The Brandeis Hoot 03/18/2016

Volume 13 Issue 8

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

March 18, 2016

Brandeis University’s Community Newspaper • Waltham, Mass.

Herbstritt ’17 wins SU presidency by two votes

By Hannah Schuster and Emily Sorkin Smith editors

Student Union Vice President David Herbstritt ’17 won the Student Union Presidency by two votes on Thursday, March 17.

Herbstritt has served on the Union for the past two years, but the election became contested when Ford Hall 2015 activist Christian Nuñez ’18 entered the race. Herbstritt received 479 votes and Nuñez received 477.

“I’m thrilled to be able to serve the Brandeis community again next year. I want to thank all of my supporters and everybody who took the time to vote on Thursday,” said Herbstritt in a statement to The Brandeis Hoot.

“There are a lot of issues that we need to deal with, and I am going to have a plan from day one. This weekend, I’m going to hopefully manage to relax a little bit, but then it’s straight to work!”

Approximately 30 percent of

students voted in the elections: 1053 out of a total 3610 undergraduates voted for president. By comparison, 890 students voted in the first round of last year’s spring elections.

Last year, current Student Union President Nyah Macklin ’16 received 70 percent of a total 890 votes. She ran unopposed, as did students in every race besides the vice presidential race, which had five candidates.

Nuñez, who ran against Herbstritt, told The Brandeis Hoot, “I will take this loss as a victory because it has been such an amazing learning experience. I will continue advocating for the issues that the students have raised so far.”

He congratulated Herbstritt on his victory and thanked his supporters for voting.

This year, Herbstritt was involved with reforming the Allocations Board to address student frustration with the club funding process. Herbstritt worked on a constitutional amendment last See ELECTION, page 3

B.SASV progress report demands further action from university

By Hannah Schuster editor

Brandeis Students Against Sexual Violence (B.SASV) issued its second progress report to the university on Monday, calling on the university to hire additional employees, lead a campaign against rape culture, improve the guides outlining resources for survivors and mandate more training for students, faculty and staff. They demand a response from the university by Monday, March 21.

B.SASV members taped a summary of the report and a sign that reads “Louis, You’re Still on Probation” to the statue of Louis Brandeis outside the SCC. Students have been using the hashtag “#StillOnProbation” when sharing the report on social media.

B.SASV released a petition in April 2014 calling for the changes on campus, including the creation of a Rape Crisis Center (RCC), but in November of that year they issued its first progress report criticizing the university for moving slowly on the center and failing to address many of their other points. The second report recognizes that Brandeis has

Inside this issue:

taken steps to address sexual violence on campus, but urges swift action to accomplish more.

The 2014 report gave the university an F in four categories and a D in five, pressuring a response from the university. Eight grades increased between reports. However, two remained the same and one grade dropped. Brandeis received one B, four Cs, six Ds and one F this week.

The B.SASV report demands Brandeis address rape culture on campus by funding and organizing a campaign to raise awareness and change attitudes. B.SASV asked Brandeis to spearhead this campaign in 2014, and so the grade for this section remained an F. According to B.SASV, the task of reforming campus culture has fallen to student groups like the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA), Brandeis Students for Reproductive Justice and individuals like Victoria Jonas ’15 who created the “It Happens Here” PSA video.

B.SASV wants “adult professionals” to fight the rape culture: either an existing employee at the Office of Prevention Services (OPS) or a new hire. “Legally, See B.SASV, page 4

News: Univ. is under Title IX investigation Opinion: Student journalist reflects Arts: ‘Last Five Years’ enthralls audiences Features: NPR host Guy Raz ‘96 reflects Editorial: Respond to B.SASV with action

K-Nite

photo by zach phil schwartz student union presidential election Student Union Vice President David Herbstritt ‘17 spoke about his candidacy for the presidency at a debate on Wednesday night. Herbstritt debated Christian Nunez ‘18, and after 24 hours of voting, Herbstritt was elected by only two votes.

Despite Historical Committee’s vote to delay, univ. hopes to begin construction on time

By Hannah Schuster and Emily Sorkin Smith editors

Castle demolition will be delayed by one year after a unanimous vote of the Waltham Historical Commission (WHC) on March 15. Brandeis announced plans to renovate the Usen Castle in January, but had not planned to begin demolition until spring or summer 2017.

Moving forward, the university will “continue our dialogue with the historical commission,” Interim President Lisa Lynch told The Brandeis Hoot after the meeting.

The commission will not issue a “demolition permit” for 12 months, unless Brandeis and the city of Waltham can reach an agreement before that time. The university still plans to begin construction on time if the issues with Waltham can be worked out, said Vice President for Operations Jim Gray in an email to The Hoot.

If an agreement cannot be reached in a year, then “On March 14, 2017 Brandeis will be able to obtain a demolition permit and move forward with their project as proposed,” wrote Clarence Richardson, chair of the commission in an email to The Hoot.

Page 3 KSA celebrates traditional Page 6 Korean culture Page 8 ARTS: Page 9 Page 13 Page 10

After failures of both the internal and external structure in 2013 and 2014, the university began conducting studies and surveys to determine how to best preserve the Castle. They found moisture damage and decided to add scaffolding and wrapping on the tops of the buildings to catch falling materials. Safety issues have forced students to vacate sections

photo by sharon cai/the hoot

of the Castle during this time.

The plans involve tearing down all but Towers A and B, and were made after considering several other plans, some of which involved preserving the entire Castle. This entails building a 160-bed residence, which will be up to modern standards of accessibility and energy efficiency See CASTLE, page 4

Climate Change

Three scholars discussed the relationship between climate change and sustainability. The panelists reflected on the agreement reached by 196 countries in Paris in December, 2015.

NEWS: Page 3

NEWS

2 The Brandeis Hoot

March 18, 2016

Rutgers prof. discusses new book on political spin ByAbigail Gardener editor

Political spinning plays a significant role in American politics, but that was not always the case. Since President Theodore Roosevelt, politicians have used “spin” in ways that both help and hinder our democracy, according to David Greenberg, associate professor of History and Journalism & Media Studies at Rutgers University, who came to speak at Brandeis on Thursday.

Greenberg’s most recent book, “Republic of Spin: An Inside History of the American Presidency” details the history of political spinning. Greenberg read from a passage in his book, describing spin: “Over many decades now, elected officials and their aides have forged a huge arsenal of tools and techniques to shape their messages, their images, and our thinking,” he said. “From the White House on down, every politician of note boasts a brigade of speech writers, press secretaries, campaign consultants, media gurus, handlers, holsters, hucksters, flacks, hacks and other assorted spin-meisters to ensure that each utterance and pose is rendered in the best achievable light.”

Greenberg’s book is split into three sections: how the presidents (beginning with Theodore Roo-

sevelt) contributed to the White House spin machine, how “spin doctors” contributed and how critics (such as writers, intellectuals and journalists) contributed.

Greenberg said his goal was to “understand the roots of the spin machine … How did this whole army of speech writers and pollsters and media gurus become such a central part of what every politician does?”

Greenberg also discussed how spin is viewed in our current society as a result of its history, as something negative used to mislead the public.

“The growth of spin has given rise to a series of now-familiar complaints. We hear that our politics are phony and corrupt, that our leaders are packaged and unprincipled, that their rhetoric is shallow and poll-tested, that even the most important political events—debates, conventions, speeches, interviews, press briefings—are scripted, staged and choreographed,” he said.

“Worse, we hear spin misleads or deceives us. Even if it’s disbelieved, it chokes off the honest and open discourse our democracy needs.”

Greenberg continued to discuss how people have been wary of political spinning for years. Vance Packard, a journalist who reported and wrote during the 1940s and 50s, worried as he watched

spin develop that democracy was in peril “because of these new techniques of spin,” said Greenberg. Packard’s worries are still echoed by the public today.

Greenberg argued, however, that “the answer is not to deplore spin and somehow declare our democracy bankrupt … but to try to help us understand how it works, to expose the fictions, to see how it plays on us and how we can better understand it.”

In writing a history of spin, this is exactly Greenberg’s goal: that people will better understand spin and realize it does not always have to be a bad thing. “I think that’s an important point to realize about spin; we sometimes deplore it, but underneath we can also see that it has its virtues when it’s in the service of a cause … We know that it can be used for misleading, and we can think of times when that’s happened, but we sometimes forget that it can also be used for leading. For misleading and for leading,” he said. Spin can be used to promote good causes. It does not have to be used to defame opponents or stretch the truth.

“And it’s that dual nature of spin, and that ambivalent attitude we have for spin and its role in our democracy that I think is really at the heart of this book, and the story of the presidents and the spin doctors and the critics and intellectuals who have constituted

Ombuds employees discuss interim service at info session

By Max Gould staff

Brandeis unveiled its new Ombuds service last week, and three university employees will provide confidential guidance to students regarding conflicts. Erika Smith, Elena Lewis and Brian Koslowski obtained multiple days of preparation in order to function as Brandeis University’s ombudsmen for the current spring semester.

The three employees will only hold interim positions through the office of Academic Services until they are integrated into the “structure in the office of the Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion,” according to an email sent to students on Feb. 24.

The Ombuds on campus will act in accordance with four standards of practice consistent with the International Ombudsmen Association: confidentiality, neutrality, independence and informality.

“Students who come to see us are met with pretty strict confidentiality,” said Smith at an information session on Tuesday where the ombuds employees introduced themselves and their service.

The only scenarios in which Ombuds are forced to report specific instances or complaints are when they involve threats imminent harm or reports of sexual misconduct. Brandeis’ Ombuds have gone to great lengths to preserve confidentiality by finding spots on campus to hold meetings where the purpose of the meeting will not be obvious to other students, and by installing curtains in rooms with glass walls.

The information session, though open to the public, was

sparsely attended. Those who did come were given more insight into what functions the Ombudsmen will satisfy on campus. “The Ombuds role is a conflict resolution role,” explained Smith, who is also an Adjunct Lecturer at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management.

Brandeis’ Ombuds do not act as advocates for students who seek their assistance, but instead take a neutral stance. This holds true for conflicts between students, or conflicts between students and administration.

“Independence means we operate independent of any other office on campus,” explained Brian Koslowski, Associate Director of Academic Advising. Officially, the Ombuds report to the Office of the Provost, though this means reporting general trends instead of specific instances. Independence also means creating a safe space for students to share their concerns, brainstorm, problem solve and resolve a conflict.

Ombuds operate informally, outside of any formal processes of Brandeis. The three employees stressed that the Ombuds’ services are always off the record, and if notes are ever recorded with the permission of a student, the notes are later destroyed. Not being a part of any formal processes also means that the Ombuds are not a replacement for other Brandeis resources, like the Psychological Counseling Center. “We’re not here to tell you what to do or how to do it or how to resolve a problem, but we can talk through the different options,” said Lewis, Assistant Director of Student Support Services Programs.

Students at the meeting were

invited to ask the Ombuds questions, and some raised the topic of student skepticism towards the administration. Since Smith, Lewis and Koslowski were already Brandeis faculty members before their training, some were concerned that the dual role will complicate the jobs of the Ombuds and that students may not feel comfortable coming forward to speak out against a colleague of one of the three Ombuds workers.

“We agreed to do this with understanding of all those nuances and intricacies and all of the things that could happen,” said Smith. She continued, “if someone felt comfortable coming to me and talking to me about something, I would act with the integrity of all those tenants,” referring to confidentiality, neutrality, independence and informality.

Attendees were also concerned about the requirement that Ombuds workers report trends to the Office of the Provost, especially involving conflict between students and administration. The three employees stressed that the reporting is done strictly in terms of trends, which involves any trends that are observable to the them, including critiques of their performances.

This was one of multiple information sessions that the Ombuds have hosted, and it will not be the last. Appointments can be made by phone or email, which are both listed at www.brandeis. edu/ombuds. The services will be provided by the Ombuds will be available for the rest of the Spring semester. “What’s great about this resource is that you’re in the driver’s seat,” said Lewis.

photos by zach phil schwartz/the hoot

this conversation over the last hundred or so years,” Greenberg said.

Greenberg’s book is available now for purchase. He is also the author of “Nixon’s Shadow: The History of an Image,” which won

the American Journalism History Award, Columbia University’s Bancroft Dissertation Award and the Washington Monthly Annual Political Book Award. Thursday’s event was sponsored by the American Studies Department.

DCL adjusts upperclassmen room selection process

By Elianna Spitzer editor

Students voted unanimously against both proposed changes to the housing lottery in a poll released by the Department of Community Living on Feb. 9.

Students received their numbers on March 11, and when they select housing on April 4-8, no changes have been made to the way that underclassman will select housing. However, a slight change has been made to the process for upperclassmen.

