The Brandeis Hoot 03/15/2019

Volume 16 Issue 7

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

March 15, 2019

Brandeis University’s Community Newspaper · Waltham, Mass.

Watanabe receives award

Elections, debate to ååbe held

By Sabrina Chow

By Celia Young

editor

editor

President Ron Liebowitz presented Toshizo “Tom” Watanabe ’73 with the Alumni Achievement Award this past weekend at the 60th anniversary celebration of the Wien International Scholarship Program (WISP).

Watanabe graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Brandeis, and in November 2018, donated $10 million to Brandeis to establish the Toshizo Watanabe International Scholarship Program (TWISP) that would give eligible graduate and undergraduate students in Japan the opportunity to study at Brandeis.

Liebowitz said in his speech “TWISP will not only further diversify campus but also add new

Candidates announced their plan to run for several seats including the President of the Student Union on Wednesday. The Student Union is holding a debate between the candidates on Monday, March 18 at 8 p.m. in Skyline Commons, which representatives from The Brandeis Hoot and the Justice are helping to plan.

The upcoming elections are expected to fill Union executive board positions, including the president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and junior representative to the Board of Trustees positions. Voting will take place from 11:59 p.m. March 19 to 11:59 p.m. March 20. A second election will take place in April for seats on the Judiciary,

PHOTO BY SABRINA CHOW/THE HOOT

ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Toshizo Watanabe recieves the alumni achievement award from President Liebowitz.

See WATANABE, page 3

See ELECTIONS, page 2

Brandeis graduates speak about financial issues at Brandeis

By Sasha Skarboviychuk editor

Two Brandeis graduates co-led a talk discussing the issues that lower income students face at “elite” colleges such as Brandeis, and how some of the issues they had could be solved. Gwendolyn

Berumen ’16 and Zuri Gordon ’15 gave the talk, titled “Poor Kid at the Rich School: The Cost of Diversity,” at a conference aimed at school and college leaders according to an EdSurge article.

There has been a larger increase in tuition fees than in median household income, at 2.3 percent and 0.8 percent (ad-

justed for inflation) respectively, according to the College Board.

Gordon shared in the EdSurge article that her struggle with college began during the application process. She got into a few highly-selective colleges, hoping that her family would be proud and excited for her, however those were not the reactions

she got: “my mother would not care—she would say, ‘You’re not going to go there, we can’t afford that,’” said Gordon in the article. She added however that “now [she] can see [her mother] was trying to protect [Gordon] from getting [her] hopes up.”

Gordon said that just getting accepted into college did not

mean that she would be able to get a higher education. Only after getting the acceptances and the financial aid did Gordon say that she truly understood “what level of low-income [her] family was because they could not pay more than $1,000 a year,” See GRADUATES, page 5

Student Union proposes club advisor policy

By Rachel Saal editor

The Student Union has proposed a bylaw that would require clubs to have a faculty or staff advisor to oversee the club. The Union hopes to first require advisors for secured clubs as a “progressive stance,” and then eventually require all clubs on campus to have an advisor, according to Chief of Staff Emma Russell ’19.

Advisors would serve to solve many issues such as handling finances, signing contracts and solving internal issues, according to Vice President Aaron Finkel

Inside This Issue:

’19. “We want to bring club life up to par with other universities because one of the most common complaints that we get is that things are so confusing, and there’s policies people don’t understand,” said Finkel. “We think that club advisors can help this.”

Ryan Bowen ’19, member and treasurer of Brandeis Television (BTV), is against the new initiative and said that he believes it would have several negative effects.

“I think the new policy is a poor decision. Clubs in college differ from clubs in high school See CLUB LEADERS, page 4

CARTOON BY HELEN WONG/THE HOOT

STUDENT UNION TO HOLD ELECTIONS

President Ron Liebowitz

Page 5 News: Prof. shows all hipsters look alike Page 6 Ops: TRII: How to make an impact Features: First Mandel Lecture discusses caribou Page 10 Friend or Foe? Page 12 Sports: No. 10 Men’s tennis going strong EDITORIAL: Brandeis not affordable Page 9 OPS: PAGE 6

Hub Film Fest Brandeis students host area-wide film fesitval.

ARTS: PAGE 14

NEWS

2 The Brandeis Hoot

March 15, 2019

Union to hold debate, elections ELECTIONS, from page 1

Senate and Allocations Board.

Other positions open this election season include the representative to the Brandeis Sustainability Fund, the junior representative to the Board of Trustees and the junior representative to the Allocations board.

All candidates have posted biographies, available from the Student Union election announcement email sent on Thursday. No candidate has declared their intent to run for the junior representative to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, a vacant position.

Four students are running for president: Lizy Dabanka ’20, David Hui ’22, Oliver Price ’20 and Simran Tatuskar ’21. Two candidates, Guillermo Caballero ’20 and Trevor Filseth ’20, are running for vice president.

Dabanka has worked on the Student Union for the past two years, she wrote in her candidate biography, and wants to focus on accessibility, advocacy and accountability. Hui, a member of the Campus Operations Senate Committee, is currently the senator for North Quad and wants to focus on bringing the community together, he wrote in his candidate biography.

Price, who serves as the Charles River senator in his second year at Brandeis, according to his candidate biography, wants to focus on sustainability and increasing awareness of the Community Emergency and Enhancement Fund (CEEF) and the BSF. Tatuskar is serving as the Student

Union secretary and has served as the co-chair of the Health and Safety Committee. Tatuskar, who created her own Wix site (a free online website platform) wants to focus on communication, creating an STI clinic and integrating a representative from the Greek Awareness Council and the Brandeis Athletics in the executive board of the Union.

Caballero, who has worked with the Club Support Committee on the Union in the past, wants to focus on making the branches of the Union more cohesive, create a stronger relationship with the Prevention and Advocacy Resource Center (PARC) and support divestment and minority groups on campus. Filseth is the senator for the class of 2020 and is involved in the Campus Working group and Senate Sustainability Committee. He wants to focus on making transportation more accessible, streamlining funding for clubs and increasing communication between the Union and the student body.

Three candidates are running unopposed. Taylor Fu ’21 is running for secretary, Yona Steinman ’20 is running for treasurer and Gabi Burkholz ’21 is running for junior representative to the Alumni Board.

Fu hopes to foster communication between the Union and the student body. Steinman, who has served for three semesters as deputy treasurer, wants to make the treasury system simpler and efficient. Burkholz hopes to foster connections between students and alumni, according to her candidate biography.

Three candidates, Zoë Fort ’21,

Jake Rong ’21 and Nakul Srinivas ’21 are running for junior representative for the Board of Trustees.

Fort, the union diversity and inclusion officer, wants to “share our collective concerns, passions and dreams with the board of trustees,” she wrote in her candidate biography. Rong, who is the Village senator and Rules Committee chair, has served on the Union since his first year at Brandeis, wants to create more opportunities for trustees to meet with students, allow further transparency from the executive board and represent students in President Ron Liebowitz’s “Framework for Our Future,” a three point plan to improve Brandeis.

Srinivas is the class of 2021 senator and has served on the Social Justice and Diversity Committee. He hopes to advocate for students rights, affordability, accessibility and diversity.

In the race for Representative to the Brandeis Sustainability Fund (BSF), Ian Duffield ’22, Isaiah Freedman ’20, Zhenmao Sheng ’22 and Ben Silver ’20 are all running.

If he wins, Duffield wants to encourage more applications for project grants and serve as a resource for students desiring to use the BSF. Freedman hopes to improve sustainable actions at Brandeis and fund projects to help the Brandeis community. Sheng hopes to support sustainability at Brandeis and in Waltham. Silver hopes to advocate for funding and support students projects utilizing the BSF. Campaigning began after Tuesday at midnight and will continue until the elections are held on March 20.

IN THE SENATE: March 10, 2019 •

Vice President Aaron Finkel ’19 officially inaugurated the four new senators to the union: Senators for the class of 2021 Nakul Srinivas ’21, Zach Kern ’21, Yuechan Ta ’21 and Nancy Zhai ’22.

•

Union Treasurer Adrian Ashley ’20 then presented on the student union expenditures for the remainder of the year and for the upcoming year. The Executive Board of the Union has $4,000 remaining and the senate has $12,000.

Ashley also presented a budget for the next year, saying that he thinks it’s a reasonable amount that the Union could spend, and if needed, the Union could always emergency request more funds.

•

Ashley estimated the senate would spend $21,000, with roughly $15,000 on Midnight Buffet and an additional $6,000 for Senate Money Resolutions (SMRs), which fund various projects in the senate. Adrian based this on an average of between $700 and $750 on each SMR and said that more money can always be requested. The senate then voted on and passed the budget.

•

The senate also discussed Senator Matthew Reeves ’19, who has not yet shown up to a senate meeting after being elected this past winter. According to the attendance policy of the union, only three unexcused absences are allowed, meaning Reeves may be impeached at the upcoming meeting.

•

The senate passed an amendment to remove the clerk of the senate position and to require members of the judiciary to hold office hours, which the judiciary was consulted

German climate justice movement leaders speak

By Max Everson staff

Two leaders from the German organization Ende Gelände, a group dedicated to protecting the environment from climate change through mass demonstrations of civil disobedience, spoke at Brandeis last Thursday.

Movement leaders Daniel Hofinger and Dorothee Haeussermann spoke to a room of 28 attendees at Brandeis as part of their U.S. tour.

“Ende Gelände” is German for “here and no further.” The organization utilizes a variety of techniques to fight against the fossil fuel industry in Germany. Their more traditional methods include public protests and legal action.

In their talk at Brandeis, called “Scaling Up the Resistance: Strategies and Stories from the German Climate Justice Movement,” Hofinger said that those methods are important, but that “for some of us we need to go one step further and do civil disobedience.”

He continued, joking, “you know, Thoreau and Walden Pond or whatever, you’re read it all probably.”

Ende Gelände trains people to use their bodies to stop coal from being produced and transported. In the presentation, Hofinger showed pictures and videos of

Ende Gelände volunteers, dressed entirely in white clothing that covered their faces, positioning themselves on train tracks and in front of heavy machinery. The activists do not destroy infrastructure or hurt workers. Hofinger said that the police are not treated as their enemies, just as obstacles.

Their only goal is to stop the production of fossil fuels.

The pair wanted to communicate why the movement has had so much success in Germany.

Haussermann admitted that the environment within Germany might just be different than in the United States, saying, “It’s important to recognize we have a culture of civil disobedience.” She said afterward that she believes that culture is not the only difference, and emphasized a key part of the Ende Gelände philosophy.

Haeussermann spoke about her suspicion that the culture of civil disobedience in America emphasizes participants’ willingness to be arrested. In Ende Gelände, she and Hofinger don’t want any of their volunteers to have to make sacrifices. They want to create a culture where this necessary resistance is easy to take part in.

Participants do not bring identification, and they move together in such large numbers that it is near impossible for a police force to arrest all the demonstrators. The organization provides legal net-

works and support to the people that do get arrested. She showed more pictures of people smiling and laughing, both at the resistance training camps and while positioning themselves on train tracks.

Ende Gelände has had successes in the past, said Hofinger. In September of 2018, the energy giant Rheinisch-Westfälisches Elektrizitätswerk (RWE) tried to clear the Hambach Forest next to its coal mine in order to dig for lignite. Ende Gelände built nearly a hundred tree houses in the forest to occupy the area. When police managed to destroy the tree houses, Ende Gelände organized a crowd of 50,000 people to camp out on the edge of the forest, Hofinger explained. This action bought enough time to win a court case that delayed the destruction of the forest until the end of 2019, and Ende Gelände is planning how to continue their resistance.

At the end of the presentation, Hofinger asked the audience for any questions. Multiple members of the audience were concerned about how Ende Gelände could maintain its momentum as a movement. Haeussermann replied eagerly, saying “people really enjoy being with Ende Gelände.

It’s empowering.”

about. An amendment to require some executive board members to come to the senate meeting and an amendment to buy mugs for Sodexo worker appreciation did not pass.

•

Dining Committee Chair and Senator Leigh Salomon ’19 reported that sparkling water machines would be installed in each dining hall. Racial Minorities Senator Denezia Fahie ’22 reported that she was upset about how the idea to have a Chik-fil-A on campus was received. Senator Josh Hoffman ’21 reported that his meeting with Brandeis Counseling Center (BCC) director Joy von Steiger went well and that she was interested in hearing student concerns about the BCC.

•

Senator Noah Nguyen ’21 also discussed a club advisor project that would begin with secured clubs having non-student advisors. Nguyen said she met with secured clubs, who expressed their concern that the advisor may want to be too involved in leadership decisions for a club, which she said wouldn’t happen as the role of a club advisor is only to advise, not make decisions for the club.

•

Nguyen also said she met with WBRS and the Justice, who expressed concerns as media clubs about their image, but otherwise the feedback was positive, Nguyen said. Finkel also said he had reservations about the project but thought it was a positive and necessary change. In the next few weeks, Finkel expects to introduce a bylaws amendment to start the project.

- Celia Young

March 15, 2019

NEWS 3

The Brandeis Hoot

Watanabe ’73 receives achievement award

By Sabrina Chow editor

perspectives to classroom discussions and encourage students to expand their knowledge of their world and of themselves.”

Following Watanabe’s acceptance of the award, he spoke about his own life story and the profound impact of WISP on shaping who he is today. He cited Wien and Kōnosuke Matsushita, founder of Panasonic, as the two individuals that had a profound impact on him. Matsushita also assisted Watanabe financially to help him come to the United States to study.

Watanabe was born in a small beach town southwest of Tokyo, Japan and lived with his mother and sister. His father died of tuberculosis when he was one.

And even though his mother did not attend college, Watanabe’s mother knew the importance of education and made sure to provide him and his sister with a private education. On top of this, she also required him to work at their family-owned dairy store.

“My mother taught me the value of hard work,” Watanabe said in his speech. “She told me how to make money and become financially independent in order to one day have a good life.” He said that her teachings reminded her of the famous Chinese proverb: “You give a poor man a fish, and you feed him for a day. You teach him to fish, and you give him an occupation that will feed him for a lifetime.”

