The Brandeis Hoot 10/30/2015

Volume 12 Issue 20

“To acquire wisdom, one must observe.” www.brandeishoot.com

October 30, 2015

Brandeis University’s Community Newspaper • Waltham, Mass.

Alumni honored for activist contributions

By Emily Sorkin Smith Editor

photo by emily sorkin smith/the hoot

Interim President Lisa Lynch presented two alumni with the highest distinction solely for alumni at the Faculty Club on Saturday, Oct. 4. alumni achievement awards

Off-campus students regain access to residence halls after outcry

By Andrew Elmers Editor

The 2015-2016 “Student Rights and Responsibilities” handbook was finalized and submitted to the student community in an email from Director of Student Rights and Community Standards Kerry Guerard on Aug. 22. Some of the policy changes included in this year’s handbook, however, were not enforced until recently.

Around the beginning of October, off-campus residents were no longer allowed card access to residence halls, a change in Department of Community policy from previous years.

While off-campus students have now regained access to residence halls, this policy has been in flux over the past few weeks.

“For safety and security reasons and also to address overcrowding in residential common spaces, only residential students are able to access campus residential buildings,” DCL told the community when asked why off-campus students lost card access to resident halls. “‘Student Rights and Responsibilities’ language has been changed to reflect the fact that guests should be escorted into residential spaces,” Off-campus students had been able to use their campus card to swipe into residence halls at the beginning of the semester, as well as in previous years.

Inside this issue:

The change in policy was abrupt and without much warning. Guerard’s email about changes to “Rights and Responsibilities” from August stated that there were changes in section 2.8-Host Responsibility for Guestsand section 9.9-Visitors and Gueststhat coincided with the DCL policy change.

Section 2.8 state: “All guests must be accompanied by their host at all times,” and section 9.9 read “Public spaces are reserved for use by all residents, and therefore may not be used to accommodate overnight guests.”

No emails or notifications were sent to off-campus students making them aware that they would no longer be able to access residence halls.

Along with the fact that all students still had card access at the beginning of the semester, student responses were overall negative towards this change. “[The card restrictions] hurt my ability to go to dorms for club meetings,” Jonny Shakerchi, a senior who lives off campus said to The Brandeis Hoot, expressing his displeasure in not being able to access common areas that host student clubs. “The worst part for me is not being able to visit my brother in East. It’s a real hassle for us to hang out,” he added.

The dissatisfaction was not unique to off-campus residents, however.

See CARDS, page 2

News: Senate reviews club charter policy Opinion: Prof. disagrees with unionization Arts: ‘Suffragette’ aims to educate Features: VP Flagel encourages school spirit Sports: Volleyball takes on tournament

Page 4 Page 11 Page 5 Page 14 Page 15

Roy DeBerry ’70 MA ’78 Ph.D. ’79 and Susan Weidman Schneider ’65 were awarded the highest distinction for alumni in the Faculty Lounge on Saturday, Oct. 24. DeBerry, an activist and part of the student-led occupation of Brandeis’ Ford Hall in 1969, and Schneider, editor-in-chief of Lilith, a Jewish Feminist magazine, were given their awards by Interim President Lisa Lynch as part of Family Weekend.

Both DeBerry and Schneider sat down for interviews with The Brandeis Hoot before the ceremony started. Their experiences at Brandeis, though different from that of current students, were defined by many of the same issues Brandeis now faces. Creating an accepting and socially just campus environment was one of their most important struggles.

DeBerry has continued his efforts in fighting racial injustice after leaving Brandeis, co-founding the Hill Country Project, which collects

oral histories from people who lived through the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi. He was the president of the Brandeis Afro-American Society during the Ford Hall occupation, a movement in which he played a key role.

DeBerry stressed the spirit of inquiry he honed during his time at Brandeis.“Brandeis encouraged me to question and not just accept things, to be a skeptic,” he said.

For Schneider, like DeBerry, questioning norms was another important part of her Brandeis education.

“Brandeis was a place for inquiry, and I think that the skills that I gained here as an inquiring mind, as someone who was encouraged to ask a lot of questions and to look for what was going on behind the facts was a useful education.”

The feminist environment on campus, when Schneider was an undergraduate, was much different from what exists now. “Brandeis was a very interesting place to be as a female students in the early ’60s because it was See ALUMNI, page 2

Lisa Lynch addresses parents

state of the univ.: lynch highlihted what makes brandeis great with parents

For more, see page 2.

photo by matt kowalyk/the hoot

Editorial board apologizes

By Hoot Editorial Board Editors

We, The Brandeis Hoot Editorial Board, would like to apologize for an opinion piece published in our last issue that made generalizations about Tim Touchette and the Community Advisors within the Department of Community Living. There were many ethical issues involved in this article that we would like to take the time to address.

Verification of information is essential to anything published in a newspaper, whether that be a news article or an opinion piece. The fact that this was an opinion piece should not have excused us from applying scrutiny and ensuring that you, our readers,

‘love of the nightingale’

BET offers a dramatic and harrowing performance

Arts: Page 8

could be certain all the information in the article was true and verified. The article included sweeping statements about DCL without attributing information to any sources. As editors, we are at fault for overlooking this and publishing the piece.

We recognize that our decision to allow the writer to remain anonymous without stating the reasons why was wrong. We gave the student anonymity out of concern for protecting survivors. However, it was wrong of us to allow an anonymous author to make such strong claims without named sources to verify the information.

As a board, we have reflected on how this happened. Members of the editorial board know the identity of

the writer and trusted their credibility. We recognize this was improper justification for publishing the article.

We were irresponsible in trusting any source to the extent that we didn’t do our job in fact checking and standing our ethical ground.

We realize that our actions may have caused many of you—our readers, our sources and other members of the community—to question our standards. The Hoot has had a reputation as the “community newspaper,” a publication devoted to reporting on what is important to the student body.

We have been a place for people to go to write about what matters to them.

Going forward, we want to show you we are a publication you can trust.

mens soccer scores Judges take down Lasell in thrilling 1-0 victory Tuesday

Sports: Page 15

2 The Brandeis Hoot

Lynch frames State of Univ. from parental perspective

By Emily Sorkin Smith Editor

To a crowd of parents, Interim President Lisa Lynch gave the annual State of the University Address in the Rapaporte Treasure Hall on Sunday, Oct. 25. Her speech highlighted the achievements of students and faculty and provided advice for parents about how to support their students.

Brandeis, as she began her speech by saying, has to live up to the legacy that the university’s namesake Judge Louis D. Brandeis left. “Brandeis is a name that cannot be merely adopted. It’s one that must be achieved,” Lynch said. One way that students are achieving this is through community service, to which students have devoted over 40,000 hours in the city of Waltham alone.

Part of what makes Brandeis great, Lynch argued, is the presence of top faculty members who not only teach undergraduates, but enjoy it. “We’re excellent because we have excellent faculty here,” she said. She explained that many other universities, though they have faculty who have won prestigious awards and are engaged in innovative research, don’t often involve these people in the teaching process.

In contrast, at Brandeis, undergraduates are encouraged to get involved in research with their professors and work closely with renowned scholars.

Much of Lynch’s address consisted of advice for parents, telling them to send their children care packages, invite them over for home-cooked

meals and ensure that they are taking advantage of their time in college as an opportunity to explore different fields.

After Lynch had concluded her address, she offered audience members a chance to ask her any questions.

When asked about the presidential search process, she emphasized the limitations of her role, saying that she took the job of interim president on the condition that she would not be considered for president.

She was unable to provide many details, saying, “I know nothing, other than that they are at the stage when they have their final list of candidates, and I anticipate that they will have an announcement about the next president of the university, if all is well, in the early part of the next calendar year.”

Lynch talked about financial aid and her desire to prioritize it, in terms of budgeting, over renovations.

She acknowledged that dorms need improvement, but argued that spending money on students is more important. Brandeis does not, she said, have a very large budget compared to other research universities, but is able to accomplish a lot with the money allotted.

“We are never going to win ‘the most beautiful dorms’,” Lynch said. “I want our students to be in adequate housing, but I am going to make an investment in financial aid.”

Lynch will be hosting a Town Hall meeting Nov. 4 at 5:30 p.m. in the Admissions Center Presentation Room.

photo from internet source

NEWS

October 30, 2015

New club plans to donate to wide range of charities

By Ryan Spencer Staff

Five Brandeis first-years founded Giving What We Can, a new club that aims to determine which charities most effectively utilize donations and then donate to those organizations. The founders, Hannah Sussman, Rachel Gifeisman, Danni Tang, Rachel Lederer and Geoffrey Kao, were inspired by a Facebook post about “effective altruism,” a philosophy that recognizes that some charities do more with their resources and money than other charities.

Brandeis’ Giving What We Can is a chapter of the global Giving What We Can organization.

The new Brandeis chapter hopes to bring together Brandeis faculty, staff and students to discuss which causes they believe are most important to donate to.

Giving What We Can hopes

to answer two questions: “How do charity evaluators and Giving What We Can measure a charity’s effectiveness?” and “Can those methods be improved?” said Tang in an email to The Brandeis Hoot.

To answer these questions, the club plans to have Skype calls with staff at Giving What We Can, hold discussions and host film screenings about charity evaluation groups such as GiveWell and Giving Games. GiveWell evaluates charities using the “effective altruism” approach, and participants in Giving Games play out this theory when they are presented with a choice between several charities and must weigh the options and decide which receives a donation.

Furthermore, Giving What We Can aims to donate to a variety of charities rather than focusing on just one or two. The club believes that by being dedicated to “the

entire network of effective charities,” they are able to do the “most good worldwide,” Tang said.

Tang differentiates Brandeis’ Giving What We Can from service clubs on campus, explaining that Giving What We Can “is not technically a service club. It is a charity club, focused on helping those who may be out of reach of our immediate community.”

The club wants “to advocate for and donate to charities that have been proven to be most effective with what they’re given” because “many nonprofits that seem to have good intentions are, in actuality, corrupt,” Tang said.

Brandeis’ Giving What We Can is working to become a chartered club.

The students “believe this club adds tremendous value to the Brandeis community and foresee no problem in getting chartered,” said Tang.

Alumni return to speak at ceremony ALUMNI, from page 1

an era when the [Ivy League universities] were closed to women,” Schneider explained.

The consciousness of feminism has grown, and the number of female faculty members has gotten considerably larger. She spoke of nepotism rules prohibiting husbands and wives to serve on the faculties of the same department, sometimes forcing the women to step down.

“There was the kind of sexism that one might have taken it for granted,” she said.

Most of the professors whom Schneider described as being worshipped by students were male. She recalled an incident when she and a male professor were discussing sexual harassment in the context of cat-calling. The professor had suggested to her that she take these advances as flattery, something most would now consider inappropriate.

Both honorees stressed the increased diversity that Brandeis sees now. As DeBerry attested, Brandeis has not always been very diverse, saying, “You could pretty much count the people of color on your hand.”

When asked about the university’s polarization of social justice and student initiatives that are unpopular with the administration, such as the reinstatement of the Al-Quds partnership, DeBerry said, “It’s one thing to say a statement, social justice, but how do you operationalize it?”

“You operationalize it by doing things,” he argued. “If you look around and you see there is not the kind of equity, the kind of human rights and educational rights and diversity that there ought to be, then you change it to reflect the statement.”

The conflict between students and administration over certain issues has remained noteworthy after DeBerry and Schneider graduated. The Al-Quds partnership, which former

President Frederick Lawrence suspended in 2013, is one such conflict.

The program created an academic and social link between Brandeis and the Palestinian Al-Quds University. Students and faculty have since been working to re-instate this partnership, encouraging Lawrence and now Interim President Lisa Lynch to reinstate the partnership. Lawrence’s suspension of the partnership has created some tension between its proponents and the administration.

Tension, in DeBerry’s view, is to be expected when people try to change their institution. “Anything you engage in now that’s going to really change in a significant way the status quo, you’re going to get push-back,” he argued.

Alumni Achievement Awards have been given, in past years, to Olympic Fencer Tim Morehouse ’00, author and activist Letty Cottin Pogrebin ‘59 and a number of other distinguished members of the Brandeis community.

DCL backtracks on campus card policy CARDS, from page 1

Tahlia Quartin ’18, a Rosenthal Quad residents, also spoke to The Hoot about the issue.

“I don’t think this policy makes any sense. It seems almost like Brandeis wanted their students who live off-campus to feel secluded,” she shared in an interview. “This policy makes life a little more inconvenient for me … I have to go out of my way for others who should be able to have access.”

In regards to the concerns of safety cited by DCL that brought about the change in policy, Quartin was wary.

“Off- and on-campus students pose similar threats. I don’t feel any safer [with off-campus residents] not having card access,” she said.

Quartin also showed skepticism around the claim that off-campus students were abusing their access to residence halls, stating that between both the beginning of the semester and last year, when she lived in Shap-

iro, she was never witness to off-campus residents sleeping in common spaces or lounges.

“People who live off campus respect others’ living space,” Quartin said.

