The Brandeis Hoot 08/19/2016

Volume 13 Issue 13

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

Brandeis University’s Community Newspaper • Waltham, Mass.

August 19, 2016

Orientation 2016 kicks off

By Samantha Lauring staff

This year’s Orientation committee has been working to create a more in-depth Diversity Walkthrough, an event that discusses diversity through performances. This year, the program will be composed of five rooms with different themes: allyship and advocacy, gender and sexuality, socioeconomic class, race and racial identity, intersectionality and mental health and disability.

The theme of this year’s Orientation is “Remember Yesterday, Explore Today, Brighten Tomorrow,” which encourages students “to remember their experiences, remember history and, when it comes to school, remember the values it was founded on and

what has happened in the history of the institution,” Orientation CORE Committee Coordinator Maggie Ziegel ’18 said.

“Explore today means look around. Choose to be curious.

Don’t accept things just as they are. Find ways to hold you school accountable, find ways to celebrate your school, find every opportunity you can so that you can have a brighter tomorrow,” Ziegel continued.

One of the new Orientation events is a program about social justice. The event will feature and celebrate faculty, alumni and others connected to Brandeis who are doing remarkable work with the concept of social justice. This will hopefully inspire students “to see their potential in contributing to a brighter future,” Ziegel said.

See ORIENTATION, page 2

Summer construction projects increase campus accessibility

By Emily Sorkin Smith editor

Brandeis is scheduled to complete renovations to East Quad and Sherman Dining Hall by the start of the fall semester, with updates to the Pomerantz residence hall completed in time for occupancy. The university added a lift in Sherman to make the space more accessible for the students, faculty and staff who use it, and replaced about 160 windows in East Quad, according to facili-

ties administrator Robert Avalle.

In total, the renovations cost the university around $7 million.

Upgrades completed over the summer focused on accessibility and inclusivity on campus. In addition to the new lift in Sherman, the university added a temporary ramp at the entrance of Shiffman to make the building more easily accessible. They are developing plans to add a permanent ramp.

Construction on the library’s first gender-neutral bathroom was also completed over the summer,

and plans for more gender-neutral bathrooms are being drawn up. Before the Fall 2015 semester began, first-year residences got new gender-neutral bathrooms, along with the option for gender-neutral housing, previously only available to older students.

In addition to placing new windows in Pomerantz, construction crews are upgrading the roof in Hassenfeld to add in new drains.

They will be replacing the roof See CONSTRUCTION, page 2

photo by zach phil schwartz/the hoot

The Art Scene in Page 3 Boston News: Rooftop farm stays active Page 12 Prices, location and more Opinion: SU Pres.: Welcome to ’Deis Arts: How to fulfill your Fine Arts requirement Page 8 included Page 4 Features: Meet your 2016 Student Union ARTS: Page 10 Page 7 Editorial: Orientation sparks dialogue Inside this issue:

photo from facebook.com

orientation 2016

Brandeis welcomes new ICC director

By Abigail Gardener editor

Madeleine Lopez will start work as the Director of Brandeis’ Intercultural Center (ICC) this school year. Lopez has extensive experience in both high school and higher education, as well as in advising undergraduate students.

Before coming to Brandeis, Lopez served as the founding director of the Cultural Awareness Center at Hamilton College. Prior to that, she has lectured at the college level in multiple subjects, among them Latino and Latina History, History of Multicultural Education and History of Bilingual Education.

She has taught at the high school level and provided professional development for high school teachers in urban settings. “As an educator, I strive to provide a holistic learning experience for students. I teach and advise students while also working with them on programming and social justice issues,” Lopez said.

Building Hamilton College’s Cultural Education Center made Lopez a prime candidate to take over Brandeis’ own Intercultural Center. The Cultural Education Center, now known as the Days-Massolo Center, also includes Hamilton College’s Womyn’s Center and their LGBTQ Resource Center. Their main goal is to serve as a resource for exploring diversity and to host events and activities that “create sustained dialogue across difference and promotes mutual understanding, appreciation and

Cross Country Looking toward dual championship

SPORTS: Page 6

inclusion,” as their website states.

Lopez hopes that the same can be done at Brandeis. She said, “This year will serve as a time to reinvigorate the ICC’s mission and space as a ‘brave place’ where conversations of contemporary and historical forms of inequality, racism and violence are discussed.”

The ICC is an umbrella organization that consists of 16 student groups whose goal is to “create a haven of respect, education and celebration that aims to foster growth and and awareness of the myriad cultures of Brandeis University,” as stated on their website.

They provide programs that aim to celebrate diversity and give students opportunities to discuss and collaborate with each other.

The ICC is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, which Lopez describes as a significant milestone for the center. “The historical roots of the intercultural movement emphasized the commonalities across different cultural groups … Equal importance was placed on learning of shared histories of marginalization and exclusion,” she said.

Lopez sees the anniversary as a great opportunity for Brandeisians to “celebrate and learn about our different cultures and experiences.”

Lopez is excited for a year ahead of learning and cultural celebration. She said, “The Brandeis community is fortunate to have a facility and staff dedicated to cultural enrichment and social justice. We welcome the entire campus community to not only celebrate but also learn.”

NEWS

2 The Brandeis Hoot

Outdoor seating at the Stein still to be completed CONSTRUCTION, from page 1

in Hassenfeld starting May 2017, when students have moved out of the building for the summer, Avalle explained.

Construction on an outdoor eating space for the Stein, which began last academic year, has yet to be completed. Though the indoor space will be open when the

semester begins, Avalle has no expected completion date for the outdoor space.

Other construction completed over the summer includes upgrades to the Theater Lot (T-Lot) and the Shapiro Academic Complex lot, adding 25 more parking spaces, and upgraded fire alarm systems in multiple academic and administrative buildings.

August 19, 2016

BRIEF: Uretsky appointed Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration

By Emily Sorkin Smith editor

Stewart Uretsky, former vice president of the Brookings Institution, has been appointed Executive Vice President (EVP) for Finance and Administration at Brandeis University. Uretsky will be taking over from Steven Manos, former chief operating officer and senior vice president.

Uretsky’s appointment was announced August 12 in an email from University President Ron Liebowitz. The EVP reports directly to Liebowitz as part of the Senior Management Team.

“Stewart will help ensure that

our financial, capital, infrastructure and human resources are managed wisely and strongly aligned with the academic mission of the university,” Liebowitz explained in an interview with The Brandeis Hoot.

Liebowitz, while president of Middlebury College, completed a $500 million capital campaign and carried out several other fundraising campaigns.

He is expected to focus on fundraising while at Brandeis. He explained that as EVP, Uretsky will be responsible for many of the financial and administrative components that help “Brandeis University support and accomplish its mission.”

After graduating from New York University with a bachelor’s degree in economics and management, Uretsky earned a master’s degree in international economics and international relations from Johns Hopkins University.

His career took him from Goldman Sachs, where he was the founding deputy manager of their Caribbean office, to Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, where he served as chief administrative and financial officer.

Uretsky is treasurer of the board at WorldTeach, an organization that offers volunteer teaching opportunities in multiple countries.

photo by zach phil schwartz/the hoot

Orientation features new programs on diversity at Brandeis ORIENTATION, from page 1

Additional programming includes a Brandeis history event, where students can see the “history of activism and social justice” at Brandeis and how it is related to “where the school has been, is and where it is going,” Ziegel explained.

The nighttime social event format has changed dramatically. “Instead of having two every night, there is one bigger, better and longer party during the evenings that caters both to high-energy students and students who are looking for something a little more low-key,” Ziegel said.

Rachel Groth ’19 applied to be an Orientation Leader (OL) because she wants “to help new students with the huge transition process that comes with moving away to college. I feel that I experienced my fair share of academic, social and personal challenges in my first year of college, and I would love to be a resource to help first-years overcome their own challenges,” Groth said.

Benji Kemper ’19 enjoyed his own Orientation and decided to

be an OL so he can bring his enthusiasm and energy to campus.

“I also want to make activities

student leader training

Hoot) and Deena Fisch ’18. Director of Orientation Jenny Abdou and Assistant Director of

OLs and CAs created newspaper outfits at a traning event.

that make it easy to make friends outside of their OL groups,” Kemper said.

The Orientation CORE Committee consists of Ziegel, Philip Cooper ’18, Charlotte Aaron ’18 (Features Editor at The Brandeis

First-Year Programs and Orientation Scott Berozi worked with the four students throughout the year. Together, the committee plans the Orientation theme and the events focused around that theme.

“The process is definitely a unique one. The opportunity to completely create something from

photo from instagram.com

start to finish over 10 months has been amazing. We are all looking forward to seeing our events in action, as we have been imagining and envisioning them for months now. I think the most rewarding part will be seeing the students at

the events having fun! I cannot wait to watch people enjoy what we have created,” Ziegel said.

Ziegel hopes that coming out of Orientation, new students will understand and recognize their “confidence in their importance and worth,” at Brandeis. She also said that the Orientation Committee wants students “to come away from orientation feeling as though they are ready to engage with Brandeis in whatever way that means to them.”

“I really hope to help my orientation group get everything they can out of orientation and help them build a path to a successful first year,” Groth added.

She hopes to be able to share her own first-year experience with new students and help them with any challenges they might experience.

“Overall we are trying to instill with the new students that they are part of the Brandeis fabric. Each person coming to this school next year is invaluable, their voice is important, and they should fully participate in celebrating Brandeis, as well as making sure to always be curious, ask the question and fight for change,” Ziegel said.

BRIEF: Univ. to reexamine general edcuation requirements

By Hannah Schuster editor

Brandeis is reexamining its general education requirements this year, and this summer students provided their feedback regarding the benefits and drawbacks of each requirement through a survey sponsored by the Taskforce on General Education.

The survey asked students to comment on which requirements they found useful and which they found easy or difficulty to complete. Looking towards possible change, students were also asked which requirements they would maintain, change or discard and then how or why.

Brandeis has 11 general education requirements. There are two writing-based requirements: the University Writing Seminar for first-years and the Writing Intensive course requirement, as well as the Foreign Language,

Oral Communication, Quantitative Reasoning and Non-Western and Comparative Studies requirements and the school distribution requirements in science, humanities, social science and creative arts.

Students can, however, use AP or IB credits to satisfy requirements. They can also pass a fitness test to satisfy one or both semesters of the PE requirements.

Varsity athletes are automatically exempt.

Susan Birren, who is the Dean of Arts and Sciences and chair of the task force, said she has responses from student, faculty, staff and alumni surveys, and the task force “will be using the survey results to understand perspectives of different groups about the success and importance of our current requirements to gather thoughts about new directions.”

After formulating recommendations this year, the task force will submit them to the Under-

graduate Curriculum Committee and then to vote of the full faculty, said Birren. The UCC is likewise composed of students, faculty and staff.

Provost Lisa Lynch discussed the Task Force on General Education after Ford Hall 2015, in the university’s statement on diversity and inclusion. She said the task force would have “a mandate to consider how to incorporate issues of race, equity and inclusion in university requirements.” The statement also said there would be an open application process for students to serve on the Task Force. Chinyere Brown ’16 and Emily Conrad ’16 are the student members.

When Ford Hall activists submitted their demand list to administration, they called for Brandeis to enhance the school’s curriculum to “increase racial awareness and inclusion within ALL departments and schools.”

During the 12-day occupation of

the Bernstein-Marcus building, activists released a syllabus on Ford Hall 2015, movements on other campuses, allyship, white privilege and the importance of intersectionality. They encouraged everyone to examine the required readings and asked professors to use it in class.

Furthermore, during the election process for the new student member of the UCC, both candidates championed the inclusion of requirements in the Afro-African American Studies Department, the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies Department and/or the Environmental Studies Department.

The Taskforce has started to meet and will continue discussions throughout the coming semester. This process is happening while the university is also engaged in a “self-study” as part of its reaccreditation. Every 10 years, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC)

accredits Brandeis, and as part of that process the university completes a self-study examining aspects of the school, including its educational requirements.

Brandeis will present the selfstudy document to the NEASC when they come for a site visit in November 2017. The Task Force on General Education is separate from the NEASC self-study, but “the Taskforce’s work will contribute to information used in the NEASC process,” according to Birren.

Birren said it has been over 20 years since Brandeis’ last “full assessment” of its requirements and “in light of Lisa Lynch’s commitment to the process in her statement on ‘Reaffirming and Accelerating Brandeis’ Commitment to Diversity, Inclusion and Racial Justice’ and given our current engagement in our NEASC reaccreditation process, this is a perfect time to be starting this process.”

August 19, 2016

The Brandeis Hoot

NEWS 3

Rooftop farm has another fruitful summer

By Max Gould staff

What began as a student project over a year ago has now flourished into one of Brandeis’ most successful sustainability projects. Located on the roof of Gerstenzang, the Brandeis Rooftop Community Farm started as a project in Professor Laura Goldin’s (AMS) experiential learning course, “Greening the Ivory Tower: Improving Environmental Sustainability of Brandeis and Community.”

Funded by a $30,000 grant from the university’s sustainability fund, it has been maintained through a combined effort on the part of Brandeis’ Farmers Club, Students for Environmental Action, The Waltham Group, and the Department of Community Living’s Common Cause “Sustainability Suite.” The rooftop garden has been featured in an article for The Boston Globe, and has attracted the attention of other sustainability organizations and the Brandeis community.

The rooftop farm is made out of about 850 irrigated milk crates in which fruits and vegetables are grown and sold around campus to assist with the farm’s upkeep, or donated to local food banks.

