guarantee themselves a playoff spot in 2011—they are aging, but they do have one of the best lineups in the AL. Their rotation, though is a huge question—it’s CC Sabathia and Phil Hughes and then three question marks. The acquisitions of Rafael Soriano and Pedro Feliciano solidify the Yank’s bullpen.

6. Atlanta Braves: The addition of Dan Uggla strengthens the Braves offense, Jayson Heyward is expected to have another solid year and Freddie Freeman is also predicted to have a dynamic rookie campaign. The rotation is always Atlanta’s greatest weapon, and their bullpen should be strong with Kimbrel/Venters closing games. The only problem the Braves will have is winning the NL East, but they are a legit Wild Card contender.

7. Minnesota Twins: The Twins’ lineup is among the best in the AL, anchored by the M&M boys—Mauer and Morneau. Their rotation is also solid as they resigned Carl Pavano, a 17-game winner in 2010, to go with Francisco Liriano, Nick Blackburn, Brian Duensing and Scott Baker. Joe Nathan’s return from injury fortifies a tough bullpen.

8. Chicago White Sox: The White Sox have a power-heavy lineup with the acquisition of Adam Dunn, a guaranteed 40-HR guy, to go with Alex Rios, Carlos Quentin, Alexie Ramirez and Paul Konerko, who hit 39 bombs in 2010. The rotation will be great with John Danks, Mark Buehrle, Edwin Jackson and Gavin Floyd—if Jake Peavy can recover from an injury, it would make the White Sox contenders in the AL Central.

9. Milwaukee Brewers: Milwaukee boasts an impressive lineup including Prince Fielder in his contract year, Ryan Braun, Corey Hart, Casey McGehee and Rickie Weeks. Their rotation is also dominant with the signings of Zack Greinke and Shaun

Marcum to go with team ace Yovani Gallardo. The biggest question for the Brewers will be the bullpen; in 2010, the Brewers had one of the lowest save percentages in baseball.

10. Detroit Tigers: The acquisition of Victor Martinez to provide protection for Miguel Cabrera makes the Tigers an offensive juggernaut. Austin Jackson and Brandon Boesch also look to repeat their rookie seasons.

The Tigers have Justin Verlander and young pitchers Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello to bolster their rotation, and Jose Valverde will close out games. The Tigers will make the AL Central extremely competitive.

11. Cincinnati Reds: The defending NL Central Champs have a lot of young stars including reigning NL MVP Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and Drew Stubbs. The loss of Johnny Cueto casts doubt on the rotation, which right now consists of Edinson Volquez, Bronson Arroyo, Mike Leake, Travis Wood and Homer Bailey. Cincinnati’s bullpen was very effective in 2010— right now, Francisco Cordero is closing, but Cuban fire-baller Aroldis Chapman and his 105 mph fastball might take the position by the end of the year.

12. Colorado Rockies: Colorado is home to two of the best young players in baseball; Troy Tulowitski and Carlos Gonzalez, but the rotation is questionable beyond Ubaldo Jimenez, which will make it difficult for the Rockies to contend in the NL West.

13. St. Louis Cardinals: The loss of Wainwright who won 19 games in 2010 puts a huge strain on the Cards’ rotation which was their strength going into the off-season. The Cardinals have the best player in the baseball, Albert Pujols, and All-Star outfielder Matt Holliday, but not many others; Colby Rasmus would also need to repeat his 2010 campaign for the Cardinals to beat out the Reds and Brewers in the loaded NL Central.

14. Toronto Blue Jays: The Jays have a ton of power in their lineup with home-run champ Jose Bautista and a terrific young rotation led by Ricky Romero and Brett Cecil. Unfortunately, they’re in the AL East, so the best they can hope for is probably a third-place finish.

15. Los Angeles Dodgers: The biggest loss for the Dodgers was Manager Joe Torre. Even so, they have a solid core of Andre Ethier, James Loney and Matt Kemp, and a competitive rotation of Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley and Ted Lilly. But it will be hard to compete with the Rockies and Giants in the West.

16. Los Angeles Angels: The Angels will look to rebound from a rough third-place finish in 2010. Their rotation is strong with Jared Weaver, Dan Haren and Ervin Santana, but their bullpen and lineup are questionable.

They will get a boost with the return of Kendry Morales.

17. Tampa Bay Rays: Even though they lost many of their best players in the off-season, the Rays still have a dominant young rotation of David Price, James Shields, Wade Davis, Jeff Niemann and rookie Jeremy Hellickson, who is expected to have a big year. The Rays could end up in the Wild Card hunt in 2011.

