The Brandeis Hoot 10/02/2015

Volume 12 Issue 16

www.brandeishoot.com

Brandeis University’s Community Newspaper • Waltham, Mass.

October 2, 2015

Multifaith Chaplaincy in transition

By Hannah Schuster Editor

dharmic prayer space opens in the shapiro campus center. the dharmic community has been seeking an space for several years.

photo by emily sorkin smith/the hoot

For more, see page 4

Students continue to fight for divestment

By Jess Linde Editor

Sitting in a circle at their weekly meeting, the members of Brandeis Climate Justice (BCJ) had a lot to think about as they faced a new semester and another year fighting to have the university divest its endowment from fossil fuels. These investments represent between seven and 10 percent of the university’s current endowment. As a club, BCJ seeks to “focus on looking at intersections of climate [change], race, gender and class,” according to member Abby Goldberg ’16. “Divestment is just one tactic toward destabilizing some of the major power structures.”

Since its beginning in 2012, the divestment campaign has become BCJ’s most well-known effort on campus in recent years. It has produced multiple rallies, parties at Chum’s and made an orange felt triangle a symbol of environmentalism at Brandeis.

Divestment has even drawn support from university faculty in the form of FACT, or Faculty Against the Climate Threat, and started a large enough conversation that former Brandeis President Fred Lawrence formed an “Exploratory Committee on Fossil Fuel” to discuss divestment in 2013. Also in 2013, a referendum sponsored by BCJ found that 79 percent of Brandeis students were in favor of fossil fuel divestment.

Inside this issue:

This April, the Exploratory Committee released a 173-page report in favor of fossil fuel divestment, promoting “sustainable, responsible, impact investing” as an alternative. This school year welcomed Mary Fischer as the school’s first manager of sustainability programs, as well as strong efforts by Vice President of Operations James Gray to reduce the campus’ carbon footprint, such as “Turn It Off Day.” And yet, the dedicated members of BCJ feel largely ignored by the university administration. In mid-September, Goldberg and Saren McAllister ’18 confronted Interim President Lisa Lynch over the lack of transparency, and received a lukewarm response.

This Thursday, there was still nothing new to report. “We never heard anything from the administration after the [Committee’s] report,” McAllister said. “Things like Turn It Off Day are good steps, but we are still profiting from catastrophic climate change and the destruction of our environment.

We were told that we could talk to someone seriously about divestment, but that has not happened yet.”

McAllister noted that while BCJ had spoken with Fischer, and they “appreciate that her position even exists” at Brandeis. “[Fischer] only has an effect with on-campus sustainability, and divestment is a bigger issue,” McAllister said. BCJ members had also been in contact with Student Union representatives to the Board of Trustees, who gave no indication

Page 2 News: Commuter Rail station not in service Page 13 Opinion: Student clubs need more help Page 8 Arts: Spingold turns 50 years old Features: Abram Sachar; first Brandeis president Page 6 Editorial: All religious days need recognition Page 12

that divestment would be brought up at the next Board meeting. “The exploratory committee promised that divestment would come up this fall to the Trustees,” said Goldberg. “But the person from the Union gave us the impression that it was definitely not going to happen.”

Though this Thursday’s meeting dealt mostly with the creation of a banner for a divestment rally at MIT the next day, the attendees agreed that visibility is, at the moment, the most pressing issue for the campaign. “We need to tell [the administration] that they are betraying the demands of the students, the faculty, and their own committee” said a student who asked to be identified only as “Phil,” at the meeting. In this regard, CMJ members discussed tabling for a pro-divestment petition, organizing performances at Chum’s and, of course, flooding the Brandeis campus with more divestment triangles.

The group also discussed publicity for their Oct. 15 event hosting journalist Wes Stephenson in discussion of his new book. Overall, there was a feeling of weariness at the meeting, but not a weariness that would result in surrender. Rather, a second wind was imminent. BCJ may have to scale another hill to get results from Brandeis that satisfy them, but they already have their banners raised, and their climbing boots laced up.

Bond on display

Women’s Studies Research Center features ‘Reconnaisance’ exhibit by artist Linda Bond

Arts: Page 9

The overall structure and some positions at the Multifaith Chaplaincy are currently in transition. The university has hired Maryam Sharrieff as interim Muslim Chaplain, and spiritual advisor Allison Cornelisse is serving in place of an official Catholic Chaplain. To examine and propose changes to the Chaplaincy, the university commissioned a Working Group, which released its final Chaplaincy Report two days ago. The report proposes several changes including the introduction of a Chaplaincy director.

Senior Vice President of Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel released the Working Group’s report in an email to the Brandeis community, after commissioning it in Spring of 2015. Prof. Wendy Cadge (SOC) chaired the group comprised of Jonathan Sarna (NEJS); Chaplains Rabbi Elyse Winick and Rev. Matthew Carriker; and three students, Elena Insley ’15, former president of the Catholic Students Organization, Ethan Stein ’15, a NEJS major and past Hebrew

UDR, and Shruti Vaidyanathan ’16, president of Namaskar.

The report counsels the university to hire a “Director of Spiritual and Religious Life who can convene and coordinate the Chaplaincy via clearly articulated vision statement.” This person would be involved with outreach, campus committees and other aspects of the university.

The working group hopes that introducing a director will address the issue that “current part-time chaplains are not administratively positioned” to engage in all university issues.

Father Walter Cuenin, who departed the university for health reasons in January 2015, was the head chaplain, a position that has not yet been filled.

The report addresses this matter with the proposition of a chaplaincy director. The Catholic Chaplaincy may proceed with the model of a lay-person spiritual advisor separate from a priest.

In a statement to The Brandeis Hoot, Flagel said he finds adopting See CHAPLAINCY, page 3

Lucas Malo honored for work with Waltham community center

By Rachel Bossuk Staff

CarMax recognized Brandeis’ Director of Community Service Lucas Malo for his work with the Prospect Hill Community Center with the Bright Side of Game Day award, including a $10,000 prize.

Malo accepted the award at the first New England Patriots game of the season on Thursday, Sept. 10, and then donated the money to the Prospect Hill Community Foundation.

The winner of the Bright Side contest is chosen from a group of outstanding New England locals, who are very involved in and passionate about volunteering and helping others.

Prospect Hill is the largest low-income housing development in Waltham, and is home to 140 families. Eighty percent of these families are made up of single mothers, and the average income per year is $19,200. The Prospect Hill Community Center provides these families with a safe environment for their children after school and affords the kids the opportunity to receive help with homework and be a part of a community.

Having worked with Prospect Hill for six years, Malo increased his involvement at the complex after working to build a 5,000-square-foot playground at the development in the fall of 2013 with the help of KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit organization.

Since then, he has been helping to build new partnerships and improve

the center’s current programs.

However, Malo emphasized that this was truly a group effort. “This award symbolizes the reality that if folks work together on a common passion, change can happen.” The change to which Malo is referring is the opening of the Prospect Hill Community Center last October. Brandeis partnered with Bentley University, the Waltham Police Department, the Waltham Housing Authority and the Tenant’s Association of Prospect Hill to embark on what was to be a yearlong project to establish the center, which now serves as a venue to host programs for the community. The center’s opening ceremony was complete with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and speeches from then university President Frederick Lawrence and Waltham Mayor Jeannette McCarthy, among others.

Today, almost a year later, Prospect Hill is home to seven different programs including an after-school program, the Early Literacy Program and the Community and Learning Gardens Program. The after-school program runs for two hours each weekday and consists of structured homework tutoring, snack time and an enrichment activity.

The Early Literacy program takes place once a week. Staff members, including Malo, who were trained with the Massachusetts Raising a Reader Program, lead this program. Each week, the program leaders emphasize See MALO, page 3

North Quad still not completed Construction continues as room signs are on printer paper and bathrooms are closed

News: Page 3

2 NEWS

The Brandeis Hoot

October 2, 2015

Fitchburg Commuter Rail Brandeis hires Maryam Sharrieff as interim service suspended for Muslim Chaplain maintenance for second year

By Rafael Rodriguez Special to the Hoot

The MBTA suspended weekend operations for the Fitchburg Line of the commuter rail beginning April 25 and is projected to continue work until Nov. 2. Normal weekday service will continue to run throughout this period, while Saturday and Sunday operations have been suspended for track improvements and renovation projects. As a result of this weekend closure, many students and faculty members have had trouble getting in and out of the city from campus.

According to the MBTA’s Fitchburg Line Improvement Project Suspension of Weekend Train Service fact sheet, this $277 million dollar investment in the Fitchburg Line will include the construction of a second track between Acton and Ayer stations, a new Littleton Station with additional parking, a new South Acton station, an upgraded signal system and track improvements (allowing maximum train speed to increase from 60 mph to 80 mph) and im-

provements to seven bridges.

“It’s a nightmare,” said Assistant Professor of Fine Arts Todd Pavlisko about the situation with the commuter rail. “It makes professionals impossible to be able to do their work, and it makes students think it’s impossible for anybody to traverse the city.”

Students have been forced to find alternative routes into the city, such as hitching rides from friends, taking the T, using on-campus shuttle services, or even hiring Uber drivers and taxi services.

“This weekend, for example, I had to get into Boston College to do the Jimmy Fund Walk and instead of just being able to get into Boston, I had to get a ride to the Riverside station to go into Boston and then back out into Boston College,” said Brandeis student Alison Tassone ’18. “It would have just been a lot easier to not have that extra drive in there.”

Other students, including Eric Pilchowski ’19, have been relying on the Joseph’s shuttle services provided by the university to get from campus into Boston.

“I typically go through the shuttle that runs Thursdays through Sunday,”

said Pilchowski. “The thing is that the shuttle starts at noon so if I want to get into Boston before 1, there’s no way to do it besides taking an Uber, which is expensive.”

Rachel Qin ’16 has had such a hard time commuting into Boston from Waltham that she “took a position in Waltham [over the summer] in order to avoid difficult travel.”

“I stayed here during the summer and I needed to commute to Boston,” said Qin. “It’s really difficult because the bus, 553 I think, doesn’t operate during the weekend so it’s difficult to find a way into Boston.”

The Brandeis/Roberts and Waltham commuter rail stations have been affected by the Fitchburg Line Improvement Project for two consecutive years. Last year, weekend operations were closed from July to November while work was done to the track.

“The commuter rail is an absolute joke. In the winter it’s always delayed, so it keeps people out in an unheated area for upwards of 40 minutes,” said Pavlisko. “It was never on time. The whole winter ... Whoever is in charge should absolutely lose their job.”

photo from internet source

photo from internet source

By Hannah Schuster Editor

Brandeis hired Maryam Sharrieff as interim Muslim Chaplain beginning on Sept. 14. Sharrieff will work with the Muslim community on campus, including the Muslim Students Association, the chaplains and others to “respond to the needs of a spiritually diverse campus community,” said Sharrief in an email to The Brandeis Hoot.

The previous Muslim Chaplain, Imam Dr. Talal Eid, left the university after nine years, accepting a position as Imam at the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo, according to an email from Dean of Students Jamele Adams, sent to the Brandeis community on July 20.

Sharrieff said she has enjoyed her work at Brandeis thus far, writing, “I have been empowered with spiritual and intellectual tools to edify, enlighten and illuminate the true essence of the students I serve.”

In terms of her role on campus, Sharrieff said she will “be available for pastoral care, multi-faith dialogue, shared community service, educational and leadership development, advocacy and social justice outreach.”

Sharrieff speaks four languages: Arabic, English, Hebrew and Italian.

She received her Master’s in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School, where she concentrated on a wide range of subjects, including Islamic studies and gender “and its linguistic implications in the Qur’an and the Torah” and “female scholarship in Islam and Judaism.”

Sharrieff is involved with Parliament of World’s Religions Conference, finds that food is an excellent way to foster connection between different cultures and noted she has “a knack for cutting edge technology.”

Considering how much she has enjoyed her role at Brandeis, Sharrieff said should would be open to taking on a permanent role.

Brandeis for Bernie gears up for presidential campaign

By Elianna Spitzer Special to the Hoot

The student group Brandeis for Bernie held their kickoff event on Sept. 29. Brandeis for Bernie is an on-campus group in support of Bernie Sanders, an independent candidate running for the Democratic nomination for president in 2016.

The event, held in the Schwartz Auditorium, provided students with bumper stickers, pamphlets and information on how to volunteer with the campaign.

The Brandeis for Bernie Facebook page invited students to “join us in starting a political revolution to take back America from the billionaire class.”

When asked about the formation of the group Lexi Ouellette ’18 said, “I think it was just like-minded people coming together and understanding that they wanted to do something about Bernie Sanders on this campus.” Ouellette also works for the national organization College Students for Bernie.

