The Brandeis Hoot 09/14/2018

Volume 15 Issue 14

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

September 14, 2018

Brandeis University’s Community Newspaper · Waltham, Mass.

Union elections garner impressive voter turnout

By The Brandeis Hoot editors

STUDENT UNION OFFICE

The newly elected Union members will meet in the Union office.

PHOTO BY NOAH HARPER/THE HOOT

The Student Union held their fall elections yesterday, giving students 24 hours—from 12 a.m. on Wednesday to 12 a.m. on Thursday—to vote. The ballots were sent out by email for students to vote electronically, but students could also vote (earning a treat as an incentive) at new voting booths in the SCC and Upper Usdan. The voting booths were one of two initiatives introduced by the Union to increase voter turnout, the other being a Meet the Candidates event on the evening of Sept. 12.

Due to a glitch in the voting system, former Myra Kraft Transitional Year Program (MKTYP) students were able to vote for the

MKTYP senate position, when only first year MKTYP students should be able to vote for that position. Therefore, those students will be given the full 24 hours to vote and the results of that election will be released at noon on Friday.

David Hui ’22 was elected to the Senate as the senator for North Quad, while Kendal Chapman ’22 will be the senator for Massell Quad. Joshua Hoffman ’21 will be the senator to Rosenthal Quad and Skyline Residence Hall. Leigh Salomon ’19 won the election for senator to Ziv and Ridgewood Quad. Jake Rong ’21 will represent Village as their senator in the Student Union. Sam Zuckerman 20 was elected to be the senator to the Charles River Apartments See STUDENT UNION, page 3

Graduate Student Union to vote on contract

By Celia Young and Sabrina Chow editors

The Brandeis University Graduate Union has reached a tentative agreement with the university administration on a union contract, which, if ratified at the vote on

Sept. 18, will go into effect on July 1 of 2019. The contract provides higher wages, protections for academic freedoms, creates new opportunities for professional development and gives union members more access to mental health resources on campus.

The unionized students are part of the Services Employees International Union Local 509

(SEIU509). The graduate students at Brandeis, with an overwhelming vote to form a union, joined in May 2017 according to SEIU’s website.

The contract will affect graduate students pursuing a PhD at Brandeis who also are either teaching assistants (TA) or teaching fellows (TF). The contract will not affect masters students, grad-

uates students in the Rabb School of Continuing Studies and Graduate students “receiving University Prize instructorship.”

The vote for the contract will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept.

18, in Shapiro 313 in the Shapiro Campus Center (SCC). If the union ratifies the contract, it will then be sent to the President’s office for ratification from the Uni-

versity’s side. If both sides agree, the contract will be in effect from July 1 of this year through June 30, 2021.

Brandeis is the second school in the nation to petition for a Graduate Student Union, with New York University being the first. A See GRADUATE, page 3

LED lightbulbs installed in SCC atrium

By Ryan Spencer editor

Lighting fixtures in the Shapiro Campus Center (SCC) were fit with LED bulbs over the summer in a $200,000 project which not only provides more light to the building but improves the building’s energy efficiency, according to the Manager of the Sustainability Programs Office Mary Fischer.

The project is estimated to reduce 60 tons of carbon production a year, accounting for an estimated .3 percent reduction in our campus carbon footprint, Fischer told The Brandeis Hoot in an in-

Inside This Issue:

terview. She said that although that percentage seems quite small, “for one building it is actually significant.”

“We’re always looking for ways to reduce our energy use,” Fischer said. “LEDs are a great way to do that.”

The reduction in energy use is expected to save Brandeis over $40,000 per year in electricity costs, meaning the lighting upgrades will have paid for themselves in a little under 5 years, according to Fischer.

Before the installation of LED bulbs, the lighting fixtures on the See SCC, page 3

SCC ATRIUM

The SCC atrium after LED lights were installed this summer.

Jonah reviews

Page 4 News: Brandeis cancels spring Hague program Page 10 ‘Insecure’ Ops: Defending jury nullification Features: Mary Fischer discusses sustainability Page 5 Sports: Spotlight on volleyball star Emma Bartlett Page 12 ARTS: PAGE 16 Page 7 Editorial: Use the library

Fear the tutu Serena Williams responds to “Wakanda” inspired catsuit.

OPS: PAGE 11

PHOTO COURTESY MARY FISCHER

NEWS

2 The Brandeis Hoot

September 14, 2018

Agreement between Graduate Student Union and administration to be put to vote GRADUATE, from page 1

ruling in 2016 by the National Labor Relations Board allowed for graduate students to unionize.

The Brandeis bargaining committee, along with lawyers from SEIU509 drafted the contract in 10 months, instead of the typical 18 months it takes for contracts to be written, according to Anna Henkin, a PhD candidate in the Biochemistry department.

The union began organizing in August of 2016. Benjamin Kreider, a member of the negotiating committee and the organizing committee, mentioned some of the time constraints and concerns facing the union during the organizing process.

“The decision which enabled us as a private university grad students to unionize happened under Obama,” Kreider said. “We had a very explicit conversation very early in the effort that we might lose this right if Trump wins. So that was the biggest time constraint, that we wanted to move quickly so we could have our union election in a timely manner, because the more we delayed that the greater the likelihood we lose the right to unionize at all.”

The contract guarantees a minimum wage for teaching assistants and fellows in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The Heller School for Social Policy and Management and the International Business School. The

TAs and TFs may be paid more, but they cannot be paid less than the new minimums.

Kreider highlighted the increase in pay. “I think the biggest and most obvious gain would be increased compensation,” said Kreider. “Between 16-56 percent raises in pay over three years and...those are wage floors. So the department or the school can choose to pay more but this is on minimum pay.”

By fiscal year 21, which begins Oct. 1, 2020, all TAs will make at least $3,720 for a four credit course and TFs in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences will make at least $5,000. Teaching fellows currently earn $3,200 per course. Teaching assistants at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences currently make $3,200. At the Heller School, graduate students are paid $2,500 and at IBS, they are paid $3,000. For some graduate students, this is a $1500 increase in pay.

Article six of the contract encourages more mental health resources for the graduate students, especially resources that are in locations around campus other than the Brandeis Counseling Center (BCC).

“We have also agreed on embedded counselors and waiting rooms where we don’t have to share it with people we’re teaching,” explained Henkin. “Sharing the waiting rooms is both a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) and

Family and Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) violation.”

According to Henkin, this access makes it much simpler for graduate students to seek mental health support. “There is a lot of mental strain being a graduate student and a lot of emotional turmoil. There is a lot of things that people need support for. And most people think they need to go at it alone because that’s often how the cultural narrative of being a graduate student is being told. But that’s not true,” commented Henkin.

Kreider also highlighted another side of the importance of mental health access: avoiding stigma.

“Mental health care is another really big issue, its an issue we discussed quite a bit. So what the contract does is it states that the various departments at Brandeis will have embedded counselors,” Kreider said.

“So the idea is that instead of a grad student going all the way down the hill to the counseling center where there’s a sense among a lot of people that there’s stigma. You can run into your students there... which is very awkward....Having an embedded counselor increases access.”

The contract also guarantees professional feedback from TA and TF supervisors on how well they are running their courses and how they can improve. It also encourages more communication about professional development

opportunities between the graduate students and Brandeis University.

The contract provides that the union will not go on, encourage or sympathize with a strike while the contract is in effect. It guarantees academic freedom for the union members, saying, “Graduate Assistants have the right to express their thoughts freely and openly in all spaces relevant to the performance of their teaching duties.” Professors will also be required to provide verbal feedback at least once a semester and maintain communication with their TAs and TFs. Provost Lisa Lynch was quoted in a Washington Post article, saying that she “looks forward to working with the SEIU to reach a collective bargaining agreement with PhD students who teach, and recognize them as vitally important members of our community.”

When contacted, Brandeis responded that they will have no comment until the vote.

Just after the NLRB released their decision in August 2016, the graduation union began organizing to to improve graduate life at Brandeis. When Henkin first arrived on campus, she automatically noticed structural issues within the administration.

“These issues come with a severe power imbalance from administration and professors. They can destroy your future, they have all the power.”

Kreider also commented on the

issues that the graduate students discussed in their early union meetings. “So we would literally go around the table at these meetings and talk about what do you like about Brandeis and what could be improved and we were saying a lot of the same things,” Kreider said.

“That was vindicating, to hear someone in a totally different department say ‘oh I’ve experienced this too.’ And then through the union we were able to come together and generate solutions to those problems and you feel like you have more of a say, and you feel less powerless. You’re able to change the conditions you experience as a student worker.”

“Even though I won’t see the benefits of the contract since I’m not TA-ing anymore,” explained Henkin, “having those resources lifts so much of the burden on graduate students that shouldn’t be our burden in the first place.”

Now that the graduate students have a contract, Phoebe Dolan ’21, a member of the Brandeis Labor Coalition, says that the coalition will start working with the other labor unions on campus.

These include the dining workers, housekeeping, facilities and librarians.

Those interested in being a part of Brandeis Labor Coalition should email phoebedolan@ brandeis.edu and follow Brandeis Labor Coalition on Facebook and Twitter.

Brandeis searches for a new head basketball coach

By Celia Young editor

A search committee chaired by the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Executive Director of the Hiatt Career Center Andrea Dean is in the process of hiring a new head men’s basketball coach to replace Coach Brian Meehan, who was fired last year based on allegations of discriminatory and abusive behavior.

The committee is made up of eight members, including Dine, Andrew Allen, a student athlete on the soccer team, Chief Diversity Officer Mark Brimhall Vargas, Associate Director of Athletics Michelle Kim, Men’s Soccer Coach Gabe Margolis, former

professional basketball player Prof. Dorothee Kern (BCBP) and Associate Dean of Students Monique Gnanaratnam.

The committee expects to have a coach hired by the start of the basketball season, which begins in October, according to Jeffrey Ward, the interim athletics director.

Ward stated that the committee hopes to move quickly. “We want to move as quickly as possible,” Ward said.

“Coaches are incredibly important. It’s probably the most important thing to the student experience.”

The assistant coaches, Sean Tabb and Patrick Luptowski, have taken over pre-season training until a new coach is hired, and

Tabb has been named interim head coach, according to the Brandeis Athletics website.

The committee undertook a national search to hire a new basketball coach and has reviewed 137 resumes, according to Dine, and expects to select six finalists.

The committee is currently narrowing down the number of candidates to the six which will be brought to Brandeis for on-campus interviews.

The basketball team, according to Ward, will also have a say in who is hired during the final deliberation stages.

There will be an opportunity to meet the candidates and for team members to give their impressions.

Dean, in an email to The Hoot,

stated that, “In addition to having a student representative on the selection committee, students will have the opportunity to meet with and provide feedback about each candidate during their on-campus visit.”

In an interview to The Brandeis Hoot, Ward stated that his ideal candidate would be someone who is “a bright person who is passionate about their students, passionate about their sport and an effective communicator and leader.”

Ward also stated that the coach must understand the Brandeis student experience and that “our students are students first.”

Last year, Meehan was fired after several players complained to the athletic department and other administrators since 2014.

Meehan was the subject of a Human Resources investigation, which drew criticism from students and administrators about the length of the investigation.

His firing and the discovery of the drawn-out HR investigation set off an independent investigation into the athletics department’s culture, procedures and policies of the complaint process.

The independent investigators released a summary report of their findings, which was delivered to the student body on Sept.

4.

A second part of the report, with recommendations on how Brandeis should change their policies and procedures, is expected to be released in early November.

September 14, 2018

NEWS 3

The Brandeis Hoot

SCC brighter and more energy efficient after $200,000 sustainability lighting project SUSTAINABILITY, from page 1

highest floor of the SCC were not providing light all the way down to the first floor, Fischer told The Hoot. She said the LED lights now provide more light to the ground floor.

Fischer explained that many of the lighting fixtures on the ceiling of the SCC atrium are really high up and hard to reach. In order to complete the project, a special lift had to be rented and driven into the SCC in order to replace the bulbs in the highest parts of the ceiling, many of which had already burned out but had not been replaced.

“We were able to replace the atrium lighting with half the number of fixtures,” Fischer said.

She said that previously there were approximately 80 fixtures which were replaced with only about 40 LED lights. The brightness of the LED bulbs meant the change “provides more light than it was providing and is more efficient,” she said.