When asked to comment on the situation, Off-Campus Senator Sam Krystal, ’17, said “I am not happy with the policy that DCL has introduced. First off, I hope to regain access to common spaces in residence halls for off-campus students. And from there, I wish to get more access to more people.”

The Hoot reached out to Guerard to explain how these changes to “Rights and Responsibilities” were brought about and why there were enacted.

While she was unable to respond to the questions, Senior Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Sheryl Sousa did submit a statement on Guerard’s behalf.

“Rights and Responsibilities ... was only updated regarding host responsibility. The Community Living policy regarding access to public spaces

was not based on any change, but on the longstanding interpretation of ‘Public spaces are reserved for use by all residents, and therefore may not be used to accommodate overnight guests’ [from section 9.9],” the statement read.

“This [clause from section 9.9] has been understood for many years to mean that the public spaces in residence halls are first and foremost for the use of residents. The new access policy was a reflection of that existing interpretation, not of any change in policy, and was made in response to concerns raised by residents,” Sousa’s statement later clarified.

Sousa’s statement, though, shows inconsistencies with what DCL has stated were the reasons behind the policy change. DCL indicated that the language in “Rights and Responsibilities” had been amended, with Sousa claiming that no changes had been made.

Looking at “Rights and Responsibilities” from both the 2014-2015

academic year and the current 20152016 academic year, the sole significant change under the “Guests and Visitors” section was the addition of “Guests must be escorted by their host at all times,” for the 2015-2016 version. The exact same terminology was added to the “Host Responsibility for Guests” section in the 2015-2016 version, as well.

Sousa made note of this lack of communication between DCL, Student Rights and the community in her statement to The Hoot.

“There were a variety of communication challenges in the implementation of the access policy. [Director of Community Living] Tim Touchette is sending a message to the community tomorrow, [Oct. 30], making revisions to the policy that we hope will ease some of these concerns.

In the message Touchette sent to students, he stated that this policy “responded to student input and concerns, and was created with the best of intentions, but has had unintended

consequences. To address concerns, we are working with our students and Department of Community Living (DCL) staff to make some adjustments to [this policy].”

The change stated that off-campus residents will now have access to all residence halls between the hours of 7 a.m. and 1 a.m., while the university is in session.

Regarding the amending process for the “Rights and Responsibilities” handbook and the general Code of Conduct, Sousa clarified that “proposed changes to the Code of Conduct are received throughout the year.

Many come from students, in particular members of the Conduct Board, while others are required by changes in the law or policies governing the university. A number of students and faculty are consulted as we amend the document through the spring and summer.”

For any comments or feedback about the handbook, it is best to email dsrcs@brandeis.edu.

October 30, 2015

NEWS 3

The Brandeis Hoot

In The Senate: Oct. 25 Turkey Shuttle Senate Money Request was approved • Tickets are officially on sale for $35 Abhishek Kulkarni ’18, Village Quad Senator, presented a bylaw amendment to the Senate.

• Kulkarni hopes to create a Rights Committee which would do the following: + Better the dissemination of students’ rights on a regular basis + Work with students whose rights have been infringed upon + Collect data on what kinds of rights are being violated Girl Up, a chapter of the U.N. organization dedicated to helping educate girls, was recognized and chartered.

• “We are focused more on younger girls in other countries … it’s to brighten the future for young girls,” said one of the Girl Up representatives at the meeting.

• Issues arose during discussion to charter Girl Up, as Senate members were still unsure of whether or not to charter after two straw polls. + Because Girl Up intends to fundraise for the greater organization, the Senate was unsure of whether or not to approve chartering. + Girl Up was ultimately chartered with 13 yeas, four nays and two abstains.

Grady Ward ‘16, Student Union Representative to the Board of Trustees, informed the Senate of new programs to increase communication between students and the trustees.

• Students can now sign up for a student-trustee book club.

• Lunches and dinner with Boston-based trustees will also become available.

• “It’s like lunch with Lisa Lynch—many will try, few will win,” said Jesse Ruth ’16 Four members of the Senate ran to fill two positions for the Senate members on the SEEF committee.

• “These funds are there for a reason, and I think they have such an opportunity to affect the community in a really broad way,” said Hannah Brown ’19 • Brown, Will Jones ’18, Lucy Wen ’18 and Valarie Timms ’16 ran for the position

College Notebook: Brandeis chaplains reflect on BU religious tolerance event

By Abigail Gardener Staff

Seventeen students came together to share their coming out experiences at Boston University’s School of Theology on Wednesday, Oct. 21. Students in the group Sacred Worth hosted the event, “Sacred Stories,” with the goal of providing a safe space for students to share their stories while integrating a religious background.

Brandeis’ chaplains reflected on this event in its relation to Brandeis.

Students shared a diverse range of stories and lit candles for themselves and in honor of a person they knew who had come out or was struggling in the LGBT community, according to an article in BU’s newspaper, The Daily Free Press.

Katie Omberg, a third-year graduate student at BU and President of Sacred Worth, said in the article, “We’ve done storytelling around coming out with Sacred Worth before, but it’s usually been very secularized, and it’s just telling those stories. But we’re really looking to have it in a place framed in religious tradition.”

The event aimed to demonstrate the importance of discussing religion’s impact on the LGBT community and provide a safe space for students struggling with faith and sexual identity, according to The Daily Free Press.

Nathan Bakken, a second-year graduate student at BU, said in The Daily Free Press, “I think for me, coming from my background, my queerness and spiritual life has always existed in separate spaces, and being a part of Sacred Worth for me has real-

ly given me a community and a space where I don’t need to separate these aspects of myself.”

Brandeis has not yet had an intimate event of this type, but Protestant Chaplain Reverend Matt Carriker recalled a panel sponsored by Triskelion and the Chaplaincy as a part of ’DEIS Impact 2014: Christianity, Sexuality, and the LGBT Community: An Affirming, Justice-Based Perspective.

The panel “talked about the ways that the Christian faith intersects with … sexual orientation and gender identity expression,” Carriker said.

“Christianity hasn’t been as open and affirming. And now a lot of denominations are saying, ‘Hey, this is important’, to ask ourselves how we can be welcoming of people,” he continued.

At the Brandeis panel, a few students spoke as well as Carriker, the Catholic chaplain at the time, Father Walter Cuenin, and Professor Bernadette Brooten (REL). The event was “really well received,” according to Carriker.

photo from internet source

“We had people there who didn’t necessarily agree with us, but it was a respectful dialogue, and for me, personally, I’d love to see more spaces created like that,” he said.

Jewish Chaplain Rabbi Elyse Winick feels the same way. She said in an email to The Hoot, “A program of this kind could certainly work at Brandeis, if, as was the case at BU, it was a student initiative. The chaplains would certainly be supportive in any way possible. If Brandeis students are interested in creating an event of this type we’ll be more than happy to join them.”

Carriker strongly believes Brandeis would benefit from events similar to Sacred Worth’s and the prior ’DEIS Impact panel. He said, “The chaplains are always looking to see how our programming can be most meaningful to students. The more ways that we can educate, make that connection between faith and sexuality, the better.”

Student Union releases Financial Survey results

By Emily Sorkin Smith Editor

Results from the Student Finance’s Survey were sent out to the Brandeis community, reporting discontent and confusion with the financial aid process and expressing students’ desire for more transparency in university finances. Representatives Grady Ward ’16 and Emily Conrad ’17 sent out the survey results, including their own analysis and suggestions for how the university should proceed in light of the diversity of financial problems students face.

The survey, sent out in early October, asked students several questions about their financial situations, including what kind of aid they receive from Brandeis, their experiences with the Office of Financial Services, and relationship between stress and quality of life and financial burden.

The report was presented to the Board of Trustees on Tuesday, Oct. 27 who plan on discussing it at the meeting in January.

“Students consistently express gratitude for the support that they do receive,” they wrote, “and are constantly mystified as to how our education must be as expensive as it is.”

Ward compiled a report titled “Student Financial Perceptions and Experience: Emerging Issues and Student Concerns at Brandeis University,” included in their email to the student body. They wrote in the report’s introduction about students’ attitude towards university spending and the

cost of their education.

“Undergraduate students are increasingly concerned about the cost of their education across all socioeconomic backgrounds and financial backgrounds. Full-pay students, students from middle class families and less affluent students all share frustrations about the direction and acceleration of the cost of attendance,” the email stated.

Conrad and Ward conveyed that many students “feel that their tuition is not being spent appropriately.”

The Student Union received 769 valid responses to their survey, representing about one-fifth of the undergraduate population. Of these students, 55.8 percent receive needbased financial aid, and 70.8 percent anticipate graduating with debt.

To alleviate debt and otherwise reduce financial burden, many students have taken on-campus jobs, become Community Advisors (CAs) in order to get free housing, and moved off-campus.

These efforts, however, have frequently resulted in students losing money received in financial aid, a source of frustration for many.

Ward and Conrad wrote “CAs (Community Advisors—RAs) are compensated for their work with a free room. It is one of the most sought after jobs on campus, and demands 20+ hrs/week of emotionally demanding work. CAs on financial aid regularly see it dramatically cut the year that they become a CA.” Many students expressed their frustration with financial aid in the

survey’s comments section. The comments that were included in the report spoke to the stress that the high cost of education puts on students.

These comments were released anonymously to protect the identity of students.

“I’m pissed. I won’t give [Brandeis] another f*****g cent when I leave this financial nightmare,” one student said when asked about the possibility of donating to Brandeis after graduation.

Conrad and Ward offered multiple suggestions at the end of their report, encouraging the university to take steps to alleviate financial burden and make education at Brandeis available to all qualified students regardless of socioeconomic status. They suggested that the university raise their campus wage rate to 11 dollars from nine, a move they said would have little cost for Brandeis.

They asked that the university “pursue a different model to higher education, one with fewer luxury services, higher educational quality and an academic view toward student experience.” The highest priority should be providing a world-class education, not providing expensive housing or other similar things.

Ward and Conrad expressed their hope that “this discussion can steer Brandeis’ present reality back toward its proud tradition of being an educational space designed to broaden access to elite education, rather than allowing ourselves to participate in an erosion of the accessibility of higher education.”

graphic by allison plotnik/the hoot

4 NEWS

The Brandeis Hoot

October 30, 2015

BCJ holds first divestment march of the year

By Jess Linde Editor

Brandeis community members marched into the Shapiro Campus Center (SCC) demanding the university divest its endowment from fossil fuels this Tuesday, Oct. 27, an event that ended with Brandeis Interim President Lisa Lynch joining the activists to promise more substantive action on the issue of the environment. Lynch had just had a meeting of Brandeis’ Board of Trustees. The march was part of Brandeis Climate Justice’s “Brandeis Divestment Campaign,” which seeks to lobby the Board of Trustees and the university administration to ends Brandeis’ investment in fossil fuels.

“Our acting president has signalled her serious commitment to address the issue of sustainability during her tenure as president,” said Professor Sa-

bine von Mering (GRALL/WMGS), at the ending rally. Von Mering, speaking for Brandeis Faculty Against the Climate Threat (FACT), also praised the efforts of newly-appointed Manager of Sustainability Programs Mary Fischer, while also calling for “definitive” action toward divestment.

“Reducing our own carbon footprint means putting our mouth where our heart is, but divestment means putting our money where our mouth is,” said von Mering.

The march began on the Rabb Steps, with members of BCJ and FACT, as well as Heller and other graduate students and multiple Brandeis alumni, holding signs and shouting slogans. Just before noon, the group began their march toward the SCC, chanting in call-and-response and demanding Brandeis act immediately on divestment from fossil fuels. The march was the first example of direct action by BCJ of the semester.

BCJ had already made itself publicly known this semester with the proliferation of the symbol the divestment campaign, an orange triangle, posting triangles of orange tape all over campus and handing out small felt triangles to students. At the beginning of the year, BCJ members Abbie Goldberg ’16 and Saren McAllister ’18 confronted Lynch at a town hall she hosted to address students’ issues with the administration. Pressure by environmental activists on campus was cited by former President Fred Lawrence in his decision to create an “Exploratory Committee on Fossil Fuel” to address divestment in 2013. That same year, a referendum organized by BCJ showed that 79 percent of Brandeis students favored divestment from fossil fuels.

The Exploratory Committee released a 173-page report on their findings this April, and the report concluded in favor of “sustainable,

responsible, impact investing” as an alternative to fossil fuel and promoted divestment. In addition to the hiring of Mary Fischer, Vice President for Operations James W. Gray has led sweeping efforts to increase sustainability on campus, including promoting “Turn it Off Day.” Still, as of the march this Tuesday, the Board of Trustees has not responded to the Exploratory Committee’s report. “The [Board representative] from the Student Union gave us the impression that it was definitely not going to happen,” Goldberg told The Brandeis Hoot earlier this month.

Goldberg’s speech, which included a reading of BCJ’s letter to the Trustees, reflected frustration in the lack of response. “Brandeis cannot continue to claim to value social justice when it continues to invest in the destruction of our planet and future, and the exploitation of marginalized communities,” Goldberg said. “The Board of

Trustees cannot continue to spend our money on burning the environment to the ground, especially when the students, alumni and faculty have all demanded divestment.” A letter of support on behalf of Professor Gordon Fellman (SOC) and the Brandeis PAX Program was read by Lindsay Mitnik ’16. Goldberg also led a calland-response to the Board of Trustees demanding their ears.