Over the last few months Sanders’ popularity has surged, gaining on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in polls. Sanders focuses on issues such as income inequality and climate change.

“I was really inspired by Bernie’s

message around income inequality in particular,” said Noah Coolidge ’16, an organizer of Brandeis for Bernie who spoke at the kickoff event.

Sanders has mobilized many younger voters, due in part to his plan to end college debt. His campaign pamphlet, handed out at the event, states, “Together, we will fight for an America we can all be proud of.”

“He just captures something that a lot of people are feeling and that a lot of people are starting to say. I think he’s already made a huge impact on what’s possible politically as well as the [political] race in general,” said Coolidge.

Students who attended the event were in search of ways to show support or learn more about his political ideals. Throughout the event, the Brandeis for Bernie organizers emphasized that the best way to show support for Sanders is to get involved with the campaign. They said students can get involved in two areas: on campus and off campus. They stressed that the best way to support the campaign on-campus is by getting the word out about Sanders and his platform.

“Word of mouth is such an important organizing tool. If you see an ad on YouTube … you might not pay attention to it, it might annoy you, but

I think genuine interaction with others, talking on a personal level about why you support someone is so empowering,” said Ouellette.

Another way to get involved with the campaign on-campus is through social media. Students can like the group’s Facebook page “Brandeis for Bernie” to stay updated on future events. Through the Facebook page, students can be directed to a volunteer page for Sander’s campaign.

College Students for Bernie launched their social media campaign “Bernie Blast” this week. Students posted photos online of themselves holding signs explaining why they support Bernie Sanders. At the kickoff event, students took photos for the event. Brandeis for Bernie organizers posted the photos online with the hashtag “#Berndeis.”

At the kickoff event, Coolidge explained that students can show support off-campus by canvassing in New Hampshire, speaking with voters about a candidate. “It’s a lot of fun, and it has a huge impact,” Coolidge said.

Students at the event were positive about the progress of Sanders’ campaign. “I think right now the fact that he’s gaining in polls in early primary states and nationally is really important,” Ouellette said.

photo from internet source

October 2, 2015

The Brandeis Hoot

NEWS

3

Catholic students hope to find permanent priest From CHAPLAINCY, page 1

this position “would be evolutionary rather than revolutionary,” as he believes Cuenin’s role as head chaplain, “in many ways already followed the kind of non-denominational approach that the work group’s memo proposes.”

Cuenin’s departure also left the Catholic Chaplaincy, specifically, in a state of transition. Following his departure, Father Daniel Moloney began leading mass on campus. However, unlike Cuenin who worked with students outside of mass, Moloney’s role did not extend far beyond this.

Cornelisse began her role at the Catholic Chaplaincy in April. She invites priests to lead mass at the Bethlehem Chapel on Sundays, provides access to off-campus services and works with the Catholic Students Organizations (CSO).

Cornelisse said she has found the community “welcoming, helpful, committed to diversity and passionate in its efforts to offer the best,” and enjoys working with the other chaplains, “a dynamic group of people as well as [engaged] in dialogue and ac-

tivities with the many different faiths which are celebrated on campus.”

She is a “lay Catholic spiritual advisor,” a role somewhat distinct from that of a priest or chaplain. The report suggests that the university “[follow] the wishes of the campus Catholic community” by maintaining this position. Some members of the Catholic community favor splitting the roles of a day-to-day spiritual advisor and a priest.

In an email to The Hoot, Insley said having a lay-person serve the community ensured there was “a presence on campus that was available to meet with students outside of the regular Sunday mass.” She said it was important to have someone who welcomes diversity and understands both Catholicism and student needs.

Cornelisse “stepped in when the Catholic community desperately needed some leadership, and the combination of her skills to minister to the pastoral needs of the campus and a priest to lead weekly Sunday mass seemed like the perfect combination,” said Insley.

Stephanie Anciro ’16, current president of the CSO, is open to the idea of

a separate priest and spiritual advisor or a priest who fills both roles. However, she said the community hopes to see a “permanent priest that can serve the unique campus, students and community.” Anciro believes sense of community is essential to the Catholic community, explaining that she finds a sense of “home” while at mass.

Anciro also feels that Cornelisse has provided structure to the Catholic community, writing, “she provides support for students, just as Father Cuenin did and is a confidential resource,” as are the official chaplains.

It is as yet undecided whether the future of the Catholic Chaplaincy will include a priest who also works as spiritual advisor, a position similar to Cuenin’s or two separate positions for these responsibilities. Currently, a rotation of priests leads mass on campus.

The Muslim Chaplaincy is also in transition. Imam Dr. Talal Edi left the university after nine years to serve as full-time Imam for the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo in Ohio, according to an email from Dean of Students Jamele Adams on July 20.

The university has hired Sharrieff as

North Quad renovations all but complete

interim chaplain, starting this fall. In an email to The Hoot, Sharrieff said she is “thrilled” to be at Brandeis and would be honored to take on a permanent role.

The Chaplaincy Report also suggests that the Multifaith Chaplaincy change their name to the Department of Spiritual and Religious Life.

It explains that many students do not know what a chaplain is and identify more with the term spirituality over religion. The report also notes that not all staff who work with religious services are chaplains. The Working Group hopes this change will make the Chaplaincy more accessible, increasing its “scope.”

The report proposes the Chaplaincy report to the Provost’s office, rather than the Dean of Students Office, allowing the Chaplaincy to service the entire university, as opposed to just undergraduates and “facilitate diversity efforts at all levels.” It examines how to address non-vetted religious leaders who work with students, proposing the designation “affiliate,” and requiring a CORI check, a meeting with the proposed director to discuss federal and state laws and expecta-

tions and yearly meetings “with other affiliates and campus chaplains to discuss relevant issues.”

This process, the report explains, “allows the university to guarantee to parents that religious and spiritual services are being provided by known individuals who are accountable to university constituents even if they are not paid by the university.”

In his statement to The Hoot, Flagel emphasized the need for feedback so that “we can have an informed discussion of next steps.” He said there have been a “number of emails” providing thoughts, and he hopes to “share feedback publically” in a way that protects those who requested privacy.

The three Brandeis chapels (Jewish, Catholic and Protestant) were dedicated in 1955, however the Chaplaincy has expanded since then to include Muslim and Hindu chaplains and accommodate students of many other world religions.

“The work of the Chaplaincy creates an essential base to academic exploration and provides grounding for the whirlwind of transition which constitutes campus life,” said Winnick in an email to The Hoot.

Staff member receives award From MALO, page 1

dialectic reading to attendees regardless of their literacy levels or native language. Members of the community were involved in the creation of a community learning garden, berry gardens and potted gardens in which the Gardens program operates. Every program offered is free of charge and is often run by Brandeis and Bentley student volunteers.

This past summer, according to Malo, those involved with the center achieved their goal of formalizing Prospect Hill as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Moving forward, Malo and his team are still hoping for higher enrollment in some of their

programs as well as to establish more programs that meet the community’s needs. They would also eventually like the center “to be sustainable (programs and funding) to operate without the financial support of the two universities.” To achieve this goal, they are working to establish an endowment in order to be financially secure.

Malo ensures that the organization’s message and programming reach the entire community by publishing informational materials in a variety of languages. He looks forward to working with members of the Brandeis community more as they deepen their impact.

photos by isaac satin/the hoot

By Abigail Gardener Special to the Hoot

Construction projects in Cable and Reitman residence halls in North Quad are finally completed, except for a few small projects such as installing signage, according to Senior Vice President for Operations Jim Gray.

The campus renovations first began during the summer, in early July. According to Gray, renovations include new furniture, paint, new flooring across the building, new bathrooms, new bath exhaust systems, new sewer piping and plumbing and new lighting in all public areas.

On Sept. 4, The Brandeis Hoot reported that the Reitman balcony was incomplete and that rooms signs that should have braille were only printed pieces of paper. Gray said the university had to reorder the braille signs.

The balcony is now complete; however the signs remain computer paper.

As the construction is nearly finished, most students who live in Cable and Reitman no longer notice it,

although they report the noise was irritating in the morning at times when the year began. Students also reported the small annoyance of having to dodge workers and construction tools in the halls.

Halley Geringer ’19 who lives in Reitman said in an email to The Hoot, “I first noticed the renovations starting during the first week of school. If I remember correctly, it was the first Friday of the school year, and my roommate and I were woken up to the sound of really loud hammering. We walked out of our room to see lots of ladders and tools and of course construction workers in the hallway.”

Eeshani Nagarkar ’19, who also lives in Reitman, said, “I personally think it’s great that the dorms are getting renovated, but it can be annoying having a bunch of random people in the dorm when you’re trying to take a shower or get to your room quickly.”

Julia Ryan ’19, who lives in Cable, said that when moving in before orientation, “I noticed right away that the bathrooms had no soap dispensers, and at least one of the lounges had no furniture. That got sorted out in the first couple of weeks but it was definitely a surprise.” Ryan also men-

tioned occasionally having to dodge utility trucks outside her building in the morning.

Despite these inconveniences, the student consensus is that the renovations to the dorm buildings were worth the prolonged construction and were beneficial to all.

Geringer confirmed construction on the Reitman balcony is complete; after the first week of September, signs were posted warning students not to walk on the balcony for safety concerns. She also said crews repainted the bathrooms and installed exit signs.

“Overall, the changes have been beneficial and have never caused any major inconveniences,” said Geringer.

Nagarkar echoed this, praising the new furniture and updated bathrooms, stating, “I think all the changes that were made are beneficial because we have nicer furniture, bathrooms, carpeting and an all around better dorm.”

“I feel like the [first-years] that are living there now are living in an entirely different dorm and getting an entirely different experience,” said Anna Craven ’18, who lived in Reitman last year.

bathroom in north quad temporary closed, despite recent renovations

4 NEWS

The Brandeis Hoot

October 2, 2015

Yuskavage addresses female form in Rose exhibition

By Charlotte Aaron Editor

Lisa Yuskavage shared the inspiration behind her paintings featured in her Rose Art Museum exhibition “The Brood,” and gave advice to budding artists when she spoke to over 100 Brandeis community members at the Pollack Fine Arts Teaching Center on Saturday, Sept. 26.

An artist known for her paintings of the female body, Yuskavage is a defining force in figurative painting, according to Christopher Bedford, director of the Rose. “If you think about the figurative tradition, painting in the ’90s, it would be unimaginable without her,” said Bedford.

“In this painting, ‘The Gifts,’ I was intentionally playing the role of a misogynist because I thought it was an interesting thing to explore, rather than run away from,” Yuskavage said when “The Gifts,” was projected onto the screen in the auditorium. “The Gifts” is a painting that shows a topless woman.

“The Gifts,” among Yuskavage’s other paintings of the female nude, is a form of trope in the history of art, especially when the painter is a woman, said Bedford. “When the figures are garish, voicetress, aggressive, very, very present, borrowed from all sorts of different high and low vocabularies. I think they are very challenging to look at. I think they demand to be looked at.”

Yuskavage provided further insight into the creation of her paintings when she spoke about her creation, “Bad Baby 1.” “I remember drawing that triangle between her legs, making her legs sort of spread like that in this very rude way, and these little angry hands, and I really just sum-

moned her out of both my subconscious and the page,” she said.

“Bad Baby 1,” in addition to her other work, brings up the concept of pornography in discussion about her work, according to Bedford. When the topic arose during her presentation, Yuskavage made it clear that she could not imagine how, nor did she intend for, her work to be seen as pornographic.

Near the end of her presentation, Yuskavage encouraged art students to not be concerned with what people think of their work. “I was basically just making paintings without worrying about whether or not people thought they were stupid or crazy or terrible,” said Yuskavage.

Other pieces Yuskavage spoke about included “Brood,” “Day,” “Night,” “Blond Brunette and Redhead” and “Rorschach Blot.”

“From the early ’90s to the present, Lisa has been a defining force in figurative painting, and when history is written hundreds of years from now, when it comes to figurative in particular, she’ll be front and center,” said Bedford.

Bedford works to bring anywhere from 10 to 15 artists to campus per year, eight of whom will have their exhibits displayed in the Rose. “I do want [students], particularly art students, to realize that artists aren’t this sort of aloof, elite, removed species— they’re people, and those people produce works of art,” said Bedford.

According to Bedford, the Rose has an incredible history of monographic, groundbreaking exhibitions and attempts to bring artists to campus who are socially challenging, socially relevant and scholarly.

“I always think about formal invention and social relevance as the two keystones of the work we do. So if the

photo from internet source

artist is investing in a way I think is interesting, relevant to the history of art, and the way that they work has a relationship to the world that we all occupy, then those are two benchmarks for I think a productive visit to campus,” said Bedford.