Brandeis will neither be removing class distinctions from non-first-year housing nor implementing a loyalty system for on-campus housing; however, upperclass room selection will now occur on different days.

This means that specific housing options will be available on separate days. For example, sixperson Ridgewoods and six-person Foster Mods will be available on April 11. Those who have the lowest numbers and a set time on April 11 will be able to select these forms of housing.

This adjustment was made to make arranging groups easier for

massell quad First-year housing

upperclassmen, according to Tim Touchette, the head of the Department of Community Living.

If students form a housing group but are unable to select a room in their desired location, they will have time to change their plans.

Group reconfigurations may take place overnight as opposed to moments before selection begins or ends. “For instance, because six-person spaces are generally the first to fill, we made a small adjustment in the schedule which allows students time to reconfigure groups before the four-person spaces open,” said Touchette in an email to The Brandeis Hoot.

Any rooms left in a previous period will roll over to the following room selection period. This means that if any six-person spaces are not filled on Monday, April 11, students selecting housing on Tuesday, April 12 will be able to choose from them. All selections will remain open until 5 p.m. on April 15.

“Every year, however, we have minor tweaks to the schedule to adjust for the calendar and try to make the process easier and less stressful for our community,” said Touchette in an email to The Hoot.

photo by karen caldwell/the hoot

March 18, 2016

The Brandeis Hoot

In The Senate: March 13

-The Volunteers Around the World (VAtW) club came before the Senate for recognition.

-Representatives from the club detailed that the club gives students an opportunity to take trips to impoverished communities and gain experience through bringing international aid to benefit individuals’ physical, dental and mental health, along with art outreach.

-The differentiating quality between VAtW and other international aid clubs was described by the student representatives as this club having the ability to send students on dental-specific service trips.

-Class of 2017 Senator Ryan Tracy noted that there is already a Pre-Dental Society on campus. Another senator commented that the Global Brigades already do service trips to Honduras to bring medical supplies.

-Class of 2019 Senator Nathan Greess remarked that while there’s no dental-related international organization on campus, to what extent could the Senate claim that service clubs are substantially different enough?

-The Senate voted against recognition, 13 in favor, 7 opposed, 1 abstaining.

-Services and Outreach Committee reported that they held a successful outreach event in Sherman Dining Hall, called Brain Break, and that similar events may be held in the future.

-Senator-At-Large Lorenzo Finmare introduced a resolution to change the name of ‘Columbus Day’ to ‘Indigenous People’s Day,’ stating that a Senate endorsement would lend momentum to the movement at Brandeis.

-Massell Senator Morris Nadjar ’19 reported that there have been noise complaints lodged against Massell Quad geese.

Finamore said, “I think we just need larger predators.”

-Class of 2017 Senator Matt Smetana stated that plants were being ordered for his meadow project this week.

-Jacob Edelman

NEWS 3

Brandeis subject of at least one Title IX investigation

By Jess Linde editor

Brandeis is the subject of at least one confirmed Title IX complaint investigation by the Department of Education, with another unconfirmed at the moment by the Chronicle of Higher Education (CHE) news website. According to the Brandeis University section of the CHE’s database on Title IX investigations, “[the] Education Department said it had opened two new investigations at this institution” on March 1 of this year.

One of the investigations was confirmed to The Justice newspaper as being in progress by Brandeis’ Interim Senior Vice President for Communications Judy Glasser.

Title IX, part of the United States Education Amendments of 1972, states that “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” In 2011, a “Dear Colleague Letter” from the office of Russlynn Ali, the Department of Education’s Assistant Secretary of Civil Rights, sexual assault was included as part of Title IX. “The

sexual harassment of students, including sexual violence, interferes with students’ right to receive an education free from discrimination and, in the case of sexual violence, is a crime,” said the letter.

If the other unconfirmed investigation is also confirmed as active, it will be the third Title IX complaint brought against Brandeis in less than five years.

The Brandeis Hoot news coverage from the fall of 2014 notes a Title IX complaint brought to Brandeis in the fall of that year, by an unnamed student who claimed they had been found falsely responsible for “unwanted sexual contact” and thus disciplined unfairly. The university had been made aware of the complaint in September of 2014. Since Title IX cases are usually not made public, the 2014 case was only acknowledged publicly by former Brandeis SVP for Communications Bill Schaller after the university was named in the Department of Education’s list of 75 colleges under investigation for Title IX complaints.

The Department of Education sent a letter (posted to the CHE website as well) of closure to thenBrandeis President Frederick M. Lawrence, in which it was stated that the case had been closed be-

cause the complainant in the 2014 case “filed a duplicative lawsuit in federal court.”

The current confirmed complaint argues that Brandeis violated Title IX after reversing a “guilty” verdict against a student accused of sexual assault by another student. The accuser brought the charges against the accused last year through Brandeis’ “Special Examiner’s Process.” This process, initiated by filing a Community Standards Report on the Brandeis website, involves a third-party examiner gathering information before making a decision. As occurred in the current case, this decision can be overturned by the accused in a series of appeals.

Title IX complaints can be used in response to such a decision if the accuser believes that the appeal inhibits their ability to receive an education free from discrimination, including sexual harassment and assault. Brandeis administrators did not respond to requests for comment before press time, but The Hoot will continue coverage as more information is made available.

Scholars discuss relationship between climate change and social justice

By Hannah Stewart staff

In the Paris Climate Agreement, 196 countries agreed on preventative measures for combatting climate change, a social justice issue that affects many around the world, according to three scholars who convened in Rapaporte Treasure Hall on Tuesday, March 15.

The agreement is an effort to combat the “cavalier attitude with which we treat climate change in this country,” said Professor Sabine Von Mering (GRAL/WGS), director of the Center for German and European studies who moderated the panel.

Each panelist gave a presentation on one aspect of the Paris Agreement before the panel

opened up to questions from the audience.

The “most vulnerable communities bear the brunt of the impact,” according to Dr. Joseph K. Assan (HS), Assistant Professor of International Political Economy of Sustainable Development who spoke at the panel. Although the recent mass displacements of people in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Iran have been accredited to ethnic conflicts in the regions, their true origin is in climate change, he argues.

“The underlying decision for most families to depart is the environment … their livelihoods are no longer sustainable, they have no prospects for their children,” said Assan.

Climate change negotiations have been largely unsuccessful

since the term officially appeared on the international agenda at the 1992 Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The international community had great hope that many of the worst effects of climate change could be mitigated with the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, but as Dr. Herman Ott put it, the protocol was “doomed from the beginning.” Ott is the Senior Advisor of Global Sustainability and Welfare Strategies of the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy in Berlin.

America is the world’s number one historical cumulative emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG), one of the substances most responsible for climate change. Ott suggested that the Kyoto Protocol was not a complete failure though because many countries did manage to re-

duce their GHG emissions. There was hope again leading up to the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Summit, but it was dashed once more when negotiations broke down.

The 2015 Paris 21 Conference of the Parties took a completely different approach. Ott praised the Parisian hosts, commenting that, “There was a time when French and diplomacy were synonymous.”

The Paris Agreement was not stylized as a treaty, meaning that the American Senate will not have to approve it, a concern that has kept the U.S. from involvement in other climate change talks. The language used in the agreement is neither substantive nor binding and cannot be used to potentially force the U.S. to do anything.

“The stakes are very high …

Right now, with climate change … you are fighting for the future itself,” said Dr. Mihaela Papa (HS), a lecturer at Brandeis on sustainable development and conflict resolution.

She lamented that those who have produced the most pollution are not those who suffer the most from its effects. There are very few financial or legal incentives to cut emissions, Papa said, lamenting that the countries who cause the most pollution are not always the countries who suffer from it.

Brandeis has initiatives in place to combat climate change, including the Brandeis Sustainability fund, which involves student representatives.

Seven positions filled in first round of spring SU elctions

ELECTION, from page 1

semester that increased the size of the board and a proposal that reduced the number of separate request periods last month. He also worked to institute mandatory bystander training for club leaders and investigating adding solar panels to buildings across campus.

Herbstritt started this year as Class of 2017 Senator, but was elected Executive Senator by the other senators, joining the Union’s E-board for the first time.

Herbstritt became Vice President after Dennis Hermida-Gonzalez ’17 stepped down.

Throughout the campaign, Herbstritt has addressed his white privilege and issues of diversity and inclusion on campus.

“Because of my privilege, I know that I cannot speak on behalf of marginalized groups.

What I can do, however, is make sure that they are heard. Starting day one of my term, I am going to push for open and public discussions about what the administration plans to do to achieve the goals set forth by groups like Ford Hall and the Brandeis Asian

American Task Force,” said Herbstritt in a statement on the Facebook page for his candidacy.

This year, students ran unopposed to serve as treasurer, secretary and representative to the Board of Trustees.

Paul Sindberg ’18 was elected Vice President with 45 percent of the vote. His competitor, Antoine Malfroy-Camine ’17, began his campaign as a write in, but was later added to the ballot and received 36 percent of the 1008 votes cast for vice president, with the remaining votes going to abstain and write-in candidates.

Sindberg has served as Class of 2018 Senator this year, and he took over as Executive Senator this spring after David Herbstritt ’17 became Vice President. As chair of the Services and Outreach Committee he organized last semester’s Turkey Shuttles for a total cost of $200 and the Midnight Buffet for $1,000 less than in past years. Students could also buy “shoutouts” to be shared at the event, with proceeds going to the local Charles River Watershed Organization. This semester, the services and outreach committee organized “Brain Break” in Sher-

man Dining hall where senators set up crafts for students.

Gabriella Gonzales Anavisca ’19 ran unopposed for Secretary and was elected with 80 percent of the vote, the remaining 20 percent going to “Abstain” and write-in candidates. Isaac Altman ’19 was running against Anavisca but dropped out of the race before Wednesday’s debate took place.

Anavisca is the Myra Kraft Transitional Year Senator and sees the secretary as a “liaison” between the Union and the student body.

The secretary sends out weekly emails to students with information on campus events, campuswide votes and other announcements. Ziyang Chen ’18 also ran unopposed and was elected Student Union Treasurer with 80

percent of student votes. Chen served on the Allocations Board this year and will continue to be involved with club finances in her new role next year. The Union treasurers assist student leaders with making purchases or filing payments for their clubs.

The position of Junior Representative to the Board of Trustees went to Wil Jones ’18 who ran unopposed and received 84 percent of the votes (860 total).

This is a two-year position and he will become the senior representative the following year. At the Union debate on Wednesday night, Jones said it is unacceptable that students do not know who the board members are or what they do, even though the board has the power to influence

graphic by allison plotnik/the hoot

students’ experiences. Jones, who was involved with Ford Hall 2015, said the students were told their demands would need to be approved by the board.

Class of 2018 Senator Cassie Cain ’18 will leave the Senate next year and join the Brandeis Sustainability Fund as a student representative. The BSF can award students money to finance sustainability initiatives across campus. Cain earned 41 percent of the vote. Her opponent, Mingyue (Daisy) Chen ’18 earned 33 percent.

Jacob Edelman (an editor at The Brandeis Hoot) ’18 was elected as the Junior Representative to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee. He will serve on the committee for two years, until Spring 2018. Edelman earned 46 percent of the vote, and his opponent Brooke Granovsky ’18 earned 35 percent. Edelman wants to create a designated week for midterms and find a way to expand the role of the AAAS, WMGC and ENVS departments in the core curriculum, while keeping in mind that some students do not have very flexible schedules.

4 NEWS

The Brandeis Hoot

March 18, 2016

Waltham residents attached to Usen Castle CASTLE, from page 1

and will bring Brandeis closer to their goal of housing 90 percent of students, as opposed to 80 percent as of now. When on-campus housing falls short of need, this forces some students to move offcampus which can artificially inflate rent prices in Waltham and take housing away from other Waltham residents, said Brandeis representatives.

The university’s main arguments in favor of demolition include the “prohibitive” costs of preserving the Castle in its entirety and the need for the university to take a proactive approach to housing constraints on campus.

University speakers also emphasized the preservation of “iconic” Towers A and B, which are the tallest and most visible from the streets of Waltham, Lynch explained.

Several other members of the Brandeis administration spoke at the WHC meeting including Gray, who stated the university prioritizes educational spending over the “luxury housing game” which Gray said other universities play. Brandeis must prioritize its academic mission and ensure there is money for scholarships and professors salaries, said Grady Ward ’16, a representative

to the Board of Trustees who was a Community Advisor in the Castle last year.

The proposed renovations will cost an estimated $37 million, in addition to the over $1.6 million Brandeis spent in the past two years on temporary repairs. The estimated cost of retaining the existing Castle structure it its entirety is between $80 and $90 million, over $35 million more than Brandeis’ proposal.