Since beginning in 2012, the divestment campaign has sought to rally the entire Brandeis community around the cause of divestment through referendums, marches and the occasional party in Chum’s. On Tuesday, the campaign made it clear that this will continue until action is taken. BCJ will next host their “Divest Fest” event in Chum’s Coffeehouse on Friday, Oct. 30 at 9 p.m.

Senate explores changes to club recognition policies

By Charlotte Aaron Editor

The Senate began to more seriously discuss how clubs are recognized and chartered on campus as they voted to recognize Brandeis’ 261st club last Sunday.

The discussion was continued later in the week in a meeting with Student Activities administrators, and a Senate ad hoc committee is investigating areas in which there may be inefficiencies within the club recognition processes.

“If we could find a way to better allocate things, spaces and money, we would be able to get a lot more out of the actual budget,” said Senator-at-Large Lorenzo Finamore ’18, in an interview with The Brandeis Hoot.

Over the course of a year, the Senate recognizes up to two clubs every week, over half of which are chartered, said Finamore. These clubs then gain access to request meeting spaces and other resources.

“While it’s great that we’ve got a

ton of people that are interested in all sorts of different things, the reality is that we do have a limited amount of space, a limited amount of funds to give clubs, so we are obviously really concerned with doing things as efficiently as we possibly can,” said David Herbstritt, class of 2017 senator and executive senator.

Finamore hopes to increase efficiency is by creating more umbrella clubs.

“The Undergraduate Theatre Collective, [is composed of] I think like 8 performing groups and now recently they just got Behind the Scenes, which is a group for the techies, and that works really nicely because they all can pool their resources together and know what’s going on,” said Finamore.

This year, over $400,000 were requested by clubs during marathon, but Allocations Board was only able to fund $200,000 worth of those request.

Although the Senate has no control over club funding or allocation of resources to clubs, the Senate hopes to support A-Board and Student Ac-

tivities by improving the process in which clubs are recognized and chartered.

“We have a list of about maybe up to 30 clubs that may be de-chartered due to failure to hand in anti-hazing forms and anti-club renewal forms,” said Herbstritt. Currently, the Senate is working to de-charter unorganized or non-existing clubs be mandating club leaders to submit anti-hazing forms to the Senate.

While this process will clear the Student Activities office of inactive club forms, the Senate is looking to potentially change its bylaws to lengthen the chartering process.

“The next step for the Senate would be a bylaw amendment,” said Herbstritt. The bylaw amendment would require clubs wait a semester after being recognized before they apply for chartering.

In past years, not including the last, there was a precedent where clubs would be recognized and come back a semester later and be able to apply to be chartered, said Finamore. “Since last year, we’ve been allowing clubs to apply for both.”

Finamore sees many advantages in passing a bylaw, such as increased consistency in the Senate as well as a potential decrease in the amount of clubs requesting to be chartered.

“We want it to be a rule, but we still want it to be flexible,” said Finamore.

“It’s tough because you don’t want to codify that necessarily because there are some clubs that have been effectively active for a very long time and only now are seeking recognition and chartering.”

“Our bylaws committee is a bit more active than it has been in the past, because we have noticed a lot of things we want to change and modernize, so that could be something we see at a senate meeting as early as [next] Sunday, about the bylaw amendment,” said Herbstritt.

Herbstritt and Finamore met with Director of Student Activities Stephanie Grimes and Associate Director of Student Activities Steve Pagios last week to discuss the feasibility of making changes to the way clubs are recognized and chartered and to see how these changes would affect student activities.

“We wanted to make sure it was a positive sort of collaboration. We don’t want to blindside them with a change to something that they’ve got all over their website,” said Herbstritt about keeping Student Activities administrators informed regarding changes to the way students can apply for club recognition and chartering.

“For example, we want to make it qualification for clubs to have to attend a bystander training or to put one on for club leaders and club members,” said Herbstritt about the initiative been perused by Lucy Wen ’18, a Senator-at-Large.

By the end of the semester, both Finamore and Herbstritt plan to have begun improvements to the club recognition and chartering process.

To learn more about the changes being made or or provide feedback to the Senate, students are welcome to visit their senators during office hours or come to the weekly Senate meetings every Sunday at 7 p.m. in the SCC.

First-years compete in sustainability contest between buildings and quads

By Hannah Schuster Editor

The first-year quads are competing to reduce waste and energy usage in a monthlong sustainability contest from Oct. 15 to Nov. 15. The building that reduces their energy consumption the most and the quad that recycles the most material will receive to-be-determined prize. The original prize was a pizza party, but students voiced concerns that pizza is not an eco-friendly prize with the energy used to produce it and the discarded boxes.

Ashley Piccirillo-Horan ’17 a Community Advisor (CA) for North Quad, presented the idea to Brandeis’ Manager of Sustainability Programs Mary Fischer. The pair along with the Area Coordinators (ACs) for North and Massell and additional CAs are now involved with the competition.

“I grew up in a family that avidly recycled, and during move-in day when I saw more cardboard boxes in the trash than was possible for me to move into the recycling bin alone, I was determined to try and spread the word on recycling,” said Piccirillo-Horan in an email to The Brandeis Hoot.

She believes everyone must be

aware of the little ways they can reduce their impact on the environment, citing the impact of decreased energy use on fossil fuel production and the effect of increased recycling levels on overall material use.

ACs Jay MacDuffie for Massell Quad and Habiba Braimah for North, introduced the competition to their residents in an email on Thursday, Oct. 15.

“The purpose of this month-long competition is to increase awareness on our usage of energy and encourage us to be more conscious about the choices we make and how it impacts our environment,” MacDuffie wrote in his initial email to Massell residents.

They provided tips for reducing energy usage, which include turning off lights and unplugging electronics, washing clothes in cold water and using drying racks. CAs will provide racks to interested students, according to an email from MacDuffie. Lists also remind students to know what is and is not recyclable and to rinse out food residue.

The ACs send weekly progress updates on the competition, because Fischer arranged to receive weekly, as opposed to monthly, reports on waste from Casella, Brandeis’ waste management company. She also analyzes the data on energy use from

each first-year building and provides all this information to the ACs. The reports use average waste production from September and average daily energy use from Sept. 1 to Oct. 14 as “baselines” to compare the new data to.

North is winning after the first week of competition, according to the weekly progress emails. Each quad is tied in recycling 21 percent of waste, with with North up from its 14 percent baseline and Massel up from 12 percent. Massell made the larger leap, to bring both quads to compatible recycling rates. However, North produced less trash and waste overall compared to Massell—0.77 tons of trash compared to Massell’s 1.16 tons.

North produced around 65 percent less waste than the baseline amount for the month of September, and Massell produced around 44 percent less waste than the baseline.

Cable Hall in North has excelled in energy reduction according to the weekly update, decreasing their energy consumption by 17 percent, the most of any building. Usen, in Massell, lowered their energy use by only two percent.

Using the baseline, North as a whole decreased usage from 1612 kilowatt hours (kwh) to 1443 kwh while Massell went from 1324 to 1217. A kilowatt hour is the energy

is take to power a 100-watt light bulb for ten hours. Massell used seven percent less energy, and North used nine percent less. Though North has shown a larger reduction in usage, Massell still uses less energy overall.

The buildings in Massell are smaller than those in North and more students live in North.

Brandeis’ recycling rate is half the national average for universities, less than 20 percent compared to 35 to 50 percent for other schools, according to Fischer, who started at Brandeis in July.

“Our campus uses about 25 [percent] more energy per square foot than the average of comparable campuses in our climate zone, even when you adjust for the age [and] state of our buildings,” said Fischer in an email to The Hoot.

She believes the competition will help improve these figures, as it will show students they can have a positive impact on the environment through their daily actions.

Fischer said everyone must be “dramatically focused” on the school’s carbon footprint. “Our building energy usage IS our carbon footprint—it is the most direct and important impact we have on carbon emissions,” she said.

Smaller prizes for the competition include reusable water bottles and

mugs, frisbees made of recycled plastic and LED light bulbs, and are for “ongoing participation,” Fischer said.

Students who attend an education session for the sustainability contest, yesterday or on Tuesday Nov. 3, to win the LED bulbs or frisbees. Students can take the “global pledge” to live sustainably and be entered into a raffle to win the water bottles and mugs.

Fischer’s other initiatives since include, “Energy Champions,” a group of staff and faculty who “assist in energy reduction efforts” for different buildings on campus, she is revamping the composting program at both dining halls and looking to add more solar panels to campus.

She is also working on Brandeis’ Climate Action Plan to reduce the university’s carbon footprint, a major focus of a new task force on campus sustainability. She was also involved with the “Turn It Off ” program from this summer, which helped encourage those on campus to reduce energy use on peak heat days.

Piccirillo-Horan hopes drying racks will become more popular and is working with students in the new North Hall Council, a form of student government for the quad, to organize a free-throw contest with plastic water bottles to raise awareness about sustainability.

ARTS ETC.

October 30, 2015

The Brandeis Hoot 5

halloween graphic by katherine jaramillo/the hoot

‘Suffragette’ calls on women to “never give up the fight” for equality

By Alana Hodson Staff

In the midst of the feminist activism that has swept the country in recent decades, it is not surprising to see a film on the silver screen that took advantage of this interest in gender equality. It was the intention of director Sarah Gavron to make a standout political statement with her latest historical fiction drama, “Suffragette.” This past Thursday, Oct. 22, dozens of students gathered in Wasserman Theater Cinematheque to see the pre-screening of the film’s release.

Set in 1912 London, “Suffragette” spans the time period during the fight for women’s suffrage, in which a tremendous amount of progress was achieved. From the perspective of a common,

working-class woman named Maud Watts, played by Academy Award-nominated actress Carey Mulligan, “Suffragette” examines and humanizes the fight for equality from an entirely new point of view. It explores the bolder actions of suffragettes, as they attempt to pass the “Vote for Women.”

The film opens inside an industrial laundry company. Women are bustling about, carrying back-breaking stacks of linen, pressing out wrinkles with heavy, heated irons, scrubbing sheets in metal basins as their hands bled from blisters, all under the hungry eye of the factory foreman, who does not hesitate to abuse his power. These scenes depicting the horrid factory working conditions are revisited many times throughout the film, emphasizing the harsh reality of the past wom-

en had to endure.

Maud soon becomes entangled with a rebel organization bent on fighting for women’s suffrage. She quickly realizes that more of her friends and community members, played by renowned actresses Helena Bonham Carter and Anne-Marie Duff, are involved in the fight than she had thought.

This draws her more closely to the cause. As Maud devotes more of her time to this risky gamble for freedom, she begins to recognize her own value as a citizen, and wants her voice to be heard. This idea drives the plot of the film, and empowers the women as they set aside their own safety and security in order to create a better quality of life for their daughters and fellow women.

The theme of sacrifice is prevalent throughout the film, especially in Maud’s life, as we see how

photos from internet source

her involvement with the suffragettes causes her marriage to disintegrate. The shift in Maud’s image of herself from a devoted spouse to an individual deserving of equal rights becomes undeniably apparent when she declares to her husband that she is more than just a wife. Maud reflects a paradigm shift that women all over the country were experiencing during this era.

Maud’s assertion of her own individuality and her right to fight for equality is a core theme represented by the controversial line, “I’d rather be a rebel than a slave.”

This line is delivered by Academy-award winning actress Meryl Streep’s character Ms. Pankhurst, the elusive leader of the women’s suffrage movement. Though Streep’s role is hardly more than a cameo, she also delivers another powerful line which surely speaks to every viewer: “Never give up the fight.”

Gavron certainly does not shy away from showing exactly what these early activists had to go through so that women may enjoy the rights they have today.

Perhaps one of the most disturbing scenes of the film is when Maud is force-fed while serving her second jail sentence. At the time, this was common for women who subjected themselves to hunger strikes while serving their sentences, though it is now a recognized form of torture.

Another striking moment in “Suffragette” was when a peaceful protest turned violent after women were yet again denied the right to vote. As the mass of women were sparked into outrage at this declaration, the police officers standing by suddenly turned on them, savagely beating them

into submission. These scenes demonstrated the enormous disadvantage women faced while attempting to challenge their patriarchal state. Nevertheless, they persisted, and we benefit today from their labor. However, “Suffragette” did not end on that happy note, and rather concluded with a true and tragic historical event that brought to the world’s attention the fight for women’s rights, implying that though we have made great strides, gender equality in every nation is still a work in progress.

In a discussion with the Brandeis audience after the prescreening, Gavron shared her thoughts on her dreams for the film. She hopes that “Suffragette” will raise more awareness around the globe for women’s rights, especially in countries like Saudi Arabia, and that her work will give women a voice through global connectedness. “Suffragette” is intended to be a film about feminism, but it allows for a discussion to be had about inequality of any kind, driving home the assertion that we should “never give up the fight.”