Watanabe decided when he was 15 that he wanted to study abroad.

His hometown was surrounded by

various U.S. military bases, so he had the opportunity to speak with many officers and was “attracted to the American way of life.” WISP ultimately granted Watanabe this opportunity to study in the U.S. He remembered how difficult it was to find a job in Japan

tion of WISP, Liebowitz stated that Watanabe was inspired by a speech given by Lawrence Wien, whom the scholarship is named after. “That is when the seed was planted for me. Since then, I have always wanted to repay the Wien family generosity by

the emotional speech that Wien made about his life. “His greatest satisfaction came not from making money in his business,” said Watanabe about Wien. “But his scholarship program. He spoke from the bottom of his heart with tears in his eyes. His speech made

PHOTO BY SABRINA CHOW/THE HOOT

after graduating from Brandeis because an American university diploma did not have much significance in Japan, said Watanabe. After finding work, Watanabe broke through the scene and became a successful businessman by his late thirties.

When Watanabe returned for the 30th anniversary celebra-

helping other students,” Liebowitz quoted Watanabe saying.

Liebowitz also said that Watanabe was determined to continue his education in the United States, but Brandeis was the only school that offered him the financial means to “make his dreams a reality.”

Watanabe also reflected on

an invaluable impact on me.”

This speech by Wien that “ignited a strong passion in me to pay forward and offer others opportunities for which I was chosen to receive and which I am forever grateful,” said Watanabe. Following his retirement from business, Watanabe made his dream a reality.

In 2008 during the 50th anni-

versary of WISP, Watanabe reconnected with his former roommate, Geir Hilmar Haarde, the former prime minister of Iceland. The two helped create an exchange program, the National Iceland Scholarship Exchange, that gives students in Iceland the opportunity to study in the United States.

Watanabe also created a scholarship program with the United States Japan Council in Washington D.C. with Daniel Inouye, a former U.S. senator. Watanabe also added that Inouye was the highest ranking Asian American political figure in United States history, third in the presidential line of succession.

Since the program’s inception, Watanabe has funded 275 scholarships. “The creation of the foundation enabled me to give the gift of education to others,” said Watanabe. “It fulfills my soul and is what makes me feel valuable.”

“Life itself is a teacher and I hope that all of us as students of the many teachers in our lives take the wealth in education, knowledge and experiences out into the world and make a life that matters,” Watanabe said at the end of his speech. “My goal for the rest of my life is to support students who would not be able to receive a decent education without financial aid.”

The “Wien family” has almost 900 alumni from more than 100 countries who came to Brandeis to study thanks in part to WISP. Watanabe is the current president of the Toshizo Watanabe Foundation and the chair emeritus and former president and CEO of Nikken Global, which is an international home and wellness products company.

Wien Scholars reflect on Brandeis for anniversary

By Sabrina Chow editor

The 2018-2019 Wien Scholars spoke about their experiences at Brandeis as international students and transitioning from life outside the United States for the 60th anniversary of the Wien International Scholarship Program (WISP) on March 9 and 10.

Current and past Wien Scholars as well as close friends of the program gathered on campus to celebrate decades of scholars that have passed through Brandeis campus since the program’s inception in 1958.

Groups of the current 20182019 Wien Scholars spoke to different aspects of life at Brandeis and how being a Wien Scholar has influenced their experiences not only at Brandeis but in the United States. All of the scholars highlighted how the scholarship brought them together and helped them form a new family within themselves.

The first group looked at academic life at Brandeis. All of the students spoke highly of their professors that helped them find their passions in their studies.

Sabina Simkova ’22, who is from Slovakia, said that she didn’t really like American culture when she first came to Brandeis because she didn’t understand it. By speaking with her Russian professor, Simkova found a person who understood her struggles.

Akim Sanni ’21, originally from Benin, spoke about life as

a student athlete and how both of these aspects have kept him grounded and boosted him. Sanni said that even though it takes a lot of mental and physical energy to be a student-athlete, “If you’re passionate about something, you can always make it work.” He sees playing basketball as his escape from the stress of academics and the perfect balance between “fantasy and reality.”

The next group of scholars talked about clubs and organizations they are involved in on campus.

Juan Ramon Bordon ’22 from Paraguay joined the Prevention, Advocacy & Resource Center (PARC) his second semester at Brandeis to help spread awareness for domestic and sexual violence.

“From where I come, that’s not a thing we talk about,” explained Bordon.

“Domestic and dating violence is something we don’t talk about.

It’s just something we accept. This is something I’ve never noticed back at home.” Bordon also said that by joining PARC, he became a part of a group that had different experiences and background with these types of issues.

Sahra Jaamac ’20 and Akwasi Owusu-Brempong ’21 both spoke about their experiences with the Brandeis African Students Organization (BASO) on campus. Even though Jaamac said that she came to Brandeis to experience different cultures, she felt like it was important that she had some part of her home with her. “I joined so I could feel at home,” said Jaamac.

“When I feel homesick, I always

go there.”

Owusu-Brempong felt similarly to Jaamac about the impact that BASO had on his life. He said that most of the friends he made his first year came from BASO. “It was through talking to people there it gave me the confidence to take to people who weren’t from Africa,” he noted.

The third group talked about what they wished they knew before coming to Brandeis. A lot of the scholars spoke to the numerous resources and opportunities that Brandeis, and the United States in general, offered to them.

They also spoke about how these things would not have been attainable in their various home countries.

Tafara Gava ’20 has a different perspective from many of the other Wien scholars as a scholar majoring in something “artsy.” He told the audience that as a first year at Brandeis, he wrote in his journal that “there is so much choice in America that it is almost blinding.” He went on to say that “there is so much freedom and a lot of us come from conservative or restrictive cultures. Part of the culture shock is finding yourself.”

Gava also highlighted self-care and the importance of mental health for all students.

The final group of students reflected on what it is like to be a Wien scholar in 2019. Similar to the words of all the previous panelists, all the current Wien scholars felt like their peers were their family away from home. “They are a group that looks out for you

and a place where you can find home in every single country,” said Kruti Yeshwant Jethwa ’22.

According to Sonia Maria Pavel ’20, many of the Wien scholars, including current and past scholars, would not have the ability to attend an elite university in the United States if it was not for the Wien scholarship.

Pavel found that not only faculty members but also her fellow Wien scholars were the ones that helped push her towards her passions. “The Wien scholarship comes as a great source of confidence for us to pursue whatever dreams we want to pursue,” said Pavel. “It comes with the trust and the responsibility to excel in whatever we choose to pursue.”

Daniel Garcia Murillo ’20 voiced similar sentiments, saying that “we have the responsibility to attempt to understand what matters and what we should put our time into and do something that is beneficial for everybody. We need to think for ourselves and pursue the actions in what we decided what matters for the change of the world.”

WISP was the first program in the United States that was “bringing students from every corner of the globe to campus and engaging the entire community to be active global citizens,” according to the program’s website. Founded by Lawrence A. and Mae L. Wien, the program has brought over 900 scholars from over 100 countries to Brandeis to study.

Jodi Hanelt, the current director of the International Students

and Scholars Office (ISSO), moderated the event and highlighted on the ways that Wien Scholars fit into the “Framework for Our Future” that President Ron Liebowitz introduced in November 2018.

The first sector, student living and learning experiences, highlights upon the scholars’ ability to foster close relationships with each other.

The scholars oftentimes stay on campus during holiday breaks and look out for and care for one another, according to Hanelt. “It really speaks to the close nature that the Wiens have over time and to collaborate academically in order to advance the thoughts and feelings they have about their life here at Brandeis and their intellectual life.”

The second part, supporting research, creativity and collaborative innovation is a large part of the Wien community, with many of the scholars partaking in the community as humanitarians, leaders and educators, said Hanelt. She went on to say how Brandeis gives these students a platform to test their skills and also gives them a space to thrive and contribute to the growing world around them.

The final section of the framework looks at honoring the founding values of Brandeis.

Hanelt praised all the current and past scholars for their reverence for learning and their capacity for critical learning. “All the students have a knack for seizing each moment that is given to them,” added Hanelt.

4 NEWS

The Brandeis Hoot

March 15, 2019

Union plans to install club advisors for student clubs CLUB LEADERS, from page 1

because they are student run and give students an opportunity to take on more responsibility and get experience in leadership roles.

Forcing clubs to adopt an advisor is reminiscent of a club advisor in high school,” said Bowen. “It feels that students are being treated as children and are being made responsible for by an adult all over again.”

The Student Union has also been given positive feedback, according to Finkel. “In fact, many clubs already have informal advisors that they go to, and this would put those advisors’ names on paper to make it official, as well as providing support to those who don’t have advisors,” said Finkel.

“It’s really just something that should already exist,” said Finkel.

“One of the Student Union’s main jobs is to handle clubs, and one of the things that many universities have that Brandeis does not have are clubs that are strong and last

for many years.”

BEMCo, a secured club on campus, already has advisors that they seek support from, according to Benjamin Merker ’19, executive director of BEMCo. Merker said that the mandate would have little effect on BEMCo’s operations. As a part of a state ambulance company, the club is required to have a medical director from a hospital oversee operations, and BEMCo also has three faculty and staff advisors, according to Merker. He said that BEMCo has benefited from having additional guidance and that he thinks that other clubs could benefit from similar oversight. He said that he and the other members are able to learn from faculty advisors about the institutional history of the club rather than having to rely on experience.

“We know what happened the year before, and [past years] know what happened before them, but it’s like a big game of telephone,” said Merker. “We’re doing similar things every year, but we’re still able to improve every year

and make sure that we have good quality of care.”

He said that while he does not think that a new mandate would have a large impact on BEMCo, he has enjoyed the club’s autonomy, and he hopes that any new mandates would not strip clubs of that autonomy. Finkel said that the Union has heard many concerns that club advisors would make decisions for the club, but that it would neither be their responsibility nor in their power to do so. “We want to maintain student autonomy within clubs, which is why club advisors are not going to have any official decision making power,” said Finkel. “Club leaders will maintain complete control.”

Bowen said that even if club leaders maintain control, he is concerned that the presence of an advisor would affect the way that a club is run.

“I feel that club leadership could become more relaxed because they could shift blame for problems with the club to an advisor.

It would feel like they’re always

stuck reporting to someone else or stuck underneath an advisor.

They would be less inclined to go out and ensure the success of their club,” Bowen continued. “There could also be conflict between the club board and advisor if paperwork is not prioritized by the advisor or if the advisor wants to see specific actions from the club that the leadership doesn’t agree with.”

According to Senator-at-Large Noah Nguyen ’21, there would be a contract so that advisors could not take over club operations and they would not get involved without leaders’ permission. Should there be a violation of this contract, the Union would replace the advisor, according to Finkel.

According to Nguyen, this initiative was started last year through Club Support, but it has since been continued and become more of a focus of the Student Union. Last year, the Union posted about the initiative on their social media, and they held a listening session in which they heard opinions from several stu-

dents. This project will help clubs become more sustainable, according to Nguyen.

“It’s going to be short-term work for long-term payoff. It might be a lot of work for us now, but this only needs to happen the first time a club needs an advisor,” said Russell. “There will probably be a little bit of turnover over the years, but the process of finding enough advisors and making sure that there’s enough for everyone should really only happen once.”

The eight secured clubs that would first be affected include WBRS, Brandeis Emergency Medical Corps (BEMCo), Waltham Group, Brandeis Television (BTV), Student Events, Archon Yearbook, Student Sexuality Information Service (SSIS), the Justice and The Brandeis Sustainability Fund. While the mandate would begin with secured clubs, the Union’s goal is to eventually have advisors simply be a part of the culture at Brandeis and “change things for the better,” according to Russell.

Students discuss self-advocacy experiences

By Ryan Spencer editor

Four upperclassmen discussed their experiences with self-advocacy as students with disabilities in a panel Thursday, sharing advice on how other students with disabilities might advocate for themselves both in the classroom and on campus.

The panelists—LilyFish Gomberg ’20, Emily Dana ’19, Irving Perez ’20 and Shoshi Finkel ’20—described self-advocacy as the skill of figuring out how to get something you need when you’re not getting it.

“It’s your job to say what you need because otherwise people don’t know or people don’t realize [what you need],” Gomberg said.

She and the other panelists noted that students with disabilities have a variety of different needs which depend on the individual student, the specifics of their disability and the context of the situation.

The panelists noted that college is an important time to develop self-advocacy skills since, as adults, students can-

not rely as heavily on their parents or guardians as they may have used to and will have to use similar skills after college.

“In some ways, it’s easier than having someone else advocate for you because we know ourselves better than anyone else,” Dana said, “I know my body better than anyone else does, so I should be able to ask what I need.” She also noted that being able to self-advocate can help make students—with or without disabilities—more self aware of themselves and their needs.

Scenarios of self-advocacy described by the panelists included reaching out to Student Accessibility Students (SAS), speaking to professors about accommodations and identifying needs to other students in social situations or when working on a group project. Panelists recognized that advocating for oneself in these situations can be nerve-wracking but offered advice and tips often based on their own experiences.

“Make sure that people know who you are,” Finkel suggested to students with disabilities, espe-

cially those who may be new to Brandeis. She advised stopping

by SAS, academic advisor drop-in hours, the Department of Community Living and the counseling center so that when “you walk into those offices you’re a familiar face and you’re a friendly face and you can get right to that conversation that you need to have.” By establishing a relationship, she said, “they know who you are, they know what you need, [and] they know what works for you” when a problem needs to be solved.

Dana also said establishing relationships was important. “You don’t know who is going to be receptive until you try,” she said.

“Be as honest as you’re willing to be,” Dana stated, “I have gotten the most actual accomodations and help when I have decided that is okay for me to be vulnerable--in a private setting of course.”

“It’s hard, coming out as disabled is really scary,” Dana said. “The first step for me was start with your friends, start with the people you already have very strong relationships with,” she said. “Slowly, as you start to see people who

are going to be receptive and who are going to be kind, then maybe you can take another step.”