Preserving the entire Castle would require the building to “be almost taken apart and put back together again, which is so laborious and difficult as to make the cost way out of reach,” said Gray in a January interview with The Hoot.

However, the historical commission does not consider the cost of preservation, only whether the structure deserves to be preserved, said commission member Marie Daly. A guide for applicants presenting to the commission informs them to relay any “economic justification for demolition.”

The commission also raised the possibility of preserving the Castle’s facade and renovating interiors, but Brandeis representatives said this would difficult and expensive based on how much the exterior has deteriorated. Others asked if Brandeis has considered using the Castle for something

other than housing and building new residence halls on university green space or parking lots. Campus green space is “cherished,” said Gray and Brandeis already struggles to fulfill its parking needs.

Usen Castle, though part of the Brandeis campus, is an important community landmark for some Waltham residents, including commission members and others who spoke or attended Monday’s meeting.

Other criticisms of the plan to demolish the Castle has come from the alumni-led “Build a Bigger Damn Castle” petition, signed by 732 supporters, which argues that Castle demolition should only be considered if the university intends on building a larger one.

“We expect the university to maintain the Castle quad’s whimsical, medieval character in any new construction,” the petition states.

Another Brandeis alum, Edmund Tarallo ’04 spoke in favor of preserving the Castle on Monday.

Demolition is set to begin after the Spring 2017 semester, as outlined in the proposed timeline listed in the filing. Students will be living in the castle in the Fall 2016 semester, moving out before construction begins.

photo from brandeis.edu

photo from brandeis.edu

B.SASV fills 17-page report with plans to address sexual violence B.SASV, from page 1

the presence and pervasiveness of rape culture at Brandeis constitutes a hostile environment, which violates Title IX regulations,” said the report.

Last spring, Brandeis released the Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Violence with a response rate of 34.5 percent. B.SASV suggests Brandeis create a new survey which mandates participation by placing a hold on the students’ Sage accounts if they do not complete it, for example.

B.SASV also urged that prosocial bystander training should be mandatory for all faculty and staff, Orientation Leaders and Community Advisors, as well as student leaders, athletes and anyone who wants to host a registered party. Next year, club leaders will be required to complete the training once annually as the result of a Student Union bylaw amendment passed on Nov. 22, 2015 or

risk losing their accreditation.

CAs and OLs received bystander training during pre-orientation in 2014, but not 2015.

DCL is still considering adding a requirement that party hosts complete bystander training.

These students, “while encouraged to seek assistance when they witness somebody in distress, are not trained or expected to in any way intervene when suspicious activities are taking place or when they suspect a violation of consent,” the report said.

The RCC still has many issues, the report said. The space is small and has only one room for private conversations. Mandatory reporters work in offices next door, and if any of them overhear a conversation in the RCC they would be required to report it. The RCC is staffed by 10 students and Julia Rickey, the sole “professional survivor advocate.” B.SASV demanded Brandeis hire at least one more professional. Students, they said, could be “rightfully uncomfort-

able or hesitant” speaking to their peers about sexual assault.

The report highlights areas where Brandeis has failed to ensure students are aware of their resources for addressing sexual violence. B.SASV wants signage around campus to be clearer. The “Get Help Now” posters with phone numbers for Public Safety and the RCC hang on the inside of some bathroom stalls, but B.SASV said adding a code students can scan into their phones would be easier.

They demand Brandeis create a resource clearly outlining services available to survivors. In their response to B.SASV’s first progress report, Brandeis included a flowchart on confidential and nonconfidential reporting options, but this week B.SASV asked for a poster that is larger than standard computer paper and “can exist online as an interactive flowchart progressing through questions about reporting, medical care, short and long term counseling,

advocacy, housing concerns and barriers to resources (such as language, ability, relationships, support systems).” The group offered to serve as a “focus group” to help Brandeis create this chart.

The grade in this section was the highest in both reports, increasing from a B- to a B/B-.

A grade that dropped from a B+ to a D- between reports involves the PCC. After the last progress report, Brandeis hired Kristen Huang, a counselor who specializes in trauma, but Huang left last year. Rickey, though she is a PCC counselor, has other chief responsibilities, said the report.

They also called for Brandeis to hire more PCC counselors who speak world languages (only one of its counselors speaks Mandarin and Cantonese) and offer resource guides and bystander training sessions in various languages.

The letter grade for the Department of Public Safety officers increased from a D- to a C/C-.

Fourteen officers participated in

a 44-hour course as part of basic training to become “sexual assault investigator certified.” Brandeis officers also participate in annual training, including an online refresher course. However, four officers are exempt from this training so they can be on duty, a problem B.SASV said could be remedied by holding the training more than once.

B.SASV lauded outreach events like the ice cream social officers held on Kindness Day and the “Coffee with the Cops” event.

However, they suggested the department create a way for students to give anonymous feedback to them.

A group of 15 to 20 students have been working on the B.SASV report throughout the Fall 2015 and Spring 2016 semesters. The entire report is available on The Brandeis Hoot’s website and the B.SASV Facebook page.

March 18, 2016

OPINIONS

The Brandeis Hoot 5

A letter of support to campus dining workers Dear Dining Workers of Unite Here Local 26 at Brandeis, We, the students of Brandeis University, so often running between midterms and exams, do not take enough time to appreciate all the work that goes into providing for our education. While we openly recognize and appreciate the work of our faculty and professors, none of it would be possible without food and sustenance to keep us energized and focused throughout the day. That is why we’d like to take this opportunity to say how grateful we are for all that you do to feed us and the broader Brandeis community.

We understand that the job is difficult, and we appreciate the dedication and care you bring to it.

For instance, as students, many of us living on campus or close by have days off due to severe weather. On those days you come to work, often it means spending less time with your family and driving in dangerous conditions.

We greatly appreciate that.

We know that because of your upcoming contract renegotiations with Sodexo you are worried about potential changes in your work. Currently you have specific job classifications (Cook I, Cook II, Cashier, etc.), which are very

clear about which jobs are a part of your responsibilities, and are paid accordingly. We understand that these classifications set clear expectations and make sure that the work you are asked to do is work you are trained for and feel comfortable with. We know that these classifications are important for you and we support your efforts to keep them in your upcoming contract. We also understand that health benefits are an extremely important safety net for you and your families, and should not be cut.

We will do everything in our power to support you in retain-

ing the benefits you have now and will stand by you throughout the process. We hope that the upcoming contract negotiations stay respectful and fair and hope to see a timely negotiation process (ideally wrapping up before summer break). We will have your back because you have always had ours!

In Solidarity, Brandeis Labor Coalition Brandeis Climate Justice Brandeis Democrats Brandeis Immigration Education Initiative Brandeis Students for Justice in Palestine

Amnesty International at Brandeis Students for Education Reform Brandeis Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance Queer Policy Alliance P.S. Other Brandeis clubs, if you would like to join us in supporting Brandeis dining staff by signing on to this letter, email mrocket@brandeis.edu.

-The Brandeis Labor Coalition

B.SASV Progress Report 1. Clear and accessible information on existing reporting paths, options, and resources: Grade: B/B-, Previous Grade: BHow to improve: -Increase distribution of Resource Guide for Survivors printed by the Office of Communications -Update the existing “Get Help” posters to include more complete information, and having translated versions in at least Spanish, Mandarin and Korean -Create a flowchart that clarifies different reporting and counseling options to students that is widely disseminated

2. A permanent on-call crisis response counselor: Grade: D, Previous Grade: F How to improve: -Hire a full-time on-call, confidential crisis counselor (outside of people already on staff) specializing in over-the-phone crisis response.

-Hire back-up on-call counselors for when the hired individual is not on-call.

-Publish and advertise how the line works and who would be answering calls.

-Implement a pager system for existing on-call staff members to decrease waittime.

3. A psychologist on the Psychological Counseling Center staff who specifically specializes in sexual trauma, violence and assault for long-term counseling: Grade: D-, Previous Grade: B+ How to improve: -Hire and retain a new trauma specialist.

-Prioritize finding a clinician of color.

-Prioritize finding clinicians speaking languages other than English (especially Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, and Hindi).

-Clarify and communicate information about cost of services (transparency is essential).

-Advertise urgent care drop-in hours (11am and 3pm M-F, for students in a crisis requiring immediate intervention).

4. Proper training of university staff, faculty, and administrators on the roles and responsibilities of mandated reporters and/or responsible employees under Title IX: Grade: C-, Previous Grade: D How to improve: -Make bystander intervention training mandatory for all incoming staff and faculty, preferably with re-training at least once a year.

-Require that CA training include bystander intervention training and thorough informational sessions about being Responsible Employees (Mandated Reporters).

5. Pro-social bystander intervention, effective consent and healthy relationship workshops offered at Orientation and extensively throughout the entire school year: Grade: C/C-, Previous Grade: C-/D+ How to improve: -Mandate smaller and more intensive training for all Orientation Leaders.

-Train all OLs to work with international students.

-Include locations of campus resources in Orientation brochure.

-Offer Bystander Training in at least Spanish, Mandarin and Korean.

-Require all faculty, staff and student leaders to receive bystander training.

6. Specific sexual assault response training of Brandeis Public Safety officers: Grade: C/C-, Previous Grade: DHow to improve: -More extensive annual training for all officers.

-Create a list of trained officers on the Public Safety website to allow for direct contact of an officer best suited to assist with student needs.

-Make it possible to submit anonymous feedback of Public Safety officers online.

7. An effective campus-wide campaign to combat rape culture: Grade: F, Previous Grade: F How to improve: -Delegate this task to someone who presently works in the Office of Prevention Services, or hire someone to create a campaign.

-Seek student input about rape culture at Brandeis, and tailor such a campaign to uniquely target these aspects.

8. Awareness of non-abusive sexual behavior and list of resources as a part of party registration process: Grade: D+, Previous Grade: F How to improve: -Collaborate with the RCC to write up a script in order to accurately guide the conversation about consent with the host(s), ABS, and the AC. -Advocate for the event host and/or ABS be bystander intervention trained.

-Create a second flyer that highlights the resources that are available for event-goers. The second flyer should also need to be stamped for approval and posted along with the event registration permit for all event-goers to see.

9. Accessible safety networks for students: Grade: D-, Previous Grade: F How to improve: -Mandate pro-social bystander intervention trainings for all student club leaders and athletes.

-The university must invest in ways to promote student safety networks with the promotion of helpful apps and creation of online and/or written guides.

-Make the RCC more accessible by hiring multi-lingual advocates, posting signage throughout Usdan and providing a larger location.

10. Engaging broader campus resources: Grade: D-, Previous Grade: DHow to improve: -Increase transparency about the groups currently in existence to work on these issues (i.e Provost’s Task Force on Sexual Violence).

-Fund awareness campaign that distributes clear information about reporting and campus resources to students at Orientation and other campus events.

-Mandate that all students take the campus climate survey and clarify the purpose of the survey in all notifications.

11. A permanent rape crisis center on campus: Grade: C+, Previous Grade: D+ How to improve: -Hire at least one more professional sexual assault advocate.

-Find a larger, truly confidential physical space for the RCC. -Advertise the RCC on the doors in Usdan.

12. Effective and accessible reporting system and options: Grade: D How to improve: -Implement a better reporting system for sexual misconduct, such as Callisto.

-Remove sensitivity training sanction in cases of perpetrators being found responsible.

-Allow CAs, and other students who are mandated reporters/responsible employees, to opt out of this function when not serving in their role as a CA or responsible employee.

We would like to end by saying that acknowledging the reality of sexual violence on this campus and moving forward with tangible changes in procedures and staff is not endangering Brandeis’ reputation. It is well-known that sexual violence, assault, harassment, and abuse happens at every

college campus. By talking about it openly and refusing to accept members of the community who harm others, Brandeis could become an institution that other schools model their policies after.

In the spirit of the social justice activism that started this university, we ask that the administra-

tion listen to what students need and what they will not stand for anymore. We ask that in addition to the good work that they have done, that they be proactive in their approach to ending sexual violence at Brandeis, not begrudgingly reactive. Because it concerns students so intimately,

the conversation surrounding sexual violence here must be open to all people, and that the lines of communication between students, staff, and administrators must stay open as well. We are confident that these changes will improve the Brandeis campus and will empower all to speak openly

about sexual violence.

The full report can be read online at brandeishoot.com

-Brandeis Students Against Sex-

ual Violence

6 OPINIONS

The Brandeis Hoot

March 18, 2016

Reflecting on four years as a student journalist

By Jess Linde editor

My time at Brandeis, including my near four years serving at The Brandeis Hoot, is coming to an end. A lot has happened over the course of this, but very few events have meant more than my time at this newspaper. From my humble beginnings as an inconsistent arts writer, to both news and arts, to my current position as Managing Editor, the journey has made me part of several great groups of people and allowed me the privilege of writing articles that make differences and mean things to people. I am also extremely proud of the fantastic writers and editors who will remain at The Hoot when I and other senior members have graduated.

