The Brandeis Hoot 11-01-19

Volume 16 Issue 21

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

November 1, 2019

Brandeis University’s Community Newspaper · Waltham, Mass.

Prof. wins $25k Gittler Award

Univ. secures funds

By Lucy Frenkel

By Celia Young editor

staff

Brandeis has secured $84.7 million to move forward with the springboard funding plan to address the gaps in Brandeis’ operational budget, including deferred maintenance and new hires, President Liebowitz announced in an email to the Brandeis community on Oct. 24. The plan, which was first announced in January, has $44 million immediately available and about $18 to $19 million will be spent within the first fiscal year, or during 2020.

To continue to fund new hires after a three-year hiring period, the university needs to sustain about $100 million of annual

Dr. John Paul Lederach understood early on that listening to those who suffer in conflicts is key to ending the imperial pattern of U.S.-led peacebuilding. He had to “unlearn” overtly imperial peacebuilding methods—methods that don’t encourage listening to or respecting locals, nor do they offer permanent solutions.

Lederach was awarded the Gittler Prize, which strives to “recognize outstanding and lasting scholarly contributions to racial, ethnic and/or religious relations,” with a $25,000 prize and a medal, according to the Brandeis website, on Wednesday, Oct. 30.

See AWARD, page 3

GITTLER PRIZE Dr.

John Paul Lederach is awarded the Gittler prize.

Student Union VP resigns

By Rachel Saal editor

Student Union Vice President Guillermo Caballero ’20 resigned on Sunday during the Student Union Senate meeting. His resignation was effective as of Tuesday Oct. 29 at 4 p.m.

Executive Senator Jake Rong ’21 has taken over as interim vice president and at the Senate meeting, Senator-at-Large Nancy Zhai ’22 was voted to be interim executive senator.

Caballero’s resignation comes after he and Senior Representative to the Board of Trustees Zosia Busé ’20 brought complaints against Student Union President Simran Tatuskar ’21 to the Student Union Judiciary. Tatuskar was found guilty of violating the Union’s Code of Conduct by effectively communicating across the branches and unconstitutionally interpreted the duties of the executive senator, according to an earlier Brandeis Hoot article.

“I joined the Student Union with the goal of bringing all branches and members closer together. I knew our Union is not as united as it should be, so I believed that I was going to ac-

RFP develops, holds open forums

By Emily Botto and Rachel Saal editors

complish my goal by empowering all members and by making sure that everyone felt capable of holding their office duties and felt included,” said Caballero in his announcement to the Senate on Sunday. “Even though many Student Union members made me feel as a part of this Union, as a newer member with new ideas and ways to work, I still struggle with feeling sincerely welcomed by our established members. I gave a lot of thought on whether I wanted to continue working for the Union to build the body I envisioned. However, my work has been hindered by several obstacles but especially by being under the supervision of people that do not share the same values and visions as I do.”

According to Caballero, his “landslide win” in the vice presidential election as a non-Union member was evidence that anyone could be elected, regardless of his or her background, he told The Hoot. He said that there’s been a “180-degree change” in the way that the Senate functions and the way that the members interact since he was elected.

“I leave my seat hoping to have clearly dispersed the message of See UNION, page 4

Inside This Issue:

News: Anita Hill talks 2020 election Ops: The Hoot’s spooky Halloween guide Features: HAWP launches Sleep Week Sports: NBA season preview

EDITORIAL: Bring back the alumni community

See FUND, page 4

PHOTO BY GRACE ZHOU/THE HOOT

The Request for Proposals (RFP) is developing and gathering community input as a part of the first two stages of the dining vendor selection process. Unionized employees will retain their jobs, and it is unclear if other hourly workers will keep their jobs as well, according to Ted Mayer, project lead consultant and president of TM Consulting

RFP The

Group LLC. “Food service companies don’t have this stable of people—it’s not like they bring over a bus load of people and they take over and everyone’s out of a job. They genuinely, and actually I can’t think of a situation where they haven’t, take on the employees,” said Mayer. “There’s a lot of institutional memory, and I think it’s fair to say that the issue that Brandeis has with food service isn’t because of the employees. It has to do with a lot of other variables. The intent of the RFP process to iron out and

lose those number of variables to make it as clear as possible what those expectations are.”

According to Mayer, the national chains that are present on campus will most likely carry over to the new vendor, who will either create a new contract or already have an existing contract with the chain. However, some places in Upper Usdan, such as SubConnection, are proprietary to Sodexo and will change with a new vendor.

Brandeis community comes together for dining open forum.

T. Holleran

Page 2 Page 11 A day in the life of a varsity athlete.

Page 10 Page 7 SPORTS: PAGE 8 Page 9

The Politician The worst show you might fall in love with.

ARTS: PAGE 16

See RFP, page 4

PHOTO BY CELIA YOUNG/THE HOOT

NEWS

2 The Brandeis Hoot

November 1, 2019

New VP of Campus Operations outlines first-year plan

By Sabrina Chow editor

Lois Stanley, the new vice president of campus operations, is working on a process to better determine what buildings require maintenance. This process will help the university decide which buildings need the most immediate attention.

Stanley joined campus in October 2019 after her previous role as the director of campus and capital renewal planning at Tufts University, according to a BrandeisNOW article. While at Tufts, she helped to create a deferred maintenance process to address maintenance issues on Tufts campus, Stanley said in an interview with The Brandeis Hoot.

Deferred maintenance is “a backlog of repairs that are necessary to keep the building stock, the building portfolio in good condition, in good operating condition,” she said in an interview. “[This process] factors in more

qualitative aspects of a building, like utilization and academic priority,” she said. Stanley has made this her goal within her first year at Brandeis. “I know I can do that as a first-year goal because I did it for the last two and a half years at Tufts,” she said.

“Three years ago, Tufts was just like Brandeis,” said Stanley in an interview. “When it came to deferred maintenance, [they] were looking strictly at building condition.”

While working at Tufts, Stanley helped to develop a scoring method that would get more feedback from the academic side and gather data beyond just building condition, like utilization. Examples of these types of data include recognizing which buildings are more heavily utilized because these spaces need extra consideration for deferred maintenance.

There is a budget through which deferred maintenance projects are paid. The recent springboard funding plan is also helping to subsidize some of the projects.

A majority of the deferred maintenance projects are completed over the summer when there are fewer students on campus. Stanley explained that this is done to ensure the safety of the students.

Stanley said in an interview that she is a “process-oriented [person], particularly around communication and data gathering both of which are critical to informed decision-making.” She also found campus to be extremely organized and found her staff to be very accessible and welcoming.

“I’m also glad that I started in the fall because this may well be when the campus is most beautiful due to the landscape and the most impressive mid-century architecture I’ve ever seen in one place.”

She is still not sure about upcoming deferred maintenance for 2020 but is working with groups around campus to update buildings on campus and ensure that buildings are compliant with the American Disability Act.

IN THE SENATE: Oct. 2, 2019 •

Vice President Guillermo Caballero ’20 began the senate meeting by announcing his resignation.

•

“I gave a lot of thought on whether I wanted to continue working for the Union to build the body I envisioned.

However, my work has been hindered by several obstacles but especially by being under the supervision of people that do not share the same values and visions as I do.

Therefore, unfortunately, I have decided to resign from the office of the vice presidency effective Oct. 29 at 4 p.m,” said Caballero in his announcement.

•

Caballero said that Executive Senator Jake Rong ’21 would serve as interim vice president, and the group then voted Senator-at-Large Nancy Zhai ’22 to be interim executive senator.

•

Rachel Sterling then read the judiciary’s proposal of sanctions against President Simran Tatuskar. She said that the judiciary “condemns” Tatuskar’s actions and demand that she issue apologies. The senate voted at the end of the meeting that Tatuskar should issue a public apology. Two senators abstained, and Senator Josh Hoffman ’21 voted against the proposal.

•

Senator Joseph Coles ’22 said that most of the secured cFormerlubs have advisors, except for the Justice and BTV. He said that he is going to consult the judiciary about the next steps in enforcing the club advisor policy. Coles also asked for support on his new proposal that would allow presidential and vice presidential candidates to run on the same ticket in an election. He needed nine senators support for the proposal to be voted on by the student body and seven senators immediately said that they would support the proposal. He later told The Brandeis Hoot that he is going to present the proposal later in the year.

•

Joshua Feld ’22 was appointed as dining committee co-chair and confirmed by Caballero. Kruti Jethwa ’22 was appointed to the position of director of community involvement and confirmed by acclamation.

•

Sustainability Committee Chair Oliver Price ’20 said that the committee has confirmed a “meatless Monday” event and that the committee’s work has recently been “redundant” because of the amount of work that Mary Fischer and the Brandeis Sustainability Ambassadors do.’

-Rachel Saal

PHOTO FROM HOOT PHOTO ARCHIVES

Brandeis Prof. Anita Hill talks Trump, Biden on CNN Citizen

By Celia Young editor

Brandeis Professor Anita Hill (HS) criticized President Donald Trump for comparing the House of Representatives impeachment inquiry to a lynching in a tweet on Oct. 22. Hill called the comparison “ludicrous” and “a divisive tactic” in a CNN forum on Oct. 24.

“The idea that this person with this kind of power and authority could co-opt this language on his own personal behalf is ludicrous and insulting,” said Hill at the conference. “We need to call it out for that. But we also have to go back to the reality that this is a tactic, it’s a divisive tactic to get people to push back on any kind of challenges.”

Trump’s tweet calls the impeachment inquiry unfair, stating, “All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here—a lynching.”

A whistleblower’s complaint that Trump asked the government of Ukraine to investigate the family of presidential candidate Joseph Biden motivated the

impeachment inquiry. The investigation was also driven by an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory that Ukraine meddled in the 2016 election, not Russia, in exchange for military aid, according to an article from The Washington Post.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) is leading the investigation. The committee is interviewing several witnesses, such as the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, according to the article. Impeachment could occur if Congress finds the president no longer fit to serve, which will happen if he is found guilty of treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors, according to article two of the constitution.

High crimes and misdemeanors don’t necessarily refer to a breach of the law, according to the previously mentioned Washington Post article, and are understood to refer to a violation of the oath of office. Clear evidence of a crime is not necessary for Congress to impeach, reads the article.

Hill called Trump’s tweet similar to statements made by the then-appointee to the Supreme

Court, Clarence Thomas, who Hill accused of workplace sexual harassment in 1991 during his confirmation hearing to the Supreme Court. Thomas called the claims of sexual harassment a lynching, said Hill, to limit criticism of his actions.

“It was a tactic,” said Hill. “It was an effort to push back any of the white men on that judiciary committee from objecting to him. It wasn’t sincere. It wasn’t authentic. It wasn’t real.”

Hill said that the comparison was also hurtful to her because it ignored her experience of race and racism as a woman of color. There was no narrative for the sexual abuse and mistreatment of black women, Hill said, and the confirmation hearing removed her from the narrative of racism despite her longstanding advocation for equal rights.

Hill also spoke about Biden and his role in the confirmation hearings, which he called unfair and apologized for in March, according to a CNN article. Hill said she was ready to move on from Biden but is also ready to hold him accountable.

“Accountability means acknowledging your role in the problem and the harm that was caused, acknowledging that you have culpability in a part of it, giving me clear information that you have made a change and that you are going to do something to make us all better off around gender discrimination,” Hill said. “I do not only expect that from Joe Biden; I expect that from every candidate, regardless of their gender,” Hill said.

Hill has not decided to endorse any candidate for the presidential election in 2020, nor has she ever endorsed a presidential candidate, she said.

Hill spoke more broadly about gender and race discrimination, topics she teaches about at Brandeis in courses touching on gender, race, social policy and legal history. Hill said gender and race discrimination are tied together and that forms of discrimination cannot be separated.

“If we can say ‘OK, well, I’m not going to discriminate against you on the basis of your gender, but I am going to discriminate against this woman on the ba-

sis of her race,’ then we’re never going to get full gender equality,” Hill said. “You can’t parse it out and so we’re going to have to deal with a lot of other bias to get to full gender equality.”

She remained confident, however, that issues of gender, race and other forms of discrimination can be addressed, especially by younger generations.

“They’re dealing with issues of sexual violence and harrassment on campus, and they’re also looking at the future,” said Hill.

“They’re looking at a generation that sort of passed this all on to them, and I honestly believe that this is an issue that they are going to be energized behind… I wouldn’t be here today if I wasn’t hopeful.”

Citizen is a CNN speaker and panel discussion for leaders across “business and finance, technology, media, philanthropy, academia and non-profit sector,” according to its website. The conference is invitation-only but was covered

by CNN and other media outlets.

In response to a Brandeis Hoot email request for comment, Hill said she would not be giving additional interviews at this time.

November 1, 2019

NEWS 3

The Brandeis Hoot

Jewish feminist archives donated to university

By Sabrina Chow editor

Project Kesher, a grassroots organization helping connect Jewish women in former Soviet States and Israel, has donated documents dating back from the organization’s founding in 1988 through 2015 to the Brandeis Archives & Special Collections department to expand a current archival project by the university and decrease their personal archives.

These donations will help expand a current project that special collections is working on to build its collection on Jewish Feminism, as part of the American Jewish and Israeli Feminism Archives Collaborative, Associate University Librarian for Archives & Special Collections Sarah Shoemaker told The Brandeis Hoot in an email.

The materials donated include “correspondence, board of director meeting files, reports, sur-

veys, subject files, fundraising and marketing materials, press releases, and more” from 1988 to 2015, which demonstrate the grassroots organizing of Project Kesher, according to the Brandeis Archives website. Prominent files in the donation include information from the International Conference of Jewish women in 1994 and files from the Voyage on the Volga in 2004, which is an event marking the 10 year anniversary of the first international conference. If all the materials that were donated were lined up side-by-side, it would be 35 feet.

Shoemaker added that the special collections at Brandeis has been working with Project Kesher for a number of years to go through the acquisition of materials. Project Kesher’s donations will be added to Brandeis’ primary-source research collections, which are available to all members of the Brandeis community.

“We do not operate like a mu-

PHOTOS BY SABRINA CHOW/THE HOOT

seum, with only the materials on exhibit available,” Shoemaker wrote. “All of our collections are here to be used and studied.”

Project Kesher is a Jewish feminist organization that helps to support women of the former Soviet Union rediscover their Jewish identity by building community between Jewish women, according to Project Kesher’s website. The organization grew into a larger women’s organization that focused on promoting women in leadership within their personal communities.

Founded in 1989, two Jewish women, Sallie Gratch, a social worker from Illinois, and Svetlana Yakimenko, a teacher from Moscow, traveled throughout Russia and Ukraine speaking with Jewish women “determined to stay, despite historic oppression and the depth of need in their communities,” according to Project Kesher’s website.

“The two activists discovered Jewish women living next door to one another, without knowledge about their connection and shared

heritage,” reads the website.

Gratch and Yakimenko brought Jewish women from these communities together “to share in their re-emergence of Jewish life post-Communism and learn about civic engagement,” according to their website.

Today, the organization helps Jewish women in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia and Israel develop leadership skills to advocate for “Jewish identity and renewal, economic self-sufficiency and women’s health.”