Gomberg said that for some students, including herself, “it’s really hard to know what you’re advocating for if you don’t know what it is that you need.” One strategy she employed early in her first semester at Brandeis, she said, was writing down what she would make her anxious about classes. “Then I could see the trends, and I could see what makes me stressed every single time,” she said, “being able to clarify that for yourself is going to make you a more effective advocate for yourself.” She also suggested asking a friend to pretend to be a professor or SAS advisor to practice a conversation and build confidence before actually having it.

When working with other students and peers, “whatever your boundaries are are super valid and fair,” Gomberg said. “If you don’t want to tell people what is going on with you there are lots of other ways to say I need help without giving all of the information,” she said. She suggested us-

ing the statement “it’s a medical thing” to explain a need without having to go into personal details.

The panelists also discussed what to do if a student with a disability finds themselves in a situation where a professor is not being accomodating to their needs.

“Learn from my mistakes, don’t just drop a class or get a bad grade in it just because you’re too embarrassed to bring up that your professor is denying your rights,” Finkel said. Panelists noted that many times professors don’t know that they aren’t being accommodating and talking to them may solve a student’s problem.

SAS is another service students can use if their professor isn’t making the proper accommodations, according to panelists. Panelists noted that if a professor is being outright discriminatory, rather than just ignorant, talking to SAS or filing a form on their website is the best path to solving the problem.

The panelists reminded students who have registered their disability with the university that accommodations are protected by law.

Former Israeli ambassador to Ireland and panelists discuss relationship between nations

By Celia Young editor

Three panelists, including Zeev Boker, who was Israel’s ambassador to Ireland in 2015, discussed the changing relationship between Ireland and Israel, from Irish support of the state to evolving support for Palestinian rights on Monday, March 11.

Alexander Kaye (NEJS), the Karl, Harry and Helen Stoll Assistant Professor of Israel Studies, began by calling the conversation “bizarre” because it goes against expectations that Israel and Ireland should have a close relationship. Ireland and Israel are very similar nations, as both underwent a period of British colonial rule, Kaye said, and both have a strong association with religion, a cultural identity and their own

language. Both were seen as straddling the line between a European state and a non-European state, Kaye said, though this perception has changed in the past century.

He also spoke about how both countries historically went through a diaspora, with Boston representing both a strong Irish Catholic and Jewish immigrant population. “The role that a homeland has in the imagination of a diaspora, I think that both for Irish Americans and for Jewish Americans, Israel and Ireland play a role not just as a physical actual place with actual institutions where you can go and live but also as an idea and an idea that helps to bolster a sense of group identity,” he said.

The Sophia Moses Robinson Professor Emerita of Jewish Studies and History at Wellesley University Frances Malino

also spoke about the close relationship between Israel and Ireland, connecting Justice Louis Brandeis, Brandeis’ namesake, to the conversation. Malino quoted a 19th century Irish leader Daniel O’Connell, who campaigned for Catholic people’s rights to sit in British parliament, as saying, “agitate, agitate, agitate!” in his fight for representation.

She then explained that Louis D. Brandeis, in his speech to the Eastern council of reform rabbis, quoted O’Connell by saying, “Organize, organize, organize!” to fight for Jewish rights.

Provost Lisa Lynch, who moderated the panel, then asked Boker to speak about the modern relationship between Ireland and Israel. He spoke about the great cooperation Ireland and Israel have experienced, including himself being invited to Trinity

College to speak to students. But members of Boycott Divest Sanction (BDS)—a Palestinian-lead organization that advocates for economic sanctions, divestment and boycotting of Israel to pressure the country into protecting Palestinian rights, according to their website—stopped him.

The relationship, however, is changing, Kaye said, echoing Boker’s example. Kaye spoke about how, as more people in Ireland begin to see Israel as a colonial enterprise, support from Ireland wanes as the country has a long history of supporting post-colonization independence movements. He also described how, in the Irish Parliament, sympathy for the Palestinian cause has grown.

Kaye continued to say that “I would love it if Ireland and every other state, including Israel, was pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel,”

and Boker followed, by clarifying that being pro-Palestinian does not mean being anti-Israel. Although, Boker said, members of the Irish parliament are afraid to publicly support Israel.

Looking to the future relationship between the two countries, all panelists were reluctant to try to predict Irish-Israeli relations, but Malena spoke about the possible future implications of Brexit, or the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union, which she said could cause further future tensions in the region.

Kaye also commented on the future, and though he said that “predictions do not end well for the predictor,” he said it would depend “both on leadership in the government, but it also depends on the people,” explaining that Dubliners have warmer attitudes toward Israel.

March 15, 2019

NEWS 5

The Brandeis Hoot

Graduates speak about financial struggles GRADUATES, from page 1

she said in the EdSurge article.

That was when her college counselor told her that she would likely pay less at a private institution than at a state college with lower prices but less scholarship opportunities, because of the scholarships and tuition discounts for first-generation and minority students. This is how Gordon ended up at Brandeis, according to the EdSurge article.

Gordon and Berumen said that challenges occurred even during the application process,

because their parents could not help them and information was hard to find. Language was another issue they encountered: Berumen said she “didn’t know how to talk about FAFSA in Spanish.”

Brandeis did attempt to welcome Berumen and some other first-generation students by flying them in during the application process for a “diversity weekend,” where a variety of multicultural events occured. However, upon arriving to campus it did not feel very welcoming: “it was a little bit of false advertising … they’re

kind of lying about what’s happening there,” she told EdSurge.

After beginning their undergraduate studies, both became activists for more resources. This was challenging, however, and often distracted them from their studies. A member of the audience also pointed out that a major struggle is learning how to advocate for yourself: he himself “would lose out on things because [he] didn’t know how to open [his] mouth,” she told EdSurge.

After Gordon and Berumen graduated they said that both

struggled with finding a job and understanding the debt they got into to be able to attend college.

Berumen noted that she “did not think about student loans for one second” while being at Brandeis, although she did have to take an online course about the debt, while getting close to graduation. Now having to pay back $30,000, Berumen felt scared. They also were not satisfied with the way the alumni network of Brandeis and other similar institutions work, claiming in the EdSurge article that they

do not help all students equally.

Berumen highlighted that they had “a difficult experience, and we don’t want that to happen to other students.” They both felt that the campus was designed for students of greater means, and not for them. Both also want to push Brandeis and other colleges to be more welcoming to students like them. Gordon works at the Juilliard School in New York City, while Berumen works at the Dallas County Community College district.

Hague abroad program to end after this summer

By Abigail Gardener editor

After a 10-year run, the Brandeis in The Hague summer study abroad program will have its last session this summer.

The program is no longer able to function as one that “meets Brandeis’s standards” after this summer, said Associate Dean of Study Abroad J. Scott Van Der Meid in an email to The Brandeis Hoot.

Despite collaborating with academic partners Leiden University and the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies over the past 10 years, the six-week, twocourse program is ending “based on shifting academic priorities at Leiden University, limited student housing and the continued lack of U.S. Federal Financial Aid portability,” said Van Der Meid. “This was not a decision that was taken lightly,” he said.

One of three Brandeis-led study abroad programs, the Brandeis

in The Hague program focuses on international law and human rights issues, according to the program website. Students who attend the program “will gain a global perspective while interacting with criminal tribunals in The Hague and working on projects that address major global issues,” according to the program website.

Coursework is supervised and partially taught, along with faculty from the Grotius Centre, by Professor Melissa Stimell (LGLS).

The decision to end the program was met with disappointment, according to Aaron Finkel ’19, one of the students participating in The Hague program’s final summer. “This is one of Brandeis’ most popular Study Abroad programs, and it’s a shame the University can’t keep it running.

However, if there’s anything I’ve learned from being Student Body Vice President, it’s that sometimes you are forced to make tough decisions that not everyone will be happy with,” he said in an email to The Hoot.

“I trust this issue was discussed

for a long time before a decision was made. However, they should know that many students are extremely disappointed, and if they can find a way to continue the program in the future, it would be very much appreciated,” Finkel continued.

Finkel chose The Hague program because he intends to go to law school. “There’s no better place to study international law than in the Hague. I saw this as a great opportunity for me, so I’m glad I will be part of the final year,” he said.

The original goal of the program was “to provide a Brandeis-led study abroad program that would showcase a lot of the incredible work taking place in The Hague and at Leiden University,” said Van Der Meid. The program was originally only focused on Legal Studies, but the International and Global Studies (IGS) department quickly joined as well, allowing students to take courses abroad that would count for the major and minor.

While Brandeis had run its own

programs in the past in Israel, Poland and Germany, the Brandeis in the Hague program “started a new wave of faculty-led programming at Brandeis that now includes Brandeis in Siena and Brandeis in Copenhagen,” Van Der Meid said.

Despite its end, there will still be “robust opportunities to study abroad” for those students interested in Legal Studies, IGS and Politics, Van Der Meid said. Students can peruse the over 200 programs in 58 countries that Brandeis approves, and should reach out to a study abroad advisor to discuss their options.

In addition, the deadline to apply for the last summer of The Hague program has been extended to March 20. Students with a strong interest in applying should contact Assistant Director of Study Abroad Michelle Ranieri at mranieri@brandeis.edu or Professor Melissa Stimell at stimell@ brandeis.edu.

“I am looking forward to celebrating with students the final summer of Brandeis in The

Hague, the International City of Peace and Justice!” Stimell said in an email to The Hoot.

Brandeis also runs the Brandeis in Copenhagen and Brandeis in Siena programs. The Copenhagen program focuses on Microeconomic Theory and Behavioral Economics, while the Siena program focuses on Studio Art and Art History.

The Brandeis-India Science Scholars Program (BISSP) in Bangalore ended last year as well, due mainly to the fact that there were differences in cross-cultural understanding about what constituted a proper level of student support, according to an announcement about the end of the program forwarded to The Hoot by Van Der Meid. Van Der Meid emphasized that the Study Abroad Office is “actively looking for a new science partner and have been working with a larger cohort of science students this year from the various approved options around the world.”

Brandeis alum nominated for US Attorney

By Sasha Skarboviychuk editor

President Donald Trump nominated Matthew H. Solomson ’96 for a seat on the United States Court of Federal Claims on March 1, according to the White House website. His nomination is under discussion in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Solomson received his Bachelor of Arts from Brandeis University, from which he went on to receive a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland, according to his LinkedIn page. He received his Juris Doctor from the Univer-

sity of Maryland School of Law. After graduating from law school he served as a law clerk at the Court of Federal Claims.

Throughout his career Solomson served as a Trial Attorney in the Commercial Litigation Branch of the United States Department of Justice Civil Division, and worked in private practices at various law firms in Washington, DC. Solomson was also an Associate General Counsel at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he led the government contracts practice group within the law department, and served as the primary counsel to both the company’s intelligence community business and its engineering subsidiary.

Currently he is the Chief Legal Officer of Anthem, Inc. As the Chief Legal Officer of a business unit within a Fortune 500 company, he leads and manages a team of attorneys and compliance professionals, while also being a member of the business unit’s senior management team.

He provides legal and business counsel on a broad range of subjects, including litigation, regulatory compliance, healthcare, privacy, internal investigation and cybersecurity matters.

Solomson has experience involving every aspect of the federal government procurement process and contract lifecycle, including: contract formation, administra-

tion and termination; bid protests; constructive change claims and requests for equitable adjustment; cardinal change and breach of contract claims; and performance evaluation challenges.

He provided advice regarding or has litigated cases involving a wide range of procurement-related statutes and regulations, including: the Tucker Act; the Contract Disputes Act; the Competition in Contracting Act; the Prompt Payment Act; the Anti-Assignment Act; the Antideficiency Act; the Small Business Act; the Service Contract Act; the False Claims Act; the Forfeiture of Fraudulent Claims Act and an extensive array of Federal Ac-

quisition Regulation provisions.

Solomson is the author of “Court of Federal Claims: Jurisdiction, Practice, and Procedure.”

He also has numerous publications including “A User’s Guide to Contract Disputes Act Claim Preparation: Tips and Tactics,” “The Keys to the Kingdom: Obtaining Injunctive Relief in Bid Protest Cases Before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims,” “What Would Scalia Do? – A Textualist Approach to the Qui Tam Settlement Provision of the False Claims Act” and “Current Issues in False Claims Litigation.”

Prof. shows hipsters look the same in study

By Sabrina Chow editor

Hipsters all look the same, learned Professor Jonathan Touboul (MATH) while conducting a study on non-conformist culture.

When MIT Technology Review initially reviewed Touboul’s study, the article contained a stock photo of a bearded man in a plaid shirt and beanie that was deemed the typical “hipster.”

An unnamed male wrote to the magazine talking about how

they used a photo of him without his permission. “Your lack of basic journalistic ethics in both the manner in which you ‘reported’ this uncredited nonsense, and the slanderous, unnecessary use of my picture without permission demands a response, and I am, of course, pursuing legal action,” he said, according to an article by CBC Radio.

Gideon Lichfield, the Editor-in-Chief of the magazine, checked with Getty Images, a visual media company, and discovered that the man in the stock photo was in fact not the same man

that was accusing the magazine.

However, the hipster indirectly proved Touboul’s hypothesis—all hipsters look the same. The paper, submitted to the American Institute of Mathematical Sciences, demonstrates that “interactions generally occur after specific delays associated to transport, transmission or integration of information,” according to Touboul’s abstract. The overall goal of the paper is to look at the impact that anti-conformism plays in the dynamics of large-scale populations of mainstreams and hipsters.

They conducted a study on

non-conformists, or “hipsters” in society and their tendency to synchronize their self-proclaimed individualistic style. “Hipsters are too slow in detecting the trends, they will consistently make the same choice, and realizing this too late, they will switch, all together to another state where they remain alike,” according to the abstract.

As an applied mathematician, Toubol attempted to use the mainstream, hipster paradox to better understand the synchronization of “nerve cells, investment strategies in finance, or emergent dynamics in social science, domains

in which delays in communication and the geometry of information accessibility are prominent,” according to the abstract.

In a Brandeis Hoot article from Jan. 2018, Touboul told The Hoot that “some people want to follow what the majority does, mainstream, and others that would do the contrary, hipsters. And by trying to oppose to the majority, these individuals will eventually all do the same thing at the same time. They will synchronize, and activate at the same.” Indirectly, those trying to be different end up being exactly the same.

