The Brandeis Hoot 4/13/2018

Volume 15 Issue 9

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

April 13, 2018

Brandeis University’s Community Newspaper · Waltham, Mass.

Basketball coach fired after student complaints

By Hannah Schuster, Emily Sorkin Smith and Celia Young editors

PHOTO BY CELIA YOUNG/THE HOOT

Brandeis hosted an all-campus meeting to discuss removal of two athletic department staff. Read more in NEWS, page 2.

TOWN HALL

Brandeis fired its head men’s basketball coach, Brian Meehan, based on multiple reports of discriminatory and unprofessional behavior, President Ron Liebowitz announced last Thursday, April 5. The next day, Liebowitz acknowledged that the investigation “processes moved slowly and opaquely, and ultimately inadequately,” prompting Brandeis to review its procedures for investigating such complaints.

An article on Deadspin, published hours after Liebowitz announced Meehan’s firing, detailed claims about the coach and several team members’ dissatisfaction with the handling of formal complaints they reported to the Office of Human Resources last

spring. Lynne Dempsey, the Athletics Director, was also placed on administrative leave, according to Liebowitz.

Brandeis is retaining two attorneys unaffiliated with the university to conduct a review of the procedures used in the Meehan case and for Brandeis investigations and grievance procedures in general.

“Anyone accused of committing an offense on this campus—student, faculty, or staff member—is entitled to a fair investigation and due process. This can take time,” Liebowitz said in the second email on April 6. “In this case, the process did not work the way it should have for the students who filed complaints. This cannot and should not happen again.”

The investigation will start by examining how the HR investigation into Meehan proceedSee MEEHAN, page 3

‘And Then There Were None’ opening night postponed

By Sara McCrea and Emily Sorkin Smith editors

The Undergraduate Theater Collective’s (UTC) production of “And Then There Were None” will have one performance on Saturday night, April 14, rather than the scheduled five performances

of the show beginning April 12, due to concerns surrounding the show’s racist history.

The Saturday show will remain unchanged from what the production staff planned with the exception of a content warning additionally detailing the history of the show before audience members enter the theater and an apology from a UTC E-board

member at the conclusion of the performance for selecting the show.

An hour and a half before “And Then There Were None” was set to perform an opening night show on Thursday, the cast received an email saying that the evening’s performance was going to be replaced with a forum for the student body, faculty and staff

to have a discussion about the impact on students.

The decision to cancel the performances followed concerns that professors from the Afro- and African American Studies (AAAS) department brought to select members of the UTC’s E-board and Emily Arkin ’20, the show’s producer, in an email on Thursday morning. The email detailed

the AAAS department’s disappointment in the UTC for choosing and continuing to produce the show without considering the impact on black and Native American students.

Students, including members of the cast and crew, attended the forum in Sherman Function Hall See PLAY, page 2

Students march to the Light of Reason at Take Back the Night

By Celia Young editor

Students gathered at the Rabb steps last night for Take Back the Night, an annual march to raise awareness for sexual violence. The students marched from the steps to the Light of Reason, where they gathered for 17 minutes of silence to protest the lack of a survivor advocate on campus.

Take Back the Night consisted of two parts, starting with a march from the Rabb Steps down to the Light of Reason and a reception in the Admissions building, at which student press was not allowed.

Lead organizers Kavita Sundram

Inside This Issue:

’20 and Saren McAllister ’18 read opening remarks. They began by introducing Take Back the Night to the 40 students and staff in attendance.

Among those in attendance were Professor Bernadette Brooten (NEJS) and the new Director of Sexual Assault Services and Prevention, Sarah Berg. Berg was identified as a resource for students who experienced discomfort at the event, along with the peer advocates who identified themselves at the start of the march.

The organizers described Take Back the Night as trying to “show See TBTN, page 4

PHOTO BY EMILY SORKIN SMITH/THE HOOT

BANNER HUNG IN FRONT OF RABB STEPS

K-Nite

Page 3 News: SSSP comes together at “I Am a Voice” Ops: Scottish man imprisoned for offensive video Page 12 Students showcase talents Page 6 at KSA’s annual bash.

Features: WSRC fosters creative dialogue Page 8 ARTS: PAGE 16 Sports: Fencing coach retires after 37 years Editorial: Proactively confront discrimination Page 11

Grand slam Men’s tennis continues its winning streak.

SPORTS: PAGE 9

NEWS

2 The Brandeis Hoot

April 13, 2018

Univ. hosts town hall meeting after Meehan’s firing

By Celia Young editor

President Ron Liebowitz, Provost Lisa Lynch and President of the Board of Trustees Meyer Koplow ’72 hosted a town hall meeting following the recent firing of men’s basketball coach Brian Meehan. At the meeting, community members discussed issues of racial discrimination and a perceived lack of transparency on behalf of the university administration.

President Liebowitz announced Meehan was fired on April 5. This came after an initial Human Resources (HR) investigation into “discriminatory treatment, unprofessional behavior, and racially biased harassment” that began last spring, according to an email sent by Liebowitz to the student body. The university took disciplinary action against Meehan, but he remained in his position until April. After an additional complaint in late March 2018 and an article released by the website Deadspin detailing student experiences throughout the HR investigation, Meehan was fired.

According to emails given to Deadspin, students initially filed complaints with the HR department in May of 2017, and the investigation proceeded over the next six months, during which time the parties involved met to discuss allegations and experiences. At the end of the process, HR took disciplinary action against Meehan, though the students who filed complaints were not informed of the action.

In late March 2018, HR received another complaint against Meehan, and he was placed on immediate administrative leave while they reviewed the new complaint and previous complaints. Meehan was fired after the review process.

Following the decision to conduct an independent investigation, Lynne Dempsey, the Director of Athletics, was placed on administrative leave.

In an email to the Brandeis student body, Liebowitz detailed the decision to fire Meehan, saying “In light of the new complaint, we

PHOTO BY CELIA YOUNG/THE HOOT

began a thorough examination and review of the prior incidents.

As a result of this complaint and that review, the coach’s employment with Brandeis has now been terminated.” He continued, “This incident underscores the need for us to regularly review policies and procedures dealing with the safety and well-being of all members of our community, and we are doing so now.”

Students, faculty and alumni packed into Levin Ballroom to attend the forum, where Liebowitz, Lynch and Koplow introduced the independent investigation, answered questions from students, faculty and alumni and heard their frustration and anger over the situation.

Liebowitz introduced the investigators, Massachusetts lawyer Walter Prince of the firm Prince Lobel and R. Malcolm Graham, a retired assistant attorney general. Prince spoke briefly about his background in law and his hopes to conduct a thorough investigation, noting that thorough likely will not mean fast. A day after the town hall meeting, Liebowitz released a website where students can reach out to the investigators with information and see when they will be on campus.

Bernadette Brooten (NEJS), Co-Chair of the University Advisor Subcommittee on Sexual Violence, emphasized the lack

of transparency in how to report racial harassment. Until recently, the policies on non-discrimination regarding faculty and staff required a Brandeis login to view, according to Brooten.

Students were concerned about what would happen in the interim during the independent investigation if students wanted to report harassment claims. “On the more short term, we are right now thinking about ways in which to make more... opportunities for folks to come forward,” Liebowitz responded. “We will share that with you through the website and through a follow up email after this meeting because we are very concerned... that people feel comfortable coming forward.”

But students were most frustrated with the lack of progress Brandeis has achieved on race.

Shaquan McDowell ’18 described his reaction to the Deadspin article as, “Disappointed, but not surprised,” echoing a previous statement made by Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Maria Madison. Students also referenced Ford Hall 2015—an 11 day occupation of an administrative building in protest of racial injustice and a lack of racial diversity on campus.

Cari Calloway, who was one of the protesters in Ford Hall 2015 spoke about the lack of progress Brandeis has achieved since the

2015 protests. “Y’all are just sitting here telling us the same thing every year. I’m pretty sure my ancestor... stood in the sames space and said the same things to y’all in 1975. And I just don’t understand...we have these every year, every semester...and there’s nothing that’s being done.”

Other students also referenced the Ford Hall 2015, and the original Ford Hall student occupation in January of 1969 where students advocated for better minority representation on campus. Also referenced was a 1975 protest by students in Pearlman Hall against university budget cuts that would have reduced financial aid, faculty and a transitional year program that was designed to prepare poorly educated students for college.

Professor Michael Rosbash (NBIO) spoke and identified himself as Meehan’s advisor during the 2017 investigation, saying he attended all of the HR hearings alongside Meehan. He criticized the length of time the investigation took and expressed his disappointment with the HR department.

“The idea is to make things better and in my view the quality of the employees is the obstacle,” Rosbash said. “How they handle complaints, how efficiently, and how sensitively and that is what I have seen, over and over again,

gets in the way.”

Rosbash also questioned the culture of racism on campus and how the legal team would evaluate the success of new policies. “I don’t see a tremendous plethora of racism on campus…That isn’t to say its zero, it’s not zero, it can’t be zero...But what I’d like to know especially from a legal team who’s going to deal with this is what’s the denominator? How are we going to evaluate when we have put in place something which is especially outstanding?”

Rosbash’s remarks received murmurs from the crowd, and one student responded to his assertion that the employees were the problem in the process with, “Racism is the problem,” which was greeted by applause from the audience.

Students protested the culture of racism on campus on the Rabb steps the following day. The students, who are not part of any on-campus organization, stood at the bottom of the Rabb steps holding up signs saying, “It’s not just your racist coach” and drawing attention to the lack of diversity on campus. A second sign contained several phrases, saying, “It’s your police racially profiling black students,” “It’s your lack of staff of color at the BCC” and “It’s your underpaid black and brown staff.” The posters have remained on the Rabb steps as of April 12.

‘And Then There Were None’ to open Sat. April 14 See PLAY, page 1

where Chief Diversity Officer Mark Brimhall-Vargas moderated a discussion about the play’s intentions and how it might impact the community.

The general student body received a notice in the weekly What’s Happening email from Dean Stephanie Grimes at 6:35 p.m.

Brimhall-Vargas conducted an informal poll of students in attendance at the beginning and at the end of the meeting, asking whether they felt the play should run the remainder of its scheduled performances. During both votes, the majority was in favor of running the show as scheduled, though approximately five more people voted in favor of not moving forward in the second vote.

Students recognized that those present at the forum may not understand how all students might be affected by the performance given that the majority in attendance were white.

The production team and cast

of “And Then There Were None” spoke about their efforts to bring the discriminatory history of the show to light, including many discussions of the history of the show in regard to its insensitivity towards multiple marginalized groups in the rehearsal process.

For the production, Merrick Mendelhall ’20, the director of the show, wrote a three-page director’s note addressing the play’s history and the steps she, the production staff and cast had taken to address the history in their presentation of the show. Various administrators and faculty members had reviewed and made suggestions to the director’s note, which Mendelhall was to read at the beginning of each performance, she said in an interview.

“The goal of this show from day one has been transparency and has been raising awareness about the texts and its history. If we do not put on the show, we lose a lot of that outreach that we would have. If the show continues to go on, the performance would be discussing the history and the

steps that we have taken to discuss the history and unpack it on the stage,” Mendelhall said at the forum.

Each member of the cast had prepared a statement describing how their characters were problematic and how these types of racist or sexist characters are still present today. The statements would be read at the end of the performance. While most UTC productions begin with a readthrough in the first rehearsal, the first rehearsal of “And Then There Were None,” held in January, began with a discussion of the difficulties of the show’s history led by Arkin. The cast continued to discuss their characters’ motivations and the show’s history throughout the rehearsal process.

“I’m wondering why today was the day they decided to bring this up, why today was the day that everybody realized that this shouldn’t happen,” said Noa Laden ’20, who portrays Dr. Armstrong in the production. “We made an effort to contact people for guidance for this show, know-

ing it would be potentially upsetting, many of whom did not respond to our outcry. It feels to me and many of my cast members really hurtful and upsetting.”

Agatha Christie’s novel “And Then There Were None” was originally titled “Ten Little N——s,” based on a British blackface rhyme of the same name. The play, released in 1946, was stylized as “Ten Little Indians,” and then released as “Ten Little Soldiers” and “And Then There Were None,” which is the final line of the nursery rhyme.

The email was sent from Professor Carina Rey (AAAS) and signed by sixth other professors from the AAAS department: Aliyyah Abdur-Rahman, Chad Williams, Salah Hassan, Wangui Muigai, Wellington Nyangoni and Faith Smith. It expressed that “the UTC has decided to privilege the time and energy that the cast and crew has spent preparing this show over the well-being and dignity of Black and Native American Students.” The email recognized that the students have a right to

put on the play, but urged the students to ponder whether continuing the performance would be “right and just.” The email also referenced the racially fraught time on the Brandeis campus as an additional consideration, a potential reference to the firing of head basketball coach Brian Meehan for racist comments towards players. None of the email’s signatories attended the forum Thursday evening.

On March 20, Arkin and Mendelhall had a meeting with Brimhall-Vargas and Rey to discuss the show. The group discussed several options, including the idea of introducing conversation into the play—pausing after a scene to unpack what happened. Mendelhall said there were some concerns regarding copyright because they are not allowed to alter the script much. This was, in part, why they decided to include statements at the beginning and end of the performance.

This is a developing story. For updated coverage, go to brandeishoot.com.

April 13, 2018

NEWS 3

The Brandeis Hoot

‘I am a Voice’ elevates student experiences

By Julianna An staff

Students and faculty gathered to celebrate the accomplishments and voices of the Brandeis community through “I Am a Voice,” which marked the 50th Anniversary of the federal establishment of Student Support Services Program (SSSP). “I Am a Voice” was held April 10 and featured remarks from students and faculty, awards and performances.

Hosted by Bill Chau ’19 and Irma Zamarripa ’21, members of SSSP’s student leadership board, the event began with remarks from Elena Lewis, the SSSP Director, and Provost Lisa Lynch.

Lynch addressed the role of student voices in the aftermath of student complaints against the head coach of the men’s basketball team.

She expressed her admiration for the members of the commu-

nity that stood up throughout the investigation and particularly for those against the senior faculty member.

“This year’s theme for the SSSP celebration ‘I Am A Voice’ could not be more appropriate or more timely at a moment when so many across our country, around the world, and on our own campus, feel that their voices are being silenced, manipulated, or dismissed.

It’s heartening to see that students at Brandeis understand the power of coming together and raising your voices,” Lynch said.

“Yesterday on our campus was a prime example of speaking truth to power on our campus. Confronted by a senior faculty member who recklessly attacked the excellence of our staff across the board, who denied the existence of racism on our campus and said that eliminating racism on our campus was not a goal worthy to pursue,” Lynch said in regard

to comments Professor Michael Rosbach (NBIO) made at the community meeting.

“I saw the traumatic impact of those words especially on our students, staff, and faculty of color on our campus. I, as a senior administrator, did not stand as forcibly as I should have that moment,” she said. “But I’m also so proud of those who did,” concluded Lynch, ending on a warming note by voicing her support for SSSP’s mission to open conversations.

More remarks followed with a keynote address by Michelle Dennis ’18, this year’s SSSP Leadership Award recipient.