Cult Leader make tradition impressive on debut album

By Jess Linde Editor

Salt Lake City’s Cult Leader is a band born of death and hatred. To be specific, the death of Utah metal/grindcore band Gaza and the hatred between band members that led the band to fire vocalist Jon Parkin. After Parkin was accused of sexual assault 2013, Gaza started facing cancelled shows and calls to boycott their music,

and thus Parkin was kicked out when the tension between him and the rest of Gaza became too much.

So the instrumental musicians behind the heaviest band to ever come out of the Beehive State started a new project, with Gaza bassist Anthony Lucero taking lead vocals. Calling themselves Cult Leader, the new band signed to Boston-based hardcore label Deathwish, Inc. and released two crushing EPs, before releas-

ing their first full-length record, “Lightless Walk,” this month, produced by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou.

Based on the band’s history and the various adjectives I have used thus far to describe Cult Leader, it should be pretty easy to guess what these guys sound like. On Facebook, their genre is cited as “progressive crust,” a label I do not quite understand. But that does not matter. What matters is that in terms of pure, eardrum-shat-

tering intensity, “Lightless Walk” tops Gaza’s entire career. On this album, Lucero and company not only move above their former band, but burn it in effigy.

From the opening track, “Great I Am,” the drums are so fast and thunderous, the guitar and bass are so heavy, and the vocals are screamed so dark and deep, you know what you are getting into: a musical punch in the mouth.

Sometimes, the feedback made it sound like my speakers would

photo from internet source

burst into flame.

That said, while following tracks like “The Sorrow,” “Sympathetic” and “Suffer Louder” are all great, aggressive grinders, they stay well within the traditions of extreme music: short, fast, loud, done. Cult Leader are at their best on the second half of the album with songs like “A Good Life,” “Hate Offering” and “How Deep it Runs.” The slowness that comes at parts of this song (especially “How Deep it Runs”) allows for a more experimental, sprawling sound. The riffs are more complex, and Lucero’s guttural roars are more frightening. The title track, which is also the last, lasts over seven minutes of apocalyptic brutality.

On the faster songs, I was reminded of California band Nails’ 2013 masterpiece “Abandon All Life,” but on the slower songs, Cult Leader comes into their own.

There are no political or anti-religious polemics that Gaza might do. Just unbridled impeccably performed aggression, and I dug it. I cannot imagine that this band will appeal to many people, especially if those people do not like the idea of a “musical punch in the mouth.” But in terms of pushing how far heaviness can go and how loose one can let in a mosh pit, Cult Leader are doing a great job. It is still clear on “Lightless Walk” that Cult Leader is a young band still in search of their unique sound. But for now, what they are is heavy, and I am fine with that.

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The Brandeis Hoot

October 30, 2015

“As You Like It” fails to execute Bostonian theme

By Alana Hodson Staff

It’s a hard task to keep people interested in a Shakespeare play in this day and age. For one, that’s because it’s nearly impossible to make Shakespeare relatable to the average audience. Hold Thy Peace director Barbara Spidle ’15 modernized “As You Like It” using a Boston theme. There is no better play to sum up the crazy, silly, historic, competitive nature of a college city such as Boston than “As You Like It.” It totally made sense. Of course Touchstone’s holier-than-thou demeanor went perfectly with that of an Emerson student. The creative, awkward, socially aware Rosalind, disguised as Ganymede, is the Brandeis student. The headin-the-clouds, alternative, goofy farmer is the shepherd. With a cast of 15 talented actors, HTP’s fall show was packed with the laughter of students who truly enjoyed Shakespeare.

Despite the fact that the Boston theme was specified in the director’s note, I wish the theme was more prevalent and expanded on within the play. The set was very minimalistic and did not reflect the theme at all. The one set change that did take place was distracting and took away from the overall focus of the show.

Since only a fraction of the show was not set in the forest, I did not understand why a full office set was used. Furthermore because the set was so simple, I might not have known where the play took place without the added help of the actor’s lines.

Tova Weinberger ’18 (Rosalind) and Jessica Spierer ’18 (Celia)’s performances were both genuine and honest. Through intimate contact such as holding hands, they established their close relationship. Shakespeare plays are known to lack stage directions, so Spidle complicated their mocking relationship, the kind only cousins have, by adding additional stage directions. In the spirit of Rosalind and Celia’s relationship, Spidle added exits for Celia. Additional humor was found when Celia reentered to see the ridicu-

Coffeehouse prefaces ‘Nightingale’s’ deliberate inclusivity

By Clayre Benzadon Staff

On Friday, Oct. 23, Brandeis Ensemble Theatre (BET) hosted “The Love of the Nightingale” coffeehouse to promote their play, a retelling of an ancient Greek myth. This play explores violence as a theme, especially sexual and racialized violence as well as gendered hostility and aggression.

During the beginning of the event, cast members introduced themselves and then came up to perform works of poetry, song and other original pieces. The first performer presented a slam piece titled “A Special Place for Black Girls,” which gave social commentary on the struggle of living in the world as a black woman: “Momma, I know you may be angry … but I just want to know if there is a place up there for special black girls like me.”

Another cast member wrote an original piece and performed a heartwarming song about a lonely dinosaur. The audience, which was a small group and even included some parents, clapped for an encore. Afterwards, cast member Morgan Winters ’17 came up and recreated her monologue-poetry piece, which dealt with the theme of sexual violence. In her act, she created a metaphor where the abuser broke her wings off and she lost an invaluable possession.

Later on, director Ayelet Shrek ’17 came up and read a couple of powerful pieces, one of which was inspired by “for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is not enuf:” a commentary that dealt with issues of sexual violence, mental

illness and of other relatable emotions. She described living in this world as living in a sort of “safety net.” She explained that we live in such a way that we aren’t sure where the boundaries are and experimented with wordplay on the meaning of boundaries and our perspectives of our lives: especially the meaning of being afraid. One of her other pieces was a vivid feminist monologue that discussed how society views the female body and how women’s bodies are objectified.

In the middle of the coffeehouse, the cast directed a play within a play, an enticing sneak-peak of “The Love of the Nightingale.”

The most important aspect of this play is the fact that there is a diverse cast. Many of the campus plays before last spring’s “for colored girls” have consisted of a homogenous group of actors, and the goal of Brandeis’ future for the arts is to bridge the gap between “difference,” or better said, diversity. In this play, the issue of racism comes up and reflects the fact art is not as easily accessible for ethnic, racial or other marginalized minorities because of the fact that it does not relate or represent their cultures or is not sensitive of these differences. Therefore, “The Love of the Nightingale” provides a framework for including more diverse cast members as well as raising awareness of issues of social justice.

The play will run this weekend, opening on Thursday, Oct. 29 and showing through Sunday in the SCC Theater.

lousness of the scene continuing.

Spierer added an eye-roll and exacerbated sigh to poke fun at the situation. This added personality enhanced the performance and acknowledged the improbability and hilarity of the play.

While Brandeis theater veterans like Spierer and Weinberger showed off their talent, other actors fell short. Some of the rookies seemed to overact, and as a result, their characters seemed overly dramatic and emotional as if they were acting in a tragedy rather than a ridiculous comedy. On the

opposite end, some actors lacked basic skills such as comedic timing and clear enunciation.

A few additional elements that distracted me from the plot were the added lines the actors said.

They swore and added quick side quips in modern English. To me this felt like cheating to get the theme across; their acting should have provided enough plot cues.

Additionally, they spoke in modern English and Shakespeare’s lines at random intervals without a pattern, so the play proved confusing.

By Tova Weinberger Special to the Hoot

photo from internet source

The props were also problematic. The shepherd carried sheep stuffed animals around with her, which brought me out of the performance entirely. The play could have easily progressed without the sheep props and left me wondering whether they were supposed to be real sheep or if the shepherd was insane.

Although some actors fell short and the technical elements were less than perfect, there were many talented students in “As You Like It,” and the audience thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

October 30, 2015

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The Brandeis Hoot

Ensemble Showcase fearlessly jumps into the abyss

By Sabrina Pond Editor

Over the past few weeks, Brandeis University’s 2015-2016 Concert Series has seen the likes of the Lydian String Quartet, the jazz band New Black Eagles and even the renowned fortepianist Robert Hill, all of whom have received considerable honors and recognition for their musical abilities. Even so, Brandeis’ Ensemble Showcase outshone them all. Most importantly, the showcase reflected the individual talents of Brandeis’ very own instrumentalists and vocal performers, which is significant because it shows the continuing musical journey of Brandeis’ own.

The performance, which flaunted the talents of the Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra, Brandeis Wind Ensemble, Brandeis Chamber Choir and Brandeis University Chorus, was on Sunday, Oct. 25, in Slosberg at 2 p.m. as part of Fall Fest.

The showcase opened with Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra, which sounded incredibly refined and cultivated with a professional touch that is remarkable given the limited time the group had to practice. The orchestra includes students, faculty, staff and associates of Brandeis and Wellesley, having formally united in 2002. Neal Hampton, who conducts the orchestra, has a great amount of experience leading a number of other orchestras—Boston University’s Symphony Orchestra to name one— and it is his ability to conduct coupled with the knack for technique inherent

in the Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra that showed throughout their performance.

The orchestra’s one and only piece, Jean Sibelius’ Finlandia, Op. 26 no .7, utilized powerful dynamics, catapulting into epic crescendoes with continuous control and support. As Fin-

out the piece, the hands of the various string players, from the cellists to the violinists, worked furiously and with an almost indiscernible speed that is impressive for the orchestra’s size, and with special attention to timing.

As the second group to perform as part of Ensemble Showcase, Brandeis’

degree of balance between the instrument sections. A piece best described in its early stages, “Folk Song Suite” is deeply entrenched in nationalistic and more motivational music, most likely on account of the piece’s use of the snare drum and horn.

“Folk Song Suite” saw many transi-

photo from internet source

landia progressed, the piece gently built up, waned and then continued to gain momentum; like an airplane shooting through the sky, at points obscured by the clouds, though eventually pushing through and beyond.

Periodically the triangle’s harmonious “tink” resounded, adding a delicate, reverberating chime. Through-

Wind Ensemble’s performance of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ piece “Folk Song Suite” lacked a certain precision and range, though mainly because of the lack of time to adequately practice and prepare. Despite this fact, the Wind Ensemble still successfully utilized dynamics and produced a supported, blended sound that forged a

tions and changes in tempo and was overall a testament to the raw performance.

The last part of the program, Brandeis’ Chamber Choir and University Chorus, the former of which has both music and non-music majors and the latter of which is composed of only music majors, sang

three songs that were reminiscent of religious hymns most fit for a church setting. All pieces except the last song were not sung in English, and therefore required a speaker to come forth before each piece to give a translation of the chorus. All the pieces were centered around religious devotion. Brandeis Chamber Choir’s piece, Mozart’s “Kyrie” from Missa in C. KV. 220 displayed the crushing power of strong, blended vocals and deeply seated emotional investment that only increased as the program progressed.

Brandeis’ Ensemble Showcase was a wholly worthwhile performance that showed the musical abilities of Brandeis’ entire music department in the most organic way, without the benefit of exposure and practice time under its belt. As a matter of fact, Brandeis’ music department should be lauded for its unflinching jump into the abyss, perhaps before having the chance to fully get its bearings.

Overall, Fall Fest’s Ensemble Showcase gave parents and students alike an exceptional preview into Brandeis’ music department and all the hardworking musicians and vocalists that represent the future of the musical tradition. Though an imperfect performance, the Ensemble Showcase should be praised for its strengths instead of ridiculed for its mistakes and points of improvement. Based on where each of these groups are currently, it doesn’t require too much imagination to see where these groups can wind up with just a little nudge.

“Crimson Peak” more like crimson bleak

By Santiago Montoya Staff

Beware of ‘Crimson Peak!’—no, really, beware Guillermo del Toro is the director of the new horror film “Crimson Peak,” which does not seem to inspire a single scream or interest. The film becomes the opposite of what del Toro had in mind, who dared to think that “Crimson Peak” would be a groundbreaking film in the horror

genre. He thought this film could reach the level of films like, “The Exorcist,” “The Innocents,” “The Omen” or “The Shining.” No, del Toro, no, it will not.

Heroine Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) is an aspiring American author with an eye for the supernatural. When compared to Jane Austen, however, Edith replied she would rather be author Mary Shelley (author of Frankenstein), “who died a widow.”

Edith falls for the charming, if slightly frayed, British baronet Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) at the same time that her widowed father (Jim Beaver) is enigmatically murdered. Edith becomes blind to Sharpe’s affections. Nothing keeps her in Buffalo, NY, after her father’s death, thus, she accompanies her groom to his English countryside mansion, Allerdale Hall, with his sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain).

There is something odd between the Sharpe siblings that it is immediately conspicuous and nearly comically reinforced, as Chastain’s character stares with such hostility at Edith in virtually every shot.