Bedford aims for the Rose to serve as a center for social discourse and conversation about popular culture and pertinent social issues. “If you’ve any involvement in the social world,

I would say that a museum should be your first port of call. I mean, much more so than going to a movie or going to a performance.”

He encourages members of the Brandeis community to take advantage of the Rose, especially non-arts students. “Art is as much for everyone as music is,” said Bedford.

Leonie Koch, a senior who attended the event, said listening to Yuskavage speak helped her understand

more about the role an artist plays in how society metabolizes social issues.

“She was clear to not label her work as “feminist” or “not feminist” although her paintings are mostly of female bodies, which made me think about the ways that a viewer or critic can be a feminist in their interpretation of art without pushing the role of activist onto the artist,” said Koch.

Yuskavage’s “The Brood” will be on exhibit in the Rose through Dec. 13.

Dharmic prayer space opens in SCC after years of controversy

By Hannah Shuster and Emily Sorkin Smith Editors

A Dharmic prayer space opened in the Shapiro Campus Center on Monday, Sept. 21, following several years of controversy over the appropriate location of this space. Located in the former art gallery, the room will serve as a prayer space for Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains. The space will also be open for all students to use, unless any of the four religious communities considered to be “hosts” of the space have the room reserved for their purposes.

The Dharmic community hosted an inauguration for the space at which Senior Vice President of Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel, Dean of Students Jamele Adams, multiple Chaplains and students spoke.

In the spring of 2014, The Brandeis Hoot reported that the Hindu community was supposed to install several deities in the Protestant Chapel.

According to Vaishali Gupta, the Hindu Chaplain, in an interview with The Hoot, both the Protestant and Catholic Chaplains offered to share their space. After several members of the Protestant community voiced their concerns, it was decided that the dharmic prayer space would not move into the Harlan Chapel.

After this first controversy, Gupta said she reached out to three other eastern religions groups, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains, and “suggested that we have a space which is open to all these communities,” rather than just Hindus.

Last spring, controversy again erupted over the news that a Dharmic prayer space would replace the Women’s Resource Center (WRC) in

the SCC, home to the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA) and Students Talking About Relationships (STAR). This resulted from what Gupta referred to as a “huge communication gap” between the Dharmic community, FMLA and the administration.

According to Gupta, the administration told her and the Dharmic community that FMLA and STAR were moving, opening up the space.

Gupta said they were not aware that FMLA did not want to move, even though she had asked the administration several times. After realizing WRC tenants did not want to move, the Dharmic community informed administration they would not take the space.

“I didn’t want to have history repeat itself,” said Gupta, comparing the situation with the WRC to the previous controversy with the Protestant chapel. “After all, it’s a prayer space. You don’t want to be stepping on somebody’s toes,” she said.

The new Dharmic prayer space is intentionally set up to be as inclusive as possible. It holds altars and religious objects for more than just Hindus, and once a month the center hosts collective prayers that draw congregants from all four communities. The space is open to all students regardless of religious tradition, provided they follow rules set by the space, including not wearing shoes, and are respectful of the rooms other users. Gupta has encouraged students to bring their friends to the space, saying “we want people to come and kind of observe, and ask questions and learn and participate.”

The Dharmic Prayer Space is the result of a collaboration between the four religious communities that use

photo from internet source

it and the administration. Sangha, a non-denominational Buddhist organization on campus, joined the cause after Gupta reached out to other eastern religious communities.

Namaskar, the Hindu student organization, had been working toward a prayer space for years.

Funding for the space has come, according to Gupta, in large part from the funding she receives to support the Hindu community. This money goes to buying furniture, alters, rugs and other needed accessories for the room. They are still in talks with Adams and other administrators to secure further funding for the space.

Eric Howden ’16 spoke to The Hoot

about the benefits of a cross-cultural prayer space open to all students.

Without a prayer space, Howden said students often prayed in their own rooms, with “no sense of unity or cohesion.” The ability to block out times to hold prayer services and other events will allow, in his opinion, a strong Buddhist community to form.

Both Gupta and Howden emphasized the coexistence between the four faiths as key to the success of the prayer space. “[The] partnership has probably been the most important. Without these two clubs interacting with the chaplaincy this would’ve taken a lot longer,” said Howden, referring to

Namaskar and Sangha.

The Dharmic community moved into the space last spring, however they did not hold their inauguration ceremony until September. Prior requests to use space were honored, such as one previously booked Board of Trustees meeting.

Shruti Vaidyanathan ’16, president of Namaskar, who was involved in securing a Dharmic prayer space, was unable to speak with The Hoot as of press time. Adams was also unable to provide comment.

Gupta confirmed the space in the SCC is technically classified as interim, however she said there are no current plans to move the space.

October 2, 2015

FEATURES

The Brandeis Hoot 5

Abram Sachar: Brandeis’ first president

By Zach Phil Schwartz Editor

In 1948, nobody would have dreamed of the heights Brandeis would hit in its first 20 years. The newborn university had been built from the remnants of the financially embattled Middlesex University. In the beginning, there were just 107 students and 13 faculty. At a time when the future was very much uncertain, one of Brandeis’ greatest assets facilitated the university’s ascension to greatness. His name was Dr. Abram Leon Sachar.

A son to Jewish immigrants, Sachar was born in 1899, in New York, NY. His academic record was impeccable, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with two degrees from Washington University in St. Louis and earning a doctorate from Cambridge University. After years of teaching, writing, advocacy and involvement in the Jewish community, Sachar accepted a position at the helm of the fledgling Brandeis University.

Sachar is arguably one of the most important figures in the university’s history, building the school up and leaving behind a pervasive legacy that continues to this day. Only 13 years after opening its doors, Brandeis was chartered a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, a feat that other top-tiered universities

have achieved with much less ease.

Middlesex University centered around what Brandeis would dedicate Usen Castle, making for a campus dwarfed by the size of Brandeis today.

Under Sachar’s watch, the university would expand to open doors to today’s first-year quads and campus center Ford Hall in the 1950s. East Quad was completed in the 1960s.

The Usdan Student Center opened in 1970, one year following Sachar’s resignation.

Of course, such ambitious expansion projects required significant funding. According to the Brandeis Archives, Sachar was able to raise more than $250 million during all of his time at the university as president and later as chancellor and chancellor emeritus.

It was not just Sachar’s fundraising skills and desire to turn Brandeis into a top-tier university that solidified his legacy. It was his character, his determined vision and his devotion to fostering development of a nonsectarian Jewish-sponsored institution of higher learning that made Brandeis what it is today.

After decades of involvement with Brandeis, Sachar’s legacy had been sewed into the very heart of the university. The school had been turned into the Jewish-sponsored, worldclass institution he had envisioned: a renowned school where everyone is accepted. When he died in 1993

at the age of 94, the community lost more than a spectacular individual; it lost the man who had made Brandeis what it is today.

Ten days after Sachar died, Congressman Edward Markey of Massachusetts eulogized him as “one of the century’s greatest university presidents” on the House of Representatives floor. He recounted to Congress Sachar’s history and achievements but most of all highlighted “the success” of Brandeis as a result of his “tireless efforts” to found a university accepting of all people and create a responsible student body instilled with “a sense of social conscience.” Sachar took office as the first president of Brandeis University in 1948, and his legacy still remains ever pervasive.

Today’s Brandeis would be completely foreign to those 107 students and 13 faculty who first walked through the university’s doors in 1948, thanks to Sachar. Today, over 3,700 undergraduate students walk the campus grounds, not to mention the countless graduate students and skilled faculty. We started without much more than a struggling university and a castle. Thanks to the Sachar’s efforts, Brandeis rose through the ranks to the level of top-tier universities with much speed while at the same time staying true to the philosophy of tolerance it was built on.

Sachar and his wife, Thelma, who

photo from internet source

died in 1997, were laid to rest together in a special plot nearby the Sachar International Center of the IBS on campus. They were both outlived by

their three sons, Howard, Edward and David.

BUGS offers students valuable academic resource

By Jacob Edelman Editor

Brandeis Undergraduate Group Study, abbreviated BUGS, is a study program maintained by the Office of Academic Services for the use of students seeking help, guidance or review for a large number of classes.

Each BUGS session is led by students who have taken the courses for which they tutor.

Conner Wahrman ’17, a politics major and International & Global Studies and history minor, is in his second year tutoring for BUGS, leading the tutoring groups for Introduction to Comparative Politics and Introduction to International Relations. Wahrman focuses on international politics, also serving as the editor-in-chief for the Brandeis International Journal, a semesterly, student-run publication. He says that politics help contextualize and explain world events, such as the conflict in Yemen and the Central African Republic, or the ongoing migrant crisis in the European Union. Once one can explain the causes and effects, Wahrman said, one can start to make improvements in the world.

In his first year at Brandeis, Wahrman took a couple of politics classes.

Then, toward the end of the same year, he learned that the BUGS program would be hiring a tutor for the politics department. Seizing the opportunity, Wahrman applied and received the job.

Wahrman explained that BUGS offers tutoring for classes across the academic spectrum, including in politics, chemistry, assorted languages and many others departments. “Going to BUGS isn’t because you necessarily need it, but it’s because you

photo from internet source

want the help,” he explained. “We can’t give you anything more than what we have gotten from the classes—we’re not special or super endowed with academic capabilities. We took the courses, we enjoyed them, we did well in them and we continued into the department.”

There are people who attend BUGS regularly and people who only show up before an exam, while others simply email BUGS tutors their questions. Elaborating on the difference between a BUGS tutor and a teaching assistant, Wahrman said that BUGS “isn’t necessarily better. It’s different.

If your class has discussion sections, TA’s can help understand class mate-

rial, but TA’s weren’t Brandeis [undergraduate] students. They’re graduate students studying at the graduate level. The value of BUGS is having fellow students doing the exact thing you have. The grad students didn’t take the class, so their perspective is different.”

The Office of Academic Services works with each individual department to develop the BUGS tutoring based on what students have found useful for studying, what the department can afford to do and a variety of other factors. Generally BUGS covers entry-level courses, the building blocks of majors that can sometimes be difficult to grasp due to their wide

scope, but for languages, BUGS covers an even wider variety of classes.

Each tutor also maintains a relationship with the relevant department faculty, such as the professors teaching the courses, so that they stay up to date on current assignments and know about upcoming important dates.

Wahrman finds the readings for courses often stress students out.

“It’s easy to get overwhelmed with reading if you’re in a bunch of classes that assign hundreds of pages per week. There is definitely a middle ground between reading everything and reading nothing,” Wahrman said.

“Another important thing is taking

notes. If you think you can get by in a class without taking notes, you’re wrong. If you get by through writing everything that a professor is saying, you’re also wrong.” He stressed writing down what a professor writes on the board, stating, “They don’t need to. They’re writing it as a service for you.”

When asked about how he himself studies, Wahrman says that he likes to think in terms of how everything is connected, and in terms of stories.

“I like stories. If you can make something into a story, it’s super helpful both because it makes things more enjoyable for you, and it creates and reinforces links between ideas.”

6 The Brandeis Hoot

The Brandeis Hoot

October 2, 2015

A look inside the Student Union

By Katarina Weessies Staff

The Brandeis Student Union plays a huge role in the school functions and activities that make Brandeis special.

They plan events, charter and allocate funds for clubs, and connect the administration with the student body.

Much of what the Student Union does is behind-the-scenes work, but their efforts directly and openly affect the student body. The aspects of Brandeis in which the student union most heavily participates, such as the funding of clubs and the planning of student events, are an essential part of what makes the Brandeis experience unique. Lorenzo Finamore ’18, senator at large for the Student Union, spoke about the experience of participating in the Student Union.

Last year, Finamore served as the North Quad Senator. When asked how his role as senator at large differs from that of North Quad Senator, he explained that he now “represents a broader constituency,” and can therefore act as the voice of far more Brandeis students. He also stated that his year of experience in the Student Union left him far more prepared for his position as the senator at large because it “takes a year understand where the school can improve.” According to Finamore, participating in Student Union facilitates a “very different perspective” on the inner workings of Brandeis. This change in perspective is extremely helpful in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of school events.

photo from internet source

Last year, the Student Union worked on many important projects, such as the Turkey Shuttle, the shuttle service that transported students to and from the Logan Airport during Thanksgiving Break. They also organized the semesterly pre-finals Mid-

night Buffet, a beloved tradition that provides a break from studying in the form of food, friends and music.

This year, the Student Union has even more to offer Brandeis students.