“Brandeis is proud to be the home of these significant collections documenting work in Jewish feminism,” Shoemaker told The Hoot in the email. “Including the materials of Project Kesher in the archives of a university allows them to be preserved, studied and made available to students and scholars not just at Brandeis but around the world.”

The archives are continuously collecting research materials that relate to Jewish feminism, which include the works of prominent Jewish feminists,

including E.M. Broner, Sandra Butler, Aviva Cantor and Marcia Freedman, and the archives of organizations like Project Kesher, Advancing Women Professionals, Ma’yan, and Lilith magazine.

“Our growing focus on materials to resonate generations into the future by documenting the past, and in some cases, the present as well,” Shoemaker wrote to The Hoot. “Documenting and preserving the records and history of this important work builds research collections for the future.

These papers represent and illuminate the work of many hands and minds across the globe, and we are delighted to see them coming to center here at Brandeis.”

The University Archives and Special Collections is located on the second floor of the Farber Library and are open to all members of the Brandeis community to see the archives that they house.

They are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Peacebuilder receives Gittler Prize AWARD, from page 1

He gave a lecture following the award presentation, which was hosted by Provost Lisa Lynch and Dr. Cynthia Cohen, the director of Peacebuilding and the Arts at Brandeis’ International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life.

Lederach is lauded for developing culturally appropriate approaches to conflict transformation and designing and implementing integrative and strategic approaches to peacebuilding, said Lynch in her opening remarks.

He has made a practice of reflecting on the challenging work that is transforming violent conflict while it occurs, according to Cohen, and is one of the first people in the international peacebuilding community to emphasize respect of local people and customs.

In Lederach’s own words, he “unlearns” the peacebuilding techniques common to the peacebuilding community. These techniques, which hinge upon the neutrality method for international conflict intervention, may, at best, put a Band-Aid on a conflict. At worst, and despite best efforts, traditional techniques can add to the violence people experience in conflict regions.

The bottom line is that these methods are insufficient to not only end conflict, but to also reverse the underlying reasons for the conflict, said Lederach. As a result, the systemic pattern of international conflict is allowed to

PHOTOS BY GRACE ZHOU/THE HOOT

repeat itself, over and over again, in different parts of the world.

Lederach discussed several key “dispatches” to international conflicts early on in his life which formed the basis for his current thinking on peacebuilding.

He traveled to Guatemala during the Guatemalan Civil War in the 1980s, and led his first workshop, including a guide to mediation. Lederach was taught a three-part method as a professional mediator. First, he was taught to describe the mediation process to workshop participants.

Next, he was taught to demonstrate the process. And, lastly, he

was taught to have people practice. Lederach thought he was doing everything right. Until he asked the audience members what they thought of the roleplays.

“Complete, dead silence,” said Lederach, recounting that moment. “I waited, until finally a hand went up. It was a good friend from Honduras, who knew everyone in the room quite well, and who said only five words.

And they were five words that changed my life, and changed my Ph.D. dissertation. He said, talking to his two colleagues but not to me, ‘you two look like gringos.’” “Gringos” is a disparaging

word used to describe foreigners, usually from North America, according to an NPR article.

He added that everything in his and his colleagues’ process— the roleplay, the participants, the language—was from Central America. “The only things not from the region were me, and my process,” according to Lederach.

Lederach realized he fell into the “long repeated pattern of an imperial project.” It was at this point that Lederach knew he needed to unlearn the ineffective, even harmful, methods he was taught, even though colleagues in his field were not doing so.

“Unlearning understands that being human is being human in relationships, and peacebuilding is a relationship.” Lederach says. “Thus, we must not forget the importance of forming relationships in peacebuilding.”

This is where the “neutral,” “third-party” principle falters. It is very difficult to remain a neutral party when trying to build a relationship with another person. But it is the mutual trust and respect in those relationships which will ultimately provide real peacebuilding to take place.

Lederach wrapped up his speech by talking about the word “unlearning.” The antonym for “unlearning” is “not learning,” or, in other words, arrogance. Arrogant is something peacebuilders do not want to be, said Lederach.

Lederach is professor emeritus of international peacebuilding at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. He is also a senior fellow at Humanity United. His practices in conciliation have taken him across the globe, and, especially, to parts of Latin America, Africa and Southeast and Central Asia. He helped to form the recent Truth Commission in Colombia, and served as the director of the Peace Accord Matrix research initiative at the Kroc Institute. He has written and edited 24 books and manuals about the peacebuilding process.

4 NEWS

The Brandeis Hoot

November 1, 2019

RFP team answers community’s questions RFP, from page 1

Mayer said that the financial and operational sides of the RFP will be separated. The vendors’ compatibility will be considered first, and then once Brandeis has narrowed the options to two to three vendors, they will allow those parties to bid.

Mayer also said that Brandeis is collecting data on the demographics of student diners to express to vendors and bidders that

Brandeis is a diverse environment and is making an effort to find out how prospective vendors will manage that.

Answering a question from the audience during the second dining forum on Tuesday, Oct. 29, Mayer spoke about the trade-off between low quality “all-youcan-eat” variety and higher quality food with limited variety.

Brandeis has not made a decision even on this dichotomy of dining options, as “it’s all up for grabs,”

according to Mayer.

Mayer said that the most common complaints about Sodexo are regarding non-coordinated menus with kosher versus non-kosher sides, low quality and high prices. Brandeis’ goals are to find a vendor that will work to solve these problems as well as a company that will put an emphasis on partnership and transparency. “Contracts that will do well over the long run have a clear, trusting relationship,” Mayer said.

Brandeis has changed food providers rather frequently in the past few decades. According to Mayer, although the upcoming process will result in a cost in transition, Brandeis plans to build this cost into the RFP and amortize it over time. Mayer also mentioned that there have been talks about reinstating Brandeis’ internal dining hall system, which existed before Aramark. However, since the infrastructure no longer exists at Brandeis, it would not be a “pru-

dent undertaking,” Mayer said.

Students can stay updated on the process through the finance and administration website link “News and Events” where they can click on “Dining RFP.” “Brandeis is intent on making this a community-wide process,” Mayer said. After Brandeis narrows down the pool of applicants, the prospective vendors will give community-invited presentations on March 4-5, 2020.

Panelists examine the history of Brexit

By Emma Lichtenstein editor

Brexit is part of a history of tensions between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (U.K.), according to panelists who spoke as the second part of a panel series hosted by the Brandeis Center for German and European Studies (CGES) and the Department of Politics.

This event’s panelists included Professor Graham Wilson from Boston University. Originally from England, Wilson was there to provide an “in-house sense” of the situation and explain the ideology of those in favor of Brexit. Professor Daniela Caruso from Boston University provided insight into the legality of Brexit, discussing the entanglement of the U.K. and the EU. Professor Mai’a Cross from

Northeastern University spoke about potential catalysts of the desire to leave and explained the potential effects of the situation.

Wilson started the lecture by stating that the EU agreed to a further extension of Britain staying in the EU earlier that day. He then mentioned the background of Brexit, saying it won by a vote of 52 to 48 percent in a national referendum. (The referendum was advisory, or not legally binding that the U.K. leave the EU, according to a BBC article.) He recounted potential ways that Brexit could have been avoided, saying repeatedly that if David Cameron hadn’t been elected, then likely none of this would be happening.

He continued by commenting on how the U.K. and the EU haven’t always gotten along. The first example he shared is how England refused to give up the British pound in favor of the euro.

He went on to discuss how En-

gland was often uncomfortable with the EU’s open door policy; English people are against immigrants from other countries, said Wilson. Conservative English people also didn’t like that non-English people were deciding on English policy outside of England, according to Wilson.

Professor Caruso then began her lecture on the legal aspects of Brexit. She said that the support of Brexit came from a feeling of being caged. She began by expanding on Wilson’s earlier point about negative feelings arising from decisions being made outside of England.

English people used to be satisfied with the voting system in the EU because votes needed to be unanimous to go into effect, said Caruso. She explained that with a change in the EU system, which required only a majority of the vote, England lost some of its power and reacted poorly.

She then pointed out that while the U.K.’s economy was doing well in certain aspects due to the EU, some other parts of the economy (like construction) were being left behind, further adding to the resentment towards the EU. The last panelist to talk was Cross. She started by talking about how the Brexit vote was unfair, as lies and propaganda about the situation were fed to the public. She also suspected cheating in the election.

The Electoral Commission of the U.K. found that the Vote Leave campaign, led by the now Prime Minister of the U.K. Boris Johnson, illegally exceeded the campaign funding limit and fined the group 61,000 pounds, according to a BBC article.

She spoke about how this was a terrible decision for the U.K., since the EU is “overwhelmingly stronger” than the U.K. She also mentioned that this exit

will allow the EU to pass desired reforms that the U.K. resisted.

Changing topics, she examined the catalysts for the EU’s acquisition of power, identifying four: the Cold War, the Vulcan Wars, the Iraq War and the current political climate. She argues that the Cold War helped to create EU relations because the U.S. was starting to get involved in international affairs and the EU needed to remain strong and united.

In the Vulcan wars of the 1990s, the power of decision-making went to the U.S. rather than the EU, she explains.

In 2003, the Bush Iraq War divided EU member-states and created many new discussions about security policies, said Cross. She also mentioned that this is when the EU started conducting humanitarian missions.

The panel closed with a Q&A session from the audience.

Univ. addresses freedom of speech, ethical integrity in self-study

By Sabrina Chow editor

Principles of free speech were formulated by the university after concerns arose about issues of free expression, a self-study published in September 2018 found. The study also looked into the integrity of all students, staff and faculty and the documents that highlight the rights and responsibilities for each group.

In the self-study, the university examined areas of educational effectiveness as part of the university’s accreditation process through the New England Commissions of Higher Education (NECHE.) The ninth standard of nine NECHE standards focuses on integrity, transparency and public disclosure. This article is the first part of The Brandeis Hoot’s coverage on the ninth standard, or integrity.

Standard Nine: Integrity, Transparency and Public Disclosure Rights and Responsibilities Students, faculty and staff members on campus all follow different documents that outline the rights and responsibilities. “The ethical integrity of a university is sustained by a strong institutional ethos and by clearly defined policies and procedures,” writes the self-study.

The Faculty Handbook is for all faculty members on campus and outlines responsibilities shared by all faculty in

their professional tasks but also their ethical obligations toward students and colleagues.

There is a separate dispute resolution process, including issues of salary grievance, which is initiated by the provost of the specific school, according to the Faculty Handbook. A review and recommendation is produced by the Committee on Faculty Rights and Responsibilities (CFRR) and a decision is ultimately made by the president of the school, subject to approval by the Board of Trustees.

The Business Conduct Policy is for all employees of the university, which means both faculty and staff. This policy “sets forth fundamental expectations and standards of conduct, which are supported through comprehensive policies and procedures,” writes the self-study.

Rights and Responsibilities is the document that governs the student body. These standards of behavior cover all aspects of student life and detail the processes for handling allegations of misconduct.

There is also a research misconduct policy that is applied to all research activities conducted under the university, if the project is funded or not. The policy is to ensure no “research fraud, unethical treatment of human subjects and animal research or other misconduct in science and research,” according to the policy.

For any potential cases of misconduct, an Inquiry Committee is convened to look into the issue and decides a verdict.

All students, staff and faculty are

given academic freedom on campus, meaning the “full freedom of scholarly and intellectual inquiry and expression,” according to the self-study. The university recognizes this freedom as “fundamental to the educational and scholarly purposes of a university.”

The Faculty Handbook states that the university will protect the “full freedom of scholarly and intellectual inquiry and expression of all faculty in the fulfillment of their University responsibilities.”

It adds that when a member of the faculty speaks in public and not as part of the university, they are free from any institutional restraints.

The university is also working toward strengthening prevention of sexual misconduct and better addressing the aftermath of incidents, according to the self-study. Brandeis has since expanded resources available on campus for survivors, including counselling, as well as a clarification of mandated reporting responsibilities and a newly-revised process for adjudication of allegations of sexual misconduct.

Freedom of Expression President Ron Liebowitz formed the Task Force on Free Expression in November 2016 to address student concerns about the current principles of free speech at the university, per a letter titled “Presidential Task Force on Free Expression.” Liebowitz tasked the task force to address three issues.

The 16-person task force worked to address the current condition of free expression at Brandeis, to

formulate a set of principles to guide free, robust debate on campus and finally, “to develop recommendations for ensuring widespread understanding of these principles within the University community,” reads the study.

After meeting for a few months, the task force completed a report that detailed the five principles that would guide debate on campus. The principles are as follows:

promotes “the expression of a diverse set of intellectual, political, cultural, and social outlooks,” wrote Liebowitz in the letter.

“The university must find a way to engage the whole community about each person’s responsibility to foster a just and inclusive campus culture so that all can participate fully in the intellectual and social life of the university.”

Maximizing free speech in a diverse community

Rejecting physical violence and interference with speech

This principle gives all members of the Brandeis community the ability to “put forth ideas for consideration, engagement, and criticism by others, as such exchanges are core to the mission of our institutions of higher learning,” Liebowitz wrote in a letter to the Brandeis community about the outcomes of the task force.

“We explicitly connect free speech concerns with our desire for a diverse, inclusive community.”

No physical violence or prevention of speech is acceptable.

Peaceful protest is a way to engage in a discussion. “Once violence is normalized as an ingredient of free expression, it sets the pattern, ending rather than supporting free expression,” Liebowitz wrote.

Developing skills to engage in difficult conversations The university will be working toward being a space where members of the Brandeis community are able to freely communicate and engage in difficult conversations and expose students to these types of environments, Liebowitz wrote in his letter.

Sharing responsibility for fostering an inclusive, mutually respectful campus culture This principle is working toward an inclusive campus that

Distinguishing between invited speakers and University honorees This principle speaks to how Brandeis is a place that campus organizations can invite outside speakers, but this does not mean that the university endorses the speaker. There are cases where it is an endorsement, like when granting honorary degrees, but these will be explicitly said by the university. Any protests that may happen on campus opposing a decision made by the university is not considered an attack on free speech.

This is the seventh part of a series looking at the self-study.

November 1, 2019

FUND, from page 1

NEWS 5

The Brandeis Hoot

Univ. plans to increase fundraising to account for new hires

fundraising, said Liebowitz in an interview with The Brandeis Hoot, or about a $43 million increase from current annual fundraising.

According to Senior Vice President for Institutional Advancement Zamira Korff, the university raises about $57 million a year.

“We’re working on a three-year period and of course we are investing very heavily in Institutional Advancement and one of the assumptions in this is that we’re going to increase our annual fundraising as well as our endowment fundraising,” said Liebowitz. “We have to increase our revenue from where it is now to meet those expenses.”

Nearly 70 percent of the operating funding, or of $40.7 million, will go to hiring new personnel, including 15 new faculty members in the School of Arts and Sciences and the International Business School and new fundraisers for the Department of Institutional Advancement over the course of the next three years.

“Part of this whole springboard philosophy is to fill in gaps that have existed at the university for the last 10 or so years,” said Liebowitz in an interview with The Hoot. “So we’re really only now trying to get back to our faculty size of 2007, to our advancement size of 2006… We’ve sort of struggled all of these years because of the layoffs in 2008-2009 and the financial situation so basically we’re now trying to build back up.”

