The Brandeis Hoot 09/11/2015

Volume 12 Issue 14

www.brandeishoot.com

Brandeis University’s Community Newspaper • Waltham, Mass.

Many concerns brought up at town hall

Off-campus students report increased police monitoring

By Jess Linde

By Hannah Schuster and Charlotte Aaron

Editor

Editors

Students brought up a number of concerns at a Sept. 9 town hall held by Brandeis University’s Interim President Lisa M. Lynch, Senior Vice President of Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel and Vice President of Operations James W. Gray, but few were addressed in full. At the meeting, Lynch confirmed that she was not a candidate for the Brandeis presidency, and will resume her duties as provost once a permanent president is chosen.

Most questions were addressed quickly, except for those asked

by Abbie Goldberg ’16 and Saren McAllister ’18, both student environmental activists at Brandeis, who demanded a definitive opinion from Lynch on divestment from fossil fuels. “We were promised an update last year, but we never heard from the committees on this,” McAllister said.

In response, Lynch said, “We do not have a very large endow-

Officer Cory Amarante of the Waltham Police Department approached Brandeis students at their off-campus homes on Saturday, Aug. 29 and warned them, in what students called a “threatening” manner, not to host any parties at their residences.

Off-campus homes approached include several of Brandeis’ unaffiliated fraternities such as Phi Kappa Psi, Zeta Beta Tau and Alpha Epsilon Pi, according to students present at their homes at the time of the visits. Amarante also approached residences of Brandeis’ soccer and baseball team members, as well as the home of at least one other group of Brandeis students.

The previous night, several student groups hosted parties off-campus, including the baseball team, Sigma Alpha Mu and Phi Kappa Psi. Two officers from the Waltham Police Department shut down parties at Sigma Al-

lisa lynch and jim gray answering student question

ment, so it is hard to talk about divestment without also talking about having enough money to keep Brandeis running.” MacAllister and Goldberg refused to back down, promising to keep fighting for divestment, but Lynch encouraged them to contact Brandeis’ newest sustainability manager and contact her

photo by sharon cai/the hoot

office after the meeting.

The meeting took place Wednesday evening in a sparsely-populated Levin Ballroom, and began with several students addressing financial issues. “After paying all my fees for tuition, housing and books, I have almost See TOWNHALL, page 3

Secured clubs’ allocations lower than expected

By Rafael Rodriguez Special to the Hoot

In response to several large funding requests and alleged policy violations, the Brandeis Allocations Board has decided to limit the allocated budgets of several secured clubs on campus.

According to Brandeis student and A-Board representative Alex Mitchell ’17, “More people [have] asked for more money than ever before, and we’ve had less money than we’ve had in previous years.”

Mitchell has been keeping track of recent expenditures by clubs such as WBRS, the Brandeis radio station. According to Mitchell, WBRS’ budget request included funding for an all expense paid trip to the South

by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin, TX, for the General Manager and vice president of the club.

According to Mitchell, this funding would have paid for the air-fare, price of entry, hotel cost and dining fee for the General Manager and vice president exclusively.

“Most of WBRS’ requests were down right absurd,” said Mitchell. “This is a clear violation of A-board policy, and thus they were not funded.”

Mitchell continued to stress that this is not new behavior for the club. “T-Shirts are forbidden

by A-Board policy, but WBRS has given out T-shirts for years.”

The Brandeis Hoot contacted current WBRS General Manager Harris Cohen ’16 for comment,

Inside this issue:

but Cohen declined to discuss the matter.

SUMS (Student Union Management System) documents that WBRS requested $71,000 in addition to a separate $130,000 requested for Springfest. WBRS received 56% of the $71,000 and 87% of the $130,000 Springfest request.

In addition to violations of policy, A-board has decided to cut back on secured clubs with funding that is immense in proportion to non-secure and chartered clubs.

“Student Events’ request alone was more than every other non-secured club combined,” said Mitchell.

The SUMS website documents Student Events’ $300,000 request as well, reporting a 53% allocation.

“There are over 220 clubs at Brandeis we have to fund, and that number seems to only go up every year,” Mitchell said.

“Especially given that this is a tight year for the budget, we felt it might be better to target larger clubs than pick on the smaller ones.”

Until Sept. 16, the Allocations Board will be accepting appeal submissions for secured clubs that feel they need or deserve more funding.

As of now, both Brandeis Television (BTV) and Student Events have filed for appeal. Due to a clerical error, BTV received zero percent of their requested allocation, but A-board approved their appeal, and BTV was budgeted for the fall semester.

News: Former SFS Dean returns to Brandeis Page 2 Opinion: New Sherman lacks old charm Page 15 Features: Lemberg offers impressive youth ed. Page 5 Editorial: Dialogue needed on- and off-campus Page 10

September 11, 2015

pha Mu and Phi Kappa Psi. Sam Krystal ’17, a member of Phi Kappa Psi, reported that the officer warned him to be prepared with $40 for bail if the fraternity hosted a party at the house. Krystal identified the officer who approached him as Amarante, the Waltham Police Department’s liaison to Brandeis.

Krystal was sitting on the porch of his fraternity’s house with two other students, including Leon Tillmanns ’18, when Amarante approached his house in uniform around 5 p.m. on Aug. 29. According to Krystal, as well as students from other residences, Amarante stressed the repercussions of hosting a party.

“This officer also made it very clear that should we engage in any external social behaviors at that house, they, being the Waltham police, would immediately come to our house, and we should have $40 cash in hand in preparation to be charged with the following charges: disturbing See POLICE, page 3

Hill, Pogrebin speak on generational gap

discussions on letty cottin pogrebin’s new book “single jewish male seeking soulmate”

By Emily Sorkin Smith editor

Professor Anita Hill (HS) and author Letty Cottin Pogrebin ’59 held a discussion focused on the changing dynamics of feminism, Judaism and social justice over the course of generations. Both Hill and Pogrebin are prominent feminists in their fields, studying topics like race, gender and women in religion. Pogrebin’s newest book, “Single Jewish Male Seeking Soulmate,” published in 2015, served as the basis for the conversation between Hill and

24-Hour musical

Theater rookies and veterans join forces to put on production of ‘Peter Pan’

Arts, Etc.: Page 9

her. The discussion was attended by over 500 members of the Brandeis community.

Hill and Pogrebin discussed the disconnect that often exists between generations of social movements, and the desire of older generations to see their efforts and culture carried forth by the younger generations. In Pogrebin’s case, the gap is seen in terms of both Judaism and the feminist movement. They raised the question of whether these gaps can, or even should, be reconciled. The two expressed that while continuity is important,

photo by karen caldwell/the hoot

people should pay attention to what kind of continuity they value.

Pogrebin’s book follows a young, Jewish man who has just promised his dying mother, a Holocaust survivor, that he will marry a Jewish woman, and raise Jewish children. He instead falls in love with a woman who is not Jewish, but rather a radical African-American activist. The book explores the same questions about how values and identity

Chum’s reopens

ZEBU! and Guerilla Toss rechristen Chum’s with punk-rock show put on

by BAM/CO

Arts, Etc.: Page 7

See GAP, page 3

NEWS

2 The Brandeis Hoot

September 11, 2015

Care.com founder, Brandeis alum. speaks to students

By Elianna Spitzer Special to the hoot

On Tuesday, Sept. 8, Zenobia Moochhala MA ’98 spoke at an Entrepreneurs Forum in Lee Hall.

Moochhala, a Brandeis alumna who is a co-founder and vice president of consumer marketing at Care.com, gave a speech explaining the necessary components of starting an enterprise. Care.com, an online care marketplace platform that operates in 16 countries, matches over six million caregivers with families seeking care.

The company’s services range from childcare to senior care.

In addressing the success of Care. com, Moochhala emphasized that she and her fellow founders have always felt committed to solving an issue that many families face: childcare. While the type of care may change as the child ages, the need for care does not.

“Every family in every part of the world grapples with this question of who is on point, who is going to take care of the kids?” Moochhala said.

Care.com was founded around the universal problem of reliable care.

“Our mission is to connect families and caregivers, and we are a marketplace that facilitates that connection,” she said. According to Moochhala, the professionalization of the care industry gives caregivers access to weekly pay and benefits including Social Security. It also gives families access to

zenobia moochhala, brandeis alum and founder of care.com

a reliable network of care based on background checks and customer reviews. This brought Moochhala to her first piece of advice for the young entrepreneurs in the room: do something you care about.

She believes that having a vision for an enterprise is only one percent

Former SFS dean returns as special advisor

By Andrew Elmers Editor

After retiring at the end of last December, former Dean of Student Financial Services Peter Giumette has returned to Brandeis in a new role.

Serving as Senior Advisor to Interim President Lynch, Giumette has a new set of duties he seeks to accomplish.

“I am responsible, along with the Director of Special Programs Orla O’Brien, for the Board of Trustees on their daily operations,” Giumette shared with The Brandeis Hoot in an email, serving as a liaison between the president’s office and the board. “I will also be involved in President Lynch’s initiatives on diversity and sustainability, as well as the everyday operations of the Office of the President.”

Giumette has already begun work on the sustainability initiative, after talking to members of the undergraduate divestment movement at Interim President Lynch’s first Town Hall meeting Wednesday night, Sept. 9 in Levin Ballroom. After one student asked Lynch her thoughts on divestment and the university’s portfolio as an economist, Lynch directed the student to speak with Giumette. He is putting together a group of students, faculty and staff who are interested in the divestment issue.

After his position in Student Financial Services was eliminated at the end of last year, Giumette decided to retire. Lynch later came to him asking if he would be interested in helping with the administration, in a position that holds a one-year commitment.

Giumette will finish with his commitment at the end of June 2016, coinciding with the end of Lynch’s term.

“I frankly jumped at the opportunity to work in her administration and play some small part in helping her to accomplish her goals,” Giumette stated in his email. “It also gave me an opportunity to return to the place where I had spent over two decades in various roles to make a Brandeis education possible for so many students and their families,” in reference to his time at Student Financial Services.

Giumette looks back on his service in Student Financial Services with great fondness and cited it as a major reason why he was willing to return.

“Returning to Brandeis provides me with an opportunity to work again with the amazing students, faculty and staff which make up our community.” He also hopes that his prior experience working at Brandeis will be a “benefit” to his new role as senior advisor, yet he acknowledges that this position will present new challenges. “This position provides a much different perspective on the university,” since he will be working in a different office with a different team.

While his only regret is “occasionally my commute,” Giumette reiterates that his goal for the upcoming year is “to help President Lynch achieve her goals and to have my past experience inform my current position.”

of the process; the other 99 percent is execution. “Be prepared, it’s going to take up a lot of your time and a lot of your life,” she said.

Moochhala founded Care.com over nine years ago with a team of three other entrepreneurs. “Entrepreneurship is a team sport,” she said. She

photo from internet source

feels that when the company was in its early stages, the co-founders’ discussions, conflicts and arguments are what refined the company’s focus.

Moochhala also addressed the numbers required for starting up a company in terms of both microeconomics and macroeconomics. She

pleaded with the young entrepreneurs, “Go to all of your economics classes.”

In the case of Care.com, Moochhala said that she and the other co-founders spent a large portion of time during the start-up process sorting out numbers. The market for care in the United States is enormous and fragmented. It has only recently begun shifting from a word-of-mouth operation to an online operation.

As a 1998 Brandeis graduate of the International Business School (IBS), Moochhala feels that her time at Brandeis contributed to her success.

“Brandeis has been an invaluable part of everything I’ve done,” she said. She feels that skills such as managing a PNL (Profit and Loss), understanding balance sheets and grasping the heavy analytics that go into what drives a business came from a “good grounding in the Lemberg program.”

Care.com underwent an IPO (Initial Public Offering) in January of last year, a goal that Moochhala says felt very far off upon first starting the company. She feels that the IPO is only one milestone in the process of heading toward the company’s overall goal of professionalizing the care industry. “We haven’t even scratched the surface in bringing care to the world,” she assessed.

In the conclusion of her speech, Moochhala gave reassurance to the upcoming entrepreneurs, tieing it in with her company’s beliefs. “You can do it all,” she said, “just not all alone.”

Crown Center celebrates 10 years of diversity

By Naya Schere Special to the Hoot

This Tuesday, Sept. 8 the Crown Center for Middle East Studies celebrated its 10th anniversary. The Director of the Crown Center Shai Feldman began his introduction by announcing that the Crown Center has always been a reputable, committed and scholarly center for Middle East Studies, since its conception back in 2005. For the past 10 years, the Crown Center has grown into a hub for scholarship and research because it has provided an enriching environment with interactive discussions for its students. These scholars are applying what they have learned inside the classroom to the real world.

According to Feldman, although Brandeis is a non-denominational school, the heavy presence of Jewish tradition and culture has always been engrained in its roots. He explained that Jehuda Reinharz, Brandeis’ president from 1994 to 2010, wanted Brandeis to be different from other universities. His primary goal for the center was to hire a diverse faculty and staff in order to reflect an eclectic array of ideas.

Feldman commented on Reinharz’s goal to have a faculty composed of Americans, Egyptians, Turks and Palestinians, in order to foster an “unbiased,” “insightful” and “diverse” environment. Within the last decade, the Crown Center has published 94 books on the Middle East as well as produced seven Ph.D. graduates.