Sticking to this year’s theme of voice, Dennis spoke of the impact of her own uncle’s voice in her life. She spoke about the power and meaning of a single voice and how it taught her how one voice can inspire, encourage and carry others.

One of three student performances of the night was by Lat-

inXtreme, a dance group under Brandeis Latinx Student Organization. SSSP scholars Carmen Lopez-Landaverde ’19, Phillix Esquea ’18 and Irma Reyes ’18 performed Baile de Palos, a form of dance traditionally played at religious ceremonies.

The final address was given by Cely de Barros’ 18, this year’s SSSP Citizenship Award recipient. De Barros shared her immigration experience and personal story on perseverance. Praising the social justice culture at Brandeis, she encouraged students to explore different paths and spoke about her passion for law enforcement. De Barros, who is preparing to attend the state trooper academy, will be one of the few female troopers in the field and the third black female state trooper in Rhode Island.

In celebration of the accomplishments of the community, the Student Leadership Board was recognized for their work on the

night’s event, the documentary and the accumulation of the year’s work in enhancing the academic experience of students. Different from past events, this year’s event also recognized the work of tutors, graduate assistants and peer mentors.

The final closing of the event was a student performance by SSSP scholar Angela Mendez ’18.

Mendez shared two of her own pieces which focused on the Chicana perspective of her bilingual and educational journey.

The Student Support Services Program works under the Office of Academic Services and offers resources to undergraduates who are first-generation students or have overcome significant barriers to attend Brandeis. One of 23 programs in Massachusetts, Brandeis’ program has helped over 600 students.

The “I Am A Voice” event was sponsored by TRiO SSSP and Academic Services.

Univ. launches independent investigation MEEHAN, from page 1

expanding from there to wherever the investigators deem necessary, said Liebowitz in an interview with The Brandeis Hoot and The Justice. They may expand into “all of our grievance processes and procedures,” whether it be within HR or any Title IX process, Liebowitz said. The two outside attorneys are former U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, Walter Prince, now a partner at a Boston law firm, and the Honorable R. Malcolm Graham, a retired justice from the Massachusetts Appeals Court, who works with the dispute resolution provider, JAMS. The two investigators will have “total access” to documents including those from prior grievance proceedings. Liebowitz named a point person to provide Prince and Graham with documents, so they do not go through any top administrators. The investigators will report to the Board of Trustees, as opposed to the administration, to ensure it is fully independent, said Liebowitz on Monday at an open forum for members of the community.

Liebowitz has, following the announcement of the investigation, established a website with the investigators’ contact details and instructions on how to speak with them or provide information. The investigators will be on campus from April 11 to April 13 in Goldfarb Library Level 2, Room 69-34, though students can also meet with them in their Boston offices.

The website also contains information about how to file general misconduct reports at Brandeis.

HR first received complaints against Meehan after a group of students filed a report last May. The fact-finding phase of the process—where HR investigators conduct interviews and review documentary evidence—continued through most of the summer, according to emails obtained

by Deadspin and posted online.

During that time, Professor Michael Rosbash (NBIO) acted as the advisor to Meehan throughout his HR hearings.

Sheryl Sousa ’90, the Vice President for Student Affairs, made a final determination the week of Oct. 16, according to published emails. Her decision resulted in a disciplinary action taken against Meehan, according to Liebow-

itz, though the university cannot disclose what this punishment was. Meehan was still coaching the team after this point. Following the HR investigation, Robin Nelson-Bailey, the vice president of Human Resources and acting Title IX investigator, also told the players she could not specify what action the school took, according to a team member quoted in the Deadspin piece and another who spoke with The Hoot.

According to Liebowitz, a new complaint brought against Meehan last week prompted Brandeis to place him on “immediate administrative leave” and to undertake a “thorough examination and review of the prior incidents.”

A formal investigation of the new complaint has not been completed, but Meehan’s firing was based on both the earlier investigation and new complaint.

Liebowitz spoke to the role of the external investigators, saying, “They will be charged with reviewing our systems, climate and culture of handling complaints, and will recommend actions and changes, including those related to personnel.”

Liebowitz announced Friday that he would host a town hall meeting on Monday at 4 p.m. to discuss the situation and answer questions. Students expressed disappointment in Brandeis’ handling of this complaint and called for administrators to seriously address racism on campus.

Students also expressed concern about measures taken in the interim, before the conclusion of a long external investigation.

“On the more short term, we are right now thinking about ways in which to make more... opportunities for folks to come forward,” Liebowitz responded.

Liebowitz acknowledged that Brandeis had done an “inadequate” job of clarifying procedures to report complaints.

Liebowitz identified Chief Diversity Officer Mark Brimhall-Vargas as a point person to contact if students had questions about how to file a complaint.

He will act as a go-to person and guide for students as they move through university processes. If required, Brimhall-Vargas will receive additional staff to support these efforts, said Liebowitz.

Members of the basketball team allege that Meehan engaged in “preferential and discriminatory

treatment, unprofessional behavior and racially biased harassment,” according to Liebowitz and the players.

Examples of racist remarks include telling a player he would “ship [him] back to Africa” and telling a player wearing the white side of a jersey that being white was a “dream come true,” according to Deadspin. Players also accused Meehan of giving preferential treatment to his sons, who are on the basketball team, according to Deadspin and interviews with The Hoot.

One member of the basketball team said he thinks it is time for a “culture shift” on the team, and he hopes both the assistant coaches and a new hire can achieve this.

Students interviewed for the Deadspin article claimed Dempsey was unresponsive to concern about Meehan. She is open to review in the external investigation and being on administrative leave assures the investigation will advance without her influence, said Liebowitz.

Liebowitz described Meehan’s actions as “abborhent and unacceptable,” in his second message, on Friday. He further acknowledged students’ dissatisfaction with the speed and transparency of the investigation process.

During the town hall meeting, many students voiced their dissatisfaction with the initial HR investigation of Meehan. In an interview with The Hoot, Rosbash, Meehan’s advisor, also expressed his frustration with the HR process, calling it “mediocre.”

Rosbash described the HR investigators as “not very competent…[and] not very responsive,” emphasizing that he requested the investigation be conducted more quickly. Rosbash attended all meetings between HR and Meehan, which lasted between two to four hours at a time, but were spread out over several months.

Emails uploaded by Deadspin show basketball players reaching out to HR employees throughout the fall semester, requesting updates on the status on the investigation.

Liebowitz directed community members to review Brandeis’ non-discrimination policy and to be aware of the processes for reporting discrimination or harassment. Director, was also placed on administrative leave, according to Liebowitz. Students interviewed

for the Deadspin article claimed Dempsey was unresponsive to concerns about Meehan.

A group of students filed a report with HR last May. The fact-finding phase of the process—where investigators conduct interviews and review documentary evidence—continued through most of the summer, according to emails obtained

by Deadspin and posted online.

During that time, Michael Rosbash (NBIO) acted as the advisor to Meehan throughout his HR hearings.

Sheryl Sousa ’90, the Vice President for Student Affairs made a final determination the week of Oct. 16 according to published emails, and Meehan received a disciplinary action.

Liebowitz said “disciplinary action was taken” against the coach in response to these complaints, though the university would not disclose what this punishment was. Meehan remained coaching the team after this point.

Following the HR investigation, Nelson-Bailey also told the players she could not specify what action the school took, according to a team member quoted in the Deadspin piece and another who spoke with The Hoot.

According to Liebowitz, a new complaint brought against Meehan this week promoted Brandeis to place him on “immediate administrative leave” and to undertake a “thorough examination and review of prior the incidents.” No formal investigation of the second complaint had begun, but Liebowitz based the removal of Meehan on a combination of the first investigation and the second complaint.

“As a result of this complaint and that review, the coach’s employment with Brandeis has now been terminated,” said Liebowitz. Nick Martin, author of the Deadspin article, told The Hoot he presented Brandeis with a series of claims about Meehan a week before the firing—including incidents that occured after the HR process concluded. Martin offered Brandeis one week to provide comment for his story, and 24-hours before that deadline, Liebowitz announced Meehan’s dismissal.

Liebowitz also announced an independent investigation in a second email to the Brandeis community, and has since established a website with the investi-

gators information as well as how to file a report within the investigation, or general misconduct reports.

The two outside experts are former U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, Walter Prince, now a partner at a Boston law firm, and the Honorable R. Malcolm Graham, a retired justice from the Massachusetts Appeals Court, who is a neutral at the dispute resolution provider, JAMS. The site also contains when the investigators will be on campus from April 11 to April 13, their office location in Goldfarb Library Level 2, Room 69-34 and a phone number and email address they can be reached at.

Liebowitz spoke to the role of the investigators, saying, “They will be charged with reviewing our systems, climate, and culture of handling complaints, and will recommend actions and changes, including those related to personnel.”

Members of the basketball team allege that coach Brian Meehan “preferential and discriminatory treatment, unprofessional behavior, and racially biased harassment,” Liebowitz said. Meehan is accused of behaving inappropriately towards black students on the team and injured athletes, according to the deadspin publication.

Examples of racist remarks include telling a player he would “ship him back to Africa” and telling the same player he did not want to sit near him because he might catch Ebola. Players also accuse Meehan of giving preferential treatment to his sons, who are on the basketball team.

One member of the basketball team said he thinks it is time for a “culture shift” on the team, and he hopes both the assistant coaches and a new hire can achieve this.

Liebowitz described Meehan’s actions as “abborhent and unacceptable,” in his Friday message. He further acknowledged student’s dissatisfaction with the speed and transparency of the investigation process.

Rosbash described his experience as advisor to Meehan, calling the process “mediocre.”

This article is continued online at brandeishoot.com.

4 NEWS

The Brandeis Hoot

April 13, 2018

Community shows support for survivors of sexual assault TBTN, from page 1

Back the Night as trying to “show solidarity with or as survivors” of sexual violence and with the goal of “dismantling rape culture” and “all systems of oppression.” They thanked the Rape Crisis Center (RCC), the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance and faculty and administrators including Berg, Vice President for Student Affairs Sheryl Sousa and Assistant Dean of Students Stephanie Grimes. The organizers also emphasized that Take Back the Night

was not exclusive for survivors of sexual violence and stated that the fight against racism at Brandeis, especially in the wake of the firing of basketball coach Brian Meehan, was “connected to this battle.” They discussed the need to remedy “larger structural problems at Brandeis” and described Take Back the Night as a call to action for students and faculty alike in this goal.

The organizers asked attendees to refrain from audio visual recording and any photography throughout the night, stating that

“the group’s collective security is our priority” but did emphasize that they “cannot guarantee absolute confidentiality.”

Students began marching with McAllister leading the chants of, “Shatter the silence, stop the violence, ignite the light, take back the night” and “Admins, we’re calling your bluff, what you’re doing ain’t enough!” They continued chanting past the library and Shapiro Campus Center.

At the Light of Reason, organizers congratulated Brandeis for the progress it has made in the past,

including the continued efforts of the RCC. They emphasized, however, that Brandeis has a long way to go to properly meet student needs.

Those in attendance held 17 minutes of silence to protest the 34 business days that Brandeis has gone without a survivor advocate, with 30 seconds representing each day. Julia Rickey, who served as the Survivor Advocate, left in August 2017, and Brandeis hired two part-time advocates to fill the role last semester. The university is still searching for a

permanent employee to fill the position. During the moment of silence, students, faculty and staff wrote messages on the concrete between the three Light of Reason structures, despite the light rain.

Students wrote messages including, “empower survivors,” “it wasn’t my fault,” “no means no,” “#metoo” and “this rain can’t wash away our pain or our power.” After the moment of silence concluded, McAllister invited the students in attendance to a private group gathering for students in the Admissions building.

Elizabeth Badger speaks on changes to DACA

By Chengcheng Xiang staff

Elizabeth Badger, a senior immigration attorney, gave the annual Joshua A. Guberman Lecture on how to protect Dreamers— in other words, young people given legal protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Speaking to more than 30 students and faculty, Badger described how changes in DACA policies could impact the Dreamers.

The event was sponsored by the legal studies program at Brandeis.

Dreamers, according to Badger, refers to the group of undocumented youths who entered the U.S. under the age of 18 and are currently pursuing education in the U.S. under DACA. First enact-

ed by President Barack Obama in 2012, DACA was designed to help the Dreamers receive a renewable two-year period work permit that could lead to permanent resident status.

President Donald Trump, however, announced in September that he would end the DACA program. The current administration has “prevented people from filing applications,” Badger said. Beginning in March, the same DACA recipient lost their status because they were prevented from reapplying.

“A lot of kids are eligible for other pathways to permanent status, but they never have had the impetus to speak to counsel and probably didn’t have the money to speak to a lawyer,” Badger said.

KIND, Kids in Need of Defense, is a national legal services organization that provides represen-

tation to unaccompanied minors in defense of their deportation.

Since “neither unaccompanied minors, nor anyone else in that matter, receives free counsel from the immigration court,” KIND strives to provide this service.

The DACA recession has prohibited many eligible Dreamers from applying for legitimate status.

“If you are someone who came to the United States between the age of one and five years old, between 2002 and 2007, that group is not going to be able to apply.

The people who are becoming 15 years old now can’t submit their application,” Badger said.

According to Badger, the DACA recession aggravates the situation of the Dreamers.

She gave the example of Evelyn, a high school senior in Boston, who came from Brazil to Amer-

ica when she was two years old.

Her father suffers from brain cancer which has stopped him from working, leaving Evelyn to handle their financial situation.

“Her access to higher education is a huge concern since she is ineligible for in-state tuition,” Badger said.

Undocumented people also struggle with restricted access to medical care, according to Badger.

“There barriers that undocumented communities...face to mental health care and other types of specialized care is significant,” Badger stated With regard to what the public can do, Badger argued, “I think the most important thing is changing public opinion through conversations.”

She continued, “Fifteen states sued 15 attorney generals of states

who went against DACA and DACA expansion. So obviously, we need to change their thoughts and constituents.” Additionally, providing sustainable funding for legal services organizations will enable more Dreamers to petition for legal residency, according to Badger.

Badger stated that DACA benefits citizens as it will make the community safer. “[P]roviding work authorization will help generate more tax income for the government,” she said. She believes that financial security would enable more Dreamers to report crimes and assist police with investigations.

“If we are sincere about providing diversity, [then] providing undocumented individuals with access to higher education should be fundamental,” in Badger’s words.

ENACT holds forum on women in political advocacy with New Hampshire Speaker of the House

By Rachel Wang staff

Massachusetts State Senator Cindy Friedman and former New Hampshire Speaker of the House Terie Norelli discussed their careers as women in politics at the Educational Network for Active Civic Transformation (ENACT) forum Monday, April 9 in the Shapiro Campus Center Multipurpose room.

Launched in 2015 under the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life at Brandeis, ENACT is a national program that engages undergraduate students in political action and legislative experience. ENACT’s academic course offerings are now available at 29 universities across the country.

Friedman and Norelli discussed their entrance into politics. Professor Melissa Stimell (LGLS), the academic program director for ENACT, moderated the panel and asked the women about their studies and how their academic background led them to political involvement. Both said their areas of study and work experience were not politically related, but they became politically engaged because of their work in community service.