18. Chicago Cubs: Adding Garza to the fold makes the Cubs pitching staff very formidable, and the addition of Carlos Pena also adds a power threat to the lineup. But, like the Mets, the Cubs are notorious under-performers and fold under pressure. They will struggle in the NL Central with the superior Brewers, Cardinals and Reds.

19. Florida Marlins: While they have a lot of talent on the field—with Hanley Ramirez, Mike Stanton, and the additions of Omar Infante and Javier Vasquez—the Fish play horrid defense that has always made them mediocre; a true .500 team.

20. New York Mets: The Mets on paper have the third-best lineup in the NL behind the Brewers and either the Reds or Rockies. They have David Wright, Jose Reyes in his contract year, Carlos Beltran, Jason Bay, Angel Pagan coming off a career year and Ike Davis coming off a superb rookie season. But the Mets also have a lot of questions including Bay’s power, Reyes’ legs, Beltran’s everything. On top of that, the rotation without Johan leaves something to be desired. Mike Pelfrey is the opening day starter, followed by a journeyman knuckleballer and a young unproven lefty. But the Mets do have a chance. If they can stay healthy and if the rotation pitches up to its potential, the Mets could surprise a lot of people (including me).

21. Oakland Athletics: The A’s have the youngest rotation in baseball with little-known pitchers like Trevor Cahill and Gio Gonzalez. Their bullpen is also one of their strengths, anchored by Andrew Bailey. But Oakland’s problem has always been their offense, which is among the weakest in baseball—newly-acquired David DeJesus is batting third.

22. Washington Nationals—The addition of Jayson Werth to go with Ryan Zimmermann gives the Nats lineup a little pop, but their pitching staff is absolutely horrendous. In fact, their opening day starter is Livan Hernandez.

23. Baltimore Orioles—The acquisitions of Mark Reynolds and Derrek Lee will complement the trio of Matt Wieters, Nick Markakis and Adams Jones nicely. Like the Nationals, the problem for the O’s is their pitching.

24. San Diego Padres—Losing Adrian Gonzalez is devastating to the Padres, whose pitching carried them

almost to the playoffs last year. Now their anemic offense will rely on new additions Jason Bartlett and Orlando Hudson, who have almost no power threat in the lineup. The Padres did have one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, though, and they will have all those guys again in 2011. They also have the best bullpen in baseball with Mike Adams and Luke Gregerson setting up for Heath Bell.

25. Seattle Mariners—Reigning Cy Young Felix Hernandez complements a great pitching staff whose 3.93 ERA was good for third in the AL last year. The problem for Seattle is their offense—Chone Figgins did not perform as well as expected in 2010, and there are no other star players on Seattle to drive Ichiro home when he gets on base. Seattle should view 2011 as a rebuilding year and focus on the future.

26. Houston Astros—The Astros starting rotation will keep them in games, but their bullpen and offense will pose a problem. Their outfield has hitters like Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence, but their infield is the worst in baseball with Chris Johnson, Bill Hall, Clint Barmes and Brett Wallace. Expect the Astros to spend 2011 trying to stay out of the NL Central basement.

27. Cleveland Indians—The Indians have All-Star outfielder Grady Sizemore, rising star Carlos Santana and Shin-Soo Choo, one of the most underrated players in baseball. Their pitching is a different story; it was ranked third to last in the AL last year.

28. Kansas City Royals—Kansas City lost ace pitcher Zack Greinke and now have Luke Hochevar starting on opening day. Their farm system is the best in baseball, but the situation in the majors is a different story. Billy Butler is their only competent hitter.

The signing of Jeff Francoeur, though, might help them win 70 games instead of the 67 they won in 2010.

29. Arizona Diamondbacks—The loss of Mark Reynolds leaves Justin Upton as the only star left on this once-dominant team. The Diamondbacks are in complete rebuilding mode and should focus on 2012.

30. Pittsburgh Pirates—Clint Hurdle has his work cut out for him. As long as the Pirates don’t keep trading all their star outfielders to the Yankees, they should improve within the next few years. Neil Walker and Andrew McCutchen are solid young guys and Pedro Alvarez should have a big rookie year. But what has long been the downfall of the Pirates is their pitching—last year they were ranked dead last in the majors with an ERA of 5.00. All in all, Pirate fans should prepare themselves for their 19th consecutive losing season, the longest streak ever in sports history.

March 25, 2011

The Brandeis Hoot

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