OPINIONS

6 The Brandeis Hoot

On lunch with Ron

By Aaron LaFauci special to the hoot

I had lunch with Ron Liebowitz.

That is, I had lunch with Ron Liebowitz if you consider a catered three course meal complete with butlers and lap napkins “lunch.”

The word decadence comes to mind.

Tactless comes to mind also, given the tense climate surrounding the university’s allocation of funds. But what is a college student to do in the face of such welldressed authority? And such free bread rolls! Alas, I could not bring myself to make the joke that must have been on every lunch-goer’s mind: “Man, I wish we had this kind of stuff at Sherman!” I am not so barbaric, and that’s probably for the best. I did learn some cool things that the student body might be pleased to hear.

Students and faculty that had participated in a studio arts course last semester were invited over email to join one of three lunch sessions in the president’s office with Liebowitz and his wife, Jessica.

I opted to attend the session on the first of March despite not being an arts major myself, and I was not the only one. A range of different majors from theater to computer science were present, all there to discuss the impact of the studio arts on campus life.

Joseph Wardwell, the undergrad advising head for the studio arts, was present, and Wardwell and Liebowitz immediately engaged in some joke about not discussing the art budget, complete with wry smiles and business chuckles. Thankfully, none of the youth present vomited at this exchange.

A Brandeis student’s capacity to tolerate bureaucratic formality should never be underestimated.

As one might expect from a collision between students and campus administration, the lunch talk could not contain itself to just the arts on campus.

Housing and the meal plan were inevitably discussed, among other things. But first, the arts. One of fabulous things about attending a university like Brandeis is academic mobility, and this lunch was certainly a testament to that.

Unanimous pleasure in exploring the arts was expressed by all present (even, seemingly, by those forced into the studio by graduation requirements). As the salads

were being served, a round table introduction began. Students were asked to share their experience with art at Brandeis.

Many students shared their personal history with art that they strived to continue alongside their primary area of study; others appreciated the recreational qualities of the studio compared to the rigors of more objective courses.

One student loved the experience so much that it became his major.

Liebowitz was pleased to share that Brandeis University was one of the earliest to require it students to participate in the arts. It’s an academic tradition that Liebowitz seems intent on preserving.

The squash ravioli was being consumed when Liebowitz announced that it was time for the complaints. According to Jessica, this is his favorite part. Fully expecting the lunch to dissolve into a lecture about contracts and limited resources, I ventured to ask about the dining situation. Preparing for a political deflection, I was shocked to receive smiles and laughter. I’m not talking about a condescending business laugh here, either. He said something along the lines of “We’re all in on it!” alluding to Sodexo’s all too familiar evil corporation vibe.

According to Liebowitz, the administration is also vexed by the inadequate service. It was a relief to receive such a candid response from the head of campus PR. The Sodexo-Brandeis relationship may be more strained than the greater student body is commonly allowed to know.

While he did not divulge any contractual particulars or concrete actions to be taken by the administration, Ron did indicate a specific distaste for the inaccessibility of self prepared food, specifically citing that it was absurd that students were paying for kitchens that weren’t even equipped with basic cooking implements.

Charles River rejoice! Many students brought up the disregard for diverse vegetarian and vegan options in the dining halls, as well as the fact that staff routinely confuse the two. The improper labeling of allergens—and what is often an utter lack of ingredients to be found anywhere at all—was also brought to the president’s attention, and he admitted that recent allergy concerns were proving a particularly pressing issue.

The possibility of opting out of the meal plan altogether was met with understanding, but, again, no confirmations either way.

Liebowitz also sympathized with students forced to live in the oldest quads, Massell and the like, but these buildings are apparently structurally difficult to improve.

While Brandeis aims to continue to modernize its housing options in the long run, it seemed pretty clear that significant quality of life changes shouldn’t be expected from these buildings in the short term. Issues of department funding and career support in the humanities were also mentioned.

For those concerned, divestment went unmentioned and continues to be a silent topic since the Board of Trustees refused to divest last fall.

Liebowitz did share a piece of information that adds teeth to student concerns. Apparently, despite a loaded attendance, well over 100 campus beds have remained empty this year.

This represents a significant loss of revenue to the university.

The administration is eager to pin down why students are opting for off campus housing and what it can do to encourage students to remain on campus.

Even Brandeis, the school for the modern progressive, speaks loudest through its wallet. I don’t think I’m qualified to be organiz-

ing any boycotts, but I suspect a lot more would get done around here if students could somehow make an organized effort to deprive income from the systems that are letting us down.

The first draft of this article included a joke here about boycotting the washing machines, but it looks like that won’t be necessary anymore. This thing is paying off already!

There is an inclination among the more radically minded to think of the administration as a conglomerate of anthropomorphic reptiles that feed on weakness and laundry quarters, and while that may be true for stockholders, the administrative staff on a personal basis tends to be pretty reasonable.

That’s the trouble with any large system of organization, really.

There’s tons of well-intentioned people trying their best to make the most out of their cramped positions in a bureaucratic tree of isolated committees, boards and departments. The keyword is isolation.

This lunch has allowed me to make a human connection with somebody that previously seemed above me. I felt heard for once, and had a tasty lunch to boot. I admire that Liebowitz is taking his Framework for our Future into his own hands, and I hope that he will continue to make an

March 15, 2019

effort to connect with students directly throughout his career.

The rest of the staff should be encouraged to do so as well, and perhaps we can expose a few of the bad apples that are surely lurking beneath all this administrative bloat along the way.

If the faculty works to continuously familiarize itself with the living, breathing student body and dispense with the meaningless waves of online forms and surveys, it will be easier to tackle the really tough issues like campus sustainability, diversity and accessibility. With enough practice, we won’t have to suffer through any more awkward and ill-planned accessibility forums.

For the final course, we were served glasses of fruit with chocolate dipped finger cookies. One of the butlers had accidentally taken my utensils, so I was forced to scoop out the good stuff with my fingers like an animal. I’ll be working on my etiquette. In the meantime, get out there and start engaging with your staff. Liebowitz is a sincere guy, and he implied more than anything that this school is desperate for ideas.

Write some emails, send some letters, knock on some doors, force the man to buy you lunch. Go and meet the people that make this crazy machine run—it’s the only way to keep them from turning into reptiles.

PHOTO COURTESY AARON LAFAUCI

What is TRII and how can I join?

By Leon Kraiem special to the hoot

I think many years from now, when our kids are our age, those of us who were in school at this particular historical moment will remember it as a dark period in American history, a shadow in which we all lived otherwise normal lives. As children were snatched from their parents at the border and refugees detained at airports, we, unable to do much about it, went about our business, keeping ourselves busy and trying to avoid that pit in our stomach that came whenever we checked the news, that ubiquitous question every story came to answer: What did he do today?

I write this not to berate you for not doing enough but rather to inform you that there is actually

something quite fulfilling you can do, a counterpoint to the political climate of the last several years that showcases the best of what America can be.

In 2016, three Brandeis students and their professor started The Right to Immigration Institute (TRII), a pro-bono immigration clinic in Waltham, MA that primarily helps asylum seekers find refuge in the United States. This is vitally important work, and TRII is pioneering a new model that will hopefully be implemented on other college campuses in the years to come.

Because immigration courts are not federal courts but rather administrative bodies of the Department of Justice, non-citizens who are called to appear before an immigration judge aren’t guaranteed the right to counsel. And without representation, 90 percent of asy-

lum seekers lose their case—a loss which could literally cost them their life.

With representation, the success rate is about 50/50. For the same reason that representatives aren’t guaranteed, a person can be accredited as a representative without being licensed to practice law.

TRII trains Brandeis students, over the course of a semester, to be eligible for this accreditation.

After the training course, students form groups of two or three and take on clients from the Waltham community.

The learning curve is steep, but the results are deeply rewarding.

To sit with another know-nothing college student across a table from someone at the tail end of a dangerous exodus—often necessitated by their bravery in the face of oppressive regimes or gang

lords—with the knowledge that somehow you’re the one with the ability to lighten their load, is to be face-to-face with the basic injustice of the world and to confront it and make progress.

If this country hadn’t opened its doors to the tired, the poor, the huddled masses of Europe, I wouldn’t exist. If this country hadn’t accepted my father as an immigrant from Mexico, I wouldn’t exist. To do my small part in pushing the doors to this country open just a little as the powers that be try to squeeze them shut is not just a good thing to do; it’s an opportunity to pay back an existential debt I owe as an American and as a human being. It also, incidentally, looks great on a resume.

The TRII office is doing great work, but it’s quickly reaching capacity as those who were trained

last semester take on clients of their own.

Next semester, there will be another training, and, in the meantime, we could use help fundraising, advocating or even just driving people to where they need to go. I would encourage everyone to get involved—you can start by following TRII on social media to be notified if an opportunity arises to lend a hand.

And a generation from now, when the TRII model has expanded and undergraduates across America are doing what we do here in Waltham, you can say of this historical moment, “I was one of those people who helped close the representation gap in immigration courts so that the people who needed help could get the help they needed.”

Could there be a better use of your time than that?

8 OPINIONS

The Brandeis Hoot

Wake up, your ancestors are calling

By Sasha Skarboviychuk editor

History is a really funny thing.

We, as humans, are inclined to believe that people change, and what happened in the past will not happen in the future. But, in my humble opinion, human nature does not change: Only circumstances do. It does not matter if you change the picture frame— the picture remains the same.

A few years ago, I, like a lot of people, believed that history does not matter. Who cares, they’re all dead anyway, right? Well, firstly, not all of them are dead; some are still alive today. I do not know if this change in opinion came about because I started taking modern world history rather than the history of older civilizations, but I definitely think that history, at least modern world history, is important for everyone to know. Although it is a record of the past, in a way, it is also the key to the future.

I started noticing this more and more after I moved here.

I am not trying to personally attack anyone, but a lot of the people I met here seem to have slept through all the history classes they ever took (if they ever took any in the first place).

This also causes them to sometimes have a very odd perspective on the world around them.

As a very basic example, Americans are surprised that Cubans generally do not really like them.

The relationship between the two countries is something that is not the most ideal. Or, to give another example, someone who told me that Americans were the first to go to space? I am not even talking about not knowing the specifics of the Iranian revolution or the Chinese Civil War (don’t get me wrong, both are very interesting historic events but might not be as close to home), I am talking about historic events America took part in, or general important turning points for humanity.

I understand that in something like history, interest and personal proximity are a lot more correlated than in other sub-

jects. As a Ukrainian, the two World Wars and the Cold War were very interesting and close to me because members of my family took part in these events.

This might not be as interesting to someone from a country that did not take part in these events.

Sure, maybe the South African Apartheid might not be as interesting to me, but it does not mean that it is not significant or that I should not learn about it.

Similarly, while studying the American Civil War in my senior year, I really struggled to pay attention in class. Unlike the two World Wars and the Cold War, the Civil War felt very distant and insignificant. Now, about a year later, living in the U.S., I really regret not paying more attention during those lectures because even the limited amount of things I remember from that class really show how contemporary American society is shaped.

Sure, maybe it is not necessary to know all the names and dates in history (though I still believe having a general idea is good), but understanding the causes and effects of significant (and maybe even those that don’t appear significant) historical events is important. The thing is, human nature, and thus human actions, do not change.

Sure they might take different forms (i.e conventional warfare vs. informational wars), but the general principles and motivations behind them do not change.

I honestly think if more people knew more history, a lot of conflicts that occur today could be mitigated if not avoided. If we know what mistakes we made in the past, we are one step closer to avoiding them in the future.

Furthermore, you could also use history to understand the possible consequences an event can have because chances are it happened before. I am not claiming to be a history expert by any means. I also should learn more history, particularly, non-European centered history, but I am definitely not the only one who needs to do more learning. To quote a famous Russian idiom, it’s time to stop “treading on the same rake.”

PHOTO FROM OWLCATION.COM

March 15, 2019

SSIS: advice column

By SSIS special to the hoot

“Ever since I saw the SSIS presentation my freshman year, I knew that I was interested in joining the group. I could never have anticipated how great of a decision joining SSIS would be. From learning more about healthy sexuality and relationships, to becoming part of a community of incredibly smart and caring people, being in SSIS has been a highlight of my college experience.”

“The reason I joined SSIS was to be able to give back to the Brandeis community; I found that there was something rather profound and deeply rewarding in being able to help members of the community live their most sexually-authentic lifestyle! Because Brandeis has students from all walks of life and from various backgrounds, being able to help people meet their goals and desires, as well as being able to inform the Brandeis community about various resources and workshops that we have held, has been among the best experiences I have had at Brandeis. SSIS is such a unique experience, and I am so glad I have been involved!

“I sort of joined SSIS out of no-

SSIS is looking for new members! Not sure if SSIS is right for you? Here what some SSIS members have to say about why they joined and why they stay! where! I was looking for a safe and supportive community on campus, I saw an SSIS flyer and I thought, why not? I didn’t know when I applied whether or not SSIS would be the right fit for me, but even during the application process, I started to realize what a special place SSIS is. Since the very beginning of my time with SSIS, I’ve felt safe and supported, and I’ve had SO much fun. Joining SSIS was one of the best decisions I made in college so far.”

“SSIS makes me feel so empowered that I am able to help the greater Brandeis community in so many ways. From selling products to giving presentations and workshops, being a member of this group has shown me the importance of empowering Brandeis students in their diverse sexual pleasure and health needs. I love SSIS!” “I love educating others on how to engage in healthy sexual practices and having conversations with individuals as they experience challenges in their relationships. I love offering education to groups on campus and speaking on topics including sexuality, in-

formation on STIs, how to foster healthy relationships and more.

I am excited when I get to share that we sell barrier methods, sex toys, menstrual products and more, all within our office in the student campus center. I also love participating and working to organize the events that we put on including workshops on BDSM and sexual techniques.

To me, there is nothing more rewarding than having a conversation with others and coming away from it feeling as though we both expanded our knowledge on that topic. I love being a part of this club because I find the work that it does so valuable.”

“I joined SSIS on a whim. One of my best friends told me that they thought I would be good at being a part of this group, so I took their word for it and applied!