Hiring new faculty presents costs that will continue past the initial three-year hiring period, including salaries and benefits, which Liebowitz referred to as “the cliff.” These continual costs are why Brandeis is investing in Institutional Advancement to increase annual fundraising and endowment fundraising, said Liebowitz.

The $40.7 million will also go toward increasing employee benefits, such as faculty and staff salary pools, to assist in recruitment and retention. Liebowitz also said the university was piloting a program where Brandeis will help faculty members with a second mortgage and offers an opportunity for additional child care assistance to combat the high costs of living and childcare in Massachusetts.

Some faculty hires will be going to the International Business School (IBS), which has two active searches for faculty in data analytics and in a finance focus, according to Senior Associate Director Kelly Forde, and will hopefully hire another two tenure-line faculty members for the next academic year.

IBS has limited space for current faculty, said Forde, but is being creative to make up for the physical constraints of the IBS buildings. A new building is a priority for both IBS and the university, said Forde.

“We are very very limited with our space,” Forde said in an interview with The Hoot. “We’ve had to get really creative in look-

Liebowitz announced in 2018 that created three task forces and several working groups to address issues at Brandeis. Those recommendations will form a basis for later changes at Brandeis.

The first changes to the Brandeis campus that students will see, said Liebowitz in an interview with The Hoot, are infrastructure improvements. The

safety and increasing funding to expand shuttle programs into later evening hours. The funding will also go toward making buildings more accessible.

“Accessibility is a very expensive task on this campus because the campus was built in the 50s and 60s and there weren’t ADA (American Disability Act) laws then,” said Liebowitz.

PHOTO BY GRACE ZHOU/THE HOOT

ing at who is here… People have been pretty understanding,” she continued. “That’s why a new building is a priority for us and a priority for the university.”

But new building projects are not in the current springboard funding framework, according to the email Liebowitz released to the student body, though new buildings could be funded in an upcoming university capital campaign that Liebowitz expects to possibly begin after the next three years.

“The amount of funds needed for the infrastructural improvements on this campus are with extra zeros,” said Liebowitz. “That will come with fundraising… We haven’t yet determined that because we haven’t yet done a full financial assessment of the overall costs of the framework because we haven’t completed [and] synthesized all of the recommendations.”

The framework refers to the Framework for Our Future plan

funding is broken down into two sums: $40.7 million dedicated to the operational budget and $44 million in a capital budget.

Brandeis raised $18 million more than their projected fundraising for the $44 million pool because of high interest in university bonds, which were refinanced to create the capital budget fund.

The capital budget can be used immediately, said Liebowitz, who expects the university to spend between $18 and $19 million the first year.

These projects will include upgrades to roofing, elevators, one of Brandeis’s boilers, Workday— the new online human resources, payroll and other finance operations platform which will eventually expand to student enrollment in the next two years—improving cellular and Wi-Fi coverage across campus, improvements to campus security cameras, hiring additional personnel in public

If a building is upgraded beyond a certain cost threshold, accessibility upgrades must also be provided, according to Vice President of Campus Operations Lois Stanley.

“If the cost of the upgrade is equivalent to 30 percent of the building value, that triggers accessibility upgrades. But we would want to do accessibility upgrades anyway,” she said.

“There are likely to be accessibility upgrades in all deferred maintenance projects, with some specific accessibility upgrades.”

Edison-Lecks will be one of the first buildings to be upgraded, said Liebowitz. The sprinklers in Edison-Lecks will definitely be addressed, said Stanley in an interview with The Hoot.

More funds will also go to the university’s dining contract, said Liebowitz, which will end with Sodexo in June 2020. Brandeis is currently soliciting contract proposals from different vendors, and

Sodexo is also invited to apply.

The new contract will have improved food quality, said Liebowitz. “I don’t think you get that for less money. I think that we’re going to have to be prepared to increase the costs,” he continued.

The two funding pools, the $40.7 million dedicated to the operational budget and $44 million in a capital budget, come from different sources. Part of the $40.7 million comes from an increase in spending on two-thirds of the endowment spending.

Two-thirds of the university’s just over $1 billion endowment is unrestricted, wrote Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Stewart Uretsky in an email to The Hoot. The Brandeis Board of Trustees authorized a spending increase to 6.2 percent from 5.7 percent on the unrestricted portion of the endowment in January 2019. In three and a half years, said Liebowitz, the endowment spending will begin to decrease until it returns to a 5 percent spending rate.

“If it were up to me, we’d have a 5.0 or less spend rate—I mean that’s the ideal—but we are where we are,” said Liebowitz.

“It’s a very lean operating budget here. What this university does with $360 million dollars is pretty amazing—to have three professional schools, 18 Ph.D. programs, 3600 undergraduates as supported as the students are in the undergraduate program,” he continued. “Now that comes at the expense of investing and that’s what we’re really missing so we don’t have much margin for reducing that spend rate just yet.”

Future Fundraising The springboard funding plan provides a starting point for a larger capital campaign, said Liebowitz. Korff said that the campaign would most likely begin with a “silent phase,” where the university would reach out for larger gifts quietly, to be followed by a more public campaign.

Institutional Advancement will hire about 20 employees because of the springboard funding during the 2020 fiscal year.

These hires will restore cuts made in previous years, wrote Korff to The Hoot in an email.

Brandeis has a strong network of alumni, parents and friends, said Korff, that Institutional Advancement can do more to reach out to, especially after new hires.

Building relationships is crucial to Institutional Advancement, Korff said, which requires personnel to travel and explain to alumni, parents and friends about what they want to help build at Brandeis.

Student Union VP Guillermo Caballero ‘20 resigns following conflict with Union President UNION, from page 1

equal opportunity for everyone and trust that every member of the Student Union is equally as capable of doing any role in their respective capacity regardless of [if they have as much] experience as everyone else,” said Caballero.

Class of 2020 Senator and Chair of the Rules Committee Scott Halper ’20 brought forward a censure against Caballero that

condemned his lack of communication with his other Union members and called on him to change his communication in the future.

Caballero said that he made his decision to resign “long before” he learned about the censure and that he was informed about the censure a day before his announcement.

“The judiciary found multiple incidences of [Tatuskar] violating the constitution and the code of conducts and the bylaws,

but, there was a section that was reserved for [Caballero],” said Halper to The Hoot. “We felt that we should bring this up, and we should address this. However, we had to act in proportion to what was said, and we had to act in proportion to the opinion of the judiciary.”

Caballero told The Hoot that he “was thinking of resigning under the pressure of the conflict” but decided that he would petition the Judiciary before he would re-

sign. He said that there is still a lot of work to be done in the Union, but since he is now a senior and he has personal matters to attend to, he won’t be able to drive the change that he hopes to see.

“I think that there’s still a lot that the Student Union has to bring to light in terms of the way that people work and how people are welcomed in the body itself and how some people are more elitist than others,” said Caballero.

“That’s a long process to change,

and for time constraints, I’m not going to be able to do that. I felt that my job was done.”

The Student Union will hold special elections in the next few weeks to fill the role of the vice president. The Student Union will be holding an info session from 7 to 8 p.m. on Nov. 5, a “Meet the Candidates” event from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 7 and a candidate debate from 9 to 10 p.m. on Nov. 12.

SPORTS

6 The Brandeis Hoot

November 1, 2019

NCAA sponsors diversity and inclusion campaign on social media for a second year

By Sophie Trachtenberg editor

For the week of Oct. 22 through 25, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sponsored a multifaceted social media campaign that highlighted diversity within departments of athletics nationwide and hoped to serve as a way in which student-athletes could promote and celebrate their differences. Modeled after last year’s successful inaugural push, the NCAA decided to bring back the week of awareness once again, this time promoting heavily through the Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee (MOIC) and the various Student-Athlete Advisory Committees (SAAC) located on each individual collegiate campus. The department of athletics here at Brandeis, along with its own SAAC, took part in this year’s campaign, highlighting such values and discussions via various social media posts.

In their release about the week of appreciation, the NCAA stated that “this campaign is a platform for [people] across the country to start the discussion, speak out on, and promote diversity and inclusion as key elements of student-athlete success. The goal of this annual campaign is… to create a dialogue on diversity and inclusion and to communicate the benefit of inclusive environments to the student-athlete experience,” according to its website.

At Brandeis specifically, SAAC leader and member of the men’s tennis team Colt Tegtmeier ’22 said in a message to The Brandeis Hoot that “The goal of the campaign was to promote inclusion and show how Brandeis is working to use inclusion to its advantage in athletics. We are all about being inclusive to everyone who

wants to participate in athletics, from a wide range of races, genders, and sexual orientations on our varsity programs, to promoting healthy habits with intramural sports throughout the year.”

With this in mind, there were four themes proposed, one for each day, that differed from those used last year. These themes were intended to ignite the discussion that the campaign sought to promote, giving each respective university different ways in which to honor each other’s differences.

Day one was titled, “This is Who We Are,” which was designed to highlight the various identities student-athletes possess. Brandeis SAAC members made a collaborative video to express this, as a number of student-athletes stood together and held up signs that voiced this diversity and showcased values important to them.

From baseball player Isaac Fossas ’21 saying that he was the son of an immigrant, to cross country run-

ner Harper Pollio-Barbee ’21 saying he valued his ability to problem solve, student-athletes here at Brandeis captured the essence of what it means to be proud of who they are and to carry their values with them across all facets of life.

On day two, the scheduled theme was “Broadening our Horizons,” which served to recognize connections being made on campus that span farther beyond the confines of the athletic department itself. SAAC members went around Brandeis’ campus and took photos with their favorite professors, mentors, teaching assistants and faculty. Austin Clamage ’21 of men’s basketball and Skylah Dias ’22 of men’s soccer were pictured with Professor of Modern Architecture Muna Guvenc (FA), while women’s fencer Jess Spear ’21 was shown with Joanna Fuchs of the Library’s Acquisitions Department.

Next, day three was titled “Better Together,” in which each insti-

MASCOT LOUIS BRANDEIS PICTURED WITH STAFF AT THE BCC.

tution sought to showcase what is already being done at their university to promote feelings of acceptance for all. Judges’ mascot, Louis D. Brandeis, made an appearance at several offices across campus that are committed to the overall goal of diversity and inclusion. These departments also provide much needed resources to students and student-athletes alike, bridging the gap between athletics and the rest of the Brandeis community. Louis was seen at the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the Prevention Advocacy and Resource Center (PARC), the Intercultural Center (ICC), the Gender and Sexuality Center and the Brandeis Counseling Center (BCC).

Lastly, on day four, SAAC members created another video that featured the theme of “Taking Action,” where students voiced their commitment to engaging with a more welcoming campus community. In the video itself, men’s

PHOTO FROM BRANDEISJUDGES.COM

basketball player Colin Sawyer ’20 said wants to practice more compassionate listening, while Katie Romanovich ’21 of women’s soccer said she hopes to study with more classmates she does not already know. Women’s tennis player Lauren Bertsch ’21 shared her hope for a more active and engaged community in a message to The Hoot, saying that “We hope that [other student-athletes] support each other by befriending someone new, attending their basketball game or swim meet, or whatever it may be.”

Despite the week’s conclusion, Brandeis student-athletes have made it known that they are eager and ready to make a positive change on this campus through endeavors such as these. Tegtmeier continued to comment that, “I have found that the best way to institute change in this university is pooling the voices of those who want this change and sending that collective voice to the staff members who need to hear it. SAAC meetings themselves can incite change, via community service and diversity boosting, throughout the athletic department and campus as a whole.”

While Brandeis already has initiatives put in place to take the community in this direction, it can also be recognized that change really stems from the youngest voices on campus: the students. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the students to take what has been learned from campaigns such as these and promote such inclusive values within our everyday lives. Although this week has come to a close, Romanovich stated in a conversation with The Hoot that, “I hope [this campaign] has caused [students] to want to take action themselves, whether this is by highlighting their own identity, or creating new connections with others.”

Volleyball drops one to Emerson College

By Courtney Thrun staff

For the first time in a while, Brandeis’ women’s volleyball team had a week consisting of only one game. On Saturday, Oct. 26th, the Judges headed into Boston and took on the Emerson College Li-

ons. The group that started for the Judges was comprised of Marissa Borgert ’21, Emma Bartlett ’20, Emily Morrison ’23, Avery Donovan ’22, Belle Scott ’21 and Amelia Oppenheimer ’23. These six went head to head with Jillian Kay, Logan Steenbergen, Carolyn Vaimoso, Caroline Bond, Grace Tepper and Jessica Braunstein

of Emerson College. The first set went back and forth, both teams fighting to hold the lead. The teams seemed very well matched in the first, even tying at 21-21 following a kill by senior Bartlett. Unfortunately, Steenbergen answered back with a kill for the Lions who went on a 4-0 run and won the set 25-21.

In the second set the Judges were able to get an early lead 7-5, thanks to a kill by Oppenheimer and two blocks by Bartlett. The Lions fought back with a pair of kills by Vaimoso and Steenbergen, tying the game 7-7. Following this was a missed attack by Scott, putting the Lions up by one.

Emerson College was able to hold on to this lead for the rest of the set, winning it 25-18.

The third set began with two quick mistakes by the Lions, which put the Judges up 2-0.

The Brandeis team then missed a serve but was quick to recover with back-to-back kills by Scott and Bartlett, making the score 4-1. The Judges were able to hold onto the lead up until a block by Steenbergen and Vaisomo tied the game 7-7. Talia Freund ’23 followed this up with a ball handling error, but Morrison achieved a kill in the next play, tying the set back up 8-8. Following the tie, the Lions had three attack errors in

BELLE SCOTT ‘21 SPIKES.

a row and two aces by the Judges, putting Brandeis up 13-8. The Judges held onto this lead until the end and even with a 4-0 for the Lions won the set 25-20 and pushed the game to a fourth set.

The fourth set was not a great showing for the Judges. The Lions acquired an early lead, 12-5, and the Judges struggled to bounce

PHOTO FROM BRANDEISJUDGES.COM

back. They had some great moments, but the deficit was too great to come back from and they lost the set 25-16. The game ended in favor of the Lions, who won three out of four sets.

The Judges’ current record is 4-19. Stay tuned as the Brandeis volleyball team takes on UMass Boston on Saturday, Nov. 2.

November 1, 2019

The Brandeis Hoot

SPORTS 7

Men’s swimming defeats Vassar

By Emerson White staff

This weekend, the Brandeis swimming and diving team hosted Vassar College, splitting the meet with the Brewers by winning 16 of the 32 events. The men won 11 of 16 races, defeating Vassar 141-131, but the women were not able to get past the Brewers and lost 155-115, winning five out of 16 races.

For the men’s team, it was Tamir Zitelny ’20 and Daniel Wohl ’21 who led the men to victory over the Brewers, each winning four events. Zitelny had two individual wins and also swam in two winning relay teams.

Meanwhile, Wohl led the team with three personal wins and one relay win. In individual events, Wohl won the 50 freestyle with a time of 22.71 seconds, beating his own teammate Marcelo Ohno-Machado ’21 by just .07 seconds. Wohl went on to win the 100 and 200 freestyle as well, with respective times of 49.31 seconds and 1:48.18. In the relay, Wohl

and Ohno-Machado teamed up alongside Zitenly and Tom Alger ’20 to win the 400 relay with a time of 3:20.45.