Upon arriving as a first-year at Brandeis, my greatest aspiration was to be a respected cultural critic, and my only interest in journalism was finding a place to be an outlet for my opinions. So I sent in some album reviews and movie reviews to The Hoot, was published, and got to send some

links back to mom and dad. It was not much, but it was something I liked doing. Then I took my first journalism course at Brandeis, “Ethics in Journalism” with the amazing Professor Eileen McNamara, and I decided to try and get more involved at The Hoot. I started writing news articles, then started actually attending production nights on Thursdays, becoming a News Editor. But enough about the journey.

Whatever my position, The Hoot has allowed me a greater sense of myself as a Brandeis student. Outside of and through the paper, I have had the extreme privilege of interacting with and being friends with students of various races, genders and religious backgrounds. Whether it was covering cultural club events or witnessing the incredible work student activists put into opening the Rape Crisis Center, these experiences have helped my journalism by showing me the deeper human stories of Brandeis. I am extremely proud to have been able to tell those stories through my articles. Even when I have

made mistakes in my reporting, receiving criticism from fellow Brandeisians has only made me strive to be better.

More than anything, my time as a student journalist has taught me to be humble and impartial. I have learned to ask “why” something is happening instead of only “what” it is, and not to drop the “student” from “student journalist.” I constantly strive to remind myself that I am still a member of the Brandeis community, not above or apart from it, and that what I write has an effect on people I see every day. Despite some mistakes, since I’m only human, I believe I have done justice to the stories I’ve written, from executive compensation to administrative town halls, and I thank the Brandeis community for the ways they have let me cover those stories. I also want to thank the team at The Brandeis Hoot for dealing with my oft-narrow view of how an article should be written, and for all the bagels and advice that have been shared on Thursday nights these past several years.

The exact place and duty of

the student journalist is a topic I have been asked about and dis-

wrongs. I can confidently say that The Hoot has led me to write, edit

“ ” At its absolute best, campus journalism can inform the student body and inspre conversations among readers

cussed a lot in class, at the paper and internally. If you cannot tell by the above rambling, I am not completely sure of that exact definition, but I do think it is a necessary position. At its absolute best, campus journalism can inform the student body and inspire conversations among readers— student and faculty alike. It can bring people together and right

and read pieces that do this, and I am even more confident that this publication will continue to do so after I am gone. So if anyone has the same lofty dreams and ideals I cannot seem to rid myself of, stop by the BMC office sometime. You may not always know what you’re doing, but you know you should be doing it. And that’s enough for me, at least.

False assumptions in the political circus

By Michael Wang columnist

Much like the Olympics, the presidential election season can be seen as a quadrennial contest of noble vigor in which representatives of different pockets of humanity are afforded a rare opportunity to aggressively show everyone how unambiguously better they are than everyone else.

Unlike the Olympics, however, the election season lasts for well over a year.

This is by no means a bad thing.

Given the incredible degree to which the American election season penetrates everyday media each time it rolls around, it is at least a conversation starter for even the most politically apathetic of us: a subgroup which happens to include me. I don’t actually have much stake in the coming election myself; I don’t identify as democrat, republican, libertarian, communist, socialist, monarchist, anarchist, fascist, terrorist, zoologist, anthropologist, gymnast or otherwise.

However, it does seem as though there is a pretty eclectic distribution of attitudes taken by people at this particular school.

I’m not talking about which candidates they support; nine out of 10 people here will reflexively say “Feel the Bern” if you so decided to lightly fan them with a small piece of paper. Occasionally, though, I’ve noticed that some of the things on television or that I’ve heard from my compatriots have proven to be somewhat befuddling and misleading.

For example, something I really like about each American presidential election season is that candidates seemingly always run their campaigns based on the assumption that they will ultimately be installed as Despot of the United States instead of its President. Bernie Sanders says he will somehow prevent corporations from basing their headquarters in other countries, Hillary Clinton says she will somehow take out all the lead in America’s water supply in a hundred days and Donald Trump says he is going to channel Chester A. Arthur and sign another Exclusion Act, this time for Muslims.

Huge numbers of people laugh at how vaguely braggadocious and uninspired Donald Trump’s “Make America great again” slogan is. Yet eight years ago many of us stood before stylized pictures

of Obama overlaid with the word “Change” on them and felt our hearts buoyed by what was essentially the same promise every candidate is now offering this election. Perhaps it was due, in part, to the fact that most of us were around 12 years old at the time and had yet to discover that the American government consists of more than just a single guy, but I’m pretty sure it was mostly because presidential campaigns are designed to portray certain rich, middle-aged-to-elderly politicians wearing makeup as demimessiahs. I guess this is just what happens when a bunch of really powerful people with connections spend hundreds of millions of dollars on nothing but hype for a few months.

Others who claim they are now “disillusioned” by this aforementioned lack of “change” under Obama’s eight-year tenure have told me that people in general should be dissatisfied with discussion of the different issues and promises our representatives stand for not just during election season, but pretty much all the time so that “change” and “making America great again” might come from a more modest, “grassroots” approach. In other

words, it would be better to educate people about issues and have them actually understand what a lot of electoral hopefuls have to significantly water down in order to appeal to a mass audience.

Personally, I think this is a good idea, if really slow even under ideal circumstances. The biggest rub to this approach in my opinion, however, is that people who enjoy the dual virtues of both feeling really passionate about a particular issue and understanding it are pretty rare. It seems too often that civil, intelligent people who feel very strongly about a topic—but don’t fully understand the circumstances surrounding said topic—will end up proselytizing their views and accidentally forming mobs that share in the sentiment but enjoy an even smaller modicum of their original insight. This problem is rather manifest in electoral politics too; whether you’re the type to say “Feel the Bern” on an impulse or think Hillary Clinton will actually remove all the lead from our water, you ought to try keeping your head clear even if someone just randomly goes “I love Trump.

He’s so honest and patriotic.”

I guess in summary it seems as though I’ve met a lot of people

who will support candidates, not because they’ve been following their activities or have a nuanced understanding of their and their opponents’ respective positions on potential future American policy and government, but rather because there are people in their everyday lives who support these candidates. It’s just weird when I see some of the most highly educated people in the world fall victim to mob mentality and end up fixating themselves upon one particular candidate or ideal while unconsciously tuning out claims made by opposing camps.

In any case, politically illiterate as I am, the best thing to do in this situation is to either read up on the seemingly least biased information available to them, listen to what people who disagree with their preferences have to say or just take the shortcut and opt to not have an opinion. It does one well to remember that the competition is between the politicians, not us. Being able to open up a forum of discussion with someone who does not—either consciously or unconsciously—enter the conversation with the assumption that you are wrong is always nice.

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March 18, 2016

The Brandeis Hoot

OPINIONS

7

Student Union must be more transparent

By Matt Kowalyk editor

Sometimes it seems as if we, regular students, are treated as if we cannot handle the truth. There have been instances in the past where the administration did not let us know what was going on with their end of issues that concern us, but we could hope that those who represent our interests directly with those in power could be open about everything they do.

However, we are met with incomplete efforts at transparency, insular personalities and practices and the inability to obtain information concerning things like past voting data. These things seem simple, but when it comes to campus activities, small concerns with transparency begin to mount and undermine supposed initiatives to create better ties to the student body.

The Student Union began to increase efforts at transparency last semester, but the efforts do not seem to amount to much that is really tangible other than a new website. The same information present on the website can be communicated through a Facebook page just as easily if the page is operated well. This brings into question certain actions and activities, or lack thereof, that undermine the apparent initiative to bring our student government’s activities into view for more students to see, to encourage greater visibility as well as scrutiny.

There has not been a Student Union meeting transcript published on their website since last October, nor is there information available about specific club allocations decisions or information on past complaints filed with the Judiciary Committee. Not everyone can make it to executive meetings, and those who feel inclined to be informed should have access to more than just the newspapers’ Senate logs. Word-forword transcripts should be available as well. Secretary positions

in most organizations carry out this job, so it would make sense that the body that is supposed to represent student interests should publish these records.

Students should be allowed to know which clubs their tuition goes to. We should all know how the policy governing student affairs changes. It is clear that the website still needs to be tended to since its redesign, as there are representatives from several different committees who still do not have profile pictures attached to their descriptions. Despite the site’s design, it makes people wonder whether or not it is cared for when there is a massive spelling error on the front page.

When word gets out that certain positions have not yet been confirmed by the Senate, which would seem like a matter of procedure, people wonder about how dedicated their representatives are. Our Senators make up the members of many different subcommittees, from Dining to Bylaws to Club Support and others, but most do not have finished web

pages. Other than the Sustainability Committee, which is described on a linked PDF file to their page, the rest are left to have their purposes and missions up for site visitors to infer. It would be for the benefit of the entire Brandeis community if, perhaps, recent activities of these committees were made public through a website update, Facebook post or even a Tweet or two. Just showing activity would allow more students to believe in Union activities.

I have spoken with many regular students around campus concerning Student Union activities through various unfinished video projects, and most have no clear idea about what goes on in the Union. Regular social media updates are highly recommended to deal with this issue. There are such committees such as the Sustainability Committee that has around $50,000 to make campus more sustainable, and yet the campus has become less and less efficient in terms of energy over the past five years (explained at a town hall last fall).

Transparency is important, regardless of who is willing or not to look through the windows. Not publishing meetings, not updating the website and not elaborating on activities through any sort of meaningful apparatus cannot be tolerated for long. There are only a few concerned constituencies that the Student Union needs to cater to for it to continue having legitimacy with the student population, but it should not end there. If we are to have the administration do right by their students, we need to show them that we deserve it, that we care about our system and university, and not resort to only begging from them when we need something. If anything, students should attend town hall meetings to see what causes are making themselves heard by the administration and to gain more facts before criticizing activities on Facebook and Yik Yak. There are certain aspects of campus that need to be addressed, but we as a student body should make efforts to show that we care

as well. The Student Union, as the official representatives of student wants and needs, should be the first to make an example, while our student body should attempt to do its best to participate and show that it cares too. Such change can be brought about by having a truly open Student Union that updates the student body on its initiatives that benefit us. Their members attend meetings and hold office hours, allocate funds to clubs and affect our campus rules and regulations. They have the responsibility to remind their unfortunately disaffected constituents of that fact.

There is no truth we cannot bear to hear, and I am certain that most decisions are not so severe that they cannot be made public.

If this is true, then there is an even greater overhaul that needs to take place. For now, if the Union makes real efforts to inform the student body of its day-to-day activities, maybe so many constituents will not be quite disaffected anymore.

photo by zach phil schwartz/the hoot

Student Union election fervor should match that of U.S. elections

By Zach Phil Schwartz editor

Although Student Union elections happen frequently, it is widely known that only a small portion of the student populace votes in them. In an article to the Jan. 26, 2016 issue of The Brandeis Hoot, Ryan Spencer wrote that “just 603 of approximately 3,570 students cast votes” in the January elections. That represents an overall turnout of under 17% of students. When it comes to noncampus politics, however, student interest and involvement increases substantially. In light of the hot domestic political climate, it is important that we as students not lose focus of what is happening at home, for the Student Union’s role in our university experience is far more substantial than some tend to believe.

The Student Union is a large body that deals with many aspects of our university lives. According

to the Student Union website, the allocations board, a branch of the Union, manages and allocates $1.7 million for university clubs and organizations. The Union also includes a dispute resolving body, known as the Judiciary. In an article to the Feb. 26, 2016 issue of The Hoot, Jacob Edelman and I featured the Chief Justice to the Judiciary, Brian Levi Dorfman ’16, who discusses how there had not been any complaints to that body to that date.

The Union acts as liaisons through which students can have dialogue with the Board of Trustees, Sodexo and our other campus services. Its Senators and other elected representatives play integral roles on committees that advocate for the students. Still, voter turnout remains low.

When discussing the phenomenon of low student turnout among friends, I noticed a disturbing trend: many are apathetic about the Student Union, which some attribute to a general lack of knowledge about its func-

tions. The Union is well aware of this problem, and although it has tried to address the problem, the Union has not had much success.

Although the Union’s new website is streamlined and designed for accessibility, it is still not yet complete and lacks more recent information. The topic of the unfinished website even came up in the Student Union Debates on March 16.

Despite the fact that the Massachusetts primaries have come and gone, campus fervor in this domestic election season continues to trump that of our own campus politics. It is not wrong for students to be passionate about domestic politics; this should be actively supported. After all, America’s youth can benefit from the policies of some candidates up for election in November, but we cannot forget that our own Student Union also bears influence on our futures here at Brandeis.

