The Brandeis Hoot 01/30/2015

Volume 12 Number 3

www.thebrandeishoot.com

Brandeis University’s Community Newspaper • Waltham, Mass.

Brandeis affiliates with Penn Club

By Charlotte Aaron Staff

In September of 2014, Brandeis announced the closure of Brandeis House, an alumni center on the Upper East Side in New York City. While it was bittersweet to put the brownstone on the market, Brandeis’ new affiliation with the Penn Club of New York City, associated with the University of Pennsylvania, provides Brandeis students, alumni and friends with an excellent location to host events, dine, work out and more.

The first Penn Club opened in October of 1900.

It consisted of four rooms on the first floor of the Royalton Hotel in Manhattan. Since then, the Penn Club moved six times, and in 1994, construction of the current Club was completed just 200 feet down the street from the initial four hotel rooms.

Today, the Penn Club shares its facilities with 19 other organizations, including Brandeis,

the University of Chicago, John Hopkins University and the Canadian Association of New York.

Because so many organizations share the Penn Club, “it provides an opportunity for Brandeis alumni, parents, friends and students to just meet and mingle with other Brandeis alumni, Penn alumni and other alumni from universities who are also affiliated with the Penn Club,” said Patricia Fisher, vice president of alumni relations at Brandeis, in an interview with The Brandeis Hoot.

In addition to serving as a place to socialize, the Penn Club provides a host of resources to the Brandeis community. For those who choose to join the club, access to a fitness center, dining halls, conference rooms, overnight guest rooms, squash courts and much more are available.

Additionally, members will receive discounts on Brooks Brothers clothing, Hertz car rentals, test preparation courses, golf course fees at over 50 resorts and many other services. “It’s

January 30, 2015

Student Union: election results

By Emily Smith Staff

photo from internet source

photo from internet source

This photo showcases the exterior of the Penn Club of New York City, which is associated with the University of Pennsylvania. penn club

See PENN, page 2

Charlotte Franco ’15 was elected as vice president while Emil Koenig ’18 won the Midyear senator election. No one was elected to the position of Ziv Quad senator, and the result for the Rosenthal Quad senator was invalid due to an error that left one candidate’s name off the ballot. The elections for these positions will be included in next week’s round of elections.

Franco ran against Hirvelt Megie ’15 for vice president, an election in which 746 students voted. Fifty percent of the students in this election voted for Franco, with 29 percent voting for Megie. 130 students abstained in this election, indicating they felt that no candidate was qualified for the position.

Franco has been a part of the Student Union since her first year, when she was the sena-

tor for North Quad. During her term she was a member of several committees including the Dining Committee and the Ways and Means Committee. She was a senator at large during the 20122013 school year and has served as the vice president previously.

Koenig did not have his name on the ballot but rather won through write-ins. Of the 44 students who voted in the Midyear elections, 29 chose to write in the name of a candidate. Twelve students, or 27 percent of voters, chose Gaby Schwartz ’18.

Koenig discussed his candidacy in an email with The Brandeis Hoot. “As a new student, if elected, I would be representing an entire body of new students.

Even though we have all been here for three weeks now, none of us are really familiar with the See STUDENT UNION, page 4

Prof. Donald Hindley leaves univ.

By Hannah Schuster Staff

Professor Donald Hindley of the Politics Department is leaving Brandeis University after 52 years. Hindley is currently on a one-year terminal sabbatical, after which his retirement will become official. He states that he is the longest continuously serving Brandeis professor.

Hindley was the chairman of the Politics Department for several years, and a member of several faculty committees. Hindley has received several grants to study international politics, including a social sciences research grant, a Rockefeller Foundation grant and a Fulbright travel scholarship.

In a phone interview with The Brandeis Hoot, Hindley said he very much enjoyed his time at Brandeis, stating, “I really, really enjoyed the students.”

He called Brandeis his “home.”

Having grown up in England, Hindley said, “It’s really exciting to be at an American Jewish institution,” explaining, “I like to be learning also from people around me.”

Hindley cited changes and growing conservatism within the university (beginning during the former President Jehuda Reinharz’s ’72 administration) as reasons for his departure. He also

Inside this issue:

noted, “by 81, it’s about time to go. Luckily, I’ve remained healthy.”

Hindley’s tenure at Brandeis has been wrought with several controversies, and he has clashed with both Reinharz and current President Fred Lawrence.

In 2007, students from Hindley’s Latin American politics course filed a complaint after Hindley used the word “wetbacks” in class. Hindley was found guilty of harassment. Assistant Provost Richard Silberman came to monitor his class, and Hindley was forced to participate in sensitivity training.

The events of 2007 sparked a discussion on free speech in an academic setting. FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights in Education) placed Brandeis on its “Red Alert” for abusing liberty and free speech. The FIRE case study on the matter asserts that Hindley “was neither granted a formal hearing by Brandeis nor provided with the substance of the accusations against him in writing before a verdict was reached.” It also notes that Hindley felt he was targeted for his pro-Palestinian views.

Hindley stated that as the controversy ensued, “Reinharz and his cohorts denounced me publicly as a racist, tried to get me to See HINDLEY, page 4

News: New grief support group offered to students Page 3 Arts, Etc.: GrooveBoston concert ‘awkward’ Page 5 Opinion: Profs. can help students with books Page 13 Sports: Men’s basketball defeats ranked UChicago Page 9 Editorial: More turnout needed for elections Page 10

photo by marian siljeholm/the hoot

women’s basketball

The Judges lost their second game in a row this week, but hope to triumph during Friday’s game. For more articles and photos, see our Sports section on page 9.

LTS provides easy password changes

By Jess Linde Editor

This week, Brandeis’ Library and Technology Services (LTS) department finished the creation of free programs designed to help students change their passwords more easily, LTS Chief Information Officer Michael Corn told The Brandeis Hoot. The mechanisms are available on the LTS web page, and allow students to access locked accounts and change their passwords voluntarily.

The software’s creation was inspired in part by the recent cyber attacks on companies such as Target and eBay, in which thousands of customers’ personal and financial data were stolen.

“Brandeis, like every institution is continually under cyberattack from the Internet,” Corn said.

“We do want to encourage everyone to periodically change his or her password to minimize the risk of account compromises.”

Using the mechanisms requires students to enter up to two third-party emails and a phone

number capable of receiving text messages, which students then can use to reset their passwords.

After resetting their information, students must then follow a link in their UNet tools, and follow step-by-step instructions to change their passwords. Once the password is changed, students will have to re-enter their information into the university’s eduroam wifi network. Students can also change passwords directly through their browser set-

For the kids

Education empowers

Arts: Page 5

Ops: Page 12

Brandeis clubs team up to fundraise for Boston Children’s Hospital with 24-hour dance marathon

See LTS, page 2

Sexual education could be vastly improved for high school boys and girls to empower their lives

NEWS

January 30, 2015

The Brandeis Hoot 2

LTS introduces password changes for students From LTS, page 1

tings on their smart phones. The help desk instructions page recommends at least 15 to 20 minutes for people using the services for the first time, in case of low network connection or other obstacles.

Such changes ought to be done regularly rather than wait for a hack or a similar breach. “Almost everything we do these days starts by typing a pass-

word. We’ve become somewhat immune to even noticing them,” Corn said.

“But if an account is compromised or hacked into the damage can be incredible.”

Corn recommends using installable password managers to students who may have trouble creating multiple strong passwords.

“We do want to encourage everyone to periodically change his or her password to minimize the risk of account compromises,”

Corn said.

The reset mechanisms are part of a group of new services available from LTS, including “Box” and “Gartner,” two new information technologies now available to Brandeis students. Box and Gartner, an encrypted storage service and a market research source respectively, were announced through a mass email from Corn earlier this week.

Both services are available in mobile and desktop form and are accessible with students’ standard

Brandeis logins.

Corn credits the work of LTS staff with the timely creation and installation of new services and programs. “We have a great team of developers at LTS,” Corn said.

“These services in particular were developed by Jim Lambert and Garth Sainio who are part of our Identity Management team.”

Despite the current availability of the programs, the staff are still always ready to improve their work.

“Of course anything that

touches so many people in the community gets reviewed and worked on by a broad swath of our staff,” Corn added.

“And we’re in the midst of completing some final testing and documentation review by rolling out these changes to everyone who works in LTS.” The Brandeis student body will be informed of the new programs via an official email in the near future, according to Corn.

In the meantime, the password mechanisms are available online.

Ward ’16 succeeds in increasing weekend library hours

By Marian Siljeholm Staff

Like many Brandeis students, 20-year-old Grady Berry Ward ’16 came to Brandeis initially for the sense of community and friendly, welcoming environment.

He said simply, “[I] wanted to go to a place with people that cared about each other.” Ward is a triple major in computer science, economics and math.

During his junior year, instead of going abroad with most of his peers, the Vermont native remained at Brandeis largely because of his obligations outside the classroom. These commitments included a Community Advisor (CA) position in Usen Castle, positions on the track and cross country teams and his Student Union position as Student Representative on the Board of Trustees.

Ward served on a smaller subcommittee during his first year and states he greatly enjoys his new position on the Board of Trustees. He believes his new position allows him to make progressive change and build relationships with alumni who “really care about the university … [and] remember what it was like to be students.” Ward, who is also tuned in to the needs of students, believed that extended library hours on weekends could benefit the average Brandeis student. He contacted Vice Provost for Library and Technology Services and Chief Information Officer at Brandeis University John Unsworth, who has worked at Brandeis since 2012.

A few months after their original conversation, the Student Union raised the $8,000 necessary to fund the changes to the weekend library hours for the next two years, after which LTS will take over maintenance. Ward credits Student Union Chief of Staff Flora Wang ’15 as being instrumental to this new program’s success. He praised Wang as the “smartest and most hard-working person at Brandeis.”

To celebrate the new weekend opening time of 9 a.m. instead of

library

The Brandeis library is now offering extended hours on weekends, and will open before 12 noon.

12 p.m., last Sunday morning the Student Union provided donuts and coffee to students taking advantage of the changes. Between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. alone, 40 students made use of the library’s new early accessibility. With event publicity conducted solely on Facebook and by word of mouth, Ward was pleased with the turnout. He said, “It’s cool to see people’s enthusiasm, less over the new hours, but the new opportunities that they afford.”

If nothing else, the success of this event exemplifies one of Brandeis’ finest, and too often unsung attributes. As Ward puts it, “A lot can happen at Brandeis’ campus if you just ask.”

photo from internet source

The Brandeis Hoot has a new website!

Come visit us at BrandeisHoot.com

Penn Club becomes new home for Brandeis alums From PENN, page 1

a full-service club in midtown Manhattan much like the Yale Club, the Harvard Club and the Cornell Club,” said Fisher.