Zitelny also had a successful meet for the Judges. In his individual events, he won the 100yard backstroke, finishing three seconds before Joe Beletti-Naccarato ’21, with a time of 54.34. He

also won the 100-yard butterfly, beating classmate Matthew Arcemont ’20 with a time of 52.21 seconds, 2.7 seconds ahead of Arcemont. Zitelny was also the anchor in the winning 400 freestyle relay, and he was the lead swimmer in the winning 400 medley relay.

Brandon Lu ’22 also brought home wins for the Judges win-

ning both the 100 and 200 yard breaststroke with respective times of 1:02.80 and 2:17.31.

James Barno ’23 picked up his first win of his collegiate career in the 200 back, and Arcemont picked up another win in the 200 Individual Medley.

For the women’s team the Judges had four individual wins, and

PHOTO FROM BRANDEISJUDGES.COM

DANIEL WOHL ‘21 SWIMS THE FREESTYLE

one relay victory. Two of the four individual wins were picked up by Bailey Gold ’23. She secured the victory in the 200 butterfly finishing at 2:12.84.

She also had an impressive 500 freestyle race, finishing with a time of 5:30.13. This time was not only 13 seconds ahead of second place, but also was the fifth best time in Brandeis history in this event.

The Judges picked up two more individual wins in the 100 breaststroke and the 50 freestyle. Emily McGovern ’21 finished first in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:12.69, and Ema Rennie ’23 finished with a time of 25.35 in the 50 free.

McGovern was also a part of the Judges winning 200 medley relay team, where she was joined

by Audrey Kim ’21, Christina McPhillips ’23 and Uajda Musaku ’21. They beat the Vassar team by just one-tenth of a second.

The Brandeis swim and dive team will move on to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) this weekend where they will face Babson, Smith and Simmons.

NBA season preview: the league has broken down into powerful duos

By Camila Casanueva staff

Basketball season is officially underway, as the National Basketball Association (NBA) season is back with many teams taking on a new look. It was quite the off-season, with many star players making big free agency decisions that will shift the balance of power throughout the league.

Instead of a league of super teams, decisions by Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant have transformed the league into teams with star duos, restoring some balance in the NBA. The biggest decision came from Leonard after just defeating the Golden State Warriors in the finals with the Toronto Raptors. The champion and finals MVP had to make a difficult choice. He ultimately decided to go home and join the Los Angeles Clippers, who had just added another star in Paul George in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

With the additions of Leonard and George, the Clippers went from just making the playoffs in the season before to being the overwhelming championship favorites. However, they are not the only dynamic duo that formed in L.A., as the Los Angeles Lakers traded for Anthony Davis in a blockbuster trade with the New Orleans Pelicans that brought the star center to L.A. to join Lebron James. Although the Clippers may be the favorites, the battle of L.A. is back and will definitely be something to keep an eye on this year.

The other big star making his free agency decision was twotime Finals MVP Durant of the Golden State Warriors. Durant has been under the microscope since he arrived in the Golden State, with many questioning his ability to win on his own and taking the easy route in joining the Warriors to create a super team.

Durant ultimately proved his loyalty, returning to play in game five of the NBA finals while not at full health, a choice that cost him a torn Achilles tendon. After

KAWHI LEONARD AND PAUL GEORGE SPORTING THEIR NEW CLIPPERS UNIFORMS.

taking in the reality of his injury and soaking in the loss in the finals, Durant decided to take his talents to the Brooklyn Nets and join Kyrie Irving, breaking apart the Warriors dynasty. Just like that, it was no longer a league of super teams.

Although the league is not entirely balanced, it is apparent that the best players went to the big markets to team up with a fellow star. This leaves the Warriors with the star duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, once healthy from ACL surgery. It will be a different look for the Warriors than in years past as they return to the reality of the NBA. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green will have to do most of the heavy lifting

for the squad to make any type of noise this upcoming season.

The West is locked and loaded with star players as the Portland Trailblazers are always a fun team to watch with their lethal backcourt of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.

Not to mention the Houston Rockets who made some noise this offseason in their trade sending Chris Paul to the Oklahoma City Thunder, bringing Russel Westbrook to Houston to join James Harden. There are many questions on how the two MVPs will play together with their similar dominant playing styles. But there is no doubt that the Houston Rockets will be a team to watch, playing at a blazing pace,

PHOTO FROM FORBES.COM

with the walking triple double in Westbrook and the walking bucket in Harden. The playoff race will be a close one in the West, not to mention the sleepers to keep an eye on, including the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets.

For the East, the teams to keep an eye on are the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics. Reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, also known as the Greek Freak, will be a player to watch this season.

His eye-popping athleticism and ability to dominate a game make him a favorite for another MVP season. In addition, the 76ers stacked their roster this season, led by young duo Joel Embid and Ben Simmons, while

also adding Al Horford this offseason, who will bring them a much needed veteran presence.

The Celtics will also be a team to watch this season, as the departure of Kyrie Irving allows them a fresh start with their young talents of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, not to mention the addition of All-Star Kemba Walker.

All in all, the NBA has a new look and the title race is wide open. Every team has the right to believe it can win the championship; it is all up for grabs.

With all the changes made in the offseason, the NBA will be quite hard to predict this year, raising the excitement for many teams. The road to the finals starts now.

8 SPORTS

The Brandeis Hoot

November 1, 20179

Women’s soccer continues to find success in out of conference games

By Francesca Marchese staff

The Brandeis women’s soccer team traveled to Mansfield, CT, where they shut out host Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU) 2-0. With two goals—one early and one late—the Judges reached their 10-win plateau for the eighth season in a row. This non-conference matchup improves Brandeis to 10-5-0, while the ECSU Warriors fall to 5-11 on their season.

Just three minutes into the game, Katie Hayes ’20 put the Judges on the board, netting her second goal of the season.

Hayes maneuvered her way into the box, finishing off of a pass from first-year defender Caroline Swan ’23. Swan took the free kick from 40 yards after Daria Bakhtiari ’21 was tripped from behind.

Swan’s kick was on time and on target as it soared into the box; Hayes, measuring only five feet seven inches, elevated above two defenders and drove the ball right below the crossbar into the lower left back of the net.

Swan’s assist was her fourth of the season, and Hayes’ goal pro-

PHOTO FROM BRANDEISJUDGES.COM

DARIA BAKHTIARI ‘21 SENDS BALL TO A TEAMMATE.

vided the Judges with a one-goal advantage early on in the game.

The Judges outshot Eastern Connecticut 29-1.

However, the Warriors racked up a career-high number of saves. Tyrell, ECSU’s goalie, who is ranked ninth in New England, recorded 16 saves.

With 44.5 seconds remaining in the matchup, sophomore forward Juliette Carreiro ’22 remained aggressive, sending one past the

Warrior’s goalie on the left post; the Judges defeated their opponents 2-0. Victoria Richardson ’20, Brandeis’ veteran goalkeeper, recorded her fourth shutout across 15 starts this season.

The victory against ECSU allowed the Judges to improve to a 10-0 record against teams outside of the United Soccer Coaches’ top 25.

Brandeis women’s soccer has won six straight games on the

road since their opening loss at MIT, which is New England’s topranked team.

Swan said to The Brandeis Hoot, “I would say that we found a lot of success in our possessions and definitely dominated the game; but, unfortunately, we couldn’t finish as many opportunities as we would have liked to.

Going into next week’s important UAA [University Athletic Association] games, hopefully we can

clean that up; but a win is a win!”

The Judges are looking to return to Waltham undefeated after their next two road games, which begin Friday Nov. 1 at Emory University and finish in Rochester on Sunday Nov. 3 against the University of Rochester.

“We scored a free kick early in the game,” said Swan, “and those have been a key part of our success; so we are hoping to continue to capitalize on our set pieces.”

A day in the life of a Brandeis student-athlete: Tessa Holleran ‘21

By Sabrina Chow editor

This column will highlight a different student-athlete each week, striving to unearth what the hectic life of a Brandeis athlete entails. With this in mind, such a collection of stories will serve as a testament to the hard work, passion and resilience that athletes at Brandeis specifically embody, hopefully working to bridge the gap between student-athletes and the rest of the Brandeisian community.

It’s 7:30 a.m. and hurdler/jumper Tessa Holleran ’21 is on her way to a morning lift session with her teammates. “Everyone’s kind of groggy, but I bounce around, and I’m happy to be there and

HOLLERAN ON A DAY OFF FROM TRACK.

motivate people,” she told The Brandeis Hoot in an interview.

Even though she is friendly and talkative with her teammates, every lift session is another opportunity for Holleran to build up her strength for her spring season and take what she learns in the weight room onto the track. Track and field, unlike many other varsity sports, is as much an individual sport as it is a team sport.

“Track is unique because you’re on a team, but the biggest competition is yourself,” she said. “[In the weight room], I’m working on my own work ethic, which is preparing me for the challenges that I may face when I’m in season.”

After her session, Holleran goes back to her dorm in Charles River for breakfast and a homework

session. One of the biggest things that she’s learned being an athlete is good time-management skills, balancing practice, academics, sports and a social life.

It’s after lunch time, and Holleran is heading up campus to her favorite but most difficult course, Italian. She is always excited to go to this class because Professor Paola Servino (ITAL) always keeps her on her toes, and Holleran enjoys seeing her growth in speaking the language. “Having the ability to somewhat speak an entirely different language is a source of pride for me, and I can see my growth as the days pass as I can hold a conversation with my boyfriend or classmates,” Holleran told The Hoot.

After Italian, Holleran is off to her next class, this time for her major, ANTH 151B (Nature, Culture, Power: Anthropology of the Environment). “I really enjoy the class because you’re able to build off the ideas of other classmates in an open, non-judgmental environment,” she said. “It helps you become more aware of the current state of different places in the world.”

Holleran is an Environmental Studies major with minors in Italian Studies, Classical Studies and Business. She enjoys the variety of classes that she’s able to take because of the difference in all her areas of study.

After her class finishes at 3:20 p.m., Holleran is running back to Gosman for the second time that day for a 3:30 p.m. practice.

An important rule for both cross country and track and field athletes is to keep the 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. block open for practice.

After practice, she’s usually back in her dorm to make dinner or in the dining hall for a team dinner.

Whenever she gets the chance to go, Holleran really appreciates being able to take a step back from athletics and connect with her team on a more casual level.

TESSA HOLLERAN ‘21 RUNS THE HURDLES.

She does recognize that at other Division III schools like Brandeis, varsity athletes may have a different reputation on campus. She told The Hoot that when she looks at the Instagram page of the University of Oregon track and field team, one of the top in the country, she says that it’s hard to see them as students outside of their sport. “I look at myself like everyone else,” she told The Hoot. “At Brandeis, there’s always competition for who’s doing something better. And there’s always someone doing something bigger and better.” Holleran recognizes that she is a varsity athlete, however, she doesn’t feel like it’s anything special, besides the fact that varsity athletes get their own weight room in Gosman.

Holleran has learned from being a varsity athlete to always be ambitious. When she’s approaching the blocks for a hurdles race, the only thought running through her head is “f*ck it, let’s just do this and run as fast as you can.”

PHOTOS COURTESY TESSA HOLLERAN

And she’s brought this into her personal life as well, taking what she learned and making the jump to study abroad. “I just figured if I didn’t do it now, I would miss the opportunity… Similarly, if I don’t put in the work, then I’m not going to see results.”

Another defining characteristic Holleran has on the team is that she serves as their team photographer. At every track meet, teammates and fans can expect to see her running around the track, photographing every event she can for her fellow teammates. “I’m running from event to event, only taking a break to do my own warmups for my event, and I hand my camera off to someone else to take photos.”

Holleran initially started taking photos because it “added a lot more substance to track than just running and being athletic. It’s a passion, and I’ve always loved art, and it’s a way for me to connect with my teammates.”

EDITORIAL

November 1, 2019

“To acquire wisdom, one must observe.”

Editors-in-Chief Candace Ng Polina Potochevska Managing Editor Emily Botto Senior Copy Editor Natalie Fritzson Copy Editor Jennifer Cook Senior News Editor Celia Young News Editor Rachel Saal Arts Editor Jonah Koslofsky Opinions Editor Sasha Skarboviychuk Features Editor Shruthi Manjunath Sports Editor Sophie Trachtenberg Layout Editor Sabrina Chow Social Media Editor Emma Lichtenstein

Volume 16 • Issue 21 the brandeis hoot • brandeis university 415 south street • waltham, ma

Founded By Leslie Pazan, Igor Pedan and Daniel Silverman

STAFF

Faria Afreen, Medjine Barionette, Emma Belkin, Camila Casanueva, Chris DeMena, Tim Dillon, James Feltner, Sam Finbury, John Fornagiel, Lucy Frenkel, Madeline Herrup, Stewart Huang, Gunnar Johnson, Alex Kougasian, Aaron LaFauci, Dane Leoniak, Jesse Lieberman, Josh Lannon, Francesca Marchese, Victoria Morrongiello, Zach Newman, Lucy Pugh-Sellers, Madeline Rousell, Zachary Sosland, Courtney Thrun, Emerson White, Nicole Zador, Grace Zhou

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

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

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

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

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

ADVERTISE Advertising in The Brandeis Hoot helps spread your message to our readers across the Brandeis campus, in the Waltham community and beyond through our website.

All campus organizations receive a 25-percent discount off our regular prices. To reserve your space in the paper, e-mail us at ads@ thebrandeishoot.com.

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

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

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

B

The Brandeis Hoot 9

Bringing the alumni back

randeis has been known by many for having little to no school spirit. In the 2020 edition of “The Best 385 Colleges”

by The Princeton Review, Brandeis was ranked No. 1 in the “There’s a Game?” category, which asks students to rate how popular intercollegiate sports are on their campuses. Brandeis has gone up two spots since last year’s ranking, denoting students’ poor attendance at sporting events.

While the university has made efforts to improve school pride through programming, such as “We Wear Blue” spirit days and “We The Jury” initiatives, we, The Brandeis Hoot editorial board, feel that the sense of community needs to expand beyond the current student body to Brandeis alumni. If alumni feel more connected with Brandeis, they may feel more inclined to invest in its future. In learning about Brandeis’ need to increase fundraising efforts in a Hoot article about springboard funding, we found that the school needs to roughly double fundraising efforts in order to remain competitive with its peers. We hope our alumni donate because they want to give back to the institution and its current students, not out of social obligation.

Brandeis alumni are a vital part of our community, but we, as a university, are not doing enough to reach out to them post-graduation.

One of Brandeis’ biggest draws is its sense of community—on such a small campus, it’s easy to get to know your fellow classmates. Apart from friendships, college offers networking opportunities. These con-

nections can lead us through our career, as people we connect with in college can help us in our future endeavors.

Although Brandeis has some resources connecting students to alumni, they are often hidden away, and most students don’t know how to access them. The Hiatt Career Center, which has an entire page titled “Beyond Brandeis,” shows students the most popular locations, job positions and universities that recent graduates are attending. The Brandeis Alumni and Friends website has links to a plethora of Facebook groups, LinkedIn networking groups, an alumni directory and more. These resources are tucked away in a tab on a website that is in itself difficult to find if you are not searching for it.

College is a great time to network, not only with students in your class but with undergraduates and graduates alike, and that idea is pushed on students constantly. However, students are left searching far and wide for the tools needed to actually connect with members of their community.