Feldman stated that by mentoring and teaching the next generation of scholars, the Crown Center’s cultivated and well-informed students

have consistently been engaged with foreign policy and have produced meaningful work that can be used as applied research in Middle Eastern countries.

Professor Eva Bellin (POL), the Myra and Robert Kraft Professor of Arab Politics in the Department of Politics and the Crown Center for Middle East Studies, spoke at the event. According to Bellin, at Brandeis, discussions regarding the Middle East almost always end up in hostile fights.

Bellin sat down with four graduate students from the Crown Center and asked them to talk about their “untold stories of the Middle East.”

The purpose of this was to show the audience that discussions about the Middle East can be informative and enjoyable. Professor Naghmeh Sohrabi (HIST), the Charles Goodman Professor of Middle East History and the associate director for research at the Crown Center discussed Iran’s future and whether or not they have the ability to reshape their own country.

When posed this question, Sohrabi quickly responded with, “I don’t know,” and told the audience that it is solely up to Iran’s future generations.

David Siddhartha Patel, a junior research fellow at the Crown Center, discussed ISIS’s role in Iraq. Jean-Louis Romanet Perroux, the Rene and Lester Crown Chair in Modern Middle East Studies, was asked to discuss the vibrancy of the civil society in Libya. Richard Nielsen, Neubauer Junior Research Fellow at the Crown Center, talked about the conceptualizations of jihadists.

One segment which prompted many questions from the audience, was Pascal Menoret’s experience with

joy riding, a phenomenon amongst Saudi Arabian youth. Menoret explained that joy riding is a popular activity among lower class teenagers that consists of stealing cars and drifting in order to produce patterns on the streets. According to Menoret, joy riding is mostly enjoyed by young Saudi Arabian men, but many women crossdress and engage in joy riding as well. From his fieldwork, Menoret has concluded that the small social changes that have been occurring in Saudi Arabia have given women more confidence to break down some of Saudi Arabia’s societal gender expectations. Menoret reminisced about the time he joy rode with some local Saudi Arabian boys but abruptly stopped when he got into a small accident.

Shai Feldman closed the inauguration on an inspirational note and said that the Crown Center’s “best years are still ahead of us” and “will continue to attract a core group of scholars who are committed to discussing the ethos of the misunderstood Middle East.”

September 11, 2015

The Brandeis Hoot

Prof. and alum. explore generations of feminism

From GAP, page 1

change throughout generations.

She experienced a disconnect within her own values, and desire to preserve her family’s heritage when her daughter dated a Catholic man. Though she has always prided herself in her open-mindedness, and desire to be an intersectional feminist, she found herself upset at the idea of her daughter’s relationship. She felt concerned about preserving the religion that had meant so much to her family, questioning what the relationship “will mean in terms of my heritage, what will that mean for one third of both sides of my family who perished in the Holocaust.”

Hill argued that there is great value in maintaining the work that previous generations have done in civil rights and social justice movements. In order to preserve their struggles, Hill said that older generations should be able to share stories about their experiences. Telling stories about topics like abortion can help generations connect and feel less alone in their experiences.

It can be difficult to convince older generations to tell their stories, however, as many of them still feel the same fears of conflicts that younger generations may not understand. Creating dialogue between these generations may be able to help further social justice movements.

She said that as a child about to graduate high school, she told her mother that she wanted to visit Europe. Her mother, being of the generation that experienced the Holocaust firsthand, saw Europe not as a romanti-

cized vacation destination, saying “Why would you want to go to Europe? That’s where everyone was killed.”

Hill told similar stories about lynchings in America and having relatives that are still very afraid to tell their stories while their children no longer feel the same fear. “The fear and the terror was still with him. It transcended his generation,” Hill said. The fact that each generation has its own experience with injustice makes it even more important that there is intergenerational dialogue.

Adding to the disconnect between generations is the feeling of the older generation that it should be in some way thanked for its contribution. The experiences of each generation are often so different that, as Hill explained, it can be hard for a feminist of one generation to identify with the new generations that are leading the cause.

The changes between generations is often necessary and beneficial, allowing movements to become more inclusive or effective.

The civil rights movement for

hill and potgrebin

African-Americans, as Hill explained, was dominated by men and ignored issues like the sexual abuse of African-American women and homophobia. “I’m still not over the march on Washington where women were excluded and were drowned out and deliberately pushed aside,” Hill said.

Along with the gratitude for the progress that older generations have allowed comes disagreements about how to be inclusive and what changes movements must experience to keep up with the changing world.

As their conversation continued, the focus shifted between the responsibility of the younger generations to carry on their parents’ traditions in order to not lose their cultural heritage, and the responsibility of older generations to share stories and convey the values that are important to them. “I started out the question of, ‘What do we owe our parents?’ but maybe the question needs to be ‘What do our parents owe us’ in terms of telling us why it is important to maintain our heritage to understand our stories,” Hill argued.

photo by karen caldwell/the hoot

Lynch, Flagel, other admin. respond to student questions

From TOWNHALL, page 1

nothing left, even with financial aid,” said one junior. “Because of my year, I have to have an expensive meal plan for food that I do not like and need to force myself to eat.”

The system of mandatory meal plans, which is now in its first year of operation, leaves very little left to buy food with, said the student, a Charles River resident.

“I prefer to cook, and at the end all the pressure goes to my parents,” she said.

“Financial aid is obviously an issue we have to keep improving on,” Lynch responded. “But it takes a lot of time and even more money.”

Tay Howard ’17 had similar grievances with the way Brandeis treats its students. “I got a terrible lottery number last year, and I had no real option but to get pulled in or move off campus,” Howard said. Howard, a Georgia native who came to Brandeis as part of the Myra Kraft Transitional Year Program (MKTYP), could not afford to move off campus and now lives in East Quad. “I got lucky, but I almost ended up with nowhere to go,” Howard said.

Flagel responded with a promise of improvement. “I hate our current lottery system,” Flagel said. “We have new people working on revising and giving us a better one, because I have heard many stories like yours, and they are terrible.”

He insisted that the university will continue to address issues

students expressing their concerns

around housing, as well as issues of cigarette smoking on campus.

“For that issue we need to find out how to balance and preventative measures that do not just punish people or are just empty words,” Flagel said. “We know that smoking and secondhand smoke is a health issue, but we cannot just fine students into stopping” Lynch agreed.

Howard also brought up the issue of East’s lack of air conditioning, and the extreme heat that has affected students there, some of whom cannot afford a decent fan for their room. “The buildings in East are so old that they would have to be gutted to fit in AC, and we cannot fit that into our budget at the moment,” said Gray.

Budget restrictions were also cited to a group of science students, who did not provide their names, as reasons why Usdan Dining Hall closed sooner than Sherman. “Our recitations last until pretty late at night sometimes,” said one student. “I just wish I did not have to pray to get out in time to get to Usdan before it closes.”

“We will experiment with new

photos by sharon cai/the hoot

hours but based on past experiments, we cannot afford to keep both halls open late,” Gray said.

Jamie Wong ’17, an E-board member of the Brandeis Asian-American Students Association asked Lynch if she had plans to interact with and support Asian-American communities at Brandeis in a more substantive way.

“Brandeis prides itself on social justice and diversity; I just want to know if you are willing to hear what we have to say and want in order to make that more real,” Wong said.

“Diversity is very important to me, and it was a big part of my work as provost,” Lynch said. “I have been advising my interim replacement on that, and I do think it is something that needs to be addressed.”

The meeting ended with Flagel’s announcement that because of “a significant amount” of alcohol-related hospital transports stemming from parties at the Foster Mods in recent weekends, that parties at the Mods are suspended for two weeks, information that was released via email Thursday.

NEWS

3

Greek life targeted

by Waltham PD From POLICE, page 1

the peace, distributing to minors if you’re 21 and older, possession of alcohol if you’re under 21,” said Krystal.

While Krystal felt Amarante attempted to appear sincere by stating that he had been involved with Greek life as a student, Krystal viewed the conversation as more a threat than a reminder of the rules.

Jessica Plante ’16, an off-campus resident, was approached

by Amarante on Aug. 29 while having friends over, along with another Waltham police officer between 9:00 and 9:30 p.m. Amarante had not approached her home earlier that day.

Amarante informed Plante and resident Gabi Scheinthal ’16 that should the police return that night, or any time this year, to her house, the homeowners present would be arrested.

“They said we only had one warning for the entire year,” said Plante, who was troubled by the potential ramifications. “[If] in March, I have a party and then the cops show up, I still get in trouble, even though that’s a sixmonth difference.”

Like Krystal, Plante felt the officers tried to present the conversation as a calm warning, but she disagrees with the characterization. Plante stated, at the moment, she does not plan to host any more large-scale gatherings.

Waltham Chief of Police Keith MacPherson did not grant Amarante permission to comment.

In a phone conversation with The Brandeis Hoot, MacPherson confirmed that the department sent Amarante to remind students residing in off-campus houses that they are members of the Waltham community and must follow the law, in particular about underage drinking.

“Underage drinking is unacceptable,” said MacPherson. If police have probable cause to believe there is underage drinking, they will approach the house.

MacPherson stated that the reason for all of this is to make sure everyone is safe.

According to MacPherson, officers are sent to tell students in known off-campus houses upfront about police expectations, a police tactic used at Bentley University to minimize student interactions with police.

In response to the visits by police, leaders and members of Brandeis’ Greek organizations, Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Student Activities Stephanie Grimes, Dean of Students Jamele Adams and Noel Coakley of the Psychological Counseling Center met on Friday, Sept. 4, to discuss relations between Brandeis students and the Waltham police.

“We have had some lack of communication between the Greek organizations, the Waltham police, and the administration, so we are really trying to find ways for all of us to really collaborate well together,” said Gabriel Sanders ’17, vice president of the Greek Awareness Council (GAC). “I think we really all have the same goal, which is safety.”

At the meeting Adams encouraged students to remain calm around police officers and film any interactions, said Xander Abajian ’17, president of Phi Kappa Psi. While no conclusions about

how to handle the student interactions with the Waltham police were made at the meeting, the group plans to reconvene as soon as possible with a representative from the Waltham police.

The goal of the meeting with a representative from the Waltham police will really be “to set rules and guidelines and safety procedures that students should be following,” said Nimisha Shinday ’17, president of the GAC. Shinday emphasized the importance of keeping everyone safe.

Since the student interactions with the Waltham police, members of Greek organizations and sports teams relocated parties to the Foster Mods on campus.

Students must register parties on campus with the Department of Community Living.

“We had had scheduled a social event at the house which we ended up changing venue to the Mods later on that night,” said Krystal about a Phi Kappa Psi party scheduled for the night of Aug. 29.

Alpha Epsilon Pi relocated a party to the Mods, according to a post on a Facebook event page, and Brandeis’ varsity baseball team, according to a member of the team, relocated off-campus parties to the Mods for the weekend of Sept. 4.

Following the long weekend, Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel reported at a Town Hall meeting that there were nine alcohol-related transports to Newton-Wellesley Hospital the first weekend in September.

Brandeis’ police log from Sunday, Aug. 30 to Sunday, Sept. 6 shows that five BEMCo reports concerning intoxicated parties came from first-year dorms.

As a result of this spike in students hospitalized due to alcohol, Flagel announced that all parties at the Mods would be suspended for two weeks. In an email to the Brandeis community the following day, Flagel said the university will discuss whether “we can safely issue permits for future gatherings.”

He believes recent events “[run] counter” to his expectations that Brandeis students care for each other and the law. He stated he will meet with representatives from Waltham police and fire departments and working to increase alcohol awareness programs in residence halls.

At the Mods on Aug. 29, students reported that Waltham police shut down all activity at the Mods. Director of Public safety Ed Callahan wrote in an email to The Hoot that Waltham police do have jurisdiction over the campus. Callahan called his relationship with Waltham police “professional, cooperative and respectful.”

MacPherson confirmed that the Waltham police can make arrests on the Brandeis campus, but emphasized that unless specifically requested to come by Brandeis Police, Waltham police officers do not patrol campus.

After midnight on Sunday, Aug. 30, Callahan stated that Brandeis police requested assistance from Waltham police to break up a large party at the Mods. While Waltham police are not often seen on campus, if required or requested by Callahan’s staff, they will patrol the campus and act in a police capacity, said Callahan.

4 NEWS

The Brandeis Hoot

Sorensen Fellows reflect on internships

By Hannah Schuster Editor

Each year, through Brandeis’ Sorensen Fellowship, students accept summer internships around the globe in order to translate social justice into action. The International Center for the Ethics sponsors the program which allows students to examine issues pertaining to the environment, inequalities, ethics and many more important topics.

The fellowship is a three-part process. In the spring, students take a course at Brandeis or abroad to prepare them for their internship.

Over the summer, students intern at home or abroad. Students receive a stipend to cover travel and living expenses, $4,000 if abroad or $3,500 if stateside. After returning to campus in the fall, all Sorensen fellows take a course together in which they reflect on their experiences and organize their reflections in a written piece.