Since joining, SSIS has become an integral part of my life. I am a part of an amazing group of people who truly care about each other and the Brandeis community.

SSIS also gives me great experience and knowledge surrounding health, which is something I was looking for as a pre-med student.”

PHOTO COURTESY SSIS

8 The Brandeis Hoot

WIEN SCHOLARSHIP DINNER

PJ

Dog!

OLLIE

WEEK IN PHOTOS

PHOTO BY SABRINA CHOW/THE HOOT

Who knew Sherman Function Hall could look so nice?

PHOTO BY SABRINA CHOW/THE HOOT

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea...in the Brandeis bookstore?

March 15, 2019

RAVIOLI NIGHT

PHOTO BY ABIGAIL GARDENER/THE HOOT

Ravioli, ravioli give me the formuoli

PHOTO BY POLINA POTOCHEVSKA/THE HOOT

MAMMA MIA!

Performers have a flash mob!

PHOTO BY ABIGAIL GARDENER/THE HOOT

EDITORIALS

March 15, 2019

“To acquire wisdom, one must observe.”

Editors-in-Chief Abigail Gardener Sarah Terrazano Managing Editor Emily Botto Senior Editor Ryan Spencer Copy Editor Natalie Fritzson Deputy Copy Editor Jennifer Cook News Editor Celia Young Deputy News Editor Rachel Saal Arts Editors Ben Beriss Noah Harper Opinions Editor Sabrina Chow Deputy Opinions Editor Sasha Skarboviychuk Features Editor Polina Potochevska Deputy Features Editor Shruthi Manjunath Sports Editors Zach Cihlar Shea Decker-Jacoby Deputy Sports Editor Sophie Trachtenberg Layout Editor Candace Ng Social Media Editor Emma Lichtenstein Cartoonist Helen Wong

Volume 16 • Issue 7 the brandeis hoot • brandeis university 415 south street • waltham, ma

STAFF Medjine Barionette, Emma Belkin, Lucy Braverman, Camila Casanueva, Katie Decker-Jacoby, Chris DeMena, James Feltner, Daniel Freedman, Stewart Huang, Jonah Koslofsky, Jackie Kostenko, Alex Kougasian, Jenna Lifschitz, Josh Lannon, Gillian O'Malley, Thalia Plata, Joseph Silber, Zachary Sosland, Rachel Wang, Emerson White, Hannah Wilson

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

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To reserve your space in the paper, contact us by phone at (781) 3300051 or by e-mail at ads@thebrandeishoot.com.

GIVE A HOOT, JOIN THE HOOT! Writers, editors, photographers and graphic artists wanted to join The Brandeis Hoot, your weekly community newspaper.

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

The Brandeis Hoot 9

Scholarships are not sufficient to make Brandeis affordable

T

he scandals that have recently inundated mainstream news about wealthy parents paying universities to admit their children represent a well-known secret that plagues the American university system. Students coming from a wealthy background have a better chance of going to college. This is a fact, not merely due to access to better high school and grade school education but because many families in the bottom 60 percent of income simply cannot afford to send their children to college.

While wealthy parents throw away money they can very well spare bribing their child’s way into a spot they do not deserve, lower/ middle class, working and low income parents struggle to send their child to any college at all, even when the student gains admission based on their own merits.

An article in The New York Times found that 38 universities in America have more students in the top one percent than the bottom 60 percent. In addition, less than one half of students from the bottom one-fifth attend any college.

Although Brandeis has more students from the bottom 60 percent than the top one percent (24.3 percent to 7.2 percent, respectively), students from the lower end of the income scale have reported feeling isolated within the Brandeis community.

Various programs make up the majority of lower-income students at Brandeis. These programs are small, however, and tend to disconnect members from the rest of the student body.

The Myra Kraft Transitional Year Program (MKTYP), The Leonard Bernstein Fellowship, the Humanities Fellowship, the Waltham Scholarship, TRiO Student Support Services (SSSP), Posse and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Fellowship, among others, are all Brandeis programs that grant hefty scholarships to lower-income applicants.

For international students, the Wien International Scholarship Program (WISP), Toshizo Watanabe International Scholarship Program (TWISP), Richard and Barbara Silverman Endowed Scholarship and Brandeis-Canada Endowed Scholarship offer opportunities for international students to attend Brandeis at a low cost.

Despite the many programs that Brandeis offers for lower-income students, these financial aid packages are not enough due to the unseen costs of university living. Textbooks, food, laundry and printing are all expenses that are treated as inconsequential by students with wealthier backgrounds. These can make college unaffordable for students without those resources. In addition, going out for dinner or any other social activity that friends might suggest offhand can be impossible for a lower-income student to attend due to financial limitations. This contributes to the isolation that these students might feel at Brandeis or any other university heavily populated by students coming from wealthy families.

Brandeis alumni established many of the financial aid programs that currently exist at the university, and this process continues as

Correction:

more students from lower-income families graduate and return to help those in a similar situation. These programs need to become more holistic, however, not merely covering tuition or housing but also textbooks and any other life needs that students have trouble meeting with their own limited resources. For example, academic departments could create programs devoted to providing resources for students in need of textbooks. The library could increase the number of copies of reserve books and create focused research help pertaining to financial access.

Tuition at Brandeis is expensive, and rising every year. Tuition, however, is only part of the expense incurred by students at Brandeis or any university, and future financial programs can improve the lives of their beneficiaries by covering their additional needs.

Recent news reports and scandals have laid bare the disparity between the opportunities of children from wealthy families and those from lower income families.

This disparity has always existed in the academic world, but very few people openly acknowledge how dramatically it impacts the upward mobility of the lower and working classes and how much it isolates students in the bottom 60 percent.

Curbing corruption and bribery in university admissions is just the beginning; true equality in educational opportunity can only occur once we close the gap between the financial abilities of the top 40 percent and the financial limitations of the bottom 60 percent.

A previous version of "Professor whose research is funded by the Robert Kraft family speaks on forced sexual labor" published in last week's issue incorrectly stated that Robert Kraft has been arraigned. He has been charged.

Additionally, the article incorrectly stated that just "girls and boys" were enslaved in Pompeii, when women were also included.

FEATURES

10 The Brandeis Hoot

March 15, 2019

Mandel Lecture in the Humanities conducts first lecture on the future of Woodland Caribou

By Shruthi Manjunath editor

On Monday, March 11, Brandeis University conducted the seventh annual Mandel Lectures in the Humanities, featuring the first of three lectures by Professor Nancy Langston on the topic of “Ghost Species: the Uncertain Future of Woodland Caribou in the Anthropocene.”

Each year, the Mandel Lectures in the Humanities series attempts to promote the study of humanities at Brandeis University and contains a distinguished scholar who conducts three lectures and an informal seminar. Nancy Langston is a Professor of Environmental History at Michigan Technological University with a PhD in environmental studies. She has written four books, titled “Where Land and Water Meet,” “Forest Dreams, Forest Nightmares,” “Toxic Bodies” and “Sustaining Lake Superior.”

Professor Langston’s talk described many of the challenges that the woodland caribou, a species of reindeer, has faced over the years and how human actions have impacted the its population.

The woodland caribou has almost never been abundant. Its main predators are wolves and the caribou avoid their predators by running away. This species invests a lot of time and energy into a sin-

gle calf rather than creating a lot of offspring and not being able to invest energy into any.

Langston began her talk by posing the questions “how can environmental communities contribute to anthropological studies?” and “[w]hat happens when we consider the deep entanglement of people and the environment?”

She highlighted how humans have an enormous impact on the environment and can create major ecological alterations. A new epoch marking the rise of humans has even been created, titled the Anthropocene, which is defined as the time period beginning with significant human impacts on the ecosystems and geology of Earth.

Langston continued, describing the importance of human actions and how individuals need to be conscious of how the outcomes of their actions will affect Earth’s ecosystems.

Langston then shifted to illustrating the obstacles that the woodland caribou species has experienced over the years. Specifically, the woodland caribou has never been abundant, even when the populations were widespread.

The species previously almost went extinct in 2013. Over the years the species has been hunted and viewed as expensive meat.

Oftentimes, many populations of the woodland caribou are cut off from each other by human industrialization or get trapped in

PHOTO FROM BOREALFORESTFACTS.COM

Many Woodland Caribou protect themselves from predators by spreading out over large areas of land, but this also isolates them from others of their species.

LONE CARIBOU

situations with their predators, wolves, which causes the populations to become dangerously low.

While populations of the woodland caribou have been hunted and have struggled over the years, some indigenous populations have domesticated these reindeer and live in harmony with them.

Langston continued, highlighting future ideas to help the woodland caribou increase their numbers. These ideas include assisted migration in areas where there is no more than 36 percent human

industrialization and development. Langston lastly questioned the audience as to whether or not the woodland caribou should be saved and the sacrifices people are willing to make in order to save this species. Currently, the woodland caribou species is less vulnerable to climate change and is therefore easily able to adjust to warm weather.

Humans today live in a world of entanglements, specifically in relationships with animals. Humans depend on animals, yet we have

caused the extinction of many and will continue to cause these extinctions in the future. At the same time, our interactions with animals make us human and have shaped our culture, language and genetics. Humans need to rethink how we interact with not just the woodland caribou species in a warming world, but all species of animals. Humans are not at the mercy of others, animals are at the mercy of humans, therefore it is our duty to work towards saving this planet.

Featured Events Calendar Women in Politics Panel Friday, March 15, 4-6 p.m., Shapiro Campus Center, Multi-Purpose Room In honor of International Women’s Day, Brandeis Democrats Club is hosting four admirable women politicians to discuss how they navigate and transform the male-dominated power structures in the political arena. The panelists will address the experiences, journeys, hardships and importance of women in politics.

This panel will feature Massachusetts Senator Becca Rausch, Massachusetts Representative Tram T. Nguyen, Waltham City Councilor Kristine Mackin, and Boston City Councilor Lydia Edwards.

Movement Workshop Sunday, March 17, 2-3 p.m., Gosman Sports and Convocation Center, Gosman Dance Studio Dance can be a way for us to communicate and connect with one another as well as work through stress. This workshop, which mainly focuses on developing footwork, encourages community through dance. Sean Bjerke, dance teacher and martial artist, will be leading the event! Based in Boston, M.A., he started out as a TaeKwonDo student in 1991 and later got into dance at Tufts University in 2001. After exploring a number of dance styles, he has since found his “home” in the dance style of house. He has traveled the U.S. to broaden his understanding of dance and is excited to share his passion for house dancing with a greater community.

There is a $3 entry fee.

The Trials of Richard Goldstone: Book Launch and Celebration Monday, March 18, 5-6:30 p.m., Usdan, International Lounge In June 2009, Richard Goldstone was a global hero, honored by the MacArthur Foundation with its prize in international justice. Four months later, he was called a “quisling” and compared to some of the worst traitors in human history. Why? Because this champion of human rights and international law chose to apply his commitments to fairness and truth to his own community.

In “The Trials of Richard Goldstone” (published in December 2018 by Rutgers University Press), Daniel Terris, Director Emeritus of the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life, tells the story of this extraordinary individual and the price he paid for his convictions. Richard Goldstone’s dramatic life story reveals that even in a world rife with prejudice, nationalism and contempt for human rights, one courageous man can advance the cause of justice.

All are welcome. Refreshments will be served. Book sale and signing to follow the event.

Reception, Talk and Book Signing with Pulitzer Prize Winner Jack Davis, Ph.D. ’94 Tuesday, March 19, 5-7 p.m., Schwartz, Schwartz Auditorium Join Jack E. Davis, Ph.D. ’94 for his lively historical view of the Gulf of Mexico, drawn from his Pulitzer Prize-winning book “The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea.” Significant beyond tragic oil spills and hurricanes, the Gulf has historically been one of the world’s most bounteous marine environments, supporting human life for millennia.

Shuttle to Launch Trampoline Park Wednesday, March 20, 6-8:15 p.m.

The Department of Student Activities is offering a free shuttle to Launch in Watertown! Get 50 percent off walk-in rates for jumping or laser tag with your student I.D. at Launch’s College Night!

Get your shuttle ticket at the box office in advance.

Multicultural Marketing & Propelling “Crazy Rich Asians” into a Global Blockbuster Thursday, March 21, 2-3:20 p.m., Sachar International Center, Lee Hall International Business School Join Mr. Bill Imada, founder, chairman and chief connectivity officer of IW Group as he serves as a guest lecturer at Brandeis in the Marketing Management class. He will speak on the topic of multicultural marketing and how it has evolved over the years and on his firm’s work promoting “Crazy Rich Asians” into blockbuster status.

This lecture is open to all members of the campus community.

2019 Richman Distinguished Fellow in Public Life Presentation: Snapshots: Portraits of a World in Transition Thursday, March 21, 4-5:30 p.m., Sherman Function Hall Award-winning playwright, actor and educator Anna Deavere Smith is the 2019 Richman Distinguished Fellow in Public Life recipient. Smith has been credited by the MacArthur Foundation for creating a new form of theater that blends art with social commentary, and she has been seen on the shows “Black-ish” and “The West Wing.” As part of her presentation, Deavere Smith will be performing portrayals of people she has interviewed in the past on complex issues.

Author Reading: Melissa Albert Thursday, March 21, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Harlan Chapel Melissa Albert’s debut novel, “The Hazel Wood,” was named a most anticipated book of 2018 by Entertainment Weekly and Esquire and was instantly a New York Times bestseller. The book “seamlessly combines contemporary realism with fantasy, blurring the edges in a way that highlights that place where stories and real life convene, where magic contains truth” (New York Times Book Review). Founding editor of the Barnes & Noble Teen Blog and the managing editor of BN.com, Melissa has written for McSweeney’s, Time Out Chicago, MTV and more. Melissa is from Illinois and lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. The Hazel Wood has been published in twenty-five countries and is being made into a film by Touchstone Pictures.

- Compiled by Polina Potochevska

March 15, 2019

FEATURES 11

The Brandeis Hoot

Project looks at sacred spaces around Boston

By Sabrina Chow editor

Massachusetts was founded on the basis of religious freedom, with many of the original churches and religious spaces still standing today. But what lies beyond these historic churches, temples and mosques that dot the city are spaces that are not often appreciated enough: sacred spaces.