Jay Feinstein, ’18, President of the Brandeis Farmers Club, was involved with the farm from the very start in Professor Goldin’s course.

“We decided to think big: we

decided we wanted to establish a farm on campus. It took a lot of work,” Feinstein said. He and the other students in Goldin’s course had to thoroughly plan out how the farm would be built and explain how it would benefit Brandeis before they saw any of the grant money. Before this project, Feinstein, who is now majoring in Environmental Studies, had no farming experience.

“We found a structural engineer who checked out the space pro bono. We convinced administrators that this would be a good thing for Brandeis. We talked to the leaders of successful college farms from across the country,” said Feinstein.

Nina Sayles ’17, a summer coordinator at the farm, got involved with the project when it was first being built. That summer she volunteered on the farm while it was being maintained by Green City Growers, an organization that specializes in turning unused areas into sustainable farming space.

“I have been managing and distributing farm shares to staff and students who have bought into the [Community Supported Agriculture] program,” said Sayles. In the CSA program, shareholders invest in the farm at the beginning of the season, putting down a lump sum of money to help finance its operating cost. At the end of each week, shareholders take their harvested share. Depending on the success of the sea-

son shareholders can walk away with fruit and vegetables valued more than they originally paid for in the beginning of the season.

“The list of people who want to buy a share has been much longer than we can accommodate. So far, the feedback has been mostly positive and more and more people have asked about the program,” Sayles added. There are currently about 12 people enlisted in the CSA program.

The rooftop farm has also allowed the Waltham community to gain easier access to their nutritional crops. Produce not used through the CSA program has been sold at the various farmers’ markets hosted by the Farmer’s Club and the other members of the rooftop farm in the previous year. These markets, open to students and other members of the community, raise the proceeds necessary to care for the farm.

The first farmers market of the upcoming semester will be held on August 26, on the Great Lawn.

“Strawberries were definitely the most popular crop so far this season, but I was surprised and excited to see that sugar snap peas were also very high on the list,” said Sayles, who enjoys planting less common crops to introduce them to members of CSA. “There’s a huge variety in what we grow. We even grow catnip. Last year we donated it all to the Gifford Cat Shelter in Brighton, Massachusetts,” said Feinstein.

Growing and maintaining these

crops often present challenges like keeping weeds at bay, an obstacle made even more incessant by the low summer time staffing of the farm. Sayles said that despite the growing popularity of

see the farm and start to think about food justice issues,” he stated. While the farm has helped local food banks and charities, provided fresh fruits and vegetables to the local communities, and

photo from brandeis.edu

the farm, “Sometimes it is hard to attract volunteers to help because during the summer, obviously prime growing time, campus is pretty quiet, and a lot of people still don’t know about the farm or how to get involved.”

As the rooftop farm enters its second growing season, Feinstein hopes it becomes more than a place where students and faculty go to grow crops. “I hope people

raised money to help continue and develop the project, Feinstein also wants people to focus on the larger issues.

“I hope people think about the almost 400,000 food insecure households in Massachusetts. We want local, sustainable food to be accessible to everyone. Of course our donations are part of the equation. But another huge part is education,” Feinstein said.

Brandeis to review alcohol policies after end-of-year incidents

By Ryan Spencer and Emily Sorkin Smith staff and editor

Brandeis administrators and members of the Brandeis University Alcohol Task Force are working to update alcohol policies after multiple alcohol-related hospitalizations during Springfest and Senior Week last semester.

Alcohol consumption has long been a topic of concern on college campuses, and Brandeis has many resources both to help students with substance use concerns and to address violations of university policy.

Eleven intoxicated people were transported to the hospital for further care at Springfest alone, and one was transported to the Waltham Police Station for booking, police logs report. Brandeis

Emergency Medical Corps (BEMCo) assessed other intoxicated concertgoers, many of whom did not receive further medical care.

These incidents have “placed Brandeis under a high level of very understandable scrutiny from local authorities,” administrators wrote in an email to students titled “The email you are expecting” sent just after Springfest.

According to the email, Waltham and campus police officers were expected to increase patrols for Senior Week in light of the recent problems.

On Saturday, May 21, Brandeis police requested backup from Waltham police after a “hostile crowd” of about 500 people began throwing rocks and bottles at the officers, who were on scene to treat an intoxicated party.

Alcohol-related emergencies are especially prevalent the first

few weeks of the school year, though BEMCo treats intoxicated students throughout the year.

“There is a disproportionate number of students who are inexperienced with alcohol, and they are less likely to know their limits for drinking without creating a medical emergency,” BEMCo member Rose Solomon ’15 told The Brandeis Hoot in September 2014. The new student orientation program usually includes alcohol education, acknowledging that students have varying levels of experience drinking. Solomon cited a reduced workload as one reason why students are inclined to drink more at the beginning of the semester.

Administrators reported a spike in the number of intoxicated first-years requiring assistance from BEMCo last September. The university responded to these in-

cidents by suspending party permits for a two-week period for upperclassmen residences of the Foster Mods.

The Task Force, which in the past has successfully promoted and helped institute policies such as medical amnesty, is comprised of students, faculty and staff and “meets regularly to examine campus consciousness and create educational opportunities regarding student use of alcohol and other drugs,” according to Brandeis’ website. The Task Force will meet in the fall “to continue discussions on our campus policies and practices regarding alcohol and drug abuse prevention,” said Senior Vice President for Student and Enrollment Andrew Flagel.

About 20 percent of Brandeis students identify as “non-drinkers,” according to the Health Center’s webpage. Most students

who do drink reported that they consume between zero and five drinks when they go to parties.

The Center emphasizes making healthy, individualized choices, keeping in mind factors like weight and tolerance when deciding how much is safe to drink.

Flagel has asked staff “to make recommendations for policy changes we might pilot early this fall to limit student risk and harm.” Such changes might include “reducing or removing policies that might facilitate high-volume consumption of alcohol, especially hard liquors in mixed drinks that can mask the dangerous effects of binge drinking.”

Flagel said that he hopes efforts to improve policies regarding underage and binge drinking will bring “campus policies more in line with national best practices.”

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No experience necessary! Email eic@thebrandeishoot.com for more information.

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FEATURES

August 19, 2016

Your 2016 Student Union: ready for another great academic year

By Zach Phil Schwartz editor

Brandeis University’s undergraduate Student Union, which acts to bridge the gap between the student body and administration, is constantly dealing with issues of unfamiliarity. Many students, although aware of its existence, remain unaware of the Union’s purposes and activities to achieve those purposes. Enter the 2016/17 Student Union, which will be working around the clock to represent, organize and act in this academic year.

Senators Kate Kesselman ’19 and Abhishek Kulkarni ’18, as well as Student Union President David Herbstritt ’17, explain the functions of the Union, its accomplishments in 2015/16, and its goals for this academic year in separate email exchanges with The Brandeis Hoot.

The components and functions of the Student Union branches are defined in the exchanges. The three Union members explain that, in a nutshell, the Union falls into the categories of the Executive Board, Senate, Allocations Board, Treasury and Judiciary.

According to President Herbstritt, a former Castle Quad Senator, Class of 2017 Senator, Vice President and now-current chair of the Executive Board, the E-Board “works to keep the Union running and uses its relationship with the administration and Board of Trustees to give students a voice in some of the biggest decisions at Brandeis.”

Senator Kulkarni explains the Judiciary as having “jurisdiction over conflicts regarding the constitution and over Union legislation and action.” Former Features Editor for The Brandeis Hoot Jacob Edelman ’18 and I previously detailed the current state of the Judiciary with Former Chief Justice Brian Levi Dorfman ’16 in an article to the Feb. 26, 2016 issue of The Brandeis Hoot.

Senator Kesselman briefly explains the purpose of A-Board as serving as an authority that “allocates funds to clubs.” According to Herbstritt, the A-Board and Treasury has a budget of approximately $1.7 million. For the 2015/16 Union, the functions and processes of the Allocations Board were of much conten-

photo by zach phil schwartz/the hoot

the student union office The Student Union office can be found on the third floor of the SCC.

tion. According to Herbstritt, the Treasury essentially “helps clubs spend whatever A-Board allocates to them,” by “making sure reimbursements go through and making large purchases with their university P-Card.”

Senators Kulkarni and Kesselman, as well as President Herbstritt, all believe that last year’s Union had its successes, particularly in the reorganization of the A-Board, which according to Kesselman, who is the Senatorial representative to the A-Board had previously been in a state of “disarray” and garnered severe unfavorability. She explains that “with new people in [A-Board], we were able to assign more specific duties to [board] members which helped to keep things more organized.”

Building upon the successes from last year will be among the goals for this year’s Union. Senator Kesselman explained that the A-Board “will be continuing the new structure of marathon, in which club to A-Board interaction is more conversational and where new marathon times allow for the best possible budgeting,” as was tested after the reshuffling of that Union branch. Herbstritt praised the changes made by last year’s Senate and “expects them to follow up last year with the same high-caliber work they put out last year.”

Of the other goals and activities planned for this year, many are still very much up in the air, with several seats on the Senate still up for grabs in the upcoming elections. In response to a question about new events on the table, Herbstritt says that although he “can’t confirm anything yet,” he believes that “the Brandeis community is going to like what we come up with.”

Senator Kulkarni says that he is “hoping to have a relatively large campus-wide event dedicated to just having fun and creating memories.” He also implores anyone interested in being involved with such an event to touch base with him.

A desire for greater transparency, for proper following of the constitution and for open channels of communication are also of great concern for next year’s Union.

President Herbstritt, as he outlines in his Opinion in this issue of The Brandeis Hoot, is looking forward to tackling problems the Union faces with transparency and issue dissemination. Through “partnering up with the Senate throughout the year to put our goals into action,” he hopes that the Union can ensure that it “disseminate[s] information in a way that is far-reaching and in step with how students use media.”

He further details strategies to achieve these goals in his piece, located on page 12.

Senator Kulkarni hopes that the Union builds upon last year’s efforts to find and correct unconstitutional practices by the Union.

He explains that the Union “discovered that the union constitution was not being followed in its entirety. We partially addressed this by confirming executive board members, who had previously served solely on the discretion of the president.” He believes that making sure the Union more strictly follows constitutional processes is a priority goal for this year’s Senate.

In order to further strengthen the channels of communication between the Union and the Student Body as a whole, Kesselman stresses that all members of the Student Union will be holding office hours at the Union Office in the Shapiro Campus Center (SCC) and encourages students to go and voice their concerns.

She hopes every student with a concern is able to address it with the Union and that the Union acts upon those concerns by the close of this academic year.

In addition to their views on the future of the Union and goals for next semester, the three Union members also offered advice to students new and returning, all

centering on the common theme of keeping an open mind.

Senator Kesselman advises all students, regardless of their class standing at Brandeis, to put themselves in order to “create a community” or even to “create a stronger community.” She continues: “Do not be afraid to put yourself out there and push yourself to talk to as many people as you can.”

Senator Kulkarni and President Herbstritt also advise breaking out of comfort zones in pursuit of trying new things. Herbstritt believes that “the best way to really dive in and get the Brandeis experience is definitely to go to as many different events on campus as you can and to explore everything this university has to offer.” Even if you are a returning student, the President continues, “Don’t be afraid to try something new this year—you never know what you might end up doing and loving.” Says Kulkarni, “It is always better to have too much on your plate and drop what you cannot do than to have little and regret the experiences you missed—you only have about four years to take advantage of these opportunities.”

The Student Union Office is located on the third floor of the SCC, and office hours will be available on the Union webpage when they become available.

photo from union.brandeis.edu

August 19, 2016

The Brandeis Hoot

FEATURES 5

Brandeisians split over presidential race

By Katarina Weesies staff

“Divisive” is an understatement when describing the 2016 election. This election cycle has been punctuated by episodes of violence, hatred and senseless argument. Tensions have been particularly high at America’s colleges and universities, since they are historically politically charged environments. Brandeis is a particularly political university. “Social Justice” is one of our guiding principles, and Brandeis students are involved at all levels in the political process, from interning with Senators to writing essay-length political Facebook statuses.

The divisiveness of this election combines with the political energy of Brandeisian culture to form a diverse body of unique and fast-changing opinions among Brandeis students. During the primaries, a good chunk of Brandeis students were supporters of Bernie Sanders. Bernie

Sanders’ campaign electrified the left-leaning portion of students and contributed a refreshing wave of hope in the political process for young liberals. But as Bernie’s campaign started to wane, support shifted, at least partially, to Hillary Clinton.

Now, the dominant debate amongst Brandeis students is whether to vote for Hillary Clinton or write in the name of an alternative candidate, the most popular being Jill Stein. Most of the alternative candidate voters are former Bernie supporters, disgusted with the litany of scandals associated with the 2016 election.

A few are Republicans who feel alienated by the Trump campaign.

The motivations of the alternative candidate voters are usually connected to Clinton’s deep-rooted political career and her ability to attract scandals. These voters were at their peak immediately before Bernie Sanders officially endorsed Hillary Clinton, but after his endorsement, they are losing steam. One Brandeis voter

showed this decline in write-in voters by stating, “Hillary Clinton is the only choice for President …

That being said, Hillary Clinton is not my first choice for President; Clinton does not inspire me to vote for her the same way that I was inspired to vote for President Obama (if I could have voted).”

But Brandeis does have a faction of voters torn between the #NeverHillary and #NeverTrump movements, who prefer a write-in candidate to either of the official nominees. The majority of the alternative candidate supporters at Brandeis are extremely vocal on social media. They tend to use hope-inducing language, with statements such as “millions of people can rise up and make Bernie Sanders our president.”