Regina Roberg ’17, Tove Freeman ’16 and Anni Long ’16 discussed their positive experiences interning as Sorensen Fellows with The Brandeis Hoot.

Roberg interned at a clinic in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A psychology and Hispanic studies double major, Roberg assisted psychologists at the clinic, in addition to social workers, nutritionists and dentists. She appreciated the diversity of programs she was able to experience.

She also enjoyed volunteering at the clinic’s play area each Friday.

Children played together while their mothers met with doctors or received free milk. Three weeks into her internship, Roberg felt sick on a Friday and was unable to see the children.

Her internship coordinator informed her later that several children asked where she was and sent “their hellos and kisses.”

Roberg called this a moment when

she realized she was impacting others in addition to the internship’s “personal impact on myself, as my absence was duly noted by some of the sweetest children I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with.”

One challenged Roberg faced while abroad was the constant communication in Spanish, but she noted, “that’s also why I learned as much as I did.”

Roberg explained that she had to work hard to establish herself at the clinic and make her capabilities known to coworkers.

“As the only American and psychology intern, I had to work hard to gain the trust of the medical professionals I worked with, showing that I was here to learn as much as I could in a dedicated and respectful manner,” she said.

Now that Roberg is back on campus, she is excited to “unpack” her summer experience and compile her reflections and analysis during her course with the other fellows.

“I’ve never been a consistent journaler, so having to put my experience down on … paper really opened up my eyes to how I organize my thoughts and take things in.”

Freeman traveled to Oslo, Norway and interned at the National Center for Minority Health Research (NAKMI). According to the Ethics Center, Freeman’s internship allowed her to “assist with cultural competency training for clinicians.”

“I felt that everything that I learned academically at Brandeis was put into practice during my internship at NAKMI,” Freeman wrote in an email to The Hoot.

Freeman designed a program during her internship in which she interviewed migrant workers “about their experiences with the healthcare system in Norway.” She cites this accomplishment as one of her proudest moments from the summer. She did express the challenge of encouraging interviewees to “open up to her.”

“People lived through sometimes very traumatic experiences so certain topics were difficult to talk about, like seeking therapy treatment,” she said.

Long spent her summer at Media Monitor for Women in Beijing, China. “The experience made it clear that feminism is empowerment— that through feminism, women dare to speak, that they demand power,” Long wrote to The Hoot.

She enjoyed making friends with other feminist activists, and said that though many of these women had read fewer feminist theories than Long herself, “they have their own way to discover gender inequalities and develop counter-forces against misogyny.”

Long explained that she came into the summer expecting to develop a project which would help improve the current state of society, however she believes the experience educated and changed her personally.

“While working with my colleagues, I realized that the education I received had made me think too much and do too little,” said Long.

She explained that people supported and insulted her grassroots activism, but that it was the insults which demonstrated to her that what she was doing was important.

“It is through the experience of combining knowledge from books and the actions that I develop my identity as a feminist,” she reflected.

All three students are excited for their course this semester with all the fellows. Freeman stated, “It will be really great to decompress on my experiences.”

She is excited to hear about the others’ internships and to work on the written final product all the fellows will compile in which they reflect on their experiences. She encourages all those interested to apply and take risks on the application, stating, “this experience put all of my academic experiences into perspective and I would recommend it to all Brandeis students.”

Roberg recommended “writing about something that had a sincere, lasting impact on you,” because even though this can be challenging, “these are the experiences that produce the best writing.”

Waltham Group recruits new members to expand service

By Abigail Gardener Special to the Hoot

Students attended the Waltham Group’s recruitment night on Thursday, Sept. 10 in the Shapiro Campus Center (SCC). Founded in 1966, the Waltham Group is an umbrella community service organization that houses 20 different subgroups. These groups all cater to different areas of interest and offer many opportunities for students to participate in community service in Waltham and the greater Boston area.

The Waltham Group is a very important part of the Brandeis community. “Waltham Group is an integral part of campus because it acts as a core for many of the community service programs available,” said co-president Kaiwen Chen ’16 said in an email to The Brandeis Hoot. He believes that Waltham Group allows students to “share resources and experiences.”

As the largest club on campus, each year Waltham Group holds a recruit-

ment fair to inform students about the different groups in the organization and encourage them to volunteer. According to Lucas Malo, the director of the Department of Community Service, “Waltham Group recruitment night has evolved and changed over the years in location, layout and structure. There used to be formal presentations with lecture style seating to our current fair-like setup. This year’s event will be a special celebration.”

Students enjoyed ice cream sundaes while perusing the information at each group’s table and signing up for the ones that interested them most.

Waltham Group Co-president Shaina Dorow ’16 said that the Waltham Group provides students with the opportunity to try new things, even if they have already participated in volunteerism in high school.

One of Waltham Group’s many clubs is Brandeis Buddies. “Brandeis Buddies is a Waltham Group club that strives to bridge the gap between Brandeis students and adults with developmental disabilities. Through

recreational and social activities such as crafts, games and open dialogue… Brandeis Buddies helps to build a stronger and more complete community both at Brandeis and in Waltham,” said coordinators Elena Stoeri-D’Arrigo ’16 and Emily Horowitz ’16.

Another group, Language and Cultural Enrichment, helps middle school children in Waltham who have recently immigrated to the United States learn English and adjust to American culture.

Students were impressed by the variety of different groups they had to choose from. “In high school I did a lot of volunteer work, so I thought in college I would just do the same because I like to give back to the community. I feel like Waltham Group has a lot of great volunteer opportunities, and there’s so many different opportunities that I would like to try,” Jennifer Zhen ’19 said.

Many students don’t know about the Waltham Group before arriving at Brandeis but are eager to get involved once they find out about it.

September 11, 2015

Segal Fellows share in summer experience

By Ryan Spencer Special to the Hoot

This past summer, six Brandeis students completed internships in line with the values of citizen leadership of the Eli J. Segal Fellowship.

This year, Aja Antoine ’17, Witney Christie ’17, Leah Sakala MBA ’17, Estela Lozano ’16, Analissa Iversen MPP/MBA ’16 and Molly Pearlman ’16 were inaugurated into the Segal Network as the most recent Fellows.

As part of the program, over the summer, the students participated in intensive internships focused around societal-advancement and social justice and were supported by mentors from the network. Unique to this internship-placement and funding organization is that Segal Fellows are forever part of the network, which can aid students with their careers.

The Segal Fellows interned for many different organizations and covered myriad subjects. Lorenzo is a Health, Science, and Social Policy (HSSP) and Latin American and Latino Studies double major who spent the summer interning at the National Council of La Raza in Washington, D.C., as part of the immigration policy team. She researched immigration policies and the impacts they have on individuals and on society. From her experience at the National Council of La Raza, Lorenzo found that she “did like research and being able to learn more about policies” but she “still [wanted] to be involved within the community.”

Iversen, who is a graduate student working toward a dual MPP/MBA at the Heller School of Social Policy and Management, spent the summer interning at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. There, she worked with youth, including individuals from the juvenile justice system, who demonstrated strong leadership. Iversen knew when choosing this internship that the experience would be “mutually beneficial,” because as well as learning from her experience, she also “had a perspective that would benefit” The Casey Foundation. Ultimately, Iversen said her experience made her “more passionate about social justice.”

Sakala, who is also in the process of earning a dual MPP/MBA at the

Heller School, interned this summer at the Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center in Washington, D.C. There she deepened her understanding of criminal justice policy and reform while strengthening her research, analysis, and presentations skills.

“I gained much greater appreciation for the breadth and depth of the broader Segal network,” Sakala said.

She reminds students who are interested in pursuing social justice and bettering society that “building community is especially key.”

Pearlman, a sociology major, interned this summer at Hitchcock Legal Aid located in Syracuse, New York. There she worked for a parole unit serving as an investigator who worked with public defenders.

Christie is an education studies major who spent this summer interning America’s Promise Alliance.

The America’s Promise Alliance is a non-profit organization aiming to ensure that all youth have access to safety, education, healthcare, caring adults and opportunities to serve the community. Christie worked with the vice president of this organization to create a policy that aims to increase high school graduation rates to 90 percent by 2020.

Antoine, an African and African-American Studies (AAAS) and Sociology double major, interned this summer at Facing History and Ourselves. This non-profit organization focuses on ensuring that moments of American history are taught in an ethically responsible manner. Antoine worked in the regional strategies department of this organization while conducting research in collaboration with City Year and Teach for America.

The Segal Fellowship began at the Heller School in 2007, following the death of Brandeis alumnus, Eli Segal.

Segal led a career in politics and was one of the “Fathers of AmeriCorps,” an organization that involves young adults in community service. According to the the program’s website, the Segal Fellowship, “commemorates [Segal]’s legacy, and continues his commitment to developing new generations of citizen leaders.”

The Segal Fellows will give short presentations on their summer internships on Monday, Sept. 21, at 6 p.m. at the Heller School, in room G3.

“ ” Waltham Group is important as it is one of the ways students can step outside of the campus

Lucas Malo

Rachel Groth ’19 said, as soon as she found out about Waltham Group she was interested.

As more students join, Waltham Group’s goals for the semester are to continue to expand their legacy and get more students to log their hours on Sage. “For the upcoming semester, we hope that people get even more involved in service and track their hours. We’re not logging anywhere near what we actually are doing.

This year, we hope to integrate the Waltham Group more and have more volunteer-wide events,” Dorow said.

Recruitment night is just the be-

ginning and Waltham Group will only continue to thrive as it expands.

“Waltham Group has been able grow and expand in response to both student interest and community need and we have only been able to do so with its strong student leadership model and all of the subprograms coming together to enhance each other’s programs,” Malo said. “Waltham Group is important as it is one of the ways that students can step outside of the Brandeis campus to explore our home city of Waltham, gain hands-on experience, and share a love of mutual learning with our community.”

FEATURES

September 11, 2015

The Brandeis Hoot 5

One Brandeis student’s gift of life

By Albert Reiss Staff

A campus ambassador for Gift of Life, Rebecca Siegel ’16 is committed to the fight against cancer.

This non-profit organization is “dedicated to saving lives and facilitating bone marrow and blood stem cell transplants for patients with leukemia, lymphoma and other blood-related diseases,” Siegel said.

One of Siegel’s duties is to participate in the first-ever World Marrow Donor Day on Saturday, Sept. 19. On this day, Rebecca and the rest of the 105 campus ambassadors from all over the country will swab the inside of people’s mouths with a cotton swab in order to identify bone marrow donors. This national bone marrow drive will involve students from Brandeis all the way to the University of Hawaii.

This is not Siegel’s first experience with Gift of Life. The senior, double majoring in biology and HSSP with a chemistry minor, first got involved with the organization at a summer camp several summers ago. “Ever since, I have been eagerly waiting for the phone call that I am a match for someone in need, and wanted to get more involved in the organization.

I feel like the Campus Ambassador Program is a great way to get more involved in the organization,” said

Siegel.

Siegel is also responsible for “educating the campus on the urgent need for stem cell donation, swabbing at least 1,000 students into the genetic registry and raising money to test the kits. Each kit costs $60 to genetically test, so the need for funding is also critical in saving patients’ lives.”

Among the reasons why the Campus Ambassador Program began was to recruit a large number of bone mar-

row donors between the ages of 18-24 because this age range is usually seen as the most useful in regard to bone marrow recruitment success. Once a match is found through the cotton swab, they will donate via a peripheral blood stem cell donation. This technique, which is non-surgical, involves blood being removed through a needle in one arm and then passed through a machine, which collects only the blood-forming cells. The remaining blood is then returned to the

donor through a needle in the other arm.

According to Gift of Life Founder Jay Feinberg, “Hundreds of lives will be saved because of our Student Ambassadors and the drives they will be running during this academic year.

We are so pleased to be able to kick this program off on the first-ever ‘World Marrow Donor Day.’” “I decided to make a difference because I want to see the end of blood cancer and bone marrow cancer. I

photo from internet source

don’t want patients to ever have to hear, ‘We have the technology to save you, but we don’t have a genetic match for you.’ I want patients to live the longest life they possibly can with the highest quality possible,” Siegel said about choosing to volunteer.

To learn more about the Gift for Life, email Rebecca at rsiegel@brandeis. edu or meet her in person at the Event in the Tent on Saturday, Sept. 19. As Siegel said, “Let’s fight cancer! It seriously only takes 60 seconds!”

Lemberg Center a valuable resource

By Katarina Weessies Staff

Every Tuesday, Lily Elderkin ’18, walks into the Lemberg Children’s Center to be greeted by a group of enthusiastic toddlers. They run up to her shouting “Lily!” and surround her, each giving her a hug. Since Lily supervises toddlers, aged 22 to 32 months, each day is full of rowdy and playful excitement.

Kids at Lemberg participate in a wide variety of developmentally appropriate activities. Toddlers and pre-schoolers’ schedules include water activities, singing, outdoor playtime and, of course, naptime. The infants’ schedule is far more relaxed, mostly alternating between sleeping and playtime. Each age group of children provides its own unique set of joys and challenges. Toddlers, for example, can be rowdy and unruly but are also enthusiastic and loving. The staff makes an effort to embrace the set of challenges associated with each age group.