Because the Brandeis House was located on the Upper East Side, it was difficult to access for many New York residents.

According to Fisher, last

spring the trustees voted to put Brandeis House on the market.

When the sale became public, the Penn Club approached Brandeis and offered affiliation.

“There had been some alumni surveys, and we knew that alumni were interested in certainly a place to gather in Midtown, which is a lot more convenient than the Upper East Side, and we thought having this affiliation would fill a particular niche and

a particular desire among our alumni.”

While it is understood that most Brandeis alumni in New York will not join the club, it will still be a resource in that many Brandeis events, such as those for networking, faculty and local speakers, will be hosted there. “I hope the Penn Club will serve as a home for Brandeis alumni, parents, friends and students in New York,” said Fisher.

The first Brandeis event to be hosted at the Penn Club is the Penn Club Open House Tour and Reception on Feb. 4, from 6 to 8 p.m.

It will include a 15-minute Club House tour and a cocktail reception.

All Brandeis alumni, parents and friends are welcome to attend. To RSVP, register online on the Brandeis Alumni and Friends page.

photo from internet source

NEWS

3 The Brandeis Hoot

January 30, 2015

Griffith Lab researches role of sleep

By Hannah Stewart Staff

There are few students who are unfamiliar with the practice of cramming: staying up the night before an exam studying until the small hours of the morning. Sometimes, this works for students in the short-run.

However, problems arise when the student then tries to recall the information a month later. This difficulty is due to the difference between short-term and long-term memorization. The process of committing information to the long-term memory is called memory consolidation.

Two graduate students working at Griffith Labs, Paula Haynes and Bethany Christmann, have recently published a paper in the life science and biomedicine scientific journal, “eLife.”

Working with the lab’s Principal Investigator, Dr. Leslie Griffith, [IS THIS PERSON ALSO A PROFESSOR?] the group sought to understand the physiological and anatomical relationship between sleep and memory.

As the paper, titled, “A single pair of neurons links sleep to memory consolidation in Drosophila melanogaster,” elaborates that “evidence suggests that sleep plays a role in promoting the consolidation of memory…It is not, however, clear exactly

how sleep promotes memory consolidation…”

Prior to this experiment, there were two popular hypotheses in the scientific community. As the paper states, “…[sleep] may simply be a permissive state generated by other brain regions that prevents sensory interference with memory circuits, or alternatively the memory circuitry itself may actively participate in sleep promotion as an integral aspect of the consolidation process.” Simply put, either sleep is a period of time when the senses stopped interfering with the memory consolidation process, or the process of memorization may cause people to fall asleep.

The primary purpose of their research was to study the role of DPM neurons and their products in the regulation of sleep in Drosophila melanogaster (the fruit fly).

DPM stands for “dorsal paired medial” neurons. These cells are essential for memory consolidation in fruit flies because they release an inhibitory neurotransmitter product called GABA onto a part of the brain called the Mushroom Body. The absence of GABA in the Mushroom Body manifests as patterns of nighttime sleep loss in fruit flies.

The researchers experimented upon fruit flies due to the simplicity of their brain structure. As explained in the paper, “Although the anatomy

involved in memory consolidation in mammals is highly complex and distributed, in the fly it is quite compact.”

Ultimately, the researchers proposed a new, slightly more complicated model for the relationship between sleep and memory: Certain neurons in the Mushroom Body, called α’/β’ neurons, are responsible for the process of waking up. DPM neurons release the chemicals GABA and 5HT during memory consolidation, which inhibits the α’/β’ neurons, which results in sleep.

The researchers concluded, “The specific involvement of neurons required for memory consolidation… in the regulation of sleep suggests that generation of sleep by activation of learning circuits is an intrinsic property of the circuit, not an extrinsically imposed phenomenon. Further, our finding that the memory-consolidation specific DPM neurons are inhibitory suggests that inhibitory neurotransmitters may play an as-ofyet uncharacterized role in memory consolidation in Drosophila.”

In other words, the data suggests that sleep and memory are inherently linked, as opposed to being influenced together by an unidentified third party. Additionally, this research proposes a novel new role for inhibitory neurons in the process of long-term memory storage of fruit flies. photos from internet source

photos from internet source

photos from internet source

photos from internet source

Grief support group counsels students in need

By Liya Wizevich Staff

The Psychological Counseling Center and the Interfaith Chaplaincy are now co-sponsoring Living with Grief and Loss, a grief counseling group.

The idea for this new group began last November when Brandeis chaplains met with the staff of the Psychological Counseling Center (PCC) to reflect on ways to support and help each other due to the often overlapping nature of their work.

Amy Engel, a clinical social worker from the PCC, and Matthew Carriker, the Protestant chaplain from the Interfaith Chaplaincy on campus decided to co-run the grief counseling group.

There is no funding. Amy and I are devoting our staff time to this because we see there is a felt need for it and want to be a support to students who are experiencing grief and loss,” Carriker said.

The availability of a group such as Living with Grief and Loss is of great importance. “Amy encounters people who experience grief in her

role at the PCC, and I do too in my role as a chaplain. In both of our experiences, healing after grief and loss is easier when there is a community to stand by you and support you, a place where you can be real with your feelings and the loss you’re experiencing,” Carriker explained.

“Surviving loss can be inherently lonely and too often isolating. We want to provide a welcoming supportive space for students who may have lost someone close to them recently or in childhood,” Engels said, agreeing with Carriker that healing is a process best done with others.

The support group will be a safe environment for anyone to come and talk, and learn how handle their loss.

There will be discussions from suggested topics as well as coping strategies. It will run for eight weeks with the possibility of extension depending on participation.

Living with Grief and Loss will meet in the Peace Room in Usdan on Wednesdays from 3:30-4:30 p.m.

All interested undergraduate or graduate students who have lost someone are encouraged to contact Amy Engel at aengel1@brandeis.edu, but drop-ins are also welcome.

photos from internet source

4 NEWS

The Brandeis Hoot

January 30, 2015

Brandeis students vote for new Student Union representatives From STUDENT UNION, page 1

issues that the student population has to face. For that reason, if elected I would first strive to learn everything I can about the state of the school and convey that information to my Midyear class,” he said.

No candidates ran for the position of Ziv Quad Senator; instead, 30 students chose to write in their preferences for the seat. Their responses included “Ziv Dog,” “Mod Cat” and “Batman.”

The ballots for the Rosenthal Quad Senator were invalid. Sneha Walia ’15, president of the Student Union,

wrote in an email to The Hoot, “Something got messed up on the ballot before it went out for Rosie Quad senator that caused one of the candidates to not be listed on the ballot. Both candidates were notified that this occurred and that these results are invalid because they did not include all candidates.”

Up for election next week are the secretary of the Student Union, Ziv Quad senator, and Rosenthal Quad senator. Interested students are required to attend a meeting in the Student Union office of the Shapiro Campus Center, Monday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m.

photo from internet source

mod cat lookalike

This now deceased feline (“Mod Cat”) won the position of Student Union Senator for the Foster Mods last semester

Brandeis prof. retires after long career From HINDLEY, page 1

get me to resign from Brandeis.”

But Hindley also notes that numerous people chose to support him.

“Student responses to Hindley’s situation were sympathetic,” reads a 2007 article from The Hoot. Kenny Fuentes ’08, a student of Hindley’s, was quoted as stating that his studies with Hindley have addressed regions that “are full of racial tensions and harsh realities that Professor Hindley never sugar-coats … He has dedicated his career to educating his students about the rampant racism still prevalent in Latin American societies.”

Fuentes continued, “I am concerned that this situation represents, at best, a misunderstanding, and at worst, a political attack.”

In an email to The Hoot, Hindley wrote, “I have served with every Brandeis president including the founder, Abe Sachar. I felt ‘one of us’—a Brandeisian in a first-class institution founded and funded by Jews as a gift to the United States.”

Last semester, Hindley again found

himself in the center of a controversy, again surrounding the topic of free speech on the Brandeis campus.

Daniel Mael ’15 leaked the contents of faculty listserv titled “Concerned” on the conservative website Breitbart.com. The listserv was founded in 2002 as a place for faculty to discuss the Iraq War, and then continued to house discussion on current events.

The leak revealed emails “on topics ranging from Israeli politics to the decision to rescind Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s invitation to receive an honorary degree at commencement last spring,” wrote News Editor Emily Belowich in an October 2014 edition of The Hoot.

Many of the remarks were found to be controversial. Mael deemed a series of comments from Hindley and other faculty members as anti-Israel and anti-Semitic. Hindley received a great deal of negative attention as a result of the leak.

In response to the situation, Lawrence wrote in a letter to the faculty, “While we maintain our staunch support of freedom of expression and academic inquiry, some remarks by an extremely small cohort of Brandeis

faculty members are abhorrent.”

Hindley expressed his feelings of disillusionment with some of his colleagues but hopes to be remembered for his impact on students.

“Each year, I get quite a few emails from students who were very grateful, very friendly,” Hindley said.

He said he prized the opportunity to teach about Latin America and

Southeast Asia, “and [love] them … and [be] really enthusiastic about them.” Hindley talks of a father and daughter who both took his courses.

The chance to interact with students and to watch them grow, said Hindley, “has kept me thrilled and alive and interested.” In an email to The Hoot, Chair of the Politics Department Professor Daniel Kryder wrote,

“[Hindley] has lived in and conducted research in Bolivia, Costa Rica, Indonesia and Thailand, among other places, and he has always sought to foster understanding of these relatively unknown polities among our students. For our department, his retirement marks a changing of the guard, and we wish him a fulfilling and enjoyable next chapter.”

photo from internet source

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You do 5 years. the math.

2 degrees.

It all adds up to a World Ready education, right here on campus.

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ARTS, ETC.

January 30, 2015

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Adagio and Brandeis Pluralism Alliance team up for Dance Marathon

By Emma Kahn Staff

On Sunday, Jan. 25, students gathered for the fifth annual Brandeis Dance Marathon, part of a nation-wide movement which fundraises for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Combining dancing, celebrating and fundraising, the event provides the opportunity for students to help the patients and families of Boston Children’s Hospital. Located just down the street from campus, Boston Children’s Hospital is currently ranked as the best pediatric hospital in the world by the U.S. News & World Report. The Brandeis Dance Marathon, sponsored by Adagio Dance Company and the Brandeis Pluralism Alliance, was spearheaded

by Brittany Ritell ’15 and a committee of devoted students.

“The idea of a dance marathon might put some people out of their comfort zone. The event doesn’t actually require any prior knowledge or dance skills, just a willingness to have

fun and learn,” said Ritell. Brandeis dance groups gave performances and lessons to help newcomers learn the steps. Additional activities such as photo scavenger hunts, trivia and other games allowed students a break from hours of dancing. This year, the Brandeis Dance Marathon hosted two Miracle Families. “Miracle Families are families who have been helped by the hospital and essentially act as ambassadors—they come to our event, participate and share their stories.