Both women agreed that they had always felt more comfortable behind the scenes. Norelli turned down New Hampshire House recruiters multiple times before finally agreeing to try it.

What changed Norelli’s mind was realizing she would be doing the same advocacy work as an elected official that she was already doing as a concerned citizen. Her new platform was simply a “different venue with statewide impact.”

Self-doubt, however, is something Norelli says she still encounters all the time as a woman in politics.

Friedman had similar experiences of feeling insecure and “not good enough” but explained that she learned to care more about the work than her personal feelings. Over the years, she has found that the self-deprecating voice in her head is not something she necessarily needs to get rid of.

She simply does not dwell on it and focuses on moving forward instead.

On the topic of meeting opposition, Norelli added that “politics is about relationships,” and it’s important to respectfully reach out to people that disagree with you. She admitted that this value has unfortunately faded over the years. As a Democrat, Norelli had a lot of Republican friends in the legislature 22 years ago when she first started in the House. Nowadays, compromises across party line relationships are much more rare. However, Norelli found in her own experience and in research findings that women legislators received more support across the political spectrum on legislation.

Friedman and Norelli also discussed the power of drawing from diverse personal life experiences

rather than political education as women advocates. Norelli pointed out that women in particular are disposed to advocacy work because they interact with social issues everyday.

As Norelli put it, women are usually the ones involved in their child’s school, so they have some knowledge on the education system. Women are usually the ones taking children to doctor appointments, so they must know something about healthcare. Norelli’s work in the rape crisis center especially informed her on women’s rights.

Advocacy experience was more valuable to Norelli and Friedman than schooling, but one student audience member wondered whether they wished they had additional preparation before entering office. Norelli said her first two years in the House were mainly dedicated to learning the ropes of “this whole new world.”

It took her an full term to grasp the process, identify the key legislative players and understand their roles and influence. With the knowledge she worked to acquire, Norelli is now the mentor to inexperienced freshman legislators that she never had.

Friedman addressed the difficulty of working in a male dominated and oriented system. “It is about power,” she said. According to Friedman, political institutions are set up to be hierarchical.

Women, Norelli argued, are more inclined towards collaboration than men and are disadvantaged

in a system that does not play like a team sport.

Friedman recounted being interrupted and talked over by male colleagues during discussions.

She also remembers speaking in person with other advocates who would only look at and address her male chief of staff standing next to her.

Norelli stated that leadership qualities are not primarily male qualities. Women need to be actively and consciously recruited for leadership positions because they possess unique skill sets that are just as conducive to success.

At some point, she says, a woman must stop wondering if she is qualified enough and just do the job.

This event was sponsored by ENACT, Legal Studies Program, the Social Justice and Social Policy Program, the Women’s Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the Gender and Sexuality Center.

The forum was moderated by Professor Melissa Stimell (LGLS), the academic program director for ENACT. David J. Weinstein, the ENACT coordinator and Communications Specialist for the Ethics Center provided opening remarks about ENACT. Also present was Massachusetts State Representative Jay Kaufman, a Brandeis alumnus and ENACT Distinguished Legislator, who introduced the two panelists.

PHOTO BY RACHEL WANG/THE HOOT

April 13, 2018

NEWS 5

The Brandeis Hoot

Univ. searches for new Dean of Arts and Sciences

By Sabrina Chow staff

The three finalists for the Dean of Arts and Sciences position will be coming to campus to speak with Brandeis students, faculty and staff as part of the official selection process. Each finalist will give a brief presentation about their background experience and answer questions from students, faculty and staff. Dozens of applicants for the position, both internal and external, were narrowed down to eight semifinalists and again to three finalists. Susan Birren (BIO), the current Dean of Arts and Sciences, announced she would step down from the position in Sept. 2017. Birren became Dean in July 2011.

The first of three finalists, Dorothy L. Hodgson, spoke April 10.

Hodgson is the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the School of Graduate Studies and professor of anthropology at Rutgers University. She received her B.A. in English from University of

Virginia and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Michigan.

Since starting at Rutgers University in New Jersey in 1995, Hodgson has held a number of major leadership positions at the prestigious public university. In her current position, Hodgson helped to initiate mechanisms to engage the graduate faculty with the students in a greater capacity and coordinates faculty area committees for a variety of social and hard sciences. Hodgson is the editor-in-chief of the Oxford Research Encyclopedia on African Women’s History, scheduled to be released in fall 2019. She served as president of the African Studies Association (ASA) from 2015 to 2017 as well as vice president from 2014 to 2015.

Hodgson’s top priorities, she said, would be strengthening diversity, investment and equality at Brandeis. Rutgers’ student population is currently over 50 percent non-white, and Hodgson is hoping to bring the same level of diversity to the Brandeis campus

in part through strong admissions recruiting efforts. She is hoping to translate the diversity at Rutgers University to a smaller school setting like Brandeis.

Hodgson highlighted the desire to build more “living learning communities,” where students can live in residence halls with students of similar academic interests. Brandeis currently has two freshman Leader-Scholar Communities (LSC), the Media and Politics LSC and the Sustainability LSC, but Hodgson hopes to add to the program.

Outside of student academic life, Hodgson is committed to taking faculty governance seriously. “A university is its faculty and student leadership,” explained Hodgson. “I am a people person, and firmly believe that relationships are built are important. By collaborating, we are able to work towards a decision. Through consultation and conservation, the final outcome will at least be to the satisfaction of a majority of faculty. Even if the final outcome does not please some faculty members,

Brandeis commemorates Prof. John Lisman with neuroscience lecture

By Ruoshi Liu staff

Students, faculty and researchers gathered in Gerstenzang Science Library for the John Lisman ’66 Memorial Lecture delivered

by Dr. David Fitzpatrick, the CEO and scientific director of the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience April 10.

Formerly the Jay Pepose ’75 Award was changed in 2017 to memorialize the renowned Brandeis neuroscientist Prof.

John Lisman who passed away in Oct., 2017.

Fitzpatrick is a pioneer in the research of the cerebral cortex, the most complicated part of the brain, also known as grey matter.

His research interests include the neural basis of visual perception, functional organization of cortical circuits, the imaging of neural activity and development of cortical networks.

Fitzpatrick graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelors of Science in 1974 and earned his Ph.D. from Duke University in 1982. He had been the James B. Duke Professor of Neurobiology at the Duke University School of Medicine and the Director of the Duke Institute

for Brain Sciences until 2011.

The lecture was titled “Functional Synaptic Architecture in Primary Visual Cortex.” Fitzpatrick pointed out that humans’ understanding of the brain is still very basic. Aiming to have a general picture of the neural network as a whole, neuroscientists are striving to understand how single neurons interact with each other. Fitzpatrick focuses on the neurons of cerebral cortex, which is responsible for a wide range of human behaviors including sensing, vision and cognition by receiving and processing many signals they receive. One of Fitzpatrick’s major goals is to understand the way neurons integrate these signals.

For a long time, the general scientific consensus was that there is an overall map of a neuron’s dendrites in response to simulations, or in other words, a region is responsible for a specific type of stimulation. However, researchers found out that such mapping doesn’t exist. The responses to even a single stimulus was scattered across the dendrites. Inputs close to the cell body (soma) weren’t different from those far away.

Neuroscientists in Fitzpatrick Lab noticed a pattern that with-

it was the collaborations and conversation that makes all the difference.”

The second candidate for Dean of Arts and Sciences, Lynn Andrea Stein, professor of Computer and Cognitive Science at Olin College of Engineering, presented on April 12. Stein serves as a Professor of Computer and Cognitive Science at Olin College of Engineering.

Stein received her bachelor of the arts 1986 from Harvard University and Radcliffe Colleges in computer science. She then moved to Brown University, completing a Masters of Science and Ph.D. in computer science in 1987 and 1990 respectively.

Stein has served as a professor for eleven years in computer science and engineering, computer and cognitive sciences and has served as an adjunct professor in the department of computer science at Brandeis University.

Stein has a wealth of research experience in engineering and computer science, including artificial intelligence and program-

Fraden provides research for new Army technology

By Jackie Kostenko special to the hoot

PROF. JOHN LISMAN

PHOTO FROM BRANDEIS.EDU

in an individual dendrite, spines that respond to a stimulus are often neighbors. After systematic research, they concluded that the neighboring spines within five microns are most likely to be co-activated, which shows that the synaptic inputs in the visual cortex are organized locally instead of globally.

The research finding promotes the understanding of how a neuron deals with stimuli, representing a big step in understanding how the mechanism of a neural network.

ming languages. She has received a variety of educational awards and the National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award, which is a grant given by the National Science Foundation to fund a research project. Stein has also taught as an associate professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)’s Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Stein has “worked with the worldwide community to develop broader visions of computing and engineering education, running educational workshops, leading professional initiatives, and serving on advisory and visiting committees to a wide range of academic institutions and curricular programs,” according to her page on Olin College of Engineering’s website.

The next candidate for Dean of Arts and Sciences will be released

by Jane Kondev, the Chair of the Dean of Arts and Sciences Search Committee on Thursday, April 19. They will present from 12 to 1 p.m. in the International Lounge in Usdan Student Center.

Physics professor Seth Fraden (PHYS) and his team of researchers have engineered a way to make soft material mimic neural tissue in the body by applying physics to biology and studying the sinuous motion of the blue eel.

“Our research interests [are] squarely in the intersection of physics, chemistry, biology and materials science,” Fraden said, emphasizing the importance of the intersection of these fields.

The most difficult part of the process, according to Fraden, was having the creativity to get started.

Once the team got through the challenges of the initial steps, things went smoothly (most of the time).

Fraden was inspired by the movement of a swimming blue eel and began studying its neural network and how chemical pulses drive the muscles it uses to swim.

The research was funded by the U.S. Army, but collaborating with the Army to create this soft material was not an initial priority.

First, the team needed to find a way to combine physics and bi-

ology in an inanimate material to mimic the movement of the eel.

When asked about his inspiration for the research, Professor Fraden noted that the “incredible continuous movement of the blue eel” triggered interest in the project.

Fraden explained that this smooth movement was what led to the question of why inanimate objects cannot move similarly.

When people think about physics, they think of hard, robot-like movements, and on the contrary, with biology, people think of natural, smooth movements.

Fraden’s research team aimed to create the continuous movements seen in nature with an inanimate object.

Looking to the future, the team plans to discover a way to mimic the contraction of muscular tissue in a chemo-mechanical gel.

The research may also lead to “autonomous soft robotics, dual sensors and actuators for soft exoskeletons, or artificial skins,” according to the a U.S. Army Research Laboratory article.

The Army Research Office (ARO) routinely funds scientific research educational institutes in order to “make future American Soldiers stronger and safer.”

FEATURES

6 The Brandeis Hoot

April 13, 2018

Brandeis Innovation: the intersection of entrepreneurship and research

By Sabrina Chow staff

“Brandeis Innovation is one of Brandeis’ best-kept secrets,” said Rebecca Menapace, the assistant provost for innovation as well as the executive director of the Office of Technology and Licensing and the Hassenfeld Family Innovation Center. Housed in the Bernstein-Marcus Administrative building, Brandeis Innovation, which encompasses the Office of Technology Licensing and the Hassenfeld Family Innovation Center, was named after the Hassenfeld family. The Hassenfeld family has deep ties with the International Business School (IBS) and the Heller School and were also the founders of the Hasbro toy company.

Alan Hassenfeld, former CEO of Hasbro, gave $2.5 million to Menapace and IBS to start the center. “The idea for the center first came to me during my initial assessment as head of the Office of Technology Licensing,” Menapace said in an interview.

“I wanted a center that could tie together all the different types of entrepreneurship and innovation

happening across campus under a central hub. I saw a missed opportunity to engage students outside of the research lab, and I came up with an idea to [create] a center that could bring together business students with researchers around the theme of research and entrepreneurship in a way that cut across disciplines.”

The name Brandeis Innovation came into being to help establish the Hassenfeld Family Innovation Center as a place of innovation-driven efforts.

“Most people are unaware that Brandeis Innovation comprises of the Office of Technology Licensing and the Hassenfeld Family Innovation Center. The Office of Technology Licensing takes things that were developed in our labs by faculty and postdocs and commercializes it. On the other hand, Hassenfeld is the funding for student and faculty entrepreneurial efforts that won’t necessarily be the next blockbuster drug,” said Christina Inge, the web and communications consultant for Brandeis Innovation.

The center helps to fund three different programs: SPARK, SPROUT and I-Corp. SPARK is aimed at funding ideas across

a campuswide audience. Each fall, IBS hosts its own SPARK Tank, Brandeis’ personal version of “Shark Tank,” a television show where companies pitch their inventions or companies to “sharks,” business moguls who help to fund their projects. The program places all the teams on an even playing field, Inge said.

“All the students, undergraduates and graduates, and faculty who participate are judged fairly and evenly, to allow equal opportunity for all the competitors.”

The SPROUT program was the initial innovation program prior to Menapace’s arrival at Brandeis.

As a research-driven university, the SPROUT program is specifically targeted for students and faculty in the STEM fields to bring out an entrepreneurial aspect to their research, Menapace said. “It is a really nice pairing to see the scientists getting the chance to interact with more business-oriented people. Oftentimes, the scientists are even learning more as the business people are able to provide input in different areas to make the project more profitable.”

The final program, I-Corps, is a training program that receives a majority of its funding from

the National Science Foundation (NSF). Being at an NSF-funded school make students and faculty who compete in I-Corps on campus eligible for national competitions to receive even more funding and present at national and international conferences.

Through this program, scientists are able to extend their focus beyond the laboratory setting and learn more of the economic and societal benefits of the research they perform. The program has a collection of mentors on hand and funding to support innovative startups and technology developed by Brandeis personnel.

In late November every year, Brandeis Innovation holds its annual Innovation Showcase, where team competition winners are able to present their creations and ideas to an audience that includes not only students and faculty, but also potential investors.

With such a unique program, the center welcomes back alumni as mentors for current students.

“One of the best things about the center is the mentorship that students receive from alumni. It is programs like these that helped jumpstart their careers after Brandeis and mentor-

PHOTO FROM BRANDEIS.EDU

ing is their way to give back to the program,” Menapace said.

As society continues to advance, there will continue to be a growing overlap between interdisciplinary studies. Innovation centers are popping up all across the world, allowing for scientists and businesspeople to converge to make products that help drive the future. The members of Brandeis Innovation hope for students to step outside their comfort zones and see the variety of opportunities, and hidden gems that lie within their subjects of interest.

Women’s Studies Research Center hopes to impact Brandeis culture

By Emily Botto editor

Behind the Ziv Quad dormitories and across from the train station is the Women’s Studies Research Center (WSRC), housed in the Epstein Building. Professor Karen Hansen (SOC/WGS), the director of the WSRC, is in charge of the 15-year-old research center and its many events and projects.

In 1989, Hansen accepted a job at Brandeis, a decision largely influenced by the reputation of the university’s Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies (WGS) department, which had been created 11 years earlier, in 1978.