The film is not, nor will it ever be, striking or memorable, and the reason for it is because it is a simplistic

story. It is the kind of material teenagers nowadays live to devour. It tries to draw influence from films such as, “Rebecca” (1940) or “Jane Eyre” (any of the novel’s multiple film adaptations). However, the film becomes a juvenile version of those movies. In part, all of the film’s failures should be blamed on the weak script, penned by del Toro and Matthew Robbins.

Universal Studios took the risk hiring a Disney screenwriter and this is the product: a story that claims not to be a ghost story yet has ghosts in it.

The real controversy behind “Crimson Peak” is that Universal wanted the film to be rated PG-13. On the other hand, del Toro wanted the opposite. He wanted the film to be an R-rated movie. The director fought a long and arduous battle with Universal to make the the studio’s executives change their mind. This morphed into one of those brawls in which del Toro tried to prove to Universal that it can be done. Nevertheless, the final product is already out and all of del Toro’s efforts are now considered futile. He better eat his words.

There are a few R-rated moments in the film, including the sex scene between Edith and Thomas, but the only nude image lasts two seconds long and it is a part of Hiddleston’s

rear end. “Crimson Peak” could very much have been a PG-13-rated film.

Nothing is too graphic, violent or boorish.

It is for these and other reasons that Universal refused to finance the film and decided to only finance the advertising and marketing campaign of “Crimson Peak.” It is also why del Toro had to pay out of pocket, because he could not accept the studio’s request, or rather stipulation, to make a PG-13-rated film. Out of stubbornness “Crimson Peak” suffered, despite being one of del Toro’s favorite movies to have co-written and directed.

Fine. The murders (spoiler alert) are gory—in a way-too-exaggerated, too-over-the-top manner. In fact, the killer, without mentioning who dies or who is the murderer, has incredibly implausible strength. It almost becomes ludicrous.

The performances are decent, but since the characters are so idiotically written, the viewer is incapable to feel any sympathy toward them.

Instead of the script triggering some dramatic and frightening performances out of the actors, their performances become rather comical.

Actually the film itself is a horror comedy by serendipity, rather than the gothic romance it yearns to be.

Do not expect “Crimson Peak” to become part of the AFI’s list of 100 Thrills, where films like “Psycho,” “Jaws” and “North by Northwest” have a much deserved spot.

“Crimson Peak” is only a showcase of Brandt Gordon’s work as the art director of this film. If there is something that the film does succeed at, it is constructing the most eye candy of sets, even though the production had trouble with lightning as well.

Sadly, the entire film just fell short.

photo from internet source

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The Brandeis Hoot

October 30, 2015

‘Love of the Nightingale’ has a promising opening night

By Adam Lamper and Alana Hodson

inequality currently being discussed today.

The play also featured hefty group of cast newcomers from the Class of 2019, including Cameron Braunstein, Emily Bisno, Gabriel Walker,

Staff

The spirit of Ancient Greece was brought to the Carl J. Shapiro Theater last night as the Brandeis Ensemble Theater premiered their latest play, “The Love of the Nightingale.”

Originally written in 1989 by British playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker, “The Love of the Nightingale” is an adaptation of the classic Greek myth of the rape of Philomele by her brother-in-law and King of Thrace, Tereus. As the story goes, after being assaulted by Tereus and having her tongue cut out, Philomele seeks revenge in the form of killing his son, the next in line for the throne.

In order to save Philomele and her sister, Procne, from Tereus’ rage the gods turn the three into a nightingale, swallow and hoopoe respectively.

The play featured several themes closely intertwined with concepts of violence and abuse, both emotional and physical, including desire, power and war. However, even more crucial to the vision of director Ayelet Schrek ’17 and producer LaQuasia Cherry ’17 for the production was its portrayal of the themes surrounding the oppression experienced by the victims of violence, such as silence, questioning and waiting. Tying the play’s dichotomous motifs together was the concept of love—how love can be misconstrued, displaced and distorted, and how it can create unity only to later be the cause of broken bonds. This production surely entails a political undertone, but that was certainly Schrek’s intention. “Theater is always political,” she explains. “To put on a production is an investment, so which story we choose to tell is a

political choice: what is the story that matters most, right here, right now?”

The cast of “The Love of the Nightingale” captures these themes and faithfully personifies them through both their technical endeavors, such as sword play, costume design, body movements, music selection and lighting effects, and their stylistic modifications through speech, body language and character chemistry.

The play’s three main characters Philomele (Keturah Walker ’17), Procne (Salena Deane ’19) and Tereus (Andrew Hyde ’17) created a powerful trio on stage, leading the audience through the tumultuous waters of betrayal, lust, doubt and rebellion.

Even through the production’s most traumatic and harrowing scenes, these characters maintain a level of intensity that keeps the plot moving at a steadfast pace, keeping audience members on the edges of their seats until the final scene.

Though the cast and crew produced a theatrical performance worthy of every student’s time and attention, a few stumbles occurred here and

there. The slow-motion sword-fighting in the opening act loss its graceful appearance at a few moments, and some of the choreography was out of sync. Though surely not enough to rival all of the high points of the production, some of the lines did come across as a bit stiff rather than natural and well-rehearsed. However, with tension running high on premiere night, a few trip-ups are more than forgivable. Overall, the hardwork and dedication of the cast and crew shone through and resulted in a unique production that is absolutely relevant to the issues concerning sexual violence and racial and gender

was really helpful. Also our director Ayelet’s facilitation of these conversations created a safe space where people in our cast were extremely honest with each other, allowing us to create the show!” An extremely talented group of individuals, these newcomers were able to blend seamlessly in with the returning cast.

This adaptation most definitely supported the historical aspect of the play, having as minimal anachronisms as possible, while at the same time remaining contemporarily applicable towards problems facing our culture today. The amount of effort that went into this production was evident from start to finish; a facet of

photos by adam lamper/the hoot

Laura Goemann, Salena Jacqueline Deane and Sindy Sura.

“Working on this show was such an incredible experience because a huge part of our rehearsal process was discussions about the show, its content and what we hoped audience members would take away from it,” states Bisno. “We are a large, extremely diverse cast, so we got a wide variety of experiences and opinions which

the play recognized by the majority of the audience as the cast received a standing ovation this opening night.

If you missed the play’s premiere, not to worry! BET will be holding shows in the SCC theater Friday, Oct. 30 at 8 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 31 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 1 at 2 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased at SCC Box Office at price of $3 for students and $5 for general admission.

October 30, 2015

WEEK IN PHOTOS

photo by matthew kowalyk/the hoot

The Brandeis Hoot 9

photo by karen caldwell/the hoot

photo by matthew kowalyk/the hoot

STATE OF THE UNIVERSITY Interim President Lisa Lynch addresses the Brandeis community

photo by jacob kleinberg/the hoot

BEHIND MY NAME Theater for Social Change performedthe 12th Annual Roosevelt Lectures

photo by jacob kleinberg/the hoot

photo by jacob kleinberg/the hoot

10 The Brandeis Hoot

“To acquire wisdom, one must observe.”

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

EDITORIALS Moving forward: Don’t let the conversation die Last week, The Brandeis Hoot published an anonymous opinion article about Department of Community Living policies that we should have been more critical of from the start. We should have investigated the claims, verified the sources and been more transparent with our decision to grant the author anonymity.

Our apology to Director Tim Touchette and DCL staff sits on the front page of this week’s paper. While no apology can ever make full reparations, we are determined to continue the conversation that we aimed to start with the piece.

At The Hoot, we pride ourselves on being the “community newspaper.” If sexual violence

Sports Editor Sarah Jousset Hoot Scoops Editor Emily Sorkin Smith Copy Editor Allison Plotnik Senior Layout Editor Sasha Ruiz Layout Editors Lisa Petrie Ludi Yang Photo Editor Karen Caldwell Deputy Video Editor Matthew Kowalyk

Volume 12 • Issue 20 the brandeis hoot • brandeis university 415 south street • waltham, ma

Founded By Leslie Pazan, Igor Pedan and Daniel Silverman

STAFF

Clayre Benzadon, Rachel Bossuk, Sharon Cai, Zach Cihlar, Talia Franks, Zachary Gordon, Emma Gutman, Curtis Zunyu He, Emma Kahn, Naomi Klickstein, Nabi Menai, Monique J Menezes, Santiago Montoya, Joon Park, Nicole Porter, Albert Reiss, Emily Scharf, Marian Siljeholm, Eliana Sinoff, Ryan Spencer, Elianna Spitzer, Hannah Stewart, Sarah Terrazano, Michael Wang, Katarina Weessies MISSION As the weekly community student newspaper of Brandeis University, The Brandeis Hoot aims to provide our readers with a reliable, accurate and unbiased source of news and information.

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

SUBMISSION POLICIES

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

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

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

ADVERTISE Advertising in The Brandeis Hoot helps spread your message to our readers across the Brandeis campus, in the Waltham community and beyond through our website.

All campus organizations receive a 25 percent discount off our regular prices. We also design basic ads for campus organizations free of charge.

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

GIVE A HOOT, JOIN THE HOOT!

Writers, editors, photographers and graphic artists wanted to join The Brandeis Hoot, your weekly community newspaper.

To learn more, send us an e-mail at join@thebrandeishoot.com, or visit our website http://thebrandeishoot.com/join.

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.

October 30, 2015

happens on campus, we want to raise awareness and eradicate the possibility of such harm whenever possible. It was this drive to create awareness in our community as soon as possible that blurred our vision of journalistic integrity. It is also this drive that will lead us to new and more thorough investigations of the issue of sexual violence in the future.

The piece started a conversation, and for that, at the very least, we are grateful. Last week, we wrote an editorial on the Student Union’s efforts to be more transparent and the lack of student response. As a community, we need to ensure that we do not forget about a cause once it feels as if we have “won.” We have not

won against sexual violence. We will not even come close, either, until it is a topic that can be discussed more easily. Last week we failed to start the productive and respectful conversation that we aimed to create.

Next week, Interim President Lisa Lynch will hold a Town Hall meeting for students to ask questions and start conversations. We hope that the community will join campus media for this meeting.

We are, after all, also Brandeis students, and to be involved with the community is essential to our operations. The Hoot intends to investigate any and all claims in order to do justice to survivors.

Hoot Spooks

By Naomi Klickstein staff

Across 1. Ghost’s favorite toy?

8. Exclamation with “bleu” 14. Aboriginal Canadians 15. One sound from a dove 16. Relating to air 17. Irk 18. ____ beta tau 19. See 60-across 20. Ghost’s favorite bird?

22. 2010 Filipino film 23. Purge 25. Iowa timezone 27. Pig’s abode 28. Halloween meatball?

30. This American Life host Glass 32. Lord of the Rings leafy costume 33. Icy sheet 34. Ghost’s words to his boo 40. Stagnant 41. Trick or treating partner perhaps 42. Cancel 43. Candy bag for a fisher?

44. 41 is an example (abr.)

46. Angler’s channel 50. Word in 1,20,34,51,64-across 51. Ghost’s favorite vegetable?

57. Afghani tribe 58. Trick-or-treaters path perhaps 59. Panhandle state (abr.)

60. Halloween greeting with “or” with 19-across 61. Joe ____ 62. American author Allen

63. Farewell 64. Ghost’s second favorite pepper? (The first is ghost pepper of course)

Last Week’s Solution

Down 1. With 50-across, a ghostly floozy 2. Layered vegetables 3. Like Frodo’s journey 4. Arthur’s friend 5. Danger in an apple 6. CH3COOH 7. Wrote down 8. Coerce 9. Puerto Rican mutt 10. Prefix with dynamic 11. Baby’s bed 12. Some adult costumes 13. Moose cousin 21. Doll’s eye 24. How not to eat a banana 25. Reaction to a scare perhaps 26. Raw metal 27. Prefix with cone 28. Costume that could be used in December 29. “I Know What ___ Did Last Summer” 30. Anger 31. Judge 32. Abate 33. Repair 35. Appreciative poem 36. Final (abr.)

37. Grease 38. Comedian Notaro 45. Composure 46. Han Solo’s friend 47. Worse 48. Honolulu greeting 49. Second largest Finnish city 50. Purple + yellow 51. Upstate NY college 52. Beauty tool brand 53. Ecuadorian endangered plant 54. Between in vivo and in vitro with “in” 55. White Sox outfielder Roy 56. Gone with the Wind plantation 57. School org.

OPINIONS

October 30, 2015

The Brandeis Hoot 11

Recent anonymous opinion piece offensive, makes baseless claims

By Grady Ward

Special to the hoot

A recent anonymous opinion piece in The Brandeis Hoot claimed that CAs are raping students and that DCL is empowering them to break into your room to assist in further victimization of residents. While I have no knowledge of the statistics around sexual assault perpetrated

by CAs, I can speak against the gross generalizations and demonization of an office and a group of students who work tirelessly for the student body. Though I generally agree with the action prescribed by the article, I think that the author and The Hoot should reevaluate their aims in publishing this piece and consider the consequences of inflammatory words on the support structures that CAs and DCL work meticulously to craft.

I am sure that DCL has asked its CAs not to in public comment on this issue, but as a former CA of two years, I feel empowered to say what is necessary to defend my colleagues from an ignorant and hateful work of vitriol. This article does a great disservice to one of the hardest working contingents of our student population.