Interacting with these kids and their families is always my favorite part of the evening,” said Ritell.

In addition to the Dance Marathon, the Adagio Dance Company has collaborated with Brandeis students to host several other events throughout the year. Additional events included a craft day titled “Princes and Princesses” at the Boston Children’s Hospital in Waltham, in which several Brandeis students helped the children make crowns, wands, shields and other crafts.

“I love Dance Marathon because it allows me to combine my pas-

sions for community service and dance with my interest in business and fundraising. Planning Brandeis Dance Marathon has given me more practical experience in business development and fundraising than any internship could, [allowing] me to use my passion for dance in a positive way,” says Ritell. Her committee not only generates large amounts of fundraising through the Brandeis Dance Marathon, but also allows her to gain valuable skills for the future. Among Ritell’s many contributions, she has widely increased student awareness and participation.

“As the head of the event I make a big effort to try and fundraise the most and talk about the event every chance that I can. I think that until last year this event was relatively unheard of on campus but over the last two years, I’ve had the pleasure of really watching it grow.” Ritell has advocated for many changes as she prepares to pass on the Dance Marathon Coordinator position. She has worked to leave the future coordinator with the tools for success that will be necessary for fu-

ture events. While the position comes with many rewards, Ritell hopes to eliminate some of the stress and difficulties of the job. Her energetic spirit and willingness to help others will continue to serve the group long after she has graduated.

For those interested in participating at future events, Ritell suggests signing up to become a Ghost Dancer.

carpe dm

Her committee assists volunteers in signing up for a DonorDrive account which allows individuals to fundraise for the Boston Children’s Hospital. In addition to the main event, various lessons and performances will take place throughout the year. Brandeis Dance Marathon’s Facebook page keeps its followers up to date with all upcoming events.

photo by emma hanselman/the hoot

Adagio poses at the Dance Marathon

Creative Writing Department hosts valuable ‘Can I Get Published’ event

By Michelle Kim Editor

At the event titled “Can I Get Published?” the Creative Writing department invited two literary agents, Ann Collette and Esmond Harmsworth, to speak about the publishing industry. Around 20 enthusiastic students came to the event, which was both entertaining and educational.

Collette had previously worked as a freelance writer and editor when, in 2000, she joined the Rees Literary Agency. She specializes in literary, mystery, thrillers, suspense, vampire and commercial women’s fiction. She also works with narrative non-fiction, military, race and class and works about Southeast Asia. Her author list includes books by Barbara Shapiro, Ashley Weaver, Steven Sidor, Vicki Lane, Carol Carr, Chrystle Fiedler and Clay and Susan Griffith .

A founding partner of the Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary Agency, Harmsworth graduated magna cum laude from Brown University and cum laude from Harvard Law School before becoming a literary agent. He is one of the leading agents for business books in the country.

Harmsworth regularly works with the most prominent publishers and has represented works that are Wall Street Journal business review and New York Times best sellers. He has also worked with books on politics, psychology, culture, society, popular culture, health, religion and spirituality, food and media. In addition to non-fiction works, Harmsworth also represents literary fiction; one of his clients, Sabina Murray, won the PEN/ Faulkner award. He is also often invited to speak at prestigious conferences and was once the Treasurer of PEN/ New England.

Collette and Harmsworth spoke about developing one’s voice, subject matter, style and how and where to get published. They also mentioned that many naive writers think that

they can gain much wider readership and large financial rewards if they get published. However, many of these people are misinformed about how writers make a living and how publishing works.

Students learned that literary agents represent authors who have finished their fiction novel or nonfiction proposal and want to be commercially and mainstream published. “Editors get tons of submissions. Agents are your advocate and support system because most writers will not get accepted by publishing companies for their first submission.

Some agents will help you edit. If we manage to sell your book, we negotiate your contract with you. Then we advise you on other things like social media presence, which is more important than ever,” explained Collette.

Harmsworth also gave some background on literary agents. “It is not impossible, but very difficult, to publish without a literary agent. The literary agency business started in the United Kingdom in the 19th century.

In the early 20th century, most writers made their money from short stories submitted to publications. Books were kind of an afterthought. The business is always changing,” he said.

There are a lot of small publishers that the literary agents know. If something comes in from a literary agent, publishers will know the work fits a certain standard because it has presumably gone through some sort of filtering process. Other than exceptional cases, writers should not get an agent until they’ve finished a fiction novel or have a proposal for a nonfiction book. As for short story writers, it is incredibly difficult to sell short stories. “It is just as good to sell short stories online, on your own,” said Harmsworth. “You should approach an agent when you have two to three publications—it’s kind of like having a resume. You are in a much better place with an agent, or if you have been published somewhere before. We want to see that you are out there publishing, writing and being productive. This shows that you’re out

there and forces you to work on your craft and writing.”

At what point does an agent stop reading a submission? “You need to understand that any established agent gets thousands of submissions.

A huge number of them fall into the ‘crap’ category for many reasons.

There are different reasons why they are crap. Once we get used to looking at the daily allotment of queries, we play games revolving around how many words and sentences before we think, ‘This is going to be bad,’” said Collette. “You can’t define good writing but you can define bad writing … when it’s ridiculously cliché. Many people try too hard with heavy handed self conscious writing.”

Harmsworth added, “I have to live off of everything I sell, not read.

So if its crappy, we will not pick you up.” The two agents also stressed the importance of editing one’s work.

“Anybody with access to a computer believes they can write a novel. Don’t misspell words. Have good grammar.”

Fifty percent of submissions will be trashed for bad spelling and gram-

mar. “We have writers submitting works with words like ‘novle’ instead of ‘novel,’” joked Harmsworth.

When something is good, publishers and agents alike know. “You don’t even need to read in that genre or category of fiction to read the first sentence and know it’s good,” stated Collette.

Overall, the talk was amusing and informative. Unlike most department events, there was good chemistry be-

tween the agents and the audience.

Collette and Harmsworth were both extremely charismatic, vibrant and delightfully sassy. As a final word of advice, both agents told students that they should not worry about the publishing process and should instead be really working on your craft. “Take chances. When you try that crazy idea, this is the time to do it because you need to find your own voice,” said Harmsworth.

photo from internet source

Winter’s Promise By Katherine Selector

The Brandeis Hoot 5

January 30, 2015

GrooveBoston: the party that disappointed

By Lisa Petrie Staff

On Saturday night, Jan. 24, Brandeis hosted GrooveBoston’s Cohesion tour in Levin Ballroom. Tickets were $5 at the SCC ticket office, and as one student said, “the event was definitely only worth $5.”

Prior to the event, I got a chance to meet with the guys from GrooveBoston—Ed, Chris and Bobby D.— and was very impressed. According to them, they all love EDM and had the idea of starting a tour that doesn’t hinge on one very expensive artist.

Their vision was to bring amazing club experiences to different venues— colleges, stadiums, actual clubs—by using great DJs, customized sets including light shows and fog machines and building their musical set based on the personality of the crowd they are entertaining.

Speaking to these guys was great because their passion really showed through. They all had a lot to say and were very knowledgeable about their

areas of expertise, and obviously put a lot of work into every show they run.

Ed, the production director, talked about how he and his team custom made the set for the show that night, with Brandeis students specifically in mind. They placed fog machines, lasers, streamer guns and speakers in strategic places. He explained that they do this for every set, and bring their specific pieces to each set no matter how far away the show is. They even shipped their equipment all the way to Texas for one of their shows. If that’s not passion, I don’t know what is.

Bobby D. is the director, and arguably the most energetic of the bunch.

He was very inspirational and full of ideas and really made me excited about what they were trying to achieve—which is surprising because I am not a fan of EDM. He had a lot of things to say regarding his ideas about music and what makes a club experience so great. He was also very excited about how music that already exists can be made special for a very specific event and very specific group of people. He explained that he was

photo from internet source

Cold Quarters By Linjie Xu

a DJ and not a producer, because he knows how to bring a dance club on a musical journey with his skills, but can’t produce a good remix like Avicii or Daft Punk. Meeting these guys, I had high hopes for this event because they really wanted to create a great experience for us Brandeisians, but Saturday night was mostly a flop.

I arrived an hour late to the event, and it was still very empty. We quickly checked in, went through a metal detector and were then ushered to the coat room. Student Events had transformed the space below the Study Abroad office into a very well-organized coat room, which was actually great, and I’d love to see that again at future events.

However, the atmosphere of Levin was extremely awkward. Some students were dressed for the club, with sequins and crop tops galore, while others were decked out in sweatshirts and snow boots because of the storm.

The room wasn’t filled up enough, yet the dance floor was very squished and frankly dangerous. Not many people were dancing, and those who were didn’t control their bodies enough so there was a constant risk of being hit by flying limbs. The music was all right but didn’t pump up the crowd enough. The night never really built to a crescendo and people mostly slowly trickled off to find other parties on campus to go to.

Overall, I had high hopes for this event, but it unfortunately did not live up to its potential. Whether it was due to the snow, unenthusiastic Brandeis students, or bad DJs I don’t know, but I’m disappointed that the guys from GrooveBoston didn’t achieve what they worked so hard to attain.

Focus on films, not awards

By Jess Linde Editor

So the Oscar nominations came out, and I am honestly disappointed, but not surprised. Already, there have been multiple pieces online lambasting the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for upholding the norms of straight, white, cisgender men getting all the attention. This is fair, as “Selma” was the only Oscar-worthy movie from 2014 that was not about and did not star white people. “But Jess, you cis white male asshole!” you cry. “What about ‘Dear White People,’ a lovely comedy-drama about identity, racism and gender in college? And what of ‘Beyond the Lights,’ which you didn’t see but heard was pretty good? Heck, Jess, what about ‘Top Five?’”

I’m going to tell you what about all those things from personal experience, without invalidating the rage that comes from an experience I do not and cannot understand. I check my privilege, and I get the argument that anything built on a white power structure is inherently violent and harmful. I do not invalidate that argument or that rage. I simply suggest a change in target. Now, let us move into the main part of the article.

“Selma” was the only “Oscar” movie about people of color released in 2014, because it was the only “big” movie about people of color released in 2014. At the end of the day, Academy members will only vote for movies that they’ve seen. And even though it was good, “Dear White People” was a small indie movie with a title many white viewers found antagonistic.

“Beyond the Lights” was barely released in the United States, and “Top Five” is great but also seen as a big, mainstream, Chris Rock studio com-

edy, the end.

These explanations may sound silly, dismissive and even arbitrary, but it’s important to understand that the Oscars are those things, too. Despite the spectacle of the show and the competition, the voting pool for the Oscars is not that large. Once they get in, Academy members are members for life, their individual tastes often coinciding with mainstream trends.