We can also benefit from political involvement at our own school, but yet, in the last election, only

17% of us did. This is something that must change.

Student interest in Student Union elections should match or at least be close to interest in domestic politics. The major difference between outside politics and interest in the Student Union is the reach of information. Although it has been working tirelessly to ramp up its presence on campus, the Union still struggles to maintain student interest. Significant changes in its outreach program will be needed to bring up voter turnout and increase awareness and appreciation for the Union and what it does.

The Union already maintains an email presence, but this can be hindered when students don’t check their email or ignore messages we deem unimportant. Email can remain the primary mode of communication, for there is no other feasible or quicker outreach method, but an increased presence outside of the digital domain would not hurt.

An increased sponsorship and

presence at events such as the activities fair and at The Stein’s trivia nights can bring the Union into more contact with a general student populace. Expanded modes of communication, such as physical newsletters or something similar, can help raise awareness for what the Union does. Inviting some students to observe Senate meetings and other Student Union activities will also make students more aware as to what the body does.

These suggestions are meant as building blocks for a greater plan of action that I implore next year’s Student Union and Executive Board take to increase their own awareness on campus. Voter turnout will not increase unless awareness of the situation increases to a level more close to that of domestic politics, which many students seem more interested in. The Student Union has a large influence on every student’s experience and life here at Brandeis. We need to make sure that we are aware and ready to vote for our advocates.

ARTS, ETC.

8 ARTS

March 18, 2016

‘The Last Five Years’ intertwines themes of both love and time

By Alana Hodson staff

Sponsored by the Undergraduate Theatre Collective (UTC), Tympanium Euphorium’s “The Last Five Years” premiered Thursday, March 17. The Brandeis production of “The Last Five Years” was directed by Lilly Hecht ’18 and stage managed by Yennie Mok ’17, and their hard work, along with the entire crew of the production staff, produced a phenomenal show. The play also featured live music, enhancing the emotional intensity and overall quality of the performance as the actors’ voices and music combined in perfect harmony.

Written by Robert Jason Brown, the play is a musical about two New Yorkers who narrate their failed marriage, which lasted five years, from two very different points of view. This play uses a unique type of story-telling in which Kathy, a struggling actress, tells the story of the relationship in reverse chronological order, and Jamie, an aspiring writer tells the story in a chronological fashion. The two characters meet only once in the show, at the time of their wedding. Since the play was based on Brown’s failed marriage with Theresa O’Neill, O’Niell threatened legal action on the grounds that the character Cathy was modelled after her too closely. Therefore, Brown

changed the song “I Could Be in Love With Someone Like You” to “Shiksa Goddess.” However, it is interesting to observe that Brown wrote the characters quite fairly, in terms of who appears to have been the greatest factor in the failure of the relationship; perhaps even placing the majority of the blame on himself.

This play has only two characters: Catherine Hiatt, played by Rebecca Myers ’18, and Jamie Wellerstein, played by Derek Scullin ’18. As the story from both perspectives is narrated almost entirely in song, a strong and practiced singing voice is key, and fortunately, both Myers and Scullin excelled in their roles.

Myers open the show with a sorrowful ballad, “Still Hurting,” as her character laments over the final break in her marriage as she finds that Jamie has left her.

Demonstrating the impressive range and body of her voice, Myers reveals to the audience the devastating toll these last five years have been on her character, Cathy. However, as soon as that song ended, the atmosphere of the set changed completely as Jamie, five years earlier, is seen bubbling with excitement over finding a girl (Cathy) with whom he is completely in love. With a voice rich and deep voice, though still able to utilize a wonderful falsetto, Schullin sings “Shiksa Goddess” as he is thrill with dating someone outside of his Jewish

background.

The play continued in this alternating fashion as Cathy moved steadily backwards through time, remembering the brighter days, and Jamie moved forward, progressing toward the demise of their relationship. The one scene in the show where the two lovers do meet, and are both happy in their lives, is at the time of Jamie’s proposal and the resulting wedding. Myers and Schullin both delivered a fantastic duet and took full advantage of the only moment they shared, conveying all the love the couple had for each other, as well as the hope and faith in the future. In this moment, one can see how all relationships, successful or not, reach a point where suddenly the two people will either accompany each other into the future or begin to diverge on their path, like Cathy and Jamie.

The concept of time in this play is an interesting idea to consider, as it symbolizes the very nature of Cathy and Jamie’s relationship. This theme of time is what captivated Director Lilly Hecht as she spent her summer both in an internship and grappling over this production.

“It occurred to me that to fully know the character’s, plot, and symbolism behind the show is to deeply and completely understand the couple’s relationship with time,” says Hecht in her director’s note, “They both un-

design by eric danowski/the hoot

design by eric danowski/the hoot

dergo the same wear and tear of the same five years depicted in this show; however, the moments they elucidate, which they once shared, are now shown to us as

mere memories , devoid of unity and wholesomeness because the two lovers were never in sync, even when together in the moment.”

Sneak peek of upcoming event showcases traditional Korean music

By Emma Kahn staff

On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, the Brandeis community had the pleasure of a “sneak preview” to our resident musicians’ performance, a group of Korean traditional musicians who travel worldwide promoting cultural exchange. Thanks to the Intercultural Residency Series provided through MusicUnitesUS, Korean “gugak” music will debut this weekend, providing a window into Korean traditional history and culture.

Resident curator Hilary Finchum-Sung (Ph.D. Indiana University), the associate professor of theory and ethnomusicology at Seoul National University, began the program on Tuesday with a brief lecture about the history behind Korean shamanism, the spread of shamanism as a nearly worldwide phenomena and the sociopolitical and cultural changes to the practice. An ethnomusicologist and violinist, Finchum-Sung initially took specific interest in Korean gugak style upon a recommendation by her graduate school professor.

She painted the tale of her first time hearing the music, fresh off a CD from a local record store, which was the only place to find such a sample. In the midst of studying the effects of music on the brain in her graduate research, the sound of gugak took her totally by surprise.

“It was so full of texture, it sounded like it was breathing. It sounded like it was a living being speaking to me,” said FinchumSung. From that point onward, her studies focused on Korean shamanism and the role that music fills in mediating between worlds. After a brief historical context surrounding shamanism

photo by nathan taber/the hoot

and its changing role during the Joseon dynasty, Finchum-Sung discussed the various styles of shamanism and their musical differences, showing video footage of each example. By the time the resident musicians were ready to perform, the audience had a brief but strengthened understanding of the traditions of shamanism in Korea, throughout all regions of the peninsula and throughout time.

Once the function of the music and the history of shamanism was understood, the resident musicians emerged from backstage and sat on cushions with their respective instruments, forming a semicircle on the floor. FinchumSung introduced each performer, their particular achievements and their instrument. Each musician gave a brief sampling of their work with a small solo, exhibiting the sound and tone of their instrument.

Lee Tae-baek was introduced first; Lee is a master “ajaeng” player (bowed zither), drummer and “pansori” (epic storyteller and singer), as well as a candidate for three Important Intangible Cultural Properties, a South

Korean government preservation project overseen by South Korea’s Cultural Heritage Administration since 1962, many of which have been recognized by UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Yi Ji-Young is a “gayageum” (12-stringed zither) master and has been involved with Korean traditional performing arts since the age of five. Yi was awarded “The Best Young Musician” by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Yi teaches as a professor of gayageum performance at Seoul National University. Her performances range from incredibly traditional styles to cutting edge, avant-garde styles.

Won Wan-chul is a talented daegeum player born into a family of musicians; his father, Won Jang-hyun, is a master “daegeum” (large transverse bamboo flute) player. With his father’s musical influence beginning at such a young age, Won was considered a “young master” by his 20s. Won received the grand prize at the Jeonju Daesaseup Competition for the category of instrument player in 1999, was given

the title of “Best Young Artist” in 2004 by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and was awarded the President prize at the National Gugak Competition in 2006. Currently, Won serves as the head of the Folk Music Ensemble at the National Gugak Center in South Korea.

Lee Suk-joo is also a talent born into a musical family; he began to study the “piri” (a small, doublereed flute) at the age of 13. Like Lee Tae-baek, Lee Suk-joo is a candidate for Important Intangible Cultural Property No. 72.

Lee is currently a member of the Sungnam Municipal Traditional Orchestra.

Lim Hyeon-bin is a “pansori” singer whose distinct style is characterized by coarse vocals and poignant wit, and has performed in several “changgeuk,” a form of contemporary theater based off pansori.

Having studied under several prominent musicians, Lim has received the grand prize at the Heungbuje Pansori Competition in 1993, the gold prize at Donga Gugak Competition in 1995 and the President Prize in the master singer level at Chunhyang

Gugak Daejeon in 2011, and in drumming, the grand prize in the master level in the National Gosu Competition in 1999 and the President prize in the master level of Haenam Gosu Competition in 2012. Lim was formerly part of the National Theater of Korea Changgeuk, but is now part of the Namwon Municipal Gugak Orchestra.

Following the lecture, students were encouraged to sit on the floor and join the musicians, creating a space more representative of a traditional experience. After the introductions, the group performed small sections of what would be a performative ritual for the deceased, in which the community of the living and the deceased individual come to terms with their loss, allowing the deceased to move on from the liminal space between the material world that the living experience, and the final resting place of spirits.

“The relevancy of this ritual will never go away,” mentioned Finchum-Sung. “People will always live and people will always die. It’s a celebration of both.”

Korean gugak is unlike any genre popularly listened to in the West. The music is lively and raw, giving off an earthiness and grittiness that colors a unique tone. In bringing the lecture as well as the music to the Brandeis community, MusicUnitesUS has provided a wholesome experience for the audience to briefly capture a facet of Korean traditional lifeways.

The full performance will occur this weekend, and it is open to the community. “Korean Gugak— Soundscapes of the Soul” will take place on Saturday, March 18 at 8 p.m., with a pre-concert talk beginning at 7 p.m., and will take place again on Sunday, March 20 at 4 p.m.

March 18, 2016

ARTS 9

The Brandeis Hoot

K-Nite wows with K-pop, acapella and traditional Korean fan dance

By Amy Zou

special to the hoot

On the evening of March 12, the Brandeis Korean Students Association hosted their biggest cultural event of the year. Dubbed K-Nite 2016: “Heart and Seoul,” the event aims to showcase South Korean culture at its finest with a varied assortment of traditional and modern performances. The main focus of this cultural display was Seoul, the capital of South Korea. As a city with a rich and tumultuous history, Seoul bears an abundance of traditions that the BKSA strove to portray in their event.

According to Master of Ceremonies Dennis Kim ’19, “K-Nite was not only to share the Korean culture with the audience, but it was also a great way of underlining that there are various students in Brandeis who have exceptional talent in various criterias.” After months of tireless preparation, the Brandeis Korean Students Association was proud to present this night to their eager audience.

For the opening act, a humorous video introduction of the current Executive Board was made before the projection screen rose to reveal a guest performer from

By Theresa Gaffney editor

The Undergraduate Theater Collective (UTC) recently passed a vote to only offer two mainstage shows per semester for the 2016-2017 school year. Mainstage shows are the major shows for each individual club within the UTC, performed in the SCC Theater.

The UTC is made up of performing groups Brandeis Ensemble Theater (BET), Brandeis Players, Hillel Theatre Group (HTG), Tympanium Euphorium (Tymp), Boris’ Kitchen (BK) and the “techie” club, Behind the Scenes.

Each week, at least 2 e-board members from each club meet at a commission meeting, where they

Berklee College of Music, Joon Daniel Lee. With his own guitar skills and BKSA President Peter Yoon ‘16 as supporting guitarist, Joon soloed two songs and wowed the audience with his singing voice. This astounding first act was followed by a rendition of two Korean contemporary songs in an a capella performance led by BKSA Vice-President, Jeongmi Seo ’18. The songs performed were “Yanghwa Bridge”

by Zion T. and “Um Oh Ah Yeh”

by Mamamoo. One could say that the passionate emotions put into these songs by the singers were nearly enough to rival the original artists’ versions.

The KSA certainly didn’t slack on the traditional aspects of South Korean culture either. Following the a capella performaces, a traditional Korean fan dance called Buchaechum was demonstrated to the audience. The brightly colored display was an engaging sight that embodied nature at its finest. Donned in hanbok, the traditional Korean dress, the dancers used elaborate fans to perform a refined showing of long-established Korean culture.

In addition to the Buchaechum, Act II of the event opened with a Gayageum performance by renowned artist, DoYeon

Kim. Gayageum is the most well-known traditional Korean string instrument that resembles a German zither. It is played by plucking the strings to produce sounds, much as a harp would be played—except horizontal.