“Brandeis was one of those places that not only had a Women’s Studies program that was on the map and looked really interesting and vital but had produced a lot of very prominent feminists,” Hansen said.

The WSRC was founded in 2002— and though the WGS department had existed at Brandeis for decades at this point, there was no central building for gender research at Brandeis until Shulamit Reinharz, the chair of WGS, founded the center. Reinharz said in a video for the 10th anniversary of the center that the founders originally wanted the center “to be research, art and activism converging.”

The center holds events and lectures and organizes art events.

They have 70 scholars who study gender issues and offer opportunities for students to get involved with the research these scholars do.

The WSRC shares the Epstein Building and the Kniznick Gallery with the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute (HBI), a research organization that focuses on gender from a

Jewish perspective. The entrance to the WSRC leads directly into the Kniznick Gallery, where the exhibit “A Fringe of Her Own” by Tamara Paley, presented by HBI, is delicately hung on walls and laid out in glass cases provided by the Rose Art Museum. In the exhibit, Paley presents handmade Jewish ritual items traditionally used by men and reinterprets them from her own perspective.

The gallery leads into a cluster of cubicles for the scholars, where doors similar to those on bathroom stalls give them privacy while they work. The center also holds the Liberman-Miller Lecture Hall, which is the location of many events and lecture series presented by the WSRC, including dance and music performances. The dance mirror, wall-to-wall photographs and the piano stationed in the corner maintain the artistic component of the center, even when the lecture hall is occupied by lectures.

The layout of the WSRC reveals the original plan of the founders,

to combine research, art and activism in one building, but the center has changed in some ways.

“I think the field of feminist inquiry has evolved; theoretical understandings have broadened from just a focus on women to being about gender and race and class,” Hansen said, adding that this change “is used in the way people approach research.”

In the past, WSRC Scholars have come from backgrounds of art, photography, sociology and various other disciplines. The scholar program includes resident scholars, who remain at Brandeis on a long-term basis, visiting scholars, who are given workspace in the center for up to a year and dissertation scholars. Of the 70 active scholars at the WSRC, 15 are involved in the Student Scholar Partnership Program (SSP).

The SSP program is a paid on-campus internship during which an undergraduate student is paired with a WSRC scholar to collaborate on a project. The SSP Program is one of the ways

the WSRC seeks to integrate itself into the university and undergraduate culture. When the program began, faculty were also allowed to partner with students, but they were excluded from the program for the past few years.

“Since becoming director I’ve invited faculty to be a part of that program once again because I think it is a really wonderful project,” Hansen said, “I do think it’s one of the strengths of the center.” Hansen said that her efforts to involve faculty in the program are an extension of her hope to further integrate the WSRC with the university.

Hansen’s goal is for the center to impact the culture of the university, she said.

The center has attracted many scholars and feminists over its 15 years of existence and has fostered the research and art of those scholars as well as the students who assisted them. The WSRC often holds public events and lecture series and collaborates with student organizations.

PHOTO FROM BRANDEIS.EDU

“I think it really does make a difference to have not just a physical space for interdisciplinary dialogue but to have institutionalized entity that supports research that is focused on women and gender,” Hansen said.

PHOTO FROM TRUANT.COM

April 13, 2018

FEATURES 7

The Brandeis Hoot

Schusterman Center works toward Israel literacy, cultural understanding

By Polina Potochevska editor

Nestled in a glass hallway on the third floor of the Mandel Center for the Humanities is the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies. Originally founded in 2007 under the vision of former Professor Ilan Troen ’63, the center is dedicated to advancing knowledge about Israeli history, politics, culture and society.

“The idea was to normalize the study of Israel” and to serve as a nexus between Jewish studies and Middle East studies at Brandeis, said Dr. Rachel Fish Ph.D. ’13, the associate director of the center.

The center also serves as “a catalyst for Israel studies in North America and throughout the world,” said Rabbi David Ellenson, director of the Schusterman Center.

Fish explained that the primary function of the center is to train Ph.D. candidates in the field of Israel studies so that they can gain professions in higher education.

According to the center’s brochure, “The center’s global reputation for teaching and research is reflected in its doctoral candidates, called Schusterman Scholars, who come to Brandeis from countries around the world… [they] enrich the campus with the remarkable diversity of their backgrounds.”

The Schusterman Center hosts an array of programs and involvements, including a publication arm that co-publishes the multi-disciplinary journal “Israel Studies” with the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

“That was an important piece for [Troen] because it is a way to influence the field of Israel studies and also to help scholarship about Israel into the classroom,” Fish said. “It helps to create what we would call ‘Israel literacy.’”

Another program that pro-

PHOTOS COURTESY SCHUSTERMAN CENTER FOR ISRAEL STUDIES

motes Israel literacy is the Israel Education Project (IEP), which aims to improve understanding of Israeli history, politics, culture and society among professionals and educators “so that they can appreciate the country in all its complexity,” according to the center’s brochure. “We do not engage in advocacy, but we do engage in Israel education at a high academic level for professors throughout North American but also for many other audiences,” Ellenson said.

The center also hosts the Summer Institute for Israel Studies, a two-week faculty training program at Brandeis.

The Summer Institute, which began in 2004 before the center was founded, hosts about 20 faculty members from around the world to attend seminars about Israel studies, followed by a 10-day tour of Israel, in order to develop syllabi for courses that they will teach when they return to their respective cam-

puses. Faculty also remain involved with the center by attending webinars and conferences.

The center hosts a graduate seminar every other week to introduce students and other members of the Brandeis community to “a broad array of scholars dealing with every field of Israel studies,” Ellenson said.

“We see it as a very important part of the educational formation of our doctoral students.”

While the center is non-degree granting, it is interested in “cultivating scholarship and academic inquiry, and teaching the complexity about Israel within higher education, and hope to influence a nuanced conversation… with a multiplicity of perspectives,” Fish said.

The Schusterman Center celebrated its 10-year anniversary in March with lectures by former United States Ambassador to Israel Daniel B. Shapiro and Professor Rivka Carmi, Presi-

dent of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the first woman to serve as president of an Israeli university. The two-day celebration also included presentations, workshops and other discussions.

Since its founding, the center has published 24 books, received 3,000 subscriptions to it journal, “Israel Studies” and has hosted about 300 professors from around the world for the Summer Institute of Israel Studies program, according to the brochure distributed during the anniversary celebration.

Next year, Ellenson will be stepping down as director, and Professor Jonathan Sarna will be taking on the role. “It’s been a wonderful three years, and I’ve enjoyed the position very much,” said Ellenson. With the new director and a new professor joining Brandeis from the Ohio State University, Professor Alexander Kaye, the center will be “focused on the directions they

wish to take,” but all of the programs in place will continue into the next year, and a number of courses of all levels will be taught.

Ellenson, who taught at Hebrew Union College before receiving his position as director of the Schusterman Center, said that Brandeis is a natural central locus for the study of Israel, given its rich history.

Fish, who received her doctoral degree from Brandeis, agreed it was an easy decision to attend.

“It was one of the few universities at the time who really had the human capacity and resources in the field of Israel studies,” she said.

“The ecosystem of Brandeis and the unparalleled history that Brandeis has in the field of Zionist thought, Israel, Jewish studies and Middle East studies, to have the combination in one place is very rare.”

In Ellenson’s words, the Schusterman Center is a “unique treasure.”

Lurie Institute conducts research on disability policy

By Sara McCrea editor

The Lurie Institute for Disability Policy is a research center on campus dedicated to research that improves the lives of people with disabilities.

Located within the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, The Lurie Institute conducts research on policies concerning physical, developmental and intellectual disabilities.

The Lurie Institute was founded in 2007 with a donation from the Nancy Lurie Marx Family Foundation, a private foundation which conducts research on autism. According to its website, the institute focuses its research on disability policy in the United States with an emphasis on autism, analyzing policy options for achieving the broadest integration of persons with disabilities into the mainstream of U.S. society. The institute also strives to include the voices of those with disabilities in their work.

“We disseminate information about the research that we do, we develop training programs, and we also do webinars, all with the

overall goals of improving the lives of people with disabilities,” said Monika Mitra, the Interim Director of The Lurie Institute.

The institute conducts research with principal investigators (PI’s) at universities—including Northeastern University, University of Minnesota and University of Michigan—who have specializations in a variety of disabilities. When the Principal Investigators at Lurie become interested in a specific project, they gather a team of professionals across the country to apply for the grant and follow the project.

“It’s like staging a play, in a way,” Mitra said. “You want to have the right people represent the right characters. We want to make sure the right people are doing the research.”

The institute’s research specialization is cross-disability, meaning that they study people with autism, people with intellectual disabilities, developmental, physical and sensory disabilities. It employs 12 full-time positions and eight part-time positions, including research fellows, visiting scholars, postdoctoral and graduate and undergraduate students.

Since October, the National Research Center for Parents with

Disabilities, a center within The Lurie Institute, has been conducting a research study with the purpose of understanding pregnancy outcomes, experiences and barriers to care for women who are deaf and hard of hearing.

The project is studying all stages of pregnancy, including before, during, childbirth and postpartum. The institute is researching the project in conjunction with Dr. Michael M. McKee, a health researcher at University of Michigan Medical School who has also experienced hearing loss.

“We looked at the literature and found that there was very little to nonexistent research on really knowing what are the disparities and what are the experiences of women who are pregnant and deaf. Do they face communication barriers? Are their differences in their pregnancy outcomes? We found that even globally, the research is almost nonexistent,” Mitra said.

Through collecting data, the project has found that parents with disabilities are more likely to have their children removed by the child welfare system and have their parental rights terminated.

As the project proceeds, McKee is working to interview deaf and

hard-of-hearing women in four locations across the country, hoping to understand the experience of women in different stages of pregnancy or potential parenting.

“Throughout the institute’s interviews with disabled women, they found that the women felt more pressure to be a better parent than others because they feel constantly judged,” Mitra said.

The institution also has looked at state legislation to support parents with disabilities and often presents their research to policy makers. On their website, a color coded map shows which states are passing and pending legislation.

“What we’re trying to do through this is train stakeholders through all of the states to train child welfare professionals and social workers, so they can be aware of their rights and responsibilities in protecting the rights of parents with disabilities,” Mitra said.

Lurie also conducts Health Needs Assessments that work to understand the needs of people of color with disabilities in select states.

Using community forums, key informant interviews, analysis of existing survey data and community surveys, the project conducted the assess-

ments of ethnic, racial and linguistic minority communities.

After conducting the assessments in Massachusetts, the Office of Minority Health, an organization of the Food and Drug Administration, gave a grant to the institute in September to conduct Health Needs Assessments in Connecticut and Rhode Island as well, which are currently underway.

“The healthcare system is inaccessible in every possible way, and disability is not seen as an issue of diversity. Slowly it is becoming more of an issue, but there is a marginalization of disability, even in the most progressive spaces.

We need to realize it is an issue of diversity. It needs to be integrated, it needs to be included, it needs to be recognized,” Mitra said.

While working the Department of Public Health, Mitra became passionate and deeply involved in disability research.

“I looked at the disparities between people with disabilities and people without disabilities, and I realized that it’s not something that’s discussed. It’s not in the papers and it’s not in conversations. The disparities are so significant and so great and are in any and every facet.”

SPORTS

8 The Brandeis Hoot

April 13, 2018

Fencing coach retires after 37 years at Brandeis

By Sarah Jousset editor

The Brandeis men and women’s head fencing coach, Bill Shipman, will retire after 37 years at Brandeis University. Shipman has been the head fencing coach at Brandeis since 1981, dedicating a total of 37 years to the program.

In his time with the Judges, Shipman lead the team to five University Athletic Association (UAA) titles and 13 Northeast Fencing Conference titles between men’s, women’s and combined.

Fencing has always been a big part of Shipman’s life.. Shipman fenced competitively for 18 years in all three events before turning to coaching. He earned his BA in education from University of North Carolina and began to coach fencing in his final year of undergraduate school. Over the next 40 years, Shipman would only take one year off from coaching. In this time, he also received a Master’s degree from Clemson University in recreation and parks administration. Shipman went on to serve as the assistant fencing coach at the University of Pennsylvania for three years before

joining the Judges.

Looking back on the program that Shipman has helped build here at Brandeis, he reminisced about challenges and successes he has faced over the past 37 years of coaching. His greatest challenge as a coach has been pushing his fencers to reach their full potential as both athletes and as members of a team. Shipman said he took pride in more than just titles and awards and stated, “[I am proud] to have brought an enjoyable and meaningful experience to so many students, both in fencing and team social experiences.

I think we have done that better than most similar programs.”

Shipman also talked about bonding with his athletes over his career. When asked what piece of advice he always gives his athletes, he responded,“never give up, stay calm, and fight hard. You never know what can happen.” He admits that he had never set long term goals for the program when he started in 1981; instead choosing to watch his fencers grow as athletes and people. He stated, “my favorite part of coaching is interacting with the fencers, seeing them develop and getting to know them. My favorite memories are snapshots of various mo-

PHOTO BY WALTHAM.WICKEDLOCAL.COM

SAYING GOODBYE

Head Coach Bill Shipman talks to fencers during a meet.

ments. Some deal with exciting bouts or matches, many with incidents off-strip while traveling, both comical and serious.”

Shipman hopes to see the program continue on an upward trajectory and stay near the top of Division I and Division III teams.

In addition to maintaining these top spots, Shipman commented, “I would like to see a few more NCAA qualifiers. I hope our tradition of success and team orientation will continue for many years.”

Baseball falls to Case Western, UMass-Boston

By Shea Decker-Jacoby editor

The baseball team started April off with four games against Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), currently ranked number 13 in Division III. In the first home game (held at Victory Field in Watertown), the Judges fell 5-2 to their opponents. Brandeis scored the first run of the game at the bottom of the first inning with a RBI-double from Dan Frey ’21, who batted in Victor Oppenheimer ’20, starting at first base.

CWRU answered immediately by getting on the board in the top of the second inning. Donnie Weisse ’20 ended the inning by throwing out a Spartan at the plate on a line drive. Two innings went by before another run was put on the board; the Spartans drove in the run with a double base run hit. It was not enough to come back from the lead CWRU secured with two runs in the eighth inning and their final run in the ninth.

Shortly after the first game ended, the Judges and the Spartans faced off again, this time on home turf. The Judges feel short again, losing the second game 6-12. The Spartans started off strong, leading 9-0 at the end of the top of the

sixth inning. Brandeis got on the board at the end of the sixth with an RBI from Frey. Scott Ziegler ’21 stepped up to plate with bases loaded, earning his first collegiate home run and grand slam. Frey finished the game with 3-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Ziegler’s four RBIs tied for the game-high.

Tim Lopez ‘20 returned to the mound after a month sidelined with an injury.

The next day, the Judges faced off against the Spartans in a double header. The Judges feel short again with a loss 3-8. The team had a rough start, allowing four runs in the first three innings.