CAs work without complaint to

By Marya R. Levenson

support their residents; the role is emotionally demanding and physically draining. Many (like myself) choose not to return because of the amount of time, energy and thought that we put into the job. The department’s policies are always aimed to benefit the welfare and safety of students, even when the reasoning behind their decisions is opaque.

Claiming that DCL “hires and trains rapists” is irresponsible at best and is offensive at worst.

The CA role is often one of emotional support: We help residents through depression, anxiety, academic and familial crises, and serve as a point of contact to assist students in navigating the messy experience that is college. Painting CAs as rapists in an article published by a campus newspaper harms students’ willingness to reach out to their CA for support, guidance and even, yes, to report a sexual assault (they are trained as mandated reporters). This article tangibly harms the ability of students to feel comfortable going to their CA for help and advice.

This author’s words and their format are very damaging to the efficacy of CAs as support structures for students, and to generalize the actions of a minuscule minority upon the hundreds of good

people who have served this university in this role during the time period mentioned is abhorrent.

Moreover, the article seems to rely on its claim that CAs are rapists to give sole justification to why they should not have access to master keys. This appeals to the common false narrative about sexual assault: that it occurs in dark alleys and house invasions. The reality of sexual assault on college campuses does not fit this account; the overwhelming majority of survivors knew their assailant. Relying on generalizations and false narratives is a poor way to go about a serious discussion of a large and significant university policy.

I believe that no student should be given the power to enter into others’ spaces without permission, as it creates a dynamic where some students have powers with tangible authority over others. In the old status quo, the power of the CA is one of reporting; their authority stems directly from the people they report to. At the end of the day, keys and locks serve the dual functions of physical and emotional security. Even if the existence of a student master key is implemented in a way that does not change the physical security of the student (as the article sug-

gests it could), emotional security is an equally important function of a door and a lock. The existence of master keys in the hands of students makes many others uncomfortable (both CAs and residents) and impacts the emotional security that our rooms are supposed to provide.

Moreover, giving any students the ability to enter into another’s room elevates some students (CAs) above others (their residents), and transforms the role of the CA from a community builder into that of a police officer. CAs should be information-gathering and -disseminating figures. They should report what they see, share what they know. Further direct power is unwise—it is imprudent to empower anyone with the tools we typically leave in the hands of trained police.

If the author sat down to talk about these issues with Dr. Touchette, I imagine they might have gotten somewhere. Though Tim is demonized throughout the piece, I have worked with him extensively on issues that we differ on, and even in disagreement, I have found that DCL and its director are here to support and assist students, and are flexible to change. As I understand it, the decision to give CAs master keys

was intended to help students by reducing the time they spend locked out. Even if you might not agree with the department’s decisions (I don’t always), they make them for the benefit of students, and are always looking for ways to improve residential student experience. Claiming that they “wish further harm upon students” is baseless and easy to say from the safety of anonymity.

However, the ultimate problem with this article rests on the people who chose to publish it. Anonymous opinion pieces are easy to submit with unfounded allegations and reckless implications, which is why a newspaper should be hesitant to publish anonymous libel as opinion. Damaging the perceived integrity of the strongest support structures in our dorms rests on The Hoot’s decision to publish this irresponsible work. When an anonymous opinion piece is submitted to a paper, it is the role of the editorial board to evaluate the opinion for unintended ramifications, factual accuracy and basic principles of reason. The Hoot should reconsider the standards (if any) that govern its publishing.

Grady Ward was a Community Advisor from 2013 to 2015

Univ.’s unique contract structure makes adjunct union unnecessary

Special to the Hoot

There may be many good reasons for welcoming a union for non-tenured faculty, but let’s set the record right about Brandeis. For example, any non-tenure-line Brandeis faculty person is currently eligible for benefits if s/he works .5FTE [a part-time workload that receives full-time benefits].

Moreover, there are two different kinds of non-tenure-line faculty positions here.

1) The university already offers multi-year contracts for two to seven years for some arts and sciences faculty members who focus on teaching, rather than research and teaching.

Many long-term contract faculty members (I am one of them) are eligible for periodic paid-leave, similar to sabbatical leave for tenure-line fac-

ulty.

2) There are also year-to-year contracts for faculty, who are hired on a course-to-course basis according to student enrollment and faculty leaves.

Brandeis has been raising base pay for these per-course faculty, so that it remains competitive with local universities. While I agree that the increase in the ratio of adjuncts to tenure-line faculty positions in universities is problematic, Brandeis has been mov-

ing to hire some of the per-course faculty who have significant responsibilities other than teaching into positions with salaries that reflect these additional responsibilities.

As someone who has negotiated union contracts from both sides of the bargaining table, I recognize that unions use similar language in organizing different universities. I think, however, that the work of Brandeis faculty and administrators to recog-

nize the contributions of non-tenureline faculty is unique and should be acknowledged. I am proud to be part of a university committed to social justice which has done and is doing what is right, with or without a union.

Marya R. Levenson is the Professor of the Practice in Education and the Harry S. Levitan Director of Education

All-too-frequent alarms underscore larger problem

By Zach Phil Schwartz Editor

The high-pitched, deafening squeal of Brandeis’ alarms has, much to the dismay of residential students, become a part of everyday life. Alarms blare intermittently around campus, while almost every day you will hear a fire alarm set off in the southern residence quads. Such frequent false alarms from microwaves and cigarettes (excluding the purposeful drills) have created a sense of

photo from internet source

indifference toward the alarms: the boy who cried wolf scenario.

This mounting concern, should current conditions continue, may turn out to be a significant problem.

In the Village, Ridgewood and Ziv, it has become rare to see a week pass without a fire alarm.

Microwave mishaps in a region littered with kitchens, smoking too close to the buildings and other careless mistakes are setting them off with alarming frequency.

If they were not so piercing and deafening, students would not be so inclined to venture outside every time somebody burns their popcorn. At this point, those who do remain are convinced that the fire alarm means anything but actual fire.

The alarm system has also been spotty. Entire sections of the Village, for example, had alarms that made no sound until recently. Many students, myself and my roommate included, have inadvertently slept through early-morning fire alarms because the system failed to sound in a certain portion of the complex.

Should there have been a real fire, this alarm failure could have been

catastrophic.

In other buildings, while less frequent (perhaps due to a smaller concentration of kitchens), alarms are triggered with far too much frequency. Once somebody accidently walks into an emergency exit door in Usen Castle, for example, the entire hallway will be filled with cacaphonic trill until a police officer arrives to shut it off.

Last year, there was a period where the alarm in Massell’s Shapiro Hall would go off precisely at 1 a.m. on Friday mornings every week for three or four weeks without fail. While there was no way to be completely sure as to what caused the alarms, the distinct scent of cigarettes was always present, at times very close to the building. Shapiro Hall is not exclusive to this kind of mishap; campus rules on cigarettes are widely ignored, and the consequences of these violations have become more than worrisome.

When you walk along the side of the library, there are several signs attempting to push people smoking 30 feet away from the building. The library is especially vulnerable because it draws its air

directly from physically accessible vents at the bottom of the building. Nevertheless, you can still see people smoking, at times, no more than five feet from those vents. Should that not set off the alarm, it most definitely will decrease the air quality in the buildings it enters.

The “30 feet rule” that the university employs is not by any means enforced anywhere on campus. People smoke 10 feet from, five feet from or sometimes right next to buildings. This situation is extremely problematic because it contributes to a sense that smoking near campus buildings is acceptable, leading to an increase in cigarette smoke-related alarm activations that everyone would have liked to avoid.

Like with simply moving a few feet further away from buildings, the other causes of the all too frequent activations of campus alarms can be avoided by the simple employment of common sense. For example, when you put something in the microwave, don’t leave it alone. Read the instructions on the food you’re heating up. If it says to add water, your choice is either to do that or

to smoke up your kitchen.

This is the main problem: People are being careless with the utilities and freedoms given to them.

Some people like to cook for themselves, and that should be respected. However, at the same time people need to be responsible when they put something on the stove, in the oven or in the microwave. It is nonsensical to walk away from something that could so easily catch fire. When directions are given, read them and follow them; when there are explicit instructions on dryers to empty the lint trap, that needs to be done. If not, as many can attest to, the machine will smoke. At Brandeis, people are given the liberty to smoke with restrictions, so those that do should try to be respectful to those that do not and try to stay far enough away from buildings so as to not disturb others.

Common sense is a virtue when playing with fire, and its employment can help avoid scenarios where students do not want to venture outside during real fires thinking that it’s just another mishap.

12 OPINIONS

The Brandeis Hoot

October 30, 2015

Early decision application process unfair for prospective students

By Andrew Elmers Editor

As college students finish up midterms for their fall semesters, high school seniors continue the long and stressful process of applying to college. While those already at Brandeis no longer have to worry about applying to school—save any seniors looking at graduate schools—applications to Brandeis still have an impact on all of us. Be it hosting recruits for a team or answering a prospective student’s questions, most students have had some sort of interaction with a high school junior or senior who is completely overwhelmed by the concept of college. Even passing a tour group while walking to class renders the application process always in our peripheral as current college students.

Since this aspect of the university is impossible to escape,

one problem of it must be addressed—early decision. Most universities offer two different styles of application, early decision or early action, along with regular decision. This is the standard operating procedure for applying, allowing students to apply to however many schools they can scribble out essays to by the January deadline.

Yet ED and EA programs are a bit more complicated. These programs have an earlier application deadline, typically sometime in November, allowing students to hear back on an admissions decision sooner. Early action simply requires an earlier submission; ED forces high school seniors to commit to the school they are applying to, having them sign an agreement that they will not apply to any other schools, which is a terribly imprudent decision to throw at a 17-year-old.

Last year, Brandeis accepted 35

percent of all applicants and 41 percent of all ED applicants, according to stats from the College Board. This fact attracts students who are nervous or anxious about getting into their first-choice school and prevents them from taking a more critical look at all of their options for college. Seniors in high school usually don’t know exactly what they want, so they shouldn’t pick a college with as little information they have for the early decision process. Look at college students who change their major throughout their academic career; almost everyone here at Brandeis has either added a major they weren’t originally interested in or dropped the one they were focused on at first.

While there are some benefits to applying early decision, mostly a higher acceptance rate for those that do, the potential problems that arise vastly outweigh these benefits. The biggest issue is the

photo from internet source

aspect of financial aid. If a student only applies to one school through early decision, and are accepted, they must accept whatever financial aid package the school gives them. They can’t compare it to other packages that might include more merit aid or a different calculation of how much their family can contribute, and have to more or less accept what is offered.

Additionally, the package that is offered is extremely tentative.

Since the final financial aid for any academic year is calculated off the most recent fiscal year (i.e. for students enrolled in the 20152016 year, financial aid is based off information from their 2014 tax returns), students applying early decision receive a package based off of mostly outdated information. For students whose parents or guardians make a standard yearly salary, this won’t be much of an issue. But for those students with parents that operate their own business, or are in a field that experiences rapid turnover each year, yearly income can be very different between what is reported when applying and what will eventually be used to finalize the package.

In the financial aid survey that was just released this week, a major complaint of students about the financial aid policy was the practice of “front-loading” packages, offering more aid for a student’s first-year and then decreasing it over the years. This is not a fair practice, and for those accepted from early decision, they don’t even have the chance to have a higher package their first-year because they’ve already committed.

By offering the ED option to prospective students, the admissions office is invariably taking advantage of high schoolers’ vulnerability during the application process. Many of these students

are extremely anxious and simply want to get through it all as soon as possible, while having a better chance to get into a school they like. I know I was. I applied ED to Brandeis four years ago, and while I am perfectly content with being here now and the experiences I’ve had, sometimes I wish I would have applied to more schools. Not just to see if there was the possibility of more financial aid from other schools to ease my parents’ burden of paying for my education, but also to see what other schools I could have gotten into.

Even if I applied regular decision to Brandeis, along with a bunch of other schools and were admitted to a handful, I’d probably still have chosen Brandeis, because I felt it was where I belonged. And after visiting friends at other schools, I’ve grown even more confident in that belief. But I’ll still always wonder “if.”

Brandeis, and all other institutions of higher learning, should outlaw the ED admission process, or at least rid it of the binding agreement to attend the school upon an offer of admission. This policy goes against everything a university should stand for as a place of learning and development. Students can’t learn to make critical choices when they’re enticed by a higher acceptance rate to sign up for ED. At the very least, schools should allow a student to apply ED to both a public state university and a private school so that if the financial aid package at the more expensive school is not adequate, they at least have a fallback.

If Brandeis really wanted to appear to care about the students they recruit to apply each year, they would do away with the ED application process. There are so few benefits to it that it is a problem, and only continue to be one.

Availability of student’s data cause for concern

By Jacob Edelman Editor

In a recent interview for The Brandeis Hoot I had the pleasure of conducting with John Unsworth, the Chief Information Officer (among other positions) of the university, we touched upon the topics of fair use and protection of student data. With all of the data everyone leaves in their 21st-century wake, controversies regarding the use of this data is the new normal. The number of contact points an individual may have with a data collecting application of one kind or another per day is huge.