DoYeon Kim is the first Gayageum player admitted to the New England Conservatory, where she currently studies Contemporary Improvisation. On K-Nite, the audience members were able to discover, in person, the extent of DoYeon’s skills with her chosen instrument.

One of the most exciting parts of the night was the modern KPop dance performances. A total of seven dances were performed, featuring coed, all female or all male ensembles. The songs that accompanied these dances were “Heart Attack” by AOA, “Ice Cream Cake” by Red Velvet, “Shake It” by Sistar and “Crazy” by 4Minute for the female dances; “Overdose” by EXO and “Mapsosa” by Hwangtaeji for the all male dances and “Bang Bang Bang” by Big Bang for the coed

photos courtesy minh pham/the hoot

performance. The introduction of American pop culture to Korea led to the beginning of this popular cultural movement that revolutionized musical pop culture internationally.

The many dancers instructed by Hwajing Kang ’18 and Woo Jin Choi ’18 put on a fantastic show for the crowd that left everyone in the room in a state of excitement. To make a great ending to the night of wonderful performances, there was a band performance by Joon Daniel Lee where “Treasure” by Bruno Mars was sung for the crowd. The night that

UTC votes yes on schedule changes discuss overarching UTC plans and activities, as well as check in with each individual club. The meetings are run by an elected UTC Coordinator and Communications Director. This year, Noah Suchoff ’16 and Gabby Lamm ’17 respectively fill those positions.

Tymp and BET will each have a mainstage show in the fall, while HTG and Players will hold their mainstage shows in the spring.

This reduces the number of mainstage shows usually performed each semester, as in the past every club has been eligible for one.

This plan does not include UTC founding club Boris’ Kitchen, which will still have a show in the SCC Theater during the last weekend of each semester, confirmed Lamm in an email to the UTC on Thursday. Addition-

ally, “special events” such as the 24-Hour Musical, Quickies and Brandeis Cares will not be affected.

According to the notes on commission meetings added to the UTC’s website each week, changes to the UTC’s structure were first proposed on Feb. 8, 2016.

The original proposal offered a similar reduction in mainstage shows, but with added administrative changes.

The proposal called for the voluntary dissolution of each individual club within the UTC in order to create a streamlined production and funding process. The structure would include eboard positions such as Production Director, Communications Director, Finance Director and Diversity Director.

Commission notes show that

on Feb. 29, members discussed more “short-term” solutions that would be less radical than the earlier proposed changes. In the commission meeting on March 14, the group voted for the reduction in mainstage shows. The new plan aims to address the theater community’s “current shortage of resources and feelings of exclusivity between the clubs,” said Lamm in her email.

However, one UTC member who wishes to remain anonymous due to their leadership position in the group has doubts about the effect that the new system will have on inclusivity.

“With the new changes, there will only be two mainstage shows per semester, which limits opportunities for all actors, but completely eliminates the chances of the UTC sponsoring something

started with music and remarks also concluded in a similar manner.

In addition to great performances, BKSA catered Korean food to the people attending. The meal featured a serving-style line including options such as rice, noodles with sesame, dak-gangjeong (crispy Korean chicken nuggets), bulgogi (Korean grilled beef) and a variety of different Korean savory pancakes. The many audience members converged in a long line anticipating these delicious delicacies. Volunteers for the Korean Student Association generously served the food to the members and allowed everyone to taste a fragment of recipes from South Korea.

Spectacular performances were truly witnessed on the evening of March 12, 2016. The student body can only look forward to future events by the Brandeis Korean Student Association in the remaining time of this semester.

Following K-Nite, The Brandeis Korean Students Association has one last major event for the student body this semester. The anticipated event is their Passing the Torch ceremony where they will honor their graduating seniors and reflect on the impact that their Association had on the Brandeis community over the semesters. Alongside food, please join BKSA for their event upon its announcement!

like an all-Black production, because it would drastically cut opportunities for the white majority that runs the organization,” they said. “With one straight play and one musical per semester, it becomes a challenging situation because if we have one show that just features people of color or another marginalized group, then that cuts opportunities for white actors by half, but if we don’t continue to choose shows that center people of color or other marginalized bodies, then the opportunities for those folks disappear.”

In the “off-semesters,” groups will aim to sponsor shows in alternate spaces, some of which have already been booked, Lamm said.

The UTC meets for commission on Monday nights.

10 ARTS

The Brandeis Hoot

March 18, 2016

Camille A. Brown brings a chaotic array of emotions through dance

By Conor Amrien Staff

Following a performance, when an audience member asked if she could take the time to describe her past training, Camille A. Brown simply replied “no.”

On Wednesday, March 16, award-winning choreographer Camille A. Brown visited Brandeis. Following a showing of her work in the Lown School for Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, she hosted a question-and-answer session.

Brown incorporates into her work elements of modern dance as well as ancestral stories in order to shed light on the experience of the modern Black female. The lecture began with a video showing Brown and fellow dancers at a performance. The performance largely consisted of different pairs of women dancing together, creating a story without the need for words.

One of the scenes that was particularly gripping consisted of two women performing step as a form of call and response. It felt like the two women were having a dialogue with each other made up of nothing but claps, snaps and steps.

This display of technical skill was both impressive and captivat-

ing to watch. As the pair danced across the stage, chasing one another, their friendship came to life.

According to Brown, her choreography is heavily structured, which makes this scene all the more impressive. The intimacy involved in one partner working off another shows how emotionally invested the author is in this relationship between two women and in her love of that companionship.

In another scene, the women focused more on bodily movement to convey their stage relationship. The majority of the scene revolved around the two women dancing in front of a graffiti-filled backdrop. The lighting was intense and washed out many of the bright colors present in the graffiti to bring more attention to the women on stage. The dancers moved with attitude and a special emphasis on the hips, as well as incorporated elements of hip hop that brought attention to the female body. Instead of call and response with sound, the women seemed to be communicating with one another through their bodies.

The scene was an empowering display of the female body and the need for women to bring each other up. While at some points the tempo slowed and the dancers

created a feeling of heartbreak, the scene overall was uplifting in tone.

In the final scene of the piece, a single dancer enters in a fit of intense movements. The dancer spends time messing with the chalk on stage, pausing for a few seconds to brood over the music as another dancer enters and watches on. In this scene, the

photo from www.camilleabrown.org

photos by nathan taber/the hoot

dancers were very physical with one another.

The figure watching over the other dancer would perform very protective gestures, such as fixing the dancer’s hair in rhythm with the music. At some points it looked as if one dancer was chasing the other around the stage. The dancers created a sort of mother-daughter or sister-like relationship with their intimate gestures.

One audience member described the relationship between the two Black women, claiming “it shows how much we need each other.” The pair of dancers excellently displayed this feeling of support and togetherness on stage.

After the video showing her work, Brown hosted a questionand-answer session like she usually does after her performances.

“The second act is a conversation,” Brown said. “I think people feel very differently about having a question-and-answer after a dance performance.” Brown described her desire for people to focus on examining what they just watched. “I want an immediate response to what you just saw,” she said.

While answering questions

from the audience, Brown described how she came upon this piece. She said that she forgot at points that she was a child once, as she has been struggling with the tropes of the “angry” and “strong” Black woman for so long.

The piece is heavily inspired by what it means to be a modern Black woman and to struggle with this identity. For one of the choreography exercises, Brown had each dancer look at a picture of a Black woman from 1880-1920 and to come up with a number of gestures for the routine based on that picture.

The show impressively investigates many facets of the relationships between modern Black women in a performance that at many times is comedic and other times is heart-breaking.

Camille A. Brown brings a chaotic array of emotions to the stage pertaining to her identity as a modern Black woman. In her choreography she controls these chaotic feelings through a series of beautiful relationships.

While they are not always completely clear, they are beautiful and filled with intimacy, just like any relationship beyond that of the stage.

Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato would be impressed with Brandeis’ Final Jam

By Adam Lamper As part of Brandeis’ annual Bronstein Weekend, Student Events held “Brandeis’ Got Talent: The Final Jam,” an exhibition of student talents, satirically named after Disney’s 2010 film “Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam.” Featuring a plethora of musically gifted students and a few comedians from Brandeis’ improv groups TBA and Crowd Control, “The Final Jam” was certainly a sight to see for the few students who happened to stop by the SCC atrium this past Friday evening.

Among these performances were three that truly stood out among the mediocrity that often accompanies such performances.

By far, the most interesting and unique (in a completely non-spiteful sense of the words) performance of the night was by Valarie Timms ‘16, as she rapped an impressively informative version of the Bill of Rights. Incorporating a catchy chorus, “It’s the Bill of Rights, it’s the bill of your rights. It’s time to take your knowledge up to unfamiliar heights,” in between informationally dense verses, the rap that

Timms performed brought alive the spirit of learning that is not prevalently found in tertiary education.

“I first learned the rap back in senior year of high school as part of a project for APUSH,” says Timms. “I wanted to do something that was fun and creative and I found this rap on the Internet. I thought it would be cool to bring it full circle and perform it my senior year of college in the talent show.”

A politics and American studies double major, with a double minor in journalism and legal studies, the subject matter of Timms’ performance comes as no surprise. She describes herself by saying, “I am a total nerd and performed this super nerdy thing.”

This performance is not in itself a seemingly oxymoronic combination of modern day and history, as large-scale productions like “Hamilton” have also incorporated elements of rap music. Although Timms would like to point out that she was, in fact, “rapping historical documents before it was cool.”

Eli Kengmana ’19 earned acclaim for his performance of ACDC’s “Thunderstruck,” as ar-

ranged by Italian guitarist, Luca Stricagnoli. In the percussiveacoustic style, which includes a lot of picking and strumming techniques, and most notably the utilization of the body of the guitar as a percussive instrument, Kengmana’s performance replaced the high energy rhythm of the original song with a high level of musical tact and technical difficulty.

“The percussive style just makes songs sound a lot more interesting and you can sound like a one-man band with just one instrument,” Kengmana says. “I can take songs like ‘Problem’ by Ariana Grande or ‘Disturbia’ by Rihanna, and try to play the multiple parts on the guitar (drums, bass and/or vocal parts), or just play the drums and chords and then have friends sing along with it, and it can still sound like a relatively full band playing.”

Having a diverse group of influences, like Mike Dawes and the aforementioned Stricagnoli, as well as music from better known artists like Buckethead and Blink-182, Kengmana expresses an equally rich array of emotions through his music that, pun intended, truly resonates with the

audience.

Although he does not foresee himself pursuing a career in music at the moment, Kengmana wholeheartedly expresses his intention to continue studying and improving his skills at the guitar, whether it’s through performing at gigs, jamming with company or even just practicing at his own leisure.

Last but certainly not least, the winners of the show and of two VIP passes to Springfest were sisters Deniz and Selen Amado ’18, whose soulful rendition of Adele’s latest hit, “When We Were Young,” left few dry eyes in the audience.

“Adele has always been one of my biggest inspirations!” says Deniz. “I love her new album and I think ‘When We Were Young’ is the most emotional one in the album.”

Members of Brandeis’ a cappella group Starving Artists, Selen remarks that working with the group is often her favorite part of the week. “When we start rehearsal, I forget about all the studying I have to do and just have so much fun!” she says. “The music that I do with my sister is also like that, like therapy. Whenever we are

stressed or tired or feeling bad, we start playing the piano and the guitar, and sing.”

Besides singing, Deniz and Selen both began their musical education at a young age, learning to play the piano, guitar and other instruments at age six, citing that their mother had a great influence on teaching them how to sing and harmonize.

Influenced by many artists such as Adele, Sia and Freddy Mercury, Deniz and Selen’s combined voices express a strength found in the above artists that is not too common in vocalists of their register and level of experience.

With their use of harmonies and accompanying instrumentation, the musical stylings of Deniz and Selen closely resemble that of sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg of the indie-folk group First Aid Kit and the slightly more popular trio of sisters in HAIM. At the same time, they express a uniqueness that most definitely played a role in securing their winning positions in the show.

Although awarding only a select number main prises, each participant received a participation trophy conspicuously in the shape of an Oscar.

March 18, 2016

ARTS 11

The Brandeis Hoot

Prof. Rakowski joins the American Academy of Arts and Letters

By Sabrina Pond Editor

“If I knew exactly where creativity came from, I’d bottle it and sell it for lots and lots of money.”

Or so David Rakowski (MUS), a Brandeis University professor who was recently elected to join the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Letters, said in an exclusive interview with The Brandeis Hoot.