It is also important to note that Brandeis alumni want to connect with current students, especially those involved with activities they took part in as undergraduates. For example, for Homecoming weekend each year, alumni of different varsity sports return to campus and compete in alumni games against the current team. During the most recent Homecoming weekend, two former varsity tennis alumni donated the new outdoor Cordish Tennis Center and a group of alumni do-

nated a new scoreboard for the tennis program.

At The Hoot, we started reconnecting with our alumni last spring, and it has been a great experience.

We have learned about their wish to feel more connected to the school and their communities. They also enjoy seeing us uphold the legacy of their work, continuing to support the organizations thwat they may have started themselves.

This past week, we had the opportunity to meet alumnus Jordan Rothman ’09 M.A. ’09, who returned to campus for a Segal Fellowship retreat. While speaking to Rothman, we learned that there were many alumni who, like Rothman, want to connect with current students but don’t have the avenue to do it. Not only does Brandeis have very few ways in which it connects with alumni, such as Phonathon, but it has eliminated common and popular events such as five-year reunions. Brandeis instead instituted annual “Alumni Weekends,” which are not designed for specific class years and are more of an open event for alumni as a whole.

Brandeis housed and educated each of these alumni, and they want to pay it back as adults. However, the university has not done enough to connect alumni to the university, current students and other alumni.

If the university wants to connect more with alumni, both to support its current students and raise donations for the school, it needs to meet them halfway, welcoming them back with open arms (and open palms).

Corrections In a Features article “Manfredo’s goals as the Emergency Management Director,” the article incorrectly stated that individuals can work together to prevent future emergency situations. Manfredo’s goal is for the community to be more proactive in mitigating their risks. While individuals cannot prevent future emergency situations, emergency management preparation can lessen the impacts and minimize vulnerability.

FEATURES

10 The Brandeis Hoot

November 1, 2019

Rally gathers for advocacy of menstrual equity

By Alyssa Fu special to the hoot

Oct. 19 was the first ever National Period Day in history. The global nonprofit PERIOD created it this year, and it was celebrated

STUDENTS SHOW OFF THEIR SIGNS WHILE AT THE PERIOD RALLY

PHOTOS COURTESY LINZY ROSEN

with over 60 rallies in the U.S. and three other countries. In Massachusetts, this rally took place at Boston City Hall Plaza.

Linzy Rosen ’22 was the lead rally organizer and had firsthand experience working with an organizing team of various students in the Boston area. Several Brandeis alumni and current students also attended the rally, most of whom were members of the Brandeis PERIOD chapter.

Rosen explains that the intention of National Period Day is to bring people together to advocate for the end of period poverty and menstrual inequity. “National Period Day strives to provide an energetic space for individuals to learn about menstrual stigma, issues facing their communities, their local legislative agenda, and feel more empowered to join the menstrual movement,” she said.

At the rally, Rosen felt tremendously empowered looking out

at the crowd while she was on stage. “It was refreshing to see a variety of genders and ages and everyone was so full of energy.

It was incredible to see so many women and their non-menstruating allies in attendance. The entire rally felt surreal. I had been working tirelessly to organize the event since July, so having the day finally materialize was riveting.”

Her favorite moments included seeing both the hilarious and inspiring posters, hearing everyone chant passionately and having the opportunity to listen to speakers share their stories. Rally speakers included local elected officials, students, community activists and menstrual equity researchers.

Hearing the personal narratives of individuals battling menstrual stigma in their lives as people of color or as transgender individuals was particularly moving to Rosen.

Rosen also expressed her own

motivations in creating this event.

“After founding the chapter of PERIOD at Brandeis last semester, I knew I wanted to get more involved in the global organization. I am very passionate about ending menstrual stigma and inequity. I felt compelled to organize the rally in order to get more people involved in this advocacy and expand my efforts outside the Brandeis campus.”

This was only the first National Period Day of many more to come in future years. Rosen recommends attending next year, regardless of menstruation experience. “Attending a rally about menstruation and screaming about periods in a major city is not something anyone would normally do,” she acknowledges.

“That is exactly why more people need to experience it! Feeling uncomfortable about periods is normal, and we will only come closer to breaking the menstrual

Sleep Week aims to reduce stress and help with sleep

By Sabrina Chow editor

As college students, there is nothing we value more than our sleep. Trying to juggle academics, extracurriculars and managing a social life can be super stressful, oftentimes leading to a lack of sleep.

As part of an initiative with the Health and Wellness Promotion (HAWP) and 14 other groups on campus, the Wellness Programmers, a group within HAWP, is sponsoring the first ever Sleep Week at Brandeis, happening Monday, Nov. 4 through Friday, Nov. 8. The events are open to all students, staff and faculty on campus.

Leah Berkenwald ’07, the Wellness Promotion Manager for HAWP, told The Brandeis Hoot in an email that Wellness

Programmers are a group of staff and student leaders around campus that meet on a monthly basis to “support, organize and implement health and wellness programming at Brandeis.”

The idea for Sleep Week came out of the success for various stressbusters programs from last year. “It was great to see so many departments and organizations come together to do a week of de-stress programming before finals,” Berkenwald wrote. “Sleep is another important wellness issue for college students and impacts so many different aspects of the student experience.”

“The goal of Sleep Week is to raise awareness about the importance of sleep and its benefits to our well-being and performance,” she wrote. “It’s also to start conversations about environmental and cultural changes we can be making across cam-

pus to promote healthier sleep.”

Events are happening throughout the week sponsored by various groups around campus to help students destress. These events include yoga, free food, trivia, mindfulness activities and workshops for members of the Brandeis community to understand why sleep is important.

There will also be a campus-wide Snapchat filter, “Goodnight Brandeis,” that students and staff can use to show their support for the event, and a giant bed in the SCC atrium. A full list of the week’s events can be found on the HAWP website.

Berkenwald explained that getting enough sleep is a huge issue for students, especially college students. “It has direct and significant impacts on physical and mental well-being, as well as academic success,” she wrote. “Sleep is also a huge challenge as the uni-

versity culture and environment are not exactly sleep-friendly. We need sleep to live, the same way we need air and food, yet it is often the lowest priority on our to-do list.”

She further explained that over two-thirds of students in the United States face issues with excessive drowsiness and more than a third fall asleep in class at least once a week.

Additionally, 20 percent pull “all-nighters” at least once a month and a quarter of college students in the United States describe their sleep problems as “traumatic or difficult to handle,” according to a study performed by the University of St. Thomas.

Sleep affects mental health as well. “A person with insufficient sleep is nine times more likely to experience depression and 17 times more likely to experience anxiety symptoms,” Berkenwald wrote, citing the earlier study.

STUDENTS POSING TOGETHER

stigma if we allow ourselves to receive the support of others as we enter uncomfortable spaces.” She emphasizes that supporting menstrual equity is fun, inclusive, and powerful.

To get involved with PERIOD, check out PERIOD’s weekly meeting at 8 p.m. on Thursdays in the SCC Room 313. PERIOD can also be found on Facebook at PERIODBrandeis and on Instagram as PERIOD@Brandeis.

According to national data by the National College Health Assessment, published in the spring of 2019, 12.7 percent of surveyors did not feel like they were getting enough sleep to feel rested in the morning for the past seven days. Almost 20 percent of surveyors also “felt tired, dragged out, or sleepy during the day” for the past six-plus days.

The culmination of Sleep Week will be a campus-wide pajama day on Friday, Nov. 8.

“HAWP supports student well-being, so folks can make the most of their time at Brandeis,” Berkenwald wrote to The Hoot.

“HAWP coordinates campus-wide health and wellness efforts through evidence-based promotion and prevention strategies, such as educational programming and events, health information and resources, and peer education.”

Featured Events Calendar: Sleep Week Monday, Nov. 4 Rest & Restore Yoga 5:30 p.m., Skyline Multipurpose Room 7 p.m., Gosman Dance Studio Relax and unwind with yoga poses to stretch and relax.

Sponsored by: Department of Athletics, Recreation, and Physical Education Tuesday, Nov. 5 It’s a DCSiesta! Sweet Treats, Sleep Tips and More!

11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m., various locations around campus Come join the Department of Community Service (DCS) for free candy, apples, tips and tricks about sleep and other opportunities to engage with the community.

Sponsored by: Department of Community Service Trivia, Color and Candy with CEAP 2:30 - 4:30 p.m., Shapiro Cam-

pus Center (SCC) atrium The Community Engagement Ambassadors will be in the SCC atrium with coloring pages, sleep trivia and candy for all!

Sponsored by: Community Engagement Ambassadors Deep Relaxation ZenGa 4 - 4:45 p.m., Skyline Multipurpose Room Join Chaplain Matthew Carriker and Fitness Coordinator Kat Page for mindfulness and yoga.

Sponsored by: Center for Spiritual Life and Department of Athletics, Recreation, and Physical Education Rest & Restore Yoga 6 p.m., Gosman Dance Studio Relax and unwind with yoga poses to stretch and relax.

Sponsored by: Department of Athletics, Recreation, and Physical Education

Sleep to Win: Sleep, Fitness, and Performance 7 - 8 p.m., Napoli Room, Gosman Athletics and Convocation Center Come to our interactive, activity-based workshop that explores the impact of sleep on fitness and athletic performances. Participants will assess their personal sleep partners and learn how to improve their sleep as well as performance.

Sponsored by: HAWP and Department of Athletics, Recreation, and Physical Education Wednesday, Nov. 6 Camp in the Library 2 - 5 p.m., Treasure Hall in the Library Learn how to take a proper power nap and practice in sleeping bags! There will also be a make-your-own trail mix station and tea.

Sponsored by: Brandeis Library and Brandeis Mountain

Club Thursday, Nov. 7 BTW, How Are You Sleeping?

11 a.m. - 1 p.m., location TBD Learn how to improve your sleep and grab a free sleep kit with sleep masks, earplugs, herbal tea and more.

Sponsored by: BTW: Bridge to Wellness peer educators and HAWP Staff Lunch & Learn 12 - 1 p.m., SCC 313 Learn about student sleep data and research on sleep and mental health. Also learn more strategies on how to create a more sleep-friendly environment.

Sponsored by: HAWP

Deep Relaxation Zen Zone 12 - 12:30 p.m., Usdan Peace Room

Sponsored by: Center for Spiritual Life Mindful Meditation Yoga 7:30 p.m., Gosman Dance Studio Sponsored by: Department of Athletics, Recreation, and Physical Education Friday, Nov. 8 Pajama Day! Join the rest of campus as we all wear pajamas to celebrate the end of Sleep Week!

Pajamagram Photobooth & Mask Decorating 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., SCC Atrium Take a photo in our Pajamagram Photobooth with your pajamas and decorate a sleep mask!

Sponsored by: Brandeis Beacons and Create@Brandeis Compiled by Sabrina Chow

November 1, 2019

OPINIONS

The Brandeis Hoot 11

Hoot Halloween guide Whether you’re a ghost or goblin, witch or wizard, Halloween is a holiday where everyone gets to put their spookiest face forward. And the best way to do Halloween is to commit 100 percent to every aspect of the holiday, from costumes to candy. There are a lot of ways to get the most out of your Halloween. Though this year, we, the staff of The Brandeis Hoot, will be spending the holiday—in costume—working to provide you, dear reader, with a newspaper to enjoy on Nov. 1. So if you want to get the most out of your Halloween party or make a costume on the cheap, feel free to try some of the tips and tricks we’ve learned through over a decade of dropping everything to create the perfect Halloween experience.

By John Fornagiel staff

The True “Scare” of Halloween When kids go trick-or-treating all around America and start munching on their hard-earned candies, there is always one unnerving thought lurking in the back of their parents’ mind: What if some psychopath hid drugs or needles in my kids’ candy? Now, I’m sure there are a lot of people who will generally chalk up these kinds of thoughts to overprotec-

By Celia Young editor

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and not just because it’s an excuse to learn how to unhinge my jaw to scarf down as much chocolate as possible. The holiday is also a great opportunity to get together with friends and let your creative side loose on costuming and decorating. Sure, life might be stressful right now, but putting fake cobwebs all over your living room with your friends as you listen to the Monster Mash on repeat is an easy way to relax and get into the spooky spirit.

Costumes Costumes are a key part of any Halloween party, and frankly, one of the most fun parts of the holiday. But costumes can also be expensive, and as a college student trying to save every dime, I rarely allow myself to spend on clothes I

By Polina Potochevska editor

Why Baba Yaga is the best villain in Russian folklore In the spirit of Halloween, I wanted to take this chance to discuss one of my favorite Russian folk tales. Baba Yaga is one of the most famous villains in Slavic folklore, and she’s terrifying.

Baba Yaga is a dangerous old woman—in some stories, she is described as a trio of elderly sisters—who lives in the deepest woods. She is characterized as being extremely ugly, thin and bony, with a huge nose (as many witches have) and iron teeth. She is also a supernatural being who lives in a small hut that runs on chicken legs surrounded by a fence made of human bones, and she flies on a mortar and pestle. Thanks to some research, I discovered that

By Sasha Skarboviychuk editor

Things I never understood about Halloween Regardless of how fun Halloween is, there are a few things about it that never made sense to me. Isn’t one of the first things you learn from your parents or at school that you should never take candy from a stranger?

This is an entire holiday that is watered down to going around

tive paranoia, but what are the facts? Is there any need for parents around the world to go rummaging through their kids’ candy?

Contrary to the myth that there are malicious maniacs lacing Halloween candy with heroin, there actually has not been a single documented case of poisoned candy being intentionally handed out to children. This begs the question: Where exactly did this candy paranoia come from?

Well, for one, the stereotypical kidnapper is a man in a white van handing out candy to unsuspecting kids. Moreover, for the rest of

the year, kids are usually told to stay away from strangers and to never take candy from them. On Halloween, however, it’s tradition for kids to go up to homes and ask for candy. In this context, it almost seems like this would naturally make any parent nervous.

With that being said, there has been a case where drugs were unknowingly handed out to kids.

In 2000, a man found a bag of Snickers at work and began handing them out to kids at his home.

When these kids ran back home to show their parents the treats that they found, the parents found

that it was not Snickers at all! Instead, there was marijuana inside of the wrappers. The detectives and police found that the bag of Snickers in the mail were actually just someone’s attempt at smuggling marijuana and was never actually meant to be handed out to children.

Okay, so Halloween candy is not being laced with poison, but what about other dangerous objects, such as needles or razors? Unfortunately, unlike poison, there are multiple documented cases of sharp objects being placed inside of your standard candy bar. With

that being said, it is still extremely rare; there have only been 80 cases of sharp objects in candy since 1959.

Most of these 80 cases are relatives and friends who thought that it would be a funny idea to place a sharp object in candy as a prank.

Fortunately, actual accounts of poison and needles being hidden in candy are exceedingly rare, so it should not be a major concern for anyone. However it is something people should be aware of (maybe I am crazy, but I prefer my candy without sharp objects in it).

will actually use. Buying a witch’s hat and long black wig might feel right when I’m knee-deep in an online shopping spree, but the cold realization of what I’ve done comes as quickly as my monthly bank statements.