In addition to having a lower annual energy cost than traditional bulbs, LED bulbs have more than double the lifespan of most other bulbs, according to United States’ Department of Energy website. $90,000 of the approximately $200,000 spent by the university on the project came from the

SCC ATRIUM

Brandeis Sustainability Fund.

The Brandeis Sustainability Fund “provides financial support for Brandeis undergraduate students willing to undertake projects and/ or activities to improve Brandeis’s environmental sustainability,” according to the Brandeis website.

The rest of the project was financed by Brandeis facilities.

Fischer estimated the total project costs to be $240,000, but told The Hoot that Eversource, the energy company which provides Brandeis with energy, provided a $47,000 incentive for the project, which would improve energy efficiency.

The lighting project was not limited to replacing old bulbs with LEDs but also installed “smart” technology to some lighting fixtures in the SCC. Lights can now be controlled from a central location in a variety of manners which could potentially further reduce energy use, according to Fischer.

She explained how, during the summer when not many people are on campus, she could “potentially dim or turn off some of the lights” in areas of the building that aren’t being used. Many lights also have occupancy sensors that turn on automatically when someone is in the room and off automatically when the room is unattended, according to Fischer.

These features could be use-

ful “especially during Turn It Off days” Fischer said. Turn It Off days are part of Brandeis’ Turn It Off Program, which works to reduce electricity on the summer’s hottest days.

The SCC is just the first building on campus to receive upgrades to lighting, according to Fischer. She said that the cost of doing similar lighting upgrades to other buildings on campus is being looked into. She suggested buildings such as Usdan Student Center or the International Business School could be next, since those buildings have both “long building hours and old technology.” Future improvements to outdoor lighting fixtures are also being considered.

“Lighting is always the lowest hanging fruit,” Fischer said, “depending on what you’re replacing, LEDs can be up to 70 percent more efficient than older technologies.”

Individual electricity meters in buildings on campus means Fischer can look at most buildings’ history of electricity usage.

Based on the meter in the SCC, Fischer said, “We have a little bit of data already showing that the energy use is less than it was before.”

The project, which was largely completed over the summer, received its final touches on Sept.

10.

PHOTOS COURTESY MARY FISCHER

SCC ATRIUM

A photo of the SCC ceiling before the installation of LED lights.

Workers install LED lights in the SCC atrium ceiling

Brandeis ranked in Forbes and US News and World Report college lists

By Celia Young editor

Brandeis University has been ranked as No. 97 in Forbes’ “America’s Top Colleges” List for 2018. In the National University Rankings for U.S. News and World Report, it was ranked No. 35, tied with Georgia Institute of Technology. On the Forbes list, it was ranked 75th in private colleges, 52nd in research universities, 49th in colleges in the Northeast and 220th in America’s Best Value Colleges.

Brandeis also tied the U.S. News and World Report rankings in Best Undergraduate Teaching, where it tied Columbia University for No. 34, and tied for 50th with 11 other colleges for high school counselor rankings and tied for

no. 87 in business programs.

Brandeis was also ranked 29th in best value schools. The U.S. News and World Report rankings were released Sept. 10.

U.S. News and World Report uses 16 metrics to rank colleges and universities, using a mix of objective data, interviews, tours and student polls to evaluate schools. The report focuses on “outcomes, faculty resources, expert opinion, financial resources, student excellence and alumni giving.” One hundred twenty-six colleges were listed as unranked, including highly specialized schools and schools that do not use SAT or ACT scores in admissions decisions for prospective students.

In 2017, Brandeis was ranked No. 99 in Forbes America’s Top Colleges, No. 51 in research uni-

versities and No. 9 in best college for international students, according to the Brandeis University website. The ranking for “America’s Top Colleges” is out of 650 top colleges in the United States. The list was released Aug. 21.

Brandeis was ranked 220th in America’s best value colleges, a list where Forbes uses a variety of qualities to evaluate the university’s return on the student’s investment. Forbes scores the institution in “net price, net debt, alumni earnings, timely graduation, school quality and access for low-income students” for four year degree colleges and universities.

The list is compiled “to help students decide whether their college investments are likely to reward them with a healthy return,” according to a Forbes article by Car-

ter Coudriet, a Forbes staff writer in education.

Schools considered for the list are colleges and universities chosen from those classified as special-focus schools, like schools of design or institutes of technology, and doctoral research, master’s and baccalaureate colleges and universities. That list was narrowed to schools with data available including student surveys and financial aid, according to the Forbes website.

Small schools, with lower than 300 undergraduates, schools with less than a 60 percent retention rate and schools with a low graduation rate were cut, and the remaining schools were ranked.

Forbes uses data from the U.S. Department of Education to track information about federal financial aid. This includes the

Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), which provides a variety of information about costs, enrollment, admissions, athletic teams’ accreditation and campus security.

Forbes also used the Department of Education’s College Scorecard, which contains similar information including graduation and retention rates and earnings after school.

Forbes focuses on “‘outputs’ rather than ‘inputs,’” according to their website.

“While other lists consider acceptance rates and admitted students’ SAT scores, we look at alumni salaries, debt after graduation, retention and graduation rates, debt load upon graduation, alumni salaries and signs of individual success including academic and career accolades.”

4 NEWS

The Brandeis Hoot

September 14, 2018

18 students elected to fill open positions for Student Union Fall 2018 elections ELECTIONS, from page 1

and Hangyu Deng ’21 will be the off-campus senator.

Aseem Kumar ’20 and Kate Kesselman ’19 won their re-election campaigns for the two-semester position on the Allocations Board (A-Board). Kumar is the current chair of A-Board.

Kumar focused his campaign on increasing the efficiency and transparency of A-Board and the funds, said Kumar in an interview to The Brandeis Hoot. He is also working to increase the accountability of all the members on A-Board. “You can really make a difference even if you play by the book,” explained Kumar. “All the changes I’m trying to make are very much within the gray lines of the constitution and the administration.”

As the chair of A-Board, Kumar is also hoping to do more collaborations with Student Sexualtiy Information Services (SSIS) and the Brandeis Counseling Center (BCC), as well as pulling other outside counseling services to Brandeis to provide more resources. He is also working to secure these clubs to guarantee them more funding.

Kesselman’s recent re-election to A-Board will be her fourth and final year on A-Board. Having been a part of A-Board since her first year at Brandeis, Kesselman worked hard to communicate with newcomers, made sure they knew the ropes and helped them feel welcome.

A major initiative that A-Board accomplished was increasing relations with the Intercultural Center (ICC) and getting feedback from clubs that did not feel they got equal representation during marathon.

During her final year on A-Board, Kesselman is working to continue the outreach and communication within not only A-Board, but also the student body in general. Something members of A-Board are trying to accomplish this year is to attend club meetings and talk to the leaders of clubs to get their opinion on A-Board allocations as well as any funding questions to get a better sense of the student body.

“Thank you for supporting me for the last three years. I feel like I’ve given a lot to this campus and everything I’ve given, I’ve gotten back via support in trying to

PHOTO BY NOAH HARPER/THE HOOT

reach my goals,” said Kesselman in an interview to The Hoot.

Roland Blanding ’21 won, by one vote, the position of three-semester representative for A-Board. His platform includes making cultural events more inclusive to build a sense of community on campus and giving more time and funding for clubs to get off the ground. Blanding stated that he wanted to, “[have] open and honest discourse, welcome everyone to the table and get things done.”

Marshall Smith ’21 was elected Racial Minority Representative to A-Board. Smith was inspired to run by comments made by rowing teammates. “After hearing their concerns, and at times, frustrations, I wanted to learn more about the allocation process … I want to ensure the chartered and secured clubs understand the established policies and provide thoughtful consideration when making requests so they fully understand funding decisions,” Smith said to The Hoot.

Smith, a major in Business and Film, Television, and Interactive Media with a minor in Politics, said he was running because he wanted to “ensure that chartered and secured clubs are funded equitably and to help further the interests of the Brandeis student

body.”

Smith closed by saying, “I’d ask that individuals hold us accountable to the ideals of the Student Union and join us in the commitment to our beloved university.”

The role of representative to the undergraduate curriculum committee will be filled by Brandon Stanaway ’19. “As the UCC rep, I encourage students to share their opinions on the current curriculum and what changes they would like to see,” Stanaway said.

“Brandeis has high standards for academic achievement; student input can start conversations that may help the University adapt the curriculum to evolving trends in the professional world, while expanding its commitment to social justice and molding academically well-rounded students.”

Tal Richtman ’20 was voted the Representative to the Community Emergency and Enhancement Fund (CEEF) Board, a source for special funding for student activities and student-led initiatives. “I believe in the Union and our ability to make a change in Brandeis students’ lives,” Richtman said. “While not anymore on the senate, I’m always here for you for any issue or concern, for any initiatives or suggestions. Once a senator, always your senator.”

CoCo Zhang ’22 was elect-

ed as senator for racial minority students. In an interview to The Hoot, Zhang cited her experience in her high school’s student council and possible plans to reduce printing costs. When asked about her plans for the Union, she responded, “I want to be directly involved with the clubs … and even though I’m not able to participate in all of them I do want to talk to the different clubs and organizations. I’m planning to regularly to visit them and talk to them to exchange opinions.”

Samantha Barrett ’20 won the race for representative to the alumni board. Barrett has had two positions in the Union before, as class of 2020 senator and east quad senator, and worked on the menstrual products initiative and the installation of the crosswalk signs in front of the Rabb steps to improve access for members of the Brandeis community with disabilities.

In an interview with The Hoot, Barrett stated that she wanted the Brandeis community to know that “I am their voice, that they can speak through me. I want the Brandeis community’s concerns and ideas to be relayed across the board, whether it’s to the alumni or to the administration.”

Topaz Fernandez Fragoso ’22 and Alexander Chang ’22 won in

the race for senators to the class of 2022. In an interview to The Hoot, Topaz highlighted her experience as vice president of her high school student government, which she called “really rewarding.” I want to do everything I can to make sure that our class of 2022 has everything it needs,” she said.

Chang ran on a platform of elevating the first-year class and installing air conditioning in first-year lounges. He was part of a group called “The Justice Coalition,” a group of first-years running for union seats on a similar platform.

“I mean if you go to any college campus in America there’s this sort of informal hierarchy … that the upperclassmen … are somehow innately superior to the underclassmen,” Chang said in an interview to The Hoot. “What I’m trying to do here is to kind of change the the perceived status quo,” Chang continued. “Why is it that [the] freshman dorms on campus … [have] living conditions far inferior to any of the other ones of the upperclassmen housing. That’s probably the main concern to address that we will be focusing on.”

President of the Student Union Hannah Brown ’19 commented on the elections. “I think this year’s election saw great—possibly even record-breaking—turnout and enthusiasm, especially from the first year class,” Brown said in a statement to The Hoot.

“We on the Student Union certainly tried to make this election cycle more accessible and fun by hosting a meet the candidates event and tabling polling stations across campus.”

She continued, “We also made an effort to emphasize the accessibility and ease of participating on Senate committees. I think the changes to positions such made by the Constitutional Review Task Force, such as the combination of some quad seats and the addition of CEEF Board Representatives, will help make the Union more effective and productive. The candidates are all promising with strong ideals, and I’m sure we’ll have representation this year.”

According to the report released by the Union to The Hoot, 939 people entered the election poll, though actual turnout varied per individual race.

Sasha Skarboviychuk contributed to this report.

Brandeis Study Abroad cancels Brandeis in the Hague program

By Sabrina Chow editor

On Aug. 6, the Brandeis Study Abroad office cancelled their “Brandeis in the Hague” program, according to J. Scott Van Der Meid, the Associate Dean of Study Abroad. The cancellation will only affect students planning on attending the program in the spring of 2019. Participants for the summer session will still be allowed to attend as the program does not use U.S. Federal Financial Aid. This will be the 12th time

the program has run.

The main issue regarding the suspension of the program during the spring semester was administrative errors with the U.S. Department of Education and Leiden University, the host university in The Hague, Denmark.

Brandeis has been working with Leiden over the past year in hopes of resolving the financial aid issues involving U.S. Federal Financial Aid, but with no resolution in sight, Brandeis decided to close the program.

“We [the study abroad office] then followed up with each stu-

dent individually that afternoon based on their personal academic interests with customized offers to help them think through various options for different program possibilities,” explained Van Der Meid in an email to The Brandeis Hoot.

The email sent out to students, explicitly listed 14 possible transfer options that students in the past had paired along with their semester in The Hague, according to Van Der Meid.