Lemberg has created its curriculum to suit every type of young child. They create as inclusive of an environment as possible, and maintain a diverse group of students and staff. They provide individualized care and education that cater separately to the needs and interests of each child. Their website states that they value “flexibility, openness and creativity,” and that they are “sensitive to cultural, racial, cognitive and physical differences.” This inclusive education can boost students’ confidence, and can encourage tolerance and open mindedness.

When describing her favorite aspect of working at Lemberg, Elderkin cites the friendliness of the children and staff. She states that the children

photo from internet source

“will get to know you, will be excited when they see you and will call you by name.” Lemberg maintains a friendly and comfortable environment for the children and staff, which contributes to the inclusive education and care of the children. At Lemberg, staff are “encouraged to give hugs, be soft spoken and be comfortable with each child.” Staff maintain an unbiased perspective when working with children of different genders, races and backgrounds, and encourage friendship and empathy across gender and cultural lines.

Lemberg provides year-round care, and works with a limited number of children in order to maintain a superb student to supervisor/teacher ratio. In toddler classes, the adult-to-child ratio for the toddler program is 1:4, so each child is able to receive individualized care and attention.

This attention can contribute massively to a child’s educational development. When each child is allowed to play and learn at their own pace, and is encouraged to be proud of themselves and their backgrounds, they often learn at a quicker rate than they

would with a less individualized approach.

Lemberg’s goals as an institution mirror those of Brandeis. Both institutions seek to be as inclusive as possible, and to provide individual attention to each pupil. Lemberg encourages the anti-bias perspectives that are respected by Brandeis students, and is inclusive of students with special developmental needs and varied cultural backgrounds. Lemberg, much like Brandeis, is known for its friendly and caring environment.

They seek to provide “loving, educa-

tionally appropriate care” and develop “friendship building, community involvement and excitement for learning,” according to their website. All of these are characteristics of Brandeis.

The Lemberg Children’s Center, with its friendliness and cultural awareness, is an important part of Brandeis. Their staff encourages the individual development of students, and builds friendship and empathy across different cultures and backgrounds. Although most Brandeis students have never been to the center, it reflects our values as a university.

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September 11, 2015

‘Paper Towns’: an authentic teen flick

By Talia Franks Staff

If you have been paying attention to popular culture in the past few years, especially in the young adult vein, you have probably heard of John Green. His novel, “The Fault in Our Stars” was adapted into a popular feature film last summer. This summer marked the release of an adaptation of another one of his novels, “Paper Towns.”

This movie is the story of Quentin “Q” Jacobsen and his neighbor, the ever-mysterious Margo Roth Spiegelman. Margo and Q are childhood friends who drift apart, until one night when Margo takes Q on a wild trip throughout the suburbs of Florida. They get revenge on those who wronged them from childhood to high school. After that night she disappears, and Q finds a series of clues she left, leading him to believe that she wants him to find her. With the help of his friends, he starts that journey to find Margo and to finds himself along the way as well. The movie pushed the idea that to find who you really are, you have to lose a bit of yourself first. This theme was so prominent that the movie poster was “Get lost, Get found,” and throughout

By Zachary Gordon

photo from internet source

the tour it was promoted heavily.

I thought “Paper Towns” was excellent. It’s different from many other films that I’ve seen, and I think that what sets it apart is that “Paper Towns” is a film about people, their relationships and everyday life. In many ways it’s a typical coming-ofage story, but in others it’s not. So many films focus on the drama and big changes that a character goes through, and Q goes through those changes. The push that the studio was going for was correct in that Q lost a bit of himself, and he came out as a stronger and better person for it.

Many coming-of-age stories have a character make a dramatic shift and then they end on some poignant, uncertain note. That is all well and good,

establish that there was no romance between them and there was just a completely platonic friendship. In reality, that happens and the fact that it was actually represented in a movie is something I really like.

There was an authenticity to the film that isn’t always present in teen dramas. Often, when I watch anything like this, I have to turn it off or leave because it feels so fake, but “Paper Towns” felt very accurate to me.

“Paper Towns” as an adaptation is definitely altered from the book.

Starting out, the film stays fairly close, but it starts to diverge as the plot gets more complex. As is the trend with book-to-movie adaptations, the film follows an accelerated timeline from the book. Some fans of the original novel were disappointed with the film.

It takes a different approach from the source text, and I’ll admit that I myself was taken aback by some of the changes. However, I have to say that overall the film stayed true to the message of the book and told the essence of the story.

but there is something to be said for a character who can learn and grow and still go back and follow what they had always meant to do, just with a broader perspective.

The exceptional thing about “Paper Towns” is its normality. It’s a story of people and friendships. Many films these days focus on the romantic angle, and it’s true that there is romance in this film. But more than anything it’s a story of friendships. For every scene with even a hint of a kiss there are at least two with friends goofing off together or talking about how much their friendships mean.

“Paper Towns” was the first movie I ever saw where a boy and a girl were able to sit together and talk, where they were able to immediately

It’s one big improvisation

Special to the Hoot

As Brandeis students, we have access to a plethora of classes and no shortage of fields to study. Because of this, we are encouraged to take courses outside our major and minor tracks, but a lot of times, that can be overwhelming. One look at the course guide, and a student could come away more confused than when they started looking. One of the best places to look for fun and interesting courses to fill out a schedule is the arts, but that too can be intimidating. A lot of times students both with and without experience have a hard time finding where they fit and that can be especially true in the music department.

Enter experienced jazz saxophonist and performance artist, Tom Hall. Along with many other touring groups, Hall played with Brandeis Jazz Band Director Bob Nieske in his quintet, Wolf Soup. According to Tom’s bio on his website, freeimprovisation.com, Nieske asked him to join the music department back in 1997. He founded and is now the director of Brandeis’ Improv Collective, a class that is designed to explore free musical improvisation.

He “never wanted to teach” at the beginning, said Hall in an exclusive interview with The Hoot. He said he always thought of himself “as a performer and an improviser.” Eighteen years into teaching Improv Collective, however, Hall has changed his tune. Since its inception, Improv Collective has gone from a saxophone group and overflow from the jazz band to a fully inclusive ensemble that accepts all instruments and experience levels, and has become one of the most interesting and unique courses on campus. Students come back to the ensemble every semester simply because “they love to improvise together and class is structured in such a way that you can’t really get what we do here in any other class.

It’s now basically just a class that lots of people [who] are into music try to take before they leave,” Hall said.

So what is this structure that keeps students coming back every time the class is offered? Hall put it simply: “We use improvisation to explore music, and we use music to explore improvisation.” This simple idea drives the course, and as Hall said, “[We] don’t really need to fit anything else in except for improv … because it’s a process that is part of everything we do.”

To Hall, improvisation is “the process of taking our understanding and awareness [that] we have, combining it with the possibilities and materials of the moment, and creating something,” something he says we do every day whether we know it or not.

The way Hall sees it, we are all born improvisers. We do it every time we speak, every time we think, every time we respond to something, and most importantly whenever we create.

Hall began teaching the course because he wanted to figure out a vocabulary with which to talk about free improvisation, which according to him was a nebulous concept in music and in jazz in particular. One of his earliest goals with the course was to take free improvisation “beyond stream of consciousness music to music where people are consciously composing in the moment,” and during his time at Brandeis, Hall has quite literally written the book on free improvisation. In 2009, Hall published “Free Improvisation: A Practical Guide,” a book of exercises and tips to talk about and improve improvisational playing. A lot of the concepts talked about in the book are the same ones Hall delves into and utilizes in the course.

It’s hard to describe a typical rehearsal of Improv Collective because, by the nature of improv, it’s different

every time. In the last rehearsal, Hall started the improvisers out with a duet exercise to examine musical and improvisational relationships. He set the group up in several combinations to facilitate free expression through music, and gave a prompt like “have a conversation” or “play out a story.”

He uses prompts like this to get students thinking about a certain aspect of improvisation. In this case the aspect is relationship, but Hall said, “It can be something as simple as loud and soft.”

At the end of the rehearsal Tom invited the whole group up to play a “groove” together. In a groove each member of the ensemble plays something small to allow each player to add to the collective sound. The players are free to shift and evolve the groove as it forms, giving them the unmitigated to exercise their creativity. The freedom of the exercise and the thrill of playing together are just a couple reasons why grooves are one of the group’s favorite playing exercises.

Hall says that his “job as a teacher is to shine a flashlight on someone else’s process … so [someone] can see what’s going on in themselves” and better understand how they work as an improviser. Through doing this for so many years, Hall says he has learned more about himself as a person, a musician, and as an improviser. For the future of the group Tom says he’d like to see it branch out and become more involved with the other creative outlets on campus. By connecting the Improv Collective with other groups on campus, Hall hopes to enrich and enliven the breadth of creativity at Brandeis. You can catch the Improv Collective in Slosberg on November 15, for their semester show.

photo from internet source

September 11, 2015

ARTS 7

The Brandeis Hoot

Prince’s ‘HITnRUN phase one’ a hit?

ByZachary Gordon Special to the Hoot

On Monday, Sept. 7, veteran performance artist Prince released his 38th studio album, titled “HITnRUN phase one.” The album itself was only announced a month and a half ago and is still available, though only in digital form. For an artist who changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol for seven years to get out of a contract, spontaneity is nothing new. Still, “HITnRUN phase one” is one of the most experimental albums Prince has come out with to date.

Musical experimentation aside, the biggest surprise of the album was the method of its release. Rather than a physical release, Prince gave the album exclusively to TIDAL, Jay-Z’s ill-received streaming service. It’s a confusing move for Prince to say the least, and a terrible one for publicity and access to the album. It becomes an even murkier decision with his previous comments that “the Internet is completely over,” published in The Daily Mirror in mind. The Purple One even took it a step further, removing his entire song catalog from all other streaming services across the Internet. A physical release has yet to be announced, and,

photo from internet source

considering Prince’s aforementioned stubbornness, it could stay that way for a while. If nothing else, it proves that Prince will still do whatever Prince wants to do.

Release aside, the album is an interesting blend of old and new, including many samples of Prince’s past work.

It might sound like a rehash of old material at the onset, but the throwback moments actually add a feeling of coherency to the record within the context of Prince’s career. The catalyst for the album’s innovation is his collaboration with Joshua Welton, the producer of Prince’s last solo album, “Art Official Age,” and the album “Plectrum Electrum,” a project with 3RDEYEGIRL. Welton brings the purple sound into the electronic age, adding heavy elements of EDM and electronica to Prince’s long-established, funky style. The marriage has a number of rough patches, and, at its worst, loses its recognition as Prince.

But when it works, it’s striking.

Keeping with the references, the album starts off with a medley of vintage Prince intros, including those of “1999” and “Let’s Go Crazy.” This first nostalgia tour leads into “MILLION $ SHOW,” which features Judith Hill on lead vocals and the fat rhythm guitar you would expect from anything Purple official. The first taste of Prince’s new style is shown when the funkadelic bass and chopped guitar give way to horns, which blow into an operatic choir accompanied by a twinkling synth and underlined by

crunchy background static. The variety of sounds in this first track show the breadth of Prince’s musicianship and act as foreshadowing to the overall tone of the album.

Like any experimental album, there are points where trial gives way to error, specifically the second track on the album, “Shut This Down.” Despite a nice bass riff under a smooth-voiced Prince in the middle of the song, the combination of Prince’s gritty vocals on the rest of the track and high saturation, electronic beats is something we never needed nor asked for. Thankfully, the mismatched mix is somewhat saved by the following track, “Ain’t About to Stop,” where the fusion of funk and EDM works. The contrast is still stark, but it fits. Unlike “Shut This Down,” it preserves Prince’s feel and features some of the best guitar and bass solos on the album.

The point at which the blend clicks best comes nine tracks in, with “Mr. Nelson,” a throwback to the track “Clouds” from “Art Official Age” and a reference to Prince’s legal name.

“Mr. Nelson” is a primarily instrumental piece with Lianne La Havas’ hypnotic spoken vocals floating over the track as it transitions to its climax, where a smooth solo guitar is accompanied by a driving, club-electronica beat. As powerful as it is— and as well as the combo works—it’s still not the best song of the album.

That title goes to “1000 X’S & 0’S,” and the story that accompanies its in-

clusion on the album is an intriguing one to say the least.

Like many parts of the album, “1000 X’s & 0’S” revisits Prince’s earlier career. According to the Prince Vault, the song was originally recorded in 1992 and was intended for a project to be titled “MPLS” which was never finished. It was remixed and re-recorded in the fall of last year, and played over the Paisley Park speaker system in November at one of Prince’s many surprise events at his exclusive venue in Minnesota. The song itself is much more reminiscent of older Prince records, before electronica came to disturb the waters. The unfortunate implication that the least electronic song on the album is the best one is that the addition of electronica didn’t add as much as Prince and Welton hoped it would. The upshot, though, is that “1000 X’s & 0’s” is an instant classic and shows that Prince is still at his best in a love song.

The album, its promotion and its release embody a pattern of operation for which Prince has become known: to show up without warning and do something unexpected. Despite a few rocky moments, the fusion of Welton and Prince’s musical personalities is a commendable and original effort, and, for the most part, it pays off.