This year, I recommend saving on costumes by adjusting your normal clothes to fit your spooky persona. Pinterest and Instagram offer a lot of easy tutorials and costume ideas, but I personally like to use homemade fake blood and makeup to tie together a costume. Using a hot glue gun, some wax paper and red paint or a red marker, you can design some realistic blood droplets that you can tape or use a cool glue to attach to your skin. (Please do not use hot glue on your body.)

Makeup also offers endless opportunities to tie together a costume. Going as a witch? Put on some black lipstick. Want to be Wonder Woman instead? Draw her iconic crown on your forehead. If you have red eyeshadow

or a red lipstick, you can also make realistic scars and cuts with only a little practice.

By Emma Lichtenstein

when ancient Slavic people buried their dead, they would place them in small houses on high stumps that kind of resemble chicken legs—perhaps that is the basis of this tale. However, I’m sure those houses wouldn’t start running in the way that Baba Yaga’s hut can. In a creepy way, this connects Baba Yaga to the realm of the dead. Oh, and she also kidnaps naughty children, throws them into her stove and eats them à la the evil witch in Hansel and Gretel. Pretty scary.

However, what sets her apart from other folk tale villains, and perhaps what makes her the most interesting, is that she is not just an evil witch that eats children. If you approach her correctly, she might even help you. In some Russian fairy tales, young men meet Baba Yaga in the woods when looking for their kidnapped brides and can avoid death if they pass all of her tricky tests. She’ll

even help the men find their missing lovers. In some stories, she is an evil witch, in others she is almost a maternal, mother-nature-like character, making it still unclear if she is truly evil, or a strange combination of “good” and “bad.” And although she has a mean streak, if she ever makes a promise to the hero of a tale, she keeps it.

Stories about Baba Yaga have been written since at least 1755, and most likely told orally for many years prior. In mainstream culture, she has been referenced in “John Wick,” “Hellboy,” “AntMan and the Wasp” and multiple video games. Anyone who grew up with parents from eastern Europe probably knows her story, as parents love to frighten their disobedient children with the tales of Baba Yaga and her sneaky behavior. All I’m saying is, you won’t find me in the deep woods by myself anytime soon.

ple who actually like it. I understand it is the most “fall-themed” of all the candy, but come on, just because it screams fall doesn’t mean people like it. Do you really want to be known as the house that gives out the worst candy?

While we had two chocolate free options, they’re immediately followed by two more chocolates: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Snickers. Both of these chocolates are solid, I guess, but they also have peanuts which concerns me.

I know everything is individually wrapped so allergy issues should be prevented, but the thought of so many children throwing out or giving away Halloween candy makes me sad.

Starburst followed closely placing sixth, balancing out the chocolate to not ratio. However, right after that was once again chocolate: Kit Kats.

Twizzlers are the eighth most bought candy this year, followed, once again, by the chocolate Twix.

The fact that Twix ranks so low on this list scares me. That many people genuinely think that Milky Ways, Reese’s, Snickers and KitKats are better than Twix? Closing out the top ten is the nastiest chocolate of all, Butterfingers.

As a general request, I would like to call on all households to stop buying only chocolate candy.

When everyone does it, it gets old really fast. Get some fruity candy.

Or get a variety. Be more inclusive. And have a sweet Halloween!

and taking candy from strangers.

Odd, right? One day a year, taking candy from strangers is perfectly okay. Maybe it’s because I didn’t grow up celebrating it, but I feel uncomfortable with the idea of getting candy from random people. Also, why candy? Where did candy come from? Let’s talk about carving pumpkins. Maybe it’s because I’ve never carved a pumpkin before, but it feels like you carve the pumpkin, it rots in a few days, and you have to throw it away. First of all, what a waste

of a perfectly good pumpkin (I’d rather make pumpkin soup with it). Secondly, why?This doesn’t exactly not make sense to me, but the timing of Halloween is odd.

It is at the end of October, so it is already cold in most places. This means that a lot of costumes cannot be worn or have to be warm because of this. Is there a particular reason why it happens on that day? I couldn’t seem to find an answer to that. Here is another odd tradition: bobbing for apples.

You get wet (at the end of Octo-

Decorations Even if you’re not hosting a Halloween party, decorating your room or common space can be a fun activity to share with a few friends. For example, you can challenge your friends to make the best cut out ghost using just some paper and a few markers. Decorating is more fun with friends and a great way to get them in the spooky spirit as well.

Even if you’re not a huge fan of the holiday and are hoping I’ll finally stop giving you Halloween related advice you’ll never use, most people enjoy the discount Halloween candy that hits the shelves on Nov. 1. So if you’d rather not celebrate, well then just enjoy the extra chocolate!

editor

The Best Halloween Candy Candy is one of the best parts of Halloween: Nobody doubts that. But just like everything else, everyone has their own set of preferences. This year, Country Living compiled a list of top store bought candy for this Halloween, and although there is some variety, the winning flavor is—unfortunately—chocolate. Don’t get me wrong, chocolate is good, but gummy, fruity candy is better in every way.

Milky Way took the lead being the most bought candy: This alone makes me question people’s tastes in candy. The superior chocolate bar is easily Twix; Milky Way seems like a cheap knock off in comparison. Humanity isn’t completely hopeless though.

Skittles was a close second on the list, proving that many Americans do have taste. My favorite part of every Halloween season is when the individually wrapped Skittles go on sale—one of the best candies ever, on the go!

Now this one surprised me: Candy corn was third. Who likes candy corn? It tastes like wax that has too much sugar in it. Have you ever heard anyone say “yay I got candy corn?” No, you haven’t because there are maybe five peo-

PHOTO FROM GIBBLEGUTS.COM

ber nonetheless) to try and get an apple that you could have easily just picked up. I understand that picking up an apple isn’t half the fun, but hey, at least you’ll remain dry. Is Halloween just an excuse to have a costume party? I feel like when you fall in the age group where you’re too old to go trickor-treating but don’t have kids yet, Halloween pretty much the time of year where your standard party becomes a costume party, but that is pretty much it. Maybe another “spooky” event or two as well. Or

maybe just a good time of year to watch a scary movie? Don’t even get me started on pet costumes.

They are cute and all but once again: why? Two words: candy corn. I think of all the things I discussed here, candy corn is the one I have the toughest time understanding. It is basically sugar with a slight flavor—that I cannot describe and do not want to find out—and seems to be made of nothing but corn syrup and sugar.

Sorry, candy corn lovers, I really don’t get you.

12 OPINIONS

The Brandeis Hoot

November 1, 2019

Request for proposal? How about no corporations?

By Yael Eiger special to the hoot

At the end of this school year Brandeis’ contract with Sodexo, our current dining service provider, will end. Brandeis is soliciting student input in order to shape our dining for next year and the future. This opportunity for input is a rare one. Contracts with companies like Sodexo, and its comparable companies Aramark and Compass Group (“The Big Three”—together operating 70 percent of college dining) rarely grant agency to their consumers. Have you ever felt agency in what is served in the dining hall?

Have you ever felt agency over Sodexo’s complicity in and upholding of white supremacy such as its service of private prisons and immigrant detention centers? Have you ever felt agency over Sodexo’s connection to I.C.E. raids and the burning of the Amazon in its supply chain? For me, the answer to all these questions is an unequivocal “no.” When our university has a contract with a company in the dining vendor oligopoly, the voice of the community is lost, in favor of the voice of the company.

Together, we can take advantage of this opportunity and push for a true alternative.

Of the colleges that made Princeton Review’s “Best Campus Food” list, all are independently operated—none are contracted to one of the Big Three. Many of these dining frameworks emphasize sustainability for the environment and for the local community. Their food is often locally sourced, supporting farmers and vendors in the area. To dispel potential skepticism over the feasibility of this project, I would like to highlight a few nearby exam-

ples.

If there is concern over the interaction between our workers, their union contract and independent dining, we can look at the successful relationship between these groups within Tufts’ and Harvard’s celebrated independent dining frameworks.

Both Tufts’ and Harvard’s service workers are part of UNITE HERE Local 26, the same union that represents dining workers at Brandeis. The union has experience negotiating and cooperating with independent university dining programs. In fact, the union is able to negotiate more collaboratively and symbiotically with dining hall management when the management itself has autonomy and is not shifting responsibility to a massive, corporate, bureaucratic third party. Furthermore, our service workers have been unionized for over 40 years and have successfully participated in Brandeis’ independent dining program, Brandeis’ conversion to Aramark and Brandeis’ conversion to Sodexo. The management of working conditions at Brandeis receives zero benefit from Sodexo management. In fact, our workers’ conditions have been harmed by third party management. The service workers who worked for Brandeis through Brandeis’ transitions from Brandeis Dining to Aramark to Sodexo have articulated to me and the rest of Brandeis Labor Coalition that Brandeis Dining absolutely had the best working conditions of the three phases.

If there is concern over transitioning from Sodexo to an independent dining framework, we can look at Westfield State University, a nearby school of comparable size to Brandeis, which, as of 2016, “as a part of a larger com-

mitment to healthy, sustainable and delicious foods, made the decision to switch from a contract food service provider to self-operation. As a self-operated dining program, Westfield State will enjoy greater autonomy with respect to menu and service,” according to its website. The contract food service provider they left by the wayside was Sodexo. Westfield State also, importantly, retained its workers through the transition, just as Brandeis has in its previous vendor transitions. Furthermore, if there is concern over the financial feasibility of this project, we can see Westfield State, a school with far less money (Brandeis’ endowment is 175 times higher than Westfield State’s), as just one of many crucial counterexamples.

If there is concern over the availability of food to source locally from, we can point to the obvious counterpoint that Waltham is filled with restaurants and local businesses which are often under threat of being pushed out, and also the fact that each of the aforementioned examples source from nearby farms, in addition to nearby restaurants. University of Massachusetts at Amherst, for example, sources from over 100 nearby farms, according to their website. UMass Amherst has been awarded Princeton Review’s Best College Dining award four years in a row. Their strategy is to “focus on quality ingredients and meals, customer service, student health and wellness, customization options, an appreciation of global influences and modern eating trends, and creating community on campus,” as said on their website. Each of the tenets of their strategy are, notably, solutions to complaints that have been made at Brandeis. Brandeis’ desire to cut ties with Sodexo has

been attributed to poor labeling and autonomy over the food, poor customization with respect to dietary restrictions, lacking cultural diversity or food reminiscent of tradition at all, and poor quality of ingredients.

Food has the potential to create community, connect us to our traditions and land and nourish us for our endeavors. At Brandeis right now, the Sodexo food we eat comes from exploited farmers, exploited land, is devoid of any connection to the cultural diversity of our community and is constantly accused of mislabeling products and serving food of poor quality.

Brandeis must divest from companies which do not fit our values, like Sodexo, Aramark and Compass. Brandeis must invest in our

PHOTO FROM NATURALNEWS.COM

A little more consideration?

By Sasha Skarboviychuk editor

If you are in almost any club at Brandeis, you have probably organized, or at least helped with or-

ganizing an event. So most people are aware of how much work goes into planning and executing one.

However, I feel like most people forget about that when attending others’ events. I’m sure that most people would agree that there is

nothing more disheartening than other people trashing an event that you put work into.

Everyone has high expectations, and oftentimes those expectations are not met. And then everyone has opinions to voice, which are

community. Our university has an obligation to prevent the gentrification of our neighborhood, and we can invest in that mission through the support of our local businesses.

If you would like to know more about the harms of dining hall companies and the potential for independent dining at Brandeis, Brandeis Labor Coalition is hosting a workshop on Nov. 7 in Schwartz 103 from 8 to 10 p.m., in collaboration with the Boston chapter of the grassroots organization Uprooted and Rising.

If you would like to submit your opinion on the dining proposal to the university, you can do it at https://slate.brandeis.edu/register/diningservicesrfp.

usually not positive (as the opinions editor, I know a few things about opinions). Which means I also understand that most people don’t think about the impact of their opinion. I’m also very guilty of letting my tongue go loose, because just like everyone else, I’ve been to events on this campus that were disappointing.

I’m a part of the Campus Activities Board (CAB), so I do my fair share of organizing. I also listen to my fair share of trash about the events I organized. Don’t get me wrong, constructive criticism is useful and welcome, but unfortunately, that is almost never what you get. I understand that everyone has their own opinion and has the right to express it, I just hope that people are more considerate about where and when they express them.

What I still cannot let go of is all the crap I heard about the Library Party at the party itself. I realize that it was not perfect, there was room for improvement: but there always is. One thing I wish more people kept in mind while criticizing something is that there are a lot of things that you probably don’t know about. Why was there no candy? Because it is the Library’s policy to keep the carpets clean. Why was it so bright? Because of fire-safety regulations, so in the case of fire, people will see where they are going. Why Domino’s Pizza? Because it is the only pizza place that is open at midnight and will deliver. I cannot say that it is my favorite, but you make the best of the circumstanc-

es you are in. I can keep going with this list until tomorrow, but I’ll spare you all the details.

Most people I heard weren’t aware that I was the person behind the event. But that brought me to another thought: you never know who is listening. I’m sure that if they did, they wouldn’t have said those things in front of me. I really wish people would think about the situation a little more before they make their final judgements. Of course I tried not to take the comments personally, but sometimes that is really hard to do. But no one tries to make a bad event, sometimes things beyond anyone’s control get in the way. Sometimes people are just too busy to put in the work they wanted to. We are all college students who have so many other things to do.

In general, I believe that as a community we can be better at supporting one another’s events.

I covered many very cool events for the news section of The Hoot which had very few people attending, which is sad because most of those events were very interesting, and obviously had a lot of work put into them. Of course, not all events are for everyone, but if you see something that might be of interest to you, go. Support the people organizing it, have fun with your friends. And just in general be more considerate of those around it. It’ll improve our community.

November 1, 2019

The Brandeis Hoot

OPINIONS 13

Brandeis students should have more fun

By Jordan Rothman special to the hoot

College is a time to have fun and experiment with new things.

It is often the first time that people have a significant amount of freedom in their lives and are able to explore a number of different activities. However, college also comes with a number of academic pressures. All the obligations of classes, papers, exams and everything else that goes along with earning your degree can get in the way of having fun.

Nevertheless, the most important aspect of the college experience is the social part. All the connections you make in college will likely enrich you for the rest of your life. Few people remember much of what they learn in the classroom years after they graduate from college, but people usually gain lifetime connections.

When I was at Brandeis, I was extremely focused on my studies.

I thought that my grades would be the thing that helped me the most throughout my career. I stayed at Brandeis during all my vacations and spent much of my free time hitting the books and working on academic assignments.

I guess to some extent, my grades were important at the beginning of my career as an attorney. Grades might have helped me get accepted into a better law school, since they are important in the law school admissions pro-

cess. In addition, my undergraduate grades might have had an impact on the first job that I was offered after graduating from law school, since law firms consider grades and the quality of the law school you attended when making hiring decisions.

However, now that I am the better part of a decade into my career, I realize that I should have socialized more and had more fun in college. I rarely apply any of the academic knowledge I learned in the classroom to any of the legal matters that I handle. However, I regularly leverage the social connections I made in college to help myself and my clients.

For instance, I recently connected with a potential client who attended college with me. I met her the first day of Brandeis orientation, and we ran with some of the same people in college. Now that I am a practicing attorney, and she is a business-owner with legal needs, that social connection has made the difference in receiving business for my firm.