Finamore would like to convert the abandoned shed near East Quad into

a student space. He wants to set up “a marketplace for students” with food or other goods that would function as an autonomous, student-run area.

Finamore asserts that the presence of a student-run area on campus is important to the cohesive nature of the

Brandeis community, and wants the abandoned building near East Quad to function as that space. Although the building currently belongs to the Waltham Historical Society, Finamore believes that Brandeis can “restore it in the process” of turning it into a student space.

Finamore’s committee is also “looking into making the club process more efficient for everyone involved.”

For example, the Student Union plans on facilitating communication between similar clubs so that they can share resources and collaborate to plan events. Finamore also wants the Student Union to “collaborate more with clubs” to organize events such as the Midnight Buffet. Many Brandeis students consider club participation to be a central aspect of their Brandeis experience, so an improvement in the process of creating and funding clubs would likely be appreciated by the student body.

His favorite aspect of working with the Student Union is the “opportunity to change things, make the campus better, and represent others.” He enjoys “being able to have students ask for something,” and being able to honor their requests “in an institutional framework.” Student Union members cherish the opportunity to represent the student body. Their job is to make students heard, bridging the gap between students and the administration. They work hard to be as accurate and helpful of a voice as possible for Brandeis students, and their efforts are an important part of what makes the Brandeis experience unique.

October 2, 2015

SPORTS

Women’s soccer continues undefeated with win over Tufts

By Zach Cihlar

Special to the Hoot

The 30th-ranked Brandeis women’s soccer team improved their record to 9-0 on Saturday, Sept. 26 with a 1-0 win against Tufts University. It’s the team’s best start to the season since they achieved a matching record in 2003. The Brandeis victory dropped Tufts’ record to 2-4.

The win continued the team’s shutout streak. The 1-0 win made the game the Judge’s sixth consecutive and total shutout of the season.

This was goalkeeper Alexis Grossman’s ’17 fifth shutout this season.

Grossman made two successful saves during the game on the two shots on goal from the Tufts offense.

It was a tight game with equal ball possession from both sides. Tufts was unable to convert possessions into shot opportunities, and their frustration showed in the 11 fouls they racked up during the game. The Judges’ defense successfully kept Tufts out of the striking zone. In the first half, the Jumbos only took one shot compared to Brandeis’ seven.

With remarkable offense, the Judges created many shot opportunities.

Brandeis outshot the Tufts Jumbos 17 to five. Holly Szafran ’16 and Samantha Schwartz ’18 led the Judges, taking five shots each.

Seven shots came in the first half for Brandeis, two of which were on goal. The opposing goalkeeper made two successful saves to hold back the Judges’ strong offense. The Judges’ de-

Editor

Both the men’s and women’s tennis teams faced losses over the weekend at two separate tournaments.

The women’s team traveled to Middlebury, VT, for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association New England Regional Tournament at Middlebury College, while the men’s team competed in the same tournament at Williams College in Williamstown, MA. The men’s team put up a strong performance with Brian Granoff ’17 as Brandeis’ front runner. Granoff had the best performance by a Brandeis men’s player since 2012, reaching the quarter-finals of the tournament.

He was seeded eighth headed into the tournament and opened with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Colby College. He used that momentum for the second match of the tournament against Wheaton’s David Gassen in a quick 6-2, 6-0 victory. The two victories in the first day of the tournament prom-

Prominent administrators in athletic dept. get promotion

By Lily Wageman Staff

fense excelled as well, and Tufts’ only shot in the first half occurred in the 44th minute, which sailed wide.

A lull occurred in the game after a shot by Cidney Moscovitch ’17 in the 21st minute. The back and forth possession between the teams led to a 23-minute absence of shots until Tufts’ shot at minute 44.

Brandeis remained in the lead statistically in the second half but despite that Tufts came out strong in the beginning of the period. In the first 10 minutes, Tufts took two shots on goal, both saved by Grossman. The Judges turned the game around and were able to take three shots on goal from 10 total shot opportunities for the remaining part of the game.

The only goal of the game came in the 56th minute. A leading pass through the Tufts defenders from Szafran positioned Moscovitch in front of the Jumbos’ goalkeeper. Moscovitch was able to get the ball past the goalie with a left-footed kick that

photo from internet source

stayed on the ground. The goal was Moscovitch’s third of the season, all of which have been game-winners.

A promising shot opportunity occurred again for the Judges in the 88th minute when Moscovitch cut across the defenders to position the ball in front of the goal. A huge kick passed over the hands of the goalie and hit the top of the crossbar.

Brandeis would take one more shot before the end of the game.

The team continued their undefeated record with a tie on Tuesday, Sept.

29 against Wellesley. In the game, the Judges were unable to convert any of their 19 shots on goal and the score remained 0-0 through double overtime. The Judges’ defense held off Wellesley, who took no shots on goal throughout the entirety of game.

Brandeis enters October with a 9-0-1 record. They are scheduled to face off against undefeated Carnegie Mellon at home on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 10:30 a.m.

Tennis teams fall short in three-day tournament

By Sarah Jousset

The Brandeis Hoot 7

ised Granoff a game the next day.

In the round of 16, Granoff faced off for the first time against another seeded player, Bowdoin’s Kyle Wolfe.

Granoff beat Wolfe 7-5, 6-3 to win a spot in the final eight. Although Granoff put up an impressive effort in the tournament, he couldn’t beat his Wesleyan opponent in the quarter finals. Chen beat Granoff in a 6-3, 6-1 victory to move on to the semifinals.

Other singles matches included Brandeis’ Ryan Bunis ’17 defeating Bill Roddy of Bowdoin in a 6-2,6-2 victory in the first round of the tournament before having to withdraw from the competition. Tyler Ng ’19 dropped his opening match to a Bates player in a 6-2, 6-1 loss.

The Judges only had one pair in doubles action, who did not advance, as Granoff and Jeffrey Cherkin ’17 fell to the eighth-seeded pair from Williams, 8-2 in the first round of the tournament.

The women’s team had only one player advance past the first round.

Karen Khromchenko ’19 dominated

a Smith College opponent in a 6-0, 6-0 victory. However, Khromchenko couldn’t hold her momentum, falling to Catherine Miller of Williams in the second round of the tournament.

In other singles action, Haley Cohen ’18 won her first set 6-2 but couldn’t beat her opponent from Amherst in a tiebreaker, falling 6-7, 4-10 in the super tiebreaker third set. Olivia Leavitt ’19 dropped her first match to a player from Amherst as well.

Amherst was the third-ranked team in the nation last year. Leavitt lost in a 6-2, 6-4 decision.

In doubles action, the Judges entered two pairs. Cohen and Leavitt fell to a Middlebury pair in an 8-4 decision in the opening round of the tournament. Also for the Judges, Emily Eska ’16 and Sophia He ’19 were defeated in the first round by Tufts players.

The women’s team plays next on Oct. 16 with the NEWITT doubles tournament. The men’s team plays again on Oct. 10 in the two-day Wallach Invitational at Bates University.

This fall, Brandeis Director of Athletics Sheryl Sousa ’90 was promoted to senior associate vice president for student affairs, while Lynne Dempsey ’93, formerly senior associate athletic director will serve as the acting athletic director. Dempsey will succeed Sousa after serving as her top assistant for the past 11 years.

As associate athletic director, Dempsey oversaw day-to-day operations, and in the past decade has seen the athletics program and staff significantly grow, and feels very proud to be part of these positive changes. In recent years the athletics department has added several professional staff members and increased the ability to offer a variety of programming and support for all Brandeis students.

While a student at Brandeis, Dempsey was a three-sport athlete who starred in soccer, basketball and softball. During her senior year, she earned the program’s Max I. Silber Award as top female athlete. In 1994, after spending a year as a part-time employee with the Judges, she returned to her alma mater fulltime and has served the department of athletics in several capacities since. She has been the senior associate director of athletics since 2011.

The Brandeis Hoot was able to conduct an email interview with Dempsey to discover more about her history with Brandeis and her transition into her new role. In the interview, Dempsey detailed a particular memory that has stuck with her since her collegiate career. During her senior soccer season, there was a firstyear goalie who arrived injured, and with no other goal keeper, her coach asked Dempsey to fill the position even though she had no experience in

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD Write a letter to the editor to express your views on our writers opinions and see yourself featured in next weeks issue! Submit to letters@thebrandeishoot.com Have a piece you want published? Submit it to us at eic@thebrandeishoot.com Have an idea for a column? Contact join@thebrandeishoot.com

that position. Dempsey said that despite it being nerve wracking at first, this experience allowed her to see the game and reinforced “that you always have to do things for the greater good of the team.”

Dempsey believes that her experience as a student-athlete for Brandeis has helped her during her career in the athletic department. It’s with the goal of wanting student-athletes to have the best experience possible in mind that she tries to get to know many student-athletes so that she can have a more personal and genuine understanding of who they are and why they are excited to be part of the athletics program.

This year, Dempsey would like to mobilize the athletic programs even more, with the hopes of higher engagement in the campus community and promoting the student-athletes who compete for Brandeis. “It’s one thing to publicize games and events, which is obviously important, but I want to try and promote a greater understanding of who we are and what we do,” Dempsey said. She would also like to connect with alumni and bring them back to campus more regularly. Dempsey’s long-term vision for the Brandeis Athletics community is to support the coaches so that the Judges can be competitive locally in the UAA and at the NCAA level. The ultimate goal is to compete for a national championship which will cause Dempsey to advocate for beneficial improvements of facilities, recruiting and budgets.

Dempsey’s passion and enthusiasm for the athletics program is clear.

“During the past 10 years, Sheryl Sousa was able to make a lot of significant improvements to our overall program, and I will look to build upon what she has done. I see this role as a chance to advocate in a new way, and build new relationships to help bolster the future of Brandeis Athletics.”

photo from internet source

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8 The Brandeis Hoot

ARTS, ETC.

October 2, 2015

Art exhibition ‘Reconnaissance’ explores violence in the Middle East

By Adam Lamper

Special to the Hoot

One of Brandeis’ newest art exhibitions, “Reconnaissance,” is making waves with its contemporary take on the traditional world of social statements. Artist and Resident Scholar of the Women’s Studies Research Center Linda Bond creates a truly unique display of the realities of wartime violence of the Middle East and South Asia and its effect on the women of the war-torn nations through her use of multimedia in addition to the conventional forms of art like sketch and collage.

The most prominent and defining display of the exhibit features two installations of Bonds’ “One to One” series, each a 6’ x 4’ x 7’, house-shaped wooden structure that is “fragile, delicate yet stable,” curatorial assistant Caitlyn Julia Rubin explained, and represents the “framework of progress that women’s education can provide.”

The first of the two installations features small drawstring bags suspended within the wooden structure that were created by women of Afghanistan and Pakistan under Bond’s creative project aimed at providing them with small wages to help them attend school and literacy programs. Each of the bags are emblazoned with either the image of the creator’s traced hand or an image of the Hamsa, a symbol of an open palm that represents power, protection and justice, ideas that Bond uses to characterize social re-

photos by adam lamper/the hoot

form in the Middle East. The second was lined with handwritten letters, thanking the Afghanistan branch of the Barakat literacy program for providing them a second chance at education. In the middle of the installation is a projection of a slide show that presents short video clips, giving faces to these women and subsequently humanizing the struggle for social liberation through Bond’s signature feminist perspective.

Bond’s message of the media’s influence on people’s perceptions of wartime is expressed through her persistent inclusion of its tradition-

al forms, specifically newsprint, throughout the exhibition. Her display “War Language” is composed of 16 squares of newsprint with adjusted opacity, rendering the original articles on drone strikes just barely legible. Stamped in a wash of gunpowder across each article are ambiguous or justifying phrases such as “actual consequences,” “believed to be” and “mistakenly killed” that Bond had noticed made recurring appearances in the printed medium. This high contrast of the phrase represents both media’s ability to manipulate a population’s perceptions of foreign affairs

as well as society’s habit of extracting only the information they want to hear.

Bond also incorporates YouTube videos of drone strikes into her exhibition with the piece “Remote Control,” a three-monitor audio and visual display, that suggests the rapid growth of online, visual media within the younger generations, and features big-name organizations like CNN and WikiLeaks. The videos featured show unadulterated footage of drone strikes on civilians and soldiers alike, attempting to put viewers within the violence happening every day in the

Middle East. However, the videos also emphasize the distancing of violence involved in remotely operated drone strikes. The layout of the monitors is indicative of the technology used by the drone operators, drawing connections to the viewer of the display and the violence that results in it.