Boston’s Hidden Sacred Spaces, started by Professor Wendy Cadge (SOC/WGS), architectural historian Alice Friedman and photographer Randall Armor, was created out of a desire to appreciate and show the public sacred spaces that may not be as well known to the public, Cadge told The Brandeis Hoot in an email.

According to Cadge, sacred spaces are “spaces that exist outside of congregations and were

designated as spiritual or religious by people inside of the organizations where they are located.”

Since the beginning of their project, they have documented 65 sacred spaces in the greater-Boston area and are always looking for more spaces to document.

These spaces include: schools and universities, hospitals and mental health facilities, corrections facilities, retirement communities, cemeteries, port and workmen’s chapels and military chapels. The Hidden Sacred Spaces website states that “these chapels, meditation spaces and prayer rooms serve a spiritual mission within otherwise secular institutions. Some were designed by well-known architects while others were created informally by people desiring a small retreat.

They may be familiar and accessible or truly hidden from public view, but they all invite passers-by to pause, sit for a moment, and

PHOTO FROM HIDDENSACREDSPACES.ORG

GREEN HAVEN

peaceful.

The Harvard Business School Class of 1959 Chapel is lush and

reflect.”

Cadge, Friedman and Armor found the spaces based on “word of mouth, newspapers, giving talks and hearing from audiences about additional spaces,” said Cadge.

Cadge found inspiration from the project while writing one of her books, “Paging God,” which is about religion in healthcare organizations. “I spent a lot of time in chapels and knew there were many others outside of healthcare and wanted to better understand them,” explained Cadge. “I also think we all would do well to pause more often and these spaces create a space for pause.”

She said that her favorite space that she has found was at Harvard Business School Class of 1959 Chapel in Boston, MA. The chapel was the first chapel at the current Harvard Business School campus when it officially opened in 1992, according to the Sacred Spaces website. “The non-denominational chapel includes a cylindrical main building clad in green patinated, and adjacent glass pyramid as well as a ‘sun clock’ tower.” The interior of the chapel also contains a chamber organ.

The chapel has no scheduled services but “functions primarily as a place for meditation and quiet reflection on the busy Harvard campus.” The money to build the chapel came from the Class of 1959 during their 25th and 30th anniversaries to honor classmate Harvard Dean John H. McArthur.

According to the website, there is an inscription on the wall of the chapel explaining “the purpose of the spiritual site is to ‘make our community complete and remind

PHOTO BY SABRINA CHOW/THE HOOT

The Goldfarb Library is showcasing a variety of photos from Professor Wendy Cadge’s project titled Boston’s Hidden Sacred Spaces.

HIDDEN SPACES

us for our higher purpose and ideals.’” Cadge said that she found the “plants and water restful.”

The project is also in part a shared project between a host of other sacred space projects around the country including Sacred Space in a Secular Nation of Believers, an exploratory seminar at the Radcliffe Institute and the Multi-Faith Spaces, an online college of case studies, design resources and readings.

Cadge and Friedman also worked closely with the late Karla Johnson, AIA of Johnson Roberts Associates. The pursuit of the project was made in Johnson’s memory, according to their website.

As the project continues to grow, Sacred Spaces is “starting a collaboration with Walking Cinema and WBUR to do some radio and video pieces about some of

these spaces with a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities,” said Cadge in an email.

The National Endowment for the Humanities recently granted $14.8 million in grants on Dec. 12 to support various innovative digital projects for the public, according to a BrandeisNOW article.

Cadge’s project received $100,000 is called “Mapping Religious Transformation in Boston’s Hidden Sacred Spaces,” which will fund a location-based app for finding “hidden chapels, meditation spaces, and prayer rooms that people in Boston pass daily but few stop to closely consider.”

Photos of all the hidden spaces that were identified by the project are currently on display in Goldfarb Library on the first floor by the printers.

12 The Brandeis Hoot

SPORTS

March 15, 2019

Women’s mile and DMR are national champions

By Jesse Lieberman special to the hoot

Emily Bryson ’19 led The Judges to a historic weekend this past Friday and Saturday at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships, held at Reggie Lewis Center in Boston.

In addition to anchoring the Distance Medley Relay (DMR) team, which won the first relay title in school history, E. Bryson also won the mile with the fifth fastest time in Division III history with a time of 4:45.796.

“My strategy was just to grab a spot on the inside of lane one and get in place right behind the leaders and then with 200 to go I was just going to kick to the finish,” E. Bryson said. E. Bryson, who won her third national title this past weekend after winning the indoor 3000 last year, was the top seed time heading into the race. “I knew a lot of people were expecting me to deliver the same performance,” she said. “With the meet being at home and friends, family, teammates and staff being there, I knew I didn’t want to come up short,” she added.

After trailing Anna Passan-

DISTANCE MEDLEY RELAY TEAM

nante, a junior from Williams College, for the first six laps, E. Bryson pulled ahead with a 32.83 on her final lap, her fastest lap of the race. “I knew from watching [Passannante] race that she really likes to push the pace on the last three laps, so I knew heading into the last 600 [meters] that it was going to be tough,” E. Bryson said.

In the fifth lap, E. Bryson dropped to fourth place, well behind Passannante. Despite nearly creating too much of a gap to come back from, E. Bryson was determined to win the race. “I had a split second thought where I told myself it was over,” E. Bryson said. “But I quickly told myself to just stay relaxed and focused and reminded myself how bad I wanted this.” The mile was E. Bryson’s third race in a 24-hour span. In addition to the preliminary heat on Friday, E. Bryson ran the 1600 meter in the DMR. In the DMR, Emily’s twin sister, Julia Bryson ’19, started by running the 1200 meter leg in 3:37.07. Next, Devin Hiltunen ’22 ran the 400 in 59.70. “My goal was to stay within 10 seconds of first place,” Hiltunen said. Despite being the only first-year on a team of seniors, Hiltunen was unfazed.

Doyin Ogundiran ’19 followed Hiltunen and ran the 800 in 2:13.75, the second fastest time in the heat. Ogundiran passed the baton to E. Bryson, who ran the 1600 in 4:50.10. It wasn’t until the final lap, which E. Bryson ran in 31 seconds, that she took the lead.

Hiltunen and both Bryson twins were teammates at North Quincy High School in Quincy, M.A., where the trio participated in the DMR. Hiltunen, who at the UAA Championships finished fifth in the 200 and eighth in the 400,

EMILY BRYSON ‘19 AND COACH SINEAD DELAHUNTY EVANS

raced frequently at Reggie Lewis Center in high school. “I know exactly how to run that track,” Hiltunen said. “I didn’t really feel any pressure.”

The team now transitions to the outdoor season. Hiltunen is excited to run the 200 and 400 again as well as the 4x400, where the relay team’s goal is to break four minutes. E. Bryson hopes to set personal bests in the 5000 meter and 1500. E. Bryson is also looking forward to the UAA Championships, which will be held at Emory University in Atlanta on April 27 and April 28.

Bryson ranks among Brandeis’s most decorated track athletes. She is the only Judge to win a national title in three separate events and the second to win two titles in one

PHOTOS FROM BRANDEISJUDGES.COM

championship weekend. There are only three Judges who have won more national titles than E. Bryson.

“My coaches have been so instrumental in my progression as an athlete and truly have given me every opportunity and tool to succeed,” Bryson said. “I sometimes question that I spend way too much time in Gosman, but it’s the moments like this that remind me that it’s all worth it,” she added.“This will definitely be my favorite memory. Winning an individual national title is quite a special moment, but nothing compares to that moment when you realize you can share it with three other equally deserving people,” Bryson said.

Women’s national soccer suing for discrimination

By Camila Casanueva staff

There are three months left until the kickoff of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France. One of the most watched events in sports, all eyes are on the United States Women’s National Soccer team right now, as they filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation on Friday, March 8 for gender discrimination.

We have seen many female athletes advocate for equal pay before but nothing quite as powerful as this.

This group of women are some of the most well-known female athletes around the world, and it is not because they are easy to market due to their looks: It is because they just win. These wom-

en are the best at what they do, period. Their pay, treatment and working conditions, however, do not add up with their success, nor are they equal to their male counterparts. According to ESPN, “A comparison of the WNT and MNT pay shows that if each team played 20 friendlies in a year and each team won all 20 friendlies, female WNT players would earn a maximum of $99,000 or $4,950 per game, while similarly situated male MNT players would earn an average of $263,320 or $13,166 per game against the various levels of competition they would face,” the lawsuit says.

This is nowhere near the compensation these women deserve, and they made sure to let the U.S. Soccer Federation know, by citing in the lawsuit the women’s three World Cup titles, four Olympic

gold medals and the 2015 World Cup title game being the most watched soccer match in American television history, according to ESPN. Not to mention, the USWNT has also been ranked No. 1 in the world for 10 of the past 11 years. Needless to say, their success speaks for itself.

Enough is enough. This battle that has gone on for quite some time for female athletes in all sports.

It is wrong for these athletes to be paid and valued less for the work they do, solely based off their gender.

This is why 28 members of the U.S. women’s national team are using their platform to take these stands, not only for their own sake but to set the standard for all female athletes when it comes to equality in sport. Many of these

women and the women that came before them have been fighting this battle for decades, and this team feels a sense of responsibility to keep the ball rolling and take the next step forward.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist, World Cup champion and co-captain of the team spoke about the lawsuit on ESPN asserting, “In light of our team’s unparalleled success on the field, it’s a shame that we still are fighting for treatment that reflects our achievements and contributions to the sport. We have made progress in narrowing the gender pay gap, however progress does not mean that we will stop working to realize our legal rights and make equality a reality for our sport.”

These are steps in the right direction for all female athletes, and

women’s soccer understands the importance of leading the way.

They understand the position they are in, and they are taking full advantage of it. With the World Cup being three months away, the spotlight is on them.

Although most talk has been about the lawsuit, the women are aware it will be a long process, and now that they have taken this next step forward, they can focus all their energy to preparing for the World Cup this summer.

They will continue to fight for what they believe in and show what a group of empowered women who come together can accomplish, on and off the field.

They will look to repeat as World Cup champions for the first time in history and all eyes are on them, as they should be.

Brandeis tennis teams split weekend

By Gillian O’Malley staff

Over the weekend, the Brandeis tennis program had a busy weekend filled with a few matches.

While the men’s team advanced their record to 6-2 with a 7-2 victory over Tufts, the women fell to MIT 5-4.

During Sunday’s rounds of doubles, the Judges earned their first

win versus the Jumbos after David Aizenberg ’20 and Anupreeth Coramutla ’21 defeated their opponents, 8-6. Another successful duo was Jeffrey Chen ’22 and Adam Tzeng ’22 who also pulled out an 8-6 win. Sadly, the last pair of Tyler Ng ’19 and Colt Tegtmeier ’22 fell to Tufts after a close match, 7-8.

The success only continued for the men in the singles action.

Aizenberg ’20 earned another victory after his No.1 win of 3-6,

2-6. Joining him were Coramutla at No. 2, Tzeng at No. 3, Nikhil Das ’21 at No. 4, Chen at No. 5, and Rajan Vohra ’21 at No. 6 after three sets.

Over on the women’s side, it was a very close match but the Judges just couldn’t close it out. Doubles partners Sophia He ’19 and Ana Hatfield started off strong with Brandeis’ first win after an 8-1 performance over MIT. The streak continued with Lauren Bertsch’s ’21 and Olivia

Leavitt’s ’19 performance that led them to the 8-6 victory as well.

Unfortunately, Keren Khromchenko ’19 and Diana Dehterevich ’20 fell to the Engineers at No. 2 at a score of 8-4. However, Brandeis still remained in the lead.

On the singles side, Khromchenko was the first Judge to roll past an opponent, earning the 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 3. Bertsch joined her after beating her opponent 6-2, 6-2. However, this wouldn’t

be enough for the Judges to take home the win as Leavitt, He and Michele Lehat ‘19 all fell to MIT in their matches.

Currently ranked No. 18, the women fell to 3-3 but will return to action on the road against Middlebury on Saturday morning.

After this weekend, the No. 10 ranked men’s team improved to 6-1. Watch them back in action on Friday night versus Rensselaer at 6 p.m.

March 15, 2019

SPORTS 13

The Brandeis Hoot

Baseball secures two wins in their season opener

By Emerson White staff

The Brandeis baseball team began its 2019 season on Saturday with two wins over Bowdoin College at the New England Baseball Complex in Northborough, M.A. The Judges beat the Bowdoin Polar Bears 4-2 in the first game and 9-3 in the second. Then on Monday, the Judges faced Tufts University but were unable to pull out the win in the high scoring game and lost 17-15.

Brandeis came back strong on Tuesday with a 17-14 win over Nichols College.

In their first game of the day, pitcher, Greg Tobin ’20 threw a complete game, only allowing three hits. Tobin had two strikeouts and walked three players.

Brandeis secured two runs in the third, one off an RBI from catcher,

Luke Hall ’21. The second single run was on a two-out single by shortstop, Mike Khoury ’20. Tobin only gave up a two-run home run which gave the Polar Bears their only runs of the game in the fourth inning.

The Judges responded in the fourth when Hall hit his first career home run, to make the score 3-2. Only, two batters later, Dan O’Leary hit his third career home run to put the Judges up 4-2. This was enough to secure the Judges first win of the season.

After their first win, fellow pitcher Cam Roberts ’22 said, “Greg Tobin came out strong in the first game and pitched great.

He was definitely a key contributor to our first win.”

The Judges weren’t done yet and came out even stronger in the second face-off against the Polar Bears. Brandeis scored in six of its seven innings in the second game,

finishing with nine runs to Bowdoin’s three. The Judges scored three runs in the first inning.

Second baseman, Victor Oppenheimer ’20 was a key player in the Judges’ second victory, scoring two runs. He scored his first run in the bottom of the second off an RBI from Hall.

Then in the bottom of the third, he hit his second career home run, putting the Judges up 8-2.

Scott Ziegler ’21 and Khoury also each scored twice for the Judges.