All in all, I give Prince’s “HITnRUN phase one” nine out of 10 purple raindrops on a raspberry beret. Here’s to hoping it becomes more widely available soon.

BAM/CO hosts Chum’s grand reopening

By Clayre Benzadon Staff

On Sunday, Sept. 6, Chum’s had its first event of the semester, marking the reopening of one of the safest, most comfortable places on campus.

Last semester, Chum’s was closed without notice after a couple of students smoked inside, setting off the fire alarm. The staff members, unaware of what was occurring, did not evacuate everyone inside the building, which was considered a violation of safety practices.

BAM/CO (Brandeis Association for Music/Concert Organizing) hosted its first show of the year at Chum’s featuring California’s ZEBU! and local rock band Guerilla Toss. ZEBU! opened up the audience to the punkrock atmosphere, with amplified guitar riffs and theatrical performances by band members Ted Lee and Steve D’Agostino. After the guitar warm-ups, Lee came down into the intimate and energetic audience and started stepping onto the ground, full of “dust, pieces of dust” collecting in his hands (he pointed his palms up to the spotlight) and stared at everyone in the audience, slowly walking toward everyone.

He then prompted a stuffed giraffe to start singing along: “He’s a little shy,” Lee suggested. The next performance-like song they played was one of their “acid rock songs” and the experimental sounds, loud voices and guitar and drums solos definitely made you feel as if you were experiencing a trance-like state, an effect that mimics being on drugs.

Once Guerilla Toss came on stage, everyone started eagerly jumping into each other in a friendly moshpit, creating a small circle full of new friends and experiences, head banging and sweating under the bright lights and vibrations of the music.

The band sold merchandise at the end, and I couldn’t help but admire Guerilla Toss’s trippy album cover.

Illustrated on the front is the abstract

shape of a face, full of other faces inside of each other, with neon colors that seem to pop out onto the walls.

Surely influenced by Picasso’s style of his composition Guernica, all the faces seem to shape together into an intricate pattern of interconnected-

ness.

Their songs include “Smack the Brick,” “TV Spell,” “Cookie,” “ A Pig Who Feeds” and “367 Equalizer.” The band’s music is categorized as a sort of “mosh-funk, wave noise,” full of deep, psychedelic trances. According

to Guerilla Toss, enjoying their music means, “you can get rowdy or you can just tune in and drop out.” Most of the experimental sounds avoid traditional musical conventions with their dark dance music that makes your head go fuzzy with sensational

photos by jess linde/the hoot

stimulation and ears ringing for days after.

ZEBU!, formed in 2003 at Hampshire College, is also another band that contains an innovative style of music that engages the audience: From using props ranging from throw blankets, furry animal headgear, bongos, banjos, feathers and “hipster-style” beards, this band is confident in claiming “Your Band is Nothing” (a title of one of their songs from their album “Hookers in Sweatpants.”) Their playlist “Chill Wave” also contains quirky, eccentric, beachy and creative song titles: “ Sugar Shells,” “Surfin Myrtle,” “ Snorkeling!” and “Blood on the Beach,” just to name of few.

Last semester, students made tremendous effort to protest the unfair ways in which Chum staff members were fired, as they lost their jobs without warning, the whole staff was blamed for the careless actions of only two staff members, and the staff was let go without any explanation or prior warning.

With this semester’s reopening, Chum’s looks more hopeful in terms of events. What Chum’s represents is this sort of eccentric, innovative style of vibes, music and interesting energy from the crowd and musicians. More clubs should start hosting events in Chum’s to get people acquainted with the underground, cozy area, not just limited to musicians and a cappella performances, but Chum’s needs to preserve the open-mic nights that were so successful from last semester and created a close space for everyone to fully express themselves.

Additionally, the food at Chum’s is unique concoctions that you will find nowhere else on campus. Whether you want breakfast for dinner or a filling snack, Chum’s has everything a student could ever want late at night when nothing else is open: eggs, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, grilled cheese, hummus and pita chips and big mugs filled with fairtrade coffee and tea.

8 The Brandeis Hoot

ARTS, ETC.

September 11, 2015

First Food Truck Festival falls short

By Adam Lamper Special to the Hoot

Located between the long line of students eagerly awaiting the chance to get a ticket for this year’s 24-Hour Musical and the savory tunes of How Deep Was the Ocean as they kicked off the Rose Art Museum’s “Lamplight Sessions” concert series, the Sept. 6 Food Truck Festival gave students a break from the monotony of the dining halls.

Students had the opportunity to grab a bite to eat from Rhythm ’n Wraps, Momogoose and even Sodexo’s own Street Grub, or to just enjoy the variety of games laid out across the grass, all sponsored by the Department of Student Activities. Though limited in number, the trucks most definitely delivered in flavor.

Momogoose was by far the most popular truck among the students, which comes as no surprise considering it was the winner of the Boston Food Truck Challenge in 2011.

The company was founded in 1989

by MIT alumni, Loc Vo and Tiffany Pham, who believed the campus was lacking a source of authentic Vietnamese and South Asian cuisine.

Momogoose places a high value on fresh, fast and flavorful food, avoiding artificial flavors and preservatives and using locally sourced ingredients

wherever and whenever possible.

“The foods were fresh and healthy, and the ambience of being outdoors mingling with people while enjoying great food is absolutely inspiring,” which is a culture of social eating they aim to encourage with their business, Vo said about their past travels in Southeast Asia. Momogoose sponsors a special charity project every year with a portion of its proceeds, but the

real reward is the overwhelmingly positive response from its customers.

“In the end, it’s the fan emails that we get that really inspire us,” Vo said.

Rhythm ’n Wraps brought in its fair share of students as well, particularly those looking for gourmet vegetarian and vegan options.

Co-founded by Aaron Cohen and Chef Oshinga, Rhythm ’n Wraps was “born from a lifelong love of food

and music.” The duo is particularly inspired by Indian, Thai and Mexican cuisine, and takes a holistic approach to creating their food. Outside of Rhythm ’n Wraps, Oshinga manages and teaches at Neteru-Satsanga Society for Self-Realization, where he instructs on healthy eating, and draws connections between food, medicine and health. “We look at our food as medicine, and we enjoy providing the

public with incredibly flavorful food which is also healthy,” Cohen said.

Rhythm ’n Wraps is stationed at Harvard University Science Center every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and is looking forward to participating in many more local festivals in the near future.

Street Grub, though less exotic in flavor, catered toward students who craved food from the traditional, “All-American” food truck.

Locally themed favorites such as the “South End Fenway Frank” and the “Beantown Grilled Cheese” sandwich were served up with loads of flavor and reasonable prices. Street Grub places a high value on giving back to the people, and donates a portion of its sales to charities that aim to end issues of hunger in the Greater Boston Area.

Though this year’s “festival” fell short of its hype, students were more than eager to give praise for that which was offered and suggestions for next year’s event. “It was nice to have vegetarian options,” said Rachel Bossuk ’18, as she and her peers enjoyed Momogoose’s signature sate dish and discussed possible trucks for next year from cold pressed juices to the classic ice cream truck. That being said, the festival was far from disappointing, but still leaves much to be desired for next year.

photo by adam lamper/the hoot

Brandeis senior excels at the fine arts

By Alana Hodson Special to the Hoot

The extensive realm of the fine arts can be a daunting field in which to major, but it is in that realm that Cesar Pineda ’16 has found his passion.

Pineda has narrowed his focus to photography and painting, expressing his emotions and ideas through colors and abstract shapes. Though photography holds an important place in Pineda’s collection, oil painting accounts for the bulk of his work,

illustrating a variety of subject matter including landscapes, still life and human models. The fine arts have broadened his perspective of the world and of himself, though perhaps the greatest influence on Pineda’s life and art was his study abroad semes-

photo by cesar pineda/the hoot

ter in Japan in the spring, which has altered his plans for the future immensely.

Though Pineda now seems like the ideal fit to the fine arts, his original plans were meant to lead him down a very different path. On the road to becoming a business major, Pineda entered his sophomore year with this declaration in mind. However, one class stopped him in his tracks— econ. Having encountered his kryptonite, he suddenly found himself facing the reality that business was not the path he truly wished to follow. Seeking an outlet for his stress and creativity, Pineda took Introduction to Drawing with Professor Joseph Wardwell (FA)—a class that would lead him to his true calling.

Pineda soon invested more of his time in painting and photography, eventually declaring his major in Fine Arts. He tried many styles and media, discovering his strength for oil painting with color and his dislike for hyperrealism. One of Pineda’s favorite artistic endeavors is his series of self-portraits. “I did it like six or seven times … I don’t know why. A lot of it has to do with how I felt when I painted the portrait, so a lot of the colors changed, a lot of the shapes changed … there were a lot of similarities, but also a lot of differences.”

While he learned much about the world of art through his classes, the fine arts have taught him even more about himself, creating an opportunity for introspection that would have otherwise been missed. In the typically hectic life of the over-invested and over-worked Brandeisian, art became a source of therapeutic relief for Pineda. Free from papers and exams, he could enjoy the work he put into his projects, and he could find freedom in his ability to create a new world through visual expression. “It’s given me a better appreciation for the hard work that people do. For example, I always try to buy music now because I know what it’s

like to have your work out there and appreciated,” he explained. da was not interested in Japan prior to his study abroad. “It just seemed natural to pick Japan,” he said, yet the country could not have been a more perfect match for him. In his first years at Brandeis, Pineda kept to himself, reluctant to expose his character to the judgement of others. However, in Chiba, Japan, Pineda had to make a new life for himself on his own and in a completely different culture, forcing him to accept the idea of becoming independent. He met many great people and found a family that taught him the value of recognizing and appreciating the people in his life, as well as confidence in his own abilities. Pineda’s artistic world also expanded as he was exposed to a new culture of art. “In the States, there’s a negative stigma against comic books … but in Japan they’ve incorporated manga and anime into popular art …

I liked how creative they were.”

Now that Pineda has returned from Japan, he has turned his focus to his final year at Brandeis, taking senior studio and preparing for his upcoming project. While there are no concrete plans yet, Pineda hopes that his senior showcase will reveal personal growth through the artwork he has created over the past years, and he also plans to incorporate Japanese culture into several new pieces.

When asked about his plans after graduation, without a second of hesitation, Pineda exclaimed, “Go to Japan!” He hopes to do something in the creative arts, hopefully to become an art teacher. Pineda offered some advice for underclassmen planning to major in the fine arts: “Don’t be afraid, just because the fine arts is really big compared to other areas … don’t be afraid that you can’t do something; it takes time to develop your skills—like learning a new language … be creative; everyone has their own distinct style … and just have fun with it.”

September 11, 2015

ARTS 9

The Brandeis Hoot

24-Hour Musical takes audience to Neverland overwhelmed any and all rational thought.

Ironically, he had this to say about his performance: “In 24 hours, there really isn’t much time to delve into a character. After a few delirious hours, I found myself naturally playing Hook as a kind of pretentious and heinous guy. It felt kind of like a weird mix of Jack Sparrow, Captain Barbossa and Richard III from Shakespeare. If I had more time, I’d have liked to explore Hook’s lighter, more comical side. But then again, sauntering about and scheming diabolically was too, too satisfying!”

No matter the person or their con-

By Alana Hodson Special to the Hoot

It takes a particular amount of audacity to be part of any performance when there is limited time to prepare, and a whole other realm of boldness to perform a musical in 24 hours.

When the limits of the human spirit are tested, the fact that any person would want to be part of the performance and production staff is admirable, even a little unbelievable. And not only do students come in droves to join the cast and crew of 24-Hour, but the theater fills up so quickly, and the demand to see the show increases yearly.

On Sunday, Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. in the SCC theater, Brandeis University’s 11th annual 24-Hour Musical, “Peter Pan,” was performed under the direction of Zach Marlin ’16, Caley Chase ’16 and Zoë Golub-Sass ’16. With a total cast of over a hundred students, the performance required a great amount of organization, especially given the large scale of the musical.

Needless to say, the SCC theater was filled to capacity and available seating outside the theater only minimally helped accommodate for the show’s high demand. All the hype was met accordingly with an all-around memorable performance.

It was a whirlwind of excitement from beginning to end. The 24-Hour Musical is a whole other kind of performance, not intended to be squeaky clean and perfect with dead-on transitions, in sync choreography or even memorized lines. And that’s the beauty of it. The actors had the right attitude about their performance, often smiling when they forgot words to parts of the songs or laughing when the background actors forgot a transition. The performance was part musical part comedy, and therefore fulfilled the audience’s thirst for a more layered show.

The show was more than animated and pulled off particularly difficult special effects like the crocodile chase and Peter Pan’s shadow using puppets and a person clothed in all black.

Captain Hook’s most dreaded foe, the crocodile, made its appearance with the aid of two actors who literally crawled on and off stage together. Peter Pan’s shadow, on the other hand, played by Danielle Frankel ’17, was another entertaining aspect of the show, literally replicating Pan’s every move as close as was physically possible. Also, the magical flying scenes were achieved with the help of another “stunt” actor who carried the leads off stage. The simplicity of these socalled “special effects” only added to the comic relief embedded throughout the show.