Campus card readers collect data regarding when, where and for what we swipe. Our computers and mobile devices log what websites we visit, and the people who give us access to the Internet (Brandeis) can collect information on these websites and the downloads we make.

Furthermore, there’s data that doesn’t exist in the real time, yet reflects heavily on who we are as individuals. Lists of courses we’ve taken, grading information, disciplinary and medical reports, class attendance, meeting schedules, club enrollment, email addresses,

phone numbers, home addresses, financial records and so on and so on.

All of this data is available online, and all of this data is vulnerable under the right circumstances. As a major university, there are hundreds of thousands of cyberattacks conducted on the school’s networks monthly. Some of these attacks are no doubt aimed at accessing this sensitive information.

The university needs to continue making the necessary investments in protecting this data from thieves who wish to take it.

Another point of consideration in data protection, however, is how the university should protect our data from themselves, and when it is appropriate to harness it for the betterment of our education. With such vast amounts of data available to the various administrators, faculty, staff and students here at Brandeis, there is great possibility for use and misuse of it alike.

Privacy concerns of course always pervade when talking about data use. Should university staff be reading our emails and Internet histories? No, and they don’t read our emails and Internet histories either. It needs to be stated, though, that some would raise

it as a suggestion. They would employ the phrase: “If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about.” This is a misguided belief. Privacy is not something that can be so utterly and completely surrendered just because one believes that they have nothing to hide. Being able to live one’s life without having someone arbitrarily looking over one’s shoulder is more than a desire of others giving one the benefit of the doubt—it’s an issue of lending respect to human nature and human decency.

But some privacy needs to be given up in our society for con-

venience and safety. The safety aspect is an issue that’s battled out every day in the Capitol and in the courts. Convenience, however, is applicable every day in our lives. Anyone who’s connected to a computer has experienced being asked to sign in to an app with a Facebook account, or to enter an email address for a coupon. How can the university integrate its digital services and its metadata effectively to bring us better services without disrespecting our privacy rights? It’s a conversation that needs to be had.

The power of 21st-century data collection and digital utili-

ty integration can be immensely valuable if used properly. If our data were used well, the improvement to digital services could be valuable. We as students could research smarter, utilize services more effectively and find ourselves more prepared to handle an integrated world coming from what is still a university lodged somewhat in the past.

The use of our data is a long overdue conversation that needs to be had, and I urge LTS, the administration and all interested students to start a dialogue around the issue.

photo from internet source

October 30, 2015

OPINIONS 13

The Brandeis Hoot

Halloween costumes can be horrifyingly ignorant

By Nicole Porter Staff

Halloween, in my opinion, is one of the best holidays. As a child you get to dress up as a princess or a superhero and go door to door, getting a pillowcase-full of candy to sneakily eat later once your parents are asleep. As a teenager and a young adult, Halloween is a time to be with your friends and have fun. You may dress up in a costume that is funny or creative, makes you look sexy or makes you look scary, all in good fun. However, the scariest part of Halloween isn’t the ghosts or vampires—it is the frightening ignorance of some people and their costumes.

But Halloween costumes are all in good fun, aren’t they? Most Halloween costumes are great; dressing up as a vampire or Elsa from “Frozen” doesn’t really offend anyone (unless you spend the entire night singing “Let It Go”). However, there are costumes that cross the line between harmless and chauvinistic. The moment you make a costume out of someone’s identity or culture, you begin to insult them. Most people do not want their identity reduced to a disguise that you can wear once a year to party. Going out as a “Sexy Indian” is extremely offensive to Native American cultures. Not only are you sexualizing women, but you are also oppressing Native Americans by per-

petuating the inaccurate stereotypes of their culture.

Native Americans are constantly shown in the media as people wearing animal skins and dancing around a fire. Even the famous children’s movie Peter Pan, the subject of this year’s 24Hour Musical, is very racist toward Native Americans. The movie has a song called “What Makes the Red Man Red?” and the musical includes a song called “Ugg-a-Wugg” which is just gibberish that is supposed to mimic a native language. The inclusion of this song in the 24-Hour Musical was a topic of controversy in The Brandeis Hoot last month because of its racist background and portrayal of Native Americans. What entertainment media doesn’t include is the rich history and culture of the different tribes and their continuation today. “Harmless” representations such as those in the 24-Hour Musical contribute to ignorance and racism in society.

Ignorant costumes affect almost every culture. From the over-sexualization of the Japanese Geishas, who are traditionally modestly dressed hostesses, to the mockery of Hispanic cultures with donkey costumes and sombreros labeled “Mexican Man,” no one wants their culture reduced to a disrespectful stereotype that is paraded around all night.

Halloween costumes do not stop

at disrespecting people’s cultures and promoting racial stereotypes. They can also be ableist, making fun of mental illness. Costumes have made light of mental illness many times before from “scary” schizophrenics to straitjackets. Recently there was outrage against a Halloween costume sold under the name “Anna Rexia,” which is a tight black dress with a skeleton on it and a measuring tape around the waist. Not only is this cos-

tume distasteful, but it is also glamorizing and trivializing anorexia, the mental illness with the highest death rate. Anorexia and schizophrenia are not things you should be able to dress up as for a night and laugh about.

So next time you are on the web looking at costumes and come across the “Western Senorita” or “Asian Princess” costume, remember those are not just costumes—they are stereotypes of cultures. What we do, say

and wear have a larger effect than we think. And if we support these types of costumes by buying them we are just adding to the problems of racism and ignorance in our society. Instead, we should work to change these stereotypes and educate people on what is too far when it comes to costumes.

Pointing out these racist actions and ignorance will help to better our society and improve the world for all people.

ohio university’s we’re a culutre, not a costume campaign

The expectations of putting on the gloves

By Monique J Menezes Staff

Expectations carry many forms and reflect themselves in almost every aspect of our existence. We often associate people with our expectations: how they disappoint or surprise us.

Nevertheless, they are only small parts of the environment that we find ourselves in. What actually happened on move-in day or during something similar were probably nothing like or at least very different than what we pictured in our heads. Expectations very rarely align with reality, even if we choose it for ourselves.

These four years are used to buffer our entrance into the real world, to act as a transition or preparation period. However, temporary or not, we have to live with the decision we made to be here. Presumably, academics played a substantial role in our choice of which university to attend. We learn and develop skills that make us attractive to the arena of profession-

alism. The classroom is not the only environment where we accomplish this. On-campus jobs or extracurricular activities are also critical parts of active Brandeisians’ lives. Apart from preparing for the unknown events that loom ahead of each of us, we also take up certain routines that come with living on our own. Some struggle with the semi-regular task of laundry and others take up yoga to keep a balance. Whether it’s the big question about the future or the everyday of “What’s for dinner?” we expect things to go a certain way in the place we have deemed home.

What about the other places we have decided to spend our precious time? For me, I think of an off-campus boxing gym and an on-campus wet lab. I think of putting on gloves: the quiet crunch of velcro or the snap of latex. The smell of sweat and antiseptic sterility describe environments that I associate with precision. I can remember my first time in each space

with clarity.

Each environment, at first, demanded different things, such as “uniforms.” Boxing was workout clothes, maybe spandex and sneakers.

The wet lab was close-toed shoes and a lab coat. Beginners lacking prior knowledge are welcome to both of these worlds as experienced instructors are always available to teach. One taught me protocols and scientific background associated with immune responses while the other introduced eight different ways to punch. Working out or handling bodily fluids, these environments each came with their own set of expectations, what one should wear and what one should know.

Despite their apparent differences, I cannot help but see the worlds of fitness and science through one lens, where the goal of each is to gain competency in the intended action.

Sure, one is slowly releasing a plunger in order to pipette properly, while

the other is shifting weight in your hips effectively. Nevertheless, it is an expectation of your instructors and yourself to develop a skill you may not have previously had. In both of these activities, the first thing I learned about was safety. I wrap my hands to protect my knuckles and wrists. I put on headgear and a mouthpiece to prevent injury. I put on goggles to protect my eyes from sprays of chemicals and other fluids. Most importantly, I wear gloves in both, to protect myself and others. In boxing, it is about the brute force we are emitting to the heavy bag or a sparring partner, while in the lab, it is about not contaminating samples or exposing ourselves to sample contents. Boxing and lab work seem so different, but even the simple expectations of safety or gaining experience seem to be undeniable commonalities.

Sometimes, I put on medium-sized latex gloves, and other times, I put on fourteen ounce boxing gloves. There

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are chillier times in the future, where I am sure I will be putting on winter gloves, because I made the choice to go to school in New England. Our chosen environments are accompanied with a set of expectations. Our instructors ultimately want us to learn. Nevertheless, whether from our minds or our bodies, the expectations we have for ourselves are the ones that will ultimately become consistent patterns in our lives. As a college student, I wanted to develop skills and learn techniques from those who knew more than me in order to prepare myself for the future and keep myself balanced in the stressful sphere of college. As a first-year, I did not know how I would make those expectations into reality. Three years later, no matter what gloves I am putting on, I have found myself in environments where there are certain expectations of me, but also where I can fulfill these expectations and accomplish my goals.

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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.

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14 The Brandeis Hoot

FEATURES

October 30, 2015

John Unsworth balances library of the past, LTS future

By Jacob Edelman Editor

Librarians have long been the stewards of human knowledge. Their trade dates all the way back to eighth-century Assyria. Throughout history, the roles and duties involved in keeping this knowledge have evolved. Librarians have acted as teachers, historians, researchers, archivists and living databases. More recently, they have acted as agents of the vast expanse of digital data proliferating both on and off the web: managing, categorizing and optimizing computer records.

At Brandeis, librarians and other information-keepers fall under the purview of University Librarian, Chief Information Officer and Vice Provost for Library and Technology Services John Unsworth. In these capacities, Unsworth is the lead for campus-level information technology, the lead for library information and resources, and maintains a close relationship with the university provost. Unsworth also participates on a number of advisement teams and committees relative to the university, the president and other senior management.

Born and raised in Northampton, Massachusetts, Unsworth graduated from Amherst College before receiving his Ph.D. in English from the University of Virginia. After serving for four years in his first faculty position at North Carolina State’s English department, he returned to UVA for 10 years to serve as the director of the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, receiving tenure in 1996. After his time at UVA, Unsworth moved on to serve as the dean of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois for nine years before arriving at Brandeis in 2012.

One of the things that had attracted Unsworth to Brandeis was the merged nature of the library and in-

formation technology departments.

The two had been combined into Library and Technology Services, otherwise referred to as LTS, making the previously separate divisions into a single budget item. “The intersection of those two things means that it’s easier in a lot of ways for the library to collaborate with IT,” said Unsworth.

Under this large umbrella is archives and special collections, library collections, research and instructional services, academic services and technological user support, networks and systems support and information security.

LTS runs huge aspects of the university behind-the-scenes that many may not even realize, such as human resources, finances and student informational services. LTS also runs academic infrastructure such as LATTE, the library’s catalog system, backend systems for managing and procuring information resources and managing student data—some of which is still kept in paper records.

LTS is also responsible for the university’s cybersecurity. According to Unsworth, there are hundreds of thousands of cyberattacks on Brandeis’ network per month, and this rate of attacks is a common challenge in university environments. He explains that hackers target universities to be able to launch DOS (denial of service) attacks on third parties, and increasingly hackers (who might be state actors) are looking to steal intellectual data arising from university research.

Another important aspect of LTS is managing archives and special collections. Special collections are, by definition, the kinds of things that can be found in them are consistently unique to the world, such as Shakespeare’s folios, Joseph Heller’s “Catch-22” drafts and storyboards, and Lenny Bruce papers.

When asked about the greatest challenges facing LTS, Unsworth responded that the challenge of de-

ferred maintenance is huge. The main portion of the library was constructed in 1958, and Farber was constructed in 1980—57 and 35 years ago, respectively. “We’ve been chipping away at that, but we need to chip away at it faster to make sure it stays away,” Unsworth said of the damages. “The roof probably needed to be replaced ten years ago … and in every rain or snow melt, it leaks in the archives and special collections, and that’s been a difficult problem to address.”

LTS also faces budgetary dilemmas.

Unsworth noted that the library has the same budget for acquisition in unadjusted dollars now as it did in 1989—that is, unadjusted for inflation, it’s the same amount of money. “During that period of 25 years, library materials have increased in cost of up to seven percent per year, so buying power is effectively half of what it was 25 years ago,” he commented. “The answer isn’t just to pour more money into that, because that much money isn’t just floating around. We also have to put a lot of time and effort into developing and participating in consortia to help expand our effective collections.”

“Every aspect of the job is interesting,” Unsworth went on, explaining how throughout the day he was to, among other things, meet with a group of library and IT specialists regarding projects pertaining to delivery of faculty and student information, followed by a meeting with a social science researcher looking to discuss reengineering a database, followed by this very interview. After the interview, Unsworth was headed to meet with a biology professor to talk about a research problem and meet with students regarding the annual “library party,” which will be ticketed this year.