Many Brandeisians see voting for an alternative candidate as the equivalent of not voting.

Third party or write-in votes are often described as “throwing your vote away.” Despite the nationwide increase in Democratic support for Clinton, the passion

with which liberal Brandeis voters support Clinton varies wildly.

Many Brandeis Hillary supporters are extremely passionate about Clinton’s candidacy, but some are just passionate about avoiding a Trump presidency. Jose Castellanos ’18, a particularly vocal Brandeis voter and an advocate for immigrants’ rights, explained that he was voting for Clinton because he “doesn’t have the white privilege” to “risk throwing decades of social progress down the drain” by voting against Hillary Clinton. Another Brandeis voter, who used to be a Bernie Sanders supporter, explained that Trump’s moral principles led him to support Hillary Clinton, stating that “[Trump’s] principles are ones that let him mock the parents of a deceased veteran.”

Anti-Trump sentiment at Brandeis is nearly, but not completely, universal. Despite Brandeis’ reputation as a liberal school, a small group of Trump supporters does exist on campus. Actually, there are so few

Trump supporters at Brandeis that I couldn’t find a single one who was willing to discuss their views with me. Even comparatively right-leaning Brandeisians frequently center their political discussions on Trump’s outlandish campaigning tactics or lack of traditional values. Brandeis’ diverse, but progressive values guarantee that many students, regardless of their political leanings, are uncomfortable with Trump’s campaign.

The political opinions of Brandeis students are simultaneously diverse and unified. Every student has their own thoughts, feelings and experiences regarding this year’s election.

Hillary Clinton emerges from the jumble of opinions as the key candidate for most Brandeisians, but that does not mean that Clinton is the candidate that all Brandeis students support.

Brandeis, like any college or university, contains a diverse array of unique and intelligent opinions and positions.

International students arrive on campus

By Albert Reiss editor

Soon, our beautiful Brandeis campus will be welcoming many new students. While many students will come from the United States, nearly 20 percent will hail from outside the country. While many of these international students may bring anxieties to campus, the opportunity as Brandeis students to interact with different cultures is invaluable.

Brandeis offers many features that may not be present in foreign universities. Among the most appealing characteristics is the “freedom in the choosing and changing of majors and classes,” says Yu Song Yang ’20. We at Brandeis are somewhat famous for allowing our students to take a

diverse array of classes in addition to having distinct majors. However, many foreign universities require students to make decisions about their academic program before they have even set foot on campus. This freedom can be very helpful to students who don’t want to commit to an academic program immediately. Furthermore, being able to choose a diverse academic program can help students find what they are fully interested in, and not simply what they thought may be interesting before even arriving at Brandeis.

Additionally, Brandeis may have more resources to devote towards international students. Says Shumin Chen ’20: “Brandeis has [a] much lower faculty-student ratio so I can develop a more intimate relationship with my profes-

sors and get more attention from them.” In fact, Brandeis’ small size is often one of the reasons that students choose this university.

Unlike large public universities, Brandeis students can have a closer relationship with their professors and not feel lost in a sea of students.

These international students do come to campus with some anxieties still present. This would be understandable given that for many of them, this may be the first time ever being in the United States, let alone Brandeis University’s campus. Chen commented on the “culture shock” and the worry of potentially being “confused if I behave wrongly, or if I offend someone.” Certainly, American culture can be strange to many. However, it will be our

responsibility as Brandeis students to ensure that all students feel comfortable and at home while on campus.

Interestingly enough, many international students we spoke to mentioned the “foreignness” of Brandeis University as actually being one of its redeeming quality. Yang mentioned that coming to campus “represents a new beginning” in a new country.

Brandeis in particular will pose some interesting cultural characteristics for foreign students to encounter. Most notably is Brandeis’ Jewish identity, which may be new to international students. Chen noted that “I respect their tradition and [am] curious about Jewish culture. To me, [the] Jewish population is only [a] part of America.”

As a whole, Brandeis provides a welcoming and nurturing environment to international students. Some of the resources available to international students include the International Culture Center (ICC) as well as several clubs devoted to students from certain countries. For students from China there is BC3, for those of African descent there is African Students Organization, and students from Korea will have the Korean Student Organization.

International students wanting to connect with students from their own country should have no problem finding others who share their culture.

Brandeis University and The Brandeis Hoot both look forward to welcoming international students to campus very soon.

SPORTS

6 SPORTS

August 19, 2016

Cross country takes off running for new season

By Lily Wageman staff

The coming season is an especially exciting one for Brandeis’ cross country teams since this is the first time that both the men and women have a chance

photo from brandeisxctf.weebly.com

head coach sinead delahunty evans

to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships together. In the past both teams have made it, but they have not made it together since 1992. Head Coach Sinead Delahunty Evans and Assistant Coach Steve Flanagan are here to hopefully lead the team to victory.

In the winter of 2013, Evans was named interim head coach for the Judge’s cross country and track and field, and in the Spring of 2014, the interim tag was removed. She had spent the previous two years as a full-time assistant working with distance and middle-distance runners.

At Providence College, from which Evans graduated in 1993, she was a six-time All-American.

She competed for Ireland in four World Championships and in the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Olympics in the 1,500 meters.

In August 2015, Assistant Coach Steve Flanagan joined the Judges after two years as a graduate assistant coach at Division I Providence College, where he also earned his M.B.A in Man-

agement in May 2015. Flanagan earned his B.S in mathematics from Fairfield University in 2012.

During his undergrad years, as a sophomore he was selected as team captain and was a three-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Academic selection. In his senior year, Flanagan helped Fairfield to its best-ever finish at the ICA4 Championships.

Flanagan said in an email to The Brandeis Hoot that some of his proudest moments as a coach coincide with last year’s highlights for the team. Some of these highlights include when Emily Bryson ’19 won both the UAA Cross Country Champion by less than a second and the 5,000 meters at Outdoor UAAs and when Ryan Stender ’18 won the 300 meters at the Indoor UAA Championship.

Both athletes qualified for the Indoor NCAA Championships, which Flanagan describes as a fun and exciting meet at Washington University in St. Louis. “Stender and Mitch Hutton ran flawlessly in the 500 m and went 3-4. Plus, Kelsey Whitaker who graduated

last year was second in the 1500 m.”

Flanagan is excited for this coming season because of the chance for both the men and women to qualify together for the NCAA Cross Country Championship.

He considers key runners to watch this season to be the aforementioned Bryson and Stender, but ultimately believes the team needs a lot of depth in success which will come from great senior leadership.

On the men’s side that includes Quinton Hoey ’17, Matt Doran ’17 and Brad Payne ’17. For the women, he says that leadership will come from Maddie Dolins ’17, Kate Farrell ’17 and Ashley Piccirillo-Horan ’17.

Overall Flanagan has an optimistic view for the upcoming season and the team dynamic, stating: “Cross country is so unpredictable because the races are so long and the training is difficult … so there is opportunity for a lot to happen—good and bad.

The team atmosphere is everything a coaching staff could want:

photo from brandeisxctf.weebly.com

assistant coach steven flanagan

It’s tight-knit and loving, and the student-athletes are both diligent and hardworking. We’re confident a lot of good will come out of this year!”

The men and women’s cross country team will begin Saturday, Sept. 3 at the Roger Williams Invitational.

Women’s soccer looks forward to bright future

By Shea Decker-Jacoby staff

While everyone moves back on campus this August, the Brandeis Women’s Soccer team has been working hard on campus since Aug. 18 to get ready for the upcoming season. Coming off a hard loss against William Smith in the NCAA Tournament in the Sweet 16, the Judges have been working hard to come out even stronger this season in hopes of a national championship. The Judges ended with a 15-3-4 record and graduated eight seniors at the end of

last season, but have high hopes for this upcoming season and the incoming first years. The women are currently ranked 14th in the nation by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America in Division III. While everyone is back home working hard to get ready for the upcoming season, Michaela Freidman ’17 says that she is looking forward to being “back with my best friends and playing the sport I have grown to love since I was three.” She tells us that she hopes “that we can make it further in the NCAA tournament than ever before. The year before we came in as [first years]

the team made it to the Elite Eight, I think we all would sacrifice almost anything to make it to the Final Four. Every year we are getting one step closer to our dream: winning a national championship.”

Last spring, the previous Assistant Coach Kerry Baldwin announced she will not be returning to Brandeis in the fall. Head Coach Denise Dallamora says that while there will be changes in the team’s program with a new assistant coach and incoming first years, the team will only improve and grow as a whole.

Her greatest accomplishment as

a coach at Brandeis is “the ability to work with some very amazing young women,” which will continue this upcoming season. Since the program has “a great group of players, the dynamic will only improve or stay the same.” Maddie Marx ’19 tells us that she is most looking forward to “playing on a team with undeniable potential.

Making it to the Sweet Sixteen last season felt great, but I think that the last loss housed a determination within us all to make it even further this season.” Marx also shares that the team “lost a great group of girls who I looked up to coming on this team. Girls who

made a true impact on and off the field. That said, I am not worried about being able to fill holes because I know we have girls who are ready to step up. I believe the new assistant will be a good asset to this team and the true team dynamic will come from the leadership of our seniors and captains this year.”

With this amount of determination and hard work that is being put into their pre-season, the Brandeis women’s soccer team are destined to come out strong at their first match of the season at home against MIT on Thursday, Sept. 1 at 7.

A fresh new start for Brandeis women’s volleyball

By Zach Cihlar staff

Brandeis women’s volleyball advertised a young team during the 2015 season, sporting nine firstyear players and only three seniors to lead them. It was a rocky season for the Judges, but they enter the new 2016 season with a fresh attitude, boasting new experience the team lacked last year.

The team attempts to rebound from a 5-27 overall record and a 0-7 record against UAA conference opponents. They recorded wins against Colby-Sawyer College, University of Southern Maine, Simmons College, Wesleyan University in Connecticut and Lasell College. Southern Maine is the only school that remains on the team’s upcoming schedule for the 2016 season so far.

Heading into this new season, Coach Alesia Vaccari, the head coach to the women’s volleyball team, intends to take positives

away from the largely unsuccessful season and build on what the team did best. She commends the work ethic put in by each player at every game. “We were recognized by the UAA volleyball coaches for our relentless work ethic in 2015 and how we played hard to the last point,” she said about the new experience her young team has going into this next season.

After the fall 2015 season ended, the team spent the spring semester working on team dynamic. Vaccari spent the off-season focusing her players’ attention on “implementing a ‘team first’ attitude,” a culture shift to which the team took well to.

The team dynamic going into the fall 2016 season will be no different, said coach Vaccari. She looks to build a “team first” culture where the women improve together to build on each individual result.

Of the nine first-years featured on the team’s roster last year, eight of them will be returning for an-

other season of Brandeis volleyball, including the team’s libero Yvette Cho ’19. Cho commented that her new sophomore class was

photo from brandeisjudges.com

head coach alesia vaccari

looking to take a more active role on the team this year. “Last year all of us kind of followed the lead and were pretty timid players but this season we know what to do and we’re all ready to be our own leaders,” she said.

Cho’s sophomore teammate, Grace Krumpack ’19 agrees and expects to use the challenges the team faced last year to build on their mentality. “I think because we went through a tough season last year, we became a much stronger team,” she said.

The team looks for a complete turnaround in their mindset coming into this year and are looking to capitalize their strengths for the season, using their UAA-renowned game work ethic. In the off-season, the team’s strength on defense became apparent, according to Krumpack, which makes them a hard team to score on.

Along with Cho, Krumpack and the six other sophomores, the team rosters just one senior, Jessica Kaufman ’17, and two ju-

niors, Lia Goldberg ’18 and Jessie Moore ’18.

For the next season, the team recruited two incoming first years, both with their own skills to contribute to the team. The team welcomes Emma Bartlett ’20 and Doyeon Kim ’20, according to Vaccari. Bartlett, a Massachusetts native, looks to contribute offensively providing options at net. Kim, hailing from California, will specialize in the back row on defense with her impressive ball control.

With pre-season right around the corner, captains for the team have not yet been chosen. The women’s pre-season, a practice session lasting two weeks, is set to start Thursday, Aug. 18.

The Judges are set to begin their season on Friday, Sept. 2 with a game at home against Smith College at 6 p.m. The Judges have not challenged the Pioneers since the 2013 season, which finalized in a Smith win three sets to the Judges’ one.

EDITORIALS

August 19, 2016

Orientation diversity programming more thorough than past years’

“To acquire wisdom, one must observe.”

Editors-in-Chief Mia Edelstein Julie Landy Managing Editor Allison Plotnik Senior Copy Editor Sarah Terrazano News Editors Hannah Schuster Deputy News Editors Abigail Gardener Elianna Spitzer Arts Editor Sabrina Pond Opinions Editor Zach Phil Schwartz Features Editor Charlotte Aaron Deputy Features Editor Albert Reiss Sports Editor Sarah Jousset Photo Editor Karen Caldwell Layout Editor Lisa Petrie Editors-at-Large Matt Kowalyk Emily Sorkin Smith

The Brandeis Hoot 7

B

randeis’ 2016 new student Orientation is full of events meant to critically engage first-year and transfer students with challenging issues facing the Brandeis community and beyond.

These events confront new students with issues surrounding race, class, gender and mental health, among others. During their very first week on campus, students will not only learn how important these issues are, but also how to recognize their privileges and have difficult conversations.

Each event will encourage students and their Orientation Leaders (OLs) to reflect on what they experienced and talk about how to contribute to a more inclusive campus climate. Incoming students will be challenged by topics that may make them uncomfortable but are ultimately vital to understanding Brandeis’ values and mission for a more inclusive campus.