The largest display of Bonds’ works, her “Shadow War” series, uses actual images of regions of drone strikes, overlaid with the war-themed silhouettes of helicopters, bombs, fighter planes but, most memorably, civilians. Bond persistently uses repetition of the silhouetted shapes and symbols of the pieces in order to show the true ubiquity of these acts of violence and how current attitudes and attempts at social reform are not yet changing the shape of the problem as much as they should be. Though only 70 of her over 200 “Shadow War” pieces are currently on display, Bond has intentions to continue this as more acts of drone violence are committed.

“Reconnaissance” is open to the public weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Kniznick Gallery of the Women’s Studies Research Center, “where research, activism, and art converge.”

Upcoming events for the exhibition include “Collateral Damage: Civil Society in War,” a panel discussion with artists Bonnie Donohue, Mary Hamill and Linda Bond herself on Thursday, Oct. 8, and a gallery walk-through with Women’s Studies Research Center Scholar Hilde Hein on Thursday, Oct. 22. Be sure to check out this truly thought-provoking and insightful exhibit before it comes to a close at the

Spingold Theater celebrates 50 years of student performance ByTheresa Gaffney Editor

50 years ago, in June 1965, Brandeis’ Spingold Theater was opened in dedication to Nate B. and Frances Spingold. Associate Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations Stacey Winkler ’98 wrote an article on the theater, found on the theater’s website, celebrating its 50 years. “The development of the Spingold Theater Arts Center was a fitting cap to the Spingolds’ long commitment to the arts and philanthropy and was met with boundless optimism and enthusiasm,” she writes.

In its 50 years, Spingold Theater has hosted a multitude of events, from religious services, to plays and musicals to first-year Orientation events.

While some students don’t set foot back in the theater after Orientation has ended, others practically live and find a home there.

“I love the roof of Spingold,” Rachel Liff ’16 said. “The view is beautiful, and it’s a really interesting theatrical space. I also spend 90 percent of my time in the academic administration office.” This semester, Liff will direct the song cycle “Songs for a New World” on the building’s Mainstage.

While it is much easier to design sound for the Mainstage than for the Laurie, a smaller, more intimate room, the size of the Mainstage is daunting. “‘Songs for a New World’ is a five-person show, so I had to be really conscious of using the space to my advantage while working with the designers and actors. I wanted to make sure the show wasn’t lost because of the large area,” Liff said.

Professor Adrianne Krstansky (THA) remembers the first time that she entered Spingold. She describes the experience as “disorienting” yet

“thrilling.”

“When I first came inside, the feeling of not knowing what lay around the next corner was completely enthralling to me,” Krstansky said.

“There is something about that that resonates with a creative process—the willingness to keep going though you don’t know what will come next!”

According to Winkler, Spingold’s complex design came from the need to combine “utility with an aesthetic ideal.” The round shape makes it so all performing and rehearsing spaces are connected to a central hub. However, this does not always work according to plan. If given one thing to change about Spingold, Liff ’s choice would be easy: “Soundproofing!” With such a design, sound travels easily, and even with doors shut, it is hard for more than a few rehearsals to be going on at once.

Some believe that the building is

overdue for an upgrade. Krystansky cites the need for better air conditioning and heating, and repairs to the roof and the staircase next to the theater. Despite these needs, she refuses to believe that the building is past its prime. “I do not believe or expect that everything I encounter in my life needs to be new in order to be better.”

While the building does lack some comforts, one thing that Spingold has plenty of is character. Krstansky’s favorite place in the entire building is a small opening next to the booth, at the top of the audience, in the Merrick Theater. “If I sit on the floor and curl up my legs I can fit right in there,” she said.

From this spot, Krstansky says she can watch the audience and the stage together. It is where she sits for the opening night of any show that she directs there.

Spingold Theater has seen 50 years

of Brandeis theater and arts students.

While its age is showing, it will continue to provide many more generations of students with the same intriguing and exciting atmosphere that is has so far.

photo from internet source

October 2, 2015

Arts 9

The Brandeis Hoot

MFA introduces a multitude of new exhibitions

By Sabrina Pond Editor

Brandeis is located right outside of Boston, so not quite in the thick of it, but just close enough that students can conveniently explore its depths.

There is quite a lot to explore—if you like eating out and don’t mind spending your weekly paycheck on fine dining. Something else to consider, however, is the thriving art culture in Boston and the various opportunities there are to see and experience this intriguing art. One of those artistic hubs free to Brandeis students is the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), one of the most comprehensive art museums in the world.

If you’re one of those people who believes that if you’ve seen it once, you’ve seen it all, then you’re really missing out on something fantastic: the far-reaching, expansive and stupefying world of art. The MFA,

which has an outstanding collection of 450,000 pieces, can show only a small fraction of its artwork at one point, so it’s nearly impossible to have seen it all, even upon multiple visitations. Luckily, the MFA’s fast turnover rate allows its visitors to see as much of the collection as possible that the museum has acquired over the past 139 years.

The MFA is composed of five main artistic genres, which includes Art of the Ancient World; Art of Asia, Oceania and Africa; Art of Europe; Art of the Americas; and Contemporary Art. Photography, special exhibitions, musical instruments and jewelry are also on display, though these are subsets of the main areas and comprise a much smaller part of the museum.

With the MFA’s more recent expansion in 2010, it is incredibly easy to get lost in the sea of art—centuries worth of expression—scattered over its 616,937 square feet.

As is characteristic of the MFA, the

museum will soon unveil several exhibitions that speak to the wondrous diversity of art across mediums and time periods that have developed over the course of history. Currently on hand are some visually compelling exhibitions such as “Yours Sincerely, John S. Sargent” and “Crafted Objects in Flux.” The first exhibition, which can be viewed at the MFA until Nov. 15, incorporates letters, photographs and sketches to illuminate the mystery behind Sargent’s controversial portraits. “Crafted Objects in Flux,” on the other hand, utilizes the workmanship of over 30 up-and-coming artists, nationally and internationally based, as they explore the relative interaction between traditional and new-age craft. The results are visually stimulating on a whole other level; the artists investigate the craft’s dynamic relationship with its environment in an entirely original and unique way.

One of the MFA’s new exhibitions, “Classic Distinctions: Dutch Paint-

photos from internet source

ings in the Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer,” presents an altogether exciting opportunity to investigate the stratified socioeconomic groups within the Dutch Republic. These distinctions between high, middle and low classes can be evaluated through Rembrandt, Vermeer, Jan Steen, Pieter de Hooch, Gerard ter Borch and Gabriel Metsu’s work. Paying special attention to clothing, the way in which the person is depicted and the person’s surroundings, it is possible to form general conclusions about the time period in a new and refreshing way.

From Nov. 9 through Feb. 19, Marilyn Arsem, the recipient of the Maud Morgan Prize, will be present to showcase her performance art titled “Marilyn Arsem: 100 Ways to Consider Time.” A Massachusetts native, she received the award based

on her exceptional contributions to contemporary art. Arsem, who has performed around the world and was a faculty member at the MFA for almost three decades, is an incredibly experienced artist whose work has been influential in the arena of performance art.

During times of inconceivable stress, it can seem overwhelming or even impossible to get your life together. Taking a day trip to the MFA might seem like just another unnecessary activity, but college is an experience that doesn’t have to be entirely academic. Something to take note of is that looking at art and studying it in all its complexity may actually relieve stress.

CAST-sponsored Ebony Axis debuts

By Karen Seymour Staff

After performing in “for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is not enuf ” last fall, Lashawn Simmons ’18, a Posse Scholar, decided to create a zine, Ebony Axis, that contained poetry from black women on campus. To celebrate the launch of her publication and its contributors, a coffeehouse was held at Chum’s over the weekend, with students watching the performances from outside because

it was so crowded. The party was a showcase of poets, dancers and singers who shared pieces on blackness, womanhood and the intersection of both.

The performances varied in content, but most of the performances corresponded with the essence of Ebony Axis. The night started with poets reciting their pieces, including some poets whose work was not in the publication. After the intermission, several dance groups came on stage to change the mood and the night ended with singing and more poetry. Some performance highlights

were the Platinum step team dance routine and the recitation of a poem

by Maya Angelou, “Still I Rise.” Bronte Velez ’16 recited a poem of hers that addressed police brutality and violence toward black women.

“We deserve complexity,” Simmons said about the need for more representation of the many facets of being a black woman. The zine itself contains a variety of poetry that focus on topics from sizeism in the black community to hypersexualization of black women. In the editor’s note, Simmons describes how she came up with the name Ebony Axis: “Ebony as in the dark hardwood found in West Africa as well as an identifier for our irresistible beauty. Axis describes our displacement on the single axis framework.”

Intersectionality and the single axis framework were coined by Kimberlé W. Crenshaw, a critical race theorist and a professor at UCLA and Columbia Law School. Both intersectionality and the single axis framework describe how discussing anti-blackness and feminism separately could silence black women’s experience and dismiss their interlocked oppression. Crenshaw recently wrote “Why Intersectionality Can’t Wait” for The Washington Post to review the significance of intersectionality since she coined the term over thirty years ago.

Before everyone left Chum’s, Simmons climbed on stage and encouraged the crowd to start their own projects and “to just be creative.” Sim-

mons went on to add how she did not want the feeling she felt with “for colored girls” to end; she felt there had to be a space on campus where women of color felt comfortable sharing their experience.

After viewing several productions last year that featured several black female leads, Nyah Macklin ’16, the Student Union president, wanted to keep spaces on campus open to discussing and portraying black womanhood. “This should not be the stop.

The same with “for colored girls” and “The Colored Museum” back in the day, we needed it.” Macklin said.

After the death of Sandra Bland over the summer and the national activism against police brutality, stu-

dent groups and creative collective have been using art to create a dialogue on these sensitive topic.

Simmons was able to create Ebony Axis through a grant from the interdisciplinary minor, Creativity, the Arts, and Social Transformation Department. These grants were created to foster spaces inclusive to everyone and to encourage the public to enter into dialogues. “The publication will showcase the beautiful and varied narratives of black women on campus” according to the CAST website.

This coffeehouse kicked off the CAST Minor series of events addressing the fight for voting rights, Now as Then: We who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest.

photos from internet source

10 Arts

The Brandeis Hoot

October 2, 2015

Brandeis introduces contemporary Russian movie series

By Alana Hodson Staff

To further enrich the university’s international character, the Russian Studies Program and Eurochannel, in conjunction with the Russian Club, are hosting the Russian Contemporary Film Festival this fall.

The Russian Studies Program welcomes any and all film connoisseurs, upcoming Russian studies scholars, curious explorers and any other interested students. The festival consists of five renowned, contemporary Russian films of various genres to be shown every Thursday over the next four weeks.

“The purpose is to bring contemporary Russian films to the Brandeis community,” said Irina Dubinina, the assistant professor of Russian and director of the Russian Studies program. “American audiences are not familiar with what happens in world cinematography [beyond Oscar nominees for Best Foreign Language

Film], so this is an opportunity to see five contemporary films made in Russia by Russian directors about Russia.”

The first film, “My Dad is Baryshnikov” (2011) directed and written by Dmitry Povolotsky, was shown this week to a modest audience of about 20 students. Set in 1980s Moscow, the film follows a young boy named Borya who managed to be accepted into the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet School, despite his less-than-remarkable talent for the art. He dreams of one day dancing on the famous Bolshoi stage in the hopes of following in the footsteps of the man he believes to be his father, the legendary ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov. The film highlights the ambitions of the zealous Borya while set in the politically-charged era of post-Soviet Russia.

Eventually caught in act of illegal currency trade while attempting to disguise his poverty and impress the girl of his dreams, Borya’s position at the school is jeopardized. However, the real twist occurs at the end of the film,

creating a humorously ironic conclusion to Borya’s childhood aspirations, as well as the relationship between his father and him.

“My Dad is Baryshnikov” impressed professional movie critics at the time of its release, and continues received praise from its Brandeis audience.

“I thought it was a really interesting way to represent relationships among peers and families in the post-Soviet era, especially given the then current political status,” Sophie Lis ’19 said. “It was also very unique to see how Borya’s real father proved to be even better, in reality, than who he imagined him to be—their relationship was very sweet and supportive!”

The film achieves a harmonic balance between light-hearted humor, such as when Borya jumps in front of the closing curtain and steals an (unearned) additional bow after performing in a recital for the Queen of Spain, and the more serious nature of the film’s setting, as in the portrayal of the emotional and social consequences of Borya’s expulsion from Bolshoi.

The films to be shown over the next four weeks are “Another Year” (2014), “The Admirer” (2012), “Thirst” (2012) and “Jolly Fellows” (2009), respectively. Each movie offers a unique facet of Russian society.