From the moment the curtain opened there was a sense of camaraderie and contentment among the cast members. In the opening scene, Wendy and John danced together in their family home, both of whom awkwardly held onto each other, unsure of who was leading and when to stop. It was in those first few moments that both actors couldn’t suppress their candid laughter. That entrance set the stage for the rest of the performance. Katie Reinhold ’19, who played Peter Pan, spoke positively of her experience with the cast, noting, “Every single cast member I got a chance to talk to was ridiculously happy to be there, even when they were still working away at 2:30 a.m.

Everyone just wanted to have a good time, so working with other cast members helped reduce the stress I was feeling.”

The lead performances were also quite masterful, especially given the time restraints. Anna Stern ’18, who

played Tinkerbell, clad in a short green dress, slippers with puffs at the end and a necklace of glowing lights, literally became the character in every way. As if the character had been peeled from the illustrations inside a children’s book, Stern’s portrayal of the timeless fairy showed a mastery of her child-like demeanor, body language and Tink’s distinct sound effect, which is kind of like an animated buzzing.

Captain Hook, performed by Ray Trott ’16, showcased an outstandingly well-polished and all-around impressive rendition of the character. The comic relief that pervaded his scenes was not due to mistakes in his performance, but was the result of the explicit sexual tension between his character and Smee, Zev Kupfer, his right hand man. In multiple scenes, Smee either grinded his pelvis against the oblivious captain or attempted to save the emotionally distressed Hook, whose fear of the crocodile

tribution to the performance, from leading roles to techies to production staff, there’s always an incredible amount of dedication put into the show and satisfaction having completed it among the cast and crew.

Emily Bisno ’19, who played the lead role Wendy, discussed her involvement in the show. “I’ve always loved theater and want to study theater at Brandeis so participating in 24-Hour was not only an incredible introduction to the department but I also met a lot of upperclassmen in the department … We all had an amazing time getting to know each other and performing together!”

photo by sasha lynne ruiz/the hoot

New club Behind the Scenes welcomes techies

By Santiago Montoya Special to the Hoot

Every year, a few new clubs are created, adding on to the already extensive list of approximately 250 official clubs on campus. It is always interesting to see what isn’t offered at Brandeis, and this year Behind the Scenes brings something new to the table.

Behind the Scenes (BTS) represents the opportunity for students to train in a variety of technical theater areas in which the members will be given the freedom to explore as they choose, from carpentry, to costume

design, lighting design, production, sound design and stage management.

Professional teacher assistants will lead the trainings, and there will also be a coordinator for each different area. The co-founders have reached out to everyone they can think of— they even contacted Spingold Theater’s staff, who agreed and joined forces with BTS to provide training and connections. The club has other projects as well, like plans for more extensive seminars about specific lighting equipment, which will be called “Help, Everything’s Broken!”

In addition, the club will offer events on and off campus, including workshops, backstage tours and

more. They will serve as support to other theater clubs when a production staff is needed, attend networking events for those who are interested in pursuing a career in technical theater and build and expand members’ portfolios, among other exciting activities and perks that the clubs has to offer.

“I came up with this particular club here because upon my arrival as a freshman, I was looking for a ‘home’ for techies and people who like to work backstage, and I never quite found one,” Sivan Ertel ’18, one of the three BTS co-founders, said. As a matter of fact, there are a few forums for techies here at Brandeis. Nev-

ertheless, Ertel responded that she “felt that having one place for all of us would be productive for the UTC [Undergraduate Theatre Collective] and Brandeis in general.” Another point Ertel made was that when the time comes for shows to select a production staff, “instead of always reaching out to the same few people, with Behind the Scenes, there will be a range of options … and it makes it easier for people to get involved who wouldn’t have otherwise.”

“We are in the process of discussing membership within the UTC, and we are meeting with the UTC coordinator shortly,” Ertel said.

The finals details are still current-

ly in the works; however, the club already met for the first time on Wednesday, Sept. 9 in the SCC Green Room. They had the opportunity to establish the framework of the club, fill empty positions for each of the UTC’s production staff and learn what everyone’s interests are, so the club can then decide what trainings and seminars they are going to provide first. They also commented that they are in the process of finalizing the executive board positions.

The construction of this club has been a process, but will provide a useful new outlet for those interested in learning more about the technical side of theater.

EDITORIALS

10 The Brandeis Hoot

Increased dialogue needed between students and community authority

“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 Deputy News Editors Charlotte Aaron Hannah Schuster Deputy Arts Editor Sabrina Pond Features Editor Jacob Edelman Deputy Opinion Editor Zach Phil Schwartz Sports Editor Sarah Jousset Deputy Hoot Scoops Editor Emily Sorkin Smith Copy Editor Allison Plotnik Senior Layout Editor Sasha Ruiz Layout Editors Lisa Petrie Ludi Yang

September 11, 2015

O

n Saturday, Aug. 29, an officer from the Waltham Police Department approached the off-campus residences of several Brandeis students and warned them not to host parties, threatening them with arrest should they disobey the police. This week, The Brandeis Hoot published a news article detailing the events of Aug. 29 and subsequent meetings between administration and leaders from the Greek life and off-campus community.

According to Waltham Chief of Police Keith MacPherson, his office instructed officers to go out and speak with Brandeis students to outline Waltham Police Department’s expectations of Brandeis students living off campus. As such, we see that Officer Cory Amarante was carrying out his duties when he spoke with students.

However, we find that Amarante went beyond his instructions. Students interviewed by The Hoot stated that though Amarante attempted to portray his interactions with students as friendly warnings, this was not the case.

Students characterized Amarante’s words as threatening, stating that after this first warning,

any issues at their off-campus homes would result in arrest. He was harsh and behaved inappropriately. Though the Waltham Police Department claims Amarante was supposed to discuss responsibilities of off-campus students, members of several of Brandeis’ Greek organizations reported that they feel expectations are unclear when it comes to hosting parties. This miscommunication is not conducive to a safe and secure environment, but rather an added stressor to students who would like to host parties or get-togethers.

The Greek Awareness Council (GAC) has met with Brandeis administrators, and they plan to meet again with a representative of the Waltham police. The Hoot hopes that this meeting will foster an improved understanding of what Waltham police expect of Brandeis students living off campus. It is not fair for students to remain in the dark when the Waltham police is prepared to accost students at the slightest infraction.

Since the night of Aug. 29, students are afraid to host any large gathering off-cam-

pus, not wanting to provoke Waltham police to begin arresting tenants. With no parties off-campus and now no registered parties allowed at the Mods, the issue becomes where younger students may turn next (because it is naive to assume that disallowing parties will stop parties from happening). The registration process for parties on campus provides a safe method for students to be held accountable for the intensity of their parties. If students cannot attend registered and monitored parties, will there be an increase in the number of students consuming alcohol in their dry underclassmen dorms or suites? Will police, either Brandeis police or Waltham police, attempt to confront these students?

We understand the concern for student safety by administrators and police figures in the community; however, open communication with students is a key part of our safety.

Punishments and threats are not going to build trust between students and authority figures, and we are hopeful that open dialogue in the future will ease worries on all sides.

Volume 12 • Issue 14 the brandeis hoot • brandeis university 415 south street • waltham, ma

Founded By Leslie Pazan, Igor Pedan and Daniel Silverman

Advice to presidential candidates

STAFF

Clayre Benzadon, Rachel Bossuk, Sharon Cai, Karen Caldwell, Jake Greenberg, Talia Franks, Emma Gutman, Emma Hanselman, Curtis Zunyu He, Kevin Healey, Emma Kahn, Naomi Klickstein, Shayna Korol, Nabi Menai, Monique J Menezes, Joon Park, 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.

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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.

By Naomi Klickstein staff

Across 1. Part II of name 3. Clappers 7. Red Hot Chili Peppers member 9. Muslim religious leader 11. Indian chief 13. Start of quotation 17 “_____ get it on” 18. MGM co-founder Marcus 19. Slippery shocker 20. ____ goes the weasel 21. Father of Jacob 23. Part II of quotation 27. Director of Fresh Guacamole 28. With 29-down, response to “private!”

30. With 35-across, Brandeis frat.

32. Miracle on Ice team Word with “two” or “wood” 34. Origin of Eve 35. See 30-across 37. Feces 39. Part III of quotation 45. Teeming with 47. Poet’s before 48. Wife of Lennon 49. Prefix meaning “field” 51. ______ of Solomon

Answers from 9/4

53. Part IV of quotation 56. Took a tumble 57. Ancient character 58. Part III of name 59. Bordered 60. Deceased Down 1. One at the plate 2. Only major river that flows South to North 3. Old wretched woman 4. Friend in France 5. Monotone MGM cartoon 6. Word 1-down hopes to hear 7. “Aunt” who visits women monthly 8. “Because of this” 10. Slogan

12. “Ouch!” (var.)

14. Building annexes 15. Clumps 16. Addressee in second person 20. e.g. guilty 22. Sneaky 24. Capsized 25. Icy home 26. Programming language 29. See 28-across 31. Exists 33. Word with North or Dance 36. Word(s) often misspelled 37. Danger 38. Observed Yom Kippur 40. Chicago airport 41. Common newspaper name 42. Nether region 43. Parts of a gear 44. Part I of name of quotation author 46. “A long long time ____” 50. Nigerian headscarf 51. Found in a wall or on the beach 52. More than want 54. Scottish-American supergroup 55. Wrath

SPORTS

September 11, 2015

The Brandeis Hoot 11

Gymnastics: from casual club to competitive team

By Curtis Zunyu He Staff

In the summer of 2012 before he came to Brandeis, Benjy Hechtman ’15, a fan of competitive gymnastics, hadn’t envisioned himself ever leading the club gymnastics team here.

When Hechtman arrived at Brandeis, the club was purely recreational and practiced once a week. Now, the team competes at meets thanks to Hechtman’s efforts to “It was definitely a goal of mine prior to even starting my first year [at Brandeis] to eventually revamp the club and give any Brandeis students interested in competing the opportunity to do so,” Hechtman said, who is ready to continue on the road to glory as the new semester begins.

Inspired by his younger sister, Hechtman started gymnastics at the age of 13, which is “actually a pretty late start for this sport,” he said. “After seeing her learning a bunch of cool skills I decided I wanted to be able to do those things, too. And after I started I just completely fell in love with the sport,” he said. His talent and potential for gymnastics were discovered during high school as he earned himself a position in the USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic program and actually made it to level 10, the highest level you can reach in the program. His passion for the sport followed him to Brandeis. “A huge part of my decision to come to Brandeis was the fact that they already had a gymnastics club,” he said.

However, back in 2012, the club was nowhere near the competitive scene, with little funding and no serious practices. Fortunately, Hechtman wasn’t knocked down by the disappointment, as his ambitious blueprint for the club won him the position of the president in his sophomore year.

from club to competition

Genevieve Oliveira ‘15 (left) and Benjy Hechtman ‘16 (right) compete in the prelims of the 2015

The club began skyrocketing toward Hechtman’s goal of bringing a team to the competitive stage.

He started with obtaining more funding to increase the number of practices to twice a week and also found additional open gym sessions at New England Sports Academy in Westwood, “a beautiful facility with all the equipment for both men’s and women’s events as well as a tumble track, foam pits and an in-ground trampoline” according to Hechtman. With more systematic and serious training, Brandeis gymnastics gradually found its way to become a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Gymnastics Clubs shortly after.

Hechtman didn’t stop there, as he then presented a formal proposal to the Club Sports Program at Brandeis.

“It was a huge accomplishment for the team since this allowed us to start

using Brandeis vans to get to practices as well as receive more funding and support from the Athletics department for us to start going to competitions,” explained Hechtman.

Closer and closer to his dream, the day finally came when Brandeis gymnastics sent its first-ever team to a competition held at MIT in the spring of 2014. But the team wasn’t qualified for further competition due to lack of experience of competitive gymnastics. “We were still just first breaking into the competition scene and getting our feet wet,” Hechtman said. Then in the spring of 2015, things turned around for the team at the same MIT competition.

Hechtman earned third place on the pommel horse and fourth place on parallel bars as well as all-around representing Brandeis. “This was a huge meet, and again the team did incredibly well given the little experience we

had with collegiate meets,” Hechtman said.

The team finally marched on to their first-ever Collegiate Club Nationals in Philadelphia later in April with six athletes on the team. He again brought out his best as he placed 12th overall out of the 120 men competing in all the sessions combined. However, he separated his shoulder while competing on the rings during preliminaries and had to miss the finals. “But all in all, just the fact that Brandeis was able to send a team to nationals is still unbelievable to me,” he said. “Between the long van rides and living with each other for a week in a hotel, we all learned a lot more about one another and ended the week closer than ever,” Hechtman said. “One of the most rewarding things I’ve witnessed during my time in the club has been watching the team evolve from a group of separate

photos from internet source

individuals who happen to practice together to a cohesive team of people who have become super close both in and out of the gym.” For Hechtman, the friendship with his teammates and the unbelievable progress of this club are the most precious things he discovered on the tough road.