During the diversity and inclusion event, “Challenging the Silence: Finding Voice and Giving Voice,” students and their OLs will walk through a series of five rooms in Spingold Theater that each represent an issue on campus: mental health and disability, gender and sexuality, so-

cioeconomic class, race and racial identity and intersectionality. Each room will be presented differently; the intersectionality room will feature three female actors, the gender and sexuality room will contain looped video recordings of interviews and the mental health and disability room will show a skit and song performed by two OLs. Unlike other years’ Orientation diversity events, incoming students will choose three of the five debriefing sessions to unpack the presentations and gain the skills needed to discuss the issues from a social justice perspective once they have finished the walkthrough. This is beneficial because when the new students return to their OLs for a group discussion, they will be more aware of basic terminology and tools when discussing such critical issues. It will also prevent students from having to explain their own oppression to others.

In “Brandeis Through the Years,” new students will have the opportunity to discover the university’s roots. Walking through the Brandeis History Museum set up in Levin Ballroom, students will learn about the university’s historic moments,

its steps toward a more inclusive campus and even where their tuition goes.

Similarly, “Remember Yesterday, Explore Today, Brighten Tomorrow: Social justice at Brandeis” examines what it means to engage in social justice at Brandeis.

Orientation’s deliberate and thorough engagement with critical social issues shows incoming students what is important at Brandeis. In only their first few days on campus, they will be confronted with topics that challenge their existing perspectives. In challenging their beliefs, students can better analyze their own identities and privileges. They will also hopefully gain the skills to continue having similar conversations throughout the year, extending Orientation’s impact to the overall campus climate.

In line with the Orientation programming is a new weekly series called “The Dialogues: Navigating Gender and Race at Work.” Part of the #Ask4More initiative that helps women negotiate higher salaries, the year-long series will explore the topics of gender and race in the workplace. The kick-off event will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 13 in the International Lounge and is open to all students.

Volume 13 • Issue 13 the brandeis hoot • brandeis university 415 south street • waltham, ma

Founded By Leslie Pazan, Igor Pedan and Daniel Silverman

STAFF

Rachel Bossuk, Sharon Cai, José Castellanos, Zach Cihlar, Jacob Edelman, Amanda Ehrmann, Andrew Elmers, Talia Franks, Zachary Gordon, Emma Gutman, Curtis Zunyu He, Sophia He, Alana Hodson, Daniel Kang, Emma Kahn, Naomi Klickstein, Adam Lamper, Nabi Menai, Monique J Menezes, Santiago Montoya, Joon Park, Nicole Porter, Emily Scharf, Marian Siljeholm, Eliana Sinoff, Ryan Spencer, Hannah Stewart, 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 • eic@thebrandeishoot.com online • brandeishoot.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!

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

Crossword: Hot Dates

By Naomi Klickstein staff

ACROSS Slime Old lang ____ Christian and hay 14. Lower than soprano 15. Greenish blue 16. Oust 17. Tennis division 18. Couple 19. Like some peppers 20. August 19th 22. He’s got a “condo made of stona” 23. Letter after “oh” 26. Dept. of labor agency 29. Strike breaker 33. Leered 35. Historic period 37. Norman Vincent _____ 38. September 5th (maybe) 39. Jennifer Garner spy show 40. Doctors’ grp.

41. Sifter 42. Stagger 44. Weapons 46. Allow 47. Bygone email service 50. August 25th 59. House in Game of Thrones 60. Vomit 61. Austen novel 62. Animal with densest fur 63. End of a threat 64. Adjoin 65. Prefix meaning “large” 66. Founder of Macleod clan 67. Toy on a string DOWN Deep wou nd Butter alternative ____ van Bismarck Fence parts Leaves without paying Mysterious beast ____ Mataron, Greek black metal band

Place of nightmares Perfect for Car rental company Trump speech?

Beige Eye infection 21. Type of boat 23. Seltzer brand 24. French for “=” 25. The contented cow 26. Probability 27. Casual greeting 28. Odor 29. Large truck 30. Desert mammal 31. Pain reliever brand 32. French topper

34. End of list abr.

36. From a distance 37. Cat in boots 43. Soil 45. Peeved 47. Dishwasher brand 48. Categorize 49. Like dystopias 50. Word on many cards 51. Small amount 52. Army training grp.

53. Follower of mob or gang 54. Home of the bulldogs 55. “More or less” 56. Prefix meaning “both” 57. Filth 58. Fill

ARTS, ETC.

8 ARTS

August 19 , 2016

Brandeis offers exciting classes to fulfill the creative arts requirement

By Brianna Cummings special to the hoot

One of the many great things about Brandeis University is the wide variety of classes that the university offers to fulfill course requirements. One may be so busy loading up on science or math courses that they may forget about fulfilling their creative arts requirement. The world we live in tends to overlook the arts and humanities in favor of a STEMheavy curriculum, but it is important to remember that artistic expression is a vital skill as well.

“I would take a creative arts class because I believe art is an outlet for emotion, ideas and concepts,” said Victoria Richardson ’20. “Art is expression, art is voice and learning about new art forms can help you become louder and give you a greater voice.”

Brandeis has many classes that can help one with expression.

One of these is “Introduction to Drawing,” a beginner level studio class designed for students, whether they are art majors or chemistry majors that have never held a crayon. Students are taught to draw still-lifes, landscapes and the human figure and use a variety of different materials. The artwork of famous artists is also studied.

If drawing is not one’s forte and they want to explore a road less traveled, they can sign up for Professor Almeida’s special, onetime only “Book Arts and Edition” course. The class explores the “brief history of aesthetics of bookmaking.” Then students learn about the form and structure of books when they bind their own books in class.

For students that do not trust themselves with paper or a pencil, but rather a video camera, “Film Production” teaches them the basics of motion picture production.

Every student will produce three short films in this class and get to explore the art of storytelling through film.

While some may prefer to be behind the camera, others may prefer to perform. Fortunately for them. Brandeis has its fair share of acting classes. “Theatre as Performance” will help students work on their ability to work with directors and use their imagination to bring roles to life. “Acting: Language in Action” hones in on the craft of acting and analyses

photo from arttimesjournal.com

photo from scholastic.com

photo from learnodo-newtonic.com

photo from artcrimearchive.org

different performance techniques.

Acting is a physical art, so some acting classes count as physical education classes too. “Stage Combat” is all about learning the skills to create believable “fight” sequences without hurting one’s onstage opponent.

Perhaps one of Brandeis’ most popular and exclusive classes is “Suzuki,” a course that studies the Japanese method of acting, which involves developing phys-

photo from italianrenaissance.org

photo from allartclassic.com

ical strength and stamina while engaging the imagination. The Brandeis Course Catalog says that undergraduates can take the course twice for credit, which implies that “Suzuki” is not as easy as one would hope. “Suzuki” is offered every semester.

Brandeis offers creative arts courses that one can study as well. “Music in Film: Hearing America,” which is taught by Prof. Musegades (AMST/MUS),

studies music in films and its evolution from the 1890s to modern times.

“I think it’s really interesting to see a part of the movies that a lot of people take for granted because the main focus is the acting or the special effects,” said Klairissa Hollander ’20.

“The music sort of plays into your subconscious and you don’t really realize exactly what it’s doing until you listen to it separately

or try to watch the movie without the music.”

Another class that has received attention is “High and Late Renaissance Italy,” taught by Prof.

Unglaub (FA/MEVL), Chair of the Department of Fine Arts. The course explores the artwork of major Italian artists from the sixteenth century. The course focuses not only on art, but also the history and circumstances of the era.

Aside from the chance to study an interesting part of history, the class also includes a trip to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

It opens students up to a rewarding study abroad experience, where students with fine arts courses under their belt are given first consideration.

“What better way is there to fulfill one’s Creative Arts requirement than learning about the works, lives and times of the four greatest artists who ever lived: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian— apart from studying Painting and Renaissance Art on site in the Brandeis Summer program in Siena?” said Unglaub.

Brandeis tries its hardest to provide its students with a well-rounded, world-class education and the creative arts requirement clearly illustrates this. Although the idea of choosing from an abundance of learning opportunities and earning access to a once in a lifetime study abroad program is enough to make one run to their computer and register for one of these classes, sometimes the creative arts requirement is important for more personal reasons.

“As far as creative arts classes in general, it’s just really important for me to have something in my life that allows me to not worry about being 100 percent right about everything all the time,” said Hollander, who is a biochemistry major.

“Considering my perfectionist tendencies, knowing that I’m not looking for the correct answer, but the best answer, is a nice change. Also, for the same reason, creative classes are a great way to learn about how other people think because everyone is going to bring different ways of looking at something to the table.”

August 19, 2016

ARTS 9

The Brandeis Hoot

All-female ‘Ghostbusters’ cast vanquishes the patriarchy

By Santiago Montoya staff

The reunion of director Paul Feig with actresses Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig would lead you to think that they are up for another touchstone success of the exact same magnitude that “Bridesmaids” (2011) enjoyed— both a commercially and critically successful film. The succinct answer, however, is an outright no. “Ghostbusters” (2016) manages to remain afloat, mostly because it has a lot of heart, despite its conspicuous problems.

The film shows that women can carry an entire film on their own, which we have seen happening more often. Particularly during the past five years, films such as “Frozen” (2013) topped the charts as the highest grossing film of the year ($1.2 billion), “Maleficent” (2014) was in fourth place (with more than $700 million) and the popular film series “The Hunger Games” (2012-15) is one of the highest grossing franchises of all time ($3 billion in revenues from five films). Nonetheless, “Ghostbusters” lacked star power, unlike like Feig’s “Spy” (2015), which also starred McCa-

rthy. “Spy” had star power across the board, with movie stars such as Jason Statham, Jude Law and Rose Byrne. Not even “Saturday Night Live” cast member Kate McKinnon, who plays quirky nuclear engineer Jillian Holtzmann, could translate her small-screen celebrity to enough power for the movies.

Not to say that the four main characters are not compelling— in fact, it is the complete opposite. Leslie Jones as Patty does an outstanding job. Meeting Patty is like meeting a real New Yorker.

Not only does Jones bring a lot to the table, but as a character she is a pillar to the team. She brings ideas and contributes in many forms—she even brings her uncle’s hearse to serve as the Ghostbusters’ car. Despite the backlash that Jones received when the trailer first came out, she proves to be fully on board. The sole quibble would be that the other three characters, Abby (McCarthy), Erin (Wiig) and Jillian, are all doctors. They have knowledge on the subject of paranormal entities and all of them possess an extensive background in science, yet Jones’ Patty is just an MTA worker. Are those the sole standards for people of color?

photo from media.vanityfair.com

The rest of the cast did an excellent job. The only surprise was McCarthy’s character, who was not very defined in this picture; she is all over the place. Feig could have decided to cut her out of the entire film and it would not affect it at all. Her lack of presence has to do with her jokes. It seems that Feig gave the actors a lot of freedom to improvise during many of the scenes, but the jokes just do not land. They should have kept improvising, and, unfortunately, the lamest jokes all come from McCarthy. It is a real pity because the original movie is charged with good jokes from beginning to end.

In terms of visuals, the ghosts

all look very similar and have a theme park quality. On top of that, the cinematography is not very cinematic. It has an odd ’90s sheen to it that makes it inferior when compared to the previous film. It is fair to compare this “Ghostbusters” to the original one from 1984 because this new film version would not exist without its predecessor.

What infuses this “Ghostbusters” with heart was one of the last scenes (no spoilers) where no soldier is left behind, and this is as equally true for both women and men. It also has a valuable lesson that if you work hard, apply yourself, put yourself out there and chase your goals, you

photo from collider.com

will succeed.

In addition, attention must be brought to the countless references and respect this movie pays to the original “Ghostbusters.” With cameos from three of the main co-stars, Dan Aykroyd’s was the best. There was also the fiasco attempt to rent the same firehouse that the 1984 cast used as their headquarters. The 2016 Ghostbusters ultimately had to back out because of its preposterous price—a realistic truth about the city of New York.

The film has its obvious flaws, but in a summer that has been nearly dead, “Ghostbusters” is a solid, entertaining summer movie.

photo from gamespot.com

Brandeis in Siena impassions students’ love affair with the Renaissance

By Sabrina P ond editor

As the summer of 2016 quickly comes to a close—a summer which, by the way, was full of glorious nights and mildly hot weather—some students’ study abroad experience also comes to a sudden halt.

One of Brandeis’ most exciting fine arts-centered opportunities, the Brandeis in Siena Program boasts an amazing studio art driv-

en class coupled with an art history course. The program is particularly riveting as students get the chance to create their own artwork in the birthplace of groundbreaking, classic works that were highly influential during the Renaissance.

What makes the program complete is a culturally rich, experiential escapade where Brandeis students are given the opportunity to be immersed in Italian culture and experience, first hand, the artwork that they study in class. Over the

photo from sienaart.org

course of five weeks, students are given the opportunity to learn in depth about the works that were fundamental to the Renaissance, to go on field trips to see that artwork in the flesh and to use that experience and knowledge to inform the creation of their own artwork. In other words, students are given the chance to learn, experience, reflect and create!

According to the program’s description, Siena is an excellent location to study the arts: “While enrolled in the Brandeis in Siena program, you will study in the historic city of Siena, Italy. Siena is a city rich in artistic masterpieces and complex social structures. The city itself is a jewel of preservation in Europe and is surrounded by a dynamic and thriving landscape filled with ongoing agricultural production. Siena as a location for studying art and art history is extraordinary for its contributions to art of the early Renaissance.”