“We jump from a coming of age story to an improbable romance

photos from internet source

trying to survive in Moscow, to the 19th century and Chekhov’s love story, and back to the 21st century for cross-dressing nightclubs,” Dubinina said.

The most recent film that will be shown, “Another Year,” is a Russian romantic drama based on a play by Soviet-era author Alexander Volodin which follows the life of a couple over the course of a year. The young lovers, whose lives, goals and backgrounds are drastically different, experience great happiness and strife throughout their relationship, and director Oksana Bychkova gracefully paints a candid and rich picture of new marriage through their story.

The Russian Contemporary Film Festival will be held in the Mandel Center for the Humanities Room G12 every Thursday night at 7. All of the movies are in Russian, but there are English subtitles.

“We hope that Brandeis community will enjoy exploring Russian society of today and of the past,” Dubinina said, “and for students of Russian, it will be a great opportunity to put their language skills to test.”

This week in singles...

By Zachary Gordon Staff

Last Friday, elusive and exceptional singer Sia released the first single from her upcoming album “This Is Acting.” According to Stereogum. com, the album will be composed of songs written for other artists or from other people’s perspectives. When it was written, the single titled “Alive” was initially meant for Adele, and according to Sia in an interview for Beats1, was briefly sold to Rihanna.

In the end, Sia sings the song and it sounds amazing. A driving, powerful beat, underlined by a steady sharp bass supports Sia’s raw and soaring vocals. In the choruses she even lets her voice crack to convey the emotion behind the words. The goosebump-inducing bridge strips down the instrumentals to a staccato guitar underneath Sia belting out the declaration of self empowerment and makes the highlight of the song.

Sara Bareilles also released a song last Friday, “She Used to Be Mine.”

According to Billboard, the track was written as a part of “Waitress,” a musical for which Bareilles wrote both the music and lyrics. The show just finished its run at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge and is set to debut on Broadway next April. The accompanied album, which Bareilles will be releasing on Nov. 6, is titled

“What’s Inside: Songs from Waitress.”

The song itself is the Sara at her best; it’s stripped down, it’s emotional and it tells a story. The core of the song uses a piano, an echoing electric guitar, a simple bass line and percussive backing. “She Used to Be Mine” is in full Sara Bareilles style and will be sounding out on the Broadway stage soon.

On yet another single released this week, Ed Sheeran lent his voice to a British drum and bass group, Rudimental. The track, titled “Lay It All on Me,” will be featured on Rudimental’s sophomore album, “We the Generation.” This is the second song Sheeran has collaborated with Rudimental on, after the single released earlier this year, called Bloodstream.

The track itself is defined by a steady electronic beat interspersed with ascending guitar and piano lines. Sheeran’s voice works well with the group, and it’s easy to see why he elected to do it again. However, this will be the last song he works on for a while. According to The Mirror, Sheeran will be taking a month off his explosive music career to volunteer at a charity shop in his home town of Framlingham, in Suffolk, England.

If the stack of tunes released last week wasn’t already impressive enough, on Tuesday, Sept. 29, Panic! at the Disco released their single, “Victorious.” The track came out two days after the 10th anniversary of the

group’s debut album, “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out,” and a little more than a week after the band played a free show in Boston. While Panic!’s fifth studio album has yet to be announced, they seem to have no problem releasing a steady stream of new music. “Victorious” is the third single Panic! at the Disco has released this year after “Hallelujah” and “Death of a Bachelor.” Frontman and the only original member left in the band, Brendon Urie, wrote on the band’s official site that his inspiration for the song came out of his lack of skill in athletics and is quoted as saying, “What I missed in that regard, I made up for in passion and intensity …

That’s truly victorious.”

The song is a pretty big victory in itself. What the band has lost in title length it has kept in musical talent.

The main groove of the song is held down by a driving drum pattern and funky guitar riff all enveloped by saturated electronica keyboard. The high part of the song is the pre-chorus, in which Brendon sings a very rhythmic building line that climaxes in a soaring high note.

These are only a few of the singles released this week, and more are coming out all the time. If these anthems are any indication for the quality of the albums that will be released around them, the music scene is going to have some gems.

photos from internet source

October 2, 2015

ARTS 11

The Brandeis Hoot

Student performers flood Chum’s in support of Relay For Life

By Clayre Benzadon Staff

On Sept. 24, Chum’s had its first kick-off event of the semester to promote Brandeis Relay for Life. The first presentation involved an introduction to Relay for Life and how to help raise money for the event. Later on, performances included Voicemale, Makalani Mack ’16, False Advertising, Starving Artists, Crowd Control, Joel Burt-Miller ’16 and Bad Grammer.

Voicemale, the first act, energized the crowd with their beautiful voices. Their voices were full of soul, love and beautiful harmony. For those students who didn’t have the chance to go to this event or have not heard Voicemale sing before, check out their Spotify page (Brandeis Voicemale), which includes a list of all the songs they cover: “Live Like We’re Dying,” “Already Over,” “Where’s the Love,” “Let me Entertain You,” “Phoenix,” “Girlfriend” and more.

Brandeis Starving Artists is another singing group on campus that does an incredible job of harmonizing their voices. All of the singers had powerful voices full of rhythm, beat and intensity. Also on Spotify, check out the songs they covered: “My Life Would Suck Without You,” “I’ll Be Waiting,” “Misery Business,” “Geek in the Pink,” “Proud” and more.

Crowd Control started their im-

prov performance by asking the audience to think of a word. “I make love like I…” was the starter for the line game. All of the members of the group came to center stage in front of a chair to take their turns coming up with a line: “I make love like I swim; I always get out of salty water.”

Bad Grammer also created very entertaining sketches. They started off by having the audience come up with an excuse for why troupe member Matt Guerra ’18 was late for work.

The audience created a story that involved Matt’s dog getting sick with diarrhea and helping an old woman cross the road. Two of the improv members were to act out the scene behind the boss’s back, while Matt had to guess the reason using the cues that the other two members provided to him.

Next, the audience had to create a scene for two teams of group members by suggesting a location and scene. The group members acted out a scene in which they criticized society: one of the group members was a homeless person, another group member was an ignorant citizen: “Are you homeless, or something?”

Later on, Donald Trump joined the stage, suggesting that instead of providing housing for the homeless person, he was going to create buildings all over the street instead. The audience then voted for which member they wanted to see off stage. Each

round, there were fewer and fewer people on stage and the last person up had to recreate the scene by quickly acting out everyone else’s part.

Makalani Mack ‘16 and Joel Burt-Miller ‘16 were two rappers that also performed in the middle of the show. They are incredibly gifted artists who created rhythm through sound and lyrics. Burt-Miller wrote a rap about society and ableism, which was inspired by his time abroad in South Africa.

Overall, the event was a great success. Many people came to the event, crowding the small but comfortable space at Chum’s. The kickoff event most certainly moved people to contribute to Relay for Life, as the performances revved up a vibrant energy.

After some of the performances, there were breaks in the action where Relay for Life coordinators came up to the mic to introduce themselves and give more background information about the cause. In the back was a place where students could sign up for Relay for Life and donate $5, which is a deal that only lasted from Thursday night until Friday. Thus signing up early not only helped students, but it also helped the Relay’s cause, as getting people to join earlier creates a bigger community to reach out to others.

photo from internet source

‘Everest’ barely piques critics’ interest

By Santiago Montoya Staff

The author of “Into the Wild,” Jon Krakauer, is the same mind behind “Into Thin Air,” which is about eight climbers who attempted the quixotic attempt to reach the peak of the Mount Everest. Both books have become bestselling non-fiction works and are both about survival—well, sort of. In the end (spoiler alert) the protagonists are always defeated by Mother Nature and expire in the middle of extreme cold weather conditions. Now both books have been adapted into a film called “Everest” which hit the silver screen in late September.

The film is a showcase of spectacular visuals, displaying a superb use of cinematography which is only worth seeing in IMAX 3D. The visuals compensate for the sloppy and weak script that tries to be too many different things and falls short in almost every aim.

On May 11, 1996, eight people were caught in a blizzard and died when they were descending from the summit of the Mount Everest. This is marked in history as the third deadliest day on Everest—the first one being the recent Nepal earthquake, with a total of 19 deaths. On board the 1996 Everest disaster was the New Zealand expedition leader, Rob Hall,

who in the film reveals to Josh Brolin’s character that he was hired to safely guide the climbers’ descent from the summit. Nevertheless, Mother Nature proved to be more powerful, and the rest is history.

The film could have hammered more on the controversial topics that surround this disaster, but it just does not have the gall to address it. At first, “Everest” seems to offer two possibilities: Is it going to be an old-school human drama about the disaster? Or is it going to be a more modern expose about the commercialization of Everest? Honestly, the film tries to be both but does not achieve either.

The characters are also not well developed, which in part has to do with the poorly written script penned

by William Nicholson (“Gladiator”) and Simon Beaufoy (“127 Hours”).

The sole standout was Jason Clarke, who portrays Rob Hall as having a kind soul that ultimately ends up being his Achilles’ heel. And everyone else? Despite the talented group of serious actors (Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Robin Wright, Keira Knightley and Emily Watson, to name a few) the audience spends little time with the characters, which therefore creates an unavoidable detachment.

Bringing onboard the Nicholson and Beaufoy team of writers and producers such as Tim Bevan (“The Theory of Everything” and “Tinker,

photos from internet source

Tailor, Soldier, Spy”), plus previous recognition from the Academy and pushing the release date back to September, is all part of the strategy for the movie to join the Oscar talk this season. However, “Everest” lacks the ambition to be considered one of this year’s big contenders. But it does have the chance to become a strong contender in the visual effects category, as well as other highly overlooked technical categories.

The Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur, whose previous work includes the modestly successful films “Contraband” and “2 Guns,” was in

charge of leading this team. The film generates some suspense, which is always engaging, but nonetheless can become too chaotic, especially if you have not already read the books.

There comes a point when the audience will question who is where and who is alive, and this morphs into a distraction that makes the film forgettable.

The movie tries to be different things for different reasons, but fails to execute virtually every idea, becoming a rather conglomerated and muddled piece. Is it worth anybody’s time? “Everest” will respond to a few

of your questions, such as what happened on May 11, 1996 on Mount Everest. And going back to the beginning of the film, it will provide viewers with a better viewpoint of why tourists attempt this harrowing, freezing challenge.

Aside from that, there is no other reason why “Everest” is worth anybody’s time. It does not have an edgy, arguable point, nor will it be in this year’s Oscar radar, nor leave an indelible, powerful impression. The future of this motion picture will simply vanish, and no one will seem to care.

12 The Brandeis Hoot

EDITORIALS

Univ. should promote non-Jewish holidays

“To acquire wisdom, one must observe.”

Editors-in-Chief Andrew Elmers Theresa Gaffney Senior Managing Editor Jess Linde Senior Copy Editors Mia Edelstein Julie Landy News Editors Charlotte Aaron Hannah Schuster Arts Editor Sabrina Pond Opinions Editor Zach Phil Schwartz Features Editor Jacob Edelman Sports Editor Sarah Jousset

October 2, 2015

M

uslim students celebrated Eid al-Adha, one of the most significant holidays on the Islamic calendar, from Wednesday evening through Thursday evening last week. However, despite the fact that classes were canceled for Jewish holidays four weeks in a row, the university did not give students the day off. Rather, the Multifaith Chaplaincy sent out an email through the Department of Students and enrollment giving basic background on the holiday.

To give a day off of school for Yom Kippur and other Jewish holidays, but not even publicize accommodations for Muslim students observing Eid al-Adha is unfair, especially after all the time and resources the university put into accommodating Jewish students celebrating the High Holidays.

“Students were welcome to approach their professors and academic advisors in regard to making accommodations for Eid festivities,”

Interim Chaplain Maryam Sherreiff wrote in an email to The Brandeis Hoot. Still, Muslim students were not given any official accommodations by the university at large.

In a list of guidelines developed by the Committee for the Support of Teaching, the university states that “should a student need to miss class for religious reasons, the absence should be excused” from classes and coursework.

According to BrandeisNow, the university’s annual Break the Fast event hosted at the end of Yom Kippur required 5,000 bagels, nearly 2,000 deviled eggs and 200 pounds of kosher cheese.

Sherman Dining Hall and other facilities were closed during this time, and the Yom Kippur Break the Fast coincided with a Muslim breakfast.

This was not in any way publicized, but it is a fact that should have been acknowledged in the university’s email inviting students to the

Break the Fast event.

While there is a large Jewish student population at Brandeis, we are also a diverse community that purports to dedicate itself to inclusivity and social justice. As it stands, Muslim holidays are being brushed aside. We acknowledge that the administration is not acting maliciously or seeking to exclude non-Jewish students, but as with many issues The Hoot has addressed, there is a simple solution Brandeis is not taking.