As the new semester begins, Hechtman has already started his club planning. However, this year could cause problems for the program. “Since nationals are being held in California this year we are not entirely sure yet if we will have the funds to make such a trip. That being said, one of our immediate goals is to try to fundraise as much as we possibly can to make Nationals 2016 a possibility for Brandeis gymnastics.” However, the good news is that “a handful of returners have come back to the gym and are psyched to get the competition scene running again.”

Lanahan ’16 lifts men’s soccer to 1-0 win

By Zach Cihlar Special to The Hoot

The seventh-ranked Brandeis men’s soccer team stole a 1-0 win over Nichols College in their home game Tuesday, Sept. 8 on Gordon Field. The win advances the Judges’ record to 3-1 this season, resulting in a fall to 1-3 for the Nichols Bisons.

It was fast-paced play for the Judges, who played tough offensively for most of the game, giving Nichols little time to confront the Brandeis defense.

The Judges accumulated 33 shots throughout the game, 14 of which were on goal. The Bisons took just six shots throughout the game, with only one on goal. Brandeis’ Chris Bradley ’16, Zach Vieira ’17 and Josh Ocel ’17 led the team in shots on goal with three each. As a result of the Judges’ take-over of the opposing team’s side of the field, Brandeis created a large number of shot opportunities and earned 11 total corner kicks to the Bisons’ one.

Visiting goalkeeper Alex Geas had a great game for the Nichols Bisons with an accumulated 13 saves in the entire game, a career best for the senior. His highlight came in the 33rd minute when he saved a header on goal from Brandeis’ Michael Chaput ’16.

Brandeis goalkeeper Kenn Fryer ’16 had an efficient game with one save in the 27th minute to preserve the shut out for the team.

The opposing goalie made a fatal

photo from internet source

mistake for the Bisons in the 69th minute of the game when he handled a pass off the foot of a fellow teammate, allowing the Judges an indirect penalty kick inside the penalty area.

Geas received a yellow card for the penalty.

In the box, Brandeis’ Josh Ocel ’17 tapped the ball off to Captain Conor Lanahan ’16 who blasted the game-winning goal into the net. The

goal was Lanahan’s fifth career goal and his first collegiate game-winner.

Ocel received his first assist of the season for the game-winning goal.

After the only goal of the game, the Judges would take three more shots on net. However, the score would remain 1-0 for the duration of the game.

Head coach Mike Coven reached his 498th win with the shut out over Nichols College. He looks to reach

500 wins as the Judges take on Clark University and Babson College in the coming weekend. In his 43rd season as head coach, Coven looks to be the sixth in NCAA Division III history and 11th in overall NCAA history to reach 500 career wins.

The Men’s Soccer team is now 39-2 in the last four regular seasons against non-conference opponents and 45-51 since 2012, including the NCAA

tournament. The team’s only loss this season has been to sixth-ranked Trinity University in Texas in a 2-0 defeat.

The Judges are scheduled to play at Clark University (2-1-1) on Friday September 11th at 7 p.m. and on Saturday at 5 p.m. against Babson College (2-1) at home. Clark University played Nichols College as well on September 1st, defeating the Bisons 4-1.

12 SPORTS

The Brandeis Hoot

September 11, 2015

Women’s soccer starts season undefeated

By Curtis Zunyu He Staff

After achieving two solid victories against MIT and Lasell College, the Judges managed to hang on to their momentum as they rolled over Bridgewater State University with a 3-1 victory in their home opener on Tuesday. While gaining their third straight win, the Judges seemed to have found the right rhythm early in the season with 26 shots against Bridgewater State.

The Judges began to control the pace early on as they capitalized on the low physical pressure offered by Bridgewater State’s defense. “Bridgewater gave us a lot of space through the middle and up too, so we wanted to take advantage of that,” said midfielder Holly Szafran ’16. The Judges utilized ball transition between two wings to breakdown the enemy’s defense even further. The attacks started from the wings as the team took advantage of the players’ speed to seek chances. The Judges’ forwards, Cidney Moscovitch ’17, Haliana Burhans ’18 and Melissa Darling ’16 caused trouble for Bridgewater State, as the opponent had to assign two or even three defenders to slow them down.

“Haliana, Mel and Cid all have great speed, so they all have been working so hard on getting to the end line to serve crosses. In practice, we really emphasize taking the ball to the end line to get crosses off, because we are

photos from internet source

really dangerous when we deliver decent balls into the box,” says Szafran ’16. The strategy paid off for the Judges, who gained 10 corner kicks over the course of the game and countless inbound set plays due to their incessant wing attacks. The third goal scored at 84 minutes by Sasha Sunday ’19 was a brilliant example of the execution since it all came from an amazing inbound throw directly into the box. “We are pretty solid on set plays, but can always be better, so we will be working on them a lot in the future,” comments Szafran ’16.

Szafran contributed greatly to the

win Tuesday, scoring the second goal on a free kick to the back of the net, but her defense was also very strong as Szafran ’16 even managed to steal the ball twice in a row by two slide tackles in the second half. More importantly, her firm control over the ball after she obtained possession has offered the Judges’ stronger dominance in the mid-field. “This summer I really worked on control of the ball and the distribution of passes,” says Szafran on her performance. As a senior mid-fielder, Szafran is a large part of the Judges’ offense as she has recorded two goals, one assist and 13

shots after three games, including the game winning shot against MIT, “The win against MIT was a huge success, as they are always a hard team especially being our game opener every year.”

Of the team dynamics that has been flowing smoothly with 13 first-years added to the team this year, Szafran said, “Having 13 [first-years] is very exciting because they are all so different, have such different personalities, on and off the field. It’s awesome that we have such a variety of people on our team, because as soon as we step on the field we play as one, no matter

our difference and play like a family.” With so many fresh new faces, the Judges look toward making the NCAA tournament again this season. “Our expectation of this season is to surpass last, and get as far into the NCAA’s as possible,” says Szafran, “We are for sure good enough to be the top seed and to beat the best teams in our conference.”

The Judges face off against UMass Boston this Saturday at 2 p.m. at home on Gordon Field. The UMass Boston Beacons have been struggling in the last two games as they head into the weekend with a record of 1-1-1.

Judges gain traveled tennis coach

By Lily Wagemant Special to the hoot

With the new school year and season underway, the tennis team welcomes new assistant coach and equipment manager Michael Kopelman. He joins the Brandeis team after a stint with cross-town rival Bentley University where he was an assistant coach for the men’s and women’s team, his first collegiate coaching experience. He brings with him more than 10 years of experience as an instructor, having coached beginners, top-ranked juniors and aspiring professionals, including 2013-2014 NCAA women’s champion Danielle Collins.

Before transferring to Boston University, where Kopelman earned his B.A. in economics in 2013, Kopelman spent two years playing club tennis at

Florida State University. While at BU he was a two-time captain for the Division I team, earning America East Conference Player of the Week honors in 2011 and two All-AEC double honors. Kopelman describes one of his proudest moments during his collegiate years for the Terriers as, “coming back from 5 -1 down in the third, to clinch the match against Army.”

While at Brandeis, Kopelman hopes to continue on a winning culture and push the tennis program to new heights. Last spring the men’s team ended the season with a regional rank of #10 and national rank of #29 while the women’s team was ranked #10 regionally and #27 nationally.

By the end of the 2015-2016 season, Kopelman would like it if both teams finish nationally in the top 15.

During practices and matches, the tennis team should expect an atmosphere of high energy and competi-

tion. Kopelman places a lot of value in maintaining this sort of atmosphere, especially during practices because, in his opinion, “It is important to have healthy competition among teammates in order to bring out the best in each other. If this is happening at practice, it will translate into matches.”

Even with these high expectations for the 2015-2016 tennis teams, Kopelman still believes that academics are always first for student-athletes.

However, it is the student-athlete’s responsibility to fit in academics around practice times since these are “pretty set [in] stone.” While any student-athlete knows how daunting it can be to balance academics, practices and other extracurriculars, Kopelman offers some sound advice on how to manage such a task. “The best advice I think I could give is to work as hard as you can at your craft,” Kopelman

explained. “It can seem overwhelming at times being a student-athlete, but try not to cheat yourself or your teammates. Max out whatever you may have that day, whether that is 70 percent or 100 percent” Kopelman’s knowledge and passion for tennis is clear as he begins his first season as assistant coach with the Brandeis teams. According to the Brandeis athletes webpage, Head Coach Ben Lamanna describes Kopelman as “[having] a strong tactical understanding of the college game and a great way of communicating his knowledge.” He goes on to say, “I also admire his path to get here—from club tennis at Florida State, to D1 tennis at Boston University, and an assistant coach at D2 Bentley. I know he is ready to make an immediate impact on our team culture and performance on the court. I can’t wait to get started with him.”

photo from internet source

September 11, 2015

OPINIONS

The Brandeis Hoot 13

Beauty and the blush

By Nicole Porter Special to the Hoot

Some mornings I wonder why I even put on makeup, especially when I spend three minutes of my life, which I could have spent sleeping, making sure my eyeliner doesn’t make me look like a raccoon, or when I carefully and slowly re-apply lipstick in the bathroom, making sure I don’t end up with a clown’s smile.

However, I know that when I put on makeup it is not for anyone but me Last November, I remember I was sitting at lunch in my high school, and I heard something that bothered me. I was sitting next to a guy who said something along the lines of, “I hate when women wear makeup.

They are just lying about what they look like.” He then turned to me, and said that women should go natural without makeup, like I do. I, of course, gave him a look that was a mixture of amusement and astonishment, and then proceeded to explain that I was wearing eyeliner, foundation, mascara and blush. His comment really stuck with me because not only did he assume all girls wear makeup to impress other people, but also that he had no idea what a natural face looked like. It was a situation headed for disaster.

What that boy once said is actually a common belief among many guys: that wearing makeup is tricking men or women into finding us attractive.

For me, this is completely false. I do not wear makeup to impress anyone else, I wear it to impress myself. I can

photo from internet source

still feel confident in my appearance without any makeup, but there is an indescribable feeling of confidence that comes with having your eyebrows “on fleek” and having the perfect shade of eyeshadow. This is the kind of confidence that makes me feel more beautiful than any supermodel.

When asked how makeup makes her feel, Skyler Mattioli ’19 said she loves wearing red bright lipstick because “on those days where you feel like the entire world is on your shoulders, you can get a glimpse of your reflection in

the mirror and seeing those red lips makes me feel unstoppable.” Skyler, like many women, wears makeup to feel this self-assurance in her own appearance.

Makeup should be treated as more of an art form than an illusion to lure people in with false beauty. It can be used to transform a person’s appearances without permanent or damaging results. It takes a skillful hand to draw on the perfect lip liner and a creative mind to make the perfect smoky eye, and those people who are

talented enough with makeup to turn it into a career can do amazing things.

From making people look like creatures of fantasy to creating works of art with their bodies, the possibilities of makeup are nearly endless. Makeup is, in fact, an underrated art form that takes time, skill and determination to master. However, most women just like to have fun with makeup.

Although makeup is a form of art that can hide some features and accentuate others to give people newfound confidence, it also has a darker

side. It can be enjoyable and a confidence boost to wear makeup until it becomes what people believe women are supposed to look like naturally.

Too often society dictates that women must look a certain way to be considered attractive. They must have soft red lips, flawless skin and perfect eyebrows. This is when makeup becomes a detriment to women.

We idolize celebrities who have a crew of 15 people working on their hair and makeup before they go to the grocery store. These celebrities make it look like being flawless is natural and expected, when really it is for marketing their image. No one naturally looks like those celebrities, and no one should be expected to look like them everyday. However, in the eyes of society, that is exactly what women must do in order to be considered sexy. Makeup should be something you put on happily as a confidence booster, not as a means to reach the unattainable bar set by celebrities.

Makeup is not a ruse to reel in unsuspecting men, nor should it be seen as something that every woman must wear to be attractive. It should be something you wear by choice, not because of a feeling of obligation to reach a standard of beauty. A normal person should not be expected to live up to the standards of celebrities.

Makeup should be worn to make you feel even more confident in yourself, or to show off your artistic skills, and most of all, it should be worn because you like wearing it. Makeup isn’t a mask, it is self-expression.

Orientation: useful or useless?

By Sarah Terrazano Special to the Hoot

Cars full of over-packed luggage, chronically lost students and a plethora of red shirts can only mean one thing: 2015’s first-year orientation.

As a first-year student myself, I don’t have any other orientations as comparison, but this seems to be their usual: a mix of pep, excitement and new experiences. While there are many pros and cons to Orientation (as first-years aren’t hesitant to mention), as the first real college experience that we’ll have, it is an important representation of our collegiate beginning—even with conflicting perspectives.

On the one hand, a major benefit

to Orientation is the chance to meet new people. While some first-years arrived with friends they’d already made in the Facebook group, the majority of new arrivals didn’t know anyone, so Orientation was the first opportunity to meet people. Many of the Orientation Leaders (OLs) declared that they made some of their closest friends during their Orientation, which leads to the next pro of Orientation: the OLs themselves.

Endlessly excited and helpful, the OLS never seemed to run out of energy and were the glue that held the countless activities together. Speaking of activities, most of the planned programs were what made Orientation worthwhile. Events like Dean of Student Life Jamele Adams’ This Is Our House, the Museum of Science

takeover and A Call for Change introduced first-years to the spirit of Brandeis, in terms of both its current passions and past legacy. Plus, the packed schedule left first-years so busy that those who may have felt homesick weren’t given the chance to dwell on being away from home. True to the Brandeisian way, the schedule had so many events with so little time.