Brandeis students are lucky enough to have an opportunity to study visual art in such a rich locale because Brandeis University and the Siena Art Institute partnered in recent years. Because of this collaboration, a Brandeis professor teaches one course and a Siena Art Institute professor teaches the other course. Both are taught in English.

photo from planetware.com

In an exclusive interview with The Brandeis Hoot, Tova Weinberger ’18 talked about her experience with the Brandeis in Siena Program over the last five weeks.

When describing the reason why she first applied to the study abroad program, she said, “Siena is an amazing city and the opportunity to study in a place with such a rich artistic history was a very big draw. I’d never been to Italy and I’m glad I was able to go and do what I love while experiencing Europe.”

While reflecting on the program as a whole, she said, “The teacher really pushed me outside of my

comfort zone in terms of technique and I’m thankful for that.

The art history course also helped give me a larger visual vocabulary to reference in future works.

You have to know what came before to create something new, you know?”

With nothing but good things to say about the program, it appears that studying amid the greats can be a spark of inspiration to modern day artists—or so it would seem. Students who are finally making their way home, if nothing else, have wonderful portfolios to showcase; and that, for sure, is something to celebrate!

10 ARTS

The Brandeis Hoot

Rose Art Museum ushers in an amazing array of new installations

Mark Bradford to represent U.S. at La Biennale di Venezia

By Emma Kahn

By Emma Kahn

staff

staff

A new semester marks a long-awaited time for art enthusiasts in the Brandeis community—a new set of exhibits at the Rose Art Museum! For those of us who are new to Brandeis, the Rose should soon prove to be one of the highlights of our campus. Especially in recent years, following the installation of the Light of Reason, the Rose has served not only as a source of exceptional art, but also as a gathering place for students. As their website highlights, the Rose is “a laboratory for the exploration of art.” Whether you are well-versed in fine art or cannot differentiate between contemporary art and a toddler’s scrawlings, the Rose is the perfect place to go to any afternoon.

This semester boasts many exciting new exhibits created by leading artists around the globe.

Conceptual and visual artist David Reed will be presented in the Gerald S. and Sandra Fineberg Gallery of the Rose, in an exhibit called “Painting Paintings” that visually represents the process of making art. “This exhibition reunites a small, starkly beauti-

August 19, 2016

photo from www.artandaustralia.com

ful group of David Reed’s early brushstroke paintings, not seen together since they were first exhibited in New York City in 1975.

Painted wet into wet, the canvases describe the painter and his tools, the reach of his arm and the physical nature of his materials,” says the museum’s exhibitions website.

The work of David Shrigley, a visual artist living and working in Scotland, will reside in the Lower Rose Gallery. “Life Model II” will put viewers to the test with a new spin; visitors are asked to interact with his exhibit that will repurpose a typical gallery space.

“Scottish artist David Shrigley plays on the age-old tradition of life drawing classes, transforming the gallery into a classroom and viewers into participants. Visitors

photo from adventure-capital.ie/about.com

may sit, observe and draw from the artist’s caricatured sculpture of a nine-foot-tall woman,” says the site.

Sculpture artist Sarah Sze brings the mundane to grand scale; in her exhibit in the Lois Foster Gallery, Sze will produce a new installation tailored specifically to the space it will occupy. Sze was the United States representative for the Venice Biennale, the 55th International Art Exhibition, in 2013 and is sure to impress us with the work she creates.

“Blurring the boundaries between sculpture, installation and painting, Sarah Sze builds intricate landscapes from the ordinary minutiae of everyday life, yet on a grand architectural scale,” says the site.

The final new exhibit to usher in Fall 2016 is a video presentation in the Rose Video Gallery.

“Adventure: Capital” by Irish artist Sean Lynch will “[trace] an historical journey from myth to minimalism, unraveling notions of value and the flow of capital through an anthropological lens.”

This semester’s video presentation, a staple of each semester’s exhibitions, draws on several fields of interest: anthropology, history, economics, politics and many more. With all the upcoming art exhibitions, the Rose has planned what is sure to be a lively semester of eclectic works.

In addition to new exhibitions and artists on display, the Rose offers another piece of exciting news—Mark Bradford, a frequent collaborator, visitor and contributor to Brandeis and the Rose, will be the representative for the United States at La Biennale di Venezia 57th International Art Exhibition.

The Rose, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, had the privilege to select Bradford to display his work at this elite and noteworthy venue.

The Venice Biennale began in 1895 as a City Council project that sought to develop a national art exhibition, and very quickly expanded to become a renowned international art exhibition. Today, the Biennale welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors from all corners of the world. The 2015 Venice Biennale brought in 136 artists hailing from 53 countries.

In a new innovation to an old tradition, digital renditions of some exhibitions are posted online for view, made possible by the Google Cultural Institute in collaboration with the the Biennale.

This year’s Biennale will be directed by Christine Macel, Chief Curator of the National Museum of Modern Art in Paris. A new Biennale is sure to usher in even more original and cutting-edge exhibitions.

Bradford is recognized for his powerful abstract works as well as the deep seated social commentary present in his work. His early work is influenced by the informal communities of Los Angeles and their social movements, and is represented through scavenged materials that form collag-

es and installations.

Bradford draws on the spatial arrangement of cities and urban life in addition to the energy of crowds in demonstrations and protests. His art centers heavily upon themes of community, space and social justice.

One of Bradford’s most notable contributions is his nonprofit, “Art + Practice,” a private operating foundation that provides important skills and opportunities to the inhabitants of Leimert Park in Los Angeles.

It also serves as a living example of the importance of art to promote a vibrant and healthy community. Bradford has been at Brandeis several times to discuss his work, which parallels the strong focus of the Brandeis community on social justice and community service. His nonprofit brings free art and enrichment programs to foster-youth and to the community as a whole.

Bradford is a key innovator in the art world and uses his artistic prowess to uplift the community of Leimert Park while also shining light on the value of cultural exchange and variety. His work epitomizes new efforts to transform our world by placing modern art at the center of social work and therefore facilitating its circulation most effectively and democratically.

Brandeis is lucky to have a part in the excitement of this year’s Venice Biennale, thanks to the work of Mark Bradford.

While visiting the Biennale may be out of reach for the local Brandeis community, the Rose will offer thrilling exhibitions that are easily accessible and open to Brandeis as well as to the public.

The Rose Art Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., beginning Sept.

11, and reserves Tuesdays for Brandeis class visits.

Admission is always free.

The Hoot Scoop: Every first-year’s guide to the art scene in Boston

By Ben Benson

special to the hoot

It’s the beginning of the year, you’re new to Brandeis and you’re probably wondering, “Where’s the art?” You’re in luck, because this is Boston, and the art scene abounds.

The city’s biggest and most comprehensive collection is the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA).

This museum is huge, free with a Brandeis ID and easy to get to, located within walking distance from the Brandeis Boston Shuttle’s Commonwealth/Mass Ave. stop. The MFA features art ranging from ancient religious idols and pottery to contemporary sculpture and photography. It has something for everyone and is a must see in the Boston art scene.

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is just blocks away from the MFA. This collection of classical and contemporary art is housed in a replica of a 15th century Venetian palace. The Gardner Museum is currently hosting a stunning exhibition of Renaissance books, a must-see for anyone interested in that period. Admission is $5 with a student ID (and free to anyone named Isabella—really!), so there’s no reason not to visit this Boston gem, especially if you’re going to the MFA. If you’re looking for newer art,

photo from thebostoncalendar.com

photo from bostonmagazine.com/tag/ica/

the Boston Institute of Contemporary Art is for you. This sleek, ultramodern museum is in walking distance of both the World Trade Center and Courthouse T stops.

Admission is $10 for students.

To see vintage poster art from around the world, visit the International Poster Gallery on Newbury St., just blocks away from the Copley T stop and in walking distance of the Commonwealth/ Mass Ave. shuttle stop.

One of Boston’s oldest galleries, the Vose Gallery on Newbury

Street was founded in 1841. The gallery houses the largest collection of American realism in New England, including contemporary realism. Check it out if you want to experience American art history.

Another gallery on Newbury is the Barbara Krakow gallery, one of Boston’s most prestigious collections of postmodern art. It features some of the most groundbreaking work in all media produced after 1945 and is known for its annual AIDS benefit auc-

tion.

Near the Copley T stop on Newbury is the Robert Klein gallery, a world-renowned collection of fine-art photography. The gallery also operates a satellite space in the Ars Libri bookshop at 500 Harrison Ave., near the Broadway T stop. If you’re a lover of photography, this is the place to go.

Nearby on Newbury is Gallery NAGA, a contemporary art gallery specializing in furniture.

The fact that this is located in a neo-gothic cathedral is enough to make it worth your time to visit.

You’ll find the SoWa Artists Guild, the center of the SoWa Arts District, on Harrison Ave. The Artists Guild studios are open the first Friday of every month as well as every Sunday until November. Open studios are a great way to see the forefront of the Boston art scene in action, to meet artists and to get a taste of professional studio life.

Throughout the SoWa Arts District, you’ll find more than 30 art galleries (locations and hours are available on the SoWa website).

In addition, the district hosts a number of art, food and vintage goods markets based around Harrison Ave. throughout the year on Sundays, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

To see master works of fine art, look no further than Back Bay’s Galerie d’Orsay. Located less than a block from the Arlington T

stop, the gallery is currently exhibiting contemporary masters, and will soon open an exhibit inspired by their namesake, Paris’ Musée d’Orsay.

MassArt has galleries all across its campus showcasing the contemporary work made by students, staff and others. The campus is in walking distance of the Ruggles T stop, making it accessible to students without a car. A complete guide to the many galleries on MassArt campus is available on their website, massart.edu.

If you’re on the lookout for Boston’s underground art scene, check out bostonartunderground. com for listings of upcoming local events and showings. This website has great tips on exhibits in unusual spots, but also lists gallery shows, making it a comprehensive resource.

You don’t even have to leave Brandeis to see great art.

Brandeis’ own Rose Art Museum is located between the Shapiro Campus Center and the Spingold Theater Center and is free! The Rose is open Wednesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. and houses a collection of American contemporary art.

This is a must-see for all Brandeis students, and be sure to look out for fun events and concerts at the Rose throughout the year.

August 19, 2016

ARTS 11

The Brandeis Hoot

Teenage artists contribute to MFA’s latest exhibit ‘HOMiE’

By Sarah Terrazano staff

The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is the fourth largest museum in the United States, and with many newly opened galleries, it is definitely worth a visit. The building is massive, cycling through traditional art on each continent and sprinkled with special exhibitions for Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Frida Kahlo, to name a select few. It is easy to spend an entire day wandering the marble corridors and absorbing the magnificent art all around.

Not only does the MFA exhibit work from well-renowned artists, but also the Museum’s exhibit “HOMiE: In Our Eyes” is currently its first exhibition of artwork by Boston teenagers. The MFA partnered with Boston Public Schools to produce “HOMiE,” in which teenagers from the Boston area created artwork that explores the idea of home. Even more uniquely, the 44 featured works were selected by other teenagers—their peers from the Teen Arts Council, the MFA’s leadership development program for teens.

The exhibit’s range of works highlights how “For some, Home is a physical space; for others it is the people they are with; for many Home is an identity that only they can define.” Each piece reflects how the artists’ interpretation of home intertwines with their community, family, friends and personal identity. Homes de-

photos by sarah terrazano/the hoot

picted in the artwork include a hometown, a mother’s embrace, a subway train, a PlayStation, a keychain, a headscarf and a bus ride to volleyball games. The collection also represents the diversity of the Boston area. Artists are from myriad races and backgrounds and include different minority voices.

One of the first works seen in the exhibition is Alexandra Aragosta (Abitbol)’s “Red Babydoll’s House,” a striking digital media image of a row of dark green apartment windows with one apartment bathed in bright red light. On the sidewalk is a single child, happily toting a backpack and walking toward the lit apartment. According to the artist, she depicted the contrast of empty windows to a bright apartment because “every house is empty and blank in comparison to the familiarity of home.” The image also has a childlike quality

to it; the lines are scribbled, the child has simplistic features and the image looks almost cartoonish. The use of childlike elements makes returning home to the redwashed apartment rather than the bleak row of apartments seem more comforting. The interesting color choice contributes to this: The empty apartment windows are colored a sickly green against the pitch-black building, and the “home” apartment is bright red with pink windows. The viewer can feel the child’s anticipation in getting past the green windows to arrive at the apartment that, physical structure alone, would not stand out from the rest—but is her home.

Another piece that uses the imagery of a street is Adler Arcene’s “Welcome Back.” In the blackand-white digital media work, Adler depicts a photograph of the bottom half of his face, but the top half of his face and the rest of

his head are overlaid with images from the storefront of Morton Mini Market. A customer standing in line blocks his left eye; bottles cover his ear; a sign reading “We accept food stamps” is above his head. “As I walk down Morton Street, headed home, I feel I am in a place where I belong,” Arcene describes. “All the familiar sights and sounds, houses, faces, restaurants and markets are there to greet me and welcome me back from my journey.” The image is also washed in a sepia tone, giving it a nostalgic feel.

A noteworthy piece that depicts home as a person is Abigail Alexis’ “In Her Arms,” an acrylic painting of her and her mother in a loving embrace. “Every day I make sure that I hug my mother,” Alexis writes. “Home to me is my mother.” The painting uses large brush strokes, making the paint visible on the canvas and adding to the warmth of the em-

brace. Alexis’ eyes are closed and her head blocks the face of her mother, putting all the emphasis in the painting on the embrace itself. Similarly, there are no background images. The only colors in the painting are the bright blue of Alexis’ sweater and the red of her mother’s.