Their film taste is also often relegated to what they hear is good from their friends, their family and their coworkers, as well as what they have time to watch. Academy voters all work in the film industry one way or another, and most higher-ups don’t go to every festival and see every movie released per year. They have people for that (even the biggest festivals, like Cannes and Sundance, are primarily markets).

Put simply, the Oscars aren’t interested in great movies that will stand the test of time so much as what the biggest, most acclaimed and most popular movies are right now. Does that limit ever include great movies?

Of course, that’s why we’ll remember films like “The Godfather” and “Selma” over movies like “The King’s Speech” or “Crash.” But this does not mean that the Oscars aren’t mainly just a marketing show.

Now that I have hopefully explained the futility of holding the Oscars to a high standard, let me make a quick clarification. The Academy Awards are silly and boring, but they definitely do matter. Audiences like a bit of a guide when picking what movies to watch, and that Oscar bump can put more people in seats. That little statue and golden font automatically opens hundreds of career doors, because it’s a possible guarantee for acclaim and box office success. That’s why it’s great that Lupita Nyong’o has an Oscar, and

why Nicolas Cage will always be billed as “Academy Award Winner” Nicolas Cage.

Anyway, let’s look at the nominations for best picture. These are the best films of the moment. None are surprising, except maybe “The Theory of Everything,” which I did not like at all. Why aren’t the rest surprising though? Because there’s one of every type of movie Oscar loves to nominate. There’s the wildly acclaimed and liked movies (“Birdman,” “Boyhood,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel”), the beloved indies (“Whiplash”), not one but two biopics (“The Theory of Everything,” “The Imitation Game”), a movie by a Hollywood legend (“American Sniper”) and the movie about something big and important in history (“Selma”). These categories do not judge the quality of the films (that’s my job!), but if you look, they are applicable to almost every contemporary Oscar pool.

Realistically, it’s a race between “Birdman” and “Boyhood,” which the latter will likely win because of the whole filmed-over-12-years thing.

And Richard Linklater will probably win Best Director, because he’s had so many critical hits over the years that were ignored. Similarly, Michael Keaton will probably win Best Actor because he’s been around forever and has it coming (he was also brilliant in “Birdman”). Reese Witherspoon and J.K. Simmons will also probably win their nominations for the same reason. Because “12 Years a Slave” won Best Picture last year, “Selma” doesn’t really have a chance this year, because “black movies” can’t be honored too quickly in succession. That may sound bad, and it really is, but it’s also true without some sort of miracle. This year’s Oscars included incredibly safe nominations, and it will likely be an

incredibly safe set of winners.

However. This prediction of mine is not an excuse for the egregious and absurd shutting out of “Selma” from most of the major awards. Though David Oyelowo and Ava DuVernay definitely would not have won this year, that both are missing from the ballot is maddening and says more about the Oscars than anything else. DuVernay’s direction in “Selma” was subtle but fantastic, and Oyelowo’s performance was one for the ages, embodying and interpreting Martin Luther King Jr. in an astounding fashion. “Selma” takes one of King’s many achievements and made it both an exploration of and an affirmation of the Civil RIghts Movement as a victory for African-American self-determination and humanity.

DuVernay and Oyelowo were key in doing so, and that they were snubbed because of the ridiculous patterns the Academy takes is awful.

Furthermore, “Selma” is a film with an amazing ensemble cast. Where were the supporting nods for Tom Wilkinson, Carmen Ejogo or Lorraine Toussaint? Or any of the other fantastic supporting performances? I know there were complaint’s of “Selma’s” choice to (rightfully) not idolize LBJ, but that is a nonsense excuse that was noticeably only thrown at this year’s main “black” movie. Clint Eastwood cherry-picked Chris Kyle’s memoir for “American Sniper” and created a troubled, remorseful Chris Kyle that quite literally did not exist. And what of “Foxcatcher,” a really good movie in its own right but with a much smaller scale and cast? Bennett Miller did a great job, and so did the leads, but I wouldn’t say that Steve Carell’s performance was more significant or important than Oyelowo’s.

But even these points and complaints miss the point I’m trying to

make. The Oscars are absolutely not the be-all end-all judge of quality for American film. What they nominate or don’t nominate doesn’t make “Selma” less worthy of anyone’s ticket money, unless someone is so shallow that they require an Oscar symbol to convince them to see any movie. It is a serious waste of time to get angry at one arm of the white-centric cultural institution of the film industry. That said, as viewers who live in a world that is increasingly aware of and friendly towards increased intersectional diversity as a norm, there is every reason to demand better representation in the mainstream. But since movies are an industry as well as an art form, pushing for not only inclusion, but radical change in the way production is approached, is necessary.

An ideal world would have as many “Dear White Peoples” coming out per year as “22 Jump Streets,” and as many Laverne Coxes as Reese Witherspoons. But right now, all we can do is be pragmatic and specific in what we choose to support. This is not a call to stop having fun at the movies, but one to reserve overwritten-thinkpiece energy for productivity and making a film culture that truly represents the people who deserve it.

photo from internet source

January 30, 2015

The Brandeis Hoot

ARTS

6

‘Taken 3’ is poorly written and executed

By Sabrina Pond Staff

It shouldn’t come as such a surprise that “Taken 3,” the third installment of the reputable “Taken” series, was a complete waste of cinema. Given the incredibly low Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score (10 percent), any experienced moviegoer would know not to expect much from this movie, or even go so far as to put aside an hour and a half of their lives to see the film. Curiosity, however, has a way of encouraging movie critics to walk through the movie theater doors, as is the case with me.

The basic premise of “Taken 3” is that former operative Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is accused of murdering his ex-wife Lenore, who happened to be meeting Neeson’s character at his place for bagels when she was killed. The CIA, FBI and police are all after him, and he is forced to yet again use his now infamous “particular set of skills” to clear his name. Though almost everyone assumes that he is guilty, his daughter remains his only asset (she never doubts his innocence, not even for a moment). Together they work with Lenore’s husband, Stuart, to take down the Russian mastermind Oleg Malankov, who purportedly is responsible for Lenore’s demise.

“Taken 3” was a failure in that it unknowingly made fun of itself; its serious tone was never truly achieved because of the outright stupidity of the storyline. Not even Neeson’s stoicism and all around good acting could make up for the ridiculousness of the plot. At one point, Bryan finds himself in the midst of a crazy car chase sequence, which isn’t an altogether new stunt for action-adventure movies. What was comical was that a tractor-trailer with a large storage box in the back started to roll forward, and for absolutely no good reason. It somehow gained enough

momentum (given that for some reason or another, the storage box wasn’t firmly secured to the trailer in the first place) to roll seven times, wreaking havoc and smashing cars along the way. “Taken 3” couldn’t even attempt to make that kind of action seem necessary. Then there was the problem of the villain, predictably a Russian, who was so horribly crafted that his extreme maniacal behavior was horrendously over done. In one scene, when we first meet Oleg, he is looking through the viewfinder of a sniper rifle at two girls playing tennis. He contemplates shooting them, but is interrupted in the middle of his thought when one of his henchmen

no one is taken with “taken 3”

starts conversing with him. That kind of nonchalance isn’t threatening—it’s laughable. What’s even worse is that the ultimate showdown between Bryan and the Russian psychopath is waged when Oleg is in his tighty whities. That was the last straw—in that moment it was obvious that “Taken 3,” though intended to maintain a serious tone in an epic battle between the beloved Bryan and despicable Oleg, had actually become a comedy. The filmmakers didn’t know it at the time, but I would swear that SNL had the entire film rigged so as to end the “Taken” trilogy with a truly memorable finale. All too often, so it would seem, money speaks louder

than the artistic integrity of the work itself. Although most people could probably sense that a third “Taken” movie would be wholly unnecessary, and most likely poorly written, it never seems to matter; as long as money is made, movies that should never have been made are nevertheless pumped out. If no original, interesting ideas come to mind (even after considerable thought is given to a script) then it doesn’t make sense to fall back on storylines that have been used over and over again, recycled and rehashed until the end of time.“Taken 3,” to put it bluntly, was not written very well, could not be acted out in a believable way because of the poor writing and

No matter how talented Liam Neeson is, even he could not correct the film’s poorly written script.

Hoot Bites: this week’s favorite places to eat in the greater Boston area Masa

439 Tremont Street, Boston Masa is a Mexican-American place tucked into a corner in the South End of Boston. Known by the 21-and-over crowd for its amazing drinks (customers swear by the sangria and their pomegranate tequila sunrise drink), Masa is also wellknown for brunch. Customer favorites include the breakfast burrito and the huevos rancheros. Word of advice? Make a reservation if planning to visit Masa on a Sunday or else you will be waiting in line for at least half an hour.

Yume Wo Katare

Porter Square Shopping Center, 1923 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge Yume Wo Katare is famous for its large ramen bowls and rich broth. Customers who are able to finish their bowl of ramen are congratulated by staff members. I personally have yet to finish a ramen bowl at Yume. The ramen broth is a heavenly concoction of pork fat and various spices. For some, it may be too fatty, but most devour it. “I thought I was going to have a heart attack,” said Do Dang ’15. My advice is to come early, bring water (the food is super salty), listen to the restaurant servers’ rules and have an empty stomach when ordering your food. Yume Wo Katare takes its ramen very seriously. You should, too.

Toro

1704 Washington Street, Boston A vegetarian favorite, Toro serves top-notch tapas. Although slightly more expensive than the average college student’s budget, the seared foie gras with pear chutney is spectacular and has an incredibly reasonable price. There are no bad dishes on the menu. From shishito peppers to the Paella Valencia, which consists of shrimp, mussels, clams, Spanish pork sausage, chicken and Calasparra rice, everything is delectable.

Sunset Cantina

916 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston Located near Boston University, this place doesn’t know the meaning of the word “small.” Everything, from the portion sizes to the beer list, is absolutely huge. Although many complain about subpar service, Sunset Cantina’s nachos, mudslide pie and drinks bring in a steady flow of customers.

Have suggestions? Please email the Brandeis Hoot at thursday@thebrandeishoot.com.

photo from internet source

could not continue to entertain the viewer because of its predictability.

“Taken” was interesting to watch even if it was anticipated at times because it was executed very well for what it was. “Taken 3,” however, having exhausted every possible storyline, does nothing for the actors, the writers, the viewers or anyone else. The only thing this movie can be given credit for is its ability to give its viewers a false sense of hope that there might be another somewhat intriguing, if not only entertaining, “Taken” movie. We all know that that didn’t happen, but we can at the very least hope that “Taken 3” is actually the last installment in the “Taken” series.

photo from internet source

Surviving Sodexo: Back to the basics

By Charlotte Aaron Staff

During Juno, the snowpocalypse that hit New England on Tuesday and Wednesday, students were forced to eat in Sherman—the only place open serving food on campus. As Wednesday night approached, the line for food grew at an exponential rate, and students anxiously waited for tables to clear. As I meandered through the dining hall and examined the food options available, I heard many students complain about the lack of variety.