To create a campus that truly matches both social progress and the university’s founding values, Brandeis must be bold in its steps. It must show that it is willing to go out of its way to make all students, regardless of faith, feel welcome, celebrated and nourished.

In past editorials, we have argued for Brandeis to take strides that may not be easy.

This, however is an easy stride and one that should already have been taken.

Hoot Scoops Editor Emily Sorkin Smith

Crossword

Copy Editor Allison Plotnik Senior Layout Editor Sasha Ruiz Layout Editors Lisa Petrie Ludi Yang

By Naomi Klickstein

Photo Editor Karen Caldwell

Across 1. Amend 5. Fake 8. Hanukah goody 12. Spanish slang for an attractive woman 13. Yiddish word for school 14. Made an uh-oh 15. 2011 East Coast hurricane 17. Wife of Lennon 18. Mothers of foals 19. First Hispanic Supreme Court Justice 22. Plop a squat 23. Member of girl group Miss A 24. Feed offered by some websites 26. Victor over rock 30. Cause of nocturnal kicking 31. Otherwise 32. Brandeis Halloween-equivalent 34. Word with “Diego” 36. Longest lived retired Supreme Court Justice 40. Ice cream brand 41. Entered data 42. Celebratory treat of 44-across 43. Every SCJ until 1981 44. Coming-of-age event 46. Filipino channel 49. Start of many a story, with “Back in” 51. Pre-meds in the future 53. SCJ known as the “People’s Lawyer” 59. Tomato and chicken 60. Frieda Fuzzy-Paws’ annoyance 61. Pageant topper 62. Stone measurement (var.)

63. Scourge of windshields 64. Rockclimber’s canvas 65. “Listen!” (abr.)

Volume 12 • Issue 16 the brandeis hoot • brandeis university 415 south street • waltham, ma

Founded By Leslie Pazan, Igor Pedan and Daniel Silverman

STAFF

Clayre Benzadon, Rachel Bossuk, Sharon Cai, Jake Greenberg, Talia Franks, Zachary Gordon, Emma Gutman, Curtis Zunyu He, Emma Kahn, Naomi Klickstein, Shayna Korol, Nabi Menai, Monique J Menezes, Santiago Montoya, Joon Park, Albert Reiss, Emily Scharf, Marian Siljeholm, Eliana Sinoff, Hannah Stewart, Michael Wang, Sophia Warren, Katarina Weessies

MISSION As the weekly community student newspaper of Brandeis University, The Brandeis Hoot aims to provide our readers with a reliable, accurate and unbiased source of news and information.

Produced entirely by students, The Hoot serves a readership of 6,000 with in-depth news, relevant commentary, sports and coverage of cultural events. Recognizing that better journalism leads to better policy, The Brandeis Hoot is dedicated to the principles of investigative reporting and news analysis. Our mission is to give every community member a voice.

SUBMISSION POLICIES The Brandeis Hoot welcomes letters to the editor on subjects that are of interest to the community. Preference is given to current or former community members and The Hoot reserves the right to edit or reject submissions. The deadline for submitting letters is Wednesday at noon. Please submit letters to letters@thebrandeishoot.com along with your contact information. Letters should not exceed 500 words.

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

CONNECT phone • (781) 330-0051 e-mail • editor@thebrandeishoot.com online • thebrandeishoot.com twitter • twitter.com/thebrandeishoot facebook • facebook.com/thebrandeishoot

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To reserve your space in the paper, contact us by phone at (781) 330-0051 or by e-mail at ads@thebrandeishoot.com.

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UNSOLICITED SUBMISSIONS

We welcome unsolicited submissions from members of the community sent by e-mail to eic@thebrandeishoot. com. Please limit submissions to 800 words. All submissions are subject to editing.

staff

66. Results in a sum (abr.)

67. Pasta variety Down 1. Off 2. Root of Southeast Asia 3. Harbinger 4. Words from certain Monty Python knights

5. Fire 6. Susan B. Anthony’s Supreme Court opponent 7. Standoffish 8. Boston-born SCJ, hired 53-across as a clerk 9. Mistake 10. Glares 11. Brady’s goals (abr.)

14. “Send me a message” 16. “With the greatest of _____” 20. Title for Anthony Hopkins 21. Worthiness 25. e.g. proprioception 26. Trudge 27. Like soot 28. Pig container 29. 1879 British foes 31. Button on some seats 32. Infantile wolf 33. Rochester airport (abr.)

34. The Supreme Court has 9 35. Hieroglyphic for eternal life 37. 2002 Roman Polanski movie 38. Brookline taqueria 39. Obsolete receptacle for VHS 44. Xena’s was conical 45. Response to “is too!”

47. Not sink 48. Word with supreme or clay 50. e.g. Leslie Griffith 51. Sap 52. ______ Nation, Native American tribe 54. Atop 55. Bracelet segment 56. Tools of chance 57. 21-down synonym 58. Formerly known as Persia 59. Heart attack (abr.)

OPINIONS

October 2, 2015

The Brandeis Hoot 13

Clubs could benefit from more resources

By Andrew Elmers Editor

Brandeis loves to promote how active and engaged the student community is, by pointing out how many different clubs are active and how many students decide to pursue more than one major. It is something that leaves a strong impression on both prospective students and potential employers, and is a great selling point. One of the reasons I decided to come to Brandeis was how involved the student body was, and that was something I wanted to be a part of. I couldn’t imagine if Brandeis students were simply focused on one academic path or part of a single club. This aspect of the university makes the community feel more small and intimate than it is as a result, with people getting to know a wide array of classmates in different clubs and classes.

Even though the commitment of Brandeis students is one of our greatest attributes, it is also a detriment to the quality of our work. By having so many different obligations during the semester, students are often spread too thin, and tend to have to place most of their focus on only a few of their obligations, which ends up leaving other clubs underserved. The overall operation of these clubs that are left behind then suffers, and they don’t make the impact they could have.

I’m a big part of this problem. Some

activities I really try to focus on, while others I only periodically participate in. I see some of the shortfalls in the club’s operations, but I simply don’t have the drive or desire to do much about it. Instead, I focus my efforts on classes or other clubs. For most clubs, there are a few dedicated members, who usually are on the elected board, and help the club operate smoothly.

Other clubs don’t exactly have such a dedicated following and wind up not keeping up. If this lack of interest lasts long enough, the club is in danger of ceasing to exist.

An easy fix for this problem would be forcing students to limit themselves to only a few clubs and extracurriculars, but that’s a very Orwellian policy. No one wants to be told what to do, and students who want to explore other interests and learn something new should be encouraged to do so.

Instead of trying to keep students confined to one or two clubs, the Department of Student Activities should find more resources to aid students in running their clubs. There are already some resources available, such as the department itself and the workshops they run that cover club treasuries and planning events. But more consultants could be hired to help with the actual running of the clubs, consultants who have experience with the purpose of the clubs. Those consultants would understand some of the intricacies of running a group and

photo from internet source

thus be able to make sure important things don’t get overlooked or forgotten about.

Imagine the literature that the Office of Admissions could publish, stating that not only are students actively engaged in multiple clubs on campus, but that these clubs are overseen by professionals. Additionally, it would provide students who are involved in the club an important contact when it comes time to look for jobs, if they

decide to pursue a career in the same field as one of their clubs. A professional with experience in the field would most likely have connections in that field and be able to share their professional wisdom. The club sports teams have coaches that they hire to oversee practices and train the members of the team, so the precedent of using professionals for club activities has already been established.

Yet this would probably never be

implemented because of the costs associated with hiring enough professionals to oversee more than 200 clubs. Still, Student Activities should try to address the issue of students spreading themselves too thin across so many clubs, or at least encourage students to stay committed to only a few activities instead of joining as many clubs as possible.

One calendar to rule them all

By Jacob Edelman Editor

What does Brandeis offer its students? Really—that’s a serious question. It’s a wide topic that can’t easily be grappled within a short period of time. I believe it is safe to say that every single student who finds themselves involved on campus takes advantage of some of the things the university offers its students beyond classes, room and board. After all, college is an experience with more dimensions than just classroom, learning and studying.

These offerings for new experiences include obvious benefits such as the club meetings many of us attend, concerts run by Student Events, opportunities to volunteer with Waltham Group and the schmear of other scheduling oddities that fill our weeknights (and sometimes weekends). Even The Brandeis Hoot is run through an outlet afforded by the university. We meet multiple times per week, we write often, we review constantly and we turn to a physical manifestation of our efforts to distribute the news. The ability to create a such a product on a weekly basis is an immensely rewarding activity, and it would not be possible without the level of support the university provides.

The Brandeis operating budget totals in the hundreds of millions of dollars, $296.2 million in FY 2012.

To put it quite simply, that is a lot of money to spend on a lot of items, initiatives and services. There is, however, a lingering question that needs to

be asked: How do students easily stay aware of all of the opportunities for intellectual expansion that are available to them?

If one is uninvolved beyond their academic curriculum and wishes to find activities to do, there are multiple outlets through which to do so. There are two club fairs per year and online resources such as Facebook and the club directory, and people can always simply seek out things to do through word of mouth. Sometimes, however, it seems that student involvement ends with clubs.

There are a plethora of resources, presentations, programs and amenities available for students to take advantage of that many have no idea even exist. As an example, most at this point know of the Xfinity service available to those residing on campus, but many have no idea that there is Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus available for free to all faculty and students.

There are plenty of other resources available for students to take advantage of. For students struggling with classes, there are multiple paths to seek help through the Office of Academic Services (like BUGS tutoring.)

For students looking for events, there are Facebook invites, the Brandeis app, weekly emails from Stephanie Grimes and the Student Union, and word of mouth information. For students wishing to hear fascinating perspectives on today’s issues, amazing speakers come to campus on a very regular basis. For students seeking culture, there are near-daily performances and exhibitions to be discovered, from Slosberg to Chum’s.

Facebook invites, billboards,

photo from internet source

Overheard at Brandeis, apps, weekly emails and flyers—students receive immeasurable amounts pertaining to events, club meetings, lectures and important dates from a plethora of sources. There is no true unification in these streams of information, and because of this splintered system, students are more than likely to have

multiple events that they would otherwise attend slip past their radar.

I propose a revamped system with which students can access this information all in one place. A smooth one-stop portal where students can access club meeting information, visiting lecture schedules, performance dates, study sessions and other ac-

tivities. It would work to increase a student’s ability to keep track of their already chaotic schedules and allow maximum access and visibility of important events. Taking this measure to bring order to the chaos of the university’s events and activity schedule would be a great benefit for the student body.

14 The Brandeis Hoot

OPINIONS

October 2, 2015

Campus services deserve commendation

By Zach Phil Schwartz Editor

Last semester, when snowstorm season was in full force, students took shelter in their residence halls and in other campus venues made accessible only through the tireless work of campus services. The snow-clearing crews, Sodexo, facilities and other services did not take shelter, working through the hard times. It took until July for the last of the snow piles to finally clear out of Boston, but the determination of campus services to get their jobs done has not faltered. However, many of the campus services do work that goes, for the most part, unacknowledged.

On a daily basis, facilities services survey the residence halls and campus buildings making sure that everything is tidy and in its place, supplies are restocked and problems are dealt with. If there’s a light out, facilities fixes it. The Brandeis campus has so many buildings in need of daily maintenance, and the work done is nothing less than superb. Nonetheless, it goes relatively unnoticed.

Behind the scenes at Usdan and Sherman, many Sodexo employees work tirelessly to prepare the food we eat. At the counters, some workers bring out the food or even prepare it to order, on the spot. Others serve to students. Still, the same dilemma

occurs. It takes a huge amount of teamwork to keep two large dining halls and countless food service outlets running at full capacity, and we the students are a component to the team. The least we can do is show our gratitude.

On the other side of Usdan you will find the mailroom and copy center, services provided by Xerox that tend to be misrepresented. When we use the mailroom, for example, we hand our IDs to a worker, they retrieve our package, we sign and we’re on our way. What we fail to consider is the time and effort that was taken to organize the packages in such a way that they would be easy to retrieve when we come for them. The same can be said for the time and effort taken to sort through all of the smaller pieces of mail and get them into the mailboxes in a timely manner. Yet many students still fail to display the gratitude that the workers deserve.

A common theme surfaces when considering the lack of gratitude expressed to campus services workers: We students take for granted the breadth of the operations we utilize on a daily basis.