Alexis also noted that she lost one of her mothers in 2015, and that “Every time I hugged her, I felt I was returned to my Haitian home. Losing her was like losing my home.” This painting is a dedication to daughters, mothers and the unmatched comfort of feeling at home in the arms of a mother.

“HOMiE: In Our Eyes” is on exhibition in the MFA until January 2017. College students get free admission by presenting their school ID, so there is no excuse to not see this meaningful exhibit and the countless other collections the Museum of Fine Arts has to offer.

The pop singles that electrified the summer of 2016

By Adam Lamper staff

“Cheap Thrills” by Sia Certainly no stranger to the world of songwriting, 40-year-old singer, Sia Furler, has yet again made her mark in the world of pop music with her latest single “Cheap Thrills.” With its catchy hook “Baby I don’t need dollar bills to have fun tonight (I love cheap thrills!),” the song evokes a message that lies somewhere between Lorde’s “Royals” and Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark.” It suggests the age-old idea that happiness stems less from one’s physical possessions and more from the company one is with. Alongside the song’s words is a walking, electro-pop beat that differs between the album version and the collaboration with Grammy-winning artist, Sean Paul. The latter features a slight Jamaican vibe from the augmented bassline and Paul’s added vocals.

Though likely the main reason for the song’s popularity, the anthemic lyrics lack the emotional intensity and figurative lyricism found in the songwriter’s previous hits “Chandelier” and “Elastic Heart.” However, this method of repetition in songwriting is rampant throughout the umbrella genre of contemporary “dance”

music; it seemingly aids to further impose the song’s meaning and allows more room for interpretation. With its danceable rhythm and near universal relevance, Sia’s latest tune has been a “Cheap Thrill” for just about anyone with access to a radio this summer.

sound, “Don’t Let Me Down” still brings something to the table that “Titanium” did not: its trap-influenced EDM sound, a subgenre that is still on the rise despite its near universal popularity.

“This Is What You Came For”

by Calvin Harris feat. Rihanna

It doesn’t take much for and R&B-influenced track to reach top success across charts worldwide, as we saw with most recently Pharrell’s “Happy” in 2014, and Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Funk” in 2015. The current year brings us disco-pop, funk influenced “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” originally written by Timberlake for the upcoming Dreamworks movie “Trolls,” set to air this November. Shrouded in a late 2000s Jason Mraz vibe, the song leaves many listeners to reminisce about a time when R&B, instead of EDM, ruled the airways. Holding a steady beat with a computer-generated percussion track and backing computer synths, the song is seemingly perfect to jam anywhere—from a driver’s seat to the supermarket, or anywhere with a radio playing.

However, like many pop songs that reach this level of success, it is full of vague, feel-good lyrics that would not hold up its own if the background music was not so catchy. Despite this, it has gone on to reach an incredible amount of fame, becoming the first song to spend its first 10 weeks at the top of the Digital Download chart since the Black Eyed Peas’ 2009 smash hit, “Boom Boom Pow.” It is likely that in the end, the song’s popularity will be its own demise; it might become so overplayed like the aforementioned hits that it no longer resonates its feel-good summertime vibe with listeners in the same way it had at

With the late 2000s resurgence of the house genre in pop music credited to Harris and a handful of other artists including Daft Punk and David Guetta, it comes as no surprise that he is still churning out danceable chart-topping singles today. His latest hit, “This Is What You Came For,” co-written with Nils Sjöberg (a pseudonym for past girlfriend Taylor Swift), features a light house rhythms and an addictive, electronic chorus repetition of Rihanna’s vocals. Many critics and fans alike complain of the over-processed sound quality of the song’s vocals, particularly the rise and chorus, which makes one wonder if such people have ever listened to EDM before. One of the song’s drawbacks is its lack of a driving bassline and percussive rhythms found in traditional house, which is featured in the majority of Harris’ other songs like “Sweet Nothing” and “We Found Love,” his other collaboration with Rihanna.

“Can’t Stop the Feeling!” by Justin Timberlake

photos from stereogum.com

Without the raw EDM power of Harris’ other singles, the chilledout tone of “This Is What You Came For” is better left at home or in the car than on the club dancefloor. Despite its memorable hook and complex synth instrumentation, it remains doubtful that this track will maintain its status after the summer heat dies down. It will most likely fade out to become just what it is, a hot summer song.

“Don’t Let Me Down” by The Chainsmokers feat. Daya Alex Pall and Andrew Taggart, the duo behind 2014’s infamous “#SELFIE,” are back at it with their trap-influenced single “Don’t Let Me Down,” featuring

photo from popculturedaily.guru.com

17-year-old Grace Tandon by the stage name Daya. Though it has less of a driving EDM rhythm in comparison to their previous hits, “Don’t Let Me Down” still features a heavy bassline and harsh synths in the chorus that won’t let you down while busting out your best moves on the dancefloor. As far as the vocals go, Daya lands somewhere in the range and timbre between Rihanna and Dolores O’Riordan of alt-rock band “The Cranberries.”

However, what it makes up for in headbanging grooves, “Don’t Let Me Down” lacks in originality. Though it doesn’t stand out much against EDM songs of either the past and present, it does bear a suspicious resemblance to David Guetta and Sia’s 2011 hit, “Titanium.” Both songs feature a comparably light electric guitar-esque riff at the beginning, similar airy vocals that lead up to the same rise-chorus-verse-rise pattern in the rest of the song. The similarity extends to the chord progressions and even the subject of both music videos, featuring a lead character with telekinetic abilities (which is actually a rather widespread theme throughout EDM). Regardless of its recycled

12 The Brandeis Hoot

OPINIONS

From the Student Union President: Welcome to Brandeis!

By David Herbsritt

president of the student union

My name is David Herbstritt, and I am thrilled to be serving as the President of the Brandeis Undergraduate Student Union this year. On behalf of our organization, I want to welcome everyone back to Brandeis. If you are joining us as a new student, welcome to the community! Many of you probably do not know exactly what the Student Union does, who we are or why our work is important. This year, we are going to endeavor to change that.

Our Student Union is made up of many parts and takes on big responsibilities on campus. The largest branch, the Union Senate, is the support center for student clubs, the organizing body behind some of the biggest events and campus services and the heart of the Union’s sustainability efforts.

The second branch, the Executive Board, gives the Union access to the top administrators and trustees who shape and direct the future of Brandeis, ensuring that students have a voice in critical decisions. The Treasury and Allocations Board manage and distribute $1.7 million annually to our clubs and activities. Our Judiciary makes sure that the Union and all of the organizations we

oversee and cooperate with act within the rules that have been agreed upon.

Our level of responsibility is not by any means typical for the average student government. We do a lot on campus, and because we are often too quiet about it, that leads people to have no reason to care or get involved. While that has been changing in the last few years, we are not all the way to where I think we should be. Public input and accountability are what causes any governing body do its best work, and in the case of student governments that is certainly the case.

I do not mean to suggest that the Union has no presence at Brandeis. If you are in a club, you probably already know that our Allocations Board is responsible for funding your club’s events.

Maybe you have been one of hundreds of people at our semesterly Midnight Buffets, enjoying food and celebrating the end of classes before you start cramming for finals. But it is possible that you have not heard of our Turkey Shuttles program, a collaboration with the Waltham Group that provides busloads of students with convenient and affordable transportation to major airports before the Thanksgiving holiday.

If you are a returning student,

you have almost certainly heard of ’DEIS Impact, but did you know that the Student Union is one of the major sponsors of the weeklong celebration and festival of social justice? There is even a chance that you are a student interested in student government, but you might not know where to start or find our offices. This year, I hope to make it easier for people to learn about the Union and to make us much more integrated with the everyday campus life and needs of the Brandeis community.

In addition to fostering visibility, we are also working to improve our receptiveness. The Union has always done a decent job of listening to the community when people were vocally expressing concerns, but only last year did we start making a constant, deliberate effort to reach out to those whom we serve on a more widespread scale. This year, we are going to keep pushing that even further.

In addition to continuing and adapting strategies from last year, we are going to be bringing forward new ways to engage the community, including a brand new polling project. We are doing everything we can to make sure that the Union remains a proSee UNION, page 14

August 19, 2016

Autoclave misuse must be addressed

By Anindita Chanda special to the hoot

Rosenstiel Basic Medical Science Building is where the many undergraduates spend time, as it houses 13 labs. As such, one of the most visited rooms in Rosenstiel is the autoclave room on the second floor. The autoclave room contains three large machines for washing dishes and five autoclaves. Imagine how heavily these machines are used when there are only five of them, especially across hundreds of undergraduate, graduate and post-doc users.

Worse yet is when any of them cannot be used because they are broken.

Contrary to what most students believe, the autoclaves do not malfunction so often because they are “old,” but rather because of how often students have been misusing them. Without a doubt, there are some weeks or certain days of the week when there is a lot of traffic in the autoclave room.

Undergraduates from fly labs, cell labs and more are all there in the autoclave room with their carts filled with media or trash ready for sterilization. During classes, it gets even more hectic in that room because students want to quickly put their media into the autoclaves and dash out for their

next class. Likewise, with a need to get started on plate-making or whatever other media work, impatience arises from the fact that the autoclaves—in particular the two large machines—take a long time to reach a chamber pressure of zero, when it is safe to open these high-pressure chambers.

While I cannot speak for other students, I know that on numerous occasions when I am in the autoclave room waiting for the chamber pressure to go down another student will suddenly open the autoclave door. When this happens, huge pockets of steam engulf the room.

The most cringeworthy moment, however, is when some students open the autoclave doors with their body facing the opening, as if they are asking to get badly burned! Somehow they get lucky, but it makes me think about how there will be others who will not have the same luck, and it’s a scary thought. Then there are the students who blankly stare at an autoclave, wondering how to properly open it or even start it.

A similar expression returns on their faces when it is time to take their media out of the autoclave.

Then those students proceed to turn on or turn off the machines See AUTOCLAVE, page 15

God and man at Brandeis

By Matt Kowalyk editor

What I aim to find abroad is a different academic culture, not to have the “finding oneself ” experience that so many study abroad programs are sold to be. More than that, I want to be in an academic culture that’s more nurturing and enthusiastic, rather than hostile and divisive. What I aim to find during my year abroad in London is a different academic culture, not to have the “finding oneself ” experience that so many study abroad programs are sold to be. More than that, I want to be in an academic culture that’s more nurturing and enthusiastic, rather than hostile and divisive.

This year abroad will be a well-needed break from what I have experienced over the past two years. My courses and professors have thus far been fantastic beyond what I imagined, in how supportive they have been, in fostering my academic interests, and in making me truly enjoy the subject matter in every class. Even in the hardest of classes, it was fair.

Difficult, but fair. Those classes are not marked as dark moments in my academic career, but hardwon successes. What I do not want to take time off from is the academic side.

The things that have bothered me over the past two years have never been academics, but instead what comes between them as what some would consider a natural part of the academic experience. Being involved in different clubs and working for The Hoot for the past year and a half, as well as studying almost exclusively in four departments, may be providing me with a view of the campus that is not entirely genuine. Most students do not know about all that goes on around the campus

as members of the campus publications do. I can’t entirely say where the true source of this hostility is, other than it being popular for people in our age group to rage against the machine with all of its justified and unjustified problems. With a never-ending craving for emotional experience in an age of incredible material prosperity for the socio-economic groups that are most likely to attend college, some insincere complaints will arise. This diminishes real deep-seated issues that groups here deal with, issues that rarely make their way into larger pieces in the campus newspapers, but unfortunately can only be seen on social media and in gossip around campus. I have elaborated on a few of these issues in previous writing, but I still lack the real digging to truly gauge what’s going on.

What stunned me most about my experience so far is the confirmation bias that I have seen unlike anything I had before. This can be attributed to the fact that I had never felt the inclination to involve myself in politics much before the end of high school, but my hometown never had total consensus about the issues they cared about. However, I came into college with the most idealistic of views: I wanted to be rescued from what I saw as an in-group/ out-group mentality in high school, where people got ahead in sports and went to college for performance in sports (I am not saying this does not help large numbers of kids, but I was no star athlete). I didn’t have a solid political view, and I still do not, but when I thought of the “like-minded” people I would find in higher education, I thought that I would find people unafraid to be enthusiastic, who would overcome and not fetishize their struggles, and

would help me help them in doing so. I was only beginning to see the importance in studying politics, and with the dedicated and enthusiastic teachers I had with the very small group of enthusiastic kids in the A.P. history and politics classes, I thought I would find an abundance of people like that in college. That is not what I have found, exactly.

Maybe it’s the fact that I am around my peers more often, in that we do not return home to different neighborhoods or teams at night, but instead that we are mostly within a mile or two of each other. Maybe it is the result of helicopter parenting, but what can I say about it if so many of us have experienced it (not my parents as much, to the best of my knowledge)? Maybe we are all still trying to shed the insecurity fostered by many growing up? I’m no stranger to it. Many of us are dealing with day-to-day freedom like we never had before, and we all cope differently. Of course, I have to admit, I have not felt as much of the financial burden as many of my peers have, though I have tried to educate myself more about it.

Regardless, I came to college hoping to find an intellectual utopia where we shirked off the struggles of difficult professors because we had each other, that the social aspect of a shared academic environment would be the social contract that kept us together.

We could debate the finer points of economics and epistemology until we exhausted whatever new knowledge we’d acquired from classes and books from the library.

This exists in some capacity for sure, and I cherish the moments when real discussion takes place.