While admittedly, Sherman was not at its prime, there was plenty to eat! The kosher side was lineless—not to mention it was a meat day—and the salad bar was fully stocked with fruits and vegetables. What more does a student need?

This week, rather than introduce a new fancy dish, I want to go back to the basics. Below is the recipe to a classic grilled chicken sandwich.

Although it seems like an obvious choice, sometimes it is hardest to see what is right in front of your face. This simple yet delicious sandwich will take minutes to make and keep you satisfied for hours.

Ingredients 2 slices of multi-grain bread 2 pieces of grilled chicken tomatoes spinach onion peppers

pickles Recipe To begin, note that this sandwich can be created on both the kosher and non-kosher side of Sherman. First, put two pieces of multi-grain bread on your plate. The bread can be found at both the sandwich station by the pizza, or by the bagel bar. Politely ask a Sherman worker behind the grill for two slices of grilled chicken. Lay the chicken side by side on one slice of bread.

At the salad bar, lay spinach and green and red peppers on top of the chicken.

Return to the sandwich station to top your grilled chicken sandwich off with tomatoes and onion. While pickles are recommended, they are not necessary.

Put the second piece of bread on your sandwich, press down and cut the sandwich in half perpendicularly to the chicken. The special thing about a good grilled chicken sandwich is that it can be eaten with anything. You’re craving pasta salad? Put it on the side.

You’re craving cantaloupe and pineapple? Put it on the side. You’re craving ice cream? Put it on the side! You want basic, tasty and flexible? The grilled chicken sandwich is for you.

photo from internet source

8 The Brandeis Hoot

THIS WEEK IN PHOTOS

January 30, 2015

photo by marian siljeholm/the hoot

SNOW DAY: Schapiro Campus Center stands out among the snow

photo by marian siljeholm/the hoot

SNOW: Students built cat in the snow

photo by sharon cai/the hoot

SNOW DAY: Day off provides a chance for fun

photo by sharon cai/the hoot

CHAPELS FIELD: Students play in the snow

photo by sharon cai/the hoot

photo by marian siljeholm/the hoot

photo by marian siljeholm/the hoot

photo by sharon cai/the hoot

9 The Brandeis Hoot

SPORTS

January 30, 2015

Exciting win for men’s basketball in UAA conference game

By Sarah Jousset Editor

The men’s basketball game on Friday night, Jan. 23 in Gosman came down to the last few seconds in a UAA conference game against 21st-ranked University of Chicago. The Judges pulled out the win, 59-58, to improve their season record to 7-8 overall.

Brandeis was trailing by 10 with 7:08 left to go in the game, before slowly cutting the deficit. However, the Judges still trailed by 5 with 2:31 to go. But Brandeis started a run for the win with a tip-in by Colby Smith ’16, after teammate Jordan Cooper ’18 stole the ball but missed a contested lay-up. Chicago looked to secure a lead, but their aggressive offense resulted in an offensive foul with 1:31 remaining in the game and a turnover in Brandeis’ favor. Brandeis missed a 3-pointer and got called for a foul on the rebound, but Brandeis’ tough defense fought back, forcing Chicago to commit another offensive foul on an inbounds play with 25.1 seconds to go, putting the ball back in the hands of the Judges.

With the shot clock off and Brandeis down by three, 58-55, Cooper dropped a quick bucket to bring the

photo from internet source

Judges within one with 17.5 seconds left. Three seconds later, Brandeis sent a Chicago player to the line for a oneand-one. The shot missed and Smith grabbed the rebound and drove down the middle of the court to draw a foul with 6.6 seconds left in the game.

Smith proceeded to drop both shots to put his team ahead, 59-58.

“I was a little nervous shooting the free throws, but my thoughts going into the free throws were that every-

one would still support me even if I missed and that thinking about it would just make me nervous, so I just tried to shoot them just like I would any other shot,” stated Smith on his crucial points.

After Smith’s shots, Brandeis called a timeout, which was followed by a Chicago timeout when they couldn’t inbound the ball. Chicago got the ball into their leading scorer who dribbled down the left sideline before making a

quick move to the basket. Smith came to save the day once again, blocking Chicago’s last chance at victory. The blocked ball landed in the hands of a Judge, ensuring the win for Brandeis.

“I just didn’t want us to lose like we did at the beginning of the season when we lost a lot of close games on a game winning layup, so I went for the block. Once I had blocked the shot, I just felt so great that our team had won the game, and I felt a rush of

energy in that moment from blocking the shot and from the crowd cheering,” Smith said.

Smith led the Judges with 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots. Cooper finished with 12 points, while Robinson Vilmont ’17 finished with 10 points and John Powell ’17 contributed 10 points and six rebounds.

The Judges face Emory this Friday, Jan. 29 at home at 8 p.m.

Judges suffer from a second-half slump

By Curtis Zunyu He Staff

As the new semester began, the Judges finally returned to their home court after a tough journey west. But what they were facing at in Gosman on Sunday, Jan. 25, didn’t spare them a chance to take a breath as they lost to the University of Chicago on Friday, 50-67 and fell short again against Washington University in St. Louis, 58-77. The Judges’ overall record fell to 9-7.

Despite a tough loss, the Judges showcased one of their best first-half performances this season in their game against the No. 3-ranked Washington Bears. Their determination to end the losing streak was all over the floor for the Judges early on as they accomplished an impressive 56.7% field goal shooting performance in the first half. The number not only rose to the top of the season so far, but also surpassed the Bears by more than 30 percent, which gained the Judges a huge advantage to help them lead the first 20 minutes.

It was Hannah Cain ’15 who led the team, scoring eight of the Judges’ first 10 points, plus an offensive rebound. Then, after the Bears’ height advantage helped them with a second-chance score to make it a twopoint game at 18-16, guard Paris Hodges ’17 stepped up with two consecutive three-pointers to retain the momentum. Moreover, the Judges’ counterattack became very effective as the team showed impressive effort in boxing out and fast breaking. Cain also had four more assists in only 10 minutes, and the Judges scored 44 points off of 11 assists in total. Besides the effective defense at low post, the determined attacks into the paint and the patient half-court offense were all contributing to the perfect firsthalf performance of the Judges with a 12-point lead.

However, the Bears turned around the situation in the second half as they outscored the Judges by 31 points in 20 minutes with a cumulative score, 45-14. The Bears suddenly started defending in the backcourt

photos by marian siljeholm/the hoot

with intense double teams and their offensive players began vehemently attacking the rim. The Judges were no longer able to find good chances for fast breaks as the Bears became much more efficient in the paint and more aggressive with offensive rebounds when their shots were closer to the rim. Melissa Gilkey turned out to be a nuclear bomb for the Bears as she ruthlessly scored all of her 12 points in the paint and none of the Judges could stop her. The Bears picked up nine offensive rebounds for second

chances whereas the Judges were only able to collect 6 defensive rebounds.

“If a team is out rebounding us, it’s not because they’re simply taller than us. It’’s because we aren’t doing our job boxing out” said Cain.

The focus of the Judges’ offense was forced out of the paint as starting forward Tori Dobson ’16 had to find shots in the mid-range from time to time and forward Olivia Shaw ’18 had an attempt outside the three-point line. Under such effective defense of the Bears, the Judges achieved nei-

ther three pointers nor free throws in the second half which truly hurt the team’s energy to a great extent. And the Bears strongly revealed their true ferocity, finally closing out the game at 77-58.

Daunted by the double team fullcourt defense from the Bears, the Judges managed to keep their turnovers low, with only five in the second half. Compared to their average 18.9 turnovers per game, 12 turnovers in this game is a success, especially facing such intense defense from the

Bears. “We put an emphasis on taking care of the ball during practice and that translates to games. We really focus on being strong with the ball and making good passes, which leads to less turnovers and more looks at the rim for us,” said Cain.

This Friday, Jan. 30, the Judges will host another tough opponent, Emory University at home at 6 p.m. The Emory Eagles are not satisfied with their UAA conference performance so far as they have achieved a 2-3 record and a 10-6 record overall.

10 The Brandeis Hoot

“To acquire wisdom, one must observe.”

Editor-in-Chief Dana Trismen Andrew Elmers

Senior Managing Editor Victoria Aronson Managing Editors Theresa Gaffney News Editors Emily Belowich Jess Linde Arts Editor Michelle Kim Sports Editor Sarah Jousset Deputy Opinions Editor Kevin Healey Senior Copy Editors Mia Edelstein Julie Landy Copy Editor Allison Plotnik Senior Layout Editor Sasha Ruiz Graphics Editor Linjie Xu Website Editors Zak Kolar Zach Phil Schwartz

Volume 12 • Issue 3 the brandeis hoot • brandeis university 415 south street • waltham, ma

Founded By Leslie Pazan, Igor Pedan and Daniel Silverman

STAFF

Charlotte Aaron, Clayre Benzadon, Ethan Berceli, Rachel Bossuk, Robin Briendel, Sharon Cai, Karen Caldwell, Shikha Chandarana, Curtis Zunyu He, Emma Kahn, Shayna Korol, Joe Lanoie, Nabi Menai, Monique J Menezes, Joon Park, Lisa Petrie, Sabrina Pond, Emily Scharf, Hannah Schuster, Marian Siljeholm, Eliana Sinoff, Emily Smith, Hannah Stewart, Joe Vigil, Michael Wang, Sophia Warren, Ludi Yang MISSION As the weekly community student newspaper of Brandeis University, The Brandeis Hoot aims to provide our readers with a reliable, accurate and unbiased source of news and information.

Produced entirely by students, The Hoot serves a readership of 6,000 with in-depth news, relevant commentary, sports and coverage of cultural events. Recognizing that better journalism leads to better policy, The Brandeis Hoot is dedicated to the principles of investigative reporting and news analysis. Our mission is to give every community member a voice.

SUBMISSION POLICIES The Brandeis Hoot welcomes letters to the editor on subjects that are of interest to the community. Preference is given to current or former community members and The Hoot reserves the right to edit or reject submissions. The deadline for submitting letters is Wednesday at noon. Please submit letters to letters@thebrandeishoot.com along with your contact information. Letters should not exceed 500 words.

The opinions, columns, cartoons and advertisements printed in The Hoot do not necessarily represent the opinions of the editorial board.

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To reserve your space in the paper, contact us by phone at (781) 330-0051 or by e-mail at ads@thebrandeishoot.com.