In addition, I am here to tell you, as someone who graduated from Brandeis over 10 years ago, that no one remembers the time you spent studying or hitting the books. When people remember the time they spent in college, they are more likely to recall the time they spent staying up late and having fun. Trust me, you don’t want to look back on your college experience and think that you did not have enough fun,

since this is pretty much the only time of your life that you can socialize and meet people from so many different backgrounds.

I think administrators should understand that college is supposed to be a fun time, and cut students some slack when students propose fun, but edgy events. When I was a student at Brandeis, there was a dance called “The Less You Wear, The Less You Pay” dance. Essentially, you paid four dollars to get into the dance if you were fully clothed, and you could go for free if you went pretty much naked or used ordinary items creatively as clothes. The

campus administration put the kibosh on this dance pretty quick, but whenever alumni think fondly about Brandeis, they think of this and other wild events. As a result, the administration could probably boost alumni involvement and give students a socializing experience by being less strict when it comes to certain campus events.

All told, people sometimes call our school Brandeis Univer“study,” because everyone is so focused on their studies to the detriment of their social lives. I’m here to tell you that having fun and socializing with other peo-

ple is perhaps the most important part of the college experience. If you are ever feeling tired, or are questioning whether you should stay out with friends, remember this article. You might actually be benefiting your future career by socializing with other people, and feel free to use this as an excuse to stay out later and socialize with friends.

Editor’s note: Jordan Rothman graduated from Brandeis in 2009, with a B.A. in History and Politics and an M.A. in American History.

While at Brandeis, Rothman was an editor for The Brandeis Hoot.

PHOTO FROM TRAVELOREGON.COM

Athlete’s foot for everyone

By John Fornagiel staff

Back in high school, I was nowhere close to being an athlete or somebody who exercised much.

Personally, I identified more with the term “couch potato.” Surprisingly, however, a lot of my friends were on track, did wrestling or were workout warriors. I distinctly remember being at the beach with my friends, and being horrified at what I saw. One of my friends is an avid soccer player, and I locked my gaze on his foot. I’ll spare you the details for now, but let’s just say, it was more than a little discolored, and I had nightmares for over a week after being blessed with this sight.

As it turns out, my soccer friend had a severe form of athlete’s foot, a fungal infection that typically thrives in moist warm environments. It is a common misconception that most athletes have to worry about getting it. I mean, that’s what the name of the infection is, right?

Unfortunately, although many cases begin with a sweaty athlete, athlete’s foot is very contagious, and any contact can expose you to the infection. In fact, this infection is the primary reason as to why you should wear shower shoes, especially in dorm showers. Exposing your bare feet to the shower gives you a free one-way ticket to footfungusville.

Fortunately, athlete’s foot is a very mild infection. Al-

though it can cause mild discomfort and itchiness, it is hardly serious enough to cause heavy concern. A characteristic symptom of athlete’s foot is an itchy red rash that begins between the toes.

The reason that the rash starts between the toes is because it is the warmest and wettest environment of your feet. The longer the infection is untreated, the farther it can spread. Other symptoms of athlete’s foot include blisters, ulcers and possibly dry skin that extends throughout the sole.

It’s important that you try not to itch the infected area, as this can spread the infection to other parts of your body. If you pick at the infection with your feet or hands, it can spread to those areas, especially if they are typically very sweaty. One of the more irritating places that the fungus can spread to your toenails, as this area is typically resistant to treatment. The fungus that causes athlete’s foot is actually the same that causes jock itch, so the infection can spread to your groin and causing itchiness quite easily.

To ensure that the fungus is contained and does not spread, try to treat the infection promptly.

Athlete’s foot is one of the infections that can be self-treated before visiting a doctor. To self-treat the infection, you can grab over-the-counter antifungal medications that can either come in a cream form or in a pill form. If the infection does not subside or get better after administering the medication, then it is recommended that you go

see a doctor and get prescription medication and have the doctor take a closer look at it.

The best treatment for this infection, however, is to avoid getting it in the first place. This includes wearing the shower shoes that you brought to Brandeis, and not just discarding them because you’ve never worn shower shoes before (I was very tempted to do this).

It is also very helpful if you keep your feet as dry as possible. This means changing your socks at least once a day, especially if you are a sweaty person, and to alternate pairs of shoes. This is going to seem obvious to some of you,

but please be sure to wash your feet when you shower. Not only to protect your feet but to protect your roommate as well. Also, if you notice that someone has athlete’s foot, then it is wise to keep your feet to yourself and protect them at all costs. I’m just saying, if you need to whip out your katana to keep someone away, then you will definitely be seen as crazy, but hey, it’s effective right?

Although athlete’s foot is not as serious as other infections such as pneumonia, it is still an uncomfortable infection to have. From the itching to the aesthetics, you will not find yourself being able

to sit still until the infection subsides. Being hygienic and taking care of your body not only ensures that you smell nice to the people around you but is also an effective method of avoiding infections such as this one.

(Note: These articles are goodfaith attempts to be helpful to the Brandeis community and are by no means to be taken as universal.

This article does not replace the advice of a medical professional.

This article is not written on behalf of the Brandeis Emergency Medical Corps (BEMCo) and is not affiliated with BEMCo in any manner.)

PHOTO FROM LOOPYENTERTAINMENT.COM

ARTS

14 The Brandeis Hoot

November 1, 2019

Listening to ‘Bad Ideas’ is far from a bad idea

By Emma Lichtenstein editor

Tessa Violet’s album “Bad Ideas” is an indie pop triumph. Fans have been waiting for this album for almost a year, ever since Violet dropped her first single “Crush” back in June 2018. I can honestly say, it was worth the wait.

The album starts off strong with the first five tracks already released before the rest of the album came out. The “Prelude” track was originally released as a “crush teaser” on Violet’s Facebook page.

“Prelude” starts off slow, with the sounds of an acoustic guitar and light vocals. The lyrics highlight Violet’s insecurities—as does much of the album. The end changes, however, kicking up the tempo and vibe, leading seamlessly into “Crush.”

The next four tracks—“Crush,” “Bad Ideas,” “I Like (the Idea of) You” and “Games”—had all been released as singles prior to the

album’s release. “Games” is easily the best single, and the best song on the album. She calls out someone who keeps trying to play her and send her mixed signals, telling him that she’s not going to put up with it anymore. Make a decision, buddy.

The structure of the album is incredible. For each slower song, there’s a fast paced one nearby to balance it out. Violet wants you in your feelings but also having a good time. She expressed on an Instagram story before release day that listening to the album in order is critical to appreciating it as a work of art. She’s right.

This idea fits with the order of the early songs. Each of these tracks are about pining for someone else, about knowing this relationship would be a mess but wanting to leap into it anyway.

She takes a turn with the sixth song on the album, starting to resent these emotions rather than embracing them.

PHOTO FROM GENIUS.COM

Most of Violet’s older work was very somber, and she has really made the push not to go as heavy as she did in the past. However, the quality of lyrics has not diminished. “Feelin” has some of the best lyrics from the album. In the second verse, she sings, “And I hate that you affect the way I feel at all, I don’t deserve to find my footing just to fall.” As if that isn’t heartbreaking enough, she continues with “Now, voice, I don’t need you to crack, no tellin’ what you might say that I can’t take back. And I don’t think I can open up the door. I’m afraid to give a voice to what I’m wanting for.”

Violet immediately follows “Feelin” with “Words Ain’t Enough,” the saddest track on the album. She expresses her desire for a lover who will actually make the effort to love her, not just say that they will. At only two minutes long, the song has very few lyrics, letting the instrumental carry the song rather than the vocals.

Before you can go too far in your feelings, Violet pulls you out with “Bored.” The feel is upbeat from the opening drum beat. The lyrics are still sad, complementing the two previous tracks with Violet blaming herself for problems rather than those around her. But the words are completely forgotten as the listener jams out to the fast tempo and heavy drum. The lyrics of “Bored” are rather sad, but the vibe is so high that it’s easy to look past them. It reminds me most of the “After Laughter” album by Paramore, where the band sings about being depressed over light production and instrumentation. It reveals the most about Violet as a person, yet it is still one of the lightest songs on the album. This song is an absolute banger, despite the dark lyr-

PHOTO FROM BANDSINTOWN.COM

ics. Her faster songs are usually marked with little idiosyncrasies in the production, but this one is perhaps Violet’s most conventional song.

“Wishful Drinking” starts with unconventional sounds. Featuring a record scratch noise and a beat that doesn’t necessarily fit with the tune of the lyrics, this song just barely works. It only functions because no element of the song competes with the other to be the forefront—instead, there is no forefront. This song is a fitting choice to follow “Bored,” where Violet sings that she is “bored of what’s inside of [her] cup.” With this song she explores the dangers of what was in her cup, the ability it gives her to put on a smiling face. She’s wishing to be genuinely happy, rather than just not sad when she’s drunk.

Violet continues this theme with “Honest.” She’s the most open with this track on the album, diving deep into her struggles and her lack of happiness.

She leads with “I mostly work

from wanting to be wanted” and follows with “I’m not doing well” which is repeated throughout the song. This is the longest song on the album, and the track closest to her older work.

The album closes with “Interlude III.” This song is a plea. With “Interlude III,” Violet begs for someone new, something better in her life. The song feels incomplete, like there should be more to it. It certainly doesn’t feel like the closing an album. If songs are like chapters in a book, then Violet leaves listeners with a cliffhanger.

Perhaps she was smart to close with an interlude then, a pause between acts. Her story isn’t quite finished yet. I can’t wait to see what she does next.

This album took Violet years to make, but she has poured her heart and soul into every track.

Her passion and dedication shine through in the high quality of every single song on the “Bad Ideas” album. It’s only 32 minutes of music, but 32 minutes everyone should hear.

On the value of video games

By Stewart Huang staff

Whether video games have any value is a question every gamer has had to grapple with from time to time, likely because their parents like to dismiss games as mindless entertainment. These adults do so with such ease and certainty that it might even seem wrong to disbelieve them, but video games have evolved to be capable of far more than mere entertainment. Whatever “art” is, video games can be that. It’s an all-encompassing medium.

And in the act of playing, we are no longer passive observers—as we do when we watch a film or admire a painting—but as active participants within the work.

If you think of art in terms of its capacity to tell a story, video games can do so like nothing else.

“Dark Souls,” for instance, tells its story through astonishingly minimal details: cryptic dialogue, architecture and landscape of the game world, character design and in-game descriptions of items.

The lore and story are an open puzzle that requires the player’s interaction with the game to piece everything together, itself an ongoing effort. Speaking of interaction, video games have the unique advantage of offering a multiplicity of choice and agency in the stories they tell. This is especially

PHOTO FROM POLYGON.COM

true for a role-playing game like “Dragon Age: Origins.” In a game like this, there are so many choices to make: who your in-game character will become, where they will go, who to kill and who to love. These choices directly influence the outcome of the game state. Sure, books and TV shows have the “choose-your-adventure” subgenre, but its range of choices is severely limited in comparison.

In video games, your choices can matter.

If you think of art in terms of its aesthetic value, video games are spearheading the development of visual art and music.

“Journey” is one classic example of both. Its most memorable part is easily the one where you slide down sand dunes amidst pillars built by a long lost civilization.

The way the sun shines on the sand as you slide through it is a stunning, mesmerizing experience, which is made even more amazing by the emotional and

delicate soundtrack. As opposed to graphical fidelity, some games deliberately constrain themselves to certain paletes and styles to great effect. “Limbo,” for example, employs only black and white to create silhouettes that generate a creepy and enigmatic atmosphere. Games like “Faith” and “Blasphemous” take advantage of the low-poly, pixelated style that we normally associate with innocence and cuteness to create ingeniously disturbing and gory imagery. In terms of music, “Chrono Trigger” features one of the best video soundtracks ever made, resembling orchestra epics. Equally brilliant was the music of “Witcher 3: Wild Hunt,” which was composed from old instruments like a renaissance fiddle and even a hurdy-gurdy, perfectly setting the tone for the game’s high fantasy and gritty medieval world.

If you think of art in terms of its intellectual and cultural worth, video games have plenty of that.

Games like “Dark Souls,” “Spec Ops: The Line,” “Bioshock,” and “Papers, Please” comment on themes such as mental illness, religion, war, and politics, all of which are central to the human experience. And with the player playing a role in the narrative, there is often a much higher level of emotional connection to the games and their messages. Just look at the enormous collection of video essays on Youtube of people analyzing and critiquing on their favorite games, in the same way that scholars do with literature and philosophy.

Games can also be excellent learning tools as well as platforms to express creativity. “Minecraft,” an extremely popular game where you can build basically anything, has been adopted by some teachers as a platform for virtual tours, demonstrations and fostering students’ creativity. Sometimes,

games are even able to provide answers to difficult scientific questions. “FoldIt” is a game that challenges players to predict the structure of different proteins, and it turned out that the predictions from players were significantly more accurate from those of a supercomputer capable of 100 trillion calculations per second.

The players don’t just learn, they become scientific contributors.

Of course, not every game can or wants to be art because they are first and foremost supposed to be entertaining and sometimes that’s all we want. But to deny their value as art is simply naive. It is obvious that the medium contains unparalleled possibility when it comes to artistic expression. It is the ultimate conclusion, not just as the amalgam of seemingly all the forms we consider art, but as a unique art that invites players to be a part of it.

PHOTO FROM VARIETY.COM

November 1, 2019

ARTS 15

The Brandeis Hoot

‘BoJack Horseman’s’ final season serves the depressing conclusion the show deserves

By Lucy Pugh-Sellers staff

The first half of “BoJack Horseman’s” final season premiered on Netflix this past week. The episodes are sincere, funny and surprisingly hopeful.

“BoJack Horseman” is an animated show created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg, which follows BoJack Horseman, an aging man/ horse actor, and the wacky (read: sad) cast of characters that fall in and out of his orbit. “BoJack Horseman’s” clearest rumination is on mental health, but the show is also keen to comment on sexuality, love, adulthood, disil-

lusionment, family, friendship, politics and power, among other themes. The series largely deals with BoJack’s attempt to come to terms with his current life and grow beyond his stagnation and expands to create a deep network of richly defined characters. Many adventures and heartfelt emotions fill every minute of this groundbreaking and innovative piece of art. An average cartoon this is not.

The new season builds on recurring themes but feels like it is moving forward. It spends time getting to the root of these characters, finally “understanding” as much as there is to understand.

It is also simply beautiful, the animation as strong as ever. As

PHOTO FROM NME.COM

the season veers towards another dark time, it feels even more important to appreciate the first half for what it gives us: a brief respite.

“BoJack Horseman” presents a particularly realistic portrayal of growth—the cycle of two steps forward, and one, two, or sometimes even three steps back. The show never lets BoJack—nor the viewer—off the hook. Every time we want to brand him as a simple anti-hero, we quickly realize that “BoJack Horseman” makes that impossible. Instead, the show forces us to reckon with the harm BoJack has done and the weight of his individual decisions, not redeemable through his relatable sarcasm (itself a front to hide his deep well of pain and sadness).

But BoJack Horseman isn’t the only character on “BoJack Horseman,” and the other characters are another important aspect of a secret ensemble program. Returning voice actors Will Arnett (BoJack), Amy Sedaris (Princess Carolyn), Alison Brie (Diane), Aaron Paul (Todd) and Paul F. Tompkins (Mr. Peanutbutter) turn in compelling performances, imbibing their 2D animated figures with surprising humanity.