When it does, I always come out of it feeling excited, or some form of respectful anger toward a per-

son who won against me in an argument. That’s something I would like—realizing the cracks in our ideologies and arguments so that we can improve them rather than hating our opponents as if they have innate, evil intentions.

Since I believe I am human, I am guilty of impassioned hatred every once in awhile. When arguments are lost without losing respect for the other person or without the other person losing sight of honest intentions, there’s really nothing to hate. Just read more and do better next time. We are here to make the world better, to bring about our own visions of social justice, but we may disagree on the means by which to achieve it. It is very easy to lose sight of that. Some of us did not come here with that vision, and that is fine. I chose Brandeis because I could easily receive credit for studying business, economics, politics and film all at once. I have certainly changed since then. A sizable group of students seems to be guilty of choosing Brandeis to have their views confirmed, and some with authority and power have a stake in that not changing.

This is not to dismiss any students of responsibility themselves. This blame is not damning; I would just offer that we seriously take this into account rather than labeling it as a visceral reaction.

The hostility that manifests itself in discussions on students’ social media is devoid of any form of respect for one another, as well as the old rule of “innocent until proven guilty.” It is built on assumptions from every end of the spectrum of belief, and not everyone is equally liable. Sometimes the hostility is calculated for spectacle, and in possibly more cases, it is a result from trying to unwaveringly believe in something in a world where ideology can easily

be identified and dismissed.

Whatever hostility arises, consider who you are speaking for, speaking about and whether or not the wider experience is completely similar to the one you have had in your life. It is hard to make assumptions about people you have never really taken the time to understand and about conflicts in areas you have never been to.

To really know an issue is to take the risk of reading conflicting literature and publications, and to not block people who disagree with you on social media. It takes a lot of work, and it takes everyone, though that is not to say any small inch in the direction of mutual respect and us realizing that our ideas can be imperfect. The loss of this has cultivated an environment of disillusionment and delusion in many of our students, resulting in hostility a lack of care for each other. No wonder I did not hesitate to skip away for a year or so.

I am coming back in the fall of 2017, however. I do not want to leave the connections and friends behind, and challenges yet to be undertaken. There is far too much I would miss if I decided to go somewhere else. I want to stick it out to the end. If there is anything I would like to change at Brandeis while I’m gone, it would be a change in us, in what we value in others and how we go about meeting people who are different.

That goes for any issue, be it economic systems or borders. This may sound like I am leaving so that I do not have to do the work involved, and I accept that criticism. I would like a time to put everything here in perspective, to change myself a bit and learn more from more people in depth.

I want to do more for myself and be ready for the conversations that I will have when I return.

August 19, 2016

The Brandeis Hoot

OPINIONS

13

Embracing global perspectives: Engaging with international students

By Alex Mitchell columnist

As a liberal arts institution, Brandeis drives its students to explore and experiment with new perspectives and ideas. Our campus is saturated with advertisements for courses, workshops and seminars on finding these mysterious viewpoints. An outside observer might believe that such viewpoints were hard to come by, given the vast amount of resources dedicated to the cause.

Yet in my experience, learning a new perspective is a relatively simple task: simply talk to someone from a different country than you, and what better place for such an exchange than Brandeis?

Comprising one-fifth of our student body, international students bring a diverse set of experiences to a university mainly populated by homogenized Long Islanders and Californians. Yet despite the aforementioned workshops and seminars, many domestic students have few or no close friends from other countries.

Reflecting on my own conversations with different international students, I find myself amazed at how much their stories have taught me. In these friendships, not only do I learn about other countries, but I learn about how people conceptualize home. Some students love their country and will recall fond memories of beautiful sights and scenes from home.

Others despise the old country, and will tell many humorous stories of social dysfunction and state ineptitude. But regardless of their sentiments, each has been shaped by their home, giving them a rare perspective on life, school and American culture. As a school that prides itself on diversity and global experience, we would be foolish and downright hypocritical to ignore these perspectives.

Sadly, I have at times observed a disconnect between international students and the rest of the Brandeis community. I have seen times when students, perhaps well-meaning, treated international students as a sort of “other”; not with any malice, but simply someone they were not interested in getting to know. But this separation can harm international students, many of whom come to American colleges hoping to gain new perspectives. Senior Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences for Undergraduate Education Elaine Wong, who has worked with international students for many years, says that many international students come to America hoping to learn more about the culture: “Most international students come to Brandeis seeking an authentic American university experience, which includes making friends with American students. The responsibility of making friends should not rest solely with the international students.”

I decided to ask a few of my international friends for their

perspectives on domestic-international student relations, if a divide exists, how bad it is and what steps might we as domestic students take to address the gap.

Most students found domestic students to be either a little bit disinterested in their culture, or interested just the right amount.

Students who like their homes and are more social tended to wish people asked them about home more often, while students who were less social felt that they received enough contact. Similarly, students who felt less confident about their English speaking abilities felt this kept them isolated from others.

Xiou Wang ’19, from Nanjing, China, told me that she doesn’t feel a strong divide and that she feels that there are few universal trends at play here: “I would prefer to say that it’s really case-dependent … I can’t think of anything that domestic students can do to improve, I mean, I think the relationships basically depend on specific people and their personalities.”

Troy Zhao ’18, from Baoding, China, disagreed somewhat, as he found that American students often have little desire to interact with people from other cultures.

He in part blames a mentality that discourages cultural diffusion and discourages American students from befriending international students. He says that part of the problem is the metaphorical “salad bowl,” wherein diversity

on campus is treated more like distinct parts instead of a whole.

Such views engender a sort of aloofness from other cultures and prevents domestic and international students from benefiting from each other’s differences. But Zhao also acknowledges that part of the barrier stems simply from misunderstandings: “[Domestic students] feel like most international students wouldn’t talk to them and I feel like domestic students should realize that most of the time for international students, language is a huge problem.

I sometimes feel embarrassed by my awkward English.”

A few caveats on my report: Because of the sensitive nature of the topic, these conversations were only with personal friends and represent a biased sample. I am aware that some international students dislike being asked about home, particularly in a condescending fashion indicative of colonialist privilege. However, almost all of the students I spoke too were very friendly about the question, save for one student from Florianópolis, Brazil: Eduardo Beltrame ’16. Beltrame said that he felt “deeply offended and triggered” by this question, and urged domestic students to have greater sensitivity for the emotional needs of international students, especially those from postcolonial countries.

Reaching out in a sensitive and respectful way should not be difficult. Dean Wong gave advice

for students hoping to approach their international peers: “International students may not be familiar with American ‘small talk’ but are more than willing to exchange names and to talk about their home towns, families, high school experiences, current classes, extracurricular activities and mutual interests to ‘break the ice.’” A big part of the approach is dropping America-centric ideas, and instead focusing on what we share: our identity as Brandeis students. International students have just as many complaints as the rest of us about DCL, the bio lab final, high tuition and Sherman food; perhaps we can start there.

Most of the responses I received were more humorously or culturally critical than anything else; Americans do not give their families the attention they deserve, know good dance moves or dress nicely enough. The sense I got from these conversations is that while there may be distance between the two groups, international and domestic students do make many meaningful connections with one another, and these lead to positive exchanges of ideas and perspectives. This gives me hope for our institution and its global mission. As Wong says: “If every domestic student would make the effort to get to know one international student, it would go a long way toward making the entire campus more welcoming and more truly global.”

Fix Brandeis’ deeply flawed financial aid system

By José Castellanos columnist

Recently, I spoke to an old family friend who is currently attending the University of Tulsa, and the topic eventually steered itself to financial aid and how we were managing with our loans and paying for our schools. She confessed to me that her mother was short roughly $2,700 for the new year, with no way to pay the balance.

In a surprising twist, she told me that when she spoke to their Office of Admission and Financial Aid and told them of some extenuating circumstances regarding a condition her mother had that impeded her ability to work, there was zero pushback. They immediately approved an increase in her financial aid, no loans or appeals process required. The simplicity of this came as a complete shock to me, and only furthered many of the frustrations that I currently feel with Brandeis’ own Student Financial Services.

The process of applying for financial aid at Brandeis is strenuous. Rather than solely relying on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the tax returns of whoever is providing financial support for the student in question, SFS additionally asks for the completion of a CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE and the tax returns of both living biological parents. This in and of itself can present a burden for certain students, as the PROFILE comes with a filing fee of $25. For many of us this is a trivial amount.

However it can prove to be difficult for students who have limited financial resources. Keep in mind

that most, if not all, of the information that students are asked to provide through the PROFILE is already given on the FAFSA. Secondly, there is a certain absurdity in requiring students to provide tax returns for both parents. Many students have parents who have separated, with one parent providing little, if any, financial support for the student.

Why then would the income of the non-custodial parent be calculated toward the amount of aid the student should receive? SFS is essentially saying, “We know only one of your parents is paying for your school, but you still have two parents, and the other one is making some amount of money, so that has to be calculated into your aid package regardless of whether or not any of that is actually going to be going toward you or your education.” Also, keep in mind that with a separation or divorce comes the need for a non-custodial PROFILE, with another $25 filing fee.

Additionally, SFS seems to have a tendency to punish students for wanting to work in the summer to be able to either aid their parents or have their own savings

usdan, home of student financial services

to rely upon. Social media feeds are filled with stories of students whose aid has been dramatically cut due to summer employment.

Why should the department that is supposedly there to make sure we can afford Brandeis’ ever-increasing tuition punish students for working hard or trying to alleviate some of the burden placed on the parents? This is made even worse by the fact that tuition aid is also dramatically cut for students who live off campus, and that mandatory meal plans are now in place for every on-campus student, even when some residences, like Ridgewood, contain kitchens, which make these meal plans completely redundant.

All this would perhaps be slightly less odious if it weren’t for two things: the absurdity of the appeals process and the constant and often unnecessary increases in tuition. To appeal for more financial aid, a myriad of documents has to be submitted to SFS, and even then there is no guarantee that any further aid will be given. One option is, however, always presented: loans. Subsidized Stafford loans, unsubsidized Stafford loans, Saval loans and so on

and so forth.

Brandeis has an endowment of $915.1 million, and the FY 2015 financial statement for the university shows that it has total assets valued at approximately $1.5 billion. Brandeis itself claims that roughly 50 percent of the student body receives need-based financial aid. Even if every one of these roughly 1,805 students were to receive all $65,804 necessary to attend from Brandeis itself, this amounts to $118,776,220, a fraction of the total endowment and assets of the university. Are we really to believe that a university with these resources has no option but to force its students to take out loans, rather than provide the aid themselves? We could, but that would also force us to turn a blind eye to the fact that the university has increased tuition by 3.9 percent for the 2016-17 academic year, after an increase of 3.7 percent for the 2015-16 academic year.

Both emails announcing and explaining the hikes are incredibly vague, often citing renovations across campus as a reason.

However, tuition has yet to decrease following renovations,

photo by adam lamper/the hoot

many of which are largely unnecessary. For example, part of the increase for the 2015-16 academic year included an expansion of Einstein Bros and the Bookstore to “dramatically improve” service at this area. However, almost hilariously, little to no actual change was seen and the area remains as swamped and inefficient as ever.

Additionally, a rooftop patio was constructed for the Stein, which as of publication, remains closed and inaccessible, with no indication given as of yet for when it will actually be ready for student use.

None of this should be taken to mean that I hate Brandeis. I, like many, find Brandeis to be a second home where I have created meaningful relationships with people. However, families should not have to be forced to take out loans or even a second mortgage to send their children to Brandeis when the university already has the necessary resources to assist them. Simply put, the current system is deeply flawed and puts more burden and stress on students and their families than is necessary. For SFS and the Brandeis administration to show that they do actually feel a commitment to assist their students, they need to review the current process and provide a comprehensive reform of it. They need to accept that not all students are able to depend on both biological parents for assistance, that loans are not the magic, one-size-fitsall solution they make it out to be, that the PROFILE is redundant and its filing fee negatively impacts students with already limited financial resources and that affording an education really shouldn’t be this damn difficult.

14 OPINIONS

The Brandeis Hoot

August 19, 2016

The first day: a time for fresh starts, new beginnings

By Zach Phil Schwartz editor

The only feeling that rivals the one felt upon a student’s first approach to Brandeis University on move-in day is the feeling of returning there for another academic year. The sunshine that glimmers off the glass exterior of the Shapiro Science Center upon ascending Loop Road is breathtaking; the summer colors abound magnificent. During the last two years I have associated the final approach to Brandeis with “The Boys Are Back” by Boston’s favorite Celtic punk band, The Dropkick Murphys.

Although the song relentlessly says that “The boys are back, and they’re looking for trouble,” it is also about homecoming in Massachusetts. Brandeis is our home and our community; that doesn’t change. What does change is what we make of our time at our

home and with our community. For first-years, the approach to Brandeis signifies a fresh start to break out of the high school mindset and explore new things.

For the rest of us returning students, it signifies a chance at a new beginning.

First-years: The initial movein process and Orientation can be frightening, to say the least.

Everything seems foreign and out of place. It is overwhelming at times, but we all get through it. We all emerge from Orientation as members of the close-knit community. Take this opportunity and run with it. Sign up for many clubs at the activities fair, explore campus with your fellow residents and share a laugh with your OL groups.

Remember that your Orientation Leaders, Roosevelt Fellows and Undergraduate Departmental Representatives (UDR) are here to help, so don’t be afraid to ask questions! Don’t feel boxed

in by your academic plans or refrain from taking that interesting course, because those plans could change. Your first year here is teeming with possibilities, and there is nothing more important than keeping an open mind.