In the bottom on the fourth, the judges got on the board when Frey hit a sacrifice fly to RBI Weisse, bringing the score up to 5-1. Almost two innings went by before the Judges got on the board again.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Weisse scored on a throwing error by one of the Spartan in-fielders making the score 5-2. The Judges allowed the Spartans to advance three runs before earning another of their own in the bottom of the ninth. Ziegler walked for an RBI. Soon after the conclusion of the first game, the second game started, but again, the Judges struggled to get on the board. CWRU went on to score four runs in the top of the fifth inning. But in the

Jackson Carman ‘20 pitched in games against CWRU and UMass this past week.

UAA

PHOTO BY EMILY SORKIN SMITH/THE HOOT

bottom of the fifth, the Judges scored again when Weisse signed in the middle to have Zeigler run in making the score at the bottom of the fifth 10-2. The judges finally got into the groove in the bottom of the sixth and earned six runs.

Isaac Fossas ’21 doubled to right field earning two RBIs, bringing home O’Leary and Frey. Shortly after, Shaw doubled down on the in-field line to also earn two RBIs; bringing home Fossas and Mike Khoury ’21, while Luke Hall ’21 advanced to third. Ziegler hit a sacrifice fly to bring Hall home and advance Brian to third, and the score stood at 10-7. The Judges earned their last run of the game when Brian scored off of Oppenheimer singled out on an infield hit to second base. The final score of the game was 14-8.

Despite the losses, the Judges returned to their home field on Tuesday, April 10 to play against number 8-ranked UMass Boston. The Judges got on the board in the bottom of the second after allowing five runs. Hall hit a sacrifice fly, which brought O’Leary home for the Judges’ first run of the game. The Judges scored again in the bottom of the fourth inning when Hall hit another sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the fifth, Fossas singled through the left side, which allowed O’Leary to advance to second and Frey to come home, earning the Judges third run of the game. Nick Yanco ’21 hit a pop fly to the right field to bring home Khoury to earn the Judges fourth and final run of the game. The final score of the game was 11-4.

The Judges return to the mound Friday, April 13 to face off against Emory University for a double header and two games over the course of the weekend. The Judges return to the home field on April 20 to play against New York University.

He added that one or both of the current assistant coaches would be applying for the head coach position, but that the spot was open to anyone who wanted to apply. Shipman hopes whoever takes over his job will appreciate all that the athletes have to offer.

“Enjoy the students, and use their enthusiasm and desire for the benefit of the team,” Shipman advised.

As for his future, Shipman is excited to explore other aspects of his life. Some of these include

coaching at a local fencing club, playing golf, traveling and enjoying fencing without worrying about recruiting or coaching.

Shipman hasn’t just coached for the last 37 years; he also oversaw Brandeis’ hosting of the NCAA National Collegiate Fencing Championships in 1994, 1999, 2004 and 2016. His athletes have earned at least one New England Intercollegiate Fencing Association or Northeast Fencing Conference crown every year since since 2013. Shipman’s other accolades include the U.S. Fencing Coaches Association National Coach of the Year award in 1994, the NFC Coach of the Year award four times, and UAA Coach of the Year six times. Four of his fencers have been inducted into the Brandeis Athletics Hall of Fame, and he has been a member of the NCAA Fencing committee three times. In addition to serving as fencing coach for Brandeis Athletics, he was also the athletic department’s intramural coordinator from 1984 to 1993 and the golf coach from 2001 to 2010.

Shipman would like to thank all fencing alumni and parents who have supported the program in any way, saying, “This has been a good ride.”

Softball loses to Case Western

By Shea Decker-Jacoby editor

The Brandeis softball team kicked off the month with two double header matches against Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). The first double header, played on April 6, was a 0-8 loss for the Judges. The first inning was a shutout for both teams, but the Judges let the Spartans earn two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Bridget Cifuni ’21 earned half of the Judges’ hits, going 2-3 with a double. The second game started shortly after, and had a much stronger start. The Judges were the first team on the board at the top of the third inning. With two out, catcher Keri Lehtonen ’19 and center field Melissa Rothenberg ’21 both singled.

Lehtonen scored when shortstop Jolie Fujita ’21 reached on an error at first base. The Judges held the lead for one inning, but the Spartans tied in the bottom of the fifth with a home run off of pitcher Callie MacDonald ’20. The Spartans went on to score three

more runs in the fifth and sixth innings, ending the game 3-1 in favor of the Spartans.

The Judges came back two days later to face off again with CWRU for their second double header.

In the first game, the Judges went scoreless and fell to the Spartans 5-0. The Judges rallied and came back to the field for their second game of the day and put up one run in the top of the second inning. Third baseman, PJ Ross ’20 , was on third when she beat the ball home off of a hit by first baseman Amanda Shore ’18.

The Judges returned to their home field for a double header against Fitchburg State on April 11. Brandeis swept the Fitchburg State Falcons, winning the first game 7-0, and the second game by the mercy rule in the sixth inning, finishing 11-3.

The Brandeis Softball team will continue their season this Friday and Saturday with two double headers against Emory University. Entering into the next week, the Judges face off against Eastern Nazarene for a double header on April 17 and Wellesley for a double header on April 18.

Keri Lehtonen ‘19 steps up to bat in Wednesday’s game.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE

PHOTO BY EMILY SORKIN SMITH/THE HOOT

April 13, 2018

SPORTS 9

The Brandeis Hoot

Men’s tennis continues winning streak

By Sarah Jousset editor

The men’s tennis team extended their winning streak this past week with three victories, improving their season record to 11-2.

The team was on the road this past weekend, playing NYU on Saturday and Stevens Institute of Technology on Sunday. In Saturday’s University Athletics Association (UAA) match-up, the Judges started the day with a 2-1 lead after doubles play. In the no.

1 spot, David Aizenberg ’20 and Anupreeth Coramutla ’21 earned a win for the Judges with an 8-5 finish. Brandeis also took the no.

3 spot, with Nikhil Das ’21 and Rajan Vohra ’21 beating their opponent 8-6. Jackson Kogan ’19 and Tyler Ng ’19 were the only pair to drop their doubles match Saturday, losing in the no. 2 spot by a score of 5-8.

In singles play, the Judges took five of six matches, with their only loss of the day coming in the no.

1 spot with Kogan falling 3-6, 2-6 to his NYU opponent. Aizenberg beat out his opponent 6-4, 6-2 in

the no. 2 spot. NYU threatened in the no. 3 spot, with Vohra taking the first set before falling to his opponent in the second set, 4-6.

However, Vohra secured his singles victory in the third set with a 6-4 win.

Das easily beat his opponent in the no. 4 spot, with a 6-2, 6-0 victory. In the no. 5 spot Ng and no.

6 spot Ben Wolfe ’20 both took two set victories over their NYU opponents, easily winning one set and snatching the other by one point. The Judges finished the day with a 7-2 victory over NYU before moving on to Stevens Institute of Technology.

In doubles action against Stevens, the Judges took all three matches. In the top spot, Aizenberg and Coramutla beat their opponents 8-6, while Ng and Kogan beat their opponents in the no. 2 spot in a tiebreak 9-8. Das and Vohra made up the last pair for the Judges, crushing their opponent in the no 3 spot 8-0.

In singles action, the Judges again took five of six matches.

Aizenberg came out victorious in the no. 1 spot winning 6-4, 6-4.

Kogan squeaked by in the second set of his no. 2 match-up to earn

Brandeis another win. Vohra in the no. 3 spot and Das in the no. 4 spot crushed their opponents, as well. The only athlete to go three sets in singles play was Ng in the no. 5 spot. He dropped the first set, before coming back strong in the next two sets to earn his win for the Judges.

The only singles loss of the day for the Judges was Wolfe in the no. 6 spot, losing by two points in both sets. The Judges finished their travels with an 8-1 victory over Stevens.

The Judges returned home for their third match of the week this past Wednesday against Bentley, winning 7-2. The Judges won all three doubles matches against Bentley, despite changes in the usual line-up. Kogan and Ng took the no. 1 position, winning 8-4.

Das and Vohra also moved up a slot, competing in the no. 2 spot, and earned an 8-3 victory for the Judges. Coramutla found himself paired with a new partner, senior captain Eric Goldberg ’18, in the no. 3 spot. Goldberg and Coramutla beat their Bentley opponent 8-6.

The Judges dominated in singles action again, taking four of

PHOTO BY EMILY SORKIN SMITH/THE HOOT

DOUBLES

Jackson Kogan ‘19 (left) and Tyler Ng ‘19 (right) wait for a serve.

six matches. Vohra crushed his opponent in the no. 1 spot, with a 6-1, 6-3 victory. Kogan wasn’t so lucky, with a tough loss in the no. 2 spot, 6-2, 6-3. Das earned a victory for the Judges in the no. 3 spot with a 6-3, 6-4 finish, while Coramutla competed in the no. 6 spot, winning 6-3, 6-4.

Ng fought through a long match against his opponent in the no. 4 spot, going three sets. Ng took the first set, before losing the second and eventually the last set in a tiebreak to lose the match. The

no. 5 spot saw an usual face for the Judges, Ethan Saal ’19, earn a solid victory for Brandeis. Saal won the first set, before dropping the second. However, determined to prove the Judges’ depth, Saal earned a match victory, winning the third set 11-9.

The Judges are back in action this Friday, April 13 in a home match against Bowdoin College.

The match will start at 3 pm.

Editor’s note: David Aizenberg is a staff writer with The Brandeis Hoot.

Archery Club mixes recreation and competition

By Zach Cihlar editor

Nock. Draw. Anchor. Aim. Release. As newcomers set their bows, the more seasoned members of the Brandeis Archery Team provide insight and coaching to students interested in trying out the venerable and revered weapon.

Split into two groups, Brandeis Archery offers a space for students to try out the shooting sport as a fun, lighthearted activity starting at 6 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays during what they call the Brandeis Archery Club. The club sets up their makeshift shooting range in the Gosman Multipurpose Room overlooking the main field house. With windows lining the room, anyone from the track can look in and see archery practice underway. The range covers the expanse of the multipurpose room, with three targets lining the far wall.

The archery team provides equipment and targets for the club’s practice. The weapons, according to members of the team, require steady arms, good posture and the perfect amount of draw, all techniques taught and developed during these club practices. The club practices typically receive a mixture of curious first timers and the occasional group of repeat attendees who have a developing interest in the sport.

As far as recruiting and retaining new members, the club relies on the appeal of shooting a bow and arrow, a phenomenon made significant by television and movies like The Hunger Games and Game of Thrones. On top of these cultural references, the club also uses the safe and instructional nature of shooting a bow and arrow at a target to attract interested potential members who appreciate the non-physical nature of the sport.

After the two hours providing tips and coaching to newcomers participating in the Brandeis Ar-

chery Club, the archery team begins its practice.

The team members transition their space into a focused training area, practicing with hired coaches and preparing for competitions.

Starting at 8 p.m., the archery team spends the later two hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays developing its members and working on precision.

The team is mostly made up of students who previously participated in the 6 p.m. archery club practices for a semester or two and have since developed enough to take the leap into competitive shooting. According to Nicole Porter ’19, the team’s secretary, most team members spent a semester on the club squad before entering competition with the archery team.

In fact, the entire team, excluding one member, began their journey in archery with Brandeis Archery Club without prior experience in the sport. The club does not hold tryouts and is open to

anyone interested in developing their skill and possibly competing.

For the 8 p.m. practices, the archery team hires coach E.G. LaBre to lead their practices and guide their development. LaBre brings experience to the team’s practices, having spent years coaching the U.S. Paralympic Archery Team as well.

Recently, the Brandeis Archery Team hosted the Shamrock Shoot in the Gosman Fieldhouse on March 17, setting up the outdoor regulation distance range within the huge space. Brandeis archers entered the event as individuals, competing in the shootout against around 75 other outside archers.

Collegiate teams that competed in the Brandeis-hosted event include Harvard University, Wellesley College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The club’s president Anisa Haque ’18 earned second place in the women’s Olympic Bow Recurve event, while her teammate Joey Wong ’19 came in just be-

hind her in third place. As for the men, the team’s most experienced archer, Wes Baker ’21 earned second place in the men’s Olympic Bow Recurve.

Along with the Shamrock Shootout, the archery team attends the national competition yearly. This past year, the team had a few strong finishers that earned top three performances.

Haque once again placed, taking the third place spot in the women’s, while teammates Baker earned first place in the men’s Recurve and Wong secured the second place spot in the women’s Recurve.

Next year the team will be led by new captains Baker, Wong and Joey Figueroa ’19, all of whom participate on the competitive archery team. The three look to continue to balance recreation and competition between the Brandeis Archery Club and Brandeis Archery Team, providing opportunities to anyone who would like to have a go at the unique shooting sport.

NBA seedings come down to the wire

By Kevin Costa staff

There was a lot at stake for NBA teams looking to compete in the playoffs as they went into the final day of the regular season this past Wednesday. Despite fan anticipation, though, none of the eight playoff matchups were secured.

The Western Conference game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets had serious playoff implications. The winner would punch their ticket to the playoffs by claiming the eight seed and the loser would be eliminated. This was the first time since 1997 that the final day of the regular season had a similar winner-takes-all game.

The Nuggets went into the matchup in Minnesota on a six-

game winning streak, and on Monday, edged out the Trail Blazers by 88-82 to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Nuggets looked poised to clinch the final playoff spot. Nikola Jokic, in the last two games, had put up a triple-double.

Paul Millsap looked more in sync upon returning to the line-up in April after a wrist injury back in November. Gary Harris had returned on Monday from a knee sprain prior to Wednesday’s contest. However, the Timberwolves were able to stave off the Nuggets.

Despite the fact that Jimmy Butler had just recently returned following a six-week long recovery from meniscus surgery and Coach Tom Thibodeau dealt with a depleted roster, the Timberwolves pulled off a thrilling overtime win. This is the first time in 14 years that the Timberwolves had made the playoffs.

The Jazz had a shot at securing the three seed after blowing out the Warriors by 40 points on Tuesday. However, the Jazz needed a win on Wednesday against the Trail Blazers, who were also vying for the three seed. In a winner-takes-all matchup similar to that of Nuggets and Timberwolves, the Trail Blazers won handily, snapping a five game-losing streak. Unlike the Denver/ Minnesota game, both teams were guaranteed a playoff spot. But after the loss and a Thunder victory over Grizzlies, the Jazz dropped to the five seed.

Beyond the Jazz/Trail Blazers match-up, the Western Conference seeds below the one and two were still undecided coming into Wednesday. In short, the seeding order for seven teams (New Orleans, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Denver, Minnesota, Utah and

Portland) would be determined by the results of Wednesday’s games.

The Thunder/Grizzlies matchup presented a number of possible scenarios. A Thunder loss would knock the team down to the eight seed and the winner of the Nuggets and Timberwolves game would jump to the sixth seed. A Thunder win would secure the team either the fourth seed or the sixth seed, depending on the result between the Trail Blazers and Jazz. A Trail Blazer win would place Oklahoma in the former spot, while a Jazz win would place Oklahoma in the latter. But as expected, the Thunder beat the Grizzlies 137-123 and with Portland’s victory, secured the fourth seed.