Upon rewatching, I realized that the sadness and struggle represented in “BoJack” faded—in my memory—behind the hilarity that often ensues, the lovable one-liners fired off by my favorite characters. I also forgot how, if consumed too quickly, I can begin to feel the same depression that permeates much of the show (pace yourself, fellow depressives).

This season, though, gets to the heart of that hope. No, BoJack

PHOTO FROM TWITTER.COM

isn’t a “good” person. Many people aren’t. And just because many people aren’t “good,” that doesn’t excuse their bad decisions. But that doesn’t mean they can’t ever change. But they, and we, do have to want to.

This idea also leaves us with a question that has somehow become increasingly clear and complex recently: When you or people in your community do unforgivable things, what comes after? “BoJack Horseman” does not offer easy answers, but its exploration of the false “good” vs “bad” binary offers a good place to start.

“BoJack Horseman” is definitely one of the best shows I have ever seen—sardonic, insightful, tragicomic and even magical—and my

excitement for the next half of the season is neutralized only by my sadness at the show’s end. Aptly, that mix is the perfect description of the feelings that “BoJack” provokes.

(P.S. If you like “BoJack Horseman” and don’t yet know about “Tuca and Bertie,” Lisa Hanawalt’s unfairly cancelled combination of “BoJack” and “Broad City,” I highly recommend checking it out. “Tuca and Bertie” feels like the exact media our world needs right now, following two incredible women (well, birds) as they navigate their lives and friendship. Hey, if “Fleabag” could come back after three years, who is to say “Tuca and Bertie” can’t have its own resurgence?)

Koslofsky’s Corner: I am watching (the) Watchmen

By Jonah Koslofsky editor

“How do I take off a mask when it stops being a mask?” That’s what Rami Malek’s Elliot Alderson drawled back in the second season premiere of “Mr. Robot.”

A few years later, Elliot may have found something resembling an answer, and my beloved hacker-drama is wrapping up its run, part-way through its fourth and final season. Don’t fear, dear reader, I’m still in love with writer/ director Sam Esmail’s signature, subjective aesthetic and his concoction of rage and critique—but these days, the show faces stiff competition for my time.

My Sunday nights go a little something like this. First, I toil for three-and-a-half hours at Phonathon, calling parents and alumni, begging them for money, so we can keep Brandeis’ hot water running. But salvation looms: When I get off shift at 9 p.m., there’s a brand new episode of HBO’s “Watchmen” waiting for me. But I’ve got to hurry, because 10 p.m. is “Mr. Robot” time. Have I put more effort into figuring out the most efficient way to watch both, ASAP, than some of my classes this semester? Maybe. Tick-tock.

But in an age when there’s far too much TV (seriously, every single person in my life is telling me to watch “BoJack Horseman,” but at least we’ve got a review this week from Lucy Pugh-Sell-

ers,) “Watchmen” has carved out time in my schedule like nothing else. It’s not a direct adaptation of Alan Moore’s 1986, 12-issue masterpiece, unlike the creatively bankrupt film of the same name (which hit theaters in 2009). Instead, HBO has handed the property to writer Damon Lindelof.

Lindelof ’s love of the source material is no secret—he’s got a pull quote on the back of the graphic novel calling it “The greatest piece of popular fiction ever produced.”

But Lindelof has made some pretty bad popular fiction himself. He cut his teeth as the showrunner on “Lost” before writing “Cowboys and Aliens,” “Prometheus” and “Tomorrowland.” But the Lindelof who’s helming “Watchmen” is not that immature scribe; no, the Lindelof writing “Watchmen” is the Lindelof who made “The Leftovers,” one of the greatest television shows of all time. For as much as I love to wax poetic about “Mr. Robot,” it could still stumble at the finish line. Meanwhile, over 28 episodes, “The Leftovers” has already thoroughly demonstrated its enduring existential worth, and in doing so, has proven that Lindelof deserves our attention. With his last project, the dude figured out how to pose questions without promising answers. His viewers are all better off, and I’m sure his Rabbi is proud.

And the questions “Watchmen” poses are simply seriously compelling. The show is set in 2019, 30 years after the events of the

graphic novel. But the pilot opens in June 1921, with the burning of Tulsa’s Black Wall Street, a real-world event that’s been largely erased from the history books by racists. About a hundred years later, Detective Angela Abar (Regina King) serves on the Tulsa police force, fighting the “Seventh Kavalry,” a group of hateful bastards– who all wear masks resembling the face worn by Rorschach (one of the characters in the original comic). The cops wear masks too—in the wake of a traumatic attack by the Kavalry a few years’ prior, police officer’s identities are all kept hidden from the public.

Over the course of the first episode, the dynamics of “Watchmen’s” world emerge. The white supremacists certainly aren’t the good guys, but the cops—proto-fascists who use lethal force, accountable to no one—aren’t looking so great either. How can we know who anybody is when everyone is wearing a mask?

But “Watchmen” isn’t as morose as Lindelof ’s prior outing. It’s also a superhero show, with glitzy set-pieces, staged with gusto by director Nicole Kassell (an extremely gifted woman who’s been directing television for years but to whom Hollywood won’t hand a feature film). Action is a key component of the show’s DNA, but unlike something you can catch on the CW, “Watchmen” also asks you to think about the violence you—and its characters—are eating up. King, meanwhile, heads a fantastic cast, and it’s exciting to

watch the actress lend her considerable talent to such ambiguous territory.

Of the two episodes that have aired, I found the pilot a bit stronger, but across the board, I can’t help but feel like we’re witnessing something special here. It’s ambitious and relevant material— Lindelof is using the superhero genre to dissect the things that are making him anxious today. He’s also pulling from a profound—if unexpected—influence: Ta-Nehisi Coates’ groundbreaking “Atlantic” article “The Case for Reparations.” Yes, in the alternate history of “Watchmen,” Robert Redford is president, and he’s publically and financially acknowledged this country’s horrific treatment of Af-

PHOTO BY JONAH KOSLOFSKY/THE HOOT

rican Americans.

Whether Lindelof can pull all this off—the mix of spectacle, social commentary and dealing with the dangling threads leftover from the comic—is anybody’s guess. But I’m fascinated by this thing. Lindelof and Esmail have been dueling over ideas for years—both used the Pixies’ song “Where is my mind?” to illustrate a loss of objectivity, and now both are tackling the validity of persona. My goal was to talk about both “Mr. Robot” and “The Leftovers” in this piece—alas. But as one of my favorite shows comes to an end, another is just starting. These days, Sunday nights are a special time.

16 ARTS

The Brandeis Hoot

November 1, 2019

‘Women in World Jazz’ takes Brandeis on a world tour—without leaving Chums

By Grace Zhou staff

Now in their fifth year as an all-female quintet, Women in World Jazz promises bright, educational and jazzy music performances from around the world.

Tal Shalom-Kobi is the group’s director, and her talents range from vocals to upright bass to accordion. Candida Rose is the lead vocalist, and her compelling voice and vibrant stage presence combine for an all-around warm sound. The group’s versatile reedist, Ririka Tokushige, deftly maneuvers between saxophone and flute, providing additional vocals as well. On guitar and vocals is Laurie Goldsmith, and Diane Gately sits at the helm of drum.

The band’s Tuesday evening gig in Chums, hosted by Brandeis’ Hebrew Department, was a multicultural tribute to female composers, their setlist exclusively featuring music created by women from various countries. Each track from the night embodied the particular sound of its origin country, temporally and geographically transporting the audience with each song.

Women in World Jazz opened their performance with “Pata Pata,” the ubiquitous feel-good dance tune by South African artist Miriam Makeba. The audience grooved along to Rose’s crooning (in the song’s original language of Xhosa) and the swing of the instruments. Also notable was Tokushige’s saxophone solo, which the audience encouraged

PHOTOS BY GRACE ZHOU/THE HOOT

by clapping along to the beat.

Israel was the next country represented, with the group performing Nurit Hirsh’s “Bashana Haba’ah” entirely in Hebrew, save for one verse in Japanese. While briefly explaining the history of this song, Women in World Jazz invited the audience to practice saying the chorus in Hebrew, and throughout the performance, students from the Hebrew department enthusiastically sang along, and many danced in their seats. For this track, Shalom-Kobi swapped out her bass for the accordion, fully rounding out the Near-Eastern sound of the song’s origin. Tokushige, too, demonstrated the full breadth of her talents by switching to the flute.

“Otemoyan,” written by Japanese artist Ine Nagata, was next, and, again, Women in World Jazz, introduced the song by teaching the audience a few simple Japanese lyrics, inviting all to sing along. For this number, each member of the band donned a happi, a special type of straight-

sleeve kimono coat usually worn during festivals. Originally a folk song, “Otemoyan” had a strong, almost-marching beat, ornamented with some syncopated funk and Rose’s strong vocal riffs. The next song, “Gracias A La Vida,” composed by Chilean artist Violeta Parra, began with the slower, melancholic swirl of Shalom-Kobi’s accordion and Rose’s heartfelt Spanish singing before picking up with the addition of include guitar, drums and saxophone. Up next, representing Cape Verde, was Tete Alhinho’s “Dia C’Tchuva Bem,” performed in Creole. For this one, Women in World Jazz incorporated the claves as part of the percussion and invited the audience to clap and stomp along to the clave pattern. Gately’s drum solo here was particularly impressive and skillful, especially against the backdrop of the rather cacophonic “rhythm” created by the thumps and slaps of the crowd.

The German “Alles Was Ich Wuensche,” composed by Betinna Wegner, was the penultimate

song of the night, and Women in World Jazz invited two special guests to the stage––Christine Reif as lead vocalist and Brandeis student Joanna Marcus ’22 on violin––for the performance. This starkly somber track introduced a welcome layer of complexity to the group’s otherwise upbeat setlist. Reif ’s half-sung, half-spoken German vocals created a sense of intimacy and vulnerability alongside the soft flute and strippeddown guitar strumming. Marcus’s violin, rich with vibrato, wove in a saccharine texture to the song, and her playing prompted raucous applause from the audience.

Ending the night was a rendition of the Brazilian song “Abre Alas,” originally by Chiquinha Gonzaga, in its original language of Portuguese. For this closing number, Women in World Jazz handed out various hand percussion instruments to members of the audience and invited all to dance. Spirits were high as students and professors alike rose out of their seats and cheered,

sang and danced together, arm over shoulder and hand in hand.

The energy of the room had been revitalized, and the band looked like they were having a ton of fun.

Though each song from the evening originated from different eras and different countries, the performers unified them in this performance as a way to spotlight women and their contributions to global culture. When introducing each song to the crowd, Women in World Jazz took time to situate that track within its broader social context––discussing the musical history of the song, the history of the country from which it originated and the composer’s musical and political work. As the band explained during their performance, the composers featured on the setlist were not only pioneers in music but also champions of social justice. In centering women and their achievements, Women in World Jazz successfully embodied the lively, feminist spirit that these composers pushed forward.

‘The Politician’ is the worst show you just might fall in love with

By Isaac Ruben special to the hoot

You sit down to watch the season one finale of Netflix’s “The Politician.” Immediately, you’re staring face to face, eye to eye, with Ben Platt as he launches into a truly gorgeous rendition of “Vienna” by Billy Joel. The camera pulls out and you’re in a hazy, lower-Manhattan speakeasy in which every member of the band and every patron is sexily drinking an artisan cocktail. Platt’s performance of “Vienna” is so stunning, so tragically beautiful, so perfect, that for just a moment you forget how much of a rambling mess of loose-ends “The Politician” really is, and for three and a half minutes, you’re truly happy.

And how could you not be happy watching Ryan Murphy’s first major outing with Netflix? It’s got a conniving, manipulating, yet

lovable lead in Ben Platt as Payton Hobart. It’s got Wes Anderson-esque cinematography. It’s got plot twists, character turns and countless murder attempts. It’s got fake cancer, fake kidnappings and fake friendships. It’s got Gwyneth Paltrow, Zoey Deutch and Jessica Lange. It’s Murphy’s most ”Glee”-like show since “Glee.” Oh, and before I forget: Every. Single.

Character. Is. Gay. Every last one!

Even the characters who aren’t gay are gay. It’s truly beautiful.

Payton is a high school senior running for class president, with dreams of one day becoming the actual president. Together with his best friends and political advisors, McAfee (Laura Dreyfuss) and James (Theo Germaline), Payton stops at nothing (really, nothing) to get what he wants.

Payton spends the entire season being literally haunted by River, his ex-lover/Mandarin tutor/ political adversary who takes his

PHOTO FROM NETFLIX.COM

own life in the pilot, while simultaneously attempting to get into Harvard (because Stanford and Yale aren’t good enough).

Part of what makes “The Politician” so entertaining is also its greatest flaw. That is, this eight-episode season is so jampacked with huge dramatic events that there never seem to be any real stakes. The majority of the murder attempts—yes, there are so many they can be discussed in ratios—are forgiven within a few short hours of viewing. Essentially, every character betrays their closest allies at some point, and yet, by the end of the season, all is forgotten—not forgiven, but forgotten. It creates a numbing effect where we’re left skeptical of whether the most shocking and exciting plot elements will even matter an episode or two later.

Meanwhile, as earth-shattering high-jinks unfold, some more subtle character interactions and nuances go largely unaddressed.

In the first episode, Payton betrays his girlfriend, Alice. This moment could’ve been ripe for character analysis. It gets at the feeling of grand, emotional stakes in high school relationships and exposes something about the false nature of Payton and Alice’s partnership. Without giving too much away, as this moment occurs, the camera pulls out dramatically and the music swells, telling the viewer, “Hey, pay attention! This matters…” But when Payton is finally confronted about this moment in the finale, he can’t manage to

PHOTO FROM NETFLIX.COM

muster a single satisfying explanation for his behavior, and Alice pretty much forgives him anyway.

That’s what watching “The Politician” feels like. You’re confronted with a barrage of unexplained actions end events, but in the end, you’ll probably forgive them. There’s so much emotional eye-candy and dramatic somersaulting that it’s really a fun romp anyway. Sometimes letting us escape to a world where there are no consequences, where bigotry seems not to exist and where LGBTQ representation seems endless is all a TV show needs to do.

So many characters are gay or bi and you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that not one single storyline revolves around their oppression. So often works claiming to champion queer stories pivot on their characters’ suffering as a result of their sexuality (*cough* “Love, Simon”). “The Politician” never falls into the trap, consistently treating its LGBTQ characters like…wait for it…regular

people.

Maybe you’re hesitant to believe that a 2019 show with the word “politician” in the name is really going to be a light romp. You might be worried you’re going to find yourself hit over the head with, well, politics. Let me assure you that, unless you’re offended by gay teenagers smiling, you have nothing to worry about. “The Politician” is so chock-full of Plattitudes (platitudes spoken by Ben Platt) that while it may look like it has something of importance to say, it doesn’t. All the madness that we associate with today’s world of politics is so muddled with highschool drama and plot structures of questionable integrity that watching “The Politician” lulls you into a tranquil placidity, unconcerned with the real trials of life. You’ll finish season one in a post-sugar-rush coma. Who cares that nothing really made sense?

For just a moment you weren’t so terrified of the world, and if that’s not worth watching a show for, I’m not sure what is.