The Study Abroad Office made sure that the options were spelled out for the students and the best

option was chosen for them as an alternative. “Regardless of their decision, we offered time and support to each of them to walk through the process that would be most helpful to them,” said Van Der Meid. “We met with each of the students either in person or over the phone to discuss the new academic options, what they needed to get credit for, any personal concerns or needs for their time away.”

Students who had already put down the $500 deposit were fully refunded by the university due to the cancellation of the program as

well. Many programs also had later deadlines so students that were impacted by the cancellation were able to find, and apply, for other study abroad programs.

“I am happy to share that all of the Spring 2019 students have already been transferred to a new program and the majority of them have finished their application for their new program.

Some have already been accepted to their new program and thus are ahead of some other students at Brandeis who are still in the application process,” said Van Der Meid.

September 14, 2018

FEATURES

The Brandeis Hoot 5

Brandeis Community Farm brings fresh produce to students

By Polina Potochevska editor

On the roof of the Gerstenzang Science Library, you will see rows and rows of fresh produce growing from rich organic soil. The Brandeis Community Farm, formerly known as the Farmer’s Club, is run by students at Brandeis.

Benée Hershon ’20, president of the Brandeis Community Farm, is a junior majoring in environmental studies and minoring in legal studies and Social Justice and Social Policy (SJSP).

The farm was created in 2014 with the help of a grant from the Brandeis Sustainability Fund (BSF). The farm was awarded around $40,000 and a local organization called Green City Growers was employed to help set up the farm. With the farm created, came the need for a club to manage and run the farm, thus the Farmer’s Club was formed.

Hershon explained that over time, the E-board is hoping to rebrand its name to the Brandeis

Community Farm, as one of its focuses this semester is creating a close community of people passionate about agriculture and sustainability. Hershon has been involved with the farm since the beginning of her sophomore year, and has taken on many roles including treasurer and farm manager before becoming the president.

Another goal for the farm this year is to find funding in new ways. The farm’s biggest source of income is based on community-supported agriculture (CSA), in which different members of the Brandeis community pay a certain amount to collect produce over the summer. “Seeds are expensive, you’d be surprised … it really adds up,” Hershon said, mentioning that seeds could cost more than $800. The farm also receives funding from the Student Union.

The farm hopes to be a resource to students who may be struggling to afford meals. “There’s a lot of people on campus who don’t know where they’re getting their next meal. A lot of people at Brandeis don’t think about that … with

Brandeis being such an expensive school there are a lot of people who can’t buy the more expensive meal plans, so there’s a shift to focusing on that need in the campus community itself,” said Hershon.

In past years, the farm has donated to the Waltham community, but their new goal is to also help the Brandeis community.

“We want people to recognize that they can come to the club and get produce if they can’t afford food on campus,” said Hershon.

Some ways that Hershon and the E-board hope to achieve this is through their volunteering.

Their volunteer hours are Sunday mornings from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Students who volunteer at the farm can pick up produce to take home with them. She hopes that in the future they can extend that model to where people can drop in anytime and pick up food that they need. They also hope to extend their volunteering to members of the Waltham community as well as Brandeis, to teach more people agricultural skills. She emphasized that they

want the farm to be a comfortable environment for students, graduate students and professors alike.

The farm has faced a few challenges this semester, including the return of students from the summer. A lot of damage was done to the farm while students were away, so a big project of the volunteers is to help with weeding. Also, potentially next summer the roof of Gerstenzang will need to be redone, meaning that the farm will have to be placed in storage and then re-established once the roof is finished. Hershon said that the farm will not be physically present for a full year, but they plan to volunteer at local farms during that time.

Hershon’s experience in agriculture started at Brandeis after taking “Food and Farming in America” with Professor Brian Donahue. “I never really thought about where my food came from, I didn’t think about how many people don’t have fresh, healthy food on the table,” said Hershon of the way the class changed her perspective. “Now

I know a lot about farming… it goes to show you that anyone at Brandeis can gain these skills.”

“When you learn a skill like [farming,] it is a really empowering thing. I know where my food comes from, and I can grow my own food. If every person had those skills, it would be amazing,” Hershon said.

Hershon isn’t sure of her career path yet, but she knows that farming will certainly have a role, and that she would like to be involved in agriculture outside of college.

For her, farming and sustainability is all about “empowerment and empowering different communities. We try to make the farm as sustainable as possible.” For example, the farm uses a drip irrigation system to try to use minimal water, organic compost and seeds, and they also bring their compost to Lemberg so that it can be used in their garden. In many ways, Hershon hopes the farm will be a welcoming community and resource that can help change the way Brandeis students think about food and sustainability.

The face of sustainability at Brandeis: Mary Fischer

By Zach Cihlar editor

Leading the helm of the movement towards a sustainable campus, Sustainability Manager Mary Fischer oversees all of the sustainability programs implemented at Brandeis. Her role functions within realms of operations and facilities at Brandeis, linking the two in order to make physical changes to the university’s building functions in order to lessen the school’s carbon footprint.

Due to the job’s multifaceted nature, Fischer works with a variety of different people within the Brandeis community to implement the programs she oversees. Fischer describes her role as a “position of influence and action because it’s working with students, staff, and faculty—a multi-level involvement.”

At the facilities level, Fischer works with Associate Director of Operations Ryan Donahue and Brandeis’ energy manager,

William Bushey. Facilities staff and sustainability staff work together to operate the university on the business of facility operation but also on the business of incorporating sustainable practice in facilities. She and her colleagues accomplish their duties by analyzing data that tells of areas where electricity, oil, gas and water are used in high volume.

In addition to working within facilities, Fischer also interacts with students who have joined her team of Brandeis Sustainability Ambassadors (BSAs).

Through this part of her job, she works with students interested in actualizing plans of sustainability within the student body.

Finally, Fischer also works with faculty to incorporate sustainability into the academic curriculum that students have access to. She has been working closely with Professor of German Studies and Director of German and European Studies Sabine von Mering to develop a short module that teaches life skills in

sustainability to students. The course, set to be titled “Your Brain on Carbon,” was created after Fischer and von Mering earned a teaching innovation grant.

In the course, Fischer and von Mering will tackle discussions “about how the human brain is not designed to act on large complex, abstract problems, like climate change and how our brains trick us into thinking that’s it’s not something that we need to think about,” according to Fischer.

Since Fischer joined Brandeis as the sustainability manager in May of 2015, she has worked to realign the school with a “carbon commitment” that it had neglected since originally signing the commitment in 2008. Working with Jim Gray, the Vice President of Operations at Brandeis, Fischer pulled together a committee that set a timeline for reducing Brandeis’ carbon footprint, called the 2016 Climate Action Plan.

Their initial goal was to reduce carbon emissions by ten percent by 2018, a goal which the com-

mittee has surpassed. Fischer called the accomplishment a success for Brandeis sustainability.

Brandeis has achieved this goal in their Climate Action Plan despite some weaknesses in the school’s capability for sustainable operation.

One major weakness, according to Fischer, is the age of the university’s buildings. Brandeis’ buildings, though not particularly old, were built at a time when architects did not account for standards in energy efficiency during construction. These structural disadvantages are things that Fischer and the rest of the sustainability staff at Brandeis have had to work around.

Still, Fischer works hard to make sustainability possible. She has implemented a new program that puts the responsibility of energy efficiency into the hands of the students as well. A particularly new program Fischer has overseen through inception is the Brandeis Sustainability Fund (BSF). The BSF provides

undergraduate students the opportunity to build a sustainability project of their own creation and implement it on the Brandeis campus. These projects are funded through the BSF. Students can propose projects to the BSF board for review. If approved, the board will work with the students to implement and complete the project.

During the last academic year, the BSF wrote a grant for $40,000 to Oliver Price ’20 to implement the Charles River Grad Housing Energy Efficiency project. Price’s project worked to install energy efficiency technology to control the electric heating. The technology was placed in the Charles River residences as a pilot program. If the solution does indeed pay back in terms of energy efficiency, the university will look to install the heating technology in the rest of the buildings.

The BSF is only one of the many ways that Fischer is involved with sustainability on campus in order to make Brandeis’ future more eco-friendly.

SEA looks to extend outreach

By Sabrina Chow editor

Students for Environmental Action (SEA) is one of the largest student-run environmental groups on campus, lead by Co-Presidents Jeremy Goodsynder ’20 and Sophie Edelman ’21. Goodsynder is majoring in environmental studies and anthropology while Edelman is majoring in HSSP. “SEA is a club that promotes sustainability on campus through small steps that add up to make a real impact,” explained Edelman in an email to The Brandeis Hoot.

“We make sure Brandeis students have the opportunity of, and know the importance of, sustainability.”

The club does different things in the fall and spring semesters, explained Goodsynder.

At the beginning of the fall semester, club members vote

on three or four initiatives that they hope to focus on during the semester that may require funding. The E-board splits off to lead each of these initiatives and utilizes the Brandeis Sustainability Fund (BSF) to provide them with money they may need to fund their projects.

Second semester focuses more on advocacy and teaching Brandeis students about sustainability, which are mainly events that do not require fundraising.

“We have a coffeehouse event in Chums every year. We always serve mozzarella sticks. The tradition started before I came to Brandeis,” said Goodsynder.

Other events include trash sorting at events or in Upper Usdan to try to divert recyclables and compostable items from landfill.

Goodsynder and Edelman had very different paths getting involved in sustainability in general. “Environmental stuff has been

a defining characteristic of my life for a while now,” said Goodsynder. “I read a book about climate change when I was 10. And when I went down to dinner with my family, I pushed away a plate of gyros and told my parents I was a vegetarian. They doubted me then and it’s been 10 years since I’ve eaten meat.” He remembers running around the house and unplugging electronics and trying to make a difference from a young age.

On the other hand, Edelman realized the importance of sustainability from her environment.

“I live in New York City and if nothing else, it has taught me that a lot of people means even more waste,” wrote Edelman. “While I personally try to live sustainably, that doesn’t mean that my streets aren’t still covered in trash, and I don’t have to suffer through the summer days where the air quality is so bad the city warns against going outside. Sustain-

ability is big in my life because I feel like I have a responsibility to help others learn how to do little things to make big change.”

One of the most memorable experiences Edelman had while being a part of SEA was going to a supermarket that brought affordable, healthy food to a food desert area of Massachusetts.

Food desert areas are places that are typically low-income and have limited availability to affordable and nutritious foods.

“What really drove home for me was that sustainability isn’t always sitting behind a computer sending emails to arrange and get funding for workshops. Sometimes working and advocating for sustainability means getting your hands dirty and spilling juice on yourself,” wrote Edelman.

A memorable initiative for Goodsynder was convincing the administration to limit the amount that the lawns were be-

ing watered, especially after rain showers. Even though they received a lot of pushback from administration, they eventually fixed the cistern in Mandel that helps to water the rooftop garden on top of Gerstenzang.

Both presidents are aiming to continue the momentum from previous years and expand the talks of sustainability on campus.

“I want to have more initiatives on campus, more off-campus service and on-campus projects to get people interested and in the spirit of sustainability,” said Goodsynder. Edelman hopes to make the club more visible and stop answering the question, “What is SEA?” “I want to increase visibility of the club because the better known we are, the more people join, the more activities we can plan, the more change we can create,” said Edelman.

SEA meets weekly on Mondays at 8 pm in Olin-Sang 124.

6 FEATURES

The Brandeis Hoot

September 14, 2018

Brandeis Sustainability Ambassadors act as student resource

By Jennifer Cook editor

While Brandeis places a major focus on social justice, it is often forgotten by many that environmental justice is a very real issue students are involved in on campus. The Brandeis Sustainability Ambassadors (BSAs) hope to shed light on this, as well as serve as people to turn to for help in becoming more sustainable or creating sustainability projects.

Cameron Bechman ’19, an Environmental Studies major, is the student who came up with the idea of the BSAs. Benedikt Reynolds ’19 is majoring in computer science and anthropology, and also has a hand to play in the ongoing creation of the BSAs. Both Bechman and Reynolds are members of the Senate Sustainability Committee, which is the group within the Student Union that brainstorms ideas for making Brandeis more sustainable. These projects are made possible due to the $50,000 Brandeis Sustainability Fund (BSF); in fact, Bechman created the BSAs with this funding. What many students may not know is that this funding comes directly from their tuition; one percent of tuition goes towards the student activities fund, which goes towards projects such as these.