In the Eastern Conference, the final day of the season presented less of a frenzy in terms of playoff

positioning. However, the firstround match-ups were still unclear, and the Bucks, which faced the 76ers on Wednesday, faced a unique position. A victory for the Bucks would secure the team with the sixth seed. However, the Cavaliers would claim the third seed with a win over the Knicks, resulting in a Bucks/Cavaliers first-round match-up. This set-up would work in Milwaukee’s disfavor considering how much of a threat Lebron is to an inconsistent team like the Bucks. On the other hand, a loss for the Bucks would potentially drop Milwaukee to the seventh seed and secure the team a first-round match-up against a Kyrie-less Celtics. This is exactly how Wednesday’s events unfolded. The Bucks lost to the 76ers, a team that has now strung 16 consecutive wins.

10 The Brandeis Hoot

WEEK IN PHOTOS

Students in “Seminar on Chinese Calligraphy: History and Practice” wrote calligraphy inspired by their favorite music. Their work is now on display in Upper Usdan as a part of the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts.

CALLIGRAPHY AS SILENT MUSIC

ROLL DEIS!

PHOTO BY EMILY SORKIN SMITH/THE HOOT

Read about the men’s tennis team’s successes in SPORTS, page 9.

PHOTO BY CANDACE NG/THE HOOT

PHOTO BY ALLISON PLOTNIK/THE HOOT

SKYLINE

Some of our Hoot editors will be among the first residents living in Skyline next fall!

PHOTO BY CANDACE NG/THE HOOT

Student Support Services Program (SSSP) participants share what “voice” means to them in the “I AM A VOICE: Beauty in the Multitude Exhibit” in the SCC. I AM A VOICE

April 13, 2018

PHOTO BY EMILY SORKIN SMITH/THE HOOT

SOFTBALL

Scottie Todd ‘20 pitches in a game against Fitchburg State.

EDITORIALS

April 13, 2018

“To acquire wisdom, one must observe.”

Editors-in-Chief Hannah Schuster Emily Sorkin Smith Senior Managing Editor Allison Plotnik Senior Editor Sarah Jousset Copy Editor Emily Botto News Editor Celia Young Arts Editors Ben Beriss Rebecca Goldfarb Opinions Editor Katarina Weessies Features Editor Polina Potochevska Deputy Features Editor Sara McCrea Sports Editor Zach Cihlar Deputy Sports Editor Shea Decker-Jacoby Layout Editor Candace Ng Editors-at-Large Katie Decker-Jacoby Abigail Gardener Ryan Spencer Elianna Spitzer Sarah Terrazano

Volume 15 • Issue 9

the brandeis hoot • brandeis university 415 south street • waltham, ma

STAFF

David Aizenberg, Juliana An, Robert Banks, Caleigh Bartash, Pavla Berghen-Wolf, José Castellanos, Anindita Chanda, Sabrina Chow, Kevin Costa, Olivia Ellson, Daniel Freedman, Natalie Fritzson, Ariella Gentin, Rebecca Goldfarb, Noah Harper, Kevin Healey, Daniel Johnston, Alex Kougasian, Jonah Koslofsky, Matthew Kowalyk, Samantha Lauring, Ruoshi Liu, Jerry Peng, Carolyn Rogers, Elana Rombro, Rachel Wang, Chengcheng Xiang

MISSION As the weekly community student newspaper of Brandeis University, The Brandeis Hoot aims to provide our readers with a reliable, accurate and unbiased source of news and information. Produced entirely by students, The Hoot serves a readership of 6,000 with in-depth news, relevant commentary, sports and coverage of cultural events.

Recognizing that better journalism leads to better policy, The Brandeis Hoot is dedicated to the principles of investigative reporting and news analysis. Our mission is to give every community member a voice.

SUBMISSION POLICIES The Brandeis Hoot welcomes letters to the editor on subjects that are of interest to the community. Preference is given to current or former community members and The Hoot reserves the right to edit or reject submissions. The deadline for submitting letters is Wednesday at noon.

Please submit letters to letters@thebrandeishoot.com along with your contact information. Letters should not exceed 500 words. The opinions, columns, cartoons and advertisements printed in The Hoot do not necessarily represent the opinions of the editorial board.

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

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

UNSOLICITED SUBMISSIONS We welcome unsolicited submissions from members of the community sent by e-mail to eic@thebrandeishoot.com. Please limit submissions to 800 words. All submissions are subject to editing.

B

The Brandeis Hoot 11

Be proactive in responding to student concerns

randeis announced this week that it was firing its men’s basketball coach for racist remarks, inappropriate behavior and nepotism, and the university said it was undertaking an independent investigation of the policies and procedures used to investigate grievances.

Members of the Brandeis community have discussed Meehan’s firing in the context of the larger, persistent issue of racism at Brandeis and in our society.

We commend Brandeis for recognizing where they have failed to properly address complaints like this and for acknowledging the work they need to do to confront discrimination and dramatically increase diversity on campus. However, it is essential that administrators not wait until there is public scrutiny or outside media attention to make public statements or promise action. The university needs to be proactive and take concrete action by hiring more faculty of color, ensuring students of color have adequate support at the Brandeis Counseling Center (BCC), implementing new diversity trainings and listening to students who know their own

experiences best.

Though we appreciate President Liebowitz’s public statements, an apology only holds weight if those who apologize take action to make change. The concerns raised this week are in no way new and the incidence of racism is no way isolated to this coach.

Students have been calling for change for decades, and the university must be working actively to address these concerns in a public and transparent way, whether we are in the midst of a scandal or not.

The Brandeis community is not immune to hatred and abuse, and the administration must be vigilant in addressing these concerns, as they are the most powerful body on campus and can affect real change.

Therefore, actively working to protect the student body has to be the administration’s priority.

President Liebowitz has suggested initiatives, including implementing diversity trainings for staff across all departments, and he is right to suggest these types of initiatives.

In President Liebowitz’s initial

email to the student body addressing the dismissal of the head coach, he mentioned the administrations “zero tolerance” policy, which means that the administration does not permit any act of discrimination “against any student, staff member, faculty member, or visitor because of their race, sex, religion, sexual orientation, gender, or any other aspect of their identity.” We must ask ourselves what zero tolerance really means. It is crucial to take complaints seriously and work seriously to change our entire campus culture.

We, as The Brandeis Hoot Editorial Board, recognize we are an overwhelmingly white body, and we must and will work to recognize both our privilege and how we might marginalize members of our community.

In addition to working against racism and any form of discrimination ourselves, we must continue to hold the administration accountable.

Note: Editors involved in reporting on the investigation did not contribute to the editorial.

OPINIONS

12 The Brandeis Hoot

April 13, 2018

Letter to the Editor: Prof. Michael Rosbach

By Prof. Michael Rosbach special to the hoot

Letter to the Editor: I am writing to the community to apologize for the remarks I made at Monday’s forum, both for what was said and what was not said.

1) I regret not stating unequiv-

ocally that the alleged statements in the Deadspin article are indefensible and completely unacceptable. They were new to me when I read the article last week, and I found them shocking.

2) I regret my comments, which downplayed the obvious presence and pain of racism on campus.

There is no place or excuse for racism, here or in society at large.

3) I should never have berated the staff in the way I did. There are

many competent and hard-working Brandeis staff people. Students and faculty alike, we depend on them and appreciate their work. I should have only referred to specific individuals within HR, the department with which I interacted during the investigation, rather than veering into an inaccurate and pejorative generalization.

For what it’s worth, my comments may have reflected frus-

tration and pessimism about the country we currently inhabit.

However, Brandeis must be much better than this, namely, an institution within which community members deal with everyone equally and respectfully. I recognize that my comments had a very different impact; they did not reflect either my opinions or my feelings. The unfortunate situation that gave rise to the forum will hopefully lead to im-

provements, in our personal and institutional relationships as well as the way that transgressions are handled.

As someone who believes strongly in the mission of the university, Mea Culpa, Michael Rosbash Peter Gruber Professor of Neuroscience

Why freedom of speech is important, even if we disagree

By Alex Kougasian staff

Mark Meechan, a YouTuber from Scotland, was recently found guilty of violating the British Communications Act, according to a BBC article. Meechan’s prank video, in which his girlfriend’s pug performs a Nazi salute, was found to be “grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene, or menacing character.” From this description alone, it seems like Meechan has committed a truly despicable act.

But why, then, are many worried by his guilty verdict?

The video itself provides answers to this question. Meechan introduces the prank by saying, “My girlfriend is always raving about how cute and adorable her wee dog is and so I thought I would turn him into the least cute thing that I could think of: a Nazi.” He continues, in the video, shouting phrases like “gas the Jews” and “sieg heil” to elicit a reaction out of the dog, who was trained to respond.

Even though this joke is far from tasteful, the video was clearly a joke. Meechan’s freedom of expression was clearly violated and the verdict is damaging to rules the Communications Act is trying to uphold.

“If you don’t believe in a person’s right to say things that you might find ‘grossly offensive,’ then you don’t believe in Freedom of Speech,” tweeted comedian Ricky Gervais in response to the verdict.

Freedom of expression is founded on the idea that both the tame and the grossly offensive should be tolerated. The verdict Meechan received clearly demonstrates that Meechan was guilty for creating a video for anti-Semitic purposes, which is plainly untrue. The video that he made was purely to prank his girlfriend and is, if anything, anti-Nazi. Meechan describes Nazis as “the least cute thing that [he] can think of.” He even says at the end of the video, “I’m not racist by the way. I just really, really wanted to piss her off.” Meechan was convicted of a hate crime despite not creating the video for the hateful reasons that were

detailed in his verdict. Meechan will be sentenced on April 23 and the verdict could carry with it jail time.

Though people could easily find Meechan’s video offensive, it does not mean Meechan committed a hate crime. Real cases of criminal anti-Semitism and white supremacy are all over the media. Those actions and the ideologies therein are nothing but sickening, and action should be taken to make sure that those who subscribe to racist ideologies are not given a platform to spread hate. There is a distinct difference between expressing something in an obviously tongue-in-cheek fashion and expressing something genuinely. Meechan’s video was clearly not meant to support Nazism. In fact, he was doing the opposite; he was poking fun at it. He wanted to make his girlfriend’s cute pug undesirable, and he did so by turning it into a Nazi.

The fact that Meechan could serve jail time for this video ultimately demeans the principles for which the Communications Act stands.

MARK MEECHAN

If a video that was intended to be a joke despite dealing with racist themes in an insensitive way was deemed to be a hate crime under this law, it undermines the fact that this law was supposed

PHOTO FROM THEINDEPENDENT.CO.UK

to punish the expression of true anti-Semitism. The law should set its sights on those who truly desire to spread hate, not people like Meechan who merely have a tasteless sense of humor.

Why Mark Zuckerberg’s lack of emotion should worry us

By Katarina Weessies editor

If you’ve been on Facebook at all this past year, you’ve probably seen the joke that Mark Zuckerberg is a robot. These jokes reached their apex during Zuckerberg’s Senate hearing this week, where he testified in front of the Senate to explain Facebook’s involvement in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which Facebook sold the personal data of millions of users.

At the hearing, Zuckerberg was stiff and unblinking, each move appearing choreographed. He would stare ahead blank-faced for extended periods of time, abruptly turn and smile without moving anything but his lips and then immediately return to the blank stare, as if someone were controlling his expression with a dial. At one point, he lifted a glass of water to his mouth, holding his head and elbow in place and sipping the water while maintaining the blank stare ahead. The footage of him drinking the water truly makes it seem as if someone is controlling his arm, and only his arm, with a lever while the rest

of his body stays completely still, awaiting command. Viewers of the hearing joked that the Zuckerberg at the hearing was actually an A.I. copy of the real Zuckerberg, picking up Facebook’s mess while the real Zuckerberg hid in a luxury bunker or secret vacation home. Others joked that Zuckerberg was a cyborg, replacing himself with robot parts in order to control his human emotions.

Given the intensity of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, it’s easy to attribute this bizarre behavior to nerves. However, this is not the first time Zuckerberg has acted strangely in public. Two years ago, Zuckerberg did his first ever Q&A on Facebook Live, where he took questions from viewers and answered them in real time.

Although Zuckerberg did not appear nearly as robotic as he did in the Senate hearings, some precursors to his now-robotic behavior stood out. He stared directly into the camera for the whole Q&A, and delivered barely fitting, prepared responses to the on-thespot questions.

A viewer asked Zuckerberg, “If you could start all over again as a teenager, what would you start as your startup?” Zuckerberg began

his response by dropping memorized statistics about Facebook, clearly irrelevant to the question.

He then continued on to say that his “startup” would “connect people around the world, because that is exactly what I care about.” This was a transparently pre-written response, not really an idea about a startup so much as a vague description of Facebook.

After the question, he was invited to the set Jerry Seinfeld, an odd choice of “celebrity” for 2016. The two exchanged awkward greetings, and then Seinfeld joked “I didn’t know you would be here,” and Zuckerberg retorted “Hey, I was supposed to say that!”

The two chuckle uncomfortably.

The entire exchange was palpably awkward, with Seinfeld’s ease of being on camera contrasting sharply with Zuckerberg’s visible nerves.

Zuckerberg did several more live Q&A’s after that first one, and he was definitely aware of his awkward camera presence and keen to make himself more relatable. In his later Q&A’s, Zuckerberg makes references to memes and reads aloud viewer’s joke-questions. But his now notorious blank stare and jerky move-

ments undermine his “relatable” jokes, making him seem even less human than in his earlier, more formal Q&A’s.

Zuckerberg’s robot-like behavior and subsequent unsuccessful attempts to remedy that behavior shed light on what it means to “act natural.” He’s the billionaire CEO of one of the most successful companies in history. People who watch his Senate hearings or Q&A’s know that his daily life is nothing like ours. The vast differences between Zuckerberg’s life and the average person lead us to question whether his inner thoughts are anything like ours, allowing us to notice and scrutinize his unusual demeanor.

Zuckerberg’s robotic behavior is both comforting and disturbing to the average viewer because it distances his psychology from ours.

On the other hand, we don’t want Zuckerberg to act too natural because that means Mark Zuckerberg really is “just like us.”

But if he is just like us, why is he a billionaire CEO while we’re regular joe-schmoes watching his Q&A? Alternatively, if he is just like us, maybe we could become just as

MARK ZUCKERBERG

PHOTO FROM PNGIMG.COM

successful. We can’t ever know exactly why we will or won’t become as successful as Zuckerberg, and we use mockery of his behavior to cope with these unanswered questions. Analyzing and joking about Zuckerberg’s robotic demeanor allow us to address difficult questions about ourselves and how we relate to powerful people without actually answering them.

April 13, 2018

OPINIONS 13

The Brandeis Hoot

Moving toward a more efficient Branvan

By Carolyn Rogers columnist

One of the most essential—but least popular—services the university provides is free transportation within Waltham through the Branvan.

It is common to hear students complaining about the Branvan being late, slow or crowded—in fact, it’s a running joke. But with long, cold winters and an unsolved housing shortage forcing students off-campus, university-provided transportation, particularly the evening Waltham Branvan, is more important than ever. The off-campus van is, in general, more useful than it gets credit for, but there are a couple of noticeable flaws. The Branvan often skips its scheduled stop at Charles River (Grad) if no students reserve rides from the off-campus housing area. This is meant to save time, but at the end of the day, skipping Grad means leaving students out in the cold.