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

EDITORIALS

January 30, 2015

Student electoral apathy disappointing

W

ith the biannual tradition of Student Union elections commencing once again this past Wednesday, a typical shortcoming of the Brandeis student body rose to light once again. Despite canceled classes and being snowed in by over two feet of snow, only 746 students (less than any single undergraduate class) voted in the election for student union vice president. For a university so enraptured by current events and adamant about having their voices heard, Brandeis somehow fails to become engaged in one of the most accessible modes of political participation on campus: voting in student elections.

Offered the opportunity to effect change in their community, most students instead take the apathetic route, neglecting election ballots.

In fact, in perhaps one of the most publicized and celebrated elections in recent years, “Mod Cat” garnered overwhelming support from the student body, winning the title of Student Union senator of the Foster Mods before meeting an unfortunate and tragic demise. Why is the student body so quick to rally around a humourous mascot, but fails to demonstrate the same support for a legitimate candidate?

The lack of voter participation is not a new problem. It is a habitual one. As reported in a Brandeis Hoot article from September 2011, not only did just 18 percent of students vote in that semester’s elections, but three of the five

Judiciary seats were left vacant due to abstain votes.

As a repetitive trend, other semesters have reflected similarly dismal turn-outs. While the specific individuals who have voted, abstained or altogether ignored Student Union elections have changed over the years with the changing composition of the student body, the same trends emerge year after year. Unfortunately, Brandeis students as a whole have not demonstrated active engagement in their representation, although they are essentially the most affected by their own inactivity.

When former Vice President Sofía Mühlmann ’16 resigned from her post over the winter break, few in the community seemed perturbed. When it came time to fill her seat, now-former Secretary Charlotte Franco ’15 stepped up and won the vice presidency. This now leaves a vacancy in the secretary position for the Student Union, one that will be up for election in the Union’s next round of elections, according to an email sent out by Union President Sneha Walia ’15 Thursday morning.

Looking at the makeup of this chain of events, it’s evident that the Student Union is often comprised of essentially the same group of select students who demonstrate continual commitment to the student body, while new candidates are rare and far between. Why do Brandeis students, who exhibit such strong

opinions surrounding current events and controversies, not demonstrate the same passion or commitment when it comes to university affairs? With outcries over dining policies rampant and grievances over wait lines at the mailroom publicized widely on social media at the beginning of the semester, the dismal response to student elections is counterintuitive in nature.

Just last year, Hoot writer Shayna Korol ’17 revealed her brutally honest, although not uncommon, sentiments surrounding Student Union elections. In an opinions article published in The Hoot, she wrote, “If I do vote, and that’s very tentative, I’ll probably end up picking the candidates I’m most familiar with, people I’ve talked to in the past or had classes with.

I might consider someone with a particularly impressive haircut for an important position.”

Addressing dissatisfaction with the voter apathy prevalent at Brandeis, she acknowledged, “I freely admit that this is a poor way of coming to a decision, but it’s not as if my method is any different from that of most voters in local and national elections.”

Although the Student Union has accomplished much over the years, and we, as students, would not have the same amount of freedoms and services without the leadership of its members, student engagement is an issue that needs to be addressed.

11 The Brandeis Hoot

FEATURES

January 30, 2015

Shota Adamia ’15 wins competitive fashion scholarship

By Jacob Edelman Special to the Hoot

When anyone asks Shota Adamia ’15 if he is from Georgia, he is quick to reply “The Republic of, yes!” The European native states that coming to Brandeis was one of the best decisions he ever made. After a winding path of majors led him from classical studies to theater to International & Global Studies, Adamia finally found himself settling on economics and sociology. “The name of the degree doesn’t matter. I wanted to enjoy the classes and get something that was applicable in the business world,” Adamia said.

Underlying his vast array of interests, however, was the allure of fashion. Adamia stated that his fascination with fashion and style originated in his youth. “I never saw it as a career since it’s so hard to break into the industry,” he recalled.

Last year, however, his interests in business and fashion happened to collide, when he found out about the YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund through the Brandeis International Business School (IBS). After working with the Hiatt Career Center along with Professors Kelikian (HIST), Rosenberger (IGS/SOC) and Zimmerman (IBS/HS), Adamia won a YMA Scholarship. He soon landed a sales internship at Thom Browne, reporting directly to the vice president. “I was working with a very small team. It was an amazing summer,” he said.

His hard work eventually earned him a nomination for a Geoffrey Beene Scholarship. “I had to write a case study on technology and fashion, and I ended up working on a project regarding 3D printing and its revolutionary influence on fashion,” Adamia said.

“Essentially I was doing academic research, and I spoke with many designers, bloggers and experts who are doing research in regard to both the technology and design aspects. I produced the case study and presented it to the YMA’s executive board, which consists of top-level executives of places such as Geoffrey Beene, Levi Strauss & Co., FIT and many others,” Adamia explained. After the presentation, Adamia won one of four $30,000 Geoffrey Beene Scholarships to be used for future education and career aspirations.

“In fashion, it depends on your background and what you’re looking for—money, fame, experience, looking for it as a stepping stone into a social world or connections. I found my channel through this organization which I am insanely grateful for and am still trying to find ways to expand my experience. Getting into it is very individual for everyone,” Adamia said about the difficulties of getting into the fashion world.

He is also the recipient of the Karpf and Ari Hahn Peace Prize award at Brandeis, associated with the Peace and Coexistence Studies program. For this project, Adamia combined art and research methods. He traveled to Ireland

and “spoke to locals, took photos of each step and made an exhibit that I never thought would happen.” After the trip, he compiled the photos and held an exhibition in the Shapiro Student Center.

In addition to working for Thom Browne, Adamia has also interned at a firm concerned with conducting polls and research gathering. “It was very academically oriented and research based.

passion, business and fashion

I did interviews and made reports for the firm in Georgia,” he remarked.

“I want it to be something that I will enjoy that’s not just about the requirement of needing a job.

I like to be very secure, which is why I work very hard for what I need and want,” Adamia said about his employment goals after graduation.

As for future plans, Adamia is

working on finishing his thesis on Russian nationalism. “It’s very politically, nationalistically and sociologically based. There’s too much information to explain it in a few words, but so far it’s been reading and reading and reading.

I have 66 books checked out from the library that I have to finish in a month. That’s two books a day … I don’t know if that’s happening.”

Adamia poses with other students at the award ceremony

photos courtesy shota adamia

January 30, 2015

Education vital for sexual empowerment

By Sophia Warren Staff

OPINIONS

The Brandeis Hoot 12

Univ. should reform BranVan reservation system

By Kevin Healey Editor

I believe that people are allowed to have and enjoy sex. I will take it one step further to say I believe women, in particular, are allowed to have and enjoy sex. There are a lot of things about being a woman in the United States that make me feel empowered and grateful to call this country home.

The fact that my country seems not to want me, or anyone I know who has received federally or state funded education, to have sex isn’t one of them.

At the bottom line, human dignity and economics alike create a case that sex education comes with a sense of power, and therefore empowerment. When people know the power in their bodies and the choices they have at their disposal, they are healthier, choices are free to be made and we are less ashamed of our bodies and the miraculous things they have the ability to do, if we want these things to be done.

Across the country, students are provided with sexual health information biased based on race, religion and ethnicity . It can be cited as inappropriate for students’ ages, according to recent Guttmacher Institute analysis. According to this analysis and a poll taken by Huffington Post in association with YouGov, 37 states allow for medically inaccurate sex education; a mere 18 states require teachers to provide information about contraception; sex education is not required at all in 28 states; and 19 of the states that do provide it require only abstinence to be covered.

To then say that the United States has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates of any developed country (which correlates directly to abortion and STI rates) according to the United States Department of Health and Human Services and the Guttmacher Institute, feels far from surprising.

What I want to talk about here is that issues as divisive as teen pregnancy, abortion and STIs do not exist in a vacuum. Just as I identify as pro-choice, I too identify with everything that comes before that very choice and everything that surrounds it.

Choices look different when you see them as conditional on the environment and knowledge you are given to make them.

Education should be our baseline for equality as an unbiased and equal-opportunity playing field. While that notion can be naive even for the U.S., once we have children in classrooms we should not be working to knowingly deceive them. To believe that inaccurate or abstinence-only See EDUCATION, page 15

photo from internet source

The nice part of a new semester, besides all the new classes, professors and general excitement, is all the free time. Though most professors start off right away with homework, there aren’t papers, tests or exams to stress about for now. Every semester, students take advantage of these benefits by traveling into Waltham, Boston and other areas of the state. Last weekend, I did the same, booking a seat on the BranVan to travel to an event off campus.

The van arrived during a rainstorm, and I got on, but at the next stop there were too many people to fit onboard. The van had been completely reserved, but someone had gotten on anyway and pretended they had made a reservation. What followed was around 10 minutes of frantic conversation between the passengers on the van as we attempted to figure who was lying, all while one poor woman waited next to the van in the rain for no reason other than bad luck. Eventually we gave up trying to figure it out, and the van drove away to leave that vexed passenger waiting another half hour in the rain.

The unfortunate truth is that these types of situations happen all the time with our BranVan system. Our online registration process is now streamlined and efficient, but that doesn’t translate into effectiveness in real life. These errors make people less See VANS, page 14

photo by linjie xu/ the hoot

Univ. should do more to accommodate dedicated workers

By Zach Phil Schwartz Editor

This week’s “snowpocalypse” left Brandeis with a lot to deal with and very limited resources to do it. More two feet of snow fell in our area, on top of the snow we got last weekend. During the last few days, facilities and Sodexo workers have worked tirelessly to keep essential parts of campus open, sometimes at their own expense. In times like this, we need to make sure that those devoted workers are properly cared for in extreme situations.

As I was walking half-asleep through my hall in the early hours of Tuesday morning, I noticed a few facilities workers I had seen working in my building earlier asleep on the couches in my floor’s lounge. After a long day, instead of being able to return home, extenuating circumstances forced them into student quarters.

Although I cannot emphasize enough the difficult circumstances caused by the storm that left so many workers on or near our campus, that doesn’t mean that the university shouldn’t have a contingency plan for such occasions.

Earlier, on that Monday, Sodexo workers scrambled to close the Usdan food courts and C-Store, where you could swear by the panic the world was literally about to end. I’m assuming they were trying to get as many workers as they could off campus before they were snowed in, and they did a magnificent job of keeping order. By the end of the night, only Sherman remained open and staffed. I don’t know how many Sodexo workers ended up staying on campus, but it wouldn’t be a stretch to guess

photo from internet source

that some were faced with the situation given the facilities workers I saw sleeping in the lounge.

In the event of a major snow event or any other incident that would isolate Brandeis from the outside world, I believe that there needs to be a contingency plan to deal with the workers that, knowing full well the impending consequences, decide to come into work and risk not being able to return home for a while. For those hardworking facilities workers to have had to stay in that lounge was not right, especially given the important work they do.