In creating the BSAs, Bechman was inspired by the eco-reps that used to exist at Brandeis,

and still exist at schools such as Tufts and Harvard. These ecoreps are students who follow a regimented program that enforces sustainability on campus, and especially in dorms. They are similar to Community Advisors, but instead of supervising students specifically they try to encourage students to keep their environmental impact and level of waste to a minimum. To do this, they assign different places on campus sustainability ratings ranging from bronze to gold.

While Bechman might want to incorporate this method of rating sustainability into a project that the BSAs undergo in the future, he notes that the BSAs are “by no means a copy” of the ecoreps. His mission for the BSAs aims to go one step further than just encouraging a sustainable lifestyle once students have settled into campus; he hopes that they can serve as “student peers who are are advocates for environmental movements on campus as well as … a force that the sustainability department could pull from for help with … zero waste events, maintaining projects, orientation,” said Bechman.

He hopes that by acting as advocates in this way, more students outside of the BSAs themselves will be more informed about their effects on the environment, which would in turn lead to a more sustainable Brandeis over time.

According to Reynolds, “It’s very ironic that [Brandeis]

deems itself focused or centered on social justice, but it is one of the least sustainable universities in the Northeast.”

There are a couple reasons why sustainability is so important, and especially at Brandeis. What people might not realize is that sustainability goes far beyond simply throwing trash out into the correctly labeled trash can.

According to Reynolds, the garbage that goes into the “Bin of Last Resort” next to the Compost and Recycle bins across campus is for the most part burned in Massachusetts, therefore directly impacting the atmosphere.

Additionally, the lack of sustainability on campus is dangerous. A big issue that Reynolds and Bechman highlighted was that Brandeis has historically chosen the cheapest possible materials in terms of architecture, which has made buildings across campus not only the opposite of environmentally conscious but also has made them more likely to need repairs. According to Reynolds and Bechman, the reason the Wi-Fi was down at the beginning of this school year was because the piping system Brandeis bought for that area of campus was outdated, inexpensive and therefore not meant to last.

Luckily, Bechman, Reynolds and the other BSAs have already begun to take steps towards encouraging sustainability on campus. They piloted a program at midyear orientation, and it went

PHOTO BY SABRINA CHOW/THE HOOT

BSA

Ambassadors enjoy a lunch after a long day at Fall 2018 orientation.

so well that the Department of Community Living (DCL) invited them back for this year’s orientation; in order to raise awareness of the BSAs as a resource on campus they helped move people into their dorms.

They have also manually sorted through trash, which, according to Reynolds, is much more fun than it sounds. One of their most successful projects consisted of putting environmental memes in residence halls near light switches, bathrooms and garbages to remind people of their impact on the environment.

The BSAs also plan to help with move-out, where they will help sort things that are left behind by residents into donation, recycle and reuse boxes so that they are not left behind to be piled up and eventually thrown away.

The ambassadors are a new program, but overall they hope to continue being a resource to speak to about sustainability and to men-

tor students who want to create a project, and also to take over projects if those students go abroad.

While being BSAs has been hard work, Bechman and Reynolds have never doubted their mission of promoting sustainability on campus. For Bechman, the most rewarding part of being a BSA is that he truly believes they will make a change in how sustainable Brandeis is.

For Reynolds, the best part is that the BSAs started off as just an idea, and now there are people volunteering to be BSAs simply because they like the mission that the founders have laid out.

While the BSAs are still a “pilot program,” according to Reynolds, they certainly have already made a positive impression on campus and the environment.

Editor’s note: Opinions Editor Sabrina Chow is a Brandeis Sustainability Ambassador.

September 14, 2018

“To acquire wisdom, one must observe.”

Editors-in-Chief Abigail Gardener Sarah Terrazano Senior Managing Editor Elianna Spitzer Senior Editor Ryan Spencer Copy Editor Natalie Fritzson Deputy Copy Editor Jennifer Cook News Editor Celia Young Arts Editors Ben Beriss Noah Harper Opinions Editor Sabrina Chow Features Editor Polina Potochevska Sports Editors Zach Cihlar Shea Decker-Jacoby Layout Editor Candace Ng Editor-at-Large Emily Botto

Volume 15 • Issue 14 the brandeis hoot • brandeis university 415 south street • waltham, ma

STAFF

David Aizenberg, Juliana An, Robert Banks, Caleigh Bartash, Kevin Costa, Olivia Ellson, Daniel Freedman, Ariella Gentin, Noah Harper, Kevin Healey, Jonah Koslofsky, Alex Kougasian, Samantha Lauring, Ruoshi Liu, 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.

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EDITORIALS

The Brandeis Hoot 7

Take advantage of library resources

O

f all the services that students learn about during Orientation, one of the most overlooked is the Brandeis library.

Our library is home to a wealth of services that students can benefit from, but not just first-years are in the dark—many upperclassmen are also unaware of how the library can help them.

Research librarians are some of campus’ unsung heroes. One of our own upper-class editorial members did not know about them until junior year.

Research librarians can help students find articles, books or statistics for their research projects, or help them get started by focusing on a research topic or properly citing their sources.

The Research Help Desk is open for drop-ins during weekdays, or you can make an appointment.

There is also an online chat function that you can click on the side of any research-related webpage.

Many students, regardless of age, may feel overwhelmed and unsure where to start in the face of a large research paper. The Research Help Desk is there to guide you, whether for a UWS research paper or a senior thesis.

Another vital resource in the library is Interlibrary Loan (ILL). It is a free service for students to ac-

cess materials that aren’t available in the Brandeis library. This ranges from online access to an article, to a book from another library being shipped to Brandeis for you to pick up. ILL can be a lifesaver if there is a book you need for class or research that you don’t want to buy, but that Brandeis doesn’t have.

ILL uses the database WorldCat, which, as the name suggests, is a worldwide catalog of books, articles, movies and other materials.

Aside from academic research, the library can help with practical matters as well. Most people know that you can check out laptops and phone or computer chargers from the Information and Borrowing desk.

But did you know that you can also check out calculators, portable DVD drives, board games, desk lamps and umbrellas? Students can loan myriad items that they may never have thought to ask for, but that will make study sessions a lot easier.

The Information and Borrowing desk is also home to reserve books, which are textbooks that can be checked out for two hours at a time.

There’s no need to purchase an expensive biology book or a novel that you’ll never read again—simply check it out from the reserves and use it for two hours, or scan the pages you need at the free scanners and email yourself the file.

As you descend the floors of the library, not only does it become quieter, but you will stumble upon a slew of other services, such as the Sound and Image Media Studios (SIMS, formerly known as Getz Media Lab) and Archives and Special Collections.

Visit SIMS if you need to check out equipment like video cameras and tripods, and head to Archives to peruse the wealth of primary source materials for a research paper or thesis.

The Archives also features resources such as maps, university records and photographs.

Aside from these regular daily services, the library also holds events like the recent voter registration tabling.

Students got assistance with absentee voter registration or updating their Massachusetts polling place (and there was free cake!).

Orientation and first-year programs should better inform students about the library’s services, as it can be hard to find this information otherwise, and some upperclassmen continue through their time at Brandeis without ever using them.

The library is a central hub at Brandeis—and should be recognized not just for its status as one of the most social places on campus, but for its myriad helpful services.

8 The Brandeis Hoot

WEEK IN PHOTOS

PHOTO BY SABRINA CHOW/THE HOOT

MAXWELL A happy

floof visits its human in East Quad.

PHOTO COURTESY CAMERON WILLIAM HUNT

WEATHER GONE SOUTH

PHOTO BY CANDACE NG/THE HOOT

VOTE!

The Student Union encourages students to vote by setting up tables across campus. Read about the election results in NEWS, page 1.

September 14, 2018

Students stroll down South Street on a rainy day.

PHOTO BY CANDACE NG/THE HOOT

Hiatt Career Center’s Abigail Crine broke the ice at “First Years: Get Connected on Campus” by asking attendees to pass tomatoes on a fork.

CONNECTIONS

PHOTO BY SABRINA CHOW/THE HOOT

PHOTO COURTESY SIGMA DELTA TAU

#RUSHSZN Even though Brandeis does not recognize Greek life, some students still choose to join sororities and fraterni-

ties. This sorority, Sigma Delta Tau, kicks off recruitment with a photo shoot for current members.

ACAI BOWL

Nothing better than eating good food off-campus.

September 14, 2018

PHOTO BY JENNIFER COOK/THE HOOT

Features Editor Polina Potochevska ’20 can’t take her eyes off this sweet treat at Boston Burger Company.

SUNDAE SUNDAY

A NIGHT AT T.D. GARDEN

WEEK IN PHOTOS 9

The Brandeis Hoot

PHOTO COURTESY DELTA PHI EPSILON

#RUSHSZN CONT. Another sorority on campus, Delta Phi Epsilon, chose tie-dyed letters to celebrate the beginning of the fall rush season.

PHOTO BY ABIGAIL GARDENER/THE HOOT

Doesn’t this guy look a lot like Donald Glover?

READ BETWEEN THE ARCHES

Peel back the vines to reveal the Charles River before it freezes over.

CRU BRANDEIS TAKES CHICK-FIL-A

PHOTO COURTESY FELICIA LEE

Chicken tastes better with friends!

PHOTO BY EMMA LICHTENSTEIN/THE HOOT

OPINIONS

10 The Brandeis Hoot

September 14, 2018

What I wish I knew: how many is too many extracurricular activities?

By Renee Nakkab special to the hoot

The burning sun imprinted the top of my bare shoulders as I trekked to the SCC from North Quad. As I turned the corner of the SCC, I was bombarded by the overwhelming image that laid before me. Hundreds of students buzzed around three groupings of tables filled with enthusiastic upperclassmen fighting for firstyears’ attention. Tempting us with colorful wheels, durable water bottles and food, I was getting whiplash trying to take it all in.

After spending over an hour listening to various clubs’ pitches and surrendering an email address to anyone who made eye contact with me, I walked away from the fair in a weird sort of daze. Overwhelmed and unsure, I was confused as to why I signed up for so many extracurricular activities. Yes, I had an interest in everything I signed up for and college is a time to try new things. But how was I going to balance it all? This begs the question: How much is too much?

As us first-years are trying to feel our way through the college experience and settle on activities that not only interest but challenge us, it is hard to know whether or not we are making the right decisions. However, we will never know if we are making the right decisions unless we

VIEW FROM THE MOST RECENT INVOLVEMENT FAIR

try everything. Brandeis is predominantly known for its “overachieving” student body. With multiple majors and minors, it is understood that Brandeisians are academically high achieving, but they also are involved with tons of other activities. How do they find the time to do it all?

Recently, I polled many Brandeisian upperclassmen in search of an answer. Like the current firstyears, upperclassmen remember signing up for numerous clubs.

They claimed the club fair was

PHOTO CPURTESY ARCHON YEARBOOK

stressful and made students feel as though they had to do everything, but that certainly is not the case. What was most suggested was to find clubs that most interest you and in turn those clubs will gain your full commitment.

Aside from the two or three clubs that you choose to commit to, it is also encouraged that you branch out and try unique extracurriculars you would not normally try.

Sarah Pechet ’21 puts it best, “You can do tons of activities, but only at varying degrees of involve-

ment. So it’s a matter of priority.

It’s fine to participate in tons of clubs, but you can’t expect to be the president of every single one.”

There is not a magical number of clubs, sports or ensembles to join to ensure a perfect balance within your new college life. Every person is different and the adjustment to this new life is still fresh and affects people differently. Overloading your life with activities is not the most brilliant of ideas, nevertheless some people benefit from the time man-

agement skills needed to survive with such a strict schedule.

If your day is filled with classes and activities, procrastination must remain on the outskirts of your day or you will not be able to complete everything you plan.

A common occurrence in my high school was the infamous “college resume.” Students would sign up for clubs not out of personal interest but for the desire to be seen in a better light by colleges. Being that we all made it to college, our resumes no longer need to be padded with random extracurriculars that stained the high school resume.

Higher education and future occupations do not always care if we are involved every club, they are more concerned about GPAs, test scores and clubs that we are passionate about. Therefore, clubs are meant to be escapes from the stress of academia, so do a few activities that you actually enjoy and want to commit to!

Ultimately, we will never truly know if we are making the right decisions, whether it be in our club choices or through any other aspect of our first year life. Yet, the entire point of the first year is to learn from our mistakes and find the balance we so often seek.

So as I walk through this time in my life with you, I encourage you to try different clubs and be open and vulnerable to new activities and people, and I wish you the best of luck in finding a good balance.