Alex Parrot ’21 and O’Leary both had three hits for Brandeis, and they both had an RBI. On the pitching end, the Judges went through five pitchers in the second game. Albert Gutierrez ’20 finished the game with two scoreless innings. This was Gutierrez’ second career win, and he only allowed one hit. He also was able to strike out two batters.

The face-off between the Polar

Bears and the Judges was also a face-off of two Brandeis Baseball Alumni. The head coach for the Judges is Derek Carlson ’91 and the head coach for the Polar Bears is Michael Connolly ’94.

On Monday, the Judges faced Tufts University and, despite their two six-run leads, the Judges were unable to hold off the Jumbos and lost in a high-scoring 17-15 game.

The Judges led 5-4 at the end of the third inning after a two-run home run from O’Leary and an RBI double from Parrot.

Brandeis continued its lead and scored five more runs in the fifth with Khoury’s two-run triple, and Oppenheimer’s two-run double. Hall scored four runs, while O’Leary and Oppenheimer drove in three each.

Next, on Tuesday, Dan Frey ’21 led the team driving in eight runs in their 17-14 victory over Nichols College. Frey went 3-5 and fin-

ished with eight RBIs, including a grand slam in the fourth inning that took the Judges from being down 7-4 to up 8-7. Frey had the most RBIs in a single game for a Judge since 2003.

Parrot and Ziegler also each had solo home runs. Zeigler led the team with four hits and finished with an RBI, a double and scored three additional runs.

For pitching, Cam Roberts ’22 and Christian Petrisko’ 22 each made their collegiate debuts, while Kyle Shedden ’20 kept Nichols to just two hits in four innings.

Looking on to the rest of the season, Scott Ziegler said, “Everyone is seeing the ball really well while hitting. The pitchers need to settle in which will come, especially with the leadership of Coach Morris. Once they do, I think it’s safe to say teams will have to watch out for the Judges.”

Fencing finishes season at NCAA regionals

By Sabrina Chow editor

The Brandeis men’s and women’s fencing teams completed their season this past weekend at the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships, hosted by Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY. The Judges had a host of top 20 finishes in the three different events on the men’s and women’s side, with Alexander Holtmann ’21 leading the way.

On the men’s side, Holtmann was the only member of The Judges to reach the finals in any of the three events. A saber fencer, Holtmann was originally seeded 21st going into the competition but going 3-2 in the first round of competition helped him clench the 12th spot out of 21 to make it into the semifinals. He beat out fencers from New York University (NYU), Vassar College and Yale University in the round

robin competition, according to the official results on the NCAA website.

In the semifinals, Holtmann fought to a 3-3 decision and with a -1 indicator, qualifying for the finals.

He beat out two fencers from Columbia University/Barnard College as well as teammate Charles Catino ’20. In the finals, Holtmann went 4-7, picking up wins against regional champion Ben Natanzon from St. John’s College, fourth place finisher Erwin Cai from Harvard University, sixth place finisher Mikolaj Bak from NYU and 12th place finisher Bolang Meng from Boston College.

He narrowly missed qualifying for nationals, with only one finisher in front of him that exceeded the two-fencer-per-team limit, according to an article from Brandeis Judges.

Ian Quin ’20 and Chris Armstrong ’20 also posted top 20 fin-

ishes for The Judges, both getting 15th place in foil and epee, respectively. Quin was seeded 14th going into the meet and easily qualified for the semifinals after a 4-2 in the opening round and advanced in 12th place, defeating opponents from MIT, Sacred Heart University, Vassar College and NYU. Quin went 2-4 in the semifinals, defeating opponents from MIT and St. John’s University, but fell short and did not advance to the finals.

Armstrong also started out the day strong with a 3-1 record in the first round, defeating opponents from Boston College, Hunter College and Yeshiva University.

In the second round, he went 3-3, defeating people from Harvard, NYU and Brown University, to claim the 19th out of 21 possible spots to qualify for the semifinals.

After posting a 2-4 record in the semifinals with wins over fourth place finisher from Harvard, Albert Chien and Timmy Frank

from Brown University, Armstrong was one win away from qualifying for the final round.

On the women’s side, Joanne Carminucci ’19 and Renee Pite ’19 both made it to the semifinals in foil. Carminucci was seeded 12th going into the competition and Pite was seeded 26th.

Both were exempt from the first round of competition. Hannah Mui ’20 and Wendy Mao ’21 also competed in foil. Mao failed to make it out of the first round but Mui went 2-2 in the first round and finished 35th overall.

In the second round, Carminucci went 4-2 in competition with a -4 indicator, defeating opponents from NYU, Cornell University, Wellesley College and Boston College. Pite also finished 4-2 in the round with a +2 indicator, defeating opponents from Boston College, Harvard University, Tufts University and Vassar College.

In the semifinals, Pite failed to

win a match, while Carminucci defeated Cindy Liu from Harvard University. Overall Carminucci finished in 18th while Pite finished in 20th.

Madeleine Vibert ’21 finished 26th in the epee competition after reaching the second round of competition. She went 3-1 in competition in the first round with a +8 indicator and wins over Yale University, LIU Post and Wellesley College. She was eliminated in the second round with a 2-4 record. Teammate Dakota Levy ’20 also made it to the second round of competition, also going 3-1. Levy finished 33rd overall.

Rookie Jada Harrison ’22 made it to the second round in the saber competition. Seeded 29th in the total field of 39, Harrison was exempt from the first round. Harrison went 1-5 in the second round, posting a single win against Wellesley College. She finished 27th overall.

The race for NBA Rookie of the Year is close

By Sophie Trachtenberg editor

The NBA’s Rookie of the Year race has not been won just yet.

For the first half of the lengthy 82game season, most believed that Luka Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks’ small forward, would handily beat out his competition and receive these honors at the end of his first season in the NBA. The Slovenian-born basketball player was a star for Real Madrid, a club team operating out of Spain and competing in the EuroLeague, before being the third overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft, as noted by ESPN. He was originally selected by the Atlanta Hawks, but was ultimately traded to the Mavericks for Young, who was selected at number five, in addition to a 2019 first-round draft pick. Little did he know that Young would ultimately become his greatest competition in regards to this accolade.

Despite Doncic’s impressive statistics that he has maintained for the majority of the season— averaging over 21 points, seven rebounds, and five assists per

game according to ESPN—Young has made a recent push to give Doncic a run for his money. The Norman, Oklahoma native was a huge hometown success, choosing to continue his college career just down the street from where he grew up despite having hot offers from big-time men’s basketball programs like the University of Kentucky and the University of Kansas. Instead, Young became a household name during his one-

year stint as the starting point guard for the University of Oklahoma, playing under famed head coach Lon Kruger. According to Sports Illustrated, Young became the first player in NCAA history to lead the league in both points scored (29) and assists per game (9) during his time with the Sooners, while also tying the league’s record for most assists in a single contest, pouring in 22 during a game against Northwestern State.

Such remarkable stat lines do not always translate once players make their transition from college basketball to the big stage, but Young has proven to be one of the league’s most promising rising stars.

Since the All-Star break has concluded, Young has put on quite a show, hitting three pointers from well beyond the arc and fooling his defenders with a variety of moves that wreak havoc on

PHOTO FROM USATODAY.COM

his opponents. ESPN reports that over the past 10 games, Young has scored 27 points, distributed nine assists, and brought in five rebounds per game for the Hawks.

Most recently against the Chicago Bulls, Young made a statement to the rest of the NBA, scoring a career-high of 49 points on 17-33 shots taken from the field, including six made threes. It is games like these that prove to NBA analysts and fans alike that there is not only one rookie who might be deserving of this recognition, but rather that the race is far from over.

Although Young’s recent resurgence seems promising, it is just too soon to conclude in whose hands this award will ultimately fall. The two young men play at different positions and have very distinct roles on their respective teams, making it difficult to quantify who has been the better performer over the course of the season. Will Young be able to stun the league with continued impressive performances, or will Doncic’s consistency ultimately prevail? Only time will be able to tell.

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Hub Student Film Festival calls for undergraduate submissions

By Sabrina Chow editor

Calling all undergraduate filmmakers! Submitting your original works to major film festivals is always a nerve-wracking feat.

Whether it be submitting the work or the despair of getting rejected from festival after festival, being an amateur filmmaker is extremely stressful.

Sponsored by Brandeis Television Club (BTV), the Hub Student Film Festival is open to all students in the greater Boston and New England area to submit their original films to be screened at the festival—without having to deal with the fear of rejection or the high price of submissions.

Kent Dinlenc ’19, the logistical head of the film festival, told The Brandeis Hoot in an interview that he and Benedikt Reynolds ’19, the outreach coordinator, named the film festival “Hub” because it is another name for Boston. “We didn’t want to call the festival ‘Beantown,’ so we just stuck with Hub,” Dinlenc told The Hoot.

The festival is looking to ease young filmmakers into the daunting world of film festivals by giving everyone an opportunity to showcase their work. “We’re looking to break some of these barriers by creating an event for like-minded college students to meet, showcase their work on the silver screen for free and inspire collaboration in a stress-free environment,” according to the fes-

BENEDIKT REYNOLDS ‘19 AND KENT DINLEC ‘19

tival’s website.

Dinlenc also said that “the world of film festival submissions and judging is very intimidating, especially for amateur filmmakers so we wanted a low-stress, chill, easy and safe environment for amateurs to submit their work.”

Dinlenc and Reynolds both share a mutual fondness for films and wanted to give a platform for filmmakers, especially amateur filmmakers, to share their work with the film community. “There are a lot of students on campus who are hesitant to submit their stuff to more prestigious or renowned film festivals, so we decided we should create a platform that is open to those people. That’s a very niche market,” Dinlenc told The Hoot.

Reynolds added that they “wanted to give Boston students the opportunity to see their work at a famous venue (the Brattle Theater) for free, get to know aspiring filmmakers and inspire collaboration across the city.”

Filmmakers who submit to the festival must be an undergraduate from a university in Boston or the greater Boston area, as well as some areas of New England and completed the film while enrolled as an undergraduate. There is no minimum for the films, but they cannot exceed 15 minutes, unless

PHOTOS COURTESY HUB FILM FESTIVAL

communicated with the organizers. And filmmakers are only allowed to submit one work each.

All genres of film are welcome, including but not limited to: narrative, non-narrative, drama, comedy, experimental and documentary. Any possibility of graphic material must also have a content warning.

All films selected for the festival will receive an “Official Selection” badge that can be publicized. “Although we would love to showcase all the student work that has been submitted to Hub, we only have around 2.5 hours of screen

time available,” Reynolds said in an email to The Hoot.

At the end of the festival, the audience will be able to vote for their favorite films via a digital polling system. Attendees will vote on best picture, writing, cinematography and ensemble cast.

Submissions are due on March 29, 2019 and can be submitted at Film Freeway. Filmmakers will be notified by April 5, 2019 if their work has been accepted by the festival. The festival will take place at the Brattle Theater in Boston, M.A., on Saturday, April 13 from 2 to 5 p.m. Admission will be free.

‘Evelyn Hugo’ is your next must read

By Emma Lichtenstein editor

Twitter user @jamishelves said it best with her Tweet: “‘The Seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo’ has united the book community. I said it. It’s on everyone’s best of 2018 list. Book Twitter loves it, Y.A. booktubers love it, fantasy booktube loves it, romancelandia, literary fiction booktube, mums on goodreads. I’m telling you it’s ‘The Book.’” I had seen every book account I followed on Twitter raving about “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid and put it on hold at the library. After three months, my audiobook finally came in and, wow, was it worth the wait!

“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” is surprisingly captivating, truly fantastical and a wild ride from start to finish.

When I started this novel, I had no idea why one person could

TAYLOR JENKINS REID

ever need this many husbands.

I mean, at some point, you just gotta call it quits and decide maybe you shouldn’t end up with a man. However, this book proved me wrong, as each husband had a very important purpose (albeit with only two husbands having the purpose of love). Evelyn Hugo has no delusions about herself; she used men to get the fame she wanted, and she is proud of it. These men all helped her score roles in major films, splash the covers of magazines and create intrigue about who she is.

This intrigue lasts for years after Hugo retires, when she calls up narrator Monique for an interview years after she has faded from the spotlight. True stardom never fades, I guess. Evelyn meets with Monique all day, every day, telling Monique her life story.

Monique’s job is to turn it into an honest biography after Evelyn has died, sharing truths that she always wanted the world to know but couldn’t reveal.

PHOTO FROM TWITTER.COM

Her truths and her story were equally as enthralling to me as I imagine they were to the people of the novel. The people in this universe knew Evelyn Hugo, the movie star, the “sex pot,” the icon.

All the readers can do is take the word of the narrator, claiming Hugo is all of the things listed above. Yet, I was enthralled as if I knew Evelyn Hugo, as if I had followed her for years and finally was getting a glimpse inside the starlet I loved. Her story is full of questionable deeds, yet you can’t help but root for her. She’s not the villain, yet not the hero. Not the victim, yet not the perpetrator.

She’s an anti-villain, perhaps, using whatever means necessary to get the desired result of stardom.

In between Evelyn’s recounts of her insane life, we get glimpses of Monique’s less than glamorous one. Her divorce looms over her every move, she has next to no standing at her office and now she’s responsible for the biography of the century. But we get to see Monique grow stronger.

Inspired by Evelyn Hugo, Monique starts to stand up for herself, to go after what she wants.

Even Monique can recognize the positive effect that Evelyn Hugo has had already, just by telling Monique what she has gone through. This makes it completely heartbreaking when you find out the unexpected connection that Monique and Evelyn have, the link between them that first captured Hugo’s attention. Hugo has earth-shattering news for Monique, and readers are left in suspense for most of the novel as Hugo skirts around the bitter truth for as long as she possibly can.

As mentioned before, Evelyn Hugo is not a good person. What GOOD person would have seven

PHOTO FROM GOODREADS.COM

husbands? At the end of the day, though, her husbands are practically irrelevant. In words of Evelyn herself, and the closing words of the novel, “and anyway, I think once people know the truth, they will be much more interested in my wife.”