The same concept holds true for upperclassmen. Even if we have been through the process before and we have solidified our academic plans and we are in clubs we love, be sure to maintain that open mind. After all, the new year brings a chance for change.

Now is the time for everyone to develop new and better academic habits. Academic performance from last year means little now.

How we go about our next set of courses is what’s important. The only thing that breaking out of a previous comfort zone can do is bring new possibilities. Even as a rising junior, I still intend on joining a new club, meeting new people and making alterations to my academic habits.

There is no harm or shame in asking a UDR a question, and there is nothing wrong with making changes to your academic and social experiences at Brandeis.

Time and time again we hear stories about how people wish they could have taken that one course or have joined that club. Here’s the point: There is still time.

The Brandeis experience does not become set in stone after some arbitrary period of time. It is fluid until the day we graduate.

All of us have the same opportunity to try something new at the beginning of another semester, from classes to clubs.

Don’t limit yourself to some perceived prescription of what you can or can’t do because any one of your years at Brandeis will arguably grant you the most freedom to try new things than you will have ever had or will ever have outside of the undergraduate experience.

A natural reaction to reading an

opinion like this would be to say, “Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do,” in the words of “LOST’s” John Locke. This is exactly the mindset I seek to spur: that nobody can tell you what and what not to do during your time in college. If we keep ourselves to the limiting recommendations of others and not make the most of our college experiences, what would Louis Brandeis say?

The famed justice and our namesake once said that “Organization can never be a substitute for initiative or for judgment.” As scholars, we must question the things we are told as fact and necessary and make judgments for ourselves.

That is how we will shape the next generation of leaders, through inquiry and exploring new avenues. That starts at the most basic level: by not being afraid to challenge our comfort zones and continuously trying something new.

Widespread participation and enfranchisement are key UNION, from page 12

active organization at Brandeis.

Widespread participation and enfranchisement are key to meeting this goal. That is why we are working hard to make sure that reaching out to the Union, filling out surveys and even joining

our organization are all easy to do. Accessibility and straightforward, streamlined information exchange are the cornerstones of modern information exchange, and that is why we are excited to be bringing our communication and outreach strategies in step with all of the technology avail-

able to us. This year, we are going to be publishing everything from forms and applications to meeting minutes and public documents to our website, and we will be adding ways for people to get in contact with us easily online.

If this work sounds like something you are interested in, you

should consider joining the Student Union! We will be holding a mandatory elections meeting for people interested in running for residential Senate positions (one for every quad) and Allocations Board seats near the end of the month, so keep an eye on your Brandeis email and the Union’s

social media accounts for more information. At the very least, we hope to hear what you have to say throughout the year. Feel free to stop by our office in SCC 301 at any point if you have a question, a concern or an idea to benefit our community. We are looking forward to a great year!

photo by zach phil schwartz/the hoot

Don’t boo; vote.

By Jacob Edelman columnist

“Don’t boo; vote.” It was with those words that President Obama delivered the most electrifying words of his 2016 Democratic National Convention speech. Electrifying for a simple reason: because while small and amusing, those three words carry our destiny.

Full disclaimer: I am a Democrat. I am the president of the Brandeis Democrats, I have knocked on doors for Democrats and I have even gotten a few selfies with my heroes.

But just as important as my Democratic leanings, I am not afraid to say, is my unwavering commitment to getting more folks out, educated on the issues and voting—regardless of party.

Many times in recent history, the process of voting in certain elections may seem pretty futile.

Quite often, voters may have no idea that there are even some races underway due to lack of engagement in the process. But while presidential politics are always the top-of-ticket and most covered elections in the media, there is so much more to keep up on.

Stepping down the ladder from national politics, let’s consider Massachusetts. In 2014, Charlie Baker (R) defeated Martha Coakley (D) for the governorship by approximately 40,000 votes, in a race with more than 2,000,000 cast: a 2 percent margin. The votes Coakley needed to win were all out there (admittedly I was member to that—my ballot was caught in the mail and never made it in on time to be counted), but they didn’t turn out. Maybe those who didn’t vote thought their vote wouldn’t make a difference.

Stepping down once again to 2006 in my home district, a young

Democrat named Benjamin Downing—fresh out of college— had launched a run for state Senate in a field of four other candidates, including an incumbent state representative. 24,735 votes cast, and Downing eked out a win, edging his closest opponent by 243 votes. To this day, Downing discusses those 243 votes as if they are the most important things to him; because they had become quite nearly that. Each one just as important as the next toward a lauded 10-year tenure in the state Senate. (We’re going to miss you, Senator.)

Taking it back to Brandeis, many students who were on campus last semester can recall this: the razor-thin margin of the last Student Union presidential election. Two votes decided that one.

As one who keeps a close eye on elections, it sticks out to me every once in a while that in a case like this, just one or two people could

have quite literally tipped the election the other way around, just like a teeter-totter.

I speak not to argue that one party or individual should have won or lost in each of these elections, and that voter apathy was to blame. I speak instead to argue that given greater voter participation, the results would have been more representative of our community, and it’s on each of us to make that happen.

Each year, voter registration drives take place on campus—I urge students to take advantage of these drives if they are not already registered. Coming along later there will be specially-designated vans to drive registered Waltham voters to the polling place in town, making it easy to have your voice be heard and have your vote added to the pile.

Throughout the year, too, there will be Student Union elections.

Ballots will be sent to us via

email. I ask for students to open the email, click the link and vote, even if you choose the option “abstain.” It means something.

It means something when the vote is within 40,000. It means something when the vote is within 300. And it sure as hell means something when the vote is down to two.

When you want some accountability, seek out an answer with the power that is in your hands; the power of saying that you are a voter and that you plan on voting again and again. The power of using your vote to sway the outcome of who sets the taxes you pay or which person represents you to the university or who designs the next park down the street.

When life presents a challenge, don’t boo. Rise to master it, and remember what you need to do when election day rolls around (FYI: in Massachusetts, the next one is Sept. 8.)

August 19, 2016

OPINIONS 15

The Brandeis Hoot

The college transition: easy for some, not so much for others

By Santiago Montoya columnist

August can lead to the beginning of something great, a long anticipated dream becoming a reality: attending the university of your dreams. It could also be the polar opposite: the inception of a dreadful nightmare. Some may think they are capable of recreating the incubus survival plague to which many of them, now transitioning as college students, belonged during their four years in high school.

Although, is college even about surviving? Or is it about having, as many would phrase it, the “best four years of your life”?

As I can recall, in the beginning of my first year of college, there was a significant amount of changes, and anybody knows that change is not always easy. Yes, your loved ones are not physically here with you. Academics will undoubtedly be challenging, as will be scouting out the right social niche. Figuring out the right balance among academics, extracurriculars and friends may be difficult, perhaps daunting. It all can be mentally, and even physically, exhausting, but it is not impossible.

As a matter of fact, virtually every college student has to go

through a phase of readapting.

Consider it a useful skill—one that you most likely will have to employ once you go out into the job market, a.k.a. “the real world.”

You may need to change your location according to your job, family, opportunities, you name it.

The fact is that adjusting to new things is something that will be quite common throughout each stage of our lives, from moving to another country, state or house; to getting a new pair of shoes, a phone or a pet; to getting married, having a baby and then letting that “baby” go away for college.

When asked about their transition from high school to college, some Brandeisians gave polarizing responses. Some were great, others OK and others less than OK. Each mentioned one particular aspect that represented a challenge for them to adapt into their new environment, known as Brandeis.

“As a NYC high school student, I was acclimated into a community where diversity wasn’t a goal that needed to be met to be considered a safe place for me to attend school,” Mohammad Hossain ’19 said. “Attending Brandeis, I realize the type of diversity I experienced in NYC is completely different from the diversity people create the image of at Brandeis.”

Diversity has been a controver-

sial issue, not only at Brandeis, but nationally. It is an issue that higher education institutions are addressing, though it is rather a gradual process—one that cannot be completely accomplished from one day to the next.

When we come to Brandeis we find out that the student body is a complete amalgamation of many ethnic backgrounds, social classes, nationalities and genders, and as a result, some are more prepared than others simply because everyone has gone through their own distinct education systems.

Some have attended rigorous schools that have prepared them to tackle Brandeis’ challenging academics. Others, not so much, and have expressed feeling disadvantaged. Angela Mendez ’18 claims that her transition was the opposite of smooth, describing it as “extremely difficult.” She claims that one of the main reasons for that was because “Brandeis demands much more from their students than from a regular public city high school.”

Mendez set an example of the difference between high school work and college work: “I remember I could write an essay the night before it was due and still managed to get an A. At Brandeis, not exactly … I did not feel academically prepared at all.

The coursework at Brandeis is so

rigorous.”

Notwithstanding, not everything is about academics. Mendez said that she also felt homesick during her first year, “Brandeis was very different from home … simple things that made home feel like home was missing.”

Hossain, a Posse scholar, described the resources available for students adjusting to the transition. “I was fortunate enough to have my Posse as an emotional and academic support group to help me transition into the rigors of college.”

Mendez, also a Posse scholar, said she used the Students Support Services Program (SSSP).

They serve as a pillar for low-income and first-generation students to navigate Brandeis and all it has to offer, assisting students with textbooks, free tutoring, free printing and counseling. This is not to mention that every firstyear who is a member of the SSSP is assigned a peer mentor who guides them throughout their first year and are there to bring support as they test the waters.

Brandeis provides different programs and resources that are there to make the transition as smooth as possible. In fact, a very successful one that has been “Changing lives since 1968” is the Myra Kraft Transitional Year Program (MKTYP). According to the Brandeis

website, the program targets the “intelligent” and “talented students” who “have not had access to A.P. and honors courses in their previous schooling experiences.”

It adds that MKTYP students are given “small classes and strong support systems in the first year [in order to] help [them] apply the focus, energy, perseverance and maturity developed through leadership practiced in their life experiences to rigorous studies at the postsecondary level.”

Richard Kisack ’20 just finished his transitional year and he is about to embark on his first official year of college. “TYP helped to feel like college is not on my on own. I learned how to find resources on campus and ask people [what] places to go to if I don’t know,” he said.

Brandeis seems to be invested in bringing equity to its student body rather than equality—equality only works if everyone starts from the same place. Equity, on the other hand, is giving people access to the same opportunities.

Our differences can create barriers to participation. Therefore, Brandeis wants to first ensure equity before enjoying equality among all of us—does that include making college some of the “best four years of your life”?

Cameras, card swipe access and training as solutions AUTOCLAVE, from page 12

incorrectly.

Inevitably, misuse of the machines causes major problems, for which Eddie Arroco, who has worked for years on maintenance in Rosenstiel, has to order parts for repair, which takes a while.

Some of the worst incidents that Arroco repeatedly sees include “catastrophic damage to the equipment when plastics melted clogging up the strainers, steam traps, valves and plumbing lines that is extremely hard, time consuming and expensive to repair.”

It should also be noted that not all items can be autoclaved. There are only specific items that can withstand that level of heat and pressure contained with an autoclave machine. Even so, Arroco has seen “people putting materials in the autoclave that are not autoclavable.” That alone, both in part

to what I and many of my peers have witnessed while autoclaving as well as what the staff and other researchers have seen, it is evident that there is lack of proper lab training. The most important thing to understand about this is that, yes, it is an inconvenience for students, media technicians and researchers when the machines are not available because of being broken from misuse, but the top priority is watching out for each other’s safety and our own.

In an ideal world, the best way to deal with the fact that people are not properly trained or are being careless is to hope that everyone, if at least on an individual level, can admit to themselves if they are unsure of how to properly use the autoclave machines. In such a case, just ask someone who you trust is experienced in its use to train you again. From a super-

visor’s level—whether as a media technician, undergraduate trainer or as a post-doc—it is important to acknowledge that certain skills and safety measures should be reinforced often. Don’t just trust that whoever you are teaching will not be prone to making mistakes while using the machines, which have become so simple for use, after they have only used them twice independently. Many would consider this overkill, but once in awhile, why not follow up with the people you train? Test them on how they use the autoclaves, on what things they autoclave and how.

Unfortunately, being idealistic solves few problems. Upon discussing the situations that have been occurring regarding the autoclaves, my principal investigator, Professor Bruce Goode (BIOL), suggested three solu-

tions that could potentially solve the problem of who needs to be trained and how to reinforce proper training.

The first solution is to install cameras in the autoclave room.

That way if questions arise regarding the use of the autoclaves, the administration in Rosenstiel will know exactly who is to blame and reach out to them as well as to whatever lab they work for, instead of making paranoid the people who were probably using the autoclaves correctly. Taking this to another level, it could also be useful to install card swipe access into the autoclave room, at least during the hours when no one from administration or maintenance is down there (such as in the evenings and weekends). This way the administration will know exactly who entered the autoclave room at what time.

The last solution would be to bring some sort of uniformity to the training. As Professor Goode and I were discussing, a possible root for the lack of proper training and confusion regarding autoclave usage is from the fact that students are trained by different people, in a different manner.

What one lab may deem absolutely unsafe, may be okay for another lab. For this reason, there should be one person, who everyone in Rosenstiel agrees is well-trained with autoclaves, employed to train all new members who join any one of the labs in Rosenstiel.

These solutions could potentially eliminate not only a safety hazard, but could also ensure that one less person is misusing and therefore disabling an autoclave for a few days or weeks, which makes everyone who works in Rosenstiel very happy.

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16 The Brandeis Hoot

SUMMER IN PHOTOS

August 19, 2016

photos by mia edelstein/the hoot

photos by zach phil schwartz/the hoot