Predictability is a major flaw in the Branvan system. The shuttle makes a habit of skipping entire sections of its route both on campus and off campus, throwing the van off schedule and missing people who are waiting at the stops it skips. The Branvan often skips the Charles River stop if no one specifically requests it and instead goes directly into Waltham.

While it is true that people hoping to catch the Waltham van are supposed to make a reservation, the reality is that students use the vans like regular busses, just getting on and off without reserving them. The problem with the res-

ervation system is that people do not always cancel their reservation when their plans change. As a result, people who try to make a reservation are unable to because the website says the van is full, but when they wait at the stop and just get on, there is room. This is actually good for the Branvan— it means people are using it and trips in and out of town are not wasted. It is understandable that the drivers may think that nobody at Grad wants a ride because nobody has made a reservation.

However, this demonstrates that they have a fundamental misunderstanding of the way the student body uses their service.

It is possible the Waltham van makes a habit of skipping Grad to keep it from running late. If this is the case, then the solution should be to adjust the schedule so that the van has time to drive the entire route rather than skipping parts of the route that it is supposed to drive. It is unfair to riders to post a schedule and route that includes the stop at Grad and then skip the stop altogether.

Not only does skipping the Grad stop deprive residents there of the opportunity to catch the van, but it can also cause the van to arrive at other stops too early.

It is not unreasonable to expect people waiting for the van to get to their stop a couple minutes early, but imagine getting to the stop three minutes early only to watch the van blow past because it was four minutes early. It is incredibly frustrating.

This is even more of a problem when it comes to skipping sections of the route in Waltham.

Oftentimes, when the van reaches

the intersection of Moody Street and Maple Street, the driver will ask if everyone on the van is going to campus. If they say yes, then the driver will skip the part of the route that goes up to the Burger King. Nevermind that people getting on at this section of the route are most in need of a ride because they are farthest from campus. This change in the route throws off the schedule again and causes people getting on later in the route to miss the van as well.

And while skipping Charles River only changes the route time by a few minutes, skipping both the Grad section and the Burger King section can make the van up to 10 minutes early when it

reaches the Art Studio stop on Prospect Street. Even if someone made a reservation for this stop, they might still miss the van because they would never be at the stop 10 minutes early. And using the Transloc tracker app, which is usually helpful, does not solve this problem because the app makes its predictions assuming that the van follows the route.

Furthermore, the Branvan sometimes takes alternate routes because of bad traffic. Although there is value in saving time for everyone already on the van, taking detours causes the van to skip stops, and people waiting on cold street corners in Waltham are left without a ride to campus.

BRANVAN STOP AT CHARLES RIVER APARTMENTS

Patrons of the Branvan don’t expect it to be perfect. We know that it is driven by student workers and that the ride is free. We know that the drivers cannot help delays caused by traffic or extra stop requests. We know that if we lose our seat when the van is too crowded, it is our own fault for not making a reservation. But expecting it to drive the whole route on the route every run does not seem like too much to ask. And maybe if the Branvan behaved like any other public transportation method with a set schedule and route, then the student body would have more appreciation for the van service and more patience when things go wrong.

PHOTO FROM HOOT ARCHIVES

A sugar tax on the companies, not the consumers

By Sabrina Chow staff

Obesity rates for children and adults are on the rise across not only the United States but also most Westernized countries in the world. A heavy fat and sugar diet is to blame. As more artificial sugars and substitutes are created in labs and find their way into the market, serious re-evaluation of the food we are consuming is needed to stop the obesity pandemic.

Sugar and soda taxes have been imposed in countries around the world, but the long-term effects of these have yet to be discovered.

The United Kingdom just passed a sugar tax on soft drinks, which taxes production of the drinks rather than consumption. This means that it affects the companies making the unhealthy beverages rather than the consumers accustomed to buying them. With this tax, any beverage that con-

tains more than 8 grams of sugar per 100 mL of drink will face a tax of 24 pence (34 cents) per liter.

There are some exceptions, like pure fruit juices and drinks with high milk content, but soda companies such as Coca Cola will take the largest hit.

While this tax is a positive step towards necessary change, it still is not enough. By taxing products that just use sugar, companies may begin to create diet drinks with artificial sugars in order to appeal to the soda-drinking communities. Even though these artificial sugar additives have been approved by the FDA as safe for consumption, they are not completely safe.

According to a study done at Harvard Medical School with the Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, people who consumed diet drinks daily had a 36-percent greater risk of metabolic syndrome and a 67 percent greater risk for type two diabetes. Even though these drinks boast ze-

ro-sugar, they aren’t necessarily a “healthy alternative.” That being said, taxing companies that produce sugary products, even if it might have some unhealthy consequences, will help consumers.

Consumers will notice when prices start to rise on their favorite beverages, and might start experimenting with healthier drinks.

The U.S. government takes a different approach to the soda tax. American soda taxes are more like a sales tax, charging consumers extra to disincentivize soda purchases. A study done in low-income communities in Berkeley, San Francisco and Oakland, CA, looked at if soda taxes would actually decrease soda drinking. While the soda consumption in Berkeley dropped, the consumption in the other two cities increased, demonstrating the ineffectiveness of the soda tax.

Other major cities in the U.S. have tried and failed to impose these soda and sugar taxes. In Chicago this past year, the soda

tax lasted for a whole two months before being repealed. The tax also failed in Santa Fe. It’s clear that sugar taxes don’t actually stop consumers from choosing unhealthy foods. Instead, they just drain the wallets of consumers who are accustomed to them.

The United States’ fight against sugar consumption has a flawed approach. The government focuses too much on taxing the consumers. Why tax the people that

Make your voice heard!

Submit pieces to the Opinions section by emailing eic@thebrandeishoot.com

buy the products, rather than tax the people making the products?

The British model will be more successful than the American model because their taxes will directly affect the companies producing the products. A few extra cents in taxes from the sugar will not make a significant difference for the consumers, but if the prices of the products increase because of the taxes, consumers will start to notice.

PHOTO FROM FLICKR.COM

ARTS

14 The Brandeis Hoot

April 13, 2018

‘A Quiet Place’ is a startling tension machine

By Jonah Koslofsky staff

No matter how much you hate horror movies, you cannot deny that the genre is in the midst of a real renaissance. From the plodding scares of “It Follows” to the terror of “The Babadook,” horror has seen a genuine re-emergence in terms of both originality and quality (a similar re-emergence also occured last year when M. Night Shyamalan made “Split,” his first good movie in a decade).

The best indicator of this revolution was last year’s phenomenal and Oscar-winning “Get Out,” and now John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place” joins the ranks of some of the best in this re-energized genre.

The year is 2020, and society has fallen to unknown beasts that are fast, blind and incredibly sensitive to sound. A family of five—make that four—survivors exist in total silence, starkly aware that any noise they make would alert the hideous monsters to their position. Exposition is kept to a minimum (mostly distributed through stray newspapers and spare notes), but the rules of the film are clear: make noise, you die.

The premise is simple and bulletproof, and leads to a unique synthesis of cinematography and sound design. First of all (but maybe as expected), “A Quiet Place” has some of the most engaging audio production in years—the last movie to have such intentional mixing and engineering has to be “Mad Max: Fury Road.” In fact, “A Quiet Place” has more in common with “Fury Road,” certainly more than most other horror flicks: there’s very

PHOTOS FROM IMDB.COM

little dialogue, the storytelling is efficient and robust, and there’s a real attention to detail.

This attention to detail is also what makes watching “A Quiet Place” such a stressful experience. Because it’s so easy for any character to accidentally make noise, the viewer is constantly scanning the frame for what objects or items are going to end up making sound. The tension is a constant. These people could doom themselves at any moment, and Krasinski’s camera has a slow and steady intimacy that gives us a sense of how anything and everything could go wrong in an instant.

This is particularly impressive considering that neither Krasinski nor his cinematographer, Charlotte Bruus Christensen, had ever made anything that can be considered “tense” before. In other words, who knew Jim from “The Office” had this in him?

It also feels like there’s been some real thought put into how a family would interact with the world around them without making any noise, from walking on sand to using sign language to communicate. But there’s also some dramatic depth in the silence. The film opens with the death of one of the three children,

and the silence that follows has a narrative explanation as well as serving as a metaphor for the grief the family is experiencing. That being said, the film does abandon any notions of a deep metaphor halfway through, as it gets louder.

There isn’t much to be said about the performances, but they’re all fine. Casting Emily Blunt as Krasinski’s wife is yet another intelligent choice (the two are married in real life as well), because the pair has a chemistry and warmth together on screen that must be a reflection of their actual relationship, and you immediately buy them as a couple without much dialogue.

Also commendable is the de-

cision to cast deaf actress Millicent Simmonds as Krasinski and Blunt’s daughter, which has an efficient story implication: The family would already have known sign language when the monsters arrived, and thus are able to communicate silently in this soundless world. The movie is not perfect— the back half is a lot less thoughtful than the start, and the creature design is not very interesting. The antagonists basically look like the demogorgon from “Stranger Things” with a little bit of “Alien” Xenomorph DNA thrown in. It’s not bad; it’s just not particularly inspired. The film also feels a little long, which is odd considering that it’s only 90 minutes. Maybe

that’s just the excessive tension, as it makes watching “A Quiet Place” almost exhausting. Finally, there isn’t much in terms of character growth, but that isn’t really the point. Like “Fury Road,” “A Quiet Place” is a visceral and unique experience, and it’s certainly worth seeing in theaters (for the sound mixing alone).

Yes, the main takeaway from “A Quiet Place” is that it’s very scary—and therefore, very effective. The horror revolution doesn’t show any signs of slowing down, and “A Quiet Place” is a worthy addition to an already-extraordinary cannon of films. Who knew Jim from “The Office” had this in him indeed.

‘Blockers’ is a stupid but lighthearted comedy

By Rebecca Goldfarb editor

Rated-R romantic comedies have taken a downward spiral in recent years, with plot lines and actions that attempt to be funny, but end up being too cringe-worthy. Films that fall into this category include “Sisters,” “How To Be Single” and “Rough Night.”

However, “Blockers” is a rated-R romantic comedy that refrains from this trend. Kay Cannon and Seth Rogen’s new film “Blockers” contains a lot of ludicrous comedy, but it does not try too hard to be funny. This allows for a comedic film that is not too over the top.

The movie begins with three best friends getting ready to go to their high school prom. On the day of prom, each of these girls makes a pact to lose her virginity on prom night. Julie (Kathryn Newton) plans to lose it to her boyfriend, while Kayla (Geraldine Viswanathan) wants to hook up with her chemistry lab partner who is also the school’s drug dealer. Sam (Gideon Adlon), a closeted lesbian who is going to prom with a boy as a “beard” to conceal her sexuality, reluctantly agrees to go along with Julie and Kayla’s “sex pact.”

As the girls text about their plans in the limo on the way to prom, Julie’s mom, Lisa (Les-

PHOTO FROM IMDB.COM

lie Mann), Kayla’s dad, Mitchell (John Cena), and Sam’s dad, Hunter (Ike Barinholtz), read the text messages off of Julie’s laptop, finding out about their sex pact.

Lisa and Mitchell set out to stop their daughters in any way possible, while Hunter, determined to make this a perfect night for Sam, tries to stop the parents from humiliating their kids. The writing and framing of the film is unique, as the parents’ animated efforts to stop their children go above and beyond, showing the parents as the truly immature characters in comparison to their teenage children.

The acting in this movie is, overall, well executed. Cena’s portrayal of an overprotective father was a highlight. Viewers perceive Cena’s character to be tough and strong, with a competitive drive to protect his daughter. At the same time he is vulnerable, because he constantly fears of his daughter

getting into trouble. His sensitive side is displayed the most near the end of the movie when Kayla asks her father to trust her.

Mann’s performance as an extremely overprotective yet sweet mother is simultaneously delightful and humorous; a convincing portrayal of a single mother afraid of losing her close relationship with her daughter in college.

Barinholtz delivers both a sentimental portrayal of a divorced father who has made mistakes in the past but just wants to rekindle his relationship with Sam, while worrying she is going to lose her virginity to someone she does not really love out of societal pressure.

At the same time, Barinholtz’ whimsical portrayal of his character provides the audience with comic relief.

The film marks the directorial debut of Kay Cannon, who wrote the popular musical-comedy “Pitch Perfect.” As a first time

PHOTO FROM CBSLOCAL.COM

director, Cannon shines, and the film is dynamic, without any dull moments on screen.

The storyline keeps the audience engaged for the entire movie, and not one scene drags on for too long. However, the film is conducted in a way that places more emphasis on the parents, rather than the girls going to prom. Viewers really get to know the personality traits of each of the parents. While the girls drive the plot of the movie, the audience does not really get to know the personalities of Julie, Kayla, and Sam well enough.

“Blockers” caters to the demographic of college students and teenagers by portraying teenagers exploring their sexualities, gender roles and partying. Young viewers can easily connect as they learn how to make their own smart choices, just like the teens in this movie and become independent from their parents. While the ac-

tions of the movie’s parents are exaggerated, young adults will appreciate having a comedy to which they can easily relate.

Nevertheless, “Blockers” is not an intellectual movie. The plot, the scenes, and the characters are silly; the film does not seek to challenge minds. Do not expect a critical darling, but you will see a carefree comedy. “Blockers” is a good film because it is funny without trying hard to be too absurd.

Obviously, if one looks back in a couple of years from now, no one is going to regard “Blockers” as one of the best films of of all time, let alone one of the best films of 2018. Whether or not this film will live on to become a comedic classic like “Superbad,” “Mean Girls” or “Easy A” is unknown, but this film is definitely not an atrocious train wreck compared to its other rated-R comedy predecessors.

April 13, 2018

ARTS 15

The Brandeis Hoot

Thank God ‘Atlanta’ is back

By Jonah Koslofsky staff

Normally, reviewing TV shows is frustrating. With any season of a show that’s 13 episodes or fewer, each installment is only going to be a piece of a single, larger narrative. I wouldn’t review just the first half of a movie or the first three chapters of a novel, so how can I judge a season of a show without watching all 10-13 episodes?

But this neurotic thought-process can’t be applied to Donald Glover’s “Atlanta.” It’s been 18 months since the first season of “Atlanta,” but if it’s any consolation, it’s been worth the wait. The show is as surreal, depressing and funny as ever, and Glover’s approach to storytelling is the biggest revolution to the medium since Walter White stepped out of that RV. “Atlanta” is an uncompromising triumph and certainly worth your time.

The twist throughout the first season of “Atlanta” was that it broke an essential rule of storytelling: None of the plot threads in a given episode have a resolution. Challenges and conflict were introduced at the start of the episode (as they are on every show), but each installment concluded with the same problems intact— or in the case of the most depress-

ing episodes, the problems would actually expand. That same static structure is applied to characters as well. How can there be development or anything resembling a “character arc” if these people can’t resolve any of the issues they’re facing?