The academy, which bolsters a total 250 members, is recognized as the greatest recognition of artistic achievement in the United States. The American Academy is composed of three departments: art, literature and music. A few members of the Academy include notable names like Toni Morrison, Joyce Carol Oates, Stephen Sondheim, Philip Glass and Frank Gehry. One of three current Brandeis members, Rakowski will join the ranks of fellow emeritus professor of music Martin Boykan and emeritus professor of composition Yehudi

Wyner. Rakowski, along with 12 American members and two foreign members, will be inducted in May. Several 2016 inductees include, but are not limited to, multimedia artist Joan Jonas, electronic music composer Paul Lansky, artist Pat Steir, as well as honorary foreign members Julian Barnes and Thomas Struth.

“When I got the news, I wondered, ‘Why me? Doesn’t the academy know I have a piano piece that uses the nose?’” Rakowski was quoted saying. “I am truly honored. The membership is the leading lights in the arts in this country, and I have studied and admired many of the members since I was a student. The notion that I get a seat at the table with them, and as their equal, is mind-blowing.”

Rakowski is both a composer and teacher who has gained infamy for his piano etudes, which have garnered a significant amount of attention because they are played in part with the fists

and nose. Over the course of his career he has received countless awards and prizes for his renowned contributions to music.

He was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in music on two different occasions and also has over 160 compositions to boast. This number is, of course, ever growing.

The professor looks forward to the perks that come along with membership in the academy.

“The Academy gives out monetary awards every year, too (I got one such award in 2000) which are considered prestigious, and I look forward to being able to nominate composers whose work I admire for those awards.”

Beyond that, Rakowski is even more intrigued that he is placed on the same level with other artists that he has looked up to for the majority of his career. “And by the way—being able to sit at the table with the leading lights in art, literature and music, and as their equal is positively mindblowing,” he said.

An incredibly honest individ-

ual, Rakowski’s understanding of his accomplishments over the course of his career are anything but pretentious in nature. “I suppose what I’m most proud of is that I haven’t run out of ideas yet—which is not to say I don’t repeat myself sometimes or do different things with material I’ve already used. As to what pieces I’m most proud of—two answers: first, my piano etudes (100 of them) and piano preludes (57 of them, shooting for 100).”

More surprisingly, however, is his openness about his limitations, and the fact that he attributes his successes to both the creative process and chance. “I’m not a pianist, and I can’t play most of them, but apparently they work, since lots of pianists play them and say they are comfortable and fit in the hands. And a lot of pianists have very nice things to say about them.”

When asked about the process of composing music, Rakowski has admitted that he finds creativity from multiple points of

inspiration, such as visualizations—something as mundane as the “shapes drawn by the glare of passing cars when they come through the living room window”—as well as works of art and poetry. Most of the time he plans out his music right after he wakes up in the morning, before he musters up the energy to emerge from bed. The only danger in this is that if he happens to fall back asleep he fails to retain any ideas he had—a risky gamble, for sure, though he also insists that some of his music came to him in a dream.

“Composing isn’t just what I do, it’s also who I am.” A busy man who finds himself incapable of sitting idle for any given period of time, he mentioned that currently on his plate are “43 piano preludes, a sextet for Boston Musica Viva, a piece for oboe and strings for the Boston Chamber Music Society, a sextet for New York New Music Ensemble and a seventh symphony for the New England Philharmonic.”

photo from bridgerecords.com

photo from brandeis.edu

‘10 Cloverfield Lane’ mystifies audiences with aliens and suspense

By Ryan Bunis Staff

There is nothing quite like seeing a movie in your college town.

The Embassy Cinema, a cozy theater in Waltham with only six screens, provides the newest releases and is close to campus.

Unfortunately it doesn’t have stadium seating, so someone tall sitting in front of you could block part of the screen.

Gladly, this was not an issue when I went to see the new film “10 Cloverfield Lane,” an intense thriller that is a semi follow up to “Cloverfield” (2008), a found-footage film about aliens attacking Earth. “Cloverfield” was directed by J.J. Abrams, who has received much notoriety for directing “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” Abrams, now also the producer for “10 Cloverfield Lane,” makes his mark

on the film: its flowing narrative pace throughout and edgy scenes are reminiscent of the surprise shots from “Super 8,” a film collaboration between Spielberg and Abrams.

“10 Cloverfield Lane” is directed by Dan Trachtenberg, making it his first movie in Hollywood.

He has shown a strong entrance as a director, as he was able to lead a fine cast of John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and John Gallagher Jr. Trachtenberg also leaves the film’s mood with a sense of mystery and scariness, eerily similar to Hitchcock, specifically his movie “Rope.” Most of “10 Cloverfield Lane” takes place underground in just a few rooms with three people.

“Rope” is similar in the sense that there is high tension created between only two characters, with all of the movie in one room.

The idea for the film had appar-

ently come up a long time ago, fairly close to when “Cloverfield” was already released. The objective was not to make a franchise of “Cloverfield,” but to build on the already-made plot and create a new story with a twist. There really is no resemblance between this one and its predecessor, which makes it all the more unique.

In “10 Cloverfield Lane,” after surviving a car accident, Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) awakens and finds herself in an underground bunker with two men. Howard (John Goodman) tells her that there was a huge chemical outbreak that made the outside world unlivable, and their only hope of existing is to stay in the bunker.

Howard is crazy and controlling, making Michelle want to escape. After taking matters into her own hands, Michelle learns

Comic by Tova Weinberger

the truth about the world outside of the bunker.

Though the movie made me jump at times, it still felt like J.J. Abrams left the audience hanging. He was only the producer of the movie, but his involvement in the film is clearly noticed. There is an empty sensation to his movies that I’ve found in his “Star Trek” rendition, “Star Wars” and now “10 Cloverfield Lane.” The end of the movie leaves us hanging, obviously letting the audience know that there will be a sequel.

The same thing happened in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” as well, and it left me disappointed. His eagerness to be mainstream looms over his movies and does so in “10 Cloverfield Lane,” even with Abrams as the producer rather than director.

What saves the movie’s credibility is John Goodman’s perfor-

mance. It gave me goosebumps.

He portrays a man on the edge of sanity for whom control is essential. His insanity is not that obvious, as perhaps some less mature actors’ portrayals would be. He keeps us wondering every scene, showing hints of the once-kind man that Howard used to be before this “chemical attack,” but even masking those in a sense of harmlessness. Howard reminds Michelle and Emmett that he saved them so often that the audience starts to wonder what Goodman is going to expect in return.

The movie’s production went under the nose of many, as “10 Cloverfield Lane” was not actually known until the preview was released. That is quite clever on J.J. Abrams’ part. It was a movie that added a nice twist to “Cloverfield,” but just does not quite have the same magnitude or thrilling effect.

EDITORIALS

12 The Brandeis Hoot

“To acquire wisdom, one must observe.”

Editors-in-Chief Theresa Gaffney Julie Landy Senior Managing Editor Jess Linde Senior Copy Editor Allison Plotnik News Editors Hannah Schuster Emily Sorkin Smith Deputy News Editors Abigail Gardener Elianna Spitzer Arts Editor Sabrina Pond Opinions Editor Zach Phil Schwartz

B

B.SASV proposes plenty of ideas, admin. should act

randeis Students Against Sexual Violence (B.SASV) issued a progress report this week, two years after their petition calling on the university to improve services for survivors of sexual harassment and assault on campus. The Brandeis Hoot published an article this week covering the demands, which can be read on page 1 of the News Section. The full progress report can also be read on our website.

The Hoot supports B.SASV and their criticism of the university. In April 2014, the group first released their petition and in November they released the first progress report criticizing the lack of action. The university published a

Features Editor Jacob Edelman

Photo Editor Karen Caldwell Video Editor Matt Kowalyk Editors-at-Large Charlotte Aaron Mia Edelstein Lisa Petrie

Volume 13 • Issue 8 the brandeis hoot • brandeis university 415 south street • waltham, ma

Founded By Leslie Pazan, Igor Pedan and Daniel Silverman

STAFF

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

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response, outlining point by point the ways in which they planned to improve services. However, a discouragingly small number of those plans have been enacted two years later.

The administration’s empty promises are nothing new to students, nor to our editorial board. Unfortunately, this does not make them any less dangerous. We urge administration to consider B.SASV’s comments and to take action immediately. We also ask the student body to continue to pressure administration and show support for B.SASV, because without pressure, certain administrators will neglect to create real action.

Sexual violence is a serious problem on

this campus, and no one is debating that point.

Students and the administration recognize that we need change. Last semester, the results of the Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Violence revealed upsetting statistics about sexual violence on campus. Now, B.SASV has again brought this issue to the forefront of people’s minds, yet there has been little direct action from the university.

These students have enough ideas to fill a 17 page report, and it is time the university put them into action. Discourse is important, but it will only get you so far. The Hoot calls on the Brandeis administration to enact the proposals B.SASV has been advocating for since April

Current Events

Sports Editor Sarah Jousset Copy Editor Sarah Terrazano

March 18, 2016

By Naomi Klickstein staff

Across 1. Black or Red 4. Abr. on toothpaste tube 7. Pop 9. Prefix meaning foot 12. Compensated 14. Buggs’ nemesis 16. Phony 17. Shocking crime 20. Beethoven’s piece “Für _____” 21. Stuck 22. Poet’s “before” 25. Immature frog (abr.)

27. Field 29. Cooking spray 31. Fire evidence 34. Heart input 36. Dissuade 37. Shocking judicial system 40. Schmear companion 41. Name 42. Gab 44. Bobby Orr’s org.

46. Massachusetts cape 49. Fuel 51. Little 53. Very modest garment (var.)

55. “1,2 Step” singer 57. Shocking response to getting caught 62. David Bowie’s widow 63. Abominable Snowmen 64. Argentine novelist Juan José 65. Chop 66. Misstep 67. Cannabis chemical 68. Jeweler brand

Down 1. Place to relax 2. Comfort 3. See 19-down 5. See 6-down 6. With 5-down, sequence following “ctrl” 7. Credit alternative

8. Ark’s final destination 9. Type of crust 10. Hearing organ 11. Washer’s partner 13. With 3-down, where to find milk 15. Colorful tidbit 16. Type of synaptic plasticity (abr.)

18. Function 19. 2012 MacFarlane film 22. Princess’s peeve 24. Earn 26. Nuts 27. Trumpeter Armstrong 28. Loft 29. Each 30. Flat-topped mountain 32. Peruse 33. Apexes 34. Knee ligament (abr.)

35. Performer 36. Expected 38. Kin (abr.)

39. Former 43. Young goat 45. Sufferer 47. Harkens 48. Danger 49. 1976 Disney film about a mule 50. e.g. Lindsey Vonn 51. Evergreen type 52. Inflict 53. Compartment 54. Word with “fire” or “eater” 55. Musician Johnny 56. Away from shore 58. Rock genre popular in 2000’s 59. Sticky stuff 60. Equestrian command 61. Attempt

March 18, 2016

FEATURES

The Brandeis Hoot 13

Guy Raz ’96 reflects on career, Brandeis and NPR

By Jacob Edelman editor

Guy Raz—does that name sound familiar? If one listens to NPR, he can be recognized as the host and editorial director of TED Radio Hour. The TED Radio Hour is a program based on the ubiquitous TED conferences, summits that host and then digitally distribute often captivating presentations focused on “Ideas worth spreading.” At NPR, Raz has also served as the weekend host of the program All Things Considered and as both a foreign correspondent and bureau chief in more than 40 countries, some of which were active areas of war and violence.

Raz is a Brandeis alum from the class of 1996. In an email interview with The Brandeis Hoot, Raz discussed his time at Brandeis, his work as a journalist and offered some advice for current students.

Raz grew up in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, and made the decision to come to Brandeis largely because of its distance from home. “At the time, I wanted to get as far away from my parents as possible,” said Raz. “I love them, don’t get me wrong.

I just wanted freedom!”

He remembered the academic rigor and access to his professors he had as an undergrad.

Specifically, Raz recalled spending “hours and hours deep in the basement of the library, sometimes falling asleep in the deep, cushioned sofa chairs.” He also noted that in his first year he lived in East Quad, and during his sophomore year he resided in Rosenthal Quad. Following that, Raz studied abroad and then lived

photo from guyraz.com

off-campus.

Raz worked as a reporter and op-ed editor at The Justice and appreciated how the experience afforded him to hone his writing skills. Additionally, Raz edited a now-defunct opinions magazine called The Watch. He recalled that experiences like this at Brandeis gave him “confidence to realize that there is a big world out there.” He continued by saying, “these experiences are directly connected to what I do now as a journalist.”

Passionate about storytelling, Raz saw the potential for good journalism to make the world a

better place. As a reporter, he saw his most fulfilling assignment as covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “I was able to navigate the challenging pitfalls by approaching each side with deep respect and empathy,” he remembered.