In defense of jury nullification

By Alex Kougasian staff

The United States legal system is far from perfect. This fact is a nightmare for many who suffer from the shortcomings of the legal system put into practice.

However, in many cases, it is by comparing the ideal version of the legal system to how we put justice into practice that we attempt to evaluate whether or not a practice is “fair.”

One such practice of the legal system derived from the ideals of justice is that of jury nullification.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines this as “the acquitting of a defendant by a jury in disregard of the judge’s instructions and

contrary to the jury’s findings of fact.” Essentially, the jury is allowed to make any decision they reach, even if they believe the other verdict aligns better with the evidence and law surrounding the case.

This legal power of the jury is best represented through an example. One of the most famous cases of jury nullification was the trial of Dr. Jack Kevorkian. Kevorkian was accused of murdering his terminally ill patients. He was known as a mercy doctor because he would give lethal injection to those patients who wished to be euthanized. He had admitted to killing his patients, yet his charges for murder were dropped by the jury.

This not guilty verdict is

thought to be an instance of jury nullification, as Dr. Kevorkian’s actions closely fit the legal definition of murder and there was no doubt as to whether or not he had done it. Because assisted suicide resides in an ethical grey area of murder, the jury must have had trouble finding someone guilty of murder who killed with consent.

But the debate surrounding jury nullification comes down to the question: Does it serve the ideals of the justice system to allow a jury to neglect fact and law in order to reach a verdict that is more amicable for some external reasons?

Through my interpretation of ideal law, I would say that jury nullification does serve the ideals of the justice system.

The legal viability of jury nullification as a practice depends on what purpose the jury serves to the ideals of the justice system. It would make no sense to allow jury nullification if the purpose of the jury was to make a final decision based strictly on the law. Interestingly enough, however, I would argue that this is not the purpose of the jury. If this truly were the purpose of the jury, then why would the jury consist of ordinary citizens rather than of individuals that are particularly educated and experienced with law.

Rather than representing a close interpretation of the law, the jury more likely represents the rationale and the feelings of the American public. With this new idea of what the jury represents, jury

nullification finds a clear place in the ideals of law. Here, jury nullification serves as a way in which the American public can directly affect the application of laws. To think of it in governmental terms, jury nullification is a check that the American public has over the enforcement of laws.

A jury’s obligation to allow members of the American public who do not necessarily have a familiarity with the law demonstrates that the ideals of the justice system account for non-law interpretation to seep into the court. Jury nullification is merely an extension of the role it seems the American public’s judgment should have in the court system based on what the common practices of law already allow.

September 14, 2014

OPINIONS 11

The Brandeis Hoot

Fear the tutu

By Sabrina Chow editor

“I don’t cheat to win, I’d rather lose.” This past weekend in the finals of the U.S. Open, 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams lost to 20-year-old Naomi Osaka. She would be a junior in college. Since coming back to professional tennis after maternity leave, Williams has met nothing but relentless backlash.

But why the backlash? Williams is not the only top player that has children; Roger Federer has two sets of twins! But since Williams is a woman, it automatically makes her vulnerable to sexism, which is extremely heightened in sports.

Since giving birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia, over a year ago, Williams has been very open about the complications of her birth and pregnancy. As an African American woman, Williams faced a lot of challenges to bring her daughter into this world.

At the French Open, Williams’ first Grand Slam appearance since giving birth, she wore a “Wakanda-inspired” black catsuit with a red stripe to help her prevent blood clots following her pulmonary embolism after giving birth to her daughter. Williams dedicated the catsuit to “all the moms out there that had a tough pregnancy and had to come back and try to be fierce,” according to the Huffington Post. It made her feel like a superhero. And she should, coming back to such a demanding sport, while further inspiring her daughter. This catsuit was similar

to the all-white one worn by Anne White at Wimbledon in 1985.

Following the completion of the tournament, the French Tennis Federation President, Bernard Giudicelli, put a ban to Williams’ outfit, citing that players needed to respect the game and place. However, this outfit is in no way disrespecting the game.

Out of all the Grand Slam tournaments, Wimbledon maintains the strictest rules, with their allwhite dress code. Why should a woman not be able to wear a catsuit to play a match? Women should not be scrutinized about the seriousness of their tennis game by the clothes they wear.

I still remember it was a big deal a few years ago when Victoria Azarenka wore shorts for the first time on tour. Why are shorts such a big deal? Do men feel as if they are missing out on getting a glimpse of a woman’s spandex when they go to serve or hit a shot? Women should have the freedom to wear whatever they choose. And if women are being so heavily restricted, why not place the same restrictions on men?

Rafael Nadal often wears sleeveless shirts during matches. Should he be penalized?

Even though Williams called no hard feelings toward Giudicelli, her outfit at the U.S. Open, the final Grand Slam of the year, spoke louder than words. Dressed in a $500 tutu designed by Louis Vuitton designer Virgil Abloh, Williams fought to the finals of the Grand Slam before losing to Osaka.

As she played, every shot

made her dress fluff up, making her look like a ballerina.

While everyone believed this would be the biggest news surrounding Williams during the open, it was not even close.

Saturday, Sept. 8, the women’s final. Serena Williams versus Naomi Osaka. Regardless of the outcome of the match, both women would be making history. If Williams won, she would tie Margaret Court with 24 titles, the most Grand Slam wins in the Open Era. If Osaka won, she would become the first Japanese player, male or female, to win a Grand Slam title.

According to the International Tennis Federation (ITF), coaches are not allowed to coach their players during matches, even though they all do. Williams was hit with a warning when the umpire, Carlos Ramos, suspected her coach of coaching. Soon after, Williams was hit with another penalty for smashing her racquet, leading to a penalty point. However, unaware of her previous violation, Williams called Ramos a thief for the second penalty, which resulted in a game penalty.

Osaka was too good for Williams at the end and won the match. However, as many reporters stated, the match will not be remembered for Osaka’s victory over the tennis legend but the highlights of sexism deeply rooted within the sport.

The main issue I have with Ramos is the issue of his method of umpiring. Ramos is believed to be one of the top umpires in the ITF, and instead of controlling the match, he was the one who

SERENA WILLIAMS AFTER WINNING ONE OF HER MATCHES

escalated the match, leading to controversy that everyone in the tennis world is speaking about.

Men’s tennis is much more lenient in relation to women’s in this regard. Men are allowed to be much more open with their outrage than women, with little to no consequence unless the outrage is astronomical. So why aren’t women afforded this luxury as well?

Williams’ anger could have been handled differently, but her

PHOTO FROM APIMAGES.COM

sportsmanship during the trophy ceremony demonstrates her leadership, where she focused the attention on Osaka, who was caught in the middle of a controversy.

Even amidst all the discussion following the match, women should be treated equally as men; gender equality is not something that should be taken lightly. Women deserve to receive the same treatment as men. So fear the tutu—it’s coming for you.

Biased USWNT player does not deserve further consideration

By Caleigh Bartash staff

In 2017, a National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) player, Jaelene Hinkle, declined a friendlies invitation from the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT). Hinkle simply cited “personal reasons,” but that was not the end of the story.

The friendly matches were during Pride Month, a time when U.S. soccer players typically don specialty jerseys with rainbow numbers to honor LGBTQ people. Many past and current USWNT stars, namely all-time leading scorer Abby Wambach and current star midfielder Megan Rapinoe, are members of the LGBTQ community. Usually those who are not part of the community accept the jerseys, with many U.S. men and women teammates wearing them with pride.

Hinkle’s response naturally seemed like an oddity—what professional player would turn down the chance to play for their country? Yet for close observers, the answer was all too clear.

Since Hinkle, who appears to consider herself a devout Christian, had previously spoken ill about the community, it all fell into place. This year, Hinkle clarified in an interview that her jersey decision was a spiritual one; however, fans did not need to hear that last year to understand that she declined the invitation out of

SUPPORTERS OF USNWT POSE WITH PRIDE JERSEYS

homophobia.

Hinkle seems to think she made the right decision, sharing comments praising her own supposed “obedience” and accepting that she may never receive another call up; however, she did receive another call up.

Hinkle went to training camp and was cut after two days. Her cut could have resulted from a poor showing but some disagree.

News outlets speculate that her initial call was a ploy to end discussion. Her NWSL coach at the

North Carolina Courage, Paul Riley, argued that Hinkle exceeds other player options in the same position and said he hopes she will get another chance.

But does Hinkle deserve a second chance? The USWNT, despite its winning record, is no stranger to controversy, especially with one Hope Solo. If their history is anything to go by, Hinkle could and should be banned from U.S. Soccer.

U.S. Soccer suspended Solo, a highly successful goalkeeper for

PHOTO CPURTESY TWITTER

the USWNT, for six months after she made unsportsmanlike comments regarding an Olympic opponent. Solo had called the Swedish national team cowards after losing a match, a sentiment her teammates rejected.

Although Solo’s suspension may have violated free speech laws, her comments were not prejudiced like Hinkle’s. If Solo could be suspended for poor sportsmanship, Hinkle should be blacklisted by the national team for her derogatory words. Despite

the USWNT’s history of standout LGBTQ players and attempts to be open-minded, Hinkle still felt it was appropriate to make her offensive comments.

A person who declines an invitation because they were treated with prejudice is far different from one who declines out of their own prejudices. British team Arsenal’s German star, Mesut Özil, recently retired from international soccer after experiencing racism, whereas Hinkle refused to play because she has inherently inconsiderate and harmful beliefs. Özil’s decision made sense, since he was brutally scapegoated after Germany’s losses, but what could LGBTQ people have done to Hinkle other than exist? Her beliefs are shameful and unjustified. Comparisons with players like Özil make clear that Hinkle does not deserve to represent a free nation.

Hinkle’s claim that religious views motivated her decision is backwards and insufficient reason for her to receive a second chance.

Even if a person is misguided enough to believe that different sexual orientations somehow contradict spiritual values, no one can change their orientation and LGBTQ people are victimized every day.

Until Hinkle acknowledges that her words contribute to a dangerous culture of homophobia, the USWNT should not dignify her with another opportunity, even if it costs them a World Cup victory.

SPORTS

12 The Brandeis Hoot

September 14, 2018

Volleyball’s Emma Bartlett receives UAA honors

By Sophie Trachtenberg special to the hoot

Despite her boundless talent, Emma Bartlett ’20 did not begin her athletic career as a volleyball player. She was a gymnast first but never felt as if she completely fit in with the rhythmic sport. Standing at six feet tall, she always sought to play a sport that better suited her height, turning to volleyball as a possible medium to embark on a new athletic journey. So, in the eighth grade, Bartlett traded in her leotards for kneepads and took a dabble in a brand new volleyball program in her hometown of Duxbury, M.A., immediately fitting in quite well as a middle blocker.

Bartlett fell in love with the game almost as soon as she started playing, as her athleticism and height allowed her to effectively block and kill, filling an active void that she found missing in gymnastics. But what really won Bartlett over was the inclusion of being a part of a team, as she was now able to compete with other athletes toward one common goal.

After making the transition fom an individual to a team sport, she comments, “That is the best part of volleyball. The team culture that you find playing this sport is a huge boost.” This family-like atmosphere hooked Bartlett, causing her to never look back, and therefore continue to become the passionate volleyball player that now walks the Brandeis campus.

Going into this season, Bartlett had a goal that most athletes similarly strive for: making the NCAA tournament. With that simmering in the back of her mind, she took the court by storm to begin her junior year, making an immediate impact within the first few games of the 2018 season.

The Judges headed out west to take on the defending Division III national champions, as they fell 2-3 in a intense 5-set match against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Despite not pulling off the upset, Bartlett went for a career-high of 21 kills, only having three errors on 33 attacks. This made her hitting percentage .545, her third time hitting over .500 in her career so far at Brandeis. She also had the team high of four block assists, rounding out her out-

Women’s soccer is unstoppable

By Gillian O’Malley special to the hoot

The Brandeis women’s soccer team, ranked 13 nationally, now have four straight wins to continue their undefeated season, consistently shaking up their opponents with two big wins this past week.

On Saturday, Sept. 8, the Judges rolled past the Johnson and Wales University (JWU) Wildcats with a final score of 4-1 with two goals in each half. The Judges have not played JWU in more than 10 years but played their game to earn a victory. Only 24 minutes into the game, Daria Bakhtiari ’21 scored her second goal of the season off a corner kick from teammate Sasha Sunday ’19.