Ironically, what sets “Atlanta” apart from all other TV makes it feel so much more like real life.

This same anti-resolution mentality has been applied to the second season, so while “Robbin Season” doesn’t feel quite as groundbreaking, it’s still just as unique and (un)satisfying.

This repetitive nature works in “Atlanta’s” favor, considering that it only adds to the surreal vibe of the show. After all, “Atlanta” takes place in a heightened and surreal version of our reality where invisible cars exist and Justin Bieber is black kid, and making the second season feel like a rehash of the first adds to the weirdness.

Each installment of the first season of “Atlanta” deftly dealt with a very specific topic, from cultural appropriation to mass incarceration to how weird it would be to play basketball against the Biebes.

Every episode in season one felt like a miniature revolution, while each episode in season two takes on a similar topic from a different angle—Glover and his team aren’t afraid to venture into the same

thematic territory twice, and the tapestry of the show is better for it. And when none of these characters can objectively move forward, it makes sense that they would face the same experiences again.

Take one of my favorite episodes of the second season thus far: “Helen.” We follow protagonists Van and Earn as they enter a weird and surreal setting, in this case an odd faux-German festival.

But it soon becomes clear that the weird setting is just a backdrop to examine the dynamics of Earn and Van’s relationship. It clearly resembles the penultimate episode of season one, “Juneteenth,” in which we follow Van and Earn as they enter another weird and surreal setting (a “Juneteenth” party put on by a white guy who has taken on black culture as his latest hobby), and the episode ends up being about Earn and Van’s relationship. Both episodes absolutely work, they feel entirely different, and nothing is resolved in either.

The third episode of season two, “Money Bag Shawty,” is yet another inversion of a season one episode: just as in season one, episode three, Earn struggled to take Van out on a date because money gets in the way ( he’s broke), Earn struggles to take Van out on a date because money gets in the way in “Money Bag Shawty” (only this time, it’s because he keeps trying to pay with a $100 bill). The concepts behind these episodes are directly related, but because the writers choose not to resolve the conflicts at play, they don’t come across as analogous.

This unconventional success can be attributed to two main sources: the direction and the strength of the characters. This show has a very specific visual language, which can mainly be credited to Glover’s longtime music video director, Hiro Murai. Murai loves these low-to-theground and right-angle shots that come across as both beautiful and

PHOTOS FROM IMDB.COM

harsh. Director of photography Christian Sprenger describes the show as “stylized realism,” and that is honestly the perfect term.

The cinematography might not be as obvious as what’s on display on “Mr. Robot” or “Legion,” but it’s quietly brilliant, conveying the pain and isolation felt by everyone on screen. There’s also an admirable consistency—Murai doesn’t direct every episode, but every guest director flawlessly speaks the visual language he’s established.

Donald Glover’s performance deserves special attention as well, because his instant likeability masks the complexity (and potential fractures) in Earn’s psyche. It’s crazy that a season and a half into this show we don’t really know what motivates and drives the apparent protagonist. Furthermore, it’s becoming increasingly clear just how dysfunctional Earn truly is.

Between his flaws as Paper Boi’s manager and his blatant issues as a partner to Vanessa, Glover’s performance makes you root for and sympathize with a character who may not deserve much sympathy (but again, it’s certainly up for debate, because we know so little about this character). Take his actions in “Money Bag Shawty”— not only does Earn’s stubbornness about paying with a hundred ruin his date night, but it’s also obvious that someone as strapped for cash as Earn should have put that money in the bank.

I would be remiss to not mention Glover’s performance in episode six, “Teddy Perkins.” It’s one of the few installments of season two that feels distinct from the first season, and Glover’s performance is insane.

It’s the best episode of season season—and potentially the one of the best episodes of television ever—but I didn’t spend more time on it because the majority of this review was written before it aired, and I’d also never want to spoil it for anyone. “Teddy Perkins” is the show firing on all cylinders, equal parts bizzare, sad and real.

Of the six episodes that have aired so far in “Robbin Season,” there’s only been one dud. “Barbershop” (episode five) put the spotlight on Paper Boi, to mixed effect. It’s still great when the show highlights its side characters (that Van episode from season one is genuinely perfect), but here the “no-resolution” rule meant that we spent an excruciating half hour waiting for Alfred to finish his haircut. It’s fine, and kind of funny, but not everything in “Atlanta” is perfect.

What more can I say? I’ve heard it described as “Twin Peaks with rappers,” which means I really have to watch “Twin Peaks.” It’s easily the best comedy on today (sorry, “ The Good Place”)—if you can bear to call “Atlanta” a comedy. Yes, I may hate writing about TV, but I do love this show.

Back from break and ready to arty

By Ben Beriss editor

As the school year winds to an end and any delayed work comes into view, it can be nice to take time to relax. Brandeis and Boston offer many opportunities to see excellent art, ranging from theater, music, comedy and more.

These are a few of the best opportunities to do so.

Brandeis Festival of the Creative Arts: That’s right, the event you’ve seen posters about since the beginning of the year is finally here. In the grand tradition started by celebrated musician Leonard Bernstein, Brandeis will be hosting many impressive events, creating a rare chance to see incredible performers without even having to walk a mile. There will be classic performances such as the Boston Lyric Opera and the Lydian String Quartet as well as discussions and lectures led by impressive artists. There will be lectures, conversations and discussions on topics ranging from three-dimensional chess to climate change to Jewish life and more. Participants will have the opportunity to try Afro Flow Yoga or make wind chimes. Vir-

tually every student arts group will be performing. The theater department will be presenting senior theses, and there will be an a cappella fest, an improv performance from Crowd Control, a dance performance from the Ballet Club, and many, many, many, more.

The festival promises to fulfill virtually every artistic audience ambition you have as well as give you opportunities to find new interests. With these many events, there is almost guaranteed to be something going on during that one moment you aren’t drowning in finals.

Big Apple Circus: Outside of Brandeis, Boston is welcoming the Big Apple back for its annual visit. For a month, the circus will be performing in Assembly Row. This will feature a suite of performances focused around acrobatic acts such as a seven-person-pyramid on a high wire, daredevil roller-skating and the classic trapeze act. Featuring a suite of performers with strong reputations and stronger reviews, the circus is coming back better than ever following its recent sale and revival.

Tickets start at $39. The circus will be in town through May 9.

“Cabaret”: The famous musical about Germany during Hitler’s

rise to power is coming to Boston, as presented by Moonbox Productions. The multiple Tony winner tells the story of a romance between an American writer and a cabaret singer but also discusses larger lessons about the nature of performance, love and power.

With a tight and sizzling hot performance and soundtrack, the show will be entertaining and emotional throughout. The show runs from April 14-29 at the Boston Center for the Arts. Youth tickets are $40.

“Much Ado About Nothing”: An even older classic, “Much Ado” remains one of the foremost comedies from the great Bard himself. The play is the classic tale of a bachelor and bachelorette, whose dislike for each other is rivaled only by each’s determination to stay single; although, in the end, they are tricked into falling in love. Resembling the very best of the hundreds of sitcoms it helped inspire, “Much Ado” is a masterclass in the consequence and carefree comedy of which Shakespeare was a master.

This performance is created by the Actor’s Shakespeare Project at the Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge and runs through May 6. Student tickets are $40, with a partially obstructed view

PHOTO FROM TENZMAG.COM

available for $25.

“First Love is the Revolution”: The U.S. premiere of a refreshingly original play, “First Love” uses a unique love story to make larger observations about the world outside it. The show follows a romance of sorts between a young fox, Rdeca, who is caught in 14-year-old Basti’s trap. As the two commiserate about their problems and ambitions, they begin to realize they’re developing feelings for each other; the show

only gets weirder from there. But the artistic team behind the show uses this fantastic story to explore how we treat animals and the examples we set for children in a hilarious and poignant manner. The show runs from April 13 to May 5 at Chelsea Theater Works. Student tickets are $15.

If you know any upcoming Boston arts events which we’ve missed or may want to feature in the future, send them in at eic@ thebrandeishoot.com.

16 ARTS

The Brandeis Hoot

April 13, 2018

Student talents shine in Brandeis Korean Student Association’s annual showcase

By Emily Sorkin Smith editor

With cool, sharp dance moves and quick hip-hop beats in contrast to elegant, graceful, traditional dancing showcased at this year’s K-Nite, the Brandeis Korean community proved it truly has idols among it. The Brandeis Korean Student Association (BKSA)’s biggest event of the year, BKSA K-Nite 2018: Idol School, showcased the range of talent its members have. K-Nite, held Thursday, March 29, brought together diverse elements of Korean culture, including a stunning traditional fan dance and the fan-favorite modern dance performances.

Behind each performance was a school-house backdrop, tying into the “Idol School” theme, and several groups performed in plaid skirts and other costumes reminiscent of typical school uniforms.

The level of energy in the crowd, however, was far higher than most school classrooms might experience. This was especially true when the Berklee Band (from nearby Berklee College of Music) performed popular Korean songs,

prompting an enthusiastic singalong.

The show began with a short video in which members of the BKSA showcased their “talents,” notably including putting on sweatpants without hands, eating spicy noodles and singing some very high notes. Organizers asked the audience to vote for their favorite group, in the style of American Idol-type shows. BKSA President Dennis Kim ’19, Vice President Janice Nam ’19 and Senior Advisor Kevin Lee ’18 came out victorious with their unconventional yoga routine.

Starting off on a silly note was just the right move for a show right before Passover break— the audience lost most of their post-midterm season tension and quickly got into the rhythm of the show.

It was the talented performers and engaged audience that helped K-Nite quickly push past some technical difficulties and a few awkward wait times between acts.

These small setbacks did little to take away from the night’s overall success. By the time the show had ended and performers and the audience came together to eat a korean dinner together, the show’s high-points had far outshone its stumbles.

PHOTOS BY EMILY SORKIN SMITH/THE HOOT

SEAC honors Southeast Asian cultures in AYALA

By Candace Ng editor

The Southeast Asia Club (SEAC) held its seventh annual culture show, AYALA, in Levin Ballroom on Saturday, March 24.

The night, divided into two main acts, continued to bring up the “back in time” theme, showcased in an introductory video titled “Masa Lalu,” meaning “past” in Malay. At various points, e-board members would return to their roles in the video as children and teenagers, and come into contact with emcees Abby Berkower ’20 and Jonah Nguyen ’21, who would then bring the performance and audience back to present day.

Sponsored by Brandeis Pluralism Alliance (BPA), all proceeds from the show will go to Project HOPE, an international organization that provides medical training, healthcare education and medical supplies over 35 countries.

The highlight of the show was a performance of acoustic covers from Youtubers Jason and Justin Rod, who are commonly known as the JRodTwins. The JRodTwins sang covers to five songs, including a clean version to Bazzi’s “Mine.” The audience was especially thrilled to learn they were among the first people to hear the pair’s cover of “Mine,” since the cover has yet to be posted on YouTube. Three of the five songs they sang were from Asian artists— one song was in Vietnamese and the other two, “Last Dance” and “Beautiful Life” were by K-pop artists Big Bang and Crush, respectively.

Jason and Justin cite K-pop as an inspiration for their music careers, as k-pop is one of the few Asian pop-cultural movements to become successful outside of their

PHOTO BY CANDACE NG/THE HOOT

FLASHBACK FILIPINO

home countries. This representation was significant to them, they explained, as they did not see a lot of “yellow people on TV” growing up.

Unlike other large-scale culture shows on campus that invite a more diverse group of performers, such as on-campus a cappella groups and improv troupes, SEAC chose to focus on solely celebrating the culture their club represents. All of the show’s performances were either native to Southeast Asia or were by groups founded by performers from that demographic.

Alice Gong ’20 explains their decision, saying that “[the club] feels that Southeast Asia is underrepresented, even within the Asian community,” and wants AYALA to be “an opportunity to showcase their talents and accomplishments.”

The show started with a video introducing the e-board members and this year’s “Masa Lalu” theme.

The video, written by Gong, and filmed and produced by Amanda Huang ’19, told a humorous story in which SEAC e-board pro-

crastinates getting ready for the show despite only having one day left. Fed up with the group, the show’s coordinators (Gong, Carmen Huang ’20 and Kathy Wong ’20) decide to travel back in time with the help of their club mascot, a stuffed otter. They go on a journey to reclaim their club’s flags, each of which represent the 11 countries in the Asian sub-region, from club members in their toddler, middle school and high school years. The video ends on a high note, with all the e-board members successfully finishing all the preparation required for the show, and Gong, Huang and Wong returning the flags to their rightful place.

After the introductory video, Boston College’s Southeast Asia Student Association (SEASA) performed a mix of traditional Indonesian dances, and ProtoHype from University of Massachusetts Lowell performed in navy polo shorts with khakis and plaid skirts, reminiscent of school uniforms. ProtoHype brought back middle school and memories of dancing to Cascada’s “Ev-

erytime We Touch” and “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” by Soulja Boy Tell’em. Ironically, the dances verged on overtly sexual, leaving some members of the audience uncomfortable.

Brandeis group Flashback Filipino performed at Ayala, featuring their vice president Chris Calimlim ’19, Digital Media Chair Maia Reyes ’19 and alumni Julie Ruiz ’17. Ruiz, a co-founder of “Flashback Filipino,” started the group in her sophomore year as a way to celebrate Filipino culture among friends. The trio sang songs in both Filipino and English, with Ruiz accompanying their voices on the piano.

Following the video was a performance by Brandeis’ very own Bhangra dance team, dressed in colorful, traditional costumes.

Bhangra seamlessly combined traditional Punjabi folk dance with Western hip-hop.

SEAC’s first-year members performed in their own act, per club tradition. Tirtho Aungon ’21, SEAC’s Freshmen Representative, and Vananh Pham ’21 led the audience through the “YouTube

rewind challenge edition,” a series of food challenges including the baby food challenge, “Chubby Bunny,” the cricket-eating challenge and the spicy noodle challenge. While some members of the audience were turned off by the idea of eating bacon cheddar-flavored crickets and prune-flavored baby food, the eight volunteers took on the challenges in good spirits, motivated by the possibility of winning the prize—a SEAC long-sleeved t-shirt.

The second act started with Tari Punjari, a traditional Indonesian dance, which originates from a region in Indonesia known as Banyuwangi, meaning “fragrant water.” SEAC’s event coordinator Jennifer Taufan ’20 choreographed the dance to mimic the movement of girls playing and dancing on the beach, similar to the dance’s conventional choreography. The dance gracefully portrays girls from a small village reveling by the water during a full moon despite the music’s abrupt ending.

Tari Punjari was followed with modern dancing by the N’SEAC. Group members wore matching flannels and danced their hearts out to “Treasure” by Bruno Mars and “Yeah!” by Usher, choreographed by Dong-Min Sung ’19.

Up next was Rice Paddy Heroes, a self-described “group of failed actors trying to dance” and “a group of friends who are trying to have fun and save the day.” The dance group integrated pre-recorded conversation and typing sounds with their fun choreography.

AYALA 2018: Masa Lulu successfully combined time-honored customs and modernity to create the Asian-American culture that many of the group and audience members at the event shared.