As for his most dangerous assignment, Raz recalled his assignments in Iraq, having spent a lot of time there in 2003, 2004 and 2007; however, Afghanistan is not far behind. He recounted one particular event, “Once me and another reporter took a 13 hour journey over dirt roads to a village on the Pakistan border

that was once home to Osama bin Laden. In the middle of the night, we were awakened by the owner of a guesthouse where we were staying. ‘You must all leave now. I have received a telephone call that gunmen are on their way to kidnap you.’ Needless to say, we got out of dodge pretty fast.”

Covering the Pentagon during the Bush administration was extremely challenging, according to Raz, as the Iraq conflict generated friction between the government and the press corps. “Often the administration punished reporters who didn’t toe the line. My reporting was based on what I

experienced in Iraq, so I often clashed with press officers and political appointees who did what they could to make my job more difficult,” he remembered.

Raz started at NPR as an intern for All Things Considered. Since then, he has worked in various parts of the organization. Working for TED Radio Hour, Raz finds great pleasure in what the program focuses on. “The program is about what it means to be human,” he explained. “Religion, race, geographic location, wealth, status and nationality do not tell See GUY RAZ, page 14

Prof. Timothy Hickey ’77 brings innovation to Computer Science department

By Albert Reiss staff

Among all the esteemed professors at Brandeis, Professor Timothy Hickey ’77 (COSI) has one of the most interesting backgrounds.

As a former Brandeisian he took interest in subjects such as Mathematics and Humanistic Psychology, as well as social justice. It is from these small beginnings that Professor Hickey has become one of the most respected members of the Computer Science department.

When he first got to Brandeis, Professor Hickey took a strong interest in the social justice component that our institution is so famous for. Hickey noted, “Even though I am not Jewish, I felt that the traditional Jewish values of valuing education and repairing the world were precisely the values that I wanted in my college or university. I loved being in a community of scholars who were there to learn and advance the state of knowledge.” The ability to combine elements of academia and altruism, for Hickey, made Brandeis an “exciting” place to be.

Professor Hickey’s interest in computer science started during his undergraduate career at

Brandeis, when took classes from Professor Jacques Cohen. Cohen had at the time finished “building compilers for the latest avantegarde language, Algol 68” and was becoming well known in the field, says Hickey, who took great interest in Cohen’s eagerness to use him for research. Among the projects that Hickey completed with Cohen was a “paper on computing the volumes of high dimensional polyhedra for use in analyzing the performance of nested-if statements.”

Professor Hickey is currently interested in exploring education technology and improving the classroom teaching environment through technology. The goal, according to Hickey, is to “be able to teach a class where the goal is for everyone to fully attain the learning objectives of the course and to use the software as a kind of biofeedback tool for education.”

Professor Hickey explained that the benefit of using more technology is that “students don’t have to be physically present in the classroom, they can livestream the lecture and use Skype to work in groups during the class.” He is also using Brain Computer Interfaces to help students learn more effectively. These tools have been shown to be effective for those

photo from cs.brandeis.edu

with ADHD and Professor Hickey is interested in using these for students with learning disabilities.

Some of the classes that Professor Hickey teaches include CS 11a and 12b, as well as his 3-D Animation and Computer Graphics course. Although when asked what his favorite class to teach

is, Professor Hickey said that he enjoys the Justice Brandeis Semester on Voice, Web and Mobile Applications. Unlike traditional courses, this JBS semester combines three classes with 10-20 students that meet on a daily basis for nine weeks. He enjoys the fact that it is “a very experiential class

where they learn to work together in small teams using the latest technology and methodology to create real products that can potentially make a difference in the world.” The intimate nature of the class allows Professor Hickey to get to know his students, as well as for the students to learn in a very effective and efficient manner.

In addition to teaching his students, Professor Hickey also greatly enjoys serving on various committees such as the UCC and EL committee. Hickey further commented that “working with students and colleagues to push the boundaries of knowledge” is among the most rewarding aspects of his job.

For students interested in a potential major in computer science, Professor Hickey advises to begin taking core classes, but also to “find creative ways to apply your knowledge to solve important problems in the community and the world.” The latter can be easily achieved through independent studies and can be a fantastic way to supplement what students have learned in their core computer science classes. And if you ask nicely, maybe Professor Hickey can advise your independent study.

14 The Brandeis Hoot

FEATURES

March 18, 2016

Radio journalist alum. recounts experiences GUY RAZ, from page 13

us why we humans act in certain ways. We act in certain ways because we share a common story.

And that’s the story I want all humans to understand and celebrate.”

As an interviewer, Raz has gotten to interview thousands of individuals, recalling one of his favorite interviewees as being former President Jimmy Carter, who told Raz that he and his wife Ro-

salynn were regular listener of his program.

Raz also recalled interviewing Marshall Mathers, better known as Eminem, who “wasn’t only a kind and sensitive fellow but interesting, modest and unbelievably engaged.”

He asked what it was like being compared to poets, to which he recalled Eminem mentioning that he “wasn’t really well educated and didn’t see what he did as profound or important,” which

Raz thought said a lot about his character and integrity.

Out of many distinctly memorable experiences while at Brandeis, one sticks out more than others.

“One of the great things about being young and in college is how serendipity can often play a powerful role in how things happen,” Raz said.

In October of 1992, a student group was going to leave to see the famous Allen Ginsberg do a reading and Raz was invited to

photo from wkms.org

come along. The day happened to coincide with the anniversary of Jack Kerouac’s death. Following the reading, Raz’s group went with Ginsberg on a walk to Kerouac’s grave.

“Use this time to learn things that may not seem obviously interesting but could have a significant impact on the way you see the world,” Raz advises to undergraduates, continuing, “Study art, read novels, become familiar with the basic philosophical canon.

Once you are out in the world, it will be much harder to engage with such a rich variety of ideas.”

Of all of the engagements following his years at Brandeis, one is most important to him. He explained, “I’m married to an incredible woman. We have two children, seven and five. We all live in Washington, D.C. and out of everything I have done in my life, there is nothing—absolutely nothing—as interesting as being a father.”

photo from wnyc.org

SPORTS

March 18, 2016

The Brandeis Hoot 15

Fencing team falls short at NCAA regionals

By Sarah Jousset Editor

The men’s and women’s fencing teams competed in the NCAA Regional Championships this past weekend at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY. The Judges were confident going into the event after winning most of their competitions this season. However, for both the men’s and women’s teams the season came to end at the NCAA Northeast Regional tournament. The Judges managed to send six fencers to the semifinal round of the tournament; however, none moved on to the finals.

The Judges provided top finishers in the men’s and women’s pools, both placing 17th. Guillermo Narvaez ’18 was seeded 23rd in the competition, but posted a 3-3 record in the first round of the competition and advanced to the 21st and final spot. The next match was in the semifinal round, which he also managed to win to finish 17th in the men’s foil.

However, the placement was not enough to bring him to the final round.

The Brandeis men’s epee was the only group able to provide multiple fencers for the semifinals. Hoot staff member Albert Reiss ’17 and Ari Feingirsch ’16

ncaa regionals Guillermo Narvaez ‘18 (above) finished highest for the men’s fencing team in teh

NCAA regional tournament, placing 17th.

entered the meet seeded 32nd and 33rd. They both went 3-1 in the first round of the same pool, beating opponents from Brown, NYU and Hunter College. Reiss took the match against Feingirsch. However, Feingirsch made it through the second round with a record of 3-3, earning victories over BC, Brown and NYU. Reiss won two matches in the second round against Harvard and NYU,

but lost two matches by a tight score of 5-4. Reiss’ tight matches landed him in a fence-off for the final spot in the semifinals. Reiss defeated Avery Vella of Yale 5-2, earning a berth in the semifinal round. In the semifinal round Feingirsch defeated an opponent from Columbia University, who would eventually win bronze in the competition. Reiss couldn’t secure himself a win in the semifi-

photo from brandeisjudges.com

nal round, finishing in 20th place, while Feingirsch finished 18th.

The men’s sabre sent one fencer to the semifinals as well, Curtis Wilson ’18. Wilson started the competition seeded 21st and finished in the same place. He went 3-3 in the first round of competition, snatching wins from Hunter College, Vassar College and St. John’s Roman Sydorenko who would eventually be the tourna-

ment champion in sabre. Wilson beat Sydorenko 5-1 in the upset, but couldn’t add any wins in the semifinals.

For the women’s team, Sonya Glickman ’16 ended her college career with a semifinal match which also earned her 17th place in the women’s epee. Glickman also went into the tournament seeded 23rd in her weapon. Winning multiple matches, including a victory against a defending national champion from Columbia, Glickman had moved up to 13th place going into the semifinals, just one place shy of what was needed to qualify for finals. In the semifinals, Glickman beat fencers from Brown and MIT; however, she finished one win short of qualifying for finals.

In the women’s foil, Captain Caroline Mattos ’16 was unable to secure her third trip to the NCAA championships, finishing 18th in her weapon. Mattos was seeded 16th going into the competition and went 2-4 in the second round of the competition, beating fencers from Harvard and MIT. However, she only won one match in the semifinals, against a Brown fencer.

The Judges are set to hold the NCAA Championship tournament March 24 through 27. However, the Judges will not be represented in the competition, as no fencers from either the men’s or

Brandeis athlete excels across fields

By Lily Wageman staff

Brandeis’ men’s and women’s track & field is nearing the end of their season. Just last week the Judges saw two of their members compete in the NCAA Indoor Track championships. The team is led by head coach Sinead Delahunty Evans, who is in her third season at Brandeis. Marlee Berg (third season/sprints & jumps), Steve Flanagan (first season/distance) and Simon Cleary (first season/throws) serve as assistant coaches. The student leaders for the Judges are team captains Maggie Hensel ’16, Kelsey Whitaker ’16, Tove Freeman ’16 and Lydia McCaleb ’17. The Brandeis track & field team contains a lot of talented athletes and The Brandeis Hoot interviewed sprinter Haliana Burhans ’18 to learn about her experiences and insights.

Burhans is an International Global Studies major with a minor in French, and a two-season athlete, playing soccer in the fall and running track in the spring.

When she’s not running she loves to read and bike. Last year she and her friend Abby Grinberg ’18 started the Spoon University Chapter at Brandeis. Burhans was initially recruited to play on the soccer team and hadn’t con-

two sport athlete Haliana Burhans ‘18 (second from the left) stands with fellow All-New England

Runners back in at the New England Division III Championships back in February.

sidered running track in college.

However, once she arrived she decided to reach out to the track coach and see if she could join the team since she enjoyed doing both in high school. Being a twoseason athlete can be a lot to balance with school work, but luckily Burhans has experience with time management since in high school she was a three-season athlete and has grown up playing sports. She describes her lifestyle as busy, “but

the busy schedule keeps [her] on task because [she] doesn’t really have anytime to procrastinate.”

Burhans’ usual events for track include the 200-meter and 400-meter, with the occasional relay as well. She has also run the 60-meter, but typically focuses on the middle-distance sprints.

Burhans considers the relays her favorite event because “they’re just so much fun because it’s a more of a team event than indi-

photo from brandeisjudges.com

vidual races, and I like the team dynamic more, which probably comes from my love of soccer.” Of challenges though, she believes the 400-meter is the most work because of how physically taxing it is and how nervous she’ll get before the run. She says, “I definitely have a love/hate relationship with that event.

This season, Burhans achieved some well-earned feats in her collegiate track career. Early in Feb-

ruary, at the Tufts Cupid Challenge she took third place in the 60-meter dash. During the preliminary she set a personal best with 8.22 seconds and in the finals she shaved 0.01 seconds off that time to set another personal best of 8.21 seconds. It is this event that Burhans describes as her favorite moment in track so far. She says, “The Tufts meet was just such a good feeling. I just remember how excited me and my teammates were about how well we had just run, and the support and cheers from the rest of our team made it that much better.”

Then later that month, she earned herself All-New England honors twice at the 2016 New England Division III championships held at Middlebury College. Individually, she placed seventh overall in the 400-meter dash with a time of 59.93 seconds, and also anchored the 4x200-meter relay that finished second in their heat and eighth overall. At the 2016 UAA Championships hosted by NYU, Burhans was part of All-Association performance for the women’s distance medley, coming in third with a time of 12:06.92. For the second year in a row, Burhans ran the 400-meter leg, this time with a time of 58.72 seconds. As the season is close to coming to a close, Burhans describes her goals for both soccer and track are to always keep improving.

16 The Brandeis Hoot

orchestra We’re sure they sounded lovely.

WEEK IN PHOTOS

March 18, 2016

photo by karen caldwell/the hoot

photos by adam lamper/the hoot

here comes the sun Spring is on its way.

photo by zach phil schwartz/the hoot