As the half went on, Zoe Ballas ’20 netted a header from classmate Emma Spector ’20 to make the score 2-0 in the first 31 minutes, ending the half with a solid 2-0 lead.

The second half abruptly began with JWU scoring off a free kick, which sparked another pair of goals that would come from Brandeis in return.

In the end, the Judges’ lead was too deep a deficit to overcome. A long ball from Becca Buchman ’19 sent rookie Juliette Carreiro ’22 to put one past a charging goalkeeper. Only a short two minutes

SAM VOLPE ‘19 TAKE A SHOT.

later, Makenna Hunt ’22 scored after Buchman one touched a killer cross that left a wide-open goal for Hunt to score. The rookies have played a dominant role in the season with Carreiro and Hunt both averaging one goal per game thus far.

Statistically speaking, Brandeis continues to blow their opponents away, as they outshot JWU 32-8 this weekend. A powerful corner kick advantage of 9-2 also gave the Judges the edge in defeating the Wildcats.

On Tuesday night, they secured a well-deserved win over the Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU) Warriors with a final score of 1-0 to keep the perfect record going. The only goal of the game came from Sam Volpe ’19 who blasted a long range ball over the goalie, where it landed beautifully in the upper corner of the net. While doing so, she also broke the Warriors’ three-game scoreless streak.

The defensive backline really stood out for the Judges on Tuesday night, only allowing four shots throughout the entire match. Combined efforts from goalkeepers Sierra Dana ’20 and Victoria Richardson ’20 also kept ECSU scoreless.

The Judges will seek to continue the unbeaten run this Saturday, Sept. 15, as they begin their threegame away stretch with the Babson College Beavers.

PHOTO FROM BRANDEISJUDGES.COM

This is her first goal in her collegiate career.

standing performance against the country’s best competition. When looking back on the game, she said, “We just went out there and played. We had nothing to lose and wanted to make the Brandeis name known on the other side of the country.”

The Judges did just that, as Bartlett’s display earned her the UAA Volleyball Athlete of the Week, an honor that the program has not brought home since Elsie Berniache ’15 did so on September 2, 2014. For the week, she posted a .365 hitting percentage, with 42 total kills and only 11 errors in 85 attacks. She continued to lead the team with nine blocks (three solo), and was also second on the team with six aces from the service line.

After the Judges’ drought without being recognized in this regard, Bartlett felt “very honored to have been acknowledged as Athlete of the Week. Things like this go to show how much the program has grown over the years and how much more room there is to continue growing in years to come.”

When she is not at Gosman perfecting her craft, Bartlett can be

found dedicating ample amounts of time to academics, as she is studying both economics and environmental studies. This upcoming year, she is looking to become more involved in SEA, the Students for Environmental Action, in which students at Brandeis work to make both our campus and the surrounding communi-

EMMA BARLETT ‘20 SERVING

ties a more sustainable, healthy and environmentally-friendly place through its many initiatives completed throughout the school year.

Behind Bartlett’s accomplishments, the Judges now sit at 5-2 record, looking to continue their success at Endicott College on Friday, Sept. 14.

PHOTO COURTESY SEAN DECKER-JACOBY

Barlett has played a key role in the sucess for the Judges as a middle blocker.

Volleyball wins two in second weekend

By Jordan Brodie special to the hoot

Last weekend, the women’s volleyball team went 2-1 in a series of home games, defeating the University of Maine at Presque Isle and Gordon College but falling to Bowdoin College. The Judges finish the weekend with a 5-2 record.

The goal for this past weekend’s matches was clear—continue to carry the momentum of their opening weekend. The Judges were off to one of their best starts in recent years. The week before, the women’s volleyball team had travelled to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in California, where they sported a 3-1 record at the Pacific Coast Classic. Emma Bartlett ’20 had a particularly strong weekend, earning UAA Athlete of the Week honors after recording 42 kills and just 11 errors in 85 attacks.

Neither Bartlett nor the rest of the Judges disappointed over the weekend. The matches began with a convincing defeat of the University of Maine at Presque Isle Owls 25-15, 25-15, 25-14. In this match, Bartlett continued her hot streak by leading the team with seven kills, three blocks, and two digs. Belle Scott ’21 and rookie Stephanie Borr ’22 also posted strong performances; both had six kills, while Borr added five aces for a team high of 11 points.

Setter Marlee Nork ’19 and libero Yvette Cho ’19 helped carry the team to victory, contributing team highs 18 assists and 19 digs, respectively.

Unfortunately, the tables were turned shortly thereafter, as the Judges fell to the Bowdoin Polar Bears 19-25, 21-25, 11-25 in a match later that night. Despite the loss, Scott continued her strong play by leading the Judges with seven kills and a hitting percentage of .429. Bartlett also im-

TEAM HUDDLE

pressed, adding six kills and four blocks for a team high 10 points.

But, despite these performances, a combined 26 digs by seniors Cho and Grace Krumpack ‘19 and 23 assists by Marissa Borgert ’21, the Judges could not overcome the power of the undefeated Bowdoin team.

The biggest difference maker was Bowdoin’s hitting percentage of .214 compared to Brandeis’ .056, their lowest of the season.

Bowdoin’s attack was led by Caroline Flaharty ’20, who led both teams with 10 kills and just one error.

The Judges successfully ended their weekend on a high note, defeating the Gordon College Scots 21-25, 25-13, 25-20, 25-11.

The Judges struggled to find their footing in the first set, where they

PHOTO COURTESY KATIE DECKER-JACOBY

tallied only three more kills than errors.

However, Brandeis quickly bounced back, hitting better than .200 each subsequent set. Borgert, Bartlett, and Shea Decker-Jacoby ’19 led the way for the Judges, combining for 24 kills (eight kills each). Bartlett again led the team with 12 points, including an ace and three blocks. Rookie Kaisa Newburg ’22, Cho, and Nork were also integral in the victory, recording 11.5 points, 17 digs, and 23 assists, respectively.

The Brandeis women’s volleyball team will seek to improve upon their strong start with an away game this weekend against a non-conference competition. The Judges play at Endicott on Friday night, a game where momentum will surely be on their side.

September 14, 2018

SPORTS 13

The Brandeis Hoot

Men’s soccer drops two in a row

By Camila Casanueva special to the hoot

It was a tough two game stretch for the Judges this week as they dropped two in a row. Coming off a 2-0 win against Springfield on Wednesday, Sept. 5, the Judges were back in action Saturday, Sept. 8 against the Babson Beavers where they dropped the weekend game 0-2.

The second loss came in a match where goals were hard to come by, needing overtime to decide the game. The Judges fell

short Tuesday, Sept. 11 night, with the Worcester Polytechnic Institute Engineers netting the decisive goal in overtime to win the match.

Babson has been a long time out of conference rival for the Judges.

Dating back to 1955, Saturday’s match was the 67th in the series between Babson and Brandeis.

The fourth-ranked Judges lost the game, with a score of 0 to the Beavers’ 2. The Babson Beavers scored both goals in the second half. Good goalkeeping was key for the Beavers as all seven shots on goal by the Judges in the last 45 minutes were saved.

COACH GABE MARGOLIS SPEAKS TO PLAYERS DURING HALF-TIME AT WPI

Greg Irwin ’20, made four saves for the Judges and kept the score even in the first half with a diving save in the 30th minute. Babson recorded only two shots on goal in the opening half, doing most of their damage in the second half, getting on the board in the 57th minute and just over 11 minutes later scoring their second goal of the game.

Brandeis rookie Isaac Mukala ’22 had his header deflected off the crossbar and out of play in the 70th minute. For the rest of the game, the Judges were not able to get through the solid defense and goal keeping down the stretch.

one shot on goal. These shots on goals for the Judges came from Josh Handler ’19, rookie Skylah Dias ’22 and Max Breiter ’20, who each recorded at least one shot on goal.

Goalkeeper Irwin made two saves in the losing effort. This was the fourth-straight overtime match between the two teams. It was WPI’s first win over the Judges since 2009.

After dropping two in a row this week the Judges will have a week off, looking to get back on the winning track Tuesday, Sept.

18 as they will host Massachusetts Maritime Academy at 4 p.m.

PHOTOS FROM BRANDEISJUDGES.COM

This is Margolis’ THE JUDGES IN A HUDDLE

second season as head coach for the men’s soccer team.

However, traveling to WPI Tuesday night, the Judges were looking to bounce back after their tough loss to Babson. This non-conference match needed an overtime, going 1-1 through regular play. The decisive goal was delivered in the second minute of overtime play, giving WPI the win past the higher ranked Judges.

Goals were hard to come by in this game. Shots were even at 6-6 with the Judges owning a 3-1 advantage on-net in the opening half of the match.

In the second half the WPI Engineers had the slight 6-5 advantage as both teams recorded only

Despite the slow start to their season, the Judges are ready to come back strong this weekend.

Serena Williams Grand Slam defeat turns into gender equality debate

By Shea Decker-Jacoby editor

On Sept. 8, the 138th U.S. Open was filled with history for the books and dreams coming true with some drama on the side. At the age of 20, this was Naomi Osaka’s first major match of her career, and she faced off against her childhood idol, Serena Williams.

She came into the tournament ranked No. 10. After winning in the semi-finals, when asked if she had any words for Serena, Osaka

replied with, “I love you.”

Those who watched the match say Osaka played an amazing game with grace and power and didn’t show any nerves playing with her childhood idol. The match became one for the books when Osaka became the first Japanese player to win a major singles title in the history of the sport, but that historic victory may be outshined by the controversial code violations by the chair umpire, Carlos Ramos, against Williams, which cost her a point and a game.

The match started off with a strong victory for Osaka, winning

the first set 6-2 over 33 minutes.

She served out the set with a 93mph serve down the center of the court, which was unreturnable.

Shortly after, Williams was given a code violation in the first set for supposed coaching and a second code violation for smashing her racquet after a double fault.

Once the second violation was called, Williams contested it with Ramos. The match took a turn when Williams got a game penalty for “verbal abuse” towards Ramos. A huge uproar in the arena met the call, which Williams immediately contested. For those

PHOTO FROM USOPEN.ORG

NAOMI OSAKA BECOMES WINS FIRST MAJOR TITLE AT US OPEN GRAND SLAM

Japanese player.

Osaka’s win makes this the first Grand Slam win for any

who are not familiar with code violations in tennis, after each violation the penalty increases in severity. The second violation was in response to Ramos being under the impression that Williams received coaching, which is against the rules. After a long exchange between Williams and Ramos, Williams was under the impression that Ramos agreed she did not receive coaching and did not violate any rules.

After the third violation, which resulted in a game penalty, Williams strongly contested that it was unwarranted. Williams told Ramos that he was putting into question her character by penalizing her for receiving coaching when she claims to have never received coaching during a match.

Williams directly told Ramos, “I do not cheat to win. I would rather lose.” Later, she went on to call him a “thief ” and said he “stole a point” from her, directly referring to the second code violation for the smashed racquet. Williams demanded to speak to the tournament referee, Brain Early, in hopes that a call would be reversed. She pleaded, “It’s not right, it’s not fair.

For you to attack my character, something is wrong.”

Despite Williams’ efforts, there was no change to the call and Williams lost the game, 5-3. After the extended conversation on the violations by Williams, she could not come back from the deficit and Osaka came out on top, which was followed by a stunned and silent crowd.

When Osaka was asked about her opinion on the calls Ramos made against Williams, she stated, “The thing is, I don’t know what happened on the court. So for me, I’m always going to re-

member the Serena that I love. It doesn’t change anything for me.

She was really nice to me, at the net and on the podium.” Serena later commented on Osaka’s win, “This is her moment ... She played an amazing match. She deserved credit, she deserved to win. At the end of the day, that’s what it was.”

The match may not be remembered for the stunning tennis of both players but the controversy set off by Williams. The debate that has sparked the media since the match ended is questioning if Ramos discriminated against Williams by making calls that have historically not been called for men in previous matches, such as coaching violations or smashing rackets.

Williams’ coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, admits at the end of match interview that he, in fact, “was coaching, but believes [Williams] did not see him.” He also notes, “I was [coaching] like 100 percent of the coaches in 100 percent of the matches, so we have to stop this hypocritical thing,” he told ESPN. Serena later says that she was shocked to hear that he was coaching because they have never discussed singles. Many think that Williams was correct that there is a notable double standard for women smashing their racquets, in contrast to men. ESPN commentator Stephen Smith says “Serena Williams was wrong.” He notes that just like you prepare for an opponent, you must prepare for the umpires, and Ramos has been known to call coaching violations and violations for breaking racquets, in both men’s and women’s matches.