Upon encountering a facilities worker in a residence hall or in an academic complex, we take notice of the task they are doing right then and there rather than the entire operation as a whole. While that one particular worker may be doing a singular task,

photo from internet source

countless others are doing other tasks, cleaning and responding to our work orders. Facilities services do the same work consistently, day in and day out, 365 days a year, without much notice.

The same theme applies to Sodexo and Xerox workers: Students do not consider the work it takes to run the huge operations we use every day. We do not consider the workers in the kitchens of Usdan and Sherman, nor

do we consider the workers organizing packages and mail in the mailroom.

To put it harshly, we are ignorant of the behind-the-scenes work that occurs for our campus services. We are able to get what we want in terms of work order fulfillment, packages, food, etc., with relative ease; it is far more difficult to provide us with these services. The problem is that we tend

to look past the part of the service that does not involve us and thereby do not acknowledge the work in the way that we should.

We need to try to make an active attempt to show gratitude for the labor the workers do, because a simple expression of gratitude can really help to make their days better and increase their morale. After all, a little respect can go a long way.

Reimagining Abbas’ speech at the U.N. General Assembly

By Rida Abu Rass

Special to the Hoot

Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the president of the Palestinian National Authority, gave a speech to the U.N. this week, and this is a revised and reimagined version of the speech. It’s the speech I think Palestinians needed to hear, a kind of bestcase scenario for what a Palestinian leader should have said if she truly represented Palestinians’ best interest.

President of the General Assembly; Excellency Mr. Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations; Excellencies, heads of delegations; Ladies and gentlemen.

I come before you today from Palestine to sound the alarm about what is happening in Jerusalem, about what is happening in the West Bank and Gaza and about what is happening in Israel. I come before you to sound the alarm about what has been happening to Palestinians for 67 years, in our own homeland.

We are often accused of refusing.

Of refusing to negotiate, of refusing to settle, of refusing to compromise.

In 1948, we were a naïve, agrarian, developing people. 100 years after the 1848 spring of nations—that glorified winter of failed revolutions that gave rise to nationalism in Europe—we still knew nothing of nationalism and self-determination. In 1948, when the Jewish people declared the establishment of the state of Israel in Mandatory Palestine, partition was out of the question for us. In the eyes of our forefathers, there was not a single doubt that this land belonged to us, for we had been living in it and nourishing it for longer than we could remember. We had no other land.

But we no longer refuse. For over 20 years, we have done nothing but

reach out our hands for peace. Ladies and gentlemen, I remind you that history was not kind to us. Jewish militants, determined to create a state for themselves, ethnically cleansed us from our land in 1948. Those Palestinians who remained in Israel suffer from Israel’s systematic discrimination every day. The Gaza strip and the West Bank have been under one occupation or another for 67 years.

Our brothers and sisters in Lebanon and Syria, third-generation refugees, are drowning in the Mediterranean Sea. Ladies and gentlemen, we have had enough.

We Palestinians understand the Jewish people’s unparalleled trauma.

We realize the Jewish need for a safe homeland. But must their safety come at our expense?

Contrary to Netanyahu’s false accusations, we have continuously recognized Israel’s right to exist peacefully within its internationally recognized borders for over 20 years—despite the fact that those borders include some of our home towns and our own people. We wanted nothing more than a state within the 1967 borders, and indeed, the Oslo Accords brought with them a true hope for permanent peace in the region. But in recent years, Netanyahu time and time again derailed any attempt to negotiate, despite the fact that we Palestinians expressed our willingness to make enormous compromises. The absurdity of negotiating with your own occupier became unbearably obvious for us Palestinians, as Israel continues its comfortable refusal to commit to a two-state solution.

Ladies and gentlemen, I come before you today for the last time. As you know, in recent years our struggle has been focused on you, the international community. We thought you could help us, and I hope you still can.

But what is clear to me and to the Palestinian people is that the Palestinian

photo from internet source

National Authority can no longer exist as Israel’s contractor in the West Bank. We refuse to continue playing the role of a riot police. Half a state is not a state at all.

Mr. President, I thank you and the international community for giving us the status of permanent observer state. But we are not a state. I thank you for raising the Palestinian flag in New York. But what we urgently need is multilateral, international political action, not symbolic gestures of goodwill. Yet the Palestinian people are still in grave need of your assistance. I thank all of you who supported our bid for statehood, and I call

upon you to accelerate your efforts in changing the status quo in Israel and Palestine.

My hands as President of the Palestinian National Authority have proven to be tied time and time again.

Ladies and gentlemen, your excellencies, Mr. Netanyahu: I can no longer bear the enormous responsibility of speaking for a voiceless people, for I am mute. I hereby announce the dismantlement of the Palestinian National Authority, in order to reflect the reality on the ground: 6 million Palestinians between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean are systematically discriminated against, and they

are voiceless. We are not a state. We are not an authority. We are an occupied people with occupied territories.

In dismantling the Palestinian Authority, the onus of this total occupation reverts to the Israeli government, the occupying power. We did our best to accommodate the Israeli need for a state alongside us, but the geopolitical reality that Israel created renders this solution impossible. On behalf of all Palestinians, I declare that our hands are still open to designing a peaceful solution for the region, but this time, as equal partners in our shared homeland.

October 2, 2015

OPINIONS 15

The Brandeis Hoot

Students should acknowledge privileged position

By Jennifer Gray

Special to the Hoot

This is an issue I take rather personally. I have never had anyone noticeably look down on me, though I am quiet about my economic position altogether.

I consider myself to be middle class—my home back in Oregon is a nice, country property that has its price offset by being located acutely in the middle of nowhere. However, I attended elementary, middle and high schools that were decidedly poor.

I was aware that my family existed at a higher socioeconomic level compared to most of my classmates.

Though rare, that distinction was ever prominent. For the most part, no one at my high school ever put on airs about being rich. We all experienced the same pitfalls of our school’s lack of wealth, and there existed a unity of sorts regarding the large class sizes, lack of electives and high dropout rates.

At Brandeis no such understanding is present, as almost everyone comes from a different background.

Brandeis is ranked as one of the top 100 most expensive schools in America, so it should not be surprising that many students come from more affluent backgrounds than my own. It would be silly of me to fault another student for being born into a wealthier family and taking advantage of

their favorable circumstances.

However, what angers me is when students fail to acknowledge their privileged position. I do not want everyone to have gone to a school as poor as mine in working class neighborhoods, but I want other students to realize that not everyone had the benefit of going to a private school that had courses in anthropology or college essay writing. What I want is for students to realize that not everyone has the money to buy a fridge, microwave and a T.V. just for their room. When a student casually throws out an amount of money almost identical to my father’s salary as an example of an average income, I ask that no one scoff.

Brandeis does a reasonable job in adequately fighting racism, sexism, homophobia and other injustices.

However, while the exceptionally poor and the ridiculously rich are addressed, wealth stratification of the middle class often falls by the wayside.

There is an assumption of wealth or prosperity among students in my experience. Not everyone has parents who can easily handle the costs of tuition, allowing more affluent students to, in some cases, take such amounts for granted. I once heard a student casually stating that he was not paying for college; his parents were.

Maybe it is not exactly classism, but these presumptions of wealth need to be addressed. Some students come from families where a parent had to

photo from internet source

take on a second job to afford university costs. Some students have spending money granted by scholarships rather than wealthy family members.

Some students desperately attempt to seek out elusive and painfully hardto-obtain work studies in order to meet next semester’s payments. Some students do not have the luxury to

dissociate themselves from their parents’ money.

I do not call for an address from administration or student leaders or anything of that nature. I do not wish for fellow students to know what it is like to come from a public school that fostered such large class sizes—class sizes so large that they got shut down

by the fire marshal. What is needed is for students to be aware they are privileged economically. You do not need to come from the one percent to be accused of casually holding your economic position over others. And that is the problem—the casualness, the assumption and the few instances of blatant presumption.

What is really in our food?

photo by nicole porter/the hoot

By Nicole Porter

Special to the Hoot

Imagine this: You have exactly forty minutes between your last class and your lab period for lunch, but you still have to do the pre­lab work. You rush to Usdan Dining Hall, and hastily hand your card to the person working at the cash register. For a quick and easy lunch, you make a beeline for the pizza station. You put two slices of plain cheese pizza on your plate.

Next, you grab a quesadilla because you are really hungry and then head to the salad bar. You get Caesar salad and put a few croutons on top before you get your drink and sit down to eat. After you are done you see the dessert table and grab a quick brownie to go before you rush back to your room. From what I have seen in the dining halls this scenario is almost spot on for most students. But do we actually know what is in the food we eat?

Out of curiosity and a desire to avoid the dreaded “freshman fifteen,” I checked out Sodexo’s “Nutrition Calculator” online. Basically, the site lets you look up food served in Sodexo dining halls nationwide, and find out nutritional information

about the food, like calorie counts, fat and sodium content and other values.

Using this site, I calculated the nutritional information of the meal above, and the results were nothing less than shocking. The meal above, which consisted of two slices of cheese pizza, a quesadilla, Caesar salad and a brownie, has 2022 milligrams of sodium (or 84% of your daily value), 17.25 grams of saturated fat (or 92% of your daily value) and 1,052 calories.

Using this website I found that one slice of cheese pizza has 510 milligrams of sodium (21% of your daily value) and 3.5 grams of saturated fat (18% of your daily value). Comparatively, a Sodexo hamburger contains only 470 milligrams of sodium but an astonishing 7 grams of saturated fat. However the most shocking food I researched was the quesadillas they serve in Usdan. Each quesadilla has 502 milligrams of sodium and 8.25 grams of saturated fat. That is almost as much saturated fat as a chicken patty (720 milligrams of sodium and 3 grams of fat), a brownie (220 milligrams of sodium and 3.5 grams of fat) and Caesar salad (280 milligrams of sodium and 2 grams of fat) combined.

That is 21% of your recommended daily sodium intake and 40% of your daily saturated fat intake for one mea-

photo from internet source

sly quesadilla slice.

I then looked up the nutritional information, which is required to be on every chain restaurant’s website by law, for McDonalds, Dominos and Little Debbie in order to compare Sodexo’s food to chain restaurant food. What I found was that Sodexo’s chicken patty had 70 milligrams more sodium but .5 grams less saturated fat than McDonald’s McChicken. However, when compared to a McDonald’s hamburger, Sodexo’s hamburger has 20 milligrams less sodium but 4 grams more saturated fat. Both one

slice of Domino’s pizza and one Little Debbie Cosmic Brownie had less sodium and more fat than their Sodexo counterparts. So what does this mean for those who aren’t fluent in nutrition? We need to be careful of what we eat, and how often we eat in the dining halls.

Eating significantly more than the FDA approved 2,400 milligrams of sodium a day and 19 grams of saturated fat may lead to heart problems and obesity. Just that one meal above almost surpasses those guidelines.

Eating three meals a day to that magnitude may bear catastrophic results.

That is why Sodexo and the university bear responsibility to provide foods that are low in saturated fats and sodium in order to protect the welfare of their students. However, when they allow chicken patties, hamburgers, quesadillas and pizza to be served every single day, they aren’t protecting us. They are instead setting us up for disaster. Although we have the choice of what to eat, Sodexo always has its “staple foods” available, like pizza, hamburgers, quesadillas and chicken patties. With these unhealthy foods always there and in supply, it’s hard not to eat them at least three times a week when other food is in short supply or not appetizing to you.

Brandeis and Sodexo need to take responsibility for the health and welfare of their students. That may mean altering the recipes used for the staple foods of the dining hall in order to make them lower in sodium and fat. Sodexo should also make the staples of the dining hall—the foods they have every day—healthier. Staples should include chicken breasts, steamed vegetables and brown rice, for example. They should rotate out the unhealthy food so that isn’t always the fall back when you can’t find anything else in the dining hall.

However, the fault isn’t completely the university’s or Sodexo’s, it is ours as well. The reason chicken patties, burgers, pizza, quesadillas and brownies are almost always available is because we like them. After all, salty and fatty foods taste good.

However, we are blindly picking food, and not paying attention to what can they do to our bodies. We need to demand less “fast food” and fatty meals and more nutritious, natural meals.

If we stop eating the unhealthy food, eventually Sodexo will get the message that we care about what we eat.

Maybe then they will start providing healthy food consistently, and we can bring about change to the food we eat and the effects it has on our bodies.

16 The Brandeis Hoot

WEEK IN PHOTOS

firstyear alex friedman performs amazing magic in the sukkah

photo by sabrina pond/the hoot

October 2, 2015

photo by adam lamper/the hoot

photo by sabrina pond/the hoot

photo by adam lamper/the hoot

photo by sharon cai/the hoot

photo by isaac satin/the hoot

photo by adam lamper/the hoot