Thinking about projects he intends to work on, Unsworth spoke about wanting to start a campus conversation regarding information privacy, saying, “This is a huge issue that stu-

dents should be more aware of and more concerned about than they are.

Faculty, too.” He recognizes that one of the unique things that LTS has is the data regarding what people do with LTS resources.

This data goes beyond library books to network traffic, information logs and other digital fingerprints.

“We don’t use those records, we don’t surveil, but I don’t think people are even aware of what kind of footprint they leave when using anyone’s network,” Unsworth commented. “We can’t not keep those records, but we don’t keep them any longer than we need to. I think it would be great to have a broader conversation about what privacy means in a network world, what you can do to maintain privacy, and what kind of tradeoffs you are asked to make in exchange for convenience.”

“What can we do with that information that’s constructive?” Unsworth asked. “If we could put together that information with your permission, perhaps we’d be better at predicting the needs you might have in the future.”

When asked about the most valuable aspect of libraries, however, Unsworth doesn’t speak of special

collections or digital data troves. He spoke instead of the most ancient aspect of collecting and maintaining

photo from internet source

the human knowledge base: librarians themselves. This year, he launched an initiative of having librarians wear orange lanyards so that library visitors could recognize them. These librarians are resources to go to and ask for help in almost any study area.

“We’d love to answer more questions and be perceived of as a resource by students,” extolled Unsworth. “The librarians have lots of expertise in discovering and using information resources, they teach in various ways …

I think once students have spent some time sitting with a librarian who has expertise in their area, they’ll realize that it is quite useful.”

Flagel offers critiques, insights on campus culture and community

By Katarina Weessies Staff

Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel joined the administration at Brandeis University in 2011, and relative to other administrators, he is consistently visible to the student body. Recently in an interview, he discussed his history, some of the idiosyncrasies of Brandeis culture and possible campus reforms.

Flagel graduated with a Ph.D. in education from Michigan State University, a school known for its school spirit. Flagel also served as the vice president for enrollment development and dean of admissions at George Mason University. Additionally, Flagel served as the director of admissions at the University of Michigan, Flint, director of enrollment management at the Congressional Youth Leadership Council and as a regional admissions director at George Washington University.

When asked how Brandeis differs from other schools, Flagel said that “Brandeis has a fascinating culture.”

He believes that Brandeis is a uniquely “mission-driven institution,” and describes its mission as a “common theme of making a difference in the world” that is “powerful to be a part

of.” However, Flagel noted that the Brandeis student body has a lack of school spirit and hyperpluralism.

Flagel understands that there is a unique form of school spirit that does manifest itself in the student body, stating that “one of the challenges for me is figuring out how we can express that pride, that connection, that mutual support and demonstrate that in ways that are positive and spirited, without crossing into arrogance.” He wants “the spirit of 24-Hour Musical or the ‘This Is Our House’ event at Orientation to happen in more places and in more ways,” he said, including at sports games.

Another aspect of Brandeis that Flagel discussed is the high volume of clubs and programs at Brandeis. The school is known for its number of a cappella groups, performance groups and special interest clubs. Most students participate in a multitude of programs, meetings and events. Flagel hopes to “ease the stress level” of Brandeis students by asking “how many clubs, shows and events should we be doing at one time, and is there a point where that starts running counter to student interest?”

According to Flagel, Brandeis’ programs have begun to drift from constructive pluralism into ineffi-

photos from internet source

cient hyperpluralism. He thinks that decreasing the amount of events on campus could “raise programming to an ‘A’ level,” arguing that “you want to be experimenting, and things don’t always have to be at an ‘A’ level, but when you’re doing the same thing year after year and they’re not, that’s where there’s a disconnect.” Flagel suggests that the quantity over qual-

ity approach to Brandeis clubs and events could be failing, saying that “we have not pushed ourselves to see if there are better collaborative models.”

He also noted the pluralism in the school newspapers, asking “What is the function of two student newspapers? Should there be more interaction?”

Every administrator brings a unique vision of what the campus and the culture should be, and Flagel offers a number of critiques and of Brandeis culture. He also sees changes that are available to be made that he believes could create a university even more worthy of the mission of social justice with which the school is endowed.

SPORTS

October 30, 2015

By Curtis Zunyu He

The Brandeis Hoot 15

A fresh start for the swimmers

Staff

The Brandeis swimming and diving team opened the new season with a meet at Wheaton College on Saturday, Oct. 17. The men’s team fell short with a 107.5 to 177.5 decision while the women’s team rallied only 84 points against the Lyons’ 206. However, sophomore Zach Diamond ’18 and first-year Kylie Herman ’19 both topped their squad with three and two personal victories in the competition.

The exciting meet began with the 200-yard medley relay in which the Judges earned two points for both team. Despite the slow start, Diamond and Joanna Murphy ’17 both dominated in the long distance events. Diamond finished the 1,000-yard freestyle with a 35-second lead, and Murphy came out on top after a chase from four Lyons’ swimmers, finishing with 18 seconds to spare. Herman joined their squad with a six-second advantage in the women’s 200-yard freestyle event.

However, the Lyons seemed to get their rhythm back as they showcased impressive speed and strength in rest of the events, only sparing two victories for the Judges. Diamond again stepped up for the team with two more individual victories at 200-yard butterfly and 500-yard freestyle. Herman ended her first college meet with one more win in the 500-yard freestyle with a four-second lead.

In spite of three titles, Diamond wasn’t satisfied with the perfor-

mance. “I feel that I could have pulled off a better performance … my times should have been faster for this time of year than that of last year.” Diamond also has high expectations for the Judges in this new season: “This year especially we are going to work on speed and endurance a lot more than in years past … Our team is ever more so driven to succeed this year, especially with our new assistant coach on deck with us.”

In regard to the loss, Diamond

isn’t too worried about the team’s performances. “It’s also very early in the season, so our times probably won’t match those come February. Additionally, Wheaton’s men’s swim team is nearly double the size of our team, which is another factor that contributed to our loss.” The Lyons indeed had more chances to win in multiple events, but the huge victories in long-distance freestyle events have firmly proven the Judges to be competitors this season. Nev-

ertheless, the Judges weren’t able to achieve the titles in backstroke and relay events. “We have a very strong recruiting class on tap for next year, and we hopefully will get faster swimmers throughout this year’s recruitment process,” Diamond said.

The team traveled to the University of Rochester the following weekend for an invitational meet.

Both teams will race next on Sunday, Nov. 8 at Worcester Polytechnical Institute at 1 p.m.

photos from internet source

photo from internet source

photo from internet source

A fast and furious face-off on Tuesday night

By Curtis He Zunyu Staff

After a ten day rest period, the men’s soccer team rolled over Lasell College with a 1-0 win on Tuesday night. The Judges are now ranked No.7 in Division III on D3Soccer.com and No.12 in the NCSAA with a record of 132-1. Lasell College fell to a 3-12 record after Tuesday night.

Both teams started off strong on the field in an aggressive battle. Mid-field became the battleground as both teams battled for possession of the ball. However, the faster transition and wing penetration from the Judges gained them more opportunities as the team took 9 shots compared to only one from Lasell. The solid defense from guard Conor

Lanahan ‘16 came into play, as the defense seemed to create a wall which effectively prevented Lasell’s offense. However, the offense couldn’t get it done for the Judges as the first half ended with a 0-0 stalemate. The lack of offense partially came from the coach’s decision to hold back the Judges’ full strength for the first 45 minutes as some of the starting lineup didn’t see the field. “I definitely think Coven was giving the starters more rest than normal.

Jake Picard, myself and Christian Hernandez who have started every game at center mid leading up to this point did not play,” said Josh Ocel ’17, the Midfielder who was named UAA Athlete of the Week earlier this month.

However, desperate to claim this victory, Coach Coven put

some of his starters back in the game. The ruthless physical pressure gained the Judges full control over the field and the stage was compressed onto Lasell’s half of the field. Forward Zach Vieira ’17 furiously outsped everybody in a counterattack and bumped his way through multiple defenders from time to time. His effort almost paid off at 53 minutes with a shot that barely missed the mark and hit the bar. “Every game this season we have been very physical. I think it is one our teams strengths and the main reason we have had such a successful year.

We are a very defensively minded team and with that comes physicality”, commented Ocel ’17. The mid-field brain also made a huge impact with his handling and passing skills which boosted the

team’s ball transition to another level. Ocel ’17 also took over the job of free kicks and corner kicks.

The fierce play finally paid off for the Judges at 73 minutes as forward Chris Bradley ’16 surprised the opposing goalkeeper with an explosive shot to the goal. It is his third goal of the season which makes him tied with Jake Picard ’16 for most goals. Despite valiant efforts, Lasell failed to gain back the control of the ball under the defensive pressure from the Judges.

Despite the victory, Ocel wasn’t totally satisfied with the win. “The team was disappointed with our performance and we look to play and score more goals going forward,” he said. In fact, 12 of the Judge’s games this season have resulted in only 1 goal from the Brandeis offense. “We create great

opportunities but we have to be more clinical in the final third.

We have made every game, no matter who we face, a battle and it is time to start making it easy on ourselves and start scoring some goals”, said Ocel.

On Friday, the team will be facing Emory University in Atlanta and then they will continue to Rochester University to battle the Yellow Jackets on Sunday. The Judges have yet to defeat Emory on their turf, but Ocel believes the team is up to the challenge, “I expect to change history this weekend. I expect our team to beat Emory for the first time in Atlanta. I really hope our team can win both games and put ourselves in a great position heading into our game against NYU to win the UAA for the first time ever”.

Women’s volleyball goes 1-2 in two tourney

By Sarah Jousset Editor

This past weekend the women’s volleyball team played in the Hall of Fame Invitational at Amherst College. The Judges played three games, going 1-2. Friday the

Judges snatched a victory from Wesleyan, but dropped games to both Amherst and Trinity.

Friday’s game was a heated match between the Judges and Wesleyan, going five sets (25-17, 25-21, 15-25, 23-25, 15-12). The Judges started off strong, gaining a 16-9 lead over the Wesleyan

photo from internet source

photo from internet source

Cardinals and maintained that lead throughout the set. The Judges kept this momentum through the second set with a combined 7 kills from Maddie Engeler ’16 and Shea Decker-Jacoby ’19 and one kill from Jessica Kaufman ’18 which closed out the set to make it 25-21.

Wesleyan pulled ahead of Brandeis in the third match and secured the set. However, the Judges were determined to not let their victory slip away, and played neck and neck with the Cardinals the entire fourth set before losing 25-23.

With the fifth set being the ultimate decision of the game, the Judges knew they couldn’t lose again. The Cardinals carried their momentum from their previous two wins into the set, gaining an early 6-3 lead. However, the Judges rallied back with a 5-1 run to make the score 8-7. Engeler led the charge for the Judges in the final set with 15 kills in the game overall. Brandeis setter Marlee Nork ’19 secured the victory for the Judges with an ace to win the set 15-12.

On Day two of the Invitational the Judges dropped both games, one to Amherst and the other to Trinity College.

Amherst won the game in 3 sets, 25-16, 25-20, 25-13. The Judges started out the game with the momentum and a 3-0 lead, but Amherst went on an 11-4 run to make the score 11-7 in their favor. The two teams battled until Kaufman’s kill cut the deficit to 14-15. However, Kaufman’s kill wasn’t enough to fire up the team, and Amherst took the next 10 of 12 points to secure the win for the set.

The second set was a close match for a 25-20 victory over the Judges for Amherst. In the third set the Judges tried to rally back but lost the first five points of the set. From here on out Amherst lead the Judges before securing the game win with a 25-13 set win.

However, the loss wasn’t all bad for the Judges as their Libero Yvette Cho ’19 accumulated 23 digs in the game for a fantastic defensive effort. The Judges’ setter Nork had 20 assists and 4 digs for the game. To round out the first year presence for the Judges was Decker-Jacoby leading the Judges offense with 7 kills in the game.

The third and final game for the Judges brought about a loss for the Judges as well. The Judges fell to Trinity College in a four set

game, 3-1.

The Judges opened the game with an early lead of 7-3, which lead to an easy victory for the Judges in the first set by a score of 25-17.

The second set didn’t start off with the same energy as the first for the Judges and Brandeis fell into a quick 9-2 deficit. The Judges battled back toward the end of the second set coming within one at 19-20, but could secure the victory, losing 19-25.

The third set looked like the tide changer for the Judges, as they started the set with a 9-5 lead, led

by Summer Koop ’16 and Zara Platt ’19 locked down a combined 6 kills in the short period of time.

The Judges continued fighting, gaining a 24-22 lead. However, they couldn’t finish the job as two kills from Trinity College sealed the deal and gave the 26-24 win to Trinity.

The Judges fought back again in the fourth set, going point for point with Trinity until at 15 all, Trinity went on a 10-3 run for the set victory of 25-18 and the game as well.

The Brandeis Women’s volleyball team play at home this Saturday against Vassar at 2 p.m. and Babson at 4 p.m.

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The Brandeis Hoot

October 30, 2015