While the news has focused on Williams, this is Osaka’s first major title and a dream come true.

14

ARTS

The Brandeis Hoot

September 14, 2018

Spike Lee returns with stunning ‘BlacKkKlansman’

By Jonah Koslofsky staff

There are a number of reasons Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water” shouldn’t have won Best Picture or Best Director last year. But my main complaint— ironically, an aspect that likely helped the movie win—was with del Toro’s treatment of cinema.

According to “Shape of Water,” cinema is, and always has been, the art form of the oppressed, a medium through which marginalized groups can unite around and within.

Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman” presents a much more nuanced picture. It’s also a far better movie.

In his stylish and stunning return to form, Lee acknowledges the power that movies and images have on the collective consciousness–as the film points out, D.W. Griffith’s blockbuster “The Birth of a Nation” restarted the Klu Klux Klan more than a century ago.

Set in the early seventies and based on a true story, the film follows Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), the first black cop in Colorado Springs, C.O., as he infiltrates the local chapter of the Klu Klux Klan. As Stallworth (obviously) could not go undercover

by himself, he enlists the help of Jewish officer Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver) to handle in-person interactions with the Klan, with Stallworth himself speaking to Klan officials over the phone.

It’s an intriguing premise to say the least, borrowing elements of cop procedurals and classic “undercover” narratives. Lee also brings along his trademark sense of humor, pulling from a multitude of different genres. The closest parallel would probably be the “Chappelle’s Show” sketch about “Clayton Bigsby,” a politically incorrect lampoon of the Klan that centers on a blind, black white supremacist.

But Lee mostly plays it straight—a tonal choice with a lot of potential for failure. Yet unlike Lee’s last feature—the bloated, messy “Chi-Raq”—“BlacKkKlansman” really works. This is powerful historical fiction, and the film successfully balances a portrayal of the Klan as the terrorists that they are and bigoted buffoons. Throw in solid cinematography, a (yet another) great performance from Adam Driver and striking commentary on Jewish identity and intersectionality, and you have a movie that does justice to the concepts it’s presenting.

That being said, there are a few

PHOTO FROM VILLAGEVOICE.COM

problems with “BlacKkKlansman.” The film presents the ageold discussion of reforming the system from within vs. tearing it down from the outside, but never really picks a side in that ongoing argument, which is kind of a copout (pun intended). There’s also just a bit too much future-winking, as Klan members seem to invent phrases like “America First” on the fly. Finally, the central performance leaves a bit to be desired. Lead actor John David Washington (Denzel Washing-

ton’s son!) is alternately relaxed and stiff, but as a whole he never quite comes across as a real person. He seems to just materialize in front of the Colorado Springs Police Department, and I left the film with a bunch of questions about Ron Stallworth.

But man, Lee really nails the ending: unlike “Sorry to Bother You,” Lee concludes the story in a way that’s satisfying for the viewer without ignoring racist oppression that exists today. A veteran filmmaker, Lee finds a lot

of memorable images in his seventies setting (it helps that he’s got cinematographer Chayse Irvin by his side, the guy who shot Beyonce’s “Lemonade”) and posits that cinema can also be used to aid progressive causes. But unlike “Shape of Water,” there’s no bull. Future relevance of “BlacKkKlansman” aside, releasing the film on the anniversary of the Charlottesville “rally” is a fitting move. It’s the cultural rebuttal to white supremacy we need right now.

Blood Orange presents a powerful meditation of life on the margins

By Noah Harper editor

With alias Blood Orange, Dev Hynes plays the orchestra. Blood Orange is funky R&B—think Prince with the vocals of Michael Jackson. The music project mixes a diverse range of influences to create sonic explorations of race, identity and intersectionality.

Their most recent record, “Negro Swan,” prioritizes voices over music—it’s an album full of powerful, difficult ideas that’s worth listening to but isn’t quite as enjoyable as before.

Of course, enjoyable is a loaded word. “Negro Swan” was not made for me but as an intense, melancholy meditation on the lives of the marginalized—it’s powerful, beautiful music that’s worth listening to.

There’s no “Best to You” on this album. “Negro Swan” is different in tone and tempo than “Freetown Sound,” Blood Orange’s 2015 album. But there doesn’t need to be one. I struggled at first with how different this record was than the one before it, but, over time, the maturity and scope of the work became more and more apparent.

Hynes isn’t going for radio play here, he’s got much grander ambitions.

Most tracks feature Dev Hynes’ breathy, high-pitched vocals matched with a bass groove, but Blood Orange is particularly notable for its features; Hynes is almost never the only voice. On “Negro Swan,” we hear vocals from contributors BEA1991, Tei

Shei, Puff Daddy, Project Pat, A$AP Rocky, Porches frontman Adam Maine, Kelsey Lu and others. To me, Blood Orange is at their best when letting other people speak, and this is something that Hynes excels at.

The most significant voice on the album is that of Janet Mock, a transgender rights activist and a writer, director and producer of the FX show “Pose” that ran earlier this year. Mock made news as the first trans person of color to write and direct an episode of television. Hynes uses an interview with Mock to great effect through the album. These snippets focus on identity, self-value and actualization, a theme that is reiterated throughout the record.

“An insult that we often put onto a lot of folk like, ‘You’re doing too much,’ and so a couple years ago, I was like, you know, my eternal resolution will be to do too much,” Mock says at the end of “Orlando,” the album’s first track. Hynes is able to seamlessly blend Mock’s words with the music—the fragments drift naturally in and out between songs, never jarring. “First kiss was the floor,” sings Hynes in the same song—a reference to Hynes being bullied as a child—the spoken words and lyrics fusing together to make something powerful and affecting.

We can see this work at its best in “Jewelry,” an album standout.

We hear Mock again, at the beginning, saying, “So, like, my favorite images, are the ones where … someone who isn’t supposed to be there, who’s like in a space, a space

where we were not ever welcomed in or we were not invited, yet we walk in and we show all the way up.” The words, backed by a soaring saxophone solo and shimmering, reverberating vocalizations, soon give way to Hynes on the first verse: “Cheap on your skin, smooth, Jewels that ring, Shine hit your eyes, Black history, Ruby ebony sides, Change my eyes for something, cool.” Then the song morphs into Hynes rapping, and then changes again, with a distorted guitar looping, reminiscent of SZA’s “Drew Barrymore,” and different background vocals.

Though there are multiple transitions and contributors, the song never loses its sensibility, the disparate parts connected to the whole.

Another highlight, “Charcoal Baby,” where things start out slow, with Hynes playing guitar and providing leading vocals.

“No one wants to be the odd one out at times/ No one wants to be the negro swan / Can you break sometimes?” he sings, which gives way to an interlude with Porches’ Aaron Maine and a Tame Impala-esque baseline and beat—and there’s a crazy sax solo in there too. It sounds like too much, but it’s not.

The second to last track, “Minetta Creek,” has Hynes singing, “Choose your hair and choose to get off, waste your time and pretty the thoughts, nothing is forgiven, black skin and my rhythm, and you know that it’s all at a cost.” I think Hynes is trying to delve into the difficulties of his identity, “the different weight of life,” for the

marginalized, as he says in a New York Times interview. He’s creating intertextual art as a queer person of color, exploring life on the edge, of being persistently unwelcome and pushed to the breaking point.

There are glimmers of hope, like Diddy’s spoken word interlude on the aptly-named “Hope,” where he says, “You give me that hope that maybe one day I’ll get over my fears and I’ll receive.” And on the last track, “Smoke,” there’s a newfound pride in the precarious identity of a negro swan: “Balance in my hair, I’m pretty as fuck …

I’m waiting for the smoke to clear.”

Using his considerable talents, Hynes is able to stitch together a

fabric of different voices that feel perfectly placed and connected. As a whole, “Negro Swan,” is a cohesive, deep album, full of connected themes and ideas to be unpacked after multiple listening sessions. The club sirens, Janet Mock interviews, and funk, R&B and jazz influences help the multiple perspectives to coalesce. As a text, “Negro Swan” is a rich, dense text—the closest thing I can compare it to is Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly.”

“Negro Swan” is a complex, intertextual album about queer people of color living in the margins, laced with some of the best music production of the year. It’s difficult and different, but it’s worth it.

PHOTO FROM BLOODORANGENYC.BANDCAMP.COM

September 14, 2018

ARTS 15

The Brandeis Hoot

‘Big Red Machine’ squanders its indie cred

By Noah Harper editor

The new, self-titled album by Big Red Machine was built by a community. It’s a counterpoint to the idea of the “auteur,” the individual who single-handedly wills their creative vision into existence. But most art isn’t really a solo project.

Art is usually the culmination of multiple processes, contributions from diverse sets of people, consisting of wide-ranging ideas and experiences.

Big Red Machine comes from a la rger collective of artists: Its creators, Aaron Dessner (of the band the National), and Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), developed it as part of PEOPLE, a new online music platform the two founded that prioritizes artist collaboration.

Think TIDAL but not terrible.

PEOPLE’s goal is to connect artists and have the collective call the shots. Unlike TIDAL, you can listen without paying anything.

It’s an interesting idea that promises to be better than the incredibly unequal setup prevalent in the recording industry today, but I’m not sure that this first album under the PEOPLE label is as confidence-inspiring as Dessner and Vernon would have liked.

Named after an era-defining lineup of the Cleveland Reds baseball team, Big Red Machine brings a diverse sonic palette. Primarily sample and guitar-based, producer Aaron Dessner builds out songs in unexpected directions. The song “Air Stryp” starts out with a buzzing baseline—I

On Campus Stein Night

WBRS Student Music presents the first Stein Night of the year!

Student musicians perform at The Stein, open-mic style. Chill with some great music and some great food. Drop-in and out from 10 p.m.-1 a.m. Friday, Sept. 14.

Fall Flex

Headliner Kiiara (“Gold,” Linkin Park’s “Heavy”) and supporting artist ABIR play Brandeis on Saturday, Sept. 15 at 8 p.m.

Tickets required for entry, free for Brandeis students, otherwise $20 in advance, $25 day of show.

Shirkers Screening

In 1992, Singapore-based filmmaker Sandi Tan was poised to break in to the independent film scene—then, her American director stole all their film and vanished. The documentary pieces the newly-found film together with interviews to explore what could have been. Director and producer Sandi Tan will be in attendance for the screening on Sunday, Sept. 16 at 6 p.m. Free for the Brandeis community.

24 Hour Musical

A yearly production of a musical put on in just 24 hours.

Free tickets will be distributed on Sunday, Sept. 16 at 1 p.m. on the Great Lawn, with the performance to follow at 8 p.m.. To help with the show, arrive at the SCC around 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Bel Canto Screening

thought I’d accidentally queued up Run the Jewels at first—which then evolves into something much more lovely and subdued, becoming aurally more evocative of Sufjan Stevens’ “Age of Adz.” “What’s a girl to do / In a world like you?” Justin Vernon sings.

Big Red Machine feels like a half-step from the music both members’ bands have been making in the last two years. The minimal, glitchy beat of “Gratitude,” evokes “Empire Line,” from The National’s 2017 album “Sleep Well Beast,” and Justin Vernon’s auto-tuned voice mixed with avant electronica sounds like a natural extension of Bon Iver’s “22, A Million.”

Dessner develops moody, bubbling, minimalist indie rock that complements Vernon’s lyrics and vocals. The production is impeccable, a definite point in the album’s favor. But I can’t wholeheartedly recommend “Big Red Machine” because of its nebulous, sometimes plodding nature.

I don’t think it quite knows what it’s trying to do. In this album, the parts are better than their sum.

In some ways, “Big Red Machine” is like two of my favorite bands combining into a supergroup. Vernon and Dessner have achieved their goal of collective music—credited contributors include Richard Reed Parry from Arcade Fire, Phoebe Bridgers, Kate Stables of This is the Kit— but the side effects of wide-range collaboration are a lack of focus and cohesion.

There are good songs on this album.“Well we better not fuck this

up!” Vernon sings in the refrain to “Gratitude,” a simple, subdued earworm that I haven’t been able to get out of my head for a week.

I love the piano’s chord progression on “Air Stryp,” how it centers the song around buzzing digital ephemera—and a subdued blend of sounds that build to a choir at the end of “OMDB,” but it’s not enough.

“Hymonstic” is a slow march with a piano riff that gets old quite fast and sounds like an outtake from an old Bon Iver album.