Oh yes, Evelyn Hugo is a bisexual icon (a bicon, if you will), who spends most of her time with Monique not focusing on the seven husbands that the book is named for but rather her true “great love,” Celia St. James. She and James had an epic love, one full of ups and downs, full of passion and trust and, above all, love. Even on their worst days, Evelyn and Celia

never stopped loving each other.

Though their love story may be messy at times, there is no denying it is incredible.

Given that, “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” may be classified as one of the greatest love stories of all time. Romeo and Juliet had to hide a romance from their families and couldn’t even manage that. Hugo and James hid their relationship for decades with very little suspicion!

Though I know scholars will never rally around this novel the way they rally around Shakespeare, it’s been amazing to see bibliophiles of all kinds fall in love with Reid’s story.

March 15, 2019

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The Brandeis Hoot

‘Captain Marvel’ review: one small step…

By Jonah Koslofsky staff

After 20(!) feature films, it’s fair to say that the Marvel movies have a certain rhythm. These things tend to find their footing around the second act, as the action, characters and humor all coalesce into a kinetic, sensory experience. The jokes land because they’re coming out of the mouths of people we care about. The fight sequences aren’t very exciting on their own, but you’re having such a good time watching these personalities interact that the issues don’t matter in the moment. Even a flawed and bloated beast like “Avengers: Infinity War” was able

to trigger this child-like enjoyment for millions (myself included, for the most part).

Unfortunately, “Captain Marvel” never quite gets there— there’s a major structural problem in the way.

We meet our protagonist (played by Oscar-winner Brie Larson) while she’s living under the name “Vers” on the home planet of aliens called “The Kree.”

She’s missing parts of her memory, an amnesiac soldier drawn into an intergalactic conflict between the Kree and the shape-shifting “Skrulls.” And buckle up, because there’s a whole lot of exposition during the film’s especially bumpy beginning.

Filmmakers Anna Boden and

The less we talk about Jude Law in this movie, the better.

TRUST ME

PHOTO FROM SLASHFILM.COM

Ryan Fleck make the bold choice to start this origin story in the middle: When we meet her, Larson’s character already has her powers. It’s just that the screenplay fails to introduce us to her abilities and personality in a clear and compelling way. These essential “details” only reveal themselves once Vers crash-lands on Earth (in the mid-nineties, so we can get fed a large dose of that sweet, sweet nostalgia), where she meets a young Nick Fury (a digitally de-aged Samuel L. Jackson).

Jackson, and the supporting cast in general, are some of the strongest aspects of “Captain Marvel.” They include Ben Mendelsohn as the perfectly-charming Skrull general Talos, Lashana Lynch as Vers’ best friend Maria and Annette Benning as a former mentor. Vers’ connections with the latter two make up the core of “Captain Marvel,” and you can see the outline of strong storytelling instincts here: The film posits that our hero is powerful because of her relationships with other women. That’s superb, as is the omission of an unnecessary romantic subplot. But because of where we enter Vers’ story, we end up being told about her relationships instead of the movie actually showing them. Yes, Larson has chemistry to spare with everyone around her—but this just draws attention to unfulfilled potential here.

At least it doesn’t overstay its welcome—unlike literally all the other Marvel movies, “Captain Marvel” isn’t fifteen minutes too

BRIE LARSON AS CAPTAIN MARVEL

long (clocking in just over two hours, including the obligatory end-credits sequences). I’m excited to see more of Larson’s Carol Danvers when she shows up in April’s “Avengers: Endgame.” But I have a lot of questions. Were Boden and Fleck the right people for this material? Last year’s “Black Panther” was helmed by a visionary—“Captain Marvel” is not. Why structure the film so that it neglects its emotional backbone? And what’s up with that (incredible) cat?

PHOTO FROM SCREENGEEK.NET

I’m reminded of how I felt leaving “A Star is Born”—there’s an underlying quality here, but that bugs me almost as much. Gallons of ink have been spilled over the fact that this is the first Marvel Movie with a female lead—something that’s taken far too long.

And yet, this entry in the MCU doesn’t fire on all cylinders, failing to find that “rhythm.” In other words, for a flick about an intergalactic fighter pilot, it’s a shame “Captain Marvel” never fully achieves lift-off.

She Likes Cloth’s music debut is empty calories Chris DeMena staff

We could all use more fiber.

Eating nutritious foods is important; just so with music. Occasionally, bland albums without any substance make their way to the consumer. This is exactly what has happened with She Likes Cloth’s self-titled album, which is an uninspired debut.

She Likes Cloth is an indie rock band from Secaucus, New Jersey, that formed two years ago.

They’ve yet to win the attention of any labels, but songs like “Beauty Blue Skies,” a song about their hometown, and “Age Ain’t Nothing but an Officer,” which mocks a local news station that apologiz-

es for a pedophile, earned them some online buzz. And with their first album, available on Bandcamp, the band hopes to “be witnessed by the world.”

But they go after this attention in all of the wrong ways. The album begins with a piece of spoken word poetry performed by the band’s lead singer, Aldon Shelson, about a relationship in which “all [he] does is give, but all [his partner] does is take.” It feels like you’re right there with him in the worst way possible. All I can picture is an entire coffeeshop, uncomfortable and staring at the ground as he rhymes “maniac” with “SuperPAC.” From there we get more wallpaper tracks like “Meet Feels” and “Maybe We Can’t Be Sure.” This describes

the majority of this album, a collection of tracks that are only remarkable in how forgettable they are. Meanwhile, the more uncomfortable moments serve only as sign posts.

Listening to this album you get the sense that SLC didn’t have a real direction in mind when they started recording.

“Officer Mitchell” is an odd moment where the band retreads the formula that’s led to former success. Guitarist Kenrich Williams actually provides some awesome background vocals here but for the most part it feels like the band is spinning its tires, recapping a topic they’ve dealt before, a cop oblivious to age. The next track, “Sometimes We Say Fuck,” might be the album’s nadir where Shel-

son writes a song with so much ennui and awful clichés about youth and romance it might as well be a Chainsmokers song. It doesn’t help that the soaring chorus on this track was made with the sole intent to be used in a commercial.

The band is at its best when it isn’t focused on trying to having the widest appeal possible. The best example of this is the song “I Hope Obama Heard My Song,” which is an almost absurd ode to their own relative obscurity. “The Gorilla Channel” feels like it may be the beginnings of a good song, but unfortunately devolves into the why-don’t-girls-ever-go-forthe-nice-guys trope. And “Everyone at This Party Smells Like a Coward” has a few funny lines

like “I ate your pussy like PlayDoh” but ultimately comes off as arrogant and unlikable. And that mostly sums up this album, kind of unlikable, kind of arrogant, and not really worth remembering.

Often times with debut albums we can be more forgiving. Some of that is an understanding of the value of experience but mostly it is because of the possibility the interesting morsels could represent on the next albums.

However, She Likes Cloth is an album devoid of both flavor and nutrition. Not only does it have no personality but there’s not even any good tracks to hang onto. Personally, I would rather eat cardboard then listen to this album again because cardboard at least has fiber.

Hoot recommends

By Hoot Staff

“Eating Your Feed”

Let’s face it: Everyone loves food. And people love watching food get made. Seeing bakers mix ingredients together and create viral masterpieces are some of my favorite videos on the internet.

Not all of us are master bakers and chefs; I know I’ll never be, anyways. But Buzzfeed’s “Eating Your Feed” gives me the satisfaction of watching mediocre people try to cook masterpieces with a decent amount of success. A spin-off of “Binging with Babish” and “Bon Appetit,” the show challenges a group of amateur chefs to recreate

viral food videos on the internet.

I don’t know about you, but it always warms my heart when I see a struggling chef succeed in making mozzarella from scratch or corgi-shaped macaroons. Come for the baking, stay for the laughs.

—Sabrina Chow

home-movie quality of Radcliffe incorporating samples of his own life into the music, building them together into something beautiful. Blithe Field’s new release “Ward Unbending” isn’t the project’s best. For a meditative study time, I’d recommend putting on the albums “Days Drift By,” “Beautiful Wave ‘74” and “Warm Blood.”

—Noah Harper

Blithe Field

Spencer Radcliffe makes quiet music. Under his Blithe Field moniker, he gently blends audio samples and whirring electronic empherata, creating striking yet serene ambient tracks. It’s the kind of music that builds in space for you to think while you listen— perfect for studying or looking

“The Special” podcast

PHOTO FROM AMAZON.COM

out the window on a bus or train.

The music is sincere, calming and oddly transcendent. There’s this

If you’re looking for your next road trip destination, this podcast has some ideas for you. “The Special” is a new six-episode podcast series in which host Minya

Oh (a.k.a. Miss Info) takes the listener around a different American city, exploring what is so special about each place in terms of food and culture. Each episode culminates in a meal among locals, cooked by a local chef, that represents the unique characteristics of each city. So far, episodes on Seattle, downtown L.A. and Minneapolis have been released, introducing the listener to places that might not have been on their radar as cultural/foodie hubs but certainly deserve a new look.

—Abigail Gardener See RECOMMENDS, page 16

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The Brandeis Hoot

March 15, 2019

Hoot Recommends

RECOMMENDS, from page 16

“The Umbrella Academy” If you’re looking for a great show with a compelling plot, excellent dialogue and an in-depth character development, for the love of God, don’t watch this show.

It’s the worst pile of nonsense I’ve seen, rivaling only a certain show on the C.W. network that refuses to die. The dialogue is stagnant; listening to it makes me think the show was written by aliens

pretending to be people pretending to be aliens pretending to be screenwriters. There are too many characters to give them each dynamic personalities (except Klaus, everybody loves Klaus), creating narrative that feels flat at times and at others comedic, despite its serious intent. Finally, the plot has too much time travel. It’s ridiculous. Enough said.

But I’m watching it as I write this. Better than studying for my politics midterm.

—Celia Young

Arts Calendar Friday, March 15 Curator Tour: Caitlin Rubin on Howardena Pindell Join Assistant Curator Caitlin Rubin for a walk through the exhibition Howardena Pindell: What Remains To Be Seen.

Rose Art Museum at 12:30 p.m.

PHOTO FROM IMDB.COM

Crossword: Acronyms edition

Senior Festival

Saturday, March 16

“We Who March” is a book of fine art photography in which equal attention is paid to political message and artistic expression and its creators will reflect together on the experience and photographs from the book. Presented by WSRC Scholar Lora Brody with Ellen Feldman, photographer and author and Susan M. Reverby, Emerita Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies, Wellesley College. 5 p.m. in the Liberman-Miller Lecture Hall in Epstein.

WBRS Presents: DJ Mo Beatz WBRS and GAC are hosting a huge on-campus party! Big Sean’s DJ, DJ Mo Beatz, will be performing for this very hype event!

Doors are open at 8 p.m. at Chum’s.

Down

1) Communist bloc 2) Men’s group parodied in South Park.

3) Logan airport call sign.

5) Underwater diving.

7) When Reddit corrects your opinion.

8) Meat in a can.

9) John Cena’s league.

11) Trade group Trump wants to abolish.

14) ‘Murica 16) Cannibalistic 1984 cult sci-fi film.

18) Drake’s version of ‘carpe diem.’

19) 2016 campaign slogan.

20) Filling you in.

22) Supreme Court Justice.

24) Final epic season airs in April.

Gina Osterloh | Artist Talk Artist Gina Osterloh will speak in the Goldman-Schwarz Art Studios at 1:30 p.m.

Visiting art historian Kirsten Buick will speak on the work of Howardena Pindell, currently on view in the major retrospective “Howardena Pindell: What Remains To Be Seen.” Rose Art Museum at 2 p.m.

2) Explicit internet content.

4) Sportscenter 6) Shows you the weather.

8) Austin tech and media conference.

10) World Heritage Sites.

12) League for LA Sparks and Seattle Storm.

13) Military slang for really bad.

15) Insurance with duck mascot.

17) They have the meats.

19) DOTA 2 & League of Legends genre.

20) When Reddit gives legal advice 21) Summary for a long read.

23) Republicans 24) Insurance with lizard mascot.

Monday, March 18

Our annual Senior Festival kicks off in the middle of the semester. Three students have been working on writing, producing and directing their projects. Come see the results of their hard work! Friday, March 16 through Monday, March 18.

Spingold Theater.

Processing the Eternal Present: Howardena Pindell and the Art of Risk

Across

Quartet’s Mark Berger (viola) and Joshua Gordon (cello) will be joined by two outstanding guest artists Charles Dimmick (violin) and Leslie Amper (piano). Slosberg Music Center at 3 p.m.

Sunday, March 17 A Tribute to Irving Fine The annual tribute to composer, educator and founder of the School of Creative Arts, Irving Fine, will feature dramatic, highly idiomatic works including Fine’s 1956 Fantasia for String Trio, Aaron Copland’s 1950 Piano Quartet and Gabriel Fauré’s Piano Quartet in C Minor. The Lydian String

Tuesday, March 19 We Who March: Photographs and Reflections on the Women’s March

Thank U, Latex: The 19th Annual Liquid Latex Show Liquid Latex is the annual show put on by the Liquid Latex Club at Brandeis University. The show is one of the most unique performance experiences at Brandeis, and provides a space for creativity and expression unlike anything else. Come see your friends perform some amazing dance and runway pieces in nothing but latex body paint. Tickets are sold-out, though first-come first-served standing room will be available. Doors at 7:45 p.m. in the Levin Ballroom.

Springfest opening act finalists Basement Records and the Campus Activities Board (CAB) announced on Monday, March 11 the three finalists for their BEAM

VALENTINE’S DAY

competition for Springfest student opener.

After a reviewal phase, in which CAB, Basement Records and a se-

PHOTO COURTESY DANE LEONIAK

ries of music professors whittled down the candidates, the three finalists were selected: Indie rock band Valentine’s Day, hip-hop

TRIZZY TRÉ, THE RAPPER

artist Trizzy Tré, the Rapper and blues-rock ensemble Stop Calling Me Frank.

Students can vote on their fa-

PHOTO FROM SOUNDCLOUD.COM

STOP CALLING ME FRANK

vorite performer or group by heading to CAB’s Facebook page and filling out a Google form.

PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK.COM