At the very least, the university should make some sort of appropriate housing arrangements available for those workers who are not returning to their homes in these situations. Instead, we need to make sure that services that employ student workers have the resident students work during later shifts so that anyone who can get home, does get home before inclement weather starts. I’m not advocating giving student workers more work to do, but these student workers do live here, and it’s easier

for them to get home. We need to see to it that non-essential personnel make it home safely while essential personnel work with student workers. In that way, there are minimal numbers of stranded workers in this department.

In departments with and without student workers who do end up working during situations like those we faced earlier this week, extra compensation is more than deserved for these workers. If they devote their time to serve our community, they deserve the extra compensation. In times when it might be better for these workers to stay at home, perhaps with their families, they come in anyway and work just as hard as they normally would, if not harder. They are members of our community, and they deserve the same love and kindness we try to show each other. It’s times like this that binds our community together, and these workers stay to clean our dorms, fix our pipes and cook our food. It’s only right that they are compensated and accommodated

by Brandeis for their unparalleled devotion.

January 30, 2015

OPINIONS 13

The Brandeis Hoot

Events should be accessible to all students

By Jacob Edelman

By Andrew Elmers

Special to the Hoot

Editor

I called my grandma to wish her a happy birthday last Monday, which also happened to be Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We went through the usual topics of talking about my cousins, how much I’m eating and whether or not I use the toilet regularly, but eventually she got around to asking me what was going on in honor of King’s birthday. I mentioned the “King in Us All” event taking place that evening, and she told me I should go. Even though my grandmother has never been to Brandeis, and has trouble pronouncing it sometimes, she understands the importance of attending these types of events.

To appease her, I told her at the moment that I might stop by, but wound up not attending, opting to sit in the library and do homework. Obviously if I had planned my weekend better, I would have already had this work completed and I would have had time to attend the event. But those thoughts aren’t passing through my head as I lie in bed at one in the afternoon. Unfortunately not attending this event made me remember all of the other events that I didn’t make the time to attend.

Attending college is not only about going to class and learning something that might help you achieve gainful employment.

There are numerous other aspects to the experience that make it something truly unique. Of course this characteristic isn’t See EVENTS, page 15

photo by linjie xu/ the hoot

Requiring textbooks for courses outdated

By Shayna Korol Staff

Second semester at Brandeis begins about a week before most schools, which I have been told is due to our February break. Unlike the start of first semester, there’s maybe an afternoon and an evening to unpack and get ready for the next day’s classes. Things start up again, not quite in full force but getting there quickly.

One thing professors do immediately is assign readings from the required texts.

I understand this is college, and I’m not complaining about the workload. However, most people I know don’t buy their books immediately. Whether they’re shopping their classes or planning to buy the books online for a much more reasonable price, the campus bookstore doesn’t seem to be all that crowded the first few weeks of school.

Renting from the bookstore is generally a more reasonable option. You might end up saving a grand total of $20, but when online options are sometimes $100 cheaper than the store price, most people are willing to wait to get their materials. The issue arises when professors assign reading from the books during the shopping period. Unless they upload the assignments to LATTE or provide online links, students can’t reasonably be expected to do that part of the homework. The library only holds a few copies on reserve, and it certainly doesn’t have every required text.

“But Shayna,” someone might ask, “why not just buy books? You can resell them after you’ve taken the class.” No one will ask this, of course, because selling textbooks is not exactly making a profit. Just try and offer your organic chemistry textbook for $220 next semester and see how many takers you get.

Sometimes, the books are brand-new editions, and renting is not an option for that text. Good luck trying to find a reasonably

Penn Club too exclusive for univ.

photo from internet source

priced new edition online; you might save a little money, but either way, textbooks are expensive.

If you’re willing and able to buy from the bookstore, you won’t fall behind on the readings. Or at least you won’t have the excuse of not having the book to fall back on.

Professors can and should post the readings they assign during the shopping period on LATTE, or they should hold off on assigning readings from the textbook.

What is particularly frustrating for many students—and I’m confident that I’m not just speaking for myself here—is having required textbooks that don’t end up being used enough during the course to justify purchasing or renting them. If a professor doesn’t like a textbook or doesn’t refer to it much, readings on LATTE are a viable option.

I don’t see the downside of putting all sections of required reading on LATTE throughout the entire semester. Buying books wouldn’t be significantly discouraged, because many people are more comfortable using a physical copy. Binders and notebooks would still be available at the

university bookstore. Workbooks would still have to be physically purchased.

Most professors are aware of this, and do upload the earlier assigned readings to LATTE. They tend to be understanding of the fact that not everyone’s orders have come through. If all professors would commit to this, students would be less likely to fall behind and the instructors wouldn’t be behind on teaching the material.

Books tend to arrive in the mail fairly quickly, but accidents happen and packages get misplaced. Students shouldn’t have hundreds of pages of reading to catch up on in the second or third week of class because of time constraints and human error. Not all start-of-the-semester stress can be accounted for and mitigated, but the issue of falling behind because you don’t have your books yet is an easy one for the administration to solve.

The evidence I have for all of this is anecdotal. The methodology is suspect, and I don’t have actual data to back this up beyond “an experience I see a lot.” I’ve never taken a research methods class—I just don’t want to buy books for class.

When Brandeis announced its decision to sell its alumni mansion in Manhattan last year, it also announced that it would be affiliating itself with the Penn Club, an exclusive Ivy League club in New York.

The club’s website describes the organization as a “Club Managers Association of America designated 5-Star Platinum Club of America.” It has 13 floors of dining rooms, massage and fitness centers, guest rooms, libraries and social opportunities for members to “connect with real movers and Quakers!” Though social clubs like these aren’t necessarily bad, they contradict Brandeis’ founding principles of openness and equality in all activities.

The club writes that to become a member, one must fill out a membership application and fulfill certain entry requirements. These mostly have to do with being a graduate of one of the affiliate schools or organizations. One must also fulfill the requirements of having qualifying financial history and satisfactory social conduct/ decorum.

As listed on the application, after acceptance to the Penn Club, a Brandeis alum must pay an initiation fee ranging from $375-$1,200 followed annually with dues ranging from $375-$1,625. Dues and fees are calculated based on where one lives in relation to New York and one’s age. New members may rent a room for a few hundred dollars per night, make use of the library, and purchase meals.

One may also buy an annual $440-$550 membership to the Palestra Fitness Center, which grants further entitlement to purchase a $140 90-minute massage with optional aromatherapy, a one-hour personal training session or a 45-minute squash court rental. Complimentary coffee is served from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., Monday through Friday.

The Penn Club is considered a 501(c)(7) tax-exempt nonprofit organization, categorized by the IRS as a social club.

This is not to say that the Penn Club or social clubs in general are bad things. They can allow people to take advantage of private services, be more social, network with professionals and enjoy luxury. Freedom of association is a right, and many wish to use prosperity and heritage as a basis for their collaborations.

However, Brandeis was founded on basic and underlying principles of inclusion. Its founders rejected regressive ideas of quotas and denial of opportunities based on anything other than demonstrated merit.

They understood that every person from every walk of life has something to offer.

Each day, conversations about social justice, equality and fairness are held in our classrooms, offices and dorms. These ideals and exchanges are what help to make Brandeis unique and form the foundation of our identity.

In the handbook, the university stands by its principle of inclusiveness by rejecting fraternities and sororities, in part because, “Exclusive or secret societies are inconsistent with the principles of openness to which the University is committed.” All clubs and groups at Brandeis are welcoming of all students, and doing so is not a policy that diminishes or stymies the competitiveness of our school whatsoever. As an example, the Brandeis Academic Debate and Speech Society is the most successful debate team in the entire country, and it stands as one of the only top-tier college teams that doesn’t require tryouts to participate.

See CLUBS, page 14

14 OPINIONS

The Brandeis Hoot

January 30, 2015

BranVan logistics could use a tune-up VANS, from page 12

likely to use our transportation system and weaken access to the community around our university.

These flaws, though fixable, are serious.

The first and most pressing issue is scheduling. Using the app, one is given the option of a BranVan pick up every half hour starting at 3:30. If you’re at Rabb, or another of the first couple stops, then you’re set, since the van will come around that time. If you’re at Hannaford’s or on Moody Street, however, there’s no telling how long it could take to come to your stop, stretching from five or 10 minutes with little traffic, to over 30 at rush hour.

You could use the app to track the van, but that prevents you from enjoying whatever event you’re currently at to constantly check the time. This lack of a regular schedule is compounded by the need to often circle back or switch vans when they fill up too early and can’t pick up everyone who reserved a seat.

This throws the entire schedule off another five or 10 minutes, so that after a few hours it’s impossible to predict when the van will come.

This also causes another problem: It’s impossible to tell how long it takes a van to complete its course and come back to your stop. If you’re at a movie or an event, this problem becomes especially troublesome, because you cannot predict when to leave.

Every time I’ve been to a movie in Waltham, I’ve faced the conun-

photo from internet source

drum of deciding whether to skip the last five minutes of the movie to catch the van or wait, possibly for up to an hour, in the freezing cold for the next one. The lack of an organized schedule really hurts our ability to plan out our events.

Vans aren’t as large as buses, so it’s not surprising they have limited capacity and sometimes fill up.

That’s why we have a reservation system to make it fair deciding

who gets a seat. Unfortunately, the reservations made online are meaningless. Anyone can get on any BranVan at any time, as long as there’s an open seat, and claim to have made a reservation. This means that the people who are most likely to get a seat aren’t those who call ahead but instead those who choose the earliest stops.

These problems aren’t neces-

sarily that difficult to solve. By implementing a couple of simple reforms, BranVans could run much more efficiently and effectively. Firstly, our vans need to stick to their schedule. Even if someone comes late to a stop and misses their van, it shouldn’t loop around to get them and put everyone else’s schedule in confusion. Furthermore, we need to require passengers to prove they

made a reservation before getting onto the van, possibly by showing their confirmation email. This will prevent anyone from abusing the system as commonly happens.

Overall, our transportation systems on campus connect us to our city and give us a lot of opportunities, but their flaws injure their usefulness to us. With a few simple reforms, our BranVans could be running much better.

Clubhouse clashes with univ. ideals CLUBS, from page 12

Do the fundamentals on which we were established align with Brandeis’ decision to be an affiliate of such an organization as the Penn Club? Being a member of the Penn Club can be a rewarding experience, but regardless of how rewarding it may be, it remains a very exclusive club. It is prohibitively expensive, pricing out many possible members, and it doesn’t accept membership from every-

one who may be interested. Their website explains “membership at the Club is a privilege, not a right.

The Club is for the members, by the members.”