The same with “People Lullaby,” except that it drags on for even longer. “Melt” has Justin Vernon repeating the lyric “Well, you are who you are” thirty-five times in a row. These songs highlight the flaws in the album. Ill-defined, sprawling, meandering, it’s hard to know exactly what Big Red Machine is trying to say or do. When the album works, and there are examples of it working, the songs are worthy additions to the alternative rock canon. “Gratitude,” “Air Stryp,” and “Forest Green” are all excellent.

But as an album, it’s not a failure or a masterpiece but a favorable, unfocused first album from two indie all-stars.

I think a good comparison— and also a terrible one—would be with “The Lion King 1 ½.” It’s like we’re getting “Sleep Well Beast.5” or “22, A Million Expanded and Revised.” Sonically, not a lot has changed in the last two years, and, though I love those records, this one isn’t essential listening.

I wonder if this doesn’t bode well for Dessner and Vernon’s

PHOTO FROM WASHINGTONTIMES.COM

PEOPLE project. It prompts the question of whether or not there can be too much collaboration, and how art-by-collective affects a work’s message. An album should say something, but I’m having a hard time figuring out what Dessner and Vernon are wanting to say with Big Red Machine.

The origin of the music project comes from a 2009 record compilation called “Dark Was the Night,” released in support of Red Hot, a non-profit dedicated to fighting HIV/AIDS. Vernon and Dessner’s song, also called “Big Red Machine,” is a spare

track, with a haunting piano and subdued strings in support, held together by Vernon’s powerful, melancholy lyrics.

That song is of a different caliber than this album. It has a reserved, analogue beauty to its stripped-down production, and its lyrics are poetic and evocative. I’m a little disappointed by Big Red Machine’s debut. I think its creators could have done better, but I’m hopeful that PEOPLE as a platform can generate better work. They have the ideas—they just need to better put them into practice.

Brandeis arts calendar When a famous American singer travels to South America to perform for a wealthy industrialist, she never suspects it will turn into a tense hostage drama. Based on a novel by the same name, “Bel Canto” will be presented by producer, Brandeis alumna and Oscar nominee Caroline Baron ’83 who will take questions from the audience. Thursday, Sept. 20 at 6:30 p.m. at Wasserman Cinematheque.

Tuesday Smillie and Passage at the Rose

Tuesday Smillie, the Rose’s artist-in-residence, has a collection of her work focusing on trans-activism and political protest on display in the Gerald S. and Sandra Fineberg Gallery. “Passage” is a 70-year retrospective of the Rose’s collection, including works

by Chagall, Picasso, Magritte among others. Both shows run through Dec. 2. The Rose is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and always free.

Rachel Weight

Stern:

More

A multimedia solo exhibition from the Philadelphia-based artist, exploring history, representation, and stories in connection to the Salem Witch Trials. On view at the Kniznick Gallery in the Women’s Studies Research Center until Oct. 26, with the artist visiting for a lecture and reception on Sept. 20.

Boston

Expanse

A multimedia collection of

PHOTO FROM HOLLYWOODREPORTER.COM

works focusing on the imagery of nature, and how a changing environment might affect humans.

Includes paintings, photography and sculpture. New Art Center, Newton. Free admission.

Straight White Men

A father and his three sons, alone on Christmas find themselves suddenly forced to confront their own identities. New Repertory Theater. September 7-30. $15 student rush tickets available at the box office one hour before the performance.

Madeline’s Madeline

An experimental film that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, the story was derived from improvised theater sessions between the actors and director Josephine Decker. Playing at the Brattle starting Friday, with Decker in attendance for the Saturday, Sept. 15 at the 7 p.m. show.

The Art of Influence

“Propaganda Postcards from the Era of World Wars” includes 150 postcards from the United States, Soviet Union, Japan, and Europe, drawn from the Leonard A. Lauder archive, a personal collection consisting of over 10,000 postcards ranging from approximately 1890 to 1940. Through January 2019. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston—admission is free for Brandeis students.

Museum of Capitalism

A multi-disciplinary show of work featuring “exhibits, artworks, and artifacts,” the Museum of Capitalism’s goal is to “to educate this generation and future generations about the ideology, history, and legacy of capitalism.” On view at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Fenway, through Oct. 30.

Mandy

Nicolas Cage returns as…

Nicolas Cage. An acidy midnight

PHOTO FROM ICABOSTON.ORG

revenge-horror film. Coolidge Corner Theater, with showings at 11:59pm on Friday, Sept. 14, and Saturday 15.

Collecting Stories: Native American Art

“Seeking new narratives about the museum’s history,” the exhibition focuses on understudied works from the Museum of Fine Arts’ collection, specifically Native American pieces tied to the history of the institution. On view through March 2019. Free with Brandeis ID.

We Wanted a Revolution: ICA

The show “examines the political, social, cultural and aesthetic priorities of women of color during the emergence of second-wave feminism.” Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston.

On view until Sept. 30.

Want to see your Brandeis event listed? Email suggestions to eic@thebrandeishoot.com

September 14, 2018

The Brandeis Hoot

ARTS 16

‘Insecure’ continues treading line between moods

By Jonah Koslofsky staff

HBO’s “Insecure” is one of the many shows right now riding the line between “comedy” and “drama.” Traditionally, shows that have half-hour episodes are considered comedies, while anything longer has to be a “drama.”

But lately, as television has been growing and evolving, we’ve seen a crop of shows push back within the thirty-minute space. The best example would probably be FX’s “Atlanta,” Donald Glover’s stunning and surreal experience, and “Insecure” is yet another show that’s not content being “just” a comedy.

Airing Sunday nights, and now three seasons deep, what is “Insecure?” The evolution of creator and star Issa Rae’s web series “Awkward Black Girl,” the show centers on Issa, an L.A. woman at the end of her twenties working at the non-profit “We Got Y’all,” and her best friend Molly, a successful lawyer. “Insecure” has never been quirky fluff: The first season was a thoughtful meditation on cheating, as Issa (Rae’s character is also named Issa, a choice Rae has said she regrets) navigated her dissatisfaction with her relationship with Lawrence, her longtime boyfriend.

It’s not much of a spoiler to say that by season three Issa, and the show at large, is trying to move past Lawrence (although the

end of the most recent episode, “High-Like,” makes it clear that there is more Lawrence to come).

Issa is still doing her best, having left her home-base apartment and now working as a part-time Lyft driver; she’s trying more than ever to take charge of her life.

Meanwhile, Molly is dealing with similar shifts, starting a new position at an all-black law firm (and discovering this may not solve all her problems).

I’m not in a position to judge season three as a whole (as there are three more episodes yet to air), but by this point it seems that Rae and her writers room has solved one of the central problems of season two. This show enthusiastically delves into big, com-

plicated concepts, like cheating, closure, microaggressions, gentrification (more on that later) and the notion of non-monogamous relationships. But at only eight episodes a season, “Insecure” has sometimes struggled to address these ideas with the right level of depth before the finale. Don’t get me wrong, season two was great, but by the last episode it definitely felt like the show had bitten off a little more than it could chew.

It’s an issue of scale. Luckily, season three doesn’t seem to be suffering from this problem. Obviously, I can’t say for sure until the season actually concludes, but it looks like the dramatic questions “Insecure” is trying to work out this year are big enough to

feel engaging but small enough to have reasonable resolutions over this set of episodes.

“Insecure” has also established its own distinctive visual language. The show has a real fixation on negative space, and the shots are generally well constructed. And speaking of gentrification, it feels as though Rae and the show are doing everything they can to preserve parts of L.A. at risk of falling to the yuppies.

Episode four of season three featured a long tour of the city that was equal parts down-to-earth and enjoyable. This isn’t “La La Land,” it’s a place where real people live.

In a similar vein, there’s always a personal touch on this show

PHOTO FROM GLAMAFRICA.COM

that really comes through to the viewers, usually in terms of the music. Rae always uploads a Spotify of the songs used in each episode; every episode of season one had a Drake reference and every episode of season two had a little Frank Ocean easter egg (I haven’t caught a recurring artist this season, but I’m sure this trend remains).

On an episode-by-episode basi, “Insecure” certainly delivers, taking a slice-of-life approach to Issa and Molly’s lives. Issa is the only employee of color at “We Got Y’all,” a setting rife with hilarious interactions between Issa and her “woke” white co-workers. That said, things never get too flippant, as there’s also a lot of heart in Issa’s relationship with her collegue Frieda.

On the whole, we get a good sense of Issa and Molly’s lives, as they balance their jobs (both majority white spaces, at least before this season), relationships, money and their social circles. None of it is particularly weird or hard to believe; rather, “Insecure” is about what matters in the day-to-day.

Finally, there’s Rae, who is especially awesome as Issa. She’s hilarious in every episode, and fully paints Issa as a three-dimensional person. The rest of the rotating cast (Issa and Molly are the only characters who appear in every episode) are also quite interesting and funny. In fact, it’s not that “Insecure” isn’t a comedy. It’s just so much more.

Brandeis student music scene thriving

By Ben Beriss editor

Friday, Sept. 14, only three weeks into the fall semester, the Stein will host student musicians performing from 10 p.m. all the way to 1 a.m. in the first Stein Night of the year.

Semi-curated musical open mics, Stein Nights offer the opportunity for anyone with musical inclination to perform for and with their fellow Brandeis students. The open mic-like tradition has become an integral part of Brandeis culture, often drawing a sizable audience and connecting people in a relaxed environment of creativity.

Yet this environment has not always existed. It didn’t when Michael Harlow ’19 arrived at Brandeis as a midyear. There was only an empty Stein and rumors of failed fire alarms shutting down Chum’s, the only space built for live music on campus.

Faced with this drought, Harlow started the first proto-Stein Nights as a place for Brandeis’ student musicians to “legitimize their talent as something worth paying attention to,” he said. By creating this opportunity, Harlow hoped to help his fellow performers share their art and expose Brandeisians to the music being created by their neighbors.

It caught on. Several successful ad-hoc events his first year inspired him to continue the effort as a sophomore, and upon so doing was met with a group of excited first-years looking to join his student music group. “I

told them, I’d love for you to be involved, but there’s nothing to be involved in,” Harlow recalled, “so let’s build something.” With a new team to help him, Harlow was able to create more events, borrowing instruments from friends and equipment from the Department of Student Activities.

He met with friends at WBRS, asking them for an informal partnership and funding help. Seeing a shared mission of sharing music with the community, WBRS agreed to provide logistical and infrastructure support, helping the newly founded Student Music group grow into its ambitions.

They began holding more regular live music events, securing spaces for jam sessions where student musicians could practice together, and started concerts in Chum’s. Most recently, they secured a Community Emergency and Enhancement Fund (CEEF) grant to buy instruments specifically for Stein Nights and similar events, allowing them to help students without instruments perform without scrambling to borrow all the equipment necessary.

Now student musicians such as Bethlehem the Producer ’20, Eli Trout ’21, and Mathias Boyar ’20 pop out of every new class and onto Brandeis’ stages. Jam sessions are well populated and often throw musicians together in configurations they end up performing together in at the next Stein Night. Harlow himself has found success with fellow Brandeis musician Brian Rauch ’19 as the pair Late Night Thoughts.

Student music has become such a large part of Brandeis culture

STEIN NIGHT

Jordan Mudd prepares for a night of performance.

that a student group (Harlow and Rauch’s Late Nights Thoughts) opened at Springfest for the first time last year. Harlow talks about grand plans people have proposed to him, such as coordinating musicians to perform at local nursing homes, with optimism, as there is a large enough pool of music-makers to make them happen.

There are serious plans to create a rehearsal space for anyone to develop their musical ability outside of Brandeis’ classes or fulfill the classic college dream of starting a band.

For Harlow, the success of his efforts to create a musical community are inspiring but not satisfying. As much time as he spends talking about how the student music scene has grown from nothing in his two and half years, he spends just as much talking about his dreams about how it could be bigger. He envisions musicians idly jamming by the SCC between classes, a thriving off-campus concert scene, live concerts streamed on the radio, music leveraged to help with charity, music used for protest

PHOTO COURTESY MAX WEINSTEIN

and to create change in the world at large and maybe most importantly, music being used to bring Brandeis’ community together.

That spirit is what’s at the heart of Stein Nights. “The Student Music Committee is, at its core … really about just connecting” people, in the words of Max Weinstein ’21, one of the core members of the Student Music Committee. And starting Sept. 14, he’ll help provide the opportunity for Brandeis to come together for three hours every other week, united around music.