However, the constant bustle was also one criticism of Orientation.

Most of the events were rigidly scheduled with little room for leeway, causing some first-years to feel dragged to programs that they weren’t interested in. This was also overwhelming for some people; one day of Orientation was probably busier than a week of a relaxing, post-graduation summer.

Additionally, many students deemed the North vs. Massell rivalry unnecessary. One first-year I spoke with said that by immediately creating division, the quad competition weakened the community vibe the activities otherwise promoted.

Orientation also seemed like a difficult adjustment for some international students. While they arrived on campus a few days earlier than the other first-years, some were clearly still jetlagged and couldn’t match the surrounding enthusiasm. Others then missed several events because they had things to do in International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO).

Couldn’t these appointments have been better planned with the Orientation schedule in mind? And that doesn’t even account for Midyear students, who didn’t attend orientation at all. Yes, there will be programs for Midyears when they arrive in January, but nothing on the same scale as the

photos by carrie chung/the hoot

August Orientation. It would be best to have an additional event separate from Admitted Students Day in which all freshman, Midyears included, could have an experience similar to Orientation before the actual movein day.

Despite these conflicting opinions, it must be stressed that Orientation is what you make of it. This year’s Orientation motto was “Share stories, create connections,” and there is no simple way to accomplish this. Firstyears’ stories may have been shared to

the admissions office in our applications, but now that we’ve arrived on campus, the effort must be made to share them with each other. By sharing stories with fellow classmates and creating connections in unlikely places, the first few days can make an impression that will remain for the coming years as a reminder of why we chose to be Brandeisians.

14 OPINIONS

The Brandeis Hoot

September 11, 2015

Belief in soul jeopardizes mental health

By Gabriel del Carmen Special to the Hoot

Perhaps one of the greatest detriments to mental health reform—both legislative and social—is the soul.

That is to say, not with the soul itself (as I believe it does not exist), but rather with the notion that we have a soul separate and unrelated to the realm of the physical.

Such a belief is no longer acceptable and cannot be perceived as anything other than an archaic remnant of our scientifically illiterate ancestors.

But with the exponential advancements in the cognitive sciences paired with the numerous links being made between consciousness and the brain, the soul no longer has any breathing room.

Ask yourself: What is the difference between the mind and the soul?

Try to be as honest with yourself as possible. Is the soul the collection of our experiences? Is that not what the brain does? Is it our moral center? Is the soul the location where we make decisions? What about the various

parts of the brain—the frontal lobe, the temporal lobe, the amygdala— that have been implicated in these processes? Where do we have room for the soul? It is a clearly unnecessary concept and one that is, as I will show, detrimental to scientific and medical progression.

Surely some will posit that the mind and the soul can coexist. But is the

soul necessary? If we can ascribe all of the soul’s qualities to the mind, are we not talking about the same thing?

Using Occam’s sharpened and ever-useful razor, we can quickly slice off the unnecessary bit, or the soul, and be left with the mind: the malleable, treatable and complex mind that is a link between the physical and the metaphysical.

If mind and soul are separate, or if the soul exists but the mind does not, then treating disorders of the mind is no longer a concern.

We regress back to the superstitious period of our existence, accepting demonic possession as a disease and exorcism as proper treatment. Without being founded in empiricism, we are free to contend anything we so desire,

photo from internet source

no matter how inconsistent it may be with reality. By itself, this is harmful; coupled with beliefs about mental health, it is disastrous. Some still take the position of dualism and refuse to accept that the mind bears any link with the world of the physical, seeing all mental disorders as being under the will of the individual. The depressed are told to simply “cheer up.”

The anxious are told to make greater attempts at “relaxing.” These misguided suggestions do nothing but further perpetuate the suffering of the mentally ill and result at least partly by this soul-founded dualism. To further progress and achieve adequate mental health reform, we must reject this bit of metaphysical baggage. The price to pay is too great.

Unfortunately, the idea of an immortal soul is interwoven with religiosity, so rejecting such a premise requires rejecting one of the fundamental tenets of most religious and spiritual beliefs. Religion is not going anywhere either, or at least not in the near future, but the mentally unwell cannot wait any longer. The time of mental health neglect must end soon, or it will not end at all. Our ancestors have an excuse. What is ours?

Cultural appropriation in ‘Peter Pan’ perpetuates stereotypes

By Amanda Ehrmann Special to the Hoot

“Peter Pan” is classic and cute, and it is easy to see it as just that. But “Peter Pan” has some dark undertones relating to the portrayal of Native Americans. Doing a show without thinking or talking to the cast and production staff about the racist implications of the show is thoughtless. Yes, we still read books like “Huckleberry Finn” in classes to understand and acknowledge the racism in the time it was written, but using white actors to perform songs that falsely represent and inaccurately portray Native American customs turns into cultural appropriation.

Although a fun musical, “Peter Pan” was not the right choice for the 24-Hour Musical, where no one has enough time to use the piece to make a statement or have intelligent conversations about its implications. One of the main contributors to the mis-

representations is the song “Ugg-AWugg,” which translates to complete gibberish in any Native American language. There have been wonderful revisions of the song “Ugg-A-Wugg,” which change the lyrics to honor Native American cultures and languages (and are even better when performed

by Native American actors), which makes the song more authentic. Other attempts to honor Native American cultures have included using Native American dancers to choreograph the number.

The 24-Hour Musical production staff could not change the lyrics of the song because the rights prohibit them from doing so. So, why pick “Peter Pan” in the first place? The 24-Hour Musical is the perfect outlet for new students to meet people involved in the arts and participate in wonderful artistic collaboration. However, the arts should be an outlet for social change, rather than a means of reinforcing stereotypes. Picking “Peter Pan” for this year’s 24-Hour Musical was a serious lapse in judgment.

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photo by sasha lynne ruiz/the hoot

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September 11, 2015

OPINIONS

The Brandeis Hoot 15

Sherman Dining Hall now shell of former self

By Zach Phil Schwartz Editor

When I first visited Brandeis as a prospective student in 2013, shiny new buildings were not the first thing on my mind. In fact, what I was shown did not even remotely fit that description. Before the tour took me through Massell Quad and up campus—a walk that today I am still uncomfortable making—we went by what students now refer to as Old Sherman, a similarly aging but altogether important component to the university, especially in the wake of the then-recent Lower Usdan renovations. Many of us came to know and love Old Sherman, even if it did not have the best food you have ever tasted, because it had a homey feel to it.

Today, the food is the same, but the distinct Sherman feel has gotten lost.

Old Sherman was warm in every sense of the word—literally so on hot summer days—but figuratively so in the cohesive layout of the hall.

The furniture was not perfect by any means nor was the broken dishwasher, but it was bright. Even the carpet made students feel more at home. Big windows, some of which today are gone and others covered up, allowed bright sunlight to wash through the dining hall, not only illuminating the area but the collective mood of the people inside.

Now, the dining hall is very dark, lit mostly with artificial lights not dissimilar from the ones installed in the renovated Lower Usdan Dining Hall. The only difference there is that the latter still receives a great deal

of natural light from the skylights highlighting the center of the room.

Sherman, especially in its new state of perpetual construction, has very little natural light. The first time I ate there, my friend commented quite bluntly (and quite loudly) that the New Sherman felt like a prison. I would not go so far as to say that I agree with that sentiment, but I can certainly respect his frustration with the new layout.

When I asked my friend to explain what he meant when he derided the new renovations, he pointed at the jagged, separated and most of all antisocial nature of the literal furniture layout. Much like Lower Usdan, there are now walls separating people with-

in the dining hall. The tables are positioned in a way that maximizes seating but hurts large groups that wish to socialize together, forcing them to splinter off. These new conditions combined with the hall’s darkness only serve as a detriment to socialization and a depressing force to student morale.

I know that the construction is not yet done and that there is still much work to be done, but unless the layout is to radically change, the shiny New Sherman will fail to garner the respect that the last iteration had. The food has remained virtually unchanged, but the vibe has been disrupted. From Massell Quad, the ongoing construc-

tion of a now faceless and bare exterior is fitting when considered with the new interior. In the scramble to put the dining hall together over the summer, Sherman lost its face. It lost its identity that characterized it for so many years.

Old Sherman did have its faults; the previous dishwasher broke, forcing the use of paper and plastic plates and cups for almost all of last year.

The facility was not decrepit, but it was on the verge of being. However, the concept of Sherman did not need replacing. It needed only a slight renovation to refresh the facility and maintain its identity. Of course, special considerations would have to

have been made anyway in regard to swapping the old and new dishwashers over the summer, but other than that, the facility did not really need the change it got.

A remedy for the problems Sherman faces today is easy to implement.

When the construction is complete and the windows are uncovered, more natural light will enter and brighten the atmosphere. A simple reorganization of the layout to a more cohesive and social plan would go a long way to boosting morale as well.

Even putting in a simple carpet would help significantly.

The dilemma of Old Sherman and New Sherman are strikingly similar to that of the New York Mets’ former home Shea Stadium and their new home, Citi Field. The former park was decrepit in every sense of the word, but even so, fans would not take to the shiny new stadium that was build in replacement. Like Sherman, Citi Field had an identity problem, or rather a lack thereof. After several years, management finally conceded to fan demands that the park in some way regain the Shea Stadium vibe, and that was with a facility costing upwards of a billion dollars.

The New Sherman is smaller and did not cost upwards of a billion dollars to construct, so it should be easier and quicker to regain the homey identity its predecessor once had.

Maybe then, the prison comparisons will cease and the dining hall will once again prop up the immense sense of community that clinches so many prospective student decisions.

photo by sharon cai/the hoot

Help is always appreciated

By Jennifer Gray Special to the Hoot

A girl knocked on my door one odd Sunday after a night where very few in my building chose to stay in. She seemed a bit distressed that I was not the person she was looking for, and stumbled a bit over her statements, but ultimately she managed to do what she came to do: express a deep sense of gratitude.

In perhaps not the most polite words, she told me how last night she was not in her right mind and that my roommate had somehow greatly assisted her. The details were rather vague as it was likely she was uncomfortable telling the whole story to a stranger, but she wrote down a heartfelt—if yet again crude—thank you on a sticky note and handed me a small wad of one dollar bills.

She told me to thank my roommate for her and asked one more time when she would be back before leaving.

Though still missing the complete picture, the scenario itself was easy enough to piece together.

It is a well-known fact that college students—particularly college freshmen—have a tendency to party and indulge in many of the pleasures they were denied under parent supervision. Though statistically, the percentage of first-year drinking is lower than in previous years, it is still not difficult to find someone who can attest to at least a slight buzz on their first week of freedom. The university itself does little to hide this and chooses to take a pragmatic approach, often giving ad-

vice regarding drinking habits rather outright banning drinking.

Various programs during Orientation are dedicated to drinking responsibly and knowing your own limits, but a few also describe taking care of someone else.

The designated driver is a pretty well-known term, but even without being a designated caretaker—and perhaps with even a bit of inebriation on their side—people can still choose to take care of others. Though it may be hard to argue that taking a drunken wanderer under your wing is beneficial to you, it undeniably is to them.

Someone who does no harm should not be punished for opting not to be “responsible” with their drinking, legality aside. Not everyone goes out with a group or a caretaker ready and waiting to assist them, and I find myself genuinely impressed with those passing by who volunteer themselves, even if for only a few moments.

The moral of this is not the same “drink responsibly” ad nauseam that has been reiterated however many times on any given after-school special, but it is a lesson of compassion and maybe even community, even when not on the right end of sobriety yourself.

There is still the awkwardness, the apprehensiveness about whether or not the choice to reach out is the right one, and very little can be done to remove those obstacles.

It is unlikely that the person you assisted, whether it was needed or not, will come back to you, but the gratitude I experienced second hand—the thankfulness, the relief, the unnamed fear of what otherwise would have happened—is more than enough to

photo from internet source

make a case for me personally to attempt to be that awkward bystander-caretaker if the opportunity presents itself.

I told my roommate about the girl later. Her reaction was casual. In her similarly foggy story, she mentioned how the girl had been more or less abandoned by a group walking by, left for her and a friend to take care of. The mundane side of the story detailed itself in how the girl was not a

particularly sociable drunk and had made odd demands for pizza before eventually being walked to her room.

The insidious side was how the group passed by to hand her off, how more people from where she lived simply strolled on and how everyone around declared it was not their problem.

I point this out only to show the counterpoint. It is easy to think that you, personally, would jump to assistance in a crisis. It is easier to see

yourself as an awkward bystander or somehow absolve yourself of responsibility in a situation—if you are drunk as well then how can you be of any help?—but the story, the rescue, is not about you and your personal apprehension.

It is about the person you chose to help and that person making it home safely to maybe someday come knocking on your door to offer an embarrassed thank you.

September 11, 2015

THIS WEEK IN PHOTOS

photo by marian siljeholm/the hoot

The Brandeis Hoot 16

photo by sasha lynne ruiz/the hoot