Sometime after the personal training and aromatherapy, Brandeis should take a serious look in the clubroom mirror to ask whether we truly wish to affiliate with such an organization. If so, we may very well be branding ourselves with an emblem of hypocrisy toward our most virtuous and distinctive ideals.

photo from internet source

January 30, 2015

OPINIONS 15

The Brandeis Hoot

Events should be broadcast to univ. community EVENTS, from page 13

limited to Brandeis, but our university has a special quality that allows memorials and remembrances to turn into truly magical moments. These types of events occur quite frequently, so opportunities to be a part of something and be a part of that greater sense of community, are everywhere. The sense of community promoted by these events should not be lost in the shuffle of studying for class or writing a paper, but it usually is.

As college students, we become accustomed to making sacrifices.

Buying generic cereal instead of the tastier name-brands, putting up with cheap one-ply toilet paper and wearing the same pair of pants for days after all contribute to our collective struggle, which is certainly real. Yet we shouldn’t have to sacrifice attending important events even if we have work to get done. Perhaps the university can figure out a way to tape and stream these important events. When a visiting speaker comes to campus or a vigil is held around Chapels’ Pond, a stream should be made available online so students can watch later on or simply from somewhere else as the event is taking place. Beyond convenience, it would be prudent to record all of these events to create archives of what happens at Brandeis. This might already exist, and if it does, it wouldn’t be difficult to just open the doors and create a portal for students to watch events in a much more

convenient manner. Toward the end of King’s life, he began to focus on the issues of economic inequality that existed between races, and knew that a change here would possibly do the most for people of color.

Additionally, the underlying message of the Civil Rights Movement was equal access and opportunity for all. The university already does a great job of

opening up the school to students from all backgrounds and making it feasible for them to attend, despite ludicrous tuition.

And when there are free events put on by the school, such as the Messiah Sing during the fall semester finals period, the same sort of access should be granted.

In the email Dean of Students Jamele Adams sent out to students advertising the King event,

he stated that people should arrive to the ticket booth early, because of its popularity. Yet that shouldn’t be the case.

We shouldn’t have to turn away students because of space constraints when there is technology readily available to broadcast these events.

And although I missed out on the “King In Us All” memorial, I still found a way to remember

him. Reminded of what my bornagain, Evangelical mother would tell me each morning before heading out to wait for the bus, I grew both nostalgic and hopeful for the future. In the words of famed Christian author and broadcaster Robert A. Cook, “Walk with the king today, and be a blessing.”

There is something to be learned from remembering the heroes of our past.

photo from internet source

Sexual education should promote female empowerment EDUCATION, from page 12

education should be taught in schools seems equivalent to me to teaching creationism theory as a valid opposing theory to evolution. In no other field of learning do lessons so knowingly deceive our students. Children don’t need myths, stories or agenda-pushing fairy tales, determined solely on geography and political opinion, to miseducate them. All genders must know the truth about their bodies. This need is urgent, and it is vital. Children must be able to trust that the truths they are told are from an unbiased source.

We owe it to ourselves and our nation’s children to provide facts about a topic that will inevitably affect most of our society. We don’t need falsehood. We don’t need silence either.

By this, I mean that sexual education in most public school systems does not touch on topics of sexual orientation or non-conforming gender identities. Without education, our young people are left without tools to facilitate healthy exploration and personal acceptance at a critical age. Inherently, this system is both heteronormative and transphobic. I know that I wouldn’t have known what sex between two people of

the same gender was if my parents hadn’t believed that I had the right to a full range of sexual knowledge. All children are not afforded the same education at home that I was. We should all be able to rely on the fact that children will receive this information regardless of circumstances outside of their control.

When women are ignored or treated poorly over archaic practices that ignore science and fact to preach abstinence until the day a girl shows up at an abortion clinic, we are not better for it.

One in three women will have an abortion according to Advocates For Youth’s “1 in 3” campaign.

NARAL Pro-Choice America and The Wall Street Journal state that seven in 10 Americans support pro-choice values, while only four in 10 members of Congress support those values. Not only do I not find this shameful, I find it potentially avoidable.

Democracy should work for its people. It needs to be that simple.

I wish we would spend more time treating women as humans.

I wish we would spend more time respecting one another. I wish we would spend more time treating the female body as a completely independent and gloriously human one. Education, true education, empowers.

photo by katherine selector/ the hoot

ARTS, ETC.

January 30, 2015

The Brandeis Hoot 16

The Decemberists release well-made album

By Theresa Gaffney Editor

Last week, The Decemberists released their newest album, “What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World.” It is the band’s first full-length album since 2011 when “The King is Dead” was released. The new album came out on Tuesday, Jan. 20, and immediately found success.

Within “What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World,” The Decemberists finally seem to have found the balance between their playful language and storytelling and the band’s genuine musical talent. However, while much of the overly-literary lyricism has been toned down, the tracks are not made of a completely new sound. Practically every song has an echo of Decemberists-past under it.

This adaptation of the old within the new is particularly evident in “Anti-Summersong.” “Summersong” was a track on the album “The Crane Wife,” released in 2006, and a classic Decemberists song—the accordion was heavy like summer air and the lyrics explored death, a woman and the sea, arguably three of lead singer Colin Meloy’s favorite themes to write on. “Anti-Summersong,” the 10th track on the new album, directly rejects the band’s old habits, yet is still able to embrace the band’s quirky core. “I’m not going on just to sing another suicide sing-along song/ So long, farewell/ Don’t everybody fall all over themselves,” Meloy chants during the track.

This attitude of “We’re changing it up a bit, and everyone is going to be okay” is present throughout the entire album. In “The Singer Addresses His

photo from internet source

Audience,” the album’s opening track, Meloy sings in a soothing tone, “But we had to change some/ You know, to belong to you.” It is a wonderfully composed song to start the album off, giving long-time Decemberists fans reassurance that while some things have changed, the band is still going for it with the new album.

The beat picks up for the next few songs, as the lead track is followed by “Cavalry Captain,” “Philomena” and the album’s first single, “Make You Better.” These may be some of the best tracks on the album, with catchy rhythm and lyrics throughout all three. “Philomena” stands out as a hilarious yet earnest call-back to “Billy Liar,” from the 2003 album “Her Maj-

esty, The Decemberists.” “Philomena” is sung by a pleading narrator who wants more than anything to go down on a girl whom he loves. According to Meloy, it’s “the dirtiest Decemberists song ever written.”

Songs like “Philomena,” along with many others on the album, benefit greatly from one of the changes that fans may notice when listening to the album. Rachel Flotarde and Kelly Hogan join the band for “What a Terrible World/What a Beautiful World,” harmonizing and singing backup vocals to Meloy. Their voices add strength and depth to Meloy’s complex lyrics.

While the band has picked up other notable artists such as Sara Watkins to harmonize with them before, these

two artists are definitely making themselves heard on the album.

Although Meloy’s lyrics are always diverse and creative, he still manages to surprise listeners at various points throughout the album. “12-17-12” is the album’s second-to-last song and is a tribute to the tragic shooting in Newtown, CT, that occured in 2012.

Meloy opens the track with his harmonica, but soon breaks out into a clear mourning song about the loss of life after the shooting. It’s the first song of the band’s to be so politically charged and inspired by such a current event. The memory of the shooting eerily matches the band’s often visited image of dead children. It is also within this song’s lyrics that the

album title, “What a terrible world, what a beautiful world” makes an appearance.

It’s a strong message set to a mellow tone. While a few of the album’s singles are more upbeat, most of the songs on the album play at a relaxed, casual listening pace. While some may think that this makes the album as a whole harder to listen to, the band’s amazing lyricism and wordplay always give the listener something to think about. “What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World” is a truly emotionally driven album. And it makes sense, after a four-year hiatus, that the bandmates would have a lot of pent up emotion to let out.

While the band’s 2011 album “The King is Dead” saw commercial success, hitting No. 1 on Billboard’s top 200 chart, “What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World,” is a much better representation of what The Decemberists have to offer in terms of musical depth and creativity.

“What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World” is currently No. 3 on the iTunes Alternative Chart. In February, the band begins their European tour in Dublin, Ireland. The American leg of the tour starts in their hometown of Portland, OR, on March 21. Much of the tour has already been sold out, including two April dates at the House of Blues in Boston.

The Decemberists are a band that continually changes their sound with each album. From an EP that consists of a single 19-minute track to a concept album, fans are always kept on their toes. There have been ups and downs, but as one listens to “What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World,” it is clear that The Decemberists have hit a strong note.

BZA hopes to expand and develop with Tel Aviv Club Night

By Clayre Benzadon Staff

Despite the snowy conditions this past Saturday, Jan. 24, students still managed to attend the first big Brandeis Zionist Alliance event of the semester, Tel Aviv Club Night.

Located in Sherman Function Hall, the event provided pizza, neon glowsticks and bright DJ lights with a soundtrack of popular Israeli and American songs.

BZA President Tzlil Levy ’17 and Vice President Shayna Hertz ’17 committed a tremendous amount of time and effort in order to make the event a reality. Both they and other members started planning this party months in advance, making sure to publicize the club name as much as possible.

An issue, Levy and Hertz claim, is the fact that BZA was not a very active club when it first began. Part of what they hope to do now is to revive the club by hosting events, getting more funding for more opportunities for people to learn more about Israeli culture and by creating a better image of BZA. The club name is also controversial. Because “Zionist” is included, some people are automatically biased against the club. During the winter activities fair, for instance, e-board remember the response to handing out flyers to remind people about Tel Aviv Club Night.

photo from internet source

“Some people were hesitant to take the flyer, as they felt that they did not identify with ‘Zionists,’” the board members mention.

The club’s aim, however, is not political, but rather a push toward a more cultural and more inclusive environment, Levy and Hertz said.

In order to defuse the derogatory nature of the term, the club created a diversified environment by co-sponsoring with a variety of different clubs,

including not only BOSS (Brandeis Organization of Sephardic Students) and Hillel at Brandeis, but also the ’Deis Chess Club, Brandeis Firecrackers, BCMG (Brandeis Consulting and Marketing Group), TSA (Brandeis’ Taiwanese Student Association) and others. Additionally, BZA is hoping to create closer connections with SEA (Students for Environmental Action), TRISK (Triskelion, Brandeis’ LGBTQ student group) and the Real Estate

Club.

BZA is continuing to make an even bigger presence on campus by planning to co-sponsor the Internship Gala with BIPAC (Brandeis Israel Public Affairs Committee), an annual event that provides students with many internship and full-time job opportunities, accompanied by food, company information and a presentation by Haim Levkowitz, a leading professional and adviser in entrepre-

neurship.

Last semester, BZA hosted a variety of events, including an Israeli breakfast, a show by Israeli comedian Joel Chasnoff and Hookah in the Sukkah With the combination of Israeli music, food and events, BZA hopes to create a more developed, interconnected group of friends and networks in order to mature as a club and to educate more people about